Best place to cheer on friends at WDW marathon?

[walkdmc]

DH and I are running the 5k and just learned some friends are going to run the full marathon during Marathon Weekend in January. Where is the best place to stand to cheer them on?

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

I am sending this thread to the Events/Competition side of WISH. Hopefully you will get some great suggestions there.

 

[goofyinohio]

Here is a good tool Disney provides that you can use to view your running/walking friends. http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/events/rundisney/spectator-tool

You can enter the expected pace and enter the viewpoints you would like.

What my family did was go near the start on EPCOT Center Drive. Usually alot of people here, but you get to see the runners go by near the first mile (Although the first time by it's hard to find your runner and it's dark) and then Mile 4. Then hop on the monorail and go to the TTC and once your runner passes walk over to Floridian way (just passed Poly which is close to half way.) Then off to the Finish line.

Last year I watched the Marathon in the Studios. Not many people there, but I've heard it's hard to get around Animal Kingdom and the Studio during the Marathon.

Enjoy!

 

[walkdmc]

Thanks for the move to the right board, and thanks for the link, Chris!!

 

[nancytoby]

This was one of the questions posed to the runDisney Moms Panel applicants in round 2 this year, and my answer went something like this:

For the typical half marathon course, a mobile group of family members has the chance to cheer their runners at six locations if they’re really zippy! If they move more slowly, the Magic Kingdom is the single best spot to cheer.
Before start at Epcot
Epcot Monorail to TTC (at the turn onto Topiary Lane)
Resort Monorail to Magic Kingdom (along Main Street USA)
Monorail to Grand Floridian Resort (along Floridian Way)
Monorail to TTC, Epcot monorail to Epcot (race route to backstage west of monorail station)
Epcot parking lot finish line (east of Epcot entrance)

For the marathon you can add locations inside AK or HS, but transportation between there and the Epcot finish area may be slower than your runner on race day - needs to be timed carefully if you want to see them finish!

 

[walkdmc]

Great! It sounds like a marathon to cheer on the marathoners, LOL. DH and I are up for the challenge of following our friends from park to park. That sounds fun and funny for them. "Hey, there they are again."

 

[goofyinohio]

Just don't let your friend follow you onto the Monorail. They will still be sane by then, but better to be safe than sorry. LOL

 

[nancytoby]

And my personal rule for reducing runner stress is: "It's always the spectator's job to spot the runner, the runners job is running and nothing else!"

The area around Grand Floridian/Shades of Green is often kind of nice, they sometimes put characters back in that area.

 

[buckeyecinderella]

Hello. I believe the plan will be for my spectators to be at the TTC to see me go by and then try to walk to the viewing area in front of the Poly to see me go by. I'm still a little confused as to where the viewing is in front of the Poly. Would they have to walk back to the Poly from the TTC, and then cut through the parking lot out to roadway?

 

[cewait]

Hello. I believe the plan will be for my spectators to be at the TTC to see me go by and then try to walk to the viewing area in front of the Poly to see me go by. I'm still a little confused as to where the viewing is in front of the Poly. Would they have to walk back to the Poly from the TTC, and then cut through the parking lot out to roadway?

There is a sidewalk/parking lot path between the Poly and TTC. Its a quarter mile walk.

For some of the above...

Do not be over aggressive. It is not easy to hit the TTC, main and the GF/Poly area if your runner is a sub 10-11 minute runner.

We find that the TTC/Poly or TTC/GF are a great set of options. If one wants to be on Main, they should consider not waiting at TTC.

Nancy pegged the AK traffic issue. Usually for the mid pack runner, the spectator will not find your runner. Mary has tried it 3-4 times; making it to the AK successfully once.

I have a spreadsheet with aspread of paces and key points along the course. She compares my time at the TTC with my spreadsheet and then can figure out when to expect me at other spots.

Last year we used Runkeeper and they were able to know within a minute of when to expect me. We set a plan to start looking once I was within a half mile of their location... electing some lag time in the system. It was almost spot on.

 

[stampingoddess]

The runner that I follow is about a 7-8 min/mile runner and over the years my preferred game plan has been...

1. Ride the bus to Epcot and as soon as he heads back for the start line, I head to the monorail and ride to TTC

2. At TTC hop off and walk over to Poly and pick up a carryout breakfast then head back over to TTC and stake out a place to watch.

3. Once hubby passes me at TTC, I hop on the monorail to GF then walk out to Floridian Way to see his pass.

4. After he passes as Floridian Way, it varies depending on where we are staying...

a. if we are staying at Boardwalk, I try and see if I can catch a bus from GF over to the Studios and wait there, then walk back to BW
b. If we aren't at BW, then I use take the monorail from GF back to Epcot and wait for hubby to finish


I would also agree with someone else's statement that it is the spectator's responsiblity to spot the runner. However if your runer has a good idea where you can be found, then generally between the two of you, you'll spot each other. It is also helpful if neither the runner nor the race dress like all the others- ie there are way too many runners with white singlets and black shorts- might consider opting for something unqiue and brightly colored. As a spector, you might consider a big sign, balloons, etc- something that can be easily seen from a distance.

 

[paxsarah]

I would also agree with someone else's statement that it is the spectator's responsiblity to spot the runner. However if your runer has a good idea where you can be found, then generally between the two of you, you'll spot each other. It is also helpful if neither the runner nor the race dress like all the others- ie there are way too many runners with white singlets and black shorts- might consider opting for something unqiue and brightly colored. As a spector, you might consider a big sign, balloons, etc- something that can be easily seen from a distance.

I agree with this. This year during the January half my family waited for me at the TTC and then at the GF, and both times I spotted them first. I had a pretty good idea of where they would be, and really there were more runners than there were spectators so it was probably easier for me to spot a stationary group of five people. I'm sure their minds were numbed by the thousands of runners passing them (as well as the early hour). Same thing at the Georgia Marathon, only there were way way fewer spectators so it was even easier to spot them. The best bet is to have both parties actively trying to spot each other.

 

[cewait]

I agree that the spectator is responsible but then maybe I am lucky... Mary is err well aaaa short. That allows her a front row spot and wshe knows how to work into a corner so she can spot runners coming. But more importantly, I can spot her quickly and usually before she sees me.

Note that this last year, we used RunKeeper Pro. Its an app that I had on my iPhone and then she and my brother could track using their smart phones. It was a heck of a lot more accurate than the official runner tracking stuff. They knew to start seriously looking about 3-5 minutes prior to my arrival.

 

[WDWFAN9]

One of our favorite spots to scream-team for the full is outside the front of AK. It's easy to get to (bus from resort) and you have plenty of time to see the runners/walkers as they make the loop in front of the park. At this point it is almost the 18 mile mark and everyone seems to appreciate the cheers and pretzels we hand out.