Every Wish That We Put Into Motion.... (comments welcome!)

[Herding_Cats]

Running (haha, see what I did there?) trip report for MW 2026. I’ll add pics once we get back home and I have the Big Computer

Sunday: up at 4am to leave at 5am for a 4hr drive to Detroit. Travel was uneventful, as was picking up the rental car, and the drive to RR. We got a room-ready text while we were still at MCO, so we opted to drop our luggage we needed for the first few nights in the room, change into more temperature-appropriate clothes, and headed to MK for the rest of the day. DD sang along with the entirety of HEA, and I only cried a little.

Monday we got up early and rope-dropped AK. Rode FoP (DD cried most of the time because it was too real feeling and she didn’t like the drops) but LOVED EE. Go figure. We had lunch at Nomad Lounge and exited the park at around 2pm to have some pool time. When we got back we were happily surprised to see that the Character bus was there and she got to meet Goofy, Pluto, and Donald. We went to Epcot for dinner (Regal Eagle) and intended to stay for fireworks and EEH but ended up riding FEA and then leaving because DD was really tired and we had forgotten her protective ear muffs.

Tuesday was BBB day for DD. We roped-dropped MK again, rode teacups, dumbo, SDMT, and the carousel before she was transformed into Aurora. After that we were on a mission to meet characters and managed all 4 princesses in Fairytale Hall, Jasmine & Aladdin, and Pocahontas. We rode POTC, sat through 1 showing of Tiki Room, and then met Mickey before exiting the park at around 4pm. Whew! Our room at SSR was ready ridiculously early AND my room request was honored, so we dropped our luggage off in our room, picked up our grocery order, and had dinner in the room. I mistakenly thought Fantasmic was at 9pm so we hustled over to HS to watch it and we sat. And sat. And sat. 9pm came and went and it was then that I realized we left too early. DD fell asleep while we waited and wasn’t happy to be woken up until Elsa started singing let it go.

Wednesday: we get to sleep in today? Yes! All the way until 8am. What’s that, we didn’t get up bed until after 11? Oh noooooo. The expo was really frustrating. Somehow less organized than in the past. We actually had BG34, and that really made things frustrating when we waited and waited to be called. We didn’t get out of WWOS until 1:30pm, and DD was sooo over it. We hit the pool, for awhile, a few shops in DS, and had dinner at Raglan Road. I booked through OpenTable and we ended up in the furthest table by the door that exits towards Morimoto. Which meant DD couldn’t see any of the dancers. Is there a trick to getting a better table location? We didn’t get to bed until a little after 8, which wasn’t ideal.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Thursday 5k day!

Alarms were set for 2am but we ended up snoozing until about 215. I had made sure to set everything out the night before so all we had to do was get dressed and shove some food in our mouths. We were out the door and headed toward Epcot by 3, and had to do a quick GPS change as it was not sending us the correct way (probably backstage as happened to jsharp.) It was a quick hello at the light pole and then we waited in line for Stitch, DD’s favorite character.

On a health note, this is the best my back has felt in 2 weeks. I did jog a few intervals and nothing felt worse or weird which was a great sign.

DD ran the entire first mile, and DH had to chase after her. They waited for me at the Stargirl line and the we stuck together for the remainder of the race. She got pretty bogged down during mile 2, and we stopped for a picture with Jumba (was Pleakly, but they switched out while we were in line.) After her break for the character line she was raring to go and ran a good portion for mile 3, and the final section from the choir to the finish line. I juggled snack boxes while DH got our back from gearcheck and she got a pic with Pluto and her medal. We went back to the room to rinse, change, and eat more breakfast, and then headed back to Epcot. We did early entry for GoTG and DD didn’t go well because it was so dark and she was tired. When we got to the end she look up at me with her sad little face and said “Did we get it? Did we get the cosmic reactor?” So there’s definitely enough storyline for even a 6 year old to follow. After that we debated our plan for the rest of the day. We ended up crossing over to rise Soarin and to grab a hummus pack from Sunshine seasons. After that we made our way (the wrong way) around WS to meet princesses. We *just* missed Aurora, but did get Pooh, Tigger, Capt Hook, Mickey (again because he had different clothes), and Mulan.

I had modified our Sanaa reservation from 12:05 back to 1:30 to accommodate all the characters and we bussed from Epcot to AKV and then back to Epcot where we switched busses to SSR where all took a 90min nap. Then it was off to the pool for a bit. We had intended to watch fireworks somewhere tonight, but we are opting for a quiet night in with a somewhat normal bedtime routine so that hopefully we can avoid any meltdowns tomorrow.

I have 0 fomo about the 10k tomorrow. I will likely start having anxiety about Saturday/Sunday tonight when I try to fall asleep.

 

[nancipants]

So glad your back is feeling better! And I was glad to say hi before the race.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Oh gosh. There was DEFINITELY a reason I was working on this through the week, and it's because I tend to forget things, and then come back and edit posts a bunch as the details trickle back in. You've been warned.

Friday: No race today, and I'm not sad about it. We rope-dropped HS and headed directly to Rise (as did most of the other people there.) DD LOVED it, and we actually turned right back around and rode it again. DH went back for the stroller that we had parked back by Star Tours, and while he was getting that, DD got to meet Rey. Once DH was back, we rode Smugglers Run. DH was a gunner and DD and I were engineers. This ride is frustrating to me for a lot of reasons, and I love concept, but hate the execution. I'm a terrible pilot, but sitting in the 3rd row staring at a wall of buttons isn't a fun way to experience a ride. We got exactly 1 cargo container. This was one of 2 days that we had booked LL for (in an effort to keep me from standing in lines) and it was mostly successful. We had one for Star Tours (didn't need it, but you gotta get through them to book more later!) which DD also really liked. We had a break until our next LL (TSMM) so we stopped to meet Minnie and then Mickey. DH barely beat me at Midway Mania, which I blame on being a single rider on my half and not being able to unlock things like the volcano. We rode Alien Saucers, and then Slinky Dog (LL) before we hit up Backlot Express for lunch. While we were there we made a plan for the rest of the day, made another LL for Runaway Railway, and caught a show of the Frozen Singalong. Best joke of the day there was the male historian asking Kristoff hey I like your jacket! What kind of fur is that? Muppet? I wonder if they get to write any of their own jokes or if there are people who write for them. We skyliner-er over to IG and walked back to HH for the meetup. So nice to see everyone! DH and DD went over and did the tie-dye mickey shirt to keep her entertained, and we hung out until we needed to head back for our LL, and nancipants hitched a ride with us on the skyliner. After RR we met Buzz, and then Woody and Jessie. The CMs working that line were great and we sent cast compliments for them. I was the wet blanket that needed to get to bed, so we went back to the room for the night. I obsessively meticulously organized all of my costume parts and pieces, my fuel, shoes, any toiletries I might need in the morning, prepped my breakfast stuff, pre-loaded the coffee maker, and was in bed at about 8. My parents called to wish me a happy birthday at about 830, and my mom may have suggested that I might get swept this year with all of the issues I'd had with training and my back. Thanks Mom, guess I have to do prove you wrong now!

Saturday: This is where it starts to get fuzzy on me. DD had crawled into our bed at some point during the night, which worked out well and I was able to get up and ready without waking her or DH. I think I was on the 2nd bus. It definitely wasn't the first since one was driving past as I walked up to the front. SSR had a coffee/tea station set up, along with some fruit for runners to grab if my memory is correct. Last year they sent around CMs with small goody bags (a mini horse shoe, a piece of candy, and a message wishing us good luck in our races) to the rooms with runners and dropped them off, but that didn't happen this year. There was very little done that was race-specific that I noticed. But to be fair, we didn't spend much time at the resort. Met at the light pole, dropped off my gearcheck bag, and sat in the back of D-Blue (not to be confused with D-Yellow) until it was actually time to get up and start the shuffle toward the front. I followed DisneyatHeart for about a mile, and didn't really stop for any pictures because all of the lines were so long! Even my castle pic took almost 10 minutes! I ran a few miles with Mr_Incr3dible, and I think maybe Pluto377? I seriously cannot remember. I am pretty sure I didn't get any in-park pics until we came back through Epcot because the course/PP etiquette was soooooo terrible. DH took DD to the pool, where she made friends and was trying to make plans for the next day, so I could soak and stretch without her bouncing around the room.

After getting cleaned up, we headed to DS for lunch and some shopping. We ate and Polite Pig, and then get a customized jersey for DS3 at the Pele store. We found a few things at World of Disney and Pin Traders, and then headed to the pool for DD to use up some energy. We had dinner at the Boathouse, which was good but I don't understand it's cult-like favorite status? Maybe I didn't get something fancy enough. I opted for a pasta dish with veggies and added grilled shrimp to it in hopes of having some extra carbs and protein, but nothing too heavy going into Sunday. My feet weren't thrilled with me at the end of the day, no surprise there. I once again got everything ready for Sunday, and did the mental math with my meds to figure out what to take before bed so I could take my 12hr anti-inflammatory in the morning and not have to worry about that on-course.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Sunday: Worst race ever? Most painful, that's for sure! So much pain. One thing that I hadn't really given much thought to was the fact that I've never run *most* of a marathon by myself. I've run an entire marathon with SIL, a few where I catch up with TheExpert around MK, and one where Mr_Incr3dible ran with me post-Poly/heading toward AK. But my fitness this year was terrible, and I knew that even if someone joined me along the course, it would only be for a couple of miles before they continued at their pace. That made for a very new experience where I was very UN-distracted from how miserable my body felt.

My back was never too much of a problem, outside of the mile or so that I attempted to hang with the 6:00 (I think?!) pace group or when I attempted to run *all* of a downhill. It would twinge in a way to tell me hey maybe don't do that but not in an OUCH way. So I walked. A lot. My feet were screaming by about mile 6, and they screamed at the same volume for the remainder of the race. Considering that I averaged about 16:30 miles including stops, it was about 6 hours of that. My attempts to strike up conversations with runners around me in the later miles fell flat, which wasn't much of a surprise with how much of a suffer-fest it had turned into for many of the runners.

But let's start at the beginning. I stopped in Norway for the bathroom and apparently got passed by the 5:45 pace group during the 3 minutes I was in there. Epcot wasn't overly crowded, but the early highway miles and ramps were. The section from Poly/GF to MK was as terrible as ever with all of the crowding, but at least it was getting light out so we could see at that point. Character lines were still long for comfort, but castle pics were significantly quicker than Saturday. I was texting in a group with Nancipants and Pluto377 thinking that at some point I would catch up with them as they waited in character lines, but it never happened. I was also texting with Mr_Incr3dible and he caught up with me as we exited MK and stayed with me until around Bear Island road. I happily accepted a mini coke from TheExpert at the TTC; spectator energy was one of the few distractions from my feet. I (mostly) jokingly suggested we cut that big loop off in the MK parking lots, which Mr_Incr3dible shot down. And at the first banana stop I started to get worried for the runners behind me and how much water I *wasn't* seeing available at the aid stations.

In the backstage miles at AK I think I got within about 2min of Pluto377 but at the next check-in she was significant further ahead. As we turned to the section where you no longer see runners exiting AK, 2 medical bikes came through with noticeably more speed and purpose than any I'd seen so far. About a half mile later I could hear ambulance sirens, but was unsure of where they were coming from. They were behind us and people were SO OBLIVIOUS. A lot of us started yelling at other runners to GET TO THE RIGHT to give space for it come through. Sure enough, those 2 bike medics were attending to a runner who was down and had requested the ambulance.

DH and DD waited for me in Africa and I stopped for a quick hug and handed off my arm sleeves. I stopped at the Nemo bathrooms, and the line was outside the door but moved quickly. At the turn backstage they were handing out bags of ice, which I managed to stuff into my ice bandana, something that I had almost decided against tying onto my belt that morning. Sponges were handed out on Western Way and I encouraged runners around me to KEEP IT and rewet it at future aid stations. One group of woman gave me big eyes about that "I didn't even THINK of doing that!"

I think I was just starting Osceola Parkway when I heard someone in front of me say something about "cutting BB" and I immediately asked in the group text if this was accurate. The answer was a quick "no." I wasn't going to be sad if they cut BB because I was miserable and wanted to be done. And halfway down the entrance drive to BB the answer changed to "Yes. They just cut it at the intersection." Runners around me were concerned for what this would mean, specifically since we still had around a 25min lead on the balloons at that point.

I'm going to stop and reboot my computer here because the lag is unbelievable this morning.

 

[Herding_Cats]

OK. So the course has been cut. People are concerned. What about our lovely 25min cushion with only 10k to go? Thanks to previous discussions about this (cough, 2020!) I knew that they would hold the balloons until our group had passed and that our cushion would likely shrink, but we would NOT be getting cut at the diversion point. I did, however, think that they would U-turn us at the end of the driveway and not send us on the tour-de-parking lot. I was wrong. We still ran the perimeter, so I stopped for a picture with Dug (I think?) and then Pluto. While I was in line for Pluto, they cut it off. The person behind me was the LAST person allowed to get a pic, and there were still runners coming in the parking area from the entrance drive. Clearly they were being serious about getting us through and off the roads at that point. As I got to the cone-divided driveway, the last runners were starting into the parking area, and quite a few medical (and yellow-vested) bikes were hovering around the back of the pack of runners, I'm assuming to check in with them.

Getting to HS was a slog, and I wondered what the situation would be for any remaining character stops, since I know where they usually are. Were Anna/Elsa/Frozen in general out between BB and Boardwalk? I know they were on the list but I never saw them. I feel like the entry to the backstage of HS usually has a character meet but this time it was a bunch of golf carts with CMs. I skipped the chocolate stop. There was no photopass coming up from ToT, no photopass taking pics just before the turn to take the backstage exit from HS (they were there, but standing off to the side without cameras) so I was surprised to see Joy and Sadness tucked behind a wall to the left after we were leaving. I stopped for a pic because it was a 3 person line. I stopped for Frozone/Edna Mode at Boardwalk, and that was it for any remaining characters.

I had completely given up on running intervals somewhere around mile 22 (and they had been very infrequent since about mile 15) and couldn't even be bothered to fake-run for photopass. I stopped for a sweaty hug from Garneska on BW, and was having a complete meltdown by the time I got to TheExpert at Connections. I'd had a lot of meltdowns on the course, but managed to convince myself every time to STOP CRYING because it was going to make me snotty and then that was going to make me throw up. I had no "why" for this race other than the fact that I don't quit things, and maybe I'm too stubborn. DH and DD were waiting for my at that final turn into the straightaway to the finish, and then headed to see more princesses.

I knew they would not be in the reunion area, and was mentally calculating how to navigate the finish chute, getting my bag, and the fact that if I sat down on the ground I would NOT be standing back up. Did I need to stop at medical? Could they even do anything with how much my feet hurt? Probably not. I just needed to get finished and back to my room. What I had not considered, however, was the cluster *#cK for challenge medals and ears. Walking all the way to the LAST water table and then backtracking to get into a 75 yard (MINIMUM) line that was 3-4 people wide and just STAND THERE for 5 minutes was not on my bingo card. People were NOT happy. And it wasn't like there was a big, unmanageable group finishing at the same time! This was no more crowded than any other finish line. After getting my medals and hat I skipped the powerade. I skipped the snack box. And I skipped the banana. I got my bag, slowly hobbled over to the bus line, and carefully toed off my shoes to change into my oofos while we waited for a bus. Back at the resort, I had everyone get off the bus before me because I legitimately didn't know what my feet would do when I stood back up. But since DH and DD were still at Epcot, I now had to walk allllllllll the way back to my room. And what normally takes me around 10min took at least 20.

I was happy that I had somehow not chafed, soaked for a very long time in epsom salt (SSR 1brs have the *best* tubs for race weekends), and took a nap. DH picked up pizzas from the resort QS, and I ate that along with a host of leftovers from our fridge.