Marathon Weekend 2018

I thought the half course was great! The 10K was probably my favourite though. I am surprised to see so many people saying they enjoyed the 5K course? We spent the first mile sucking the exhaust from hundreds of idling busses and then had to run so much of the backstage area in the total dark where you couldn’t see anything. It was definitely my least favourite.

Still no castle shots in my Photopass account and no updates or new images in over a day! I will be as patient as possible and give them a full week but will start calling around to try and find them on Monday.
 
Anyone willing to send me pictures from during the 5k? The only one I took during the race that turned out was of mile marker 2. Nothing else did. :sad1: I am putting together a photo book documenting my journey to the completion of my first half. Thanks.
 
My plan is to sign up for Dopey and take the following approach:
5K - 70 percent effort, emphasis on appreciating Epcot ambiance, possibly get video, few character stops
10k - 80+ percent effort, no stops
Half - fun run, whatever effort that entails, stop for whatever characters I want, but not necessarily all
Full - 100 percent, or as close to it as I can after three prior races.

At this point, I’m more focused on the accomplishment of running four straight races and enjoying the half than setting a bunch of PRs. Knowing myself and my overly competitive nature, these goals are definitely subject to change.

I'd flip the half and the full plans. There is so much more to see and do on the full course than the half course - more characters, more rides, more bars, more everything - which makes it a better option for goofing off and having fun. The half is the ideal course for a 100% effort since it's flat, there's not much to see along the way, and it's generally cooler than the full because you're running nearly all of it in the dark.
 


Hrm, at what point do we try following up on missing castle photos? I see on Instagram a lot of people have had theirs since a day after the race. I have mine from the full (which is awful), but really want the one from the half (which is missing...).
 
Wow! So much hate for the Half course that I have to speak up. I love it and it’s my favorite course anywhere! Ramps or not, it’s definitely the flattest half marathon I’ve done, and I’ve been consistently entertained more than anywhere except Disneyland. I’ve run it six times and I’d be happy to do it for the foreseeable future. ::yes::

It is probably the flattest half I have ever done too, but I would much rather run non-stop hills than banked ramps. Of course, like you, I also like the Disneyland Half and most people loath it and and think it should be called the Anaheim Half. To each their own!
 


I'd flip the half and the full plans. There is so much more to see and do on the full course than the half course - more characters, more rides, more bars, more everything - which makes it a better option for goofing off and having fun. The half is the ideal course for a 100% effort since it's flat, there's not much to see along the way, and it's generally cooler than the full because you're running nearly all of it in the dark.

You gonna do the full with me and show me how it’s done?
 
My plan is to sign up for Dopey and take the following approach:
5K - 70 percent effort, emphasis on appreciating Epcot ambiance, possibly get video, few character stops
10k - 80+ percent effort, no stops
Half - fun run, whatever effort that entails, stop for whatever characters I want, but not necessarily all
Full - 100 percent, or as close to it as I can after three prior races.

At this point, I’m more focused on the accomplishment of running four straight races and enjoying the half than setting a bunch of PRs. Knowing myself and my overly competitive nature, these goals are definitely subject to change.
I ran the 5k at 90%, 10k at 90% because of the cold - originally had planned on doing full effort. I wish I had but I started too slow because Iwas worried of bonking. my new training will involve a lot of fast early miles to get passed my starting issues - mostly I was not warmed up, so that was why i was slow. I did the half at around 25% - mostly walked it so i could try to run the full. Full I did close to full effort, but wasn't tired at the end, only quads hurt and slowed my 9min pace which i maintaned for 21 miles. I ended up walking 8 minutes of 4 hours of running!!! but still wish i could have achieved my goal...at least I had a 13 min PR. Quad and stairs is my training plan now
 
@Keels can you let me know if anything is there? i will head over there before we head out if the merchandise is there.

thanks
 
This was my first Run Disney event. I always wanted to do the Dopey Challenge, but only decided to plan this trip back in September, so it was the Goofy Challenge for me. As a Disney obsessed person, I absolutely loved the whole experience!

I once trained and ran a marathon, ending with tibial stress fractures. I've been worried about every little ache and pain since. I've switched to longer trail races and doing my long runs on trails. I've slowed my pace down, running by heart rate instead. What I'm getting at is, this wasn't a race weekend where I was looking for speed, I was just looking to enjoy the whole experience. I did not get proper rest. I did not take it easy in the parks before the races. Knowing that, I just wanted to take it easy and not injure myself for future races. I started in Corral C and never found it to be too congested to run. My legs felt good for the half, and I think I ran faster than I should have, but still not as fast as I could have. I still had the marathon to run the next day. I stopped for whatever character photos I wanted, not worrying about time. Longest I waited was a little over 2 minutes. Many times I found myself having to hold back tears of joy. Running down Main Street, and through Magic Kingdom was all I had hoped it would be. I even enjoyed some of the behind the scenes areas that you normally can't see. The roads in between parks got boring, but it helped to have characters out. During the marathon, I stopped for Woody and Jesse in Magic Kingdom, and I thought to myself, I don't want to run/rush out of here. Listen to that music, take it all in... It was a long way from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom, and as other said, the out and back sucked. I also didn't really enjoy going to ESPN WWoS, but characters helped with that, and I was happy to be out of there. My "moving time" compared to finish time for the half was a difference of 11 minutes, and 23 minutes for the full. The only stopping I did was for characters. Stopping gives your legs time to stiffen up on you. For the marathon I tried to keep my heart rate under 150, but it tended to be higher for the second half. I knew this was going to be my slowest marathon. If I was looking to PR on a half or full, this would not be where I would do it. Again, I just wanted the experience of running through the parks.

According to my watch, by the time I made it to my corral I had already walked almost 1.5 miles! By the end of marathon day I had logged 34 miles. I was exhausted but still spent the rest of the day at Magic Kingdom. I just can't rest in Disney.

Oh, and I went to the expo on Wednesday afternoon and waited in that crazy race merchandise line. Went back on Saturday to exchange something and walked right in. Some things sell out though, especially for Dopey, so I can see the want/need to deal with the lines on Wednesday.

There's my lame attempt at a short race recap. Maybe I'll attempt a trip report...

So I've always wanted to Dopey, but now I think I prefer Goofy. I can't imagine getting up at 2:45 am 4 days in a row!!!
 
First off, I want to thank everyone on this Board for their great advice. :disrocks:
I may not post too much (I am a new runner) but have learned so much from everyone’s experiences.

After last year’s Half that became a Full for me, I was determined to come back to do it again, even if it meant going on my own. Last year’s Full was a blur…I didn’t really enjoy it because I was basically in Survival Mode, I finished but it didn’t feel right. I knew I needed to do it again but which race?? Well, Goofy of course! I needed to run the Half that I was supposed to run and I loved being able to run through all 4 parks so I signed up!

Highlights from the weekend:
  • The HM was awesome despite the cold. I don’t think I stopped smiling the whole time. :)
  • The first half of the Full was great! Stopped for some characters and even rode EE, lost a banana on the way there. Area around WWoS was brutal for me…I was ready to burst into tears… but I got through it with the help of the Character Text Group. I ran Goofy solo so the group was a nice distraction.
  • Stopped in Mexico for a margarita and ran to the finish line with it in hand. I was very careful not to spill any! When I crossed that finish line, I felt such a sense of accomplishment …and exhaustion but so worth it.
  • I was a little nervous about going to DATW the following day as I don’t know anyone but I am glad I did. What a great group of people (even though I like bananas and cilantro). It was a lot of fun and it was too bad that I had to leave early to catch a flight. Next time I will leave the following day! IMG_2471.jpg
Not sure if I will do 2019…depends on other vacation plans but I am definitely in for 2020!
 
Hrm, at what point do we try following up on missing castle photos? I see on Instagram a lot of people have had theirs since a day after the race. I have mine from the full (which is awful), but really want the one from the half (which is missing...).

We are still missing our Oswald pics so I called today and she said they still have thousands to tag. She said call back if not up by next Weds.
 
First off, I want to thank everyone on this Board for their great advice. :disrocks:
I may not post too much (I am a new runner) but have learned so much from everyone’s experiences.

After last year’s Half that became a Full for me, I was determined to come back to do it again, even if it meant going on my own. Last year’s Full was a blur…I didn’t really enjoy it because I was basically in Survival Mode, I finished but it didn’t feel right. I knew I needed to do it again but which race?? Well, Goofy of course! I needed to run the Half that I was supposed to run and I loved being able to run through all 4 parks so I signed up!

Highlights from the weekend:
  • The HM was awesome despite the cold. I don’t think I stopped smiling the whole time. :)
  • The first half of the Full was great! Stopped for some characters and even rode EE, lost a banana on the way there. Area around WWoS was brutal for me…I was ready to burst into tears… but I got through it with the help of the Character Text Group. I ran Goofy solo so the group was a nice distraction.
  • Stopped in Mexico for a margarita and ran to the finish line with it in hand. I was very careful not to spill any! When I crossed that finish line, I felt such a sense of accomplishment …and exhaustion but so worth it.
  • I was a little nervous about going to DATW the following day as I don’t know anyone but I am glad I did. What a great group of people (even though I like bananas and cilantro). It was a lot of fun and it was too bad that I had to leave early to catch a flight. Next time I will leave the following day! View attachment 293793
Not sure if I will do 2019…depends on other vacation plans but I am definitely in for 2020!

In case I didn’t say it enough on Sunday and Monday - I’m SO PROUD of you!!!

Had so much fun with you!!
 
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but one thing that really annoyed me during the marathon was the announcer at about mile 19. He just kept going on about how much it sucks right there in the race, and you're not even close, don't you hate when people tell you you're almost there when you're not? Well I'm here to tell you, you're not almost there, and everything hurts, etc. etc. It really took the wind out of my sails emotionally. Who wants that at that point in the race? I get that he was meaning to be funny but come on. A lot of people are really hurting right there and could use some pumped-up music and encouragement. I'm still thinking about it this many days later and have half a mind to send an email.
 
I’m going to head to the outlet tomorrow if anyone is looking/hoping for leftover merch ... let me know if I need to look for something!

So kind of you! My brother-in-law was looking for one of those dark blue 25th Anniversary Disney Marathon baseball caps. My son got one and my b-i-l liked it when he saw it on Monday. Of course by then the expo was over and none were to be found in Disney Springs. Thanks much!
 
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but one thing that really annoyed me during the marathon was the announcer at about mile 19. He just kept going on about how much it sucks right there in the race, and you're not even close, don't you hate when people tell you you're almost there when you're not? Well I'm here to tell you, you're not almost there, and everything hurts, etc. etc. It really took the wind out of my sails emotionally. Who wants that at that point in the race? I get that he was meaning to be funny but come on. A lot of people are really hurting right there and could use some pumped-up music and encouragement. I'm still thinking about it this many days later and have half a mind to send an email.

I totally agree about that guy! The DJ on the walkway between HS and Epcot kept saying it was mile 24.2 “so there’s only 2 miles left”. I was pretty sure I didn’t see the Mile 24 marker but was excited for the announcement. Sure enough the marker came about a half mile later. If I had the energy I woulda run back and thrown his microphone into the river.
 

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