In Which runDisney Seems To Have Lost Its Unofficial Mascot

Potatoes

I have a serious question for you, runDisney blogosphere: whatever happened to Sean Astin?

I don’t mean generally; I know he’s been around these past couple years, doing his acting thing.

runDisney mascot Sean Astin
Pictured: Sean Astin’s acting thing.

But there was I time when I swear Sean Astin was at every single runDisney race. How do I know this? Because he couldn’t run 1k without a runDisney announcer sticking a microphone in his face.

I remember he was at my first event, The Princess Half Marathon in 2013. I remember him being interviewed on stage for The Tinker Bell Half Marathon in 2014, and if I recall correctly he was wearing festive fairy wings. I think he was at the 2014 Wine & Dine Half Marathon but I’m not 100% on that.

I KNOW he did the 2015 Dopey Challenge, because I did the 2015 Dopey Challenge, and they trotted that poor man out every. Single. Morning. “It’s SEEEEAN! ASTIIIIIIIIIN!” Rudy or somebody would yell, and then they’d make him tell them something about his running career or if he was having fun and enjoying the parks or his hopes and dreams or whatever. Fun fact: Mr. Astin stayed up until 11pm the night before the 2015 marathon. What a trooper!

So for a time there he was kind of the unofficial mascot of runDisney. But since then I don’t remember seeing him at any races. It could of course be that I’ve just gotten a lot less observant. But given his former ubiquity, I wonder about this sometimes.

Did he get tired of being dragged on stage and stop coming? Is he there in secret, wearing a false mustache and running under a pseudonym so that runDisney can’t find him and accost him? Is it our fault? Were too many fans following him around quoting Goonies while he was just trying to ride some darn teacups with his family? 

I don’t have any answers to these questions, so I will close with my own personal Sean Astin-related anecdote: 

Before I ran the Princess Half, I mentioned to my dad that Sean Astin would be running the race too. I thought he would find that nifty, being a Lord of the Rings fan.

But my dad’s kneejerk reaction was this: “His father was in West Side Story!” And that, I think, begins to paint of picture of the differences between generations.

Wherever you are, Mr. Astin, I hope you got some sleep.

Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.comSee ya real soon!

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