This post may up my stalker status, but… well, I’m writing it anyway. And by stalker I mean I’m the person who whips out her iPhone when she sees a good story running by and needs to capture it #ForTheBlog.
This time, the subject of my stalking was the Princess Men. You know who I’m talking about, right?
#PrincessMen from the 2015 Princess Half Marathon
We met them on the course in 2015 and grabbed a picture with the group post medals.
Soon after, they became legend on the runDisney Facebook pages. John, aka Princess JasMAN, joined one of the groups and kept us posted on future plans. As promised, they were back at Walt Disney World this past weekend where they participated to the delight of 25,000 runners in their Princess drag.
So I’ll back up a minute. I just got back from the 2016 Princess Half Marathon weekend on Monday. It was the 6th time (and last time- hand to God, I’m not going back! Errr… well, maybe I’m not going back? Ha… more on that later) for this race and as usual, I had a lovely time.
So many people want to bag on this race, but I don’t feel the hate for it. I had a blast!
It’s just silly fun. Sure there’s a higher number of tutus (guilty) and tiaras in attendance, but why is that a bad thing? And the Expo got off to a rough start, but people chilled and life princessed on.
The race itself has mixed reports. On one hand, it felt like the least crowded and most civilized Princess in recent years. And the weather was phenomenal. Huzzah! But… on the other hand, the course entertainment severely lacked. Like, it sucked in a lot of places. And that was most definitely a change from recent years.
Speaking of entertainment, we had a few favorite characters we were hoping to find on the course: Mr. Richard at the Grand Floridian (see above!), the rock star running as Prince, the Mime from Rapunzel, and, of course, the Princess Men.
Prince’s Half Marathon 2015
Prince was not there this year. Neither was the Mime. #WhompWhomp
But two outta four ain’t bad!
We found the Princess Men just as we came upon the castle.
The group was smaller than last year and Pochahantas was running in a higher corral (due to injury) but we were thrilled to find the guys on the course.
If you don’t know why this was an exciting moment for many of us, read what John shared last year about the how it all came about. Not only did they look AH-MAZING but they were also super nice and complimentary to those of us fangirling them from the back of the pack.
So there we are, and we see Elsa in front of us waving frantically at… Elsa… in front of us.
Mind blown. Ha.
We decided to follow them through the castle in the hopes that they would be stopping for a picture. I didn’t want to try to ask for a picture at THIS point- terrible manners! But I was hoping to grab one before they sped away.
While these guys were running from the back, they don’t need to. It’s one of those crazy runDisney corral issues, not one of those speedster issues in this case!
And finally, success.
We all stopped for a castle picture and we had a moment to chat. And of course, take a selfie!
This was a highlight of the race. The guys are a lot of fun and were obviously having a lot of fun. I was thrilled we happened upon them.
Thanks for the Princess Half memory, #PrincessMen!
Here are a few other pictures of the guys shared by members of one of my Facebook groups, Princess Half 2016.
I think Ariel has the smolder down.
Can we give some mad props to Pocahontas? Not only was he running injured, but check out those posing skills.
On POINT, Pocahontas.
If I’m back in 2017 (BIG if, I’ve got to make some Disney choices… ugh!) I sure hope we run into these guys again.
Did you run into the Princess Men?
Patty Holliday is the owner and creator of all things No-Guilt Universe. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.