Race For The Taste

Scott swore he would never run another Disney race again, but somehow he agreed to run the Race for the Taste 10K (that’s 6.2 miles). The beloved bonus of this event would be the sampling of food from three out of the four International Food and Wine booths hosted by EPCOT. For some reason Scott and I both thought the race was on a Saturday, in the evening. About a month before the event, we were both surprised to notice how wrong we were. Oh well, it’s Fall – the weather should be just fine…. NOT! This has been THE hottest Fall ever here in Florida, or at least in Orlando. Thankful the morning of the race had a nice ever-so – slight breeze with minimal cloud cover. The blazing sun did not peek out until about half way through the course. Our journey through Hollywood Studios and EPCOT was very reminiscent of our previous half marathon race. We passed by the same scenery, ran most of the same route and experienced the same rude “We are going to line up four wide/ side–by-side” walkers. Half way through of adventure, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Thinking it was Scott, I was happily surprised to see it was one of our friends and neighbor, Davi. And there we were – all three of us (but not all together) running, desperately awaiting the taste of international food. Scott and Davi both did an amazing job! I thoroughly enjoyed the run and felt great throughout the entire course, even with my IT band slightly rearing its ugly head. I quickly was reminded how my body rejects any type of elevation and/or slanted road. It was a perfect reminder for me to walk when I approach these obstacles for the Goofy. I do not want my IT band back in full force in the middle of the half marathon or the next day’s full will be murder. After grabbing our bling, Poweraid, and taking a photo opt, we were off to taste what we raced for… and what did we get to choose from: Argentina Beef Empanada with Tomato Salsa (Buenos Aires); Arroz Con Pollo (Chicken with Rice) (San Juan, Puerto Rico); Maple Glazed Salmon with Lentil Salad (Montreal, Canada); and Strawberry Shortcake (United States). No wine folks! Just lemonade and soda. We all skipped the beef empanda, so I can’t critique that one, but hands down the best taste came from the good ole’ US of A! The salmon at a distant second, and the Arroz Con Pollo should have not even been on the menu. Each one of us took one bite and wanted to spit it out. Nothing like gristly meat to ruin the palate. While experiencing the culinary dishes and chatting with Davi, we ran into a few more of our neighbors sporting their new shiny metals. That’s the cool thing about running Disney races, we always “run” into people from our community. As we were driving home, I got the “I will never run another Disney race again” speech from my hubby. I don’t blame him one bit, but I am so proud of him!!! I am hoping to talk him into participating in a “non-Disney” race sometime next year. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the Space Coast Half!