Marathon Weekend 2022

[jmasgat]

Hi all - long time lurker, first time poster here!

This will be my first marathon (not first rD race) and I'm unnecessarily stressed about food options, specifically finding basic spaghetti the night before. I couldn't find anything in the W&D thread, but does anyone know if some of the resort restaurants/quick serve will offer a basic pasta option during race weekend? I have ADR just in case, but would prefer to chill Saturday and not run around. Still trying to get that elusive Space 220 ADR for Monday, of course

Welcome! Pasta is usually pretty easy to come across--at least in non-Covid times. In the past, I have done POR food court--they used to have a pasta option where you could pick your sauces and add-ins. And Pop food court had a pasta option. Quick menu check shows that both at least now are offering spaghetti and meatballs, and other resorts are too. Given that it is usually a safe bet offering, I expect you'll find it with no problem.

 

[acurls]

Thank you @Herding_Cats and @jmasgat ! I'm excited and nervous, and the nerves are all coming out in my food stress. Looking forward to running my first 26.2 with everyone here! ☺

 

[nekonekoneko]

I'd be livid. I signed up to race a marathon, not 1.75 short of a marathon.

It was 66 at start time, but by noon, it got to 81 degrees, and 84 by 2 in the afternoon. With the humidity Florida is known for, as @camaker said, people were dropping like flies, so they had to try to do something to get people to finish.

 

[stitchsnk]

SAFD a few days late:
I am grateful for so many things this year. I am grateful for a healthy beautiful baby girl - she just turned 7 months. I am grateful for my body for being strong and capable of pregnancy, birth, and recovery. I am grateful for my husband and our relationship. I am so grateful for the health of my family and my friends.

I am grateful to be financially stable enough to afford returning to WDW, especially as an annual passholder from out of state. I am so grateful to be returning to runDisney! My heart is so full!

------------------

In other news: I returned to running post-"franke-toe" aka my big toe compound fracture from 2 months ago. My toe is recovering well, but my ankle is not the same after changing my gait to compensate for the broken toe. I have been running and of all things, my ankle is sore at the end of the day. I'm a little nervous for the marathon.

My costume is coming together though! My best friend and I will be Woody and Buzz, respectively.

I am making a quick trip to Marathon Weekend and will miss both DisBoards gatherings this year - I arrive Friday night and then leave Sunday night. I am sad I won't get to meet up with any of you. I am planning on Wine & Dine in the fall!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

According to this link, the 2020 maps were released in the middle of December. I'm curious if they keep this marathon map or change it again.

I’m most curious about the half course since the overpass/ramp the route uses to get back to Epcot is under construction. If it’s not open by January, I wonder how they’ll modify.

 

[jmasgat]

In other news: I returned to running post-"franke-toe" aka my big toe compound fracture from 2 months ago. My toe is recovering well, but my ankle is not the same after changing my gait to compensate for the broken toe. I have been running and of all things, my ankle is sore at the end of the day. I'm a little nervous for the marathon.

Been there, done that.....I had a stress fracture in a toe several years ago, and it seems like every muscle in my foot rebelled. I was convinced that I was creating new problems in my foot. It took a while for my foot to feel normal again, but it did. And I did not have any other foot issues develop. I had to just relax about it and not neurose over every ache/pain. Hope yours resolves soon.

 

[GreatLakes]

It was a significant safety issue. Runners were dropping left and right from the high heat and humidity. The medical support was being overwhelmed with the number of runners needing aid.

It was 66 at start time, but by noon, it got to 81 degrees, and 84 by 2 in the afternoon. With the humidity Florida is known for, as @camaker said, people were dropping like flies, so they had to try to do something to get people to finish.

I get that but it seems pretty crappy to shorten a race for everyone because some people overestimated their abilities in warmer weather. At some point as runners it is up to us to pull ourselves if we can't finish and know our limits. Mid 80's is hot for a full but not Badwater hot.

 

[Kerry1957]

I get that but it seems pretty crappy to shorten a race for everyone because some people overestimated their abilities in warmer weather. At some point as runners it is up to us to pull ourselves if we can't finish and know our limits. Mid 80's is hot for a full but not Badwater hot.

I generally agree. Disney had the Hobson's Choice whether they should "save" many of the runners from the runners themselves, or just let nature take its course. There were so many runners sitting or laying on the curbs that Disney felt they had to take action. I was able to complete the entire course, but like @TheExpert, had no choice but to walk several miles right after the merge because of the density and narrow sidewalks.

Disney has always been a place for inexperienced runners to gain experience, and this even includes marathon distances. Poor choices are made in the later miles of any marathon (ask me how I know), especially, but not exclusively by inexperienced runners.

 

[Onceuponamarathon]

I generally agree. Disney had the Hobson's Choice whether they should "save" many of the runners from the runners themselves, or just let nature take its course. There were so many runners sitting or laying on the curbs that Disney felt they had to take action. I was able to complete the entire course, but like @TheExpert, had no choice but to walk several miles right after the merge because of the density and narrow sidewalks.

Disney has always been a place for inexperienced runners to gain experience, and this even includes marathon distances. Poor choices are made in the later miles of any marathon (ask me how I know), especially, but not exclusively by inexperienced runners.

To add to this if you're doing Badwater, you're training for insane conditions (including heat), and you're likely an experienced runner that knows their body well. A lot of the runners at marathon weekend are runners who have been training in cold weather and expecting mild temperatures.

My guess is Disney has some sort of critical mass with what they can handle with med volunteers. Once the count of runners dropping exceeded what they could safely triage, they shortened the course.

 

[fatmanatee]

The inaugural W&D ran through that tunnel as well.

It looks like the section that used to run through that tunnel now goes through some of the Slinky Dog Dash ride and walkway. Here is the 2010 GPS track over the current Google map.

View attachment 626859

On a side note it is interesting to see how the old FR305 interpreted the lost reception in the tunnel. It had me stopping and then running at 1:13/mile pace to be at the other end of the tunnel. Now a lost signal for such a short period smooths the data.

This screencap raises an interesting question: what do people think a map that includes more of the updated HS would look like? I would imagine the biggest issue might be routing runners so that there isn't any sort of logjam between runners and other guests. Also I'm asking having not been to HS since TSL or GE have opened (with my one and only RD WDW race weekend being Star Wars in 2017), so I absolutely would not know the logistics of how this would work.

 

[BikeFan]

I get that but it seems pretty crappy to shorten a race for everyone because some people overestimated their abilities in warmer weather. At some point as runners it is up to us to pull ourselves if we can't finish and know our limits. Mid 80's is hot for a full but not Badwater hot.

In Disney's defense (somewhat), they're not the only marathon to have shortened the race due to heat. I remember the Green Bay Marathon halting due to heat in 2012 and Chicago in 2007. I'm sure there are other examples I've missed. Even experienced runners can become victims to heat-related health issues. Some of us older people might remember the Swiss marathoner Gabriela Andersen-Schiess staggering to the finish in 90 degree heat at the debut women's marathon of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. In the heat (literally) of competition, we're not always the best judges of our own health outcomes.

 

[PrincessV]

Disco Tunnel 4Ever. RIP.

I get that but it seems pretty crappy to shorten a race for everyone because some people overestimated their abilities in warmer weather. At some point as runners it is up to us to pull ourselves if we can't finish and know our limits. Mid 80's is hot for a full but not Badwater hot.

So... I had some insider info very early in the race - before MK - that told me rD planned to cut the course at a certain time due to heat (I can't recall the time now, but it was a hard cutoff time, pre-determined - the decision may have been made that very morning, but well before the cutoff actually happened.) As a slow Floridian who trains through the infernal heat of summer for Marathon Weekend, I was not pleased. I started in a back corral, but felt fine at that point and was pretty sure I could push my pace and make it before the cutoff. By the time I got through AK, I was really feeling the heat. Based on experience, I just slowed my pace, poured water over my head, sought shade when I could, etc. and was doing okay... but I came across some non-Floridian friends around that point and they were really feeling it. Sticking with them to provide support (and honestly, to keep an experienced eye on them - I was pretty concerned), I just missed the cutoff and was rerouted, missing BB altogether. What we saw in the back of the pack after that was really, really scary: bodies down on the sides of the road regularly. Medical was working like crazy, but literally could not keep up with the carnage - runners who were okay were stopping to help fellow runners. I thought about stopping myself a time or two, but was concerned enough about my friends that I wanted to stay close to them, just in case. After the finish, people were just collapsing right and left. Standing in a PP line, we saw 3 different people go down. I've never seen anything like that at a rD race and I came away feeling like rD 100% made the right call in cutting the course. My takeaway was that, after two challengingly hot marathons in a row, rD is likely going forward with some hard and fast plans for cutting the course in the future - and that stupid Western Way-BB jaunt works out well for that.

Me, I went out to the parking lot and run-walked until I hit 26.2. From what I hear, it wasn't much different than BB, lol!

I’m most curious about the half course since the overpass/ramp the route uses to get back to Epcot is under construction. If it’s not open by January, I wonder how they’ll modify.

I just drove by it Sunday... I still can't tell if they're building it up, or tearing it down - either way, it's wholly unusable at present. I wonder, too, how they'll re-do the course. The marathon is fine, as W&D did the TTC-Bear Island thing without issue, but I can't see how they manage a MK-EP route right now.

 

[StarGirl11]

I get that but it seems pretty crappy to shorten a race for everyone because some people overestimated their abilities in warmer weather. At some point as runners it is up to us to pull ourselves if we can't finish and know our limits. Mid 80's is hot for a full but not Badwater hot.

…they had 70 medical at the same time in one stage at the race from what I remember reading. I don’t think you realize just how bad it was.

yes it’s not Badwater. Like others have mentioned people will train for the heat and heck wrap specialized clothing. Badwater is not beginner friendly like Disney. And if your not weather aclimatized when this happens then it will get you. And heck probably people who were acclimated normally had problems since this was a winter race

Black flagging/shortening the course is not common practice and not something race directors just do on a whim.

Ive been there two of the three times Disney I know they have had to shorten a course due to heat. (Two at the DL half and this race of course). And the Marathon was the one I pulled myself at Mile 5 due to how bad it was. (I remember walking out at 2:00 am and it was already mid 60s). The heat in these conditions is not exactly mild.

Badwater is a beast of its own for multiple reasons. And Disney isn’t on its level. The average runner is not ready for something like Badwater or Marathon De Sables.

(and the later had issues this year as well)

it’s not a good comparison.

 

[BikeFan]

Me, I went out to the parking lot and run-walked until I hit 26.2. From what I hear, it wasn't much different than BB, lol!

Between the walk from the buses to the village and then the walk to the corrals, I think everyone got 26.2 that day!

 

[stitchsnk]

Been there, done that.....I had a stress fracture in a toe several years ago, and it seems like every muscle in my foot rebelled. I was convinced that I was creating new problems in my foot. It took a while for my foot to feel normal again, but it did. And I did not have any other foot issues develop. I had to just relax about it and not neurose over every ache/pain. Hope yours resolves soon.

Thank you! Doc says it will take a while for everything to go back to how it was. I'm optimistic.

 

[DopeyBadger]

This screencap raises an interesting question: what do people think a map that includes more of the updated HS would look like? I would imagine the biggest issue might be routing runners so that there isn't any sort of logjam between runners and other guests. Also I'm asking having not been to HS since TSL or GE have opened (with my one and only RD WDW race weekend being Star Wars in 2017), so I absolutely would not know the logistics of how this would work.

I don't think you'll see something like 2016 moving forward anymore. This is because as the current route stands most runners are hitting DHS when it is open, and there isn't a lot of wiggle room in the Toy Story/GE area.

I think the best we can hope for is a return to the 2018/2019 route which included the full Sunset and some Hollywood. The key difference in 2018/2019 vs 2017 was the removal of running through the turnstiles area. Since the park is open, and security is more of a thing in 2021 than it was in 2017, I imagine we won't go back to the 2017 route either. But I think the 2018/2019 route is reasonable for a touch more DHS time.

Maybe there's a fantasy some day where you come in through a back entrance of DHS by the new Star Wars Hotel through GE and through Hollywood Blvd. But if the park is open when most runners come through DHS, then I doubt that will ever be an option. With that being said, the Star Wars hotel doesn't look like anything special from the outside to warrant running past it (but that's just my opinion on an unfinished hotel at this point).



2016 (old route through the Backstage Tours)



2020 (newest route with a taste of DHS past TOT and RnR, no Hollywood Blvd)


Other options used:

2018/2019 (down Sunset to Hollywood backside around turnstiles)


2017 (down Sunset to Hollywood through turnstiles)

 

[PrincessV]

I think in the discussion of more time in DHS we're leaving out one thing: more DHS came with a large side of WWOS. I didn't mind WWOS all that much (thought I really despised Victory Way Parts 1 and 2), but many others really hated it. So I think it's a pick your poison kinda thing: WWOS or Western Way + BB?

 

[The Expert]

Between the walk from the buses to the village and then the walk to the corrals, I think everyone got 26.2 that day!

I definitely counted it! It was a heck of an introduction to the marathon distance. Thank goodness for those bags of ice and my husband at the Boardwalk with an icy Coke!

 

[StarGirl11]

Honestly y’all are talking course maps and I’m over here just trying not to wonder when the disabilities people at rD are going to get back to me. Since whether I’ll get to start the full is currently hinging on them.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

No it actually used to be pretty substantial time in the park. You used to run through this tunnel where there were people sewing costumes on either side of you. At least I think I remember that, but maybe I'm hallucinating that part. LOL Then some time through the back stage and down by the commissary and then out of the park. It was great. I loved it. Then I think they changed it to coming in through the back by ToT and running up Sunset Blvd and then out of the park. It was a really nice amount of time. I remember the first year I ran with just that tiny little scrap of park time and thinking, "This has to be a joke".

I definitely remember seeing the costume making and then backstage. Either through or past the big hat and down the main street.