Marathon Weekend 2022

[Smilelea]

Poly & AKV booked for MW 2022!

SAFD:

There are so many and they all blend together that I cant remember which trips they happened. Our youngest was 7 months old when we first went to Disney. Counting our Disney cruise we have been 7 times and he is 4 years old .

So a few of my favorites:
- Rope dropping to be first family to meet Alice and riding the teacups with her.
- First family to meet Anna & Elsa - completely unplanned and unexpected. We ate at Garden Grill and then headed over to get in line, hoping to be just a few families back in the line. We ended up being second in line and the family in-front of us had a few walk off. So when the cast members came to get them, the family said they were missing some. The cast members asked them to step aside and motioned us forward. We were like, "okay, this is cool", then Anna met us halfway to the door. That's when we realized this was a big deal.
- Talking Mickey Meet - the picture we got is my all time favorite. G's face is just precious!

- First in line to meet Moana at MNSSHP. We started that line 2 hours before the meet started. It was worth every minute. the boys had been watching Moana over and over for months.
- Last but not least, my first half marathon MW2019. There are no real words to describe the overall joy of running this distance at Disney. I never thought I would consider running a full. But after running at Disney, I can't wait to run my first (and possibly only) full at Disney and only at Disney.

 

[BikeFan]

SAFD (belated):

My parents swore they took us kids to Disney World sometime in the 70's, when I would have been around 5-6, but I have absolutely no memories of that trip, so I don't really count it as my "first" visit, even if it was.
The first trip I remember was over Christmas break in 1993, with my mom and brothers. We were staying offsite and rode the monorail from the TTC to Magic Kingdom. I remember seeing the monorail track go through the Contemporary and then on to MK, and thinking that was the coolest thing ever. What a great sense of excitement and anticipation we had that day, experiencing it all for the first time.

Since then, I've had so many more great memories, with my own kids and extended families, and when I discovered RunDisney, that brought a whole new level of fun. On 2018 Marathon Weekend, both my son and my wife finished their first marathon. My son, who had run high school track and cross county, had speed but no real endurance, and he really struggled in the final 10 miles of the marathon, but of course I waited for him, so we'd finish together. When he passed that final curve at Mile 26 and saw the finish, he absolutely sprinted, and it took all I had to catch up with him so we'd be in the same photo crossing the line. Our finish line photo shows him with a big smile and me a few steps back with a painful grimace, having chased him that final .2! To this day, we still joke about that. My wife had started in a later corral with some friends from our running club, and I was able to catch a ride back to Disney Studios and join them at Mile 23. I jumped back in the race and was able to finish with her as well, crossing the line holding hands. Such great memories!

 

[MamaBTX]

SAFD:
1. October 2010 - Got Engaged on the beach at the Polynesian waiting for fireworks! I was working at Disney as a Professional Intern, and my brother, best friend, and boyfriend (now husband) came for a visit. The two of us went to dinner one night at the California Grill, and the monorailed over to the Poly to sit on the beach and watch the fireworks over the castle. While waiting for fireworks and sitting in a hammock, he climbed out, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! We then went to Magic Kingdom and watched the parade of of course took pictures in front of the castle.

2. My sister's first visit to Disney World and Disneyland. 97/98? She is 12 years younger than me, and was maybe 2/3 for the trips, but it was great to see her reaction to the characters/rides/fireworks. Plus we went with a large group, Grandparents, Aunts/Uncles, Cousins. Some of my all time favorite trips.

Looking forward to taking my kids (2.5/1.5 years) for their first trip in 2022 and making new memories!

 

[PrincessV]

do most people get hungry after marathons or even halfs?

I have no appetite at all after marathons - not until lunch time the following day. I'm good for a chocolate milk right after to get my blood sugar back up somewhere near normal, and I can force myself to eat a banana 20-30 minutes after, then 1/2 a bagel maybe an hour or so later... I basically just graze on small stuff for 12ish hours to avoid crashing. I always think I'll want a big dinner, but when the time comes, it never feels or tastes good.

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: I've been local to WDW for 30 years, so there are a LOT of favorite memories lol! A few standouts...

First visit, 1971: waiting hours in line for Space Mountain, riding 20,000 Leagues, Mr. Toad

First time riding Splash: Spring Break season, MK open until 3am, waiting in line around 2am - I think we'd been there for 16+ hours and I was feeling delirious; genuinely wasn't sure if we were waiting outdoors, or if it was actually indoors made to look outdoors. A testament to Disney's ability to fool the senses, lol!

19 years and counting of riding with my son on his favorite rides.

That first visit to MGM: TOT, the full Backlot experience, NY street, Catwalk Bar

 

[meye1099]

c

 

[MATTERHORN]

SAFD: One of my favorite memories is closing down EPCOT before it shut for the hurricane in 2018. That same day, we had taken the red eye home from Disneyland so that we wouldn't be stuck there another five days and had to cut our trip 2 days short. BLAH. But, it was my birthday, so we came home and slept a few hours, then met up with friends at EPCOT. I loved watching the workers get everything ready, wrapping trash cans and lights in saran wrap, etc. and the wind was blowing so it made September heat tolerable, the park was EMPTY, and we stayed until the very last minute. It was such a great day, I can't even think of any more real specifics, just a certain feeling I felt.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

SAFD: Well my first visit to Disneyland was when I was two and 2020 marked the first year I had not visited Disneyland at least once since 2002. And we all know what 2020 was. Suffice it to say, I have a lot. I'll attempt to narrow them down.

Best Day Ever: Show Your Disney Side 2014. This was the 24 hour party where Disney let adults wear costumes. Wearing my Jedi robes around Disneyland all day was nothing short of magical. Little children stared in awe at me because they actually believed they were seeing a real live Jedi. I even overheard one little boy excitedly say "Mom, I saw a Jedi!" Character interactions that day were amazing. Cinderella told me that Gus and Jaq were going to be Jedi for Halloween, Belle told me that Chip would be so excited to hear that she met a real Jedi and that the Beast was a good guy now as he had "just joined your Rebel Alliance." Sleeping Beauty commented that she almost didn't recognize me in my Jedi robes. And that night they had Darth Goofy and Stormtrooper Donald rotating meet and greets with Jedi Mickey and Princess Leia Minnie. Darth Goofy took my lightsaber and proceeded to "strike me down" and then later on Jedi Mickey and I practiced lightsaber technique.

Best Party: Star Wars Nite at Disneyland 2018. Once again costumes were allowed only this time they had Star Wars characters in the parks to meet. It was almost surreal discussing the ways of the Force with Rey, having Chewbacca bow to me, Vader lecture me about the power of the Dark Side persuading me of the error of my ways, and Boba Fett not trusting a Jedi at all. Getting to interact and talk to C-3PO and R2-D2 was something I will never forget. For one night, it was all amazingly real.

Family memory 1: On that same trip where I did Star Wars Nite, I joined up with my sister and her family the next day. One time while the rest of the family was off on rides, I was watching my then 16 month old nephew. I knew he liked Cars, so we got in line to see Lightning McQueen. When he realized what we were doing, he started to bounce up and down in my arms excitedly while making vroom vroom sounds. In August 2019, he took me to Galaxy's Edge while everyone else went on rides where I may or may not have made Star Wars sounds while we were in line to get our picture taken in front of the Millennium Falcon. A few months later he told my sister that one of his pretend visits to Disneyland with Jack Jack from The Incredibles involved them visiting Galaxy's Edge and helping Rey hide from the Stormtroopers. Just like we had done months before.

Family memory 2: That August 2019 trip was supposed to involve me building my lightsaber. When my 9 year old nephew got a fever, I had to cancel. Instead the lightsaber building would take place in November 2019. When it did, I also purchased toy lightsabers for my nephews to join in the fun. The 3 year spent the rest of the evening grinning from ear to ear, vacuuming Galaxy's Edge with his lightsaber, showing it off to Lightning McQueen, and adopting his new friend Jack Jack the Ewok. As both of my nephews were really into Star Wars, this was insane fun for me. And I'm grateful to my little sister for willingly spending a whole lot more time in Galaxy's Edge that trip than she wanted to because she knew how special it was to me.

runDisney: The sweet elderly lady sitting in a chair in Downtown Disney during the 2011 Disneyland Half (my first race ever) holding a sign that said "Hello total stranger, I'm proud of you too." Crossing the finish line at the 2017 Dark Side Half Marathon realizing that I had just completed the Kessel Run. runDisney April races are awful timing wise for me. I never want to train for a race in April because of the mental and physical toll that training takes set against work that time of year. But when Star Wars Dark Side introduced the Kessel Run component, I knew I had to at least try. So I did a mock training run one year just to see if I could indeed handle the load not knowing if I could actually run the race. When that worked, I registered. Little did I know that would be the only year to earn the Coast to Coast Kessel Run and is for now the last year of the Coast to Coast. That wound up being the first of a few runDisney events that broke down the barriers in my mind about what constituted impossible. Just two years after Kessel Run, I found myself feeling like I was quite literally flying around World Showcase while Let's Go Fly a Kite played shortly after mile 25 of the marathon.

 

[drummerwife]

SAFD:

I have three that always make me smile.
2010 We took my parents to HDDR to celebrate their 57 anniversary. Six Bits wanted them to get up and dance while the cast sang Let Me Call You Sweetheart but my dad was unsteady on his feet so he got my dad to sing The Old Gray Mare instead. My dad is usually quite and shy but he really belted out that song to the embarrassment of my mom.

2014 MW we took my DH’s brother and wife for two weeks all expenses paid trip. They had never been and she loves everything Disney so when my DH got his bonus that year we decided to invite them to go with us. Watching her absolute delight was the best part of that trip, even better then my finishing Dopey.

2018 MW I had talked my DH into doing Dopey with me to celebrate the 5th anniversary. Unfortunately early into training he severely reaggravated an old back injury. Much PT, shots, and drugs later he was able to successfully cross all 4 finish lines! I could not have been any prouder of him knowing what he had to go through to get there.

 

[pwmitch237]

Wait - your first race ever was the 5k as part of Dopey?!

Yep. True insanity.

 

[Cabius]

Yep. True insanity.

I just noticed your PR line in your signature, and it is fantastic.

 

[pwmitch237]

I just noticed your PR line in your signature, and it is fantastic.

Thank you! And thanks to everyone who's shown support as well. It's quite a wonderful community around here.

 

[FFigawi]

Thank you! And thanks to everyone who's shown support as well. It's quite a wonderful community around here.

The end of your PR line is very in line with the WISH team and board* motto: DFL>DNF>DNS

*where this runDisney board originated

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD: sooo many Disney memories! It's hard to choose one with my own kids so I will be nostalgic and pick one from my childhood...

My dad and I would go to DL a couple of times a year (he lived in SoCal, my parents divorced when I was little). One time, we got there right at opening at 8am, and stayed until the park closed at 1am. We rode every single ride - I would put a check mark by the attraction on the park guide after we rode it. Of course we hit the Matterhorn first, and per tradition my dad let me pick out a stuffed animal. My love of Disney has truly been lifelong, and in large part thanks to my dad, who is still like a big kid even though he is in his 70's.

 

[sandam1]

do most people get hungry after marathons or even halfs? ive never been hungry... thirsty yes, but hungry no. i usually eat 7 to 10 gels.. each 100 calories... during marathon so i am usually ok. im not even really too hungry later that night either, though i usually eat a lot that night, well because its disney and you are supposed to

Late to the party, but I'll chime in on this one. After my first half, I didn't feel like eating AT ALL. I went back to the hotel room, ate the chips and cheese from the race box (totally pro-cheese!) and took a nap. Late afternoon, we had an indulgent dinner planned and then some evening park time. Big mistake! My stomach said "I hate you" and I wound up parked on a bench most of the evening, not wanting to trust riding anything.

After that experience, I was super concerned about a repeat last year after the Princess half. But reading on the boards, I realized that I had probably eaten too little post-race and that's what caused the nausea. Sure enough, I made myself eat a substantial meal post-race (even through I had NO appetite) and I had no issues. So it is true that everyone is different.

As a side note, I have to eat a substantial amount of REAL food before running as well. Again, I have no appetite for it, but I need to choke it down nonetheless. I've found at least two turkey deli slices, some cheese and Triscuits, and a banana is my minimum for a Disney half. I can do beans during the race, but for my halfs, I also eat two applesauce packets - one around mile 6 and one around mile 9. I'm not sure how to work things when/if I do a full marathon, but I envy those who can exist on gels/beans alone.

 

[CP3uhoh]

just got an email...Rock N' Roll Series set a date for Vegas in February....

 

[The Expert]

just got an email...Rock N' Roll Series set a date for Vegas in February....

I just posted about this on the 2021 general thread. I'm totally bummed about this change as it was the ideal check-in Half for me leading up to MW! Vegas is super close and the weather was always perfect for me. They got a lot of support from military being Veteran's Day Weekend, so I wonder if this is truly a permanent move?

Edit to add something I didn't notice before -- they also canceled the full! Just a 5K, 10K and Half now for RnR Vegas.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD (Tuesday Answer):

We've had so many trips I almost feel bad pulling out one or two memories and in some ways feel like I'm cheating the younger kids when I mention a memory from a trip they weren't part of. But...

1) Trip when my oldest (now about to turn 19) was 5 y/o. It was when Mickey's Toontown Fair still existed at WDW and they opened it a bit later than everything else with a separate rope drop. We were up front waiting when to our surprise Minnie and Daisey came out. They took my daughter by the hand and Minnie gave her a tour of Minnie's house, then Mickey's House with Daisey trying to but in the whole time. We then exited into the old Circus Tent and the private audience continued in there with pictures and autographs. So awesome!

2) My second one is actually a collection. For several years now we've gone down for "fall break" and made it a habit to do Mickey's Not So Scary. My DW always comes up with great family costumes for us based on a Disney movie (we've done Peter Pan, Hercules, Robin Hood, Meet the Robinsons off the top of my head). Getting our family picture together with the 6 of us in costume on Main Street is always a highlight for me!

 

[Rogue224]

SAFD: I have many happy memories. But I’d like to share a couple. On the family side, we had a family trip in 2007 with my mom, dad, brother and nephew at Christmas time. My mom lit up going around Epcot seeing the Santa’s from around the world. Seeing my family experience the Disney magic that my DW and I have so many times continues to warm my heart.

On the rD side, there are two races. The 2015 Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K was our first Disney race. Seeing my DW tear up at the finish line with everyone cheering is what hooked us The second is the 2019 Star Wars 5K. My wife had just torn her MCL and could hardly walk. A storm came thru that delayed the race. We were going to have to bail. But a CM got us a wheelchair during the delay. With the staggered start, we got thru the course with me pushing the wheelchair. EVERYONE on the course was so kind to us and letting us know of upcoming obstacles. We got thru it with the awesome Disney running community. It was great.

 

[GrandAdmiralStrife]

Looks like my local half is still on.

The Austin Statesman Cap 10k for April 11 has gone virtual, but the Ascension Seton Austin Half Marathon for April 25th has gotten the go ahead for in person racing this week. Been training with a mask for a bit now