Boy, time flies. I can’t believe that it’s been nearly 3 weeks since the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend kicked off. This was my third time running in this weekend (out of 3 that have been run). The first year, I was there at the expo on day 1 right as it opened. The next year, I waited until day 2 because friends of mine were hosting a We Run Social Meetup and I swore I wasn’t going to buy any merch. Much to my surprise, I had a  pretty good selection to make that year and ended up buying a few items. This year, I had no desire to buy anything at the official merchandise area. Since I was only running the half on Sunday, I waited until the Expo’s last day to show up.

Since I had no desire to buy any official merchandise, I did this expo the way runDisney probably prefers runners to do the expo. I started off by walking downstairs to get my race bib.

It was very empty downstairs. I sort of expected this…

With the 5K, 10K, Infinity Gauntlet Challenge, and Kids Races already underway or finished, the only people needing a bib were those who were running the half marathon only. So, it made sense that there weren’t a lot of people in the area to pick up your race bib when I arrived on Saturday afternoon. Getting my bib was a breeze!

From there, I headed back up to enter the main expo floor.

Here was the only bummer of waiting so long to attend the expo.

When I went to the expo last year, they had these fun signs up down the red carpet. Not so this time around. I did see that they has similar signage up on previous expo days.

Once in the main expo floor, I went to get my race shirt. As you can see…no crowds here either. I was actually surprised that they had signs up for the 10K and Infinity Gauntlet Challenge. After all, I thought those folks would have already picked up their shirts.

With my bib and race shirt already in hand, I made my way to the official runDisney merchandise area to see what was left on this Saturday afternoon.

Much to my surprise, they had quite a bit left. I could have purchased any of the “I Did It” shirts. They had plenty of jackets.

I’m not gonna lie. I was a little tempted to buy the Captain America running hat.

I was also a little tempted to purchase this shirt. It looked much better in person than in the photo runDisney put out.

There were plenty of pins left. Even though I didn’t run the Captain America 5K, I was so tempted to purchase this pin….

and this one. The Captain America fan in me made it hard to pass on. However, the fact that I didn’t run the race itself is what kept me from ultimately purchasing it.

The Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon pin wasn’t as tempting to me.

Nor was the Doctor Strange 10K pin.

I love this shirt, but you can purchase this shirt online. So, there was no rush to get it just yet.

I did think this shirt was kind of cool.

These cups were hard to pass on, but I did.

I do give runDisney props as they are expanding the kinds of merchandise you can buy at their expos. This shirt was clearly meant to go with…

these sweat pants.

I had seen others post pics of the 2017 runDisney New Balance shoes. So, after visiting the official merchandise area, I looked for the shoes.

Here are the “men’s” shoes. They are themed to Space Mountain and Toy Story Mania.

I kind of like the Toy Story Mania shoe the best.

Here are the “women’s” shoes. They are themed to The Haunted Mansion and the Mad Tea Party.

If these shoes would be acceptable for a guy to wear, I would love to get the Haunted Mansion shoe.

From there, I headed back to the official merch area because it also had the runDisney booth.

I had to check out the new medals.

The Minnie Mouse 10K medal looks pretty cool.

The Donald Duck, Walt Disney World, Half Marathon medal is the most different of the whole bunch.

The Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney World Marathon, medal looks kind of retro.

Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge is kind of cool.

So too is the Dopey Challenge Medal. I like that they’ve changed up the medals from year to year!

Of course, I can’t wait to earn this medal in January!

This one…not so much. I like that they’ve changed up the Rebel Challenge Medal. However, the Half Marathon medal has Han Solo and Princess Leia. So, why can’t the Rebel Challenge Medal have Luke Skywalker. Heck, I’d go with the newer Star Wars crew and have Rey on it or Jyn Erso from the upcoming Rogue One. While I love C-3PO, I think others would have been a better choice.

The poster from the Lasting Commemoratives booth was pretty cool and a little tempting to purchase.

Their medal frames are amazing! If only I had the money to get one.

I mean…seriously. How cool are these things? They just cost too much money for me.

There was also a booth where they were giving folks to play an Avengers video game. I love the Captain America display!

The last booth I visited was the Nesquik Chocolate Milk booth. They were giving out free chocolate milk! I thought…Score! Post race recovery drink for free!

On my way out, I did have to snap a pic of this photo op area. Although, I didn’t have the time to stop.

Before I knew it, the time had come to head back home. On my way out, I ran into my running friends Juliana and Devin. It was great to chat with them a bit about their 10K experience. As I was leaving, they were getting the finish line ready for the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon! I couldn’t wait until I ran by the next day!