Marathon Weekend 2022

[GuinnessRunner]

The stretch of course through the AK parking lot and down the highway to WWoS was just as bad as the AK-BB stretch and, if anything, even more exposed to the baking sun.

I 100% agree. Because these two desolate stretches of the old course and new course are equally as bad, what nudges me toward preferring the new course is hitting MK, AK, etc. later in the race. Early on I have enough energy that I don't need as much distraction. I like knowing that once I get through MK, I am already close to the half-way point (at least in terms of mileage). Packing 2.5 parks (can't count HS as a full park given we only get about 10 feet in there) in that back half is better from my perspective.

 

[PeppercornElvis]

Also, was the stretch from Animal Kingdom to Blizzard Beach to Hollywood Studios as desolate and depressing as I remember it being?

Here are two of the things I told my girlfriend just after finishing the marathon:

1. Yup, Western Way and Blizzard Beach. Just as terrible as I remembered!

2. Hey, remember that time in January of 2022 when I got us park passes for Epcot so we could go AFTER the marathon???

(Epcot, of course, did not happen. Instead, we went back to Pop Century, I got in the pool, I ate 3 slices of a Giordano's pizza, then I didn't move for the rest of the day!)

 

[PrincessV]

It was 41* with a Feels Like of 37* here in west-central FL this morning... I MUCH preferred the marathon's weather to this, lol! I still can't feel my fingers...

I remain COVID-free: two negative tests - one Monday after the marathon, and one this past Sat. - and no symptoms. I drove everywhere I went; wore N95/KN95 masks indoors and out while in public, including almost all of the 5K and 10K, much of the half, and the first 5ish miles of the full plus through water stops and any other congested bits; only ate in public outdoors; washed my hands before eating or otherwise touching my face; only indoor ride/show was TOT the Tues after the marathon. I'll say that I also did what I could to avoid being near others during the races, including logging a lot more distance by NOT running tangents - whether that helped or not is up for grabs. I did socialize with a select, small group of friends who follow similar safety protocols - masked in parks, but unmasked when we ate together outdoors... none of us has come up positive or symptomatic. We may have just gotten lucky, but I certainly think all of the steps we took helped reduce our chances and lowered any potential viral load.

 

[Cabius]

Checking in VERY late as we just got back from WDW yesterday!

My goal was to finish "just" my first marathon, and I did finish it!! Unfortunately, my tendonitis started flaring up only a few miles into the race.

I made good time (for me), averaging <13 min/mile through the first 12 miles. But by mile 15 I was running with a painful limp, and by mile 20 I had to drop back to walking for the remainder of the distance. I may have sobbed for a stretch between DHS and the Boardwalk. The woman with the Ted Lasso "BELIEVE" sign set me off, and, well, I was tired.

I was very grateful to finish the race with @marty3d from this forum, who I met just before the race. Mostly, I was very grateful to get across the finish line!

My wife has encouraged me to drop back to half-marathon distances in the future -- my right foot was really terribly swollen for days, and still hurt even now -- but I'd like to figure out what adjustments I can make to keep going. We'll see what my podiatrist says.

Many thanks to everybody on these forums who has shared advice, laughs, and provided a sense of community to an often solitary endeavor. I'm not sure I'd have made it to the starting line, let alone the finish line, without this group. Mahalo!

See you, for one race or another, next January!

 

[marty3d]

Checking in VERY late as we just got back from WDW yesterday!

My goal was to finish "just" my first marathon, and I did finish it!! Unfortunately, my tendonitis started flaring up only a few miles into the race.

I made good time (for me), averaging <13 min/mile through the first 12 miles. But by mile 15 I was running with a painful limp, and by mile 20 I had to drop back to walking for the remainder of the distance. I may have sobbed for a stretch between DHS and the Boardwalk. The woman with the Ted Lasso "BELIEVE" sign set me off, and, well, I was tired.

I was very grateful to finish the race with @marty3d from this forum, who I met just before the race. Mostly, I was very grateful to get across the finish line!

My wife has encouraged me to drop back to half-marathon distances in the future -- my right foot was really terribly swollen for days, and still hurt even now -- but I'd like to figure out what adjustments I can make to keep going. We'll see what my podiatrist says.

Many thanks to everybody on these forums who has shared advice, laughs, and provided a sense of community to an often solitary endeavor. I'm not sure I'd have made it to the starting line, let alone the finish line, without this group. Mahalo!

See you, for one race or another, next January!

It was great to get to meet you and finish the race with you! as you know I was pretty close to dead by then too and having someone to talk to for that last stretch made it much easier So thank you!

Looking forward to seeing you at “one race or another” in the future!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

So I'm late in checking in. I had a great time at Marathon Weekend, but this one also felt different. I think all the continuing pandemic related professional stress knowing that I'm right back in it now that I'm back home weighed me down. I kept saying to myself "This Will All Make Sense When I am Older" which made me laugh and brighten my mood.

Random observations. My sister had a work meeting in the afternoon, so we decided to hit the Expo first thing in the morning. This meant that we were able to get just about everything we wanted. The only thing I didn't see was a Dopey I did it pin which I may have missed. The spirit jerseys were almost sold out entirely by the time we got into the Expo floor around 10:30 or 11:00am. Neither of us wanted one, so not a big deal for us. I did see a mouse ear race weekend ornament, but no shoe ornaments this year. Given that I was not expecting much because of the supply chain issues I can't complain.

I finally broke my rule of early bedtime before a race. The posted 115 minute wait for Rise of the Resistance around 5:00pm turned out to be a 50 minute wait, so I got right back in that line two more times on Wednesday. I did make it to bed by 11:00pm before the 5K. No regrets. Random note: I achieved my step goal for the day in the Millennium Falcon so it was fun to see my Star Wars Garmin give me that notice inside the Falcon.

In the last corral, I think the character lines that mildly interested me were closed already. No big deal. This also means that I easily have my fastest runDisney 5K ever. I don't remember the time though. My plan for Dopey is too always take the 5K super easy, the 10K pretty easy, the half easy enough to finish, and save everything for the marathon.

I enjoyed the parks, but definitely did not have any sort of plan or agenda for this trip. In hindsight I think that was a mistake. I just kind of wandered and didn't do a lot of rides. Crowds also played a part and I didn't feel like springing for Genie+. Even if I don't do Genie+ I think I need a plan next time.

A lot is a blur right now. I did some character photos during the 10K though so that was nice.

My favorite part of the half was seeing the sunrise over Cinderella Castle as I entered the Magic Kingdom. Absolutely beautiful. It was special to be among the first runners to experience Main Street again after everything we've all been through to varying degrees. I also rather enjoyed singing along for the entire Elvis mile during the half. I loved that.

The full went great. Instead of my usual pace by feel, I actually tried intervals for the marathon. I used 80/30 run walk split. It felt just enough on race day. I also appreciated that split because between my character stops and such I got caught up in the 6:45 pacing group a few times. Course congestion made it impossible to break away from them at some points especially in Animal Kingdom, so I once I finally pulled out ahead of them my different split enabled me to stay ahead of them for the rest of the race. So that was good. I didn't really hit the wall until maybe mile 24 or so. At which point I just kept my intervals and powered through. Finish time was under 6 hours and 49 minutes, which chopped off 10 minutes or so off my 2019 official PR. I have no idea what 2020 would have been with the course cut short. So a PR and I'm happy. There were moments during the full when I wondered if 3 marathons was enough, but those thoughts have mostly subsided.

I couldn't stay long at DATW, but it was nice to catch up with people for a few minutes. I hope to spend more time with you wonderful folks next time. Speaking of which, I will miss @lhermiston but I guess I'll need to follow his adventures on Twitter.

All in all, it was a memorable weekend with many moments that I will never forget. I'm a huge proponent of wearing medal(s) to the parks after the races and this time was no different. Some great character moments with the medals even at a distance.

Right now I'm hoping to be back for next year. With an anniversary for the full and Dopey, that's tempting. But if I'm being honest, I've also given thought to dropping down to Goofy and adding the first 2 days of a Dopey trip onto the back end so I can enjoy WDW more after the race. We shall see.

Congratulations to anyone who toed the line at marathon weekend and to any finishers of their first race whatever the distance. You worked hard for the moment. And to anyone who fought through difficult times either in training or during the races, I'm proud of you too. And for those who made the difficult decision to cut a race or races short or drop out to preserve health and/or prevent injury, I'm especially proud of you too. Sometimes choosing to fight another day is truly the best course of action even if it's a heartbreaking one.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

So I'm late in checking in. I had a great time at Marathon Weekend, but this one also felt different. I think all the continuing pandemic related professional stress knowing that I'm right back in it now that I'm back home weighed me down. I kept saying to myself "This Will All Make Sense When I am Older" which made me laugh and brighten my mood.

Random observations. My sister had a work meeting in the afternoon, so we decided to hit the Expo first thing in the morning. This meant that we were able to get just about everything we wanted. The only thing I didn't see was a Dopey I did it pin which I may have missed. The spirit jerseys were almost sold out entirely by the time we got into the Expo floor around 10:30 or 11:00am. Neither of us wanted one, so not a big deal for us. I did see a mouse ear race weekend ornament, but no shoe ornaments this year. Given that I was not expecting much because of the supply chain issues I can't complain.

I finally broke my rule of early bedtime before a race. The posted 115 minute wait for Rise of the Resistance around 5:00pm turned out to be a 50 minute wait, so I got right back in that line two more times on Wednesday. I did make it to bed by 11:00pm before the 5K. No regrets. Random note: I achieved my step goal for the day in the Millennium Falcon so it was fun to see my Star Wars Garmin give me that notice inside the Falcon.

In the last corral, I think the character lines that mildly interested me were closed already. No big deal. This also means that I easily have my fastest runDisney 5K ever. I don't remember the time though. My plan for Dopey is too always take the 5K super easy, the 10K pretty easy, the half easy enough to finish, and save everything for the marathon.

I enjoyed the parks, but definitely did not have any sort of plan or agenda for this trip. In hindsight I think that was a mistake. I just kind of wandered and didn't do a lot of rides. Crowds also played a part and I didn't feel like springing for Genie+. Even if I don't do Genie+ I think I need a plan next time.

A lot is a blur right now. I did some character photos during the 10K though so that was nice.

My favorite part of the half was seeing the sunrise over Cinderella Castle as I entered the Magic Kingdom. Absolutely beautiful. It was special to be among the first runners to experience Main Street again after everything we've all been through to varying degrees. I also rather enjoyed singing along for the entire Elvis mile during the half. I loved that.

The full went great. Instead of my usual pace by feel, I actually tried intervals for the marathon. I used 80/30 run walk split. It felt just enough on race day. I also appreciated that split because between my character stops and such I got caught up in the 6:45 pacing group a few times. Course congestion made it impossible to break away from them at some points especially in Animal Kingdom, so I once I finally pulled out ahead of them my different split enabled me to stay ahead of them for the rest of the race. So that was good. I didn't really hit the wall until maybe mile 24 or so. At which point I just kept my intervals and powered through. Finish time was under 6 hours and 49 minutes, which chopped off 10 minutes or so off my 2019 official PR. I have no idea what 2020 would have been with the course cut short. So a PR and I'm happy. There were moments during the full when I wondered if 3 marathons was enough, but those thoughts have mostly subsided.

I couldn't stay long at DATW, but it was nice to catch up with people for a few minutes. I hope to spend more time with you wonderful folks next time. Speaking of which, I will miss @lhermiston but I guess I'll need to follow his adventures on Twitter.

All in all, it was a memorable weekend with many moments that I will never forget. I'm a huge proponent of wearing medal(s) to the parks after the races and this time was no different. Some great character moments with the medals even at a distance.

Right now I'm hoping to be back for next year. With an anniversary for the full and Dopey, that's tempting. But if I'm being honest, I've also given thought to dropping down to Goofy and adding the first 2 days of a Dopey trip onto the back end so I can enjoy WDW more after the race. We shall see.

Congratulations to anyone who toed the line at marathon weekend and to any finishers of their first race whatever the distance. You worked hard for the moment. And to anyone who fought through difficult times either in training or during the races, I'm proud of you too. And for those who made the difficult decision to cut a race or races short or drop out to preserve health and/or prevent injury, I'm especially proud of you too. Sometimes choosing to fight another day is truly the best course of action even if it's a heartbreaking one.

I seemed to have also been around the 6:45 pace group a lot, so you were probably near me. If you saw a bright orange Disney Running shirt with a guy singing Hakuna Matada (when the course music was playing it), that was me.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

I seemed to have also been around the 6:45 pace group a lot, so you were probably near me.

We were all probably near each other!!! I was around there too.

 

[The Expert]

We were all probably near each other!!! I was around there too.

Yep, @Herding_Cats and I ran with that group for a bit between MK and AK. Our intervals were conflicting, so we decided to just join them down Bear Island Road and the back roads around AK. We lost them when we made a bathroom stop inside the park.

 

[PeppercornElvis]

I also rather enjoyed singing along for the entire Elvis mile during the half. I loved that.

I loved that too! We always stay at Pop Century in the 50s/60s section so we can hear the Elvis music, so hearing it along the course was awesome! (We are children of the 80s but Pop Century turned us into Elvis fans!)

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

My elder son was very young when Lilo and Stitch came out and grew up with it and all the Elvis songs in the soundtrack. So he isn't necessarily the Elvis fan that his dad is, but he can readily identify Elvis music and likes it.
Golf clap to Disney for making an Elvis-centric cartoon.

Now if they could only do one that centers on other classic groups like the Rolling Stones or ELO...

(Side note, besides being very entertaining movies, I love Guardians of the Galaxy for their great soundtracks. Fox on the Run was one of the few songs I wasn't familiar with, but it is now stored in my running playlist. The dinosaur ride at Epcot is being replaced with a giant indoor roller coaster based on GotG, and is supposed to open this summer. I can't wait.)

 

[camaker]

Now if they could only do one that centers on other classic groups like the Rolling Stones or ELO...

I know it's not running-related, but The Orchestra (non-Jeff Lynne ELO members) is a regular at the Garden Rocks concert series. They're a lot of fun to catch in concert there. Garden Rocks has some great concerts for oldies fans, in general, too. I've managed to catch The Guess Who, Little River Band and Starship there, too. Alan Parsons Project was even there one year. Always a really fun show!

 

[sandam1]

After reflecting on this year's trip (and, who am I kidding, in preparation for some runDisney event next year) I have a few follow-up questions:

- I'm looking for some packing tips and tricks for runDisney events, particularly multi-day events like Dopey. I wound up packing everything and the kitchen sink in my luggage, a lot of it I didn't use but was brought "just in case." On the way down (flying Southwest), I checked one bag and had a rolling carry-on with most of my important running gear plus one handheld "personal item" where I put the things I wanted accessible on the plane and my primary running sneakers (which I was taking NO chances with). On the way home, I checked my second bag (since I no longer cared much if it got lost), but with everything that I bought, my bags were full to bursting. How does everyone else do it? Do I check two larger bags, give up the carry-on bag, put the minimum in my personal item, and cross my fingers? Two wheeled bags and a personal item is the max that is to feasible get to the rental car and to the hotel room by myself.

- Did anyone use rideshare to/from the races this year, particularly when staying off-site? How did it work out for you? We had a rental car and it worked out well, but I wound up paying a bunch in the rental and parking fees for a car that sat in the hotel parking lot other than when we needed it for the races. I've always been wary of being able to get a ride that early in the morning, but the volume of cars in the turn-off for rideshare when entering the Epcot parking lot got me thinking maybe it would be an option for next year. We usually stay at Universal.

I also have a question about travel insurance for runDisney events, but I'm going to post that as its own thread since it is a more general question.

 

[NewYKRunner]

After reflecting on this year's trip (and, who am I kidding, in preparation for some runDisney event next year) I have a few follow-up questions:

- I'm looking for some packing tips and tricks for runDisney events, particularly multi-day events like Dopey. I wound up packing everything and the kitchen sink in my luggage, a lot of it I didn't use but was brought "just in case." On the way down (flying Southwest), I checked one bag and had a rolling carry-on with most of my important running gear plus one handheld "personal item" where I put the things I wanted accessible on the plane and my primary running sneakers (which I was taking NO chances with). On the way home, I checked my second bag (since I no longer cared much if it got lost), but with everything that I bought, my bags were full to bursting. How does everyone else do it? Do I check two larger bags, give up the carry-on bag, put the minimum in my personal item, and cross my fingers? Two wheeled bags and a personal item is the max that is to feasible get to the rental car and to the hotel room by myself.

- Did anyone use rideshare to/from the races this year, particularly when staying off-site? How did it work out for you? We had a rental car and it worked out well, but I wound up paying a bunch in the rental and parking fees for a car that sat in the hotel parking lot other than when we needed it for the races. I've always been wary of being able to get a ride that early in the morning, but the volume of cars in the turn-off for rideshare when entering the Epcot parking lot got me thinking maybe it would be an option for next year. We usually stay at Universal.

I also have a question about travel insurance for runDisney events, but I'm going to post that as its own thread since it is a more general question.

I did similar to you, brought my priority running stuff as carry-on. We are a family of 4 so our bags burst upon return. My wife and friend used ride sharing for Dopey 2020 and it mostly worked well except for one day where the ride share stated he would be late. By chance they found some other runners in our hotel and caught a ride with them and cancelled the Uber and got charged the cancellation fee. Our hotel doesn't charge for parking so that wasn't an issue. We stayed just outside of Disney and if we go back will look at staying at or around Universal.

 

[jrsharp21]

- I'm looking for some packing tips and tricks for runDisney events, particularly multi-day events like Dopey. I wound up packing everything and the kitchen sink in my luggage, a lot of it I didn't use but was brought "just in case." On the way down (flying Southwest), I checked one bag and had a rolling carry-on with most of my important running gear plus one handheld "personal item" where I put the things I wanted accessible on the plane and my primary running sneakers (which I was taking NO chances with). On the way home, I checked my second bag (since I no longer cared much if it got lost), but with everything that I bought, my bags were full to bursting. How does everyone else do it? Do I check two larger bags, give up the carry-on bag, put the minimum in my personal item, and cross my fingers? Two wheeled bags and a personal item is the max that is to feasible get to the rental car and to the hotel room by myself.

I used packing cubes for the first time ever on this past trip for MW. I was pleasantly surprised in the amount of stuff I could fit in them and how much room I had left over in my suitcase and carry on. I used one cube to pack all my running gear for the Dopey and put that in my carry on along with my shoes. All other clothes went into the suitcase. Because I had so much room, I way overpacked. LOL.

 

[PeppercornElvis]

(Side note, besides being very entertaining movies, I love Guardians of the Galaxy for their great soundtracks. Fox on the Run was one of the few songs I wasn't familiar with, but it is now stored in my running playlist. The dinosaur ride at Epcot is being replaced with a giant indoor roller coaster based on GotG, and is supposed to open this summer. I can't wait.)

I discovered Mr. Blue Sky in GofG2 and it earned a permanent place on my half marathon playlist. The cadence is just right for me, to the point I have to be careful and not overdo it for that 5 minutes and 4 seconds!

 

[Herding_Cats]

After reflecting on this year's trip (and, who am I kidding, in preparation for some runDisney event next year) I have a few follow-up questions:

- I'm looking for some packing tips and tricks for runDisney events, particularly multi-day events like Dopey. I wound up packing everything and the kitchen sink in my luggage, a lot of it I didn't use but was brought "just in case." On the way down (flying Southwest), I checked one bag and had a rolling carry-on with most of my important running gear plus one handheld "personal item" where I put the things I wanted accessible on the plane and my primary running sneakers (which I was taking NO chances with). On the way home, I checked my second bag (since I no longer cared much if it got lost), but with everything that I bought, my bags were full to bursting. How does everyone else do it? Do I check two larger bags, give up the carry-on bag, put the minimum in my personal item, and cross my fingers? Two wheeled bags and a personal item is the max that is to feasible get to the rental car and to the hotel room by myself.

I am an over-packer. We probably looked absolutely ridiculous at the airport because we had: myself, DH, DD(2yo), her stroller (gate checked) and carseat, 3 backpacks, and 3 carry-on rolling suitcases. And we checked 2 suitcases. DD was in a carrier on my back, backpack on my front, pushing one suitcase and pulling another. And DH had everything else piled up in the stroller, plus wore a backpack and pulled a suitcase. We had so.much.stuff. One thing that helped us fit as much as possible for this trip (and this is because we knew we would have a lot more stuff when we came home) was ziploc space bags. They make a "travel size" and those fit almost perfectly in our carry-ons. If I were going again, solo (with DH and DD going there were lots of backpacks/carryons/suitcases to fit things) I would definitely pack my cold weather layers in a space bag to smoosh down as much as possible. And then I would probably pack "by day" into more space bags based on the weather forecast when I left. If you're running something like Dopey, it's hard because you need so many shoes and if you're costuming on top of it, it's just going to be a lot and that's OK.

Also remember that there are washers/dryers at all of the resorts if you're staying on-site. And some of the off-site hotels have them also. So no need to pack 4 pairs of pants when you can just wash 2 pairs and wear them again, etc. But that's the mom in me saying that. Pants and jackets/hoodies take up lots of space. Tank tops do not.

ALSO consider "nesting" a 2nd suitcase inside your largest one if you KNOW you'll have way more stuff coming back and that you WILL need a 2nd checked bag. If you're flying southwest, it won't matter much, but if you're paying for a checked bag it'll save you $30 or so and be more manageable on the first leg of your trip.

 

[GreatLakes]

After reflecting on this year's trip (and, who am I kidding, in preparation for some runDisney event next year) I have a few follow-up questions:

- I'm looking for some packing tips and tricks for runDisney events, particularly multi-day events like Dopey. I wound up packing everything and the kitchen sink in my luggage, a lot of it I didn't use but was brought "just in case." On the way down (flying Southwest), I checked one bag and had a rolling carry-on with most of my important running gear plus one handheld "personal item" where I put the things I wanted accessible on the plane and my primary running sneakers (which I was taking NO chances with). On the way home, I checked my second bag (since I no longer cared much if it got lost), but with everything that I bought, my bags were full to bursting. How does everyone else do it? Do I check two larger bags, give up the carry-on bag, put the minimum in my personal item, and cross my fingers? Two wheeled bags and a personal item is the max that is to feasible get to the rental car and to the hotel room by myself.

- Did anyone use rideshare to/from the races this year, particularly when staying off-site? How did it work out for you? We had a rental car and it worked out well, but I wound up paying a bunch in the rental and parking fees for a car that sat in the hotel parking lot other than when we needed it for the races. I've always been wary of being able to get a ride that early in the morning, but the volume of cars in the turn-off for rideshare when entering the Epcot parking lot got me thinking maybe it would be an option for next year. We usually stay at Universal.

I also have a question about travel insurance for runDisney events, but I'm going to post that as its own thread since it is a more general question.

I was just down for 3 nights and I brought a mostly empty carry on with my running stuff and a mostly empty checked bag. I could have easily consolidated on the way down to just the carry on but I knew I was buying some stuff that wouldn't fit on the way back. The general lack of anything worth buying meant I came back with less than I planned but I still would have had trouble getting it just into the carry on.

I can't help with question two. I just rented a car for convenience and personally wouldn't say offsite without one.

 

[Z-Knight]

Checking in VERY late as we just got back from WDW yesterday!

My goal was to finish "just" my first marathon, and I did finish it!! Unfortunately, my tendonitis started flaring up only a few miles into the race.

I made good time (for me), averaging <13 min/mile through the first 12 miles. But by mile 15 I was running with a painful limp, and by mile 20 I had to drop back to walking for the remainder of the distance. I may have sobbed for a stretch between DHS and the Boardwalk. The woman with the Ted Lasso "BELIEVE" sign set me off, and, well, I was tired.

I was very grateful to finish the race with @marty3d from this forum, who I met just before the race. Mostly, I was very grateful to get across the finish line!

My wife has encouraged me to drop back to half-marathon distances in the future -- my right foot was really terribly swollen for days, and still hurt even now -- but I'd like to figure out what adjustments I can make to keep going. We'll see what my podiatrist says.

Many thanks to everybody on these forums who has shared advice, laughs, and provided a sense of community to an often solitary endeavor. I'm not sure I'd have made it to the starting line, let alone the finish line, without this group. Mahalo!

See you, for one race or another, next January!

so what I read is that Dopey is in your future!!! yay!

in all seriousness you didn't "just" finish a marathon.... You FINISHED a MARATHON!!!! Holy cow that's awesome, no matter how you got there. That's something a tiny tiny percentage of people in this world have accomplished. So Great Job, and Dopey is only 3 extra days of running much shorter distances... no sweat

 

[marty3d]

After reflecting on this year's trip (and, who am I kidding, in preparation for some runDisney event next year) I have a few follow-up questions:

- I'm looking for some packing tips and tricks for runDisney events, particularly multi-day events like Dopey. I wound up packing everything and the kitchen sink in my luggage, a lot of it I didn't use but was brought "just in case." On the way down (flying Southwest), I checked one bag and had a rolling carry-on with most of my important running gear plus one handheld "personal item" where I put the things I wanted accessible on the plane and my primary running sneakers (which I was taking NO chances with). On the way home, I checked my second bag (since I no longer cared much if it got lost), but with everything that I bought, my bags were full to bursting. How does everyone else do it? Do I check two larger bags, give up the carry-on bag, put the minimum in my personal item, and cross my fingers? Two wheeled bags and a personal item is the max that is to feasible get to the rental car and to the hotel room by myself.

After learning my lesson in 2017 about not trusting the forecast and therefore under packing, I now pack for every weather condition for the races. I've decided I'd rather over pack than be forced to scramble and find a running jacket/ sweats etc because it's below freezing. I was lucky and able to find a jacket in the Merch tent at 3am the morning of the marathon.

My packing strategy was to wear the running shoes I was going to use for the 5k as well as a "disposable" hoodie. Pack my shoes for 10k/Marathon in my carryon along with 4 pairs of running shorts/ running belt and 1 pair of running pants. Everything else (park shoes, half marathon, shoes, anything I can relate at the expo/etc) went in checked luggage. Worst case scenario I would be good for the races even if my checked luggage got lost.