how did I miss that there's a Dopey TR for you? Yaaaay for another Ariel TR haha Bring on the awesome outfitsHelloooooo humans! Grab a chair - and clothes for every possible weather scenario - because it's time for another runDisney trip report!
The cast is...me! Shannon, 32 years old (picture from November's Wine & Dine Half Marathon!):
This was my 10th runDisney weekend, and was supposed to be runDisney races 22, 23, 24 and 25 for me. But Mother Nature had other plans!
Almost 1 year ago to the day that this trip started, I experienced a pretty significant (in my world) back injury - you can read more about that here. I decided that Marathon Weekend would be my big comeback and signed up for the Goofy Challenge (half marathon + marathon on consecutive days) back in April. In October, I transferred my registration to the Dopey Challenge, which consists of the 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon on consecutive days. I had successfully completed the challenge in 2015 (I had also done Goofy in 2013).
I had been plagued with doubts and insecurities all year when it came to this weekend. I felt like this - specifically the marathon - was something that I needed to do to prove to myself that I was "healed," but at the same time, I just wasn’t sure that I was ready. My back was still sore during long runs and I was really starting to get burned out on running altogether. I was very nervous for this trip!
It turned out that this trip was challenging, weird, and rewarding all at the same time. I had a good amount of DIS-meets, a good amount of alone time (my first-ever solo trip!), a good amount of character time (eek yay!) and almost NO park time! The least park time I have ever had on a trip...in fact, I rode just 1 ride all weekend (any guesses as to what it was? ). So it may not make for the most entertaining trip report ever, but that hasn’t stopped me in the past.
So here it is - my 2017 Marathon Weekend...with the help of the Seven Dwarfs!
They were! I realize that their daughter worked hard to get ready for the half but the whole "Disney doesn't want to spend the money conspiracy" was...I feel bad saying it, but a little crazy!Wow, those people really were upset. I mean I get it but at some point you have to realize that it was for our safety and the volunteers safety and not about money.
I was amazed by all of the people out running! I regretted not going out and doing the same as the day went on but I got my miles in the parks. I did not wear my bib like you though. I don't think I got 13.1 in either but 9.5 isn't bad.
I love Via Napoli!
I learned after this weekend that I will now bring throwaway clothes for sure from now on!
ha, thanks. Saturday was pretty bad - cold is one thing, but rain AND cold? Yuck!!You look adorable in your running gear and with your bib. I love all the shots you got. Honestly Saturday afternoon was miserable as far as weather goes, so I commend you on doing what you did. We also ended up with around 10 miles according to fitbit and that was good enough for me.
We finally ate at Via Napoli on this trip and we LOVED it. Our favorite meal of the entire trip. We will definitely be returning.
Loving that racing outfit for the marathon and that's quite a pile of throwaway! We ended up tossing a lot as well. Glad you found a hat. They had some in the Beach Club Marketplace as well as some cheap knit gloves and they seemed to be selling a lot of them.
Stoked to hear about the marathon!
I saw them running in Epcot too, now that you mention it! tsk tsk!Great job getting the 9.5 miles in! Close enough in my book!
We actually did see people running around the World Showcase on Saturday. All I could think to myself was "I can't see how Disney would approve of this! Too much of a liability!" Especially in that rough Saturday weather!
Dang! I wish I would have thought to bring the luggage tag and have Donald sign it! Such a cool idea!!
Another awesome running outfit! With a large pile of throwaway clothes that I am sure was needed!
Thank you!! The one bright side of the colder weather is that I got to wear that outfit - originally I was thinking I would be in a tank top and running skirt. NOPE!!Absolutely love your butterfly top!
Exactly NAAN of the leftover naan was eaten, how sad!Yay for going to the DIS meet! I definitely get the Bashful thing (I'm the same way, and I'm 99% that I probably wouldn't have gone), but I'm really glad you went and met some awesome people!
Okay, why is there a dragon in your Tree of Life picture? That is very weird! (Also, your hair looks awesome!)
You really did have a lot of Pluto meets ... I guess you just wanted to celebrate each new medal with a character who wears his own medal!
You ate naan of the leftover naan. Dying.
I think you summed it up pretty well - everyone's feelings are valid, and there are lots of different opinions. As long as people aren't judging one another for what they chose to do, it's all good!I wasn't on the computer/phone Friday night or most of the day Saturday, so I didn't hear about the cancellation until Saturday night. I was shocked. Based on what I know, I think they did make the right call, and it seems like information mostly came out in a timely manner (although not fully at first apparently), but still ... it was definitely a wow moment.
I was also really impressed with the refund options. I didn't expect them to be so generous - I figured it would be a partial refund at best.
The upgrading to the marathon thing actually seemed kind of like a bad idea to me. I understand that if you've run another marathon recently, maybe it's doable ... but to me, training for a half and then running a marathon is asking for an injury. I'm really impressed that people managed to transfer and not get injured.
At the end of the day ... I'm not sure how I feel about the challenge & C2C medals. I'm one of those people who believes that you earn the medal just by training and showing up. In my eyes, if you planned to run and trained to run, you more than deserve all of those medals, even the challenge medals. I think it's cool that people ran 13.1 miles around the resorts or whatever, but I don't think it was necessary to earn the medal.
That said, I do understand why people are unhappy and feel like they didn't earn the medals, because for some people, they don't feel that sense of accomplishment until they cross the finish line.
Also ... the opportunity to sleep in during a runDisney weekend is something so rare that you can't not take advantage of it.
Peanut butter pretty much always wins though, right??Your ice cream selections are awesome. I'm glad to hear that PB Wins the Cup was a favorite, because that's probably what I would have chosen.
I love that you wore your bib to the parks! Definitely looks like you were trying to make the best of a not-great situation. Plus, you met Pluto, so ... that's another medal you earned right there!
Wow, that is a lot of throwaway clothing. Cold weather is definitely not what you want for a race where you're hanging out in the corrals for hours...
Me too!! Super fun dinner!Great report so far!! I had so much fun with you and Keels at dinner Thursday! It was great seeing you again at the meet-up Friday, but unlike you I was not wise and had not napped (yet) so I wasn't feeling super talkative.
I think it's fair to be sad that the race was canceled...I was both relieved AND sad. If it was my first I think I would have gotten out there and done the 13.1, so I get that!!I admit to being very disappointed that Saturday's race was cancelled. I love RunDisney's handling of it though - the weather was not Disney's fault and it was awful all night - totally the right call. I wasn't mad at Disney, just sad for the situation. It was to be my first Dopey, so I went out and ran around the Boardwalk (and environs) once the weather cleared at about 8:30. I'm really glad I did it - everyone was cheering each other on, people were handing out their own cliff bars to runners, etc. I loved that some people even ran in costume. It made me feel better about the situation. If it wasn't my first, I don't know if I would have done it or not. It ended up being a really cool experience though. I love that you wore your bib into the parks, great idea! Hope to see you next month at Princess!
"Awesome outfits" is definitely one thing I can promise!how did I miss that there's a Dopey TR for you? Yaaaay for another Ariel TR haha Bring on the awesome outfits
Aw man!! I think people either love or hate Via Napoli - I have been there 5-6 times and it's always been really good for me! Less-than-great service could definitely have an effect, I have had that happen before so I totally get what you are saying (we sort of had that at 'Ohana in November - it stinks!!).So we ate at Via Napoli once and our experience wasn't all that great...service was sub-par and I didn't think the pizza lived up to the hype (I LOVE pizza). Maybe the pizza didn't seem as good because we were in a bit of a funk due to the service? I dunno. Either way, your pizza looks so good that you have me wanting to give it a second chance. Also, I'm really hungry now
And isn't that the most important part anyway?!Good for you for getting out there! 13.1 or 9.5....your outfit was on point! Yum-o via Napoli! Loving the marathon gear! Can't wait to read all about it!
Sanaa sounds so good, I've heard great things about it too especially for a vegetarian like me, but all that naan bread for one made me laugh. They wanted you to really carb load!
The rain really started coming down soon after Donald. I was thinking really hard about just bagging this whole thing. I was soaked and cold, and my back was getting stiff, but I really felt like I should keep going to get to 13.1.
I split from the group and hid out in a gift shop in the American Adventure pavilion. Eventually I made it to Japan and walked laps around the store there! I met up with my friend who upgraded her half marathon entry to the marathon! She seemed incredibly calm...I would have been flipping out!
Around 1:30, I decided I wanted some lunch and headed to France.
After that, I was done. I was starting to worry I was going to get sick from being out in this cold rain...at 7 miles I called it. So I didn’t get my 13.1 in on Saturday. Part of me wishes I would have just finished it, but part of me is okay with it. Mixed feelings for sure! I ended up at around 9.5 miles for the day.
I headed back to the Boardwalk to take a hot, hot shower and put on some dry clothes. runDisney sent out ANOTHER weather alert and I had a slight heart attack thinking the marathon would be canceled but it was just them basically saying that it would be cold and to wear layers.
During this time, I got a call from my mom asking about the half marathon being canceled - I hadn’t told her about it but she had seen it on the news at home in Ohio, which I thought was crazy! I guess it was on the news as part of a story about the nutso weather all around the country.
I headed back to Epcot for my 6PM reservation at Via Napoli (the rain had stopped by then), and it was perfect as usual.
On the way out, I checked the International Gateway gift shop hoping to find a knit hat. By now I knew that we were looking at temperatures in the high 30s with 23-24 MPH winds for the race the next day! Being from Ohio, I have trained in WAY worse conditions, and Big Purple was packed with some good cold weather running options, so I knew I would be fine for the race (I really probably had 4-5 extra full running outfits with me so that I had plenty of options for any type of weather - good thing Big Purple is so...*big*). But waiting around in that weather in the corrals for an hour+ was going to be the tough part. Since the half had been canceled, I now had 2 sets of throwaway clothes and I planned on wearing allll of them the next morning, but the one thing I hadn’t brought was a warm hat. I had something I was going to wear on my head during the race, but it was thin technical fabric and I knew it wouldn’t cut it for keeping my head warm before the race. The gift shop didn’t have any knit hats, so I was debating on driving to Target or Walmart. But then I checked the gift shop out on the Boardwalk - they had 2 hats left! Thick, black knit hats. I bought one for $10...bargain.
I got everything ready to go back in the room, a little sad that my pretty outfit was going to be covered up for awhile.
The whole pile. The pile up top above the orange gloves is all throwaway stuff!
I was in bed a little before 9...up next: my big redemption run from my stupid injury, the 2017 Walt Disney World Marathon!
Peanut butter pretty much always wins though, right??
I'm going to Jiko next month for the first time since 2014 - so excited!!They used to have an amazing palak paneer, which was my favorite item, but there are still other good vegetarian items on the "sampler" entree.
Jiko is our absolute favorite for vegetarians and vegans, though. I'm still dreaming about my dinner after the marathon.
You basically had breakfast pie, dessert pie, and pizza pie all in the same day and that is why you are my hero.
See - you thought when you opened this thread that you were getting just another trip report. What you didn't know is that you were also getting inspiration AND wisdom.*Has a truer thing ever been said?
Yeah, I'm the same way on Facebook! The sunrise during the 10K was amazing!!haha I think I must be in that same facebook group, I definitely saw the posts of the dino-Sore and remember the extinct pic too, and that guy who made a sign I don't usually notice anyone's name on FB in the Disney groups, because I always doubt I'll know them. Well, I should pay attention, realized an old Air Force buddy of mine is in like 3 groups with me !
I love all the gorgeous sunrise pics from the 10K
Oh nooooo. That's gotta suck, unless it really helps you - which if it is, I'm sure it's worth it! I hope you get to eat a Via Napoli pizza again some day!Via Napoli is sooo good! Nothing like a thin crust classic pepperoni pizza! In the past year I have had to go gluten free for health reasons, so I skipped Via Napoli this year. They probably have a glutten free pizza (Disney in general is just awesome when it comes to gluten free options) but I am still protesting gluten free pizza in general!
Yes! It is just so beautiful and different. Not at all like a theme park!I'm a little bit behind....so here goes!
I love AK too -- just a beautiful park overall, and I notice something new every time!
Totally agree! I have ADRs at both places for my next trip!Love Sanaa (and Jiko) too -- but agree that it is an effort to get over there, if you aren't staying at AKL -- worth the trek though!
I'd say the overall theme for me was just shock. Like I said, I have never had a race canceled, and I definitely had a little voice in my head saying, "there's no way the weather will be bad. The storms will pass and the race will go on and everything will be magical!" Which obviously was not right.I followed the unfolding 1/2 marathon cancelation on social media that night -- I can't imagine the range of emotions! And then all the runners the next day! I have all kind of thoughts as well -- but tend to feel that finishing the race will be great, but the preparation that goes into the race is what I will feel most proud about, and what so much of the medal represents. Either way, Disney handled it really well! I just keep telling myself that the chances of this happening twice in a row at WDW are pretty slim, so hopefully PHM won't have similar issues...
It was! Amazing but expensive!!That ice cream looks amazing -- I think, staying at the Swan, we will probably be over there several times next month!
It was fun - I'm glad that I went!Dismeet sounds like a fun gathering -- always fun to put faces with names (though I am an introvert, so get nervous about those types of meets too!)
I loooove Via Napoli. VN and Sanaa are my favorite non-signatures at WDW!Looks like you made the most of the extra park time! Those are some gray skies though!
We are doing Via Napoli the night before PHM -- YUM! I am so looking forward to it!
Looking forward to hearing about the marathon!
I'm the same way, all these people who write amazing TRs and then it's like...don't stop THERE! I have to keep reading more. Like they have nothing better to do AFTER they're back from vacationI think what I enjoy most about your trip reports is how engaging they are. I mean I know you finish but the suspense is killing me.