Official 2016 Princess Half Marathon Thread

[pixarmom]

Ok, so no monorail offered for 5K and 10K?? What gives Also, what do y'all wear to hold id's, phone, etc? How long do most of y'all spend at the expo? Getting really excited, especially after listening to a podcast recently! Still nervous and feel like we are so unprepared, but excited!

The monorail service for this PHM Weekend is different from our 2015 Marathon Weekend experience. For that weekend, monorail was running for all the races - including the 5K. But I was reading the guide for the 2016 Marathon Weekend and saw that had changed, so I kind of expected it for PHM. I'm OK with that. We used buses from BWI for the 2014 PHM 5K and half. Then we used the monorail from Poly for the 2015 Marathon 5K, half and full marathons. In some ways, the bus is better because it brings you right to the start/finish area. I don't mind the walk if the weather is nice, but for the 2015 Marathon Weekend 5K, it was freezing!!! The monorail was super cold that morning and then the walk from the monorail over to the start/finish area was also super cold. I was thinking a nice toasty bus would have been good!

I don't carry anything with me (although the road ID is a good idea) and my expo time is super short because I have my three boys with me! One time, I picked up a pre-ordered Raw Threads shirt, but that's the extent of my shopping.

 

[Anisum]

Ok, so no monorail offered for 5K and 10K?? What gives Also, what do y'all wear to hold id's, phone, etc? How long do most of y'all spend at the expo? Getting really excited, especially after listening to a podcast recently! Still nervous and feel like we are so unprepared, but excited!

I get all of my running bottoms from kohls, specifically tekgear brand. They have pockets large enough for my phone and such. I do have a iPhone5c though and I imagine it would be a struggle if my phone was much larger.

 

[DVCFan1994]

Ok, so no monorail offered for 5K and 10K?? What gives Also, what do y'all wear to hold id's, phone, etc? How long do most of y'all spend at the expo? Getting really excited, especially after listening to a podcast recently! Still nervous and feel like we are so unprepared, but excited!

I was at BLT in 2014, and the monorail worked for all 3 races. I checked with people who stayed on the monorail in 2015 and worked then too. I booked BLT this year for that reason. But, the event page did say it wouldn't be running this year. We discussed it in this thread and a group of us thought it must have been a typo, but clearly it wasn't. Not sure why they switched it up this year. When I did take in for the 2014 races it was pretty empty, so maybe they decided it wasn't worth it.

 

[MyFavEeyore]

I need to have a cup of tea (not a coffee person) before I run for caffeine.
Does anyone know if I can get into the food court at PoP for hot water at 3AM? That would be the easiest way to make this happen.
I asked on the POP board- but not sure anyone reading that has ever been up that early at Disney! LOL!
Thanks

Bought my hubby a Road ID bracelet for his B-Day since he rides his bike a lot.
Had a lot of laughs about him now being too old to remember his name!! (But we both know people who had accidents who needed it!)

I believe the room coffee pots also have tea bags, if not ask at front desk or housekeeping for some. If you have a favorite from home, pack a couple and just run the water through the pot to heat up. You can always snag some fresh milk at food court and store in refrigerator. For that matter I'm sure anything is available to make your cup of tea at the food court (i.e. lemon, honey, more sugar), just bring some back to your room.

 

[pixarmom]

I was at BLT in 2014, and the monorail worked for all 3 races. I checked with people who stayed on the monorail in 2015 and worked then too. I booked BLT this year for that reason. But, the event page did say it wouldn't be running this year. We discussed it in this thread and a group of us thought it must have been a typo, but clearly it wasn't. Not sure why they switched it up this year. When I did take in for the 2014 races it was pretty empty, so maybe they decided it wasn't worth it.

That's a good point. The monorail was super empty for the 2015 Marathon Weekend 5K, too.

 

[sidrich]

They have RoadID that goes over your fitbit? I'm getting one. I was reluctant to have yet another thing around my wrist (speaking of, do people run the races with their MagicBands? Do you check them?) but I always run with the fitbit so I'll never forget the id!

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Oh me too! I've been meaning to get a Road ID bracelet for a couple of years now. I know I should get one now since I am traveling alone for part of PHM. It's good to know they have one for a Fitbit!

 

[hauntedcity]

They have RoadID that goes over your fitbit? I'm getting one. I was reluctant to have yet another thing around my wrist (speaking of, do people run the races with their MagicBands? Do you check them?) but I always run with the fitbit so I'll never forget the id!

I just got the RoadID for the Fitbit Surge, and it fits perfectly. I wear my Magic Band during the races. Makes it easy to buy anything after the race (or in one case, a Mickey ice cream bar in Epcot before mile 26 ).

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Also I sure wouldn't mind finding out my corral placement before I leave in an hour! I am taking my kids to see the ballet version of Alice in Wonderland at a university near me. I saw lots of Alice and Mad Hatter running costumes on social media for these past few Dinsey races, so I've been kind of excited to see this!

 

[lovingeire]

I've considered getting a RoadID, but it might have to wait until after this summer since we're moving from VA to GA. I also need to make sure I can wear one while in uniform (I'm AD military).

I just went to set one up and realized that we are moving early summer, so only a few months and I didn't want to spend money on something I'd just have to replace in a couple months.

You definitely should get one. I didn't end up going with a road id but gone for a run's version of the shoe id (which I liked better than the road id version for shoes) and I love it because I can't forget it.

I'll have to look into this one too. I was looking at the shoe version of Road ID. I just don't think I want another thing on my wrists.

I concur - it's good to have, both on training runs (especially as you go early in the morning, sometimes when it's dark) and during races.

I know. I honestly think about it all the time. You know most of my weekday runs are in the dark so I'm sure it would be helpful. I also am looking at some kind of light I can attach to my shoe to be more visible. A couple weeks ago I had a scare with someone screaming down the road and I had to jump over into someone's yard.

I need to have a cup of tea (not a coffee person) before I run for caffeine.
Does anyone know if I can get into the food court at PoP for hot water at 3AM? That would be the easiest way to make this happen.
I asked on the POP board- but not sure anyone reading that has ever been up that early at Disney! LOL!
Thanks

As long as you can get in the food court tea is super easy since they have the tea bags out and you just need hot water. I'm a tea drinker too, but have taken to caffeinated Nuun when I run. A short run I can wait for the caffein till I'm home, but my long runs I have found it helps prevent post run headaches for me.

 

[Dis5150]

It's probably just me but I can't stand hot tea made in a coffee maker. I hate coffee and it just tastes like coffee to me. There is no way to get those hotel coffee makers clean enough so the water doesn't make my tea taste like coffee. But I'm weird lol. I won't even use a commuter cup for hot tea if my DH has used it for coffee. I can always taste it. Unfortunately he has figured this out and has "accidentally" used my super cool commuter cups. So now I only buy them in pink, lol! I am very happy to hear that the food courts will be open! I eat toast w/peanut butter before every race and was trying to figure out how I was going to manage it this time.

 

[LisaWalchusky]

I am very happy to hear that the food court at POP will be open at 3am. I need my coffee and recently found out there are no coffee makers in the rooms at POP. I was thinking about bringing a coffee maker with me, but since we are flying, it would not be easy. Now I don't have to worry!

 

[AllisonSarah]

We have reservations at Portabello on Friday night but I've read some reviews that were less than stellar. I'm wondering if I should cancel and just eat at our hotel or somewhere else in Downtown Disney (I just can't call it Disney Springs!)

I read the same thing about Portobello, so decided to just do the "make your own pasta" at our hotel. It doesn't look like there are that great of pasta options outside the parks... Plus, for me personally, eating at the hotel will be less stressful and make it easier to get to bed early. I'm saving my splurge meals for after the race -- ADR at Ohana during the MK fireworks... CANNOT WAIT!

 

[pixarmom]

We're not doing pasta the night before the PHM because it doesn't fit into our plans, but just wanted to add a few thoughts for those looking for options! We absolutely love Il Mulino at the Swan. We don't get over there frequently because at Disney we usually book restaurants with more theming for the kids. But if I'm focusing on pre-race food, Il Mulino would be my choice. I'm planning to register for the 2017 Dopey and since that trip will be focused on running, I plan to book Il Mulino for the night before the full marathon. We'll probably also work the Wave in there somewhere - fresh, healthy and great for pre-race. We ate at the Wave the night before the full marathon last year and it was really ideal for that purpose.

We also really enjoyed Portobello. We made a lunch ADR there a few years ago and were really surprised. From our pickiest eater to our most adventurous, everyone thought it was great. The only negative there is that the buses from DTD to anywhere always seem to be such a pain. But I wouldn't hesitate to book Portobello for a pre-race dinner if staying at POR, POFQ or another resort with boat service. (I should add that I'm biased based on our negative experiences in the POR food court.)

 

[Fruto76]

I believe the room coffee pots also have tea bags, if not ask at front desk or housekeeping for some. If you have a favorite from home, pack a couple and just run the water through the pot to heat up. You can always snag some fresh milk at food court and store in refrigerator. For that matter I'm sure anything is available to make your cup of tea at the food court (i.e. lemon, honey, more sugar), just bring some back to your room.

There are no coffee makers in the rooms at POP! It's one reason why I really try hard not to stay at a value during race weekend. That and the no hot tubs...

They have RoadID that goes over your fitbit? I'm getting one. I was reluctant to have yet another thing around my wrist (speaking of, do people run the races with their MagicBands? Do you check them?) but I always run with the fitbit so I'll never forget the id!

Yes, I run with my magic band, it does not bother me. I have also seen people clip them around their running belts.

 

[Anisum]

I'll have to look into this one too. I was looking at the shoe version of Road ID. I just don't think I want another thing on my wrists.

I felt the same way. The shoe version of roadID had the long band around it which I felt was kind of overkill which is why I went with this shoe id. It was like $5 cheaper and went on my shoelace which was nice. They also have a colored version.

 

[DVCFan1994]

We're not doing pasta the night before the PHM because it doesn't fit into our plans, but just wanted to add a few thoughts for those looking for options! We absolutely love Il Mulino at the Swan. We don't get over there frequently because at Disney we usually book restaurants with more theming for the kids. But if I'm focusing on pre-race food, Il Mulino would be my choice. I'm planning to register for the 2017 Dopey and since that trip will be focused on running, I plan to book Il Mulino for the night before the full marathon. We'll probably also work the Wave in there somewhere - fresh, healthy and great for pre-race. We ate at the Wave the night before the full marathon last year and it was really ideal for that purpose.

We also really enjoyed Portobello. We made a lunch ADR there a few years ago and were really surprised. From our pickiest eater to our most adventurous, everyone thought it was great. The only negative there is that the buses from DTD to anywhere always seem to be such a pain. But I wouldn't hesitate to book Portobello for a pre-race dinner if staying at POR, POFQ or another resort with boat service. (I should add that I'm biased based on our negative experiences in the POR food court.)

Good choices. I only went to Il Mulino the first time last year, but loved it. It's on our must do list now. I have Il Mulino pre 5k and the Wave pre half. Citricos is pre 10k, that's Dd7's pick. She's doing the 5k with me and said to celebrate she wants Citricos chocolate crown dessert. Clearly I'm creating a monster

 

[AbbyJaws2003]

I have the road id that can interchange between a bracelet and a shoe, it is awesome! I bought a couple bracelets and a couple shoe Velcro things since the are an inexpensive add on... And I bought my dog an id too, they are great. Highly recommend! I do bring my id, ins card and cash to races though, just in case.

I wore my magic band last year at Princess, next to my Fitbit so I barely noticed it being on. This year I will have a Fitbit, magic band and my garmin so I am running out of wrist space!

 

[kelly 1]

I also have a Road ID. A must for everyone! I don't leave home without it. They ship really fast they are great to deal with. I really need the alert because I have a brain injury so at least the if something happens the person who helps me will will know right away. Better to be safe!

 

[kpooh]

I've been having some shin pain lately so I'm thinking about getting some compression sleeves. Anyone have any suggestions?