I originally posted this last year but thought some of you might want to read it as you prepare for this year! You can find part 2 here and part 3 here. Enjoy!
I love all the Disney races for different reasons, but Marathon Weekend will always have a special place in my heart as the half was my first Disney race in 2011, it’s where I did my first ever marathon in 2013, and there are just so many amazing things to see and experience. 65,000 runners from all over the world descending on Disney World at the same time is just amazing. You can strike up a conversation with almost anyone and they are there to either race or to support someone who is racing. The atmosphere is community at its best and I just LOVE the energy of the whole thing.
This weekend was truly no exception. I’m going to talk about my own journey because Scott did promise he’d do a guest blog about his weight loss and experience running his first marathon, but I can at least tell you he finished, right? I guess I just did;).
I’m not going to do a full blow by blow account as I don’t have time and some of the details might get kind of boring. But I will take each biggie of the weekend and let you know my experience, why it was amazing, and why you should seriously consider doing it next year. Oh, and I’ll also link a couple of fun blogs and videos to give you a feel for what it’s really like to be there! Here’s one to start with that talks about the great work Cigna did with students for marathon weekend. Loved this!
At DFW the fun began as I struck up a conversation with a group of runners at the gate. None of us knew each other but we had such a great time chatting we almost missed our boarding call. One of them, Serene, was running her 28th marathon, was a Boston qualifier and had a PR of 3:09 in the marathon. And yet I really felt we could be friends in spite of her super-human bit by a radio active spider possibly in high school speed;). Several were first timers. And we were like old friends in no time. Runners are awesome people.
Scott wasn’t coming in until later that night so I spent a lovely afternoon alone at Epcot just wondering around, seeing some of the films and browsing in the shops. I then met our amazing friends for dinner and was feeling like things were off to a great start! Even met up with these cutie patooties, my sweet friends Beth and Laura.
Right after we took this picture a guy came out of the bar steps behind us and said, “Are you all running this weekend? Go in there! They’re having a meet up and have free stuff!” Uh, OK! So thank you, group of people in that bar that gave us free stuff. I know the company was “Run Disney to Eat Disney” but can’t find them on the web. I’ll try to get a link and post it. Good swag. I need to do more meet ups next time. Seems like they are an amazing opportunity to network and get fun free stuff!
Scott finally arrived and we hung out on the Boardwalk for awhile, I ate a second dinner of pizza (I promise I don’t eat like this at home!) and we headed to bed.
Saturday – The Expo
We slept in and didn’t get up until 9 or so. The “experts” will tell you the most important night’s sleep is the night BEFORE the night before your big race. I felt slight guilt for not getting up to cheer for my friends running the half but I needed the sleep and they understand. (I think you guys do, right??) But congrats to my sweet friends who rocked it!! Here are a few of the girls who went “Goofy” this year after their half:
So so amazed and proud of you girls!! Amazing job!!
My great friend Andy did do the half and the amazing thing about that is that he did it AFTER a week long trip with his sweet wife, Jenny, and their two boys. Because if you think a half marathon is hard, try touring WDW with 2 pre-schoolers, right? Here he is at the finish – great job, Andy!
OK, so after we were lazy and didn’t get up until 9am, we headed to the Expo (thanks for letting me steal this pic, Andy;)
If you’ve never run a humungo race before and never experienced a full-on convention size expo you truly must. Picture a huge convention hall filled with runners, running gear, running food and running experts and you’ve got it. I have become a bit cynical over the years and don’t take the time looking around like I used to but when I was first racing these things were like Mecca for me. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn as there are usually speakers scheduled throughout the day and they range from nutritionists to trainers to Olympians and Elite marathoners. You can also shop and meet other runners. To me if you don’t chat it up in line or strike up conversations with total strangers you miss out at these kind of events. It’s the running community that really shines at these things and is my favorite part.
In the past we’ve always gone to the Expo on Friday right after arrival and it’s always packed and I’m always exhausted from traveling so this year we decided to go Saturday instead and it was SO MUCH BETTER. Clearly that’s no an option if you’re going Goofy (half on Saturday/full on Sunday) or if you’re only do the half or the family 5K, but Saturday was very uncrowded and fun. Down side? The Run Disney merch was slim pickings but my money needs to stay in my wallet more anyway. Especially at Disney!
We picked up our bibs, got Scott moved up to E corral (he had been in F but we brought a time from a recent half that worked). I should explain that – Disney puts you in corrals based on projected finish time. If you want to be in one of the lower corrals you have to provide “proof of time”. It’s very worth it as the closer to the front the fewer the crowds. Although I’ve been everywhere from the very back to B corral and I will tell you the most fun people are at the back.:)
We then headed into the hall to get our shirts and drop bags and Scott was able to exchange his XXL for an XL (losing 100 pounds will do that). We browsed for a bit and then chatted with Jeff Galloway about Scott’s journey and got a great picture but I’m not allowed to share that part so you’ll have to wait for it. I know, I’m mean.
We had a great lunch out on the patio (with no wait I might add) and headed back to the hotel to dump our stuff before heading to Epcot for our pre-race dinner. We looked out on our balcony and were serenaded by the Dapper Dans who were performing at a wedding reception below our window.
We had a wonderful meal at Via Napoli at 3:15 so we headed out to do a bit of touring at Epcot first. I have to eat super early the day before Disney races or I have GI issues big time. The food and company at dinner were great (thanks for including me, Beth, Elisa and Katrina!). Here’s a pic of Scott so you know he was there:
I had a bowl of cereal in the room before bed just to top me off and headed to bed super early (as in 8pm!) because we need to get up at 2:15 am. What?!?!? That’s right, you have to be on the bus to the staging area no later than 3:30 am on race day at Disney. It makes sense if you don’t think about it.
But before bed we had to lay out our flat Jen and Scott so we’d be all ready to go and not forget a thing the next morning. Your brain won’t work right the morning of a big race so being as prepared as possible the night before is essential.
Up next: Race day! Otherwise entitled “HOW WE ALL MELTED LIKE MICKEY BARS AT WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS”. 