Cruise right after marathon question

[Jusacuz]

This past January, I did the half marathon and then the next day went on a cruise. I noticed a few people with the Mickey medal onboard and that leads to my question.

Currently, my plan is to do the full marathon and then get on the Wonder that same day. The cruise is booked already. The more I think about it, the more I start to panic. Clearly it can be done because of the people I saw this last time, but my concern is can I do it?

So, if you were one of those people, how long did it take you to finish and how did you get to the port?

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be slow, unless I am bestowed some super running skills between now and then. I don't think I'll make it back to the resort in time for DCL transportation, but maybe I will.

Then I worry that, what if I'm super slow and I take a town car service to port, but there's a traffic issue and I miss the ship?!? Oh man! I would cry, not kidding, I'd be a huge baby and cry.

Maybe I'm just looking for issues and excuses to not to do the full, so anyone have some realistic outcomes for me and maybe set my mind at ease?
Thanks.

 

[FireDancer]

If memory serves you are supposed to be on board before 4:00pm. I am not sure what your time will be but I am assuming from your post that it won't be a Boston qualifier. Keep in mind that the slower runners not only take longer to run the course but also take longer to start since you are further back.

It comes down to math. I would post the time you think you are going to finish in and someone who is in your time group can give you a better idea. There are some things you can do to help yourself but lets do some quick math:

If the start is at 6 and you are in a corral further back lets adjust your start time to 6:30. Add to that the time you think it will take and you will have your finish time. I will pick 5 hours just to have a number. This puts you at the finish line at 11:30. The next question is where are you staying? How long it will take you to get to the resort gets added in but for the sake of this lets say you are at the AKL since it is far away. I would say it will take about 45 minutes to get to the resort, this puts you at 12:15. If you can get into the town car by 1 that would put you at the ship about 2:15 - 2:30.

Now, if you want to decrease the time you will take to get there you have some options. First, an you do a one way rental and have it with you at Epcot? If so you can skip the resort entirely and go right to the ship. I know you would want to shower but there is a shower on the ship. This could get you there as early as before 1:00 if the other assumptions remain the same.

If that is not an option are you solo? If not you can have whomever you are with pre pack your stuff and get the town car ahead of time and have the town car drive to an Epcot area resort. That would shave off the time of traveling to the further resort and also the shower time in the room.

I'd rather put off the shower and get to the ship instead of risk missing it.

I did a one way rental with Dollar when I did a Disney cruise. There is a free shuttle from the drop off in Cocoa Beach to the port so that may save you some time and may be no more expensive than the town car service.

 

[Jusacuz]

Thank you. Seeing the numbers there made me feel better about actually making it happen.

5 hours is my goal, which is probably being too hopeful. I'm likely going to stay at POP, which doesn't have a DCL bus, so I guess that's not an option for transportation anyway. The thought of driving there makes me feel ill. I'm not at all confident with driving there.

I'm going with my 16 year old daughter, so she's not going to be very helpful. She was barely awake when I got back to the resort the last time after the half.

Basically, I think this all boils down to how badly I want to make it happen and train better than I have in the past.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Based on your goal and the numbers crunched above it really looks like you'd have time. You do need to have everything/everyone (daughter) ready to roll and even have time for a quick shower. I think it can be done. Have fun training and enjoying the cruise after.