Marathon Weekend 2023

[Zutroy]

Really?

@Dopey 2020, did you say you made 3rd place in age group but didn't receive anything for Wine/Dine... Or did you just miss 3rd place?

The didn’t have any age groups awards for Princess last year. I came in 2nd for the 10k and 3rd in the half for my group and got nothing. Prior to Covid they would mail you a plaque, which I got for the 2019 Wine and Dine. Per the website they only award top 3 overall now.

 

[The Expert]

Finished my second Dopey and third marathon today. It was definitely the most enjoyable. I'm sure the weather contributed as I certainly didn't train my best for this one. I was late to the meetup thanks to a delayed Epcot monorail at TTC but it was great to see the big group there for marathon day! I went out to the corral early out of paranoia and I'm glad I did, since I was in B and it sounds like some later arrivals had trouble getting up there. I was glad to see they moved the last part of the walk-out for A/B to the pavement instead of the wet grass we had to navigate yesterday.

I started with intervals right from the beginning and stuck to them aside from a little extra walking up hill and running down hill. I was well and done with my extra layers and wig from my Disgust costume by the time I hit MK, so after a quick castle selfie I ducked into the Tomorrowland Terrace bathroom and changed. I'm sure it looked funny to see a pile of clothes and hair on the floor! I was going to try and keep the wig, but the belt of my Joy/Mickey had stretched out a bit and I couldn't just tuck it in back for DH to pick it up at GF as I'd planned, so I ditched it all in the bathroom trash except the Minnie bow that I clipped to my back. It's just as well as he was delayed and just missed me at GF, so I'd have had to ditch it anyway.

Shortly after, @Herding_Cats caught up with me and we ran the rest of the race together, keeping up the intervals. We did switch from 45/30 to 30/45 coming out of AK when we realized we had a good 25 minute buffer on the 7 hour pace group. We were so excited to still be able to run by the end, even though various body parts were complaining. SO grateful for us having connected last year and realizing we're super compatible run besties! I can't imagine doing another Disney marathon without her.



It did warm up when the sun came up, but with the cloud cover I wasn't really hot until about Boardwalk. I was grateful for the multiple opportunities for ice and the sponges for us back-of-the-pack folks! Even though it wasn't nearly as bad as the first two marathons I've done, those were needed. That section back stage at Epcot from Test Track to the choir is murder in the blazing sun!

There really weren't any must-do characters today so I only stopped for a few toward the end that had super short or no lines. And we took a few selfies. FAR fewer bathroom stops this year (I seriously think we did 8+ last year), but I also felt hydrated and properly fueled, so I think we had our needs figured out better this time.

After finally doing all the meetups last year and feeling like I didn't really know anyone, I committed myself to engage and pay attention on the board this past year. I followed (and started) Training Journals, took note of usernames and followed threads pretty religiously, and it really paid off. I felt like I was meeting old friends and have been super comfortable just hanging out. I am very much looking forward to DATW tomorrow! (BTW what time does that start again? -- so much for paying attention LOL)

 

[Herding_Cats]

Congrats to everyone who ran this weekend! It has been fun lurking and reading about all your accomplishemnts!

I see a lot of first time marathoners and Dopeys…. How was that? What was your fitness level a year ago? Asking for a friend…. Okay…. Me.

I went from 0ish (I had other fitness as a base to work from) to marathon (ok 2 marathons if you stretch the time window a little longer) in about a year. Definitely one of those things where you need to manage your expectations and build up appropriately so you don’t get injured going too much too soon.

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

I looking forward to datw too. I have 11 at mexico cart?

 

[jpeterson]

Congrats to everyone who ran this weekend! It has been fun lurking and reading about all your accomplishemnts!

I see a lot of first time marathoners and Dopeys…. How was that? What was your fitness level a year ago? Asking for a friend…. Okay…. Me.

Last year at this time I did my very first 10K. I just completed my first Dopey.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Yeah everyone!!!
1st goal: completed my first marathon!!
2nd goal meet characters: check!! Met a few daisy, a guy who i have no idea, scourge,
darkwing, timone, daisy, snake, I think that is it... it is a blur..
3rd goal: castle pic! (Still waiting to see it in photopass)
4th goal: end with a margarita, mom got the margitita of me in Mexico!

Some surprises...
1st: i feel like bathroom lines were crazy, are they always this bad? I feel like princess 2022 did not have this many long bathroom lines all the time. So jealous of u guys with your short lines..the bathroom lines cuts soo much into my time and of course after I had my son I have to pee soo much more.
2nd: pacing groups are fun I was with 6 hour group for a while but... they do not slow down in the food and drink area... I almost choked a few times.. and when I had to go the bathroom I lost them.
3rd: My garmin decided that I had an emergency when I went to the bathroom, I think I hit the watch on door. So guess what happens... it stops your run!? So I do not have a garmin marathon award I have 2 runs that equal over 26.2 bah....
4th Blizzard sucks... guess not a surprise just wanted to say it,lol.

I am soo happy!!! I am soo happy I can call my a self a marathoner. I cried happy tears a few times. I am a marathoner!!!!

 

[lookingforsunshine]

PROOF

What a special picture. I’m so glad you got that moment.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

My two fav pics so far...(pics slowly coming in)
Ending with a margarita and then..snake!
How many races do u get to pet a snake in the middle of the run?! I had too do it.

 

[GreatLakes]

Hi all!
Congrats to all runners no matter the mileage! Every mile is magical! Anyone know how or who to contact for pics not showing up on Disney photo pass. The only shot I wanted ( and stopped for) was the castle that hasn't appeared yet. Got my finish line (one shot) and a few from throughout the run, but castle is still missing.

I still had pictures showing up a few days after the race last year so give it time.

Great job everyone. I ended up testing positive for COVID on 1/5 so had I been scheduled to do this weekend I would have had to miss.

 

[kristenabelle]

Congrats to everyone who ran this weekend! It has been fun lurking and reading about all your accomplishemnts!

I see a lot of first time marathoners and Dopeys…. How was that? What was your fitness level a year ago? Asking for a friend…. Okay…. Me.

I’ve done three Disney challenges (10K/halfs) and four half marathons besides those. I figured if I was going to do a full anywhere it’d be WDW, and at that point why not add the rest? I trained for a year knowing I wanted to go for dopey, used the Galloway plan and extended the front of it. I also do peloton so my fitness level is generally good, but I’m not fast, and I also am not great at holistic fitness to be frank (nutrition, conditioning, all that).

 

[DianaMB333]

Congrats to all the runners!! Well done

So, 2024… would you sign up for a Dopey at WDW and HM at Disneyland? sounds like a tall order

 

[ckb_nc]

Congrats to all the runners!! Well done

So, 2024… would you sign up for a Dopey at WDW and HM at Disneyland? sounds like a tall order

You could run 7 races in 10 days on 2 coasts...and I am sure someone will do it.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Have a lot of regret about not being able to get out there today. A lot of memories came flooding back about crossing the Marathon finish line. For me, it’s just a different feeling and I’m not sure I had really processed how much I missed it the last few years. I’m not sure when, I’ve got a lot of work to do, but I will get there again.

Congrats to everyone who got that feeling today. It has been fun reading all the recaps and getting just a tiny taste of that joy.

 

[flav]

You could run 7 races in 10 days on 2 coasts...and I am sure someone will do it.

If I was “winning” these trips, I would gladly run them all, slowly but surely.

 

[Z-Knight]

You could run 7 races in 10 days on 2 coasts...and I am sure someone will do it.

I've done it before. But only 6 races, didn't do the 5k is Disneyland . Got 10 medals,it was awesome

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Congrats to all the runners!! Well done

So, 2024… would you sign up for a Dopey at WDW and HM at Disneyland? sounds like a tall order

I am going to try HM at Disneyland. Then the next year try for dopey.

 

[andrea0407]

Still very much on cloud 9 after finishing my first marathon yesterday! I was able to complete my three race goals: 1) finish, 2) ride Everest, and 3)… I wanted a glass of champagne in France, but by the time I got there, I felt like I just had to get to the finish line. Luckily, there were kind spectators handing out beers in Germany, so I got to check having a drink during the race off my list too!

Thank you to everyone for all of their kindness on these boards! This race was an amazing experience, and I am so grateful I got to share it with all of you.

 

[Cabius]

Anybody else incredibly sore today??

 

[steph0808]

Anybody else incredibly sore today??

That delayed onset muscle soreness is a killer!

I had a question about finishing Dopey - I didn't realize they didn't check anything at the finish line. I always thought the "challenge medal" tent was staffed with volunteers verifying that you had completed all the races before giving you the medals. But that isn't the case! So, if I wanted to be a cheat and a liar and just get the medals, I could have only run the marathon and got the goofy, Dopey, and marathon medals?

I am sure they verify all races are complete for perfects, but I had just thought that they did it for everyone at that moment. I was worried before the first timing mat that I hadn't gotten a notification that I crossed the start line - I was prepared to show my watch and argue for my Dopey medal if need be!

 

[HangWithMerida]

@Stitch&Co. For nutrition I had coffee, a Kodiak oatmeal cup and banana for breakfast, honey stinger waffle just before the start then a combo of gels every 3.5 miles. I used maurten for the points where I wasn't getting water soon, 1 Muir slow burning and a few of the on course beans after 2 hours (mile 14 fuel point) and the rest gu. I grabbed the chocolate and sucked on those through HS but left the bananas. If I were mostly walking I could handle a banana, but not if I'm running. Oh, and I took a few salt chews on the back half of the course once the sun came up. Only drank water as I hate Powerade/Gatorade. This was good for me. Had a little snack from the box (pretzels) and brought the powder for a recovery shake in my gear check that I added water to. That held me until I got back to the room for real food.
Compared to some, I fuel a lot. I get hypoglycemic and fueling often and regularly is necessary. When I first started running longer distances I didn't fuel as much and felt it. Every time I increased my fueling it made me feel better. I think mixing up the gels helps me not get burned out on any particular one and throwing the Muir in the middle gives my stomach something "real" that is still easy to digest.