RunUniversal - Part 3
August 13, 2020
By: Carrie Fulton
In February, I was lucky enough to participate in the inaugural RunUniversal events at Universal Studio Orlando. There was a 5k on Saturday then a 10k on Sunday. After not doing a Disney race for a few years due to my kids heading into college and later high school years…I like to call those the “Wallet Years”, I decided to do the events with one of my dearest friends, Lori. She opted to stick to the 5k while I wanted to challenge myself to do both races.
We flew down on Friday and arrived on property at 1pm. After checking in to our Resort we went over to the theater where Blue Man group performs for packet pickup. Packet pickup actually began on Thursday and went through Saturday so there was plenty of time to get your bib, which is nice since traveling in can get delayed. Had this been a RunDisney event, I would have been concerned about getting any fun swag. However, RunUniversal is as relaxed as Universal parks are. That is to say super calm and fun. We did our packet pickup, got our shirts and there was a simple tent with a few RunUniversal items. It wasn’t the overwhelming expo that RunDisney puts on, but it wasn’t necessary either.
Our entry fee got us a bib, shirt and a drawstring backpack along with a spinning medal once we finished. The race started at 6:30am, and boats started leaving our resort (Loew’s Portofino Bay Resort) at 5am. We opted to leave about 5:30am knowing we were super close to the start line, located at the front of the HUGE parking garage at the front of Universal CityWalk. As we got off the boat, (yes, we could have walked, but why add a mile to and from when we were also planning on heading to the parks later in the day) we made our way to the start. We got a little lost as signage wasn’t great, but this was adjusted the morning of the 10k when I went the second time. Clearly they were learning as they went which was great!
Once we got to the corral area, we separated. I planned to run while Lori planned to walk. We were good with this setup since we both wanted a shared but personal experience. There were 3 corrals. Compared to RunDisney events with a dozen or more corrals, this began as a concern for me. But once we were in, I realized how much smaller this event was which made it really nice. Especially once it started raining. However, it’s Florida so a little warm rain there versus snow where I live in Ohio wasn’t going to stop either of us!
The course itself was great. There were some rolling hills but nothing too concerning and we got to the parks within the first mile of the race. DJs and characters included Shrek, Bumblebee and Whovillians, and you could step aside within the race to get pictures with them. Compared to Disney races where you may stop for 10-15 minutes to get a picture, these stops were closer to 2-3 minutes which made it more fun for those who chose to stop.
A great announcer, DJ and medals greeted finishers at the end of the race. Along with more characters that happened to be featured on our medals. The 5k had Minions and Alex from Madagascar, while the 10k had a Jurassic Park Velociraptor and Minions again because we can never have enough Minions. There was also plenty of water and the great snack boxes that I first experienced at RunDisney events, which I love since everyone gets the same thing regardless of if you’re the first or last to cross the finish.
The next morning for the 10k had perfect running weather, a course that went though some of the same parts of the parks while also including different areas with more more characters such as Popeye and Olive Oyl, Scooby Doo and Friends, Betty Boop and others.
To say that I think these races were worth it is an understatement. I do wish they would have had shirts that had ladies cut rather than unisex for everyone, as well as a challenge medal or shirt for those who chose to run both races. But the entire experience was great! Universal employees were cheering along the route, and they congratulated us in the parks when they saw us in the parks wearing them. The only other thing I would have changed is bringing my park ticket with me when we ran the 5k because we were done just in time for the early access to parks that staying on property offers. We could have gotten a few rides in before returning to our room to shower. We did that on the 10k day and loved getting breakfast in Diagon Alley…because Butterbeer is the best beverage to replenish calories!
So if you like smaller races while still getting some magic into your miles, definitely consider doing a RunUniveral event at either Universal Studios Orlando or Hollywood. And let me help you plan it! Email me at CFulton@WisesFamilyTravel.com!