Marathon Weekend 2024

[GADisneyDad14]

SAFD: I probably spent too much time overthinking meals this past marathon weekend (my first). I don’t really have stomach troubles or things that bother me, but I don’t necessarily like running after heavy eating the day before either. Sorry for the overshare but I'm more focused on...uhhhh... staying as regular as possible, and for me fried/processed food and treats are a good way to mess that up... so for this past MW I generally stuck to table service options where I could get grilled protein, something green, or basic carb options. Eg, I had lunch twice at Geyser Point over this past MW as they have a salmon entree I really like and other options that are more on the healthier side. I think I probably ate like a bird a little too much and should have been eating more, in retrospect.

I don't know how to say this without sounding like a lush, but the bigger adjustment was laying off the adult beverages. Generally speaking WDW=vacation=adult beverages for me and there are so many places in the parks and around the resorts I love in that regard. Since I was trying to be good and stay focused on hydration that took some adjustment.

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD
I’m an outlier: I go out of my way to avoid eating at WDW during race weekends. There’s so little I enjoy in Disney food to start, and I’m totally unwilling to pay the high prices for food I don’t even like. On top of that, it’s just hard to eat the way I prefer at WDW - I eat mostly vegetarian, which reduces my options enormously, and I like a lot of fresh food. Like, I like a side salad with my lunch, and that’s nearly impossible to find. Ditto for fresh steamed veggies with dinner. I bring lots of my own food and go offsite to find better offerings. I will give a shout-out, though, to the BW pizza window, which surprised me last summer with a really, really great slice and a huge, super fresh side salad - that’s on my radar or future meals! And I had a veggie noodle bowl at the Poly last month that was pretty decent. In general, I seem to find better choices at the resorts than in parks.

There were a couple TS places I really used to enjoy for special meals, but indoor dining’s been and still is a no for me during COVID times. Treats I enjoy, race weekend or not, are the spiked blue milk in Batuu, an ice cream cone from L’Artisan does Glaces, and the big chocolate chip cookies sold at resort QS places.

 

[Grabnar]

SAFD: This will be my first in person RunDisney race so not sure about WDW, but generally I avoid anything too fatty. Other than that I don't change my diet too much!

Side question, does anyone have any tips for managing nutrition while traveling for races? I'll be at the Poly for MW and the GC for the DL weekend and I'm open to tips or recommendations for how to eat not terribly.

 

[Bree]

SAFD: I’m not a huge fan of Disney food I tend to eat at the same places race weekend or not - Via Napoli, Il Mulino, Hollywood Brown Derby, Morimoto, Boathouse, Nomad Lounge. I suppose I could add Toledo and Dahlia Lounge to places I like. I ate there MW and really liked it. Not a huge snack person, but I do like the popcorn.

 

[nekonekoneko]

SAFD: Since the only time we go, now,to Disney, is during race weekend, we have to cram it all in! I'll try to make ADRs with food that's not too heavy, and save the indulgence for after the marathon. But we still try to find places that sound good, only because we don't just want to eat at any old place. Usually it's Saturday night that I have to be a little more careful, solely because my DW is running the big race the next day, but any other time, she's usually good with just about anything.

 

[Novatrix]

SAFD: For me, the rundisney weekends are fun runs. The only day I really adjust what I eat is the day before the marathon, and when then it's just to minimize dairy and have a high carb/high protein dinner before the race.

Treats change depending on what resort I'm staying at for the trip, but favorites are Homecomin's chicken biscuits, Beaches and Cream's No Way Jose sundae, Ale and Compass' blueberry bacon pancakes and the caramel popcorn at the German pavillion.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Side question, does anyone have any tips for managing nutrition while traveling for races? I'll be at the Poly for MW and the GC for the DL weekend and I'm open to tips or recommendations for how to eat not terribly.

Oatmeal is available at most QS at the resorts.

 

[NYC_MW]

SAFD: as many above, more focused on it being parks trip than race trip, so must-eat is really just Dole whip. Otherwise, mostly subsisted on popcorn and trail mix over MW. But I'm also lucky in not having a sensitive stomach.

I will say, breakfast at Boma on Monday post marathon was sooo good. Would definitely recommend that to anyone.

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD: I try to keep my diet as normal as possible, for MW or any other trip. I went totally vegan 5 years ago, so that keeps my choices pretty healthy and I have had fewer running related GI issues since making the change.
I do make sure to stay on top of hydration, but I don't skip having a beer - gotta enjoy yourself and celebrate!
After the marathon this year, we ate at Biergarten for the first time and it was amazing! Highly recommend, they even had lots of plant based options!

 

[nekonekoneko]

SAFD: as many above, more focused on it being parks trip than race trip, so must-eat is really just Dole whip. Otherwise, mostly subsisted on popcorn and trail mix over MW. But I'm also lucky in not having a sensitive stomach.

I will say, breakfast at Boma on Monday post marathon was sooo good. Would definitely recommend that to anyone.

And I'm staying at AKL, too.... Oh the options!

 

[sandam1]

SAFD - I find that I eat less - completely unintentionally - on runDisney trips. I don't feel like large meals around the races and prefer to snack and do quick service. Table service meals are just too much food and take too much time. I eat at my hotel - either at the quick service or leftovers/grocery store bought food - a lot.

While I have a pretty stable stomach, I don't go crazy with a wide variety of foods. But I'm also a fairly picky eater - I know what I like and tend not to try new things - so it's pretty easy to go with what I know.

On race days, my routine is very set in stone - breakfast in the parking lot of triscuits, turkey, cheddar cheese and a banana. Post-race is chocolate milk ASAP, followed by tortilla chips and fake cheese when I get back to the hotel, and then a significant meal with protein after my shower. I try to do dinner no later than 6 p.m., but preferably earlier.

I don't plan my celebratory meal the night of the last race. This goes back to my first half marathon when I forgot to eat post-race. I went right into recovery mode, focusing on taking a bath, swim, and nap, and only ate the chips and cheese from the race box. Big mistake! When I finally ate a big, rich meal around 4 p.m., my stomach rebelled fairly violently. I wound up sitting on a bench in the park all evening because I felt so bad. Ever since then, I plan the "I really want to enjoy this meal" for Medal Monday. I might do a nice meal on Sunday, but I wait to make sure that I'm feeling 100% before I commit to it.

 

[_shiny_side_up_]

SAFD: I don't take RunDisney weekends as seriously as other running events so I indulge in food a bit more than I normally would while I'm there. But only a bit. I follow my normal schedule - light breakfast, heavier lunch and a light snack for dinner. Drinking is indulged in at park days - more than it should be, but always followed by lots of water.

 

[GreatLakes]

Boma dinner is my usual celebratory meal for race weekends. I try to do it after but MW2022 I was staying in Epcot all day and then leaving so it had to be a pre-race meal.

I try not to overthink meals during race travel other than not trying anything exotic to close to the race.

 

[Goofed98]

I'm a once a year guy, so MW is both a race weekend and a vacation. I'm not setting any world records, so I live it up. Golf with dad on Thursday and Friday, which means cigars and bloody marys with dad.

I love the pulled pork sandwich at flametree, there are a few meals at CHH I like, and a brat, either from Germany or the place in MK that has them. Usually a BOMA dinner and offsite for italian once or twice.

I don't eat breakfast before the half or the full, so I load up the night before, usually by 7, get up early enough to do what I can, pop a few immodium, and go have fun.

 

[HangWithMerida]

SAFD: I don’t do things too differently, basically eating the same way I would at home. I eat dinner as early as possible, shooting for 4:30 reservations. My larger meal is post-race brunch or lunch. And I avoid anything super fatty/fried/heavy the night before a race. I also bring oatmeal to eat in my room when I wake up so my pre-run meal is basically what I would do at home. If I eat like I’m on vacation too much I just don’t feel good so I aim for balance.

 

[Neon Cactus]

I don't really change what I eat during the week, but I do have a few traditions I've started: Homecomin' brunch after the half, Pop Century food court for dinner the night before the full and then Ohana for dinner after the marathon. This year was fun because we tried a lot of new restaurants around that. For snacks, we liked the I Lava You dole whip in MK and the dole whip flight at DS.

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

SAFD: I don’t do things too differently, basically eating the same way I would at home. I eat dinner as early as possible, shooting for 4:30 reservations. My larger meal is post-race brunch or lunch. And I avoid anything super fatty/fried/heavy the night before a race. I also bring oatmeal to eat in my room when I wake up so my pre-run meal is basically what I would do at home. If I eat like I’m on vacation too much I just don’t feel good so I aim for balance.

I also bring oatmeal for the mornings as well!

 

[pluto377]

SAFD: I have a terrible stomach and that plus major anxiety about getting food poisoning means that I try to avoid anything really fried or unusual to me. I tend to get a lot of the kids meals at the resort QS or get things like the pretzels and hummus and or packs of fresh veggies. I usually go to the grocery store also and bagels, oatmeal, granola bars etc. I like staying at a DVC so I have a microwave and can just buy frozen pizza or make the single serve mac n cheese. My splurges tend to be on ice cream. I love going to Beaches and Cream and Ghirardelli.

 

[AJruns]

SAFD: I’m not super strict about my food planning, but I definitely have habits and traditions. Mostly it involves packing a toaster (thanks Southwest!) so I can have peanut butter toast in the mornings Tuesday-Thursday I work and don’t go to the parks, so I get groceries for the room. I like exploring other food options on Friday (this year I tried the cookie at Riviera and the cornbread at Boatwright’s- obsessed with both), then it’s pretty bland pre-marathon on Saturday. Post-race I want a chocolate milkshake or ice cream, and was thrilled to discover soft serve in MK. I love dinner at CRT to feel like I’m celebrating, but I don’t really eat well until Monday. I do breakfast at Sanaa, and this year had lunch at Crystal Palace and dinner in Mexico at Epcot. Historically I’m bad about post-race fueling, so I made a point this year to plan my parks around meals I knew I could get excited about (actually CP was for the characters, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the buffet).

 

[Baloo in MI]

Good Morning runDisney All-Stars! It is time for Sunday’s Are For Disney. For this week’s question we are going to look at an attraction in Tomorrowland, that was coincidently, featured this week on WDW Radio.

Today’s Question: Carousel of Progress, do you think it is it time for this attraction to be replaced? Or is it that old family favorite that should not be touched?

My Answer: I love the attraction, it is completely outdated, it needs refurbishment, and it is certainly not a rope drop ride! But it is a family favorite that we do every trip at some point. For me I am pulled in by the nostalgia, and it is always a good spot to rest a bit and smile at well worn jokes. The last scene is always comical with its latest technologies now being 30 years distant. But I just can’t help loving to hear It’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow and relaxing in air conditioning for 20 minutes of 60’s era Disney entertainment.

Congrats to all the Princess Weekend runners!