At what time do you set your alarm clock race mornings?

[FelisLachesis]

I'm not looking forward to the early mornings at the 2018 Marathon. 4 days of getting up at... What time should I get up?

So that's the question I'd love to ask all of you. At what time do you set your alarm clock the morning before a runDisney race? Did you stay on-site, or did you drive in from outside of a Disney Hotel?

 

[FFigawi]

This is definitely a matter of personal preference. Some people like to get up early to eat and fuel up several hours before the race starts. Others get up early to avoid having to stress over getting to the corrals on time. Personally, I set my alarm for 345 and am out the door to the car by 415-420. This gets me to bag check by 5 and in my corral right about the time the wheel chair racers are starting.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Around 3 for me. I like lots of time before a race to eat, drink coffee, get un-stupid, etc.

I'm a morning person and get up around 4:30-5:30 every morning so it doesn't bother me. On race morning, I usually wake up before the alarm goes off.

 

[DopeyBadger]

For me personally, I like getting up early (which also means an early bed time ~6-7pm). Here's my spreadsheet (as a surprise to no one...) from last year:



I prefer to be on the first bus (helps to meet other DIS'ers!!), time my meals to be ~2-3 hrs prior to race start, and be towards the front of my corral.

 

[cavepig]

We got up roughly 2:15-2:30 I think for Dopey mornings. I like to get up early enough to eat my breakfast & be as normal as possible. We take the bus.

 

[ANIM8R]

Alarm gets set for 2:30 (with 1 or 2 five minute snoozes!). I'm a "gotta be on the 1st bus" type person. I wish I wasn't but...

 

[jmasgat]

At about the time your post is dated!

I set mine for 3:30--but have never used it I am always awake by 2:30 ish (assuming I've gotten any sleep). I aim for a later bus, which can be a bit dangerous depending on your corral, and the "ept-ness" of the driver. The one time I did Princess, I got on a 4-ish bus, driver had no clue where to go, traffic was heavy, slog to the corral (A)....race gun went off two minutes later. Wouldn't look to repeat that experience!

 

[kywyldcat03]

I set mine for 2:30 since I usually drive to the race. I like to get there early and sit in the car and spend some time at the runners village before heading out to the corrals.

 

[Anisum]

I set mine for 3am because once I was on the first bus, it got lost and we didn't make it until about B or C went off. Since then I always make sure I'm on the first bus just in case it happens again.

 

[FelisLachesis]

At about the time your post is dated!

I set mine for 3:30--but have never used it I am always awake by 2:30 ish (assuming I've gotten any sleep). I aim for a later bus, which can be a bit dangerous depending on your corral, and the "ept-ness" of the driver. The one time I did Princess, I got on a 4-ish bus, driver had no clue where to go, traffic was heavy, slog to the corral (A)....race gun went off two minutes later. Wouldn't look to repeat that experience!

I work second shift, so I get off work at midnight, and then slog around the house until 2-3 in the morning and then get to bed. That seems to be when pretty much everyone gets up for the races. Oh this is going to be a culture shock.

Thanks guys!

 

[rteetz]

2:30 for half and full races. 3:00 for 5K's. I always stay onsite and use runDisney transportation.

 

[bumbershoot]

3 for wdw morning races.

Aka midnight for my pacific timezone self.

 

[WhereInFlorida]

This is some really advance worrying until January 2018.

On site and up at 3:00, on bus by 3:30 for a start in corral D. Because of the cold this year I waited until 3:45 to leave hotel but if I were in a later corral I would have waited even longer.

 

[bumbershoot]

Also known as advanced planning.

Better than thinking about it the night before!

 

[FelisLachesis]

This is some really advance worrying until January 2018.

On site and up at 3:00, on bus by 3:30 for a start in corral D. Because of the cold this year I waited until 3:45 to leave hotel but if I were in a later corral I would have waited even longer.

I hesitated on my DVC rental this year, and got locked out of the resorts I wanted for the Marathon, so, is it ever really too early?

 

[The Expert]

For me personally, I like getting up early (which also means an early bed time ~6-7pm). Here's my spreadsheet (as a surprise to no one...) from last year:

LOL I love that even your clothing is in the spreadsheet!!!

 

[Princess_Nikki]

I set mine for 2:30 since I usually drive to the race. I like to get there early and sit in the car and spend some time at the runners village before heading out to the corrals.

I feel like this will be me at the next race. Now that I'm sticking to 10k's (except for the Princess challenge), I plan to ENJOY the races more. I had a bad attitude at Wine & Dine, lol, waking up wayyyyy too early, and waiting what seemed like forever for my corral to be released.

This past Princess, the 10K was easy breezy, I Ubered it there & home no problem! The half marathon morning was a NIGHTMARE. I don't know what happened that day but it seem like the roads were blocked off super early or than normal, there was a fender bender, all the buses looked like they were running late, there were runners being dropped off in the streets trying to get to the corrals in time, and I barely made it there by the skin of my teeth. Yeah. Didn't make for a great half marathon start. Lol.

SO, WDW Marathon Weekend will be my "let's enjoy this" race! I plan on getting there early to relax maybe get some character pictures and just get to my corral when I feel like it. I suppose I could get there super early to get to the front of my corral but I doubt I'll be in corral A so doesn't matter if I'm in the front of E or the back of D? Lol. I want to have fun and enjoy the race, not PR it, but that's me!

That will all require around a 3:00 am wake up.

 

[DopeyBadger]

LOL I love that even your clothing is in the spreadsheet!!!

If you only knew.... if you only knew... so many spreadsheets...

 

[Sleepless Knight]

My first morning race at WDW will be 2017 Dark Side. At Disneyland, I wake up around 4:15, but honestly, I may be able to get away with sleeping longer since I'm always in the second to last corral. Given that I spent nearly 90 minutes in my corral before the race started this year, I'm probably waking up too early.

I'm thinking about waking up at 3:00am for Dark Side given that I'm relying on the Disney buses. Given my likely placement in a corral far, far away, that may be "too" early, but I also have no idea how long it will take me to get to the corrals.

 

[FelisLachesis]

My first morning race at WDW will be 2017 Dark Side. At Disneyland, I wake up around 4:15, but honestly, I may be able to get away with sleeping longer since I'm always in the second to last corral. Given that I spent nearly 90 minutes in my corral before the race started this year, I'm probably waking up too early.

I'm thinking about waking up at 3:00am for Dark Side given that I'm relying on the Disney buses. Given my likely placement in a corral far, far away, that may be "too" early, but I also have no idea how long it will take me to get to the corrals.

I don't know about Disneyland, but in WDW, it sounds like you have to be in the corral area by 5, or you might risk losing your spot in the race, no matter how far the corral is. Can any of the WDW runners verify this?