Marathon Weekend 2018

[IamTrike]

Question about 'throw away' clothing... I know there are often donation bins inside Magic Kingdom to toss extra layers in for donation, however I don't like running in layers. Is this same system in place near the start corrals? I would love to have a jacket on right up until the start but not have to worry about running with it at all.

Yes. I think in the past they have had cardboard bins on the sides of the corrals. Some of them are for trash and some are for clothes that will be donated. If you are going to drop clothes in the corrals please make sure to get them off to the side where people won't trip on them

 

[Anisum]

Sundays are for Disney: is Disney involved in your holidays at all? From Christmas decor, disney Christmas movies, anything Disney and holiday related works.

Just ornaments. I think I have two solo Pluto Ornaments, one of him and Mickey, Three 101 Dalmatians Ornaments, one Mickey solo, one Mickey and Minnie, a Tiana, and two Mickey heads (silver and candy cane).

Question: This is my first race at Disney World and I am doing the Dopey Challenge. (I've done the Pixie Dust Challenge at Disneyland once before.) What time would you recommend I get on a bus for each of the races? I'd like to stretch and have a chance to go to the bathroom before the start, but don't like to be super rushed. Same time for each race?

I'm a big advocate for getting on the first bus which would be 3:30am. I say this for a few reasons, mostly I just want to be able to warm up and use the bathroom if necessary but, the main reason is this, my first time doing a runDisney race was the Princess 2016. runDisney contracts out the bussing to the start line and our bus driver jokingly said "Anyone know where we're going?" when we got on. We all laughed awkwardly because it's 3:30am and we have a race to get to. Turns out it wasn't a joke. This guy had no clue where he was going. As Disney started to close the roads it became increasingly clear we might not make it to the start on time. Luckily we pulled into the transportation center because the guy wanted to ask the cast members there for directions and they said that with road closures we would have to get on the monorail at this point. So we rode the monorail to the start and got to our corrals just as I think it was B was going off.

That being said, this is an unlikely event and if we had left later chances are we would have gotten someone who knew where to go. There are tons of people on the boards who have done more race weekends than me and not had any issue but because of that experience I've always been uncomfortable with waiting for a later bus.

 

[dburg30]

I'm excited to head to WDW next week, but also going to be another year that pretty sure I wont complete the Dopey.. Had some big changes in life, they were mostly good ones, but totally threw off my training schedule on the weekends.. Who am I kidding, threw off my training period.. So I am going to go.. Going to do what I can, and going to enjoy every minute of it. If I ever do another weekend that has a marathon in it, I'll train for it first THEN register if any spots are still available. And yes, I know those are excuses, but it doesnt change where I am..

 

[IamTrike]

I'm a big advocate for getting on the first bus which would be 3:30am. I say this for a few reasons, mostly I just want to be able to warm up and use the bathroom if necessary but, the main reason is this, my first time doing a runDisney race was the Princess 2016. runDisney contracts out the bussing to the start line and our bus driver jokingly said "Anyone know where we're going?" when we got on. We all laughed awkwardly because it's 3:30am and we have a race to get to. Turns out it wasn't a joke. This guy had no clue where he was going. As Disney started to close the roads it became increasingly clear we might not make it to the start on time. Luckily we pulled into the transportation center because the guy wanted to ask the cast members there for directions and they said that with road closures we would have to get on the monorail at this point. So we rode the monorail to the start and got to our corrals just as I think it was B was going off.

Based on the event guide it look the first bus to the 5k and 10K is 3:30 but the first bus/monorail to the half and full is 3:00. There is a change in this years event guide.

In the 2017 Event guide it said you needed to board buses/monorails by 4:30, 4:00,4:00 and 4:00 for the 5K, 10k, half and full. This years event guide bumps that forward saying you need be on a bus by 4:00,4:00,3:30 and 3:30 respectively.

I wonder if they are expecting either a larger turnout than prior years or more difficult time getting to Epcot because of construction somewhere?

 

[funsizedisaster]

I totally agree, people have to be aware of their surroundings for sure!

At races I have been known to pull them out at certain points too. Typically at Disney I have them in at the beginning, take them out at MK, put the back in around cone alley and then the are taken out for good when I get to Epcot (so basically World Drive is my headphone space). I don't need them to run, and I have run without them, I just do better when I have them.

I usually only have one ear bud in for that exact reason. So I can have it loud enough to drown out what I don't want to hear, but still hear important things. I'll put the second one in once the pack starts to spread out and once I'm on a long stretch where there is nothing to see, like World Drive in both directions.

 

[funsizedisaster]

See everyone is watching Orlando weather. The only thing I care about is my local weather and making sure I can get to Orlando! Everything after that is all good.

We have already decided that if the forecast out of the DC area says snow or ice...we're renting a car the night before!

 

[IamTrike]

I usually only have one ear bud in for that exact reason. So I can have it loud enough to drown out what I don't want to hear, but still hear important things. I'll put the second one in once the pack starts to spread out and once I'm on a long stretch where there is nothing to see, like World Drive in both directions.

As an alternative you can have one of your running buddies research a president to provide a history lesson on Bear Island Road. One year we learned about Warren G Harding.

We have already decided that if the forecast out of the DC area says snow or ice...we're renting a car the night before!

That's not too bad of a drive from DC/Nova.

 

[LSUfan4444]

I am of the opinion that being on the bus prior to 4 am is probably the best bet. That extra 30 minutes of sleep won't make a difference either way but like others have said getting on a bus after 4 am could lead to unneeded stress on race morning.

Thats being said I can never find myself able to get on a bus prior to 4 am for one reason or another. I guess I know if I try to leave at 3:45 I'll actually leave at 4 and end up being just fine.

 

[KSellers88]

I'm late, but I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

As for Disney, I only really have ornaments. We have a regular tree and then a "Vacation" tree, so all of the ornaments that we've collected on our travels go on it. The runDisney ornaments go on our regular tree, along with two glass Mickey and Minnie ornaments.

 

[emilyindisney]

I'm excited to head to WDW next week, but also going to be another year that pretty sure I wont complete the Dopey.. Had some big changes in life, they were mostly good ones, but totally threw off my training schedule on the weekends.. Who am I kidding, threw off my training period.. So I am going to go.. Going to do what I can, and going to enjoy every minute of it. If I ever do another weekend that has a marathon in it, I'll train for it first THEN register if any spots are still available. And yes, I know those are excuses, but it doesnt change where I am..

Be safe, cover the miles you can, and have fun!

 

[Dave Rolen]

Bib Placement???????

I normally place my bib on my right thigh. I'm doing Dopey. Anyone see issues with this? Experience?

 

[BikeFan]

That's not too bad of a drive from DC/Nova.

Ugh . . . as someone who's made that drive far too many times, I beg to differ!

But yeah, compared to some treks others have made, it's not too bad, and fortunately, my son and oldest daughter are experienced drivers at this point, so they can share the miles this trip on Monday when we leave. As long as the weather is decent, we'll be OK. It's just a very long time to be sitting in a car!

 

[LSUfan4444]

Bib Placement???????

I normally place my bib on my right thigh. I'm doing Dopey. Anyone see issues with this? Experience?

Safety-pin it to my shirt

 

[camaker]

Bib Placement???????

I normally place my bib on my right thigh. I'm doing Dopey. Anyone see issues with this? Experience?

That's where I've gone to attaching my bib. Had no issues with it during DLH weekend or any of my local races. My shirts are nicer than the shorts I wear over my compressions, so I like not putting pin holes into them.

 

[croach]

Bib Placement???????

I normally place my bib on my right thigh. I'm doing Dopey. Anyone see issues with this? Experience?

Unless I have tights on, I always put my bib on my shorts. The only problem you may have is if you’re into your race photos, it can sometimes make it harder for the number to be identified.

 

[LSUfan4444]

In lieu of pinning a bib to your shorts I'd suggest a race belt (normally worn in triathlon). The bibs can be quite large and pinning it to one leg could present a challenge for some of your race photos.

 

[funsizedisaster]

Ugh . . . as someone who's made that drive far too many times, I beg to differ!

But yeah, compared to some treks others have made, it's not too bad, and fortunately, my son and oldest daughter are experienced drivers at this point, so they can share the miles this trip on Monday when we leave. As long as the weather is decent, we'll be OK. It's just a very long time to be sitting in a car!

It's not the drive down....it's that drive back AFTER. A few years ago, my BF and I drove down and I ran the Goofy. We drove back immediately following the marathon. At the time, I had a stick shift Scion. Needlesstosay...I did ZERO of the actual driving back. We drove down since we were flying to CA for the LS race weekend the following weekend.

It looks like the forecast should be okay for flying out on Wednesday!!! It will be COLD (19 degrees or something crazy) Tuesday night...but no snow in the forecast as of right this second!

 

[BikeFan]

That's where I've gone to attaching my bib. Had no issues with it during DLH weekend or any of my local races. My shirts are nicer than the shorts I wear over my compressions, so I like not putting pin holes into them.

I own a set of racedots (www.racedots.com) and love them so much I've bought several other sets for family members. If you race fairly frequently, they're worth the price to save your shirts and other clothing.

 

[bananabean]

Bib Placement???????

I normally place my bib on my right thigh. I'm doing Dopey. Anyone see issues with this? Experience?

I did this for W&D. I didn't really have issues until I sat down in the car after the race and it ripped a tiny hole in my leggings. Not really an issue for me since I already had a hole in the other side (it's all about balance).

 

[kski907]

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I have loved reading about all the disney decorators out there. We too had a disney decorated tree, which we are now in the process of packing up in prep for up coming travel to FL. Wishing everyone smooth and safe travels down and look forward to sharing the courses with you all.