Last year Universal Orlando announced that they would hold inaugural Epic Character Race happening February of this year. Well the race actually took place last weekend and happy to say that we were there for it. Having lived in Florida for 2 years and always saying how cool it would be if Universal did something like this, we knew we couldn’t pass up being apart of it. Universal held the event over 2 days; Saturday February 1^st they held the 5K and on Sunday February 2^nd they held the 10K. 

Now this race was a bit pricey compared to most but it was significantly cheaper than the races held at Disney. But below is a table with a breakdown of each tier, pricing and what is included with that ticket. They also offered options that you could bundle park tickets into your race ticket, as well as offering hotel packages for racers as well. Should also be noted that race participants were allowed to dress up and wear costumes. Not too many people dressed up but the ones that did were pretty good. Think my favorite was the runners dressed Kang and Kodos from the Simpsons carrying other Universal characters.

TICKET TYPE	PRICE	WHAT’S INCUDED
5K STANDARD	$82+tax	Themed finisher medal, race bib with timing tag, dry-fit t-shirt, drawstring bag, downloadable finisher certificate and complimentary parking
5K VIP	$142+tax	All that is listed above plus a post race breakfast, excusive character meet & great with photo op and a commemorative reusable water bottle
5K STANDARD PASSHOLDER	$76+tax	Same as 5K Standard
5K VIP PASSHOLDER	$136+tax	Same as 5K VIP
10K STANDARD	$121+tax	Same as 5K Standard
10K VIP	$184+tax	Same as 5K VIP
10K STANDARS PASSHOLDER	$115+tax	Same as 5K Standard
10K VIP PASSHOLDER	$178+tx	Same as 5K VIP
EPIC FAN PASSHOLDER	$49+TAX	Reserved seating area at finish line, themed gear, refreshments & complimentary parking

The morning of the race Universal opened up the parking garage at 4:30am. After parking we made our way to the starting line. Now this part was a bit tricky, they didn’t have great signage in the garage we parked in or anyone really pointing us in the right direction. Eventually we did find our way to the starting line. They had you park in one garage and then you went as if you were going to City Walk but instead you went to the lower level of the other garage. If you’re familiar with where the ticketing booth is for Volcano Bay that is where we went through security to get to the starting line. By the time we got through security and a pit stop at the restroom it was a little after 5am. In hindsight we could have stayed in the car a little longer and stayed warmed and dry but c’est la vie. 

The starting line was split into 3 different sections; A/Elite section, B section, and C section. The A/Elite section was for the more experienced runners while B and C sections were for everyone else. We started in B but after awhile we moved to C to be under the overhang to stay dry. At 6:15am they let the A/Elite runners off followed shortly by B and C. By the time we actually crossed the start line the first runners from A/Elite group had already crossed the finish line. According to the finisher times the first runner crossed the line after 15 minutes.

To the left is the 5K course. We started in the bus lane that brought us to a back entrance of Islands of Adventure. We entered into Islands next to Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls, went through Toon Lagoon, to Marvel Super Hero Island, to Seuss Landing and then to a backstage area of the park. Now because it had and was still kind of raining they didn’t have as many characters out as they had planned but there were some characters in Toon Lagoon and Seuss Landing. Once we entered mile 2 we had entered into Universal Studios at the San Francisco area. We continued through London where they had a photo op with the Knight Bus from Harry Potter. Next we passed through Springfield and down Boulevard of the Stars to the front of the park and then down between Shrek and Transformers. The only characters I saw on this leg of the race were Shrek, Donkey, Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. Later I did see that some of the Simpsons charters came out. There were Team Members located with each character op. Runners who wanted to meet the characters just needed to line up and they would be able to get a photo. The last leg of the race took us through the New York area where Hashtag the Panda Bear was meeting people and taking photos. The finish line was backstage behind Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rocket. Right before crossing the line was the seating area for those who had bought the Epic Fan tickets, which was nice to see and hear people cheering you on as you finished the race. After crossing the finish line there were cast members there handing out the finisher medals, bottled water, bananas and snack boxes. The snack boxes were pretty nice they had squeezable applesauce, mini pretzels, trail mix and a koshi bar. Since it had rained making it pretty wet through out the course they had more character photo ops here since they were protected from the rain. 

Even though the weather wasn’t great it was still a ton of fun! This was the first 5K I had done and felt really good, I was able to run more than I usually do which was a nice feeling. I would highly recommend taking part in the next race that they have. My only suggestion would be to have people stationed through out the course reminding walkers to stay to the right so that it is easier for those who are running to pass on the left. It was tricky and downright impossible to pass walkers at certain points in the course. 

All in all we had a great time and I cannot wait for them to announce their next race. It should also be noted that if you live closer to California that Universal Hollywood also hold Running Universal events. They actually have one coming up in April and it is Dreamworks Animation Trolls themed. You can find out more information about that race and sign up to get notifications or Orlando’s as well here at the Running Universal website. 

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We sleepily made our way to our room and took hot showers because we had been in the cold rain all day. After that we took a nap and once we woke up we headed back to the park for Mardi Gras (which I will cover in the next post). Other than the rain the race was a lot of fun. I am really looking forward to them announcing when the next one will be and the theme of it. If you’re in the Florida area or a lover of Universal I would highly recommend keeping your eyes peeled when they release info on the next race. As stated before the pricing wasn’t terrible for this race especially when you take into consideration where you are running through and all that is included.

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Incase you were wondering below is what the 10K course looked like, it is the same as the 5K but you go through City Walk and then into Jurassic Park and Hogsmeade. And then when you get into Universal you get to go into Diagon Alley. Hoping by the time they announce the next race (and we can go) that we can also take part in the 10K.

Be on the look out for our next blog post at Universal’s 25th Mardi Gras event.