Disney Marathon 2013

[FayeW]

I posted on the Theme Park board, but there were no responses, so I thought I would try here.

My husband ran his first 1/2 marathon last weekend, and announced a few days ago that he wants to run in the Disney Marathon in 2013. We have never gone at that time of year, and we have never stayed on site.

I am interested in hearing opinions from those who have participated, as I am thinking that with the early start time, on site might be a better choice for this event. Can someone give me a run down (no pun intended) on what we can expect in terms of transportation, etc?

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I did my first two Disney races this year but my transportation knowledge may be limited.

First, they suggest you be on Disney transportation (monorail or bus) NO LATER than 4:00 am. Most leave their resorts earlier than that. We stayed at the Poly for the race in January and we walked to the TTC to grab the monorail at 3:45. That was absolutely perfect. We did notice other people arriving from their resorts via bus. I have no idea how that works. We chose the Poly for the monorail alone.

For the Princess Race, I stayed offsite with my brother and sister. We drove to Epcot and they live over by Sea World. I would say we were on the road by 3:30ish. We had no problems getting into Epcot, but they are both CM's and know the roads like the backs of their hands.

If I ran the race again, I would probably stay at the Poly again. It was near perfect for transportation.

I would post on the WISH boards as well. Lots of experienced racers over there.

 

[J3nn78]

Visit the W.I.S.H. board here on DIS-post your questions in the Events/Competition section.

On site would definitely be the way to go. I did the full this past January. We stayed at POFQ and got the bus at 3:30am.

 

[Disney Doll]

We have gone every year for about 6 or 7 years now with a big group of walkers/runners who do various pieces of the races (1/2, Full and sometimes both marathons).

I have both spectated and walked the 1/2 Marathon and the Full Marathon during those 6 or 7 years and we have a pretty good system down at this point.

We stay at Pop Century. As long as you are on the bus no later than 4AM you will be fine. We tend to be @ the bus stop at about 330AM and then take the next bus that comes along, They have TONS of busses running....they actually bring in busses from all the bus companies surrounding WDW. The busses then stop running at like 5AM so if you have spectators that want to be at Epcot, they should get on the bus early as well, or drive to Ecpot and park. There is a long line of folks waiting to drive into Epcot and park, so your spectators shoud not think that they will be able to leave at 545AM and be in Epcot by 6AM.

Usually what we do is have the runners go on the busses. The spectators drive to Epcot and park. We leave our hotel about 430AM to get to Epcot & have time to wait in traffic and be able to park. We then go stand near the entrance to Ecpot, under the monorail station. The runners will go through there and you will be able to get a good view of them. It is about Mile 1. Going out to the actual start is not as good, truthfully. We have done both and find that Mile 1 is a better way to see your runner early on in the race...and a better way for them to see you.

Once we have seen our runners go through, we jump on the monorail and head to the Magic Kingdom. We stand along Main Street USA and see our runners again. Then we get back on the monorail and head back to Epcot. Some of us go to the Finish Line and some of us go into the park and stand in the walkway the runs on the left side of Spaceship Earth as you're looking at it when entering. That's like the last spot where the runners go through a "public" part of the park and it gives them a big boost to see people there. Right after that, they veer to the right, go past the bathrooms, in back of that building around a couple of bends and then they are heading to the Finish Line area. Those people that go into Epcot will NOT be able to get to the Finish Line in time to see their runner cross it.

 

[Sandy321]

Visit the W.I.S.H. board here on DIS-post your questions in the Events/Competition section.

On site would definitely be the way to go. I did the full this past January. We stayed at POFQ and got the bus at 3:30am.

I agree with PP about going to the Events/comp thread on WISH -

Disney Doll gave a very detailed post on her experience - not much to say after that!

We stay at a Boardwalk hotel - and have the same time line - know that at 5am precisely - the roads close - so I missed the last bus out to Epcot, and had to take a taxi - with the roads closed, I had to get to MK - and I've read posts from time to time from people not involved with the marathon that are frustrated with road closures!

The last marathon we went to was 2010 - when it was freezing, when the weather was snow and sleet! and after the Half people were freezing, the line to get on the Pop busses was daunting, but as always - - it went fast, like DD stated, they had busses from all over to help get the masses moved -

In 2008 it was warmer - well actually the Marathon day was warmer, and afterwards in the runner finish area - there is lots of entertainment -

For the Half - that last 2 - 3 miles is hard, going up and over the last part of the road into where the parking lot area - its hard, lonely - so having the WISH Cheer team there is always a HUGE bright spot for me!

For the Marathon - the cheer squad sits out on the boardwalk by stormalong bay - again, dh says its a welcome sight to hear all those cheers!!

The WISH team consists of anyone that wants to be with WISH - just post that you are going to do the marathon (and I know there are a few 2013 posts already!) and then as it nears there are schedules and meets that if you want to join - you do!

For instance the Friday before early - everyone heads to POP food court - to get a picture - and to eat - in the past people have brought "cheer" items - 2010 many bought a yard of bright lime green fleece, cut it into scarves and passed them out!

Good luck!

 

[escape]

For your first half or full at WDW, I would suggest staying on-site. It just makes getting to the race a lot easier. Transportation to the race is provided at all resorts. I've stayed at various resorts during marathon weekend with Pop Century and Polynesian being my favorites during that time. Pop Century because a lot of DIS Wishers stay there and the Poly for ease to the monorail.

As previous posters have mentioned, Disney suggests you be on the bus or monorail by 4:00am. However, we usually left our rooms at the Poly around 4:40am, boarded the monorail at the TTC 10 minutes later and were at Epcot around 5:00am (and we weren't the last ones to leave). We got to the race in plenty of time. This is one of those things that I say "do so at your own risk" since Disney would prefer you leave earlier.

By the way, 2013 marks the 20th anniversary of the full-marathon. I'm sure Disney will do something special for that race. I'll probably do it providing I'm healthy and the airfares are not beyond my reach.

Also, as pps mentioned, please visit the WISH competition boards. There are already threads about the 2013 race and other races at Disney and throughout the country. You'll also get a lot of good advice on where to stay, learn tips and tricks and meet some really great people.

Disney Doll, I didn't know you've been participating in these races over the past several years. Does your group wear special shirts for the race? A lot of the WISHers wear a bright yellow/green shirt on the day of the races. It's easy for me to spot other WISHers this way.

 

[Disney Doll]

This year (2011) we did because my DH's cousin died in December 2010 so we dedicated the races to him. We were wearing "Kevin's Team" shirts. White with a big green shamrock or green with a big white shamrock. This year I did the Full and wore the white shirt with green shamrock.

Our group is not the size of the WISH walkers. We are anywhere from 20-30 depending on the year and we are not an "organized" thing, so to speak, like WISH or Team in Training. We are just a bunch of friends who started walking a while back and it sort fo snowballed.

 

[FayeW]

Thanks for the advice, everyone, I will have my husband read the thread, and I will take a look at the W.I.S.H board as well.