How was the new route?

[scoolover]

Just wondering how the new WWoS section of the marathon was. I would imagine that the section from AK to the WWoS was a little less miserable since it was a little earlier in the race. What were your thoughts?

 

[WhereInFlorida]

When I hit the section from AK to WWOS the sun was up but mostly still behind the trees on the right so it was much better hitting that stretch early. I am sure those not too far behind me had the sun on them the whole way.

Others have complained about the WWOS seemingly going on forever but it is that time of the marathon, last year it seemed the Osceola road stretch and turn-around went on forever. Too many turns in WWOS but the change of scenery was great, the track we ran on was first class, and the warning track at the stadium was good along with the screaming spectators.

 

[dragitoff]

it was my first full so I had nothing else to compare it to other than local type races I've done, but I talked to ALOT of runners at the MK later that evening that felt the same way I did.....very little shade from Osceola Pkwy until the finish line and a few uphills from miles 20 until the finish. That made it tough if you were over 4 hours finishing. I was cramping badly so everything was magnified for me. I will say I've done other races (even though this was my first full) and Disney's was first rate! I think the Mile 20 thing was a little over-hyped, but a great race and so well organized. Extremely good experience and I'd definitely run another Disney race.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I only made it to mile 21 this time around, and asked to board the bus due to the heat and just not being able to cool down, but I think the course changes were horrible with the addition of the raceway whereas I thought the cars being outside of the MK were so much better in past years. The WWOS section was not spectacular, and although it did offer some shade on the sidewalks, it provided a bottleneck that I think most people would have rather not dealt with. Running through the stadium is never going to be on par with running through Angel Stadium during the DL Half. The spectacular surprise at mile 20 was far from that. My understanding was that after Mile 21, the course went back to where it has been in the past.

I just didn't see any improvement to the course, and although the weather didn't help things, which was clearly out of Disney's control, I don't think there was a big enough difference with DAK, and felt like the changes added more of what we just didn't need that weekend...full sun with very little shade.

 

[Freight Train]

One major complaint about WWOS that I've heard is that it just wound around forever. I share that view. I hadn't committed that part of the course ro memory and it burned me because the course flirted with the stadium over and over without going in. That translated to a number of psychological letdowns that culminated in the non-spectacular inside the stadium. Had they not hyped it I think it would have been fine but they oversold and underdelivered on that. I would have at least apprecated a lone trumpeter playing "wah wah" as we came in--that would have at least been funny.

But that's a minor complaint in what was overall an overwhelmingly positive experience for me. If I were to go again next year I think I'd be in a better position mentally for that tough stretch.

 

[John VN]

No EPCOT loop at the start felt strange.

I really enjoyed the track. Many more cars. I even went up and down and up and down the first banking with arms outstretched and vrooming like an airplane, the Disney kid in me. The second banking I went to the top, slapped the wall and flew back down. Might never have that opportunity again.

Stopped for my M&M McFlurry since we were on the correct side of O.P. to do so. Really liked that

WWoS was like the ToT, not really fun for me. I would rather have the long Osceola Pkwy. stretch, it's just the type of person I am.

20 mile mark was a bust.

 

[APrunner]

I thought it was okay. I did not like the entrance to the speedway (steep drop followed by a steep climb). The climb was ok, the drop made me nervous, but I survived. I also did not like the entrance and exit of the baseball stadium, very sharp curves. I never liked the banking of the roads before you enter animal kingdom, so I was glad to have that a little earlier in the run.

 

[IamTrike]

I think the heat may have impacted my opinion. It was much hotter than the conditions for my training runs and that had a big impact on my performance which I'm sure negatively impacts my opinion of the race. The mile 20 spectacular was a real let down. That coupled with the fact that people were already miserable because of the heat took an emotional toll on the guys I was running with. Outside of the WWOS changes its hard for me to say which course I liked better because I haven't run them in the same conditions.

 

[buckeyecinderella]

Biased here because it was my first marathon and i finished without injury. But I thought it was a great course! Yes, WWOS was a little boring but if being in the highway was the alternative, I will take the winding fields. I was glad to see the fields actually. Running in the track was a nice break from the pavement as well as the crushed stone or whatever was around the stadium. I wish they would have had a character stop in this area and was expecting something spectacular in the stadium because if all the mile 20 hype.

I liked the racetrack area with all of the cars and music they played there.

After the stadium I really was just happy to have reached mile 20 and thought ok, I guess this is the 20 surprise. It was nice but I expected more, but just happy to have made it that far.

I would run this course again in a heartbeat!

 

[WhereInFlorida]

I was real nervous going down the hill at the entrance to the ramp too. All I could think about is if the 20% chance of rain had happened then about everyone would be sliding down that ramp.

 

[Freight Train]

I was real nervous going down the hill at the entrance to the ramp too. All I could think about is if the 20% chance of rain had happened then about everyone would be sliding down that ramp.

Me too. It struck me as odd that they had a water station pretty close to that entrance ramp. Fortunately it looked like most folks were done with their water and cups before getting in there, but it would have been ugly had anyone spilled water on that down ramp. It was pretty steep. I wonder if anyone fell or got hurt? I hope not.

 

[Bephus]

I actually really liked the new course, I just thought the "mile 20 spectacular" was so underwhelming. I kept thinking to myself that we needed a character or celebrity or SOMETHING!! Even the Braves playing a game while we ran through the stadium would have been cooler than the nothing we got. And running under an arch, really? Oh, well.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[SAHDad]

Parts of the new course I liked, and parts I hated. I loved running a fairly quick quarter on the track at WWOS - it felt nicely spongy after all the concrete. The multiple tight turns, and narrow width made bottlenecking pretty much inevitable, however.

It was nicer to get to AK earlier, and onto Oceloa earlier, since basically there is no shade from AK until you get to DHS, but the sidewalk coming out of AK to the parking lot was reduced to walking, because it was so narrow. All it took was a few people in front to walk abreast there, and suddenly everyone was walking.

Likewise, the steep ramp for the speedway - it bottlenecks, and I would have been much more comfortable taking that at something a little faster than a stumbling shuffle, both up and down. YMMV, but it is narrow enough that, again, a couple of people walking abreast can ensure that everyone walks, like it or not.

If the course is going to get to the Contemporary so earlier, I think Disney really needs to look at lighting that area under the water bridge. It's dark, especially early in the race, and very easy for people to fall and get hurt.

I liked the course in general, but it felt really, really crowded this year. Granted, I was running at a very slow pace (took my camera and planned on a lot of pics, which I got), so maybe it is always like that, but I think that Disney either needs to lower the cap, or move the start earlier and put a little more time between the waves.

 

[Dennyha]

I liked the new course better. The speedway helped to break up the awful stretch from MK to AK, and the WWOS, while not my favorite part of the course, was definitely an upgrade from the old out and back on Osceola Highway.

With the size of the marathon increasing, they had to get us through the MK earlier. Last year, the last runners cleared MK about 5 minutes before the park opened.

 

[FFigawi]

I thought it was nicer than the old course but still not as good as when you ran through World Showcase at the beginning. Hitting Osceola four miles earlier was wonderful since there was still some shade and the sun wasn't beating down yet.

 

[JimB.]

This was my 5th full Disney Marathon. I thought the new portions were fine.

Contrary to the seeming majority, I thought the WWoS portion was good. True, it wound around a bit, but I would rather do that than see miles & miles of straight asphalt in front of me. Now if they could get rid of the paved purgatory from AK TO WWos, that would be f-a-b!

I liked the speedway with all the cars. They were really awesome! Out @ DL this year they had a long stretch of road with classics on it too. It's cool to see the love and effort these guys put into their vehicles.

Not much can be done about the weather. I thought the changes in the course made it easier, temperature wise. I was a lot farther down the asphalt when the sun came up, and there was a fair bit of shade @ WWoS that helped.

I didn't really miss the "Early Epcot" portion. That part is so crowded I have always spent it looking down to make sure I didn't trip over someone/thing in the dark.

It will be interesting to see if the changes are kept or they will return to the "traditional" course next year.

 

[dragitoff]

Is there a single person out there that thought the Mile 20 Spectacular lived up to the hype? So far, I haven't met anyone. I also enjoyed the speedway (other than the entry hill down and up), but I'm a huge car guy and it was barely daylight when I came through there so I'm sure it wasn't nearly as hot as it was for many of those in later corrals.

 

[DOOM1001]

Having this as my first marathon I can't compare but having seen
so many videos of the marathon on other years I really would have liked to go into Epcot at the beginning however I have no complaints on the route this year,no stretch felt so long that it went on forever and having another venue (WWoS) to look forward to go to really helped the variety along the way.A lot of people are complaing about the heat,which for me was not a problem at all.Apparently living in South Florida really helped me there,I thought it was cool up until we exited AK,after that it warmed up but I guess being used to heat it never felt too bad.Is this route a one year special and next year the old route will be back,since I plan to do it again I would have no problem with either since I've never done the old route and would like to do Epcot in the dark to start but the route this year was pretty entertaining and I wouldn't have a problem with it either,going through WWoS was pretty cool too.

 

[kmg148]

I actually enjoyed the speedway for the most part! It was a cool distraction with all of the cars. WWOS was the worst stretch for me, but the track was one of my favorite parts because of the relief I felt running on the spongey material! I was underwhelmed by the stadium portion. I hope it was full earlier on when the largest amount of people ran through.

 

[JeffW]

Another (seemingly minority) positive view of WWoS. I much prefer a course that keeps winding around, rather than a straight and flat road. The winding kept my mind alert and working, which made the distance pass more quickly than the AK to WWoS stretch or the race track to AK stretch.

At least where I was (corral B), the bottlenecks early in the race (start through entrance to the race track) were far worse than any that occurred in any later portions of the race.