Marathon Weekend 2024

[Herding_Cats]

This will be Dopey #3 for me. I am finally getting excited now that I can see past peak training week. That peak week seems to dominate my thoughts until we are through it. I always seem to compartmentalize the chaos I put my body through during that peak week and not remember it until I am doing it again in the training block the next year.

I was looking through the digital event guide and noticed that the half does not pass under Tron like the full does. That will be a unique experience.

I have a severe case of FOMO during race weekends and have noticed in the past all the cool things people find during the event. I always think to myself...where did they find that...I wish I would have experienced that or utilized that. Here is a list of things I wish I knew:

- 1 - Where do people get these cool after race drinks? I would love a cocktail in the post-race area. I have seen people drinking champagne in IG posts.

They get them in Epcot. Sometimes they get them by briefly going off-course, and sometimes they have friends/family waiting for them along the course.

- 2 - Is there an unofficial listing of the food trucks that are typically in the pre-race/post-race area? I have found the coffee truck pre-race, but what else am I missing?

It should be the same ones as in the morning....I think there's been some sort of pizzacone truck in the past couple of years.

- 3 - During the marathon I have read many people partake in beverages along the route or they veer off the path slightly to pick up that special beverage. What are everyone's go-to locations along the route? I have read about the AK beverage stand near EE has opened early in the past.

Yes. The one in AK (Thirsty River?), and then anything that's open in Epcot that you might run past. I know that there's been a CM in the past that works at Regal Eagle (America pavillion in Epcot) that got permission to open early for runners....she previously worked at the one in AK that opened early for runners. I haven't seen any posts in regards to if she's still working there and if anyone will be opening those early this year.

- 4 - During the races, you will happen upon attractions being opened early for racers. Last year, I got to experience EE. I may have been hallucinating, but I thought I also saw them open up the tea cups as well. What are your thoughts, hopes and predictions for attractions during the races?

Teacups (and I think the Carousel?) were running last year, but I don't know that they were allowing riders on them? I wouldn't count on anything being open before park hours. And with AK falling sooner in the course this year, that may mean fewer people get on EE there.

- 5 - I love a discount as much as the next person. We all know how much money we have to spend to collect these medals. What are your favorite discounts you have found for racers and what sort of proof do you need to bring to take advantage of that discount?

Proof of discount is generally a medal or your bib. Quite a few restaurants in DS have done 20% off in the past (Paddlefish, Homecomin') and some of the retail stores do as well. Although sometimes it's not really communicated well. I know Stance socks was doing 15% off last year and had a handwritten sign on a piece of copy paper in the store.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I looked at the weather forecast yesterday and was sad. (I know, I know, it's going to change.) And then when we went grocery shopping I bought a stuffable/packable winter jacket at costco so I don't have to haul my huge real winter coat down there with me.

Apologies in advance if it ends up being super hot.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

You have no idea how much I needed to read this today. I was doing so well with my training for months and then had an IT band injury flare back up, which set me back for a couple weeks in training. All I want to do is finish Dopey without another injury and I am probably going to have to walk a lot more than I originally intended, but this gives me hope that I can shuffle along during the half and the full and still potentially finish.

IIRC, you are a much faster runner than I am, so if my porky, undertrained self can finish a Dopey, you should be able to as well, barring injury flare up.
My $0.02 worth based on my experience:
5K - easy jogging and a lot of walking because: (1) Epcot at night, illuminated just for us runners, and (2) untimed. Take it all in and enjoy.
10K - more easy jogging, saving myself for the half and full. I never saw the balloon ladies
Half - some easy running from Epcot to the TTC, building a buffer between me and the balloon ladies, and using the water stops for the walking part of run/walk intervals. Once in the MK, stop for whatever photos I want to get, then head back to Epcot, again taking it easy with more like 50/50 walking and running.
Full - Again, some easy running in the early miles to build a buffer, then run/walk intervals. I probably walked 60-65% of the full. After the MK, I might walk a mile or two, jog/run for a bit, and then back to brisk walking. FWIW, I started back in corral K E (?) and the only time I saw balloon ladies was when they were about to enter AK as I was leaving AK right there where the road doubles back on itself. So they were there, closer than comfortable, but no real threat (about 50 - 55 minutes behind me). That said, it meant that I didn't stop for a ride on Tower of Terror, but I finished. The steady, brisk walk will get you there under the 16 min/mile criteria, especially if you can build up a little buffer at the beginning and limit the photo stops. (I did get in the fairly quick line for the pic in front of the castle, and a short one with Dopey himself. Other than that, most of my photos were quick ones, not in long character lines.)
Another observation, the character stops do give you a breather if it isn't too long of a wait.
Here's to praying your injury does not flare back up. If it doesn't, or doesn't too badly, you've got this IMHO.

 

[PrincessV]

I looked at the weather forecast yesterday and was sad. (I know, I know, it's going to change.) And then when we went grocery shopping I bought a stuffable/packable winter jacket at costco so I don't have to haul my huge real winter coat down there with me.

Apologies in advance if it ends up being super hot.

^ Yes, THIS is how to do it, people!

 

[accm]

I looked at the weather forecast yesterday and was sad. (I know, I know, it's going to change.) And then when we went grocery shopping I bought a stuffable/packable winter jacket at costco so I don't have to haul my huge real winter coat down there with me.

Apologies in advance if it ends up being super hot.

Where are you looking at the weather? The temperatures I'm seeing don't look like I'd need a winter coat (even though I'll bring one anyways). If anything, the temperature I'm seeing for the marathon is looking a bit too warm.


(I also know there's a 99% change the current forecast is wrong, but I can't help but check)

 

[PrincessV]

I’m a little late on the less-than-fully-trained topic, but in case it helps anyone, here’s my story from last year, when I did the 10K and marathon…

I had some health issues causing severe joint and soft tissue pain that started ending my long training runs much earlier than planned. I bailed out of several and my longest run wound up being 16 miles in mid-November: after that, I managed a 14 and a 12, but nothing like my previous years’ 18, 20, 22 leading up to the marathon. Between feeling undertrained and still battling the chronic pain, I genuinely did not expect to finish the marathon, and I only started because I was pretty sure I could gut out half of it and feel like I got my money’s worth.

The short version is that I DID finish it! I took extra walk breaks from the beginning, pulled over to stretch as needed, and from around AK to the finish really just pushed through a huge amount of pain. I found that not having a lot of mileage in training was no issue at all with respect to endurance: I could have kept going for many more hours if I needed to. I actually had more energy than in any of my previous 6 marathons!

I’ve since dialed way, way back on my mileage and went into the 3 W&D races “undertrained”, too… and again, had no issues with endurance at all. What I’m realizing is that after years of training for long distances, my body’s got the endurance thing down: piling on a bunch of mileage isn’t necessary to get to the finish. If I was chasing times, things would be different, but I think if you’ve been doing long distances for a while and aren’t injured - or your injury is manageable and isn’t going to be made worse by pushing through - you’re likely to find that being undertrained isn’t as much of a problem as it seems on paper.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Where are you looking at the weather? The temperatures I'm seeing don't look like I'd need a winter coat (even though I'll bring one anyways). If anything, the temperature I'm seeing for the marathon is looking a bit too warm.


(I also know there's a 99% change the current forecast is wrong, but I can't help but check)

I've looked at a bunch. weather, accuweather, wunderground. I saw lows in the high 40s for some days, and since I'm the person that is always cold, and I feel like mornings in FL tend to be the damp kind of cold, I'd rather spend $20 on a jacket and not need it than wear my hoodies and still be shivering.


We weren't running (didn't' run, didn't know about rundisney then,) but stayed for the week after Christmas/NY in 2017 when it was in the 30s for 3 or 4 days in a row. And that weather front blew in with about 18 hours notice. It was supposed to be in the 70s.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Where are you looking at the weather? The temperatures I'm seeing don't look like I'd need a winter coat (even though I'll bring one anyways). If anything, the temperature I'm seeing for the marathon is looking a bit too warm.


(I also know there's a 99% change the current forecast is wrong, but I can't help but check)

 

[PrincessV]

We weren't running (didn't' run, didn't know about rundisney then,) but stayed for the week after Christmas/NY in 2017 when it was in the 30s for 3 or 4 days in a row. And that weather front blew in with about 18 hours notice. It was supposed to be in the 70s.

I feel like the 2017 story has faded from the collective memory and needs to be brought up more, because for those of us who lived it, it sure was a learning experience! Even I, a Floridian of 30 years, was caught off guard that year. Wind chills in the 20s are no joke.

 

[jrsharp21]

I don't have exact times but my husband was still at GDT when I passed by and he made it to Epcot on the regular park busses to see me run by France. He could have seen me more in the park and at the finish....but he started riding rides. If it helps with timing I ran a 4:56 out of the front of corral C. If you'd like I can look back at my data and see when I passed by the resort so you'd know what time he was still there.

Sounds like they shouldn't have a problem getting to the finish line from CSR. Looks like even if they wanted to watch me run by CSR and then head to the finish line they should be okay.

 

[Marathongirl30]

Is there a list anywhere of what characters will be on the courses? I would love to plan a little.
Looking forward to my first MW meetup! This is only my second Dopey but looking forward to hearing more war stories from the MW veterans!

 

[GollyGadget]

Where are you looking at the weather? The temperatures I'm seeing don't look like I'd need a winter coat (even though I'll bring one anyways). If anything, the temperature I'm seeing for the marathon is looking a bit too warm.


(I also know there's a 99% change the current forecast is wrong, but I can't help but check)

Florida cold also hits different. It feels way colder thanks to the humidity. My work does training every January outside of Orlando and those mornings are always “freezing” even though it’s a temp that would be very comfortable in the Midwest.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I’m a little late on the less-than-fully-trained topic, but in case it helps anyone, here’s my story from last year, when I did the 10K and marathon…

I had some health issues causing severe joint and soft tissue pain that started ending my long training runs much earlier than planned. I bailed out of several and my longest run wound up being 16 miles in mid-November: after that, I managed a 14 and a 12, but nothing like my previous years’ 18, 20, 22 leading up to the marathon. Between feeling undertrained and still battling the chronic pain, I genuinely did not expect to finish the marathon, and I only started because I was pretty sure I could gut out half of it and feel like I got my money’s worth.

The short version is that I DID finish it! I took extra walk breaks from the beginning, pulled over to stretch as needed, and from around AK to the finish really just pushed through a huge amount of pain. I found that not having a lot of mileage in training was no issue at all with respect to endurance: I could have kept going for many more hours if I needed to. I actually had more energy than in any of my previous 6 marathons!

I’ve since dialed way, way back on my mileage and went into the 3 W&D races “undertrained”, too… and again, had no issues with endurance at all. What I’m realizing is that after years of training for long distances, my body’s got the endurance thing down: piling on a bunch of mileage isn’t necessary to get to the finish. If I was chasing times, things would be different, but I think if you’ve been doing long distances for a while and aren’t injured - or your injury is manageable and isn’t going to be made worse by pushing through - you’re likely to find that being undertrained isn’t as much of a problem as it seems on paper.

Welcome to the dark side....

 

[accm]

I've looked at a bunch. weather, accuweather, wunderground. I saw lows in the high 40s for some days, and since I'm the person that is always cold, and I feel like mornings in FL tend to be the damp kind of cold, I'd rather spend $20 on a jacket and not need it than wear my hoodies and still be shivering.


We weren't running (didn't' run, didn't know about rundisney then,) but stayed for the week after Christmas/NY in 2017 when it was in the 30s for 3 or 4 days in a row. And that weather front blew in with about 18 hours notice. It was supposed to be in the 70s.

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm bringing clothes for all kinds of seasons. I just got hopeful that I might not have to worry about overheating. We went to Disney for Christmas 2010, and my parents I guess didn't check a forecast since we were going to Florida, and Florida = warm. We all froze. So now I always overpack when going to Orlando during the winter.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I feel like the 2017 story has faded from the collective memory and needs to be brought up more, because for those of us who lived it, it sure was a learning experience! Even I, a Floridian of 30 years, was caught off guard that year. Wind chills in the 20s are no joke.

To be fair, that was a very strong El Nino year for weather, and if even 30-year-residents can be caught off-guard, then tourists are forgiven.

But to further explain for anyone that wasn't there....the week leading up was just about perfect. Mid-70s weather for the parks, , etc. And then the bottom dropped out, and Disney closed all of the pools for 4 days (I got some GREAT shots of the Big Blue Pool at AoA with tons of steam and no people. Walmart was completely out of everything long-sleeved/gloves/hats. It went, weather-wise, from being probably the best trip we'd had to almost the worst because we were not packed/prepared for it to be as cold in FL as it was in MI.

I actually had one of my best Disney memories that week when someone in line in the register line in front of me at HS struck up a conversation and she ended up plucking my hat out of my hand and buying it for me me and wishing me a merry christmas. We had handed off some rider-swap tickets to other families that week since our kids all got sick one day and we left the parks SUPER early (that what back when they were paper slips and good to use in the next few days) and it felt like good karma coming back around.

 

[Naomeri]

Is there a list anywhere of what characters will be on the courses? I would love to plan a little.

On rare occasions, the list gets leaked a day or 2 before the race, but mostly it’s a mystery. Sometimes, the faster runners will post some of the characters and locations on the day, and if you’re a back-of-the-pack person, you can get a little preview that way.

 

[2girlsR2good]

Thanks for all the input--I read each reply carefully and then thought through all the details. Decision made and I thought I'd share it here in case any other mostly lurker would find it helpful. We're going to stay at the Drury the whole race time, then move to the Contemporary for our two vacation days after. I mapped the drive and it looks like it's really not hard to do (it says there are tolls). We will practice the day before! The reviews on the Drury are stellar and I love the idea of the extra space, mini-kitchen, great view, and access to Disney Springs when we're not hitting the parks. Between an iron and a microwave, I can make everything I want! The saved $$ will go towards staying on a monorail resort for the last couple of days of recovery

Thank you again all!

 

[Herding_Cats]

Thanks for all the input--I read each reply carefully and then thought through all the details. Decision made and I thought I'd share it here in case any other mostly lurker would find it helpful. We're going to stay at the Drury the whole race time, then move to the Contemporary for our two vacation days after. I mapped the drive and it looks like it's really not hard to do (it says there are tolls). We will practice the day before! The reviews on the Drury are stellar and I love the idea of the extra space, mini-kitchen, great view, and access to Disney Springs when we're not hitting the parks. Between an iron and a microwave, I can make everything I want! The saved $$ will go towards staying on a monorail resort for the last couple of days of recovery

Thank you again all!

If you're flying in and renting a car at MCO, look into the Visitor Toll Pass. Most of the roads/quickest routes to and from MCO are toll roads. We use it every trip, and it only takes about an extra 5min to walk over to A terminal to grab it and then get back over to B side (our flights and therefore luggage are usually in B terminal.) DH grabs our bags while I'm getting the toll pass and then meets me at the rental car counter. And then you just drop the toll pass in what looks like a mailbox when you go back to MCO to fly home.

For anyone who hasn't used VTP:
You need to download the app, and make a "reservation" for when you will pick it up. The hang tags are in what looks like a big vending machine in A terminal, on the same floor as the rental car desks. Sometimes there is an employee there if you need assistance. You should pick a time that you will pick your tag up BEFORE. So as an example, our flight lands at 6:44, and I have a 7:30 pick-up in the app, and if we get delayed, I can edit the pickup time. Apparently if you are "late" for your pickup time, you have to make a whole new "reservation." Once you get to the machine, you scan the QR code, and it drops a hang tag for the mirror of your rental car. You link the license plate to your hang-tag in the app before exiting the garage (plate number and state.)

They charge a $10 deposit to start, and then deduct your actual tolls from that $10, and any tolls past that $10. If you don't return the hang-tag, there's a $10 no-return fee. You're able to just drive directly through all of the sunpass toll locations and it's great and cheaper than what the rental car companies try to charge you. Sometimes it takes about a month for them to refund any difference between the tolls and the deposit, but in the end, you only pay for the tolls and nothing extra.

 

[PrincessV]

Thanks for all the input--I read each reply carefully and then thought through all the details. Decision made and I thought I'd share it here in case any other mostly lurker would find it helpful. We're going to stay at the Drury the whole race time, then move to the Contemporary for our two vacation days after. I mapped the drive and it looks like it's really not hard to do (it says there are tolls). We will practice the day before! The reviews on the Drury are stellar and I love the idea of the extra space, mini-kitchen, great view, and access to Disney Springs when we're not hitting the parks. Between an iron and a microwave, I can make everything I want! The saved $$ will go towards staying on a monorail resort for the last couple of days of recovery

Thank you again all!

I think you’ll be really happy with this plan! FYI there aren’t really any tolls from Disney Springs to EP: the maps say that because normally you have to pay to park at EP - but not for a race.

 

[PrincessV]

2017… I remember the week before, as we were starting to pack, the marathon was looking like it could be HOT and some of us were scrambling to figure out a hot weather variation on costumes. I thought I was packed for both hot and “cold”, but never expected it to drop as much as it did, and actually didn't even own any running clothes suitable for temps in the 30s with wind.

I wound up wearing: thin tights with calf sleeves to cover the open mesh on the bottoms of the legs; old sweatpants over the tights; a thin long sleeve under a thin short sleeve under a thermal mock-turtleneck, under an old fleece jacket; a thin running ballcap with a fleece ear warmer, 2 layers of knit gloves with hand warmers sandwiched between; toe warmers inside my shoes; a cotton buff around my neck. While waiting to start, I also had a blanket tied sarong-style around my legs and a Mylar around my torso. All but my core was numb by the time I started running. ETA: I just looked at pics from that race… I didn’t even own tall socks back then - my bare ankles were exposed! I now own several pairs of crew socks.

I started to warm up in the fist mile and made the critical mistake of ditching both the blanket around my legs and the sweatpants just before we turned onto World Dr., right into the wind. I wasn’t able to feel my legs again until exiting AK! I ditched the fleece jacket and toe warmers in MK, and the thermal mock turtleneck in AK. Every other item of clothing stayed on for the rest of the race and I was pretty much instantly cold after crossing the finish.

Did I learn right away from this? NOPE. I froze again in 2018. But literally ordered real winter running clothes the next morning over breakfast. Every time we have a cold snap and I pull out the good thermal tights and wool running jacket, I think about those races and how much more comfortable I’d have been with real cold weather running clothes!