How to run a Disney Half Marathon

[ADPiSpaz16]

I'm fairly new to this board and to running. I'm planning on running the Disney Half in January 2011. It'll be my first. I was wondering if anyone had any pointers or trip reports or something they can point me to that are specific to Disney running. Right now, I have no clue what I should be doing except training to make sure I can do at least a 16 mile mile (which I can) and to drink my water. HELP!

 

[jwalker1]

Awesome, ADPiSpaz16! I will be joining you there for my first WDW race. I am doing my first half marathon this weekend, I just could not wait that long.

Personally, since there is plenty of time, I would try to do a half before January. That way you have some experience with this kind of distance racing and you will have fewer worries about the WDW race.

Just a Thought…

 

[disney_mommy]

What a great adventure you're on! You have plenty of time to research and know what you're getting into. I'm just like you, I have to know eberything about anything I do, so I can understand your wanting to read up. Here are a few links I think you might like:

The Princess 2010 thread. There were a lot of people new to racing on this thread. You can read what questions were asked and how they were answered. You can also see the fears they had and how they worked through them.

The DIS wrote an article about the Princess race that might have some good info for you.

Another place you might want to check out is Running of the Ears.com . They are a group of runners/walkers/bikers who tend to focus on Disney races.

I'll see what else I can come up and post more later.

 

[wtpclc]

This has a few reports from January:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365987&highlight=kudos+january

 

[heatherlynn444]

i agree about doing a half before Jan. my first half was the disney one and I was so nervous I coulnd't enjoy it very much. If you can already do 16 miles you are totally ready for one now, so sign up!!!

 

[FireDancer]

How to run a Disney Half Marathon

Left foot, right foot. Repeat for 13.1 miles. Gimme those ribs you.













To actually answer your question though, it depends on where you are starting. My first half was at Disney but I had done many 5Ks and one 10K before hand so I knew the ins and outs of a race weekend, even if it was a shorter then 13.1 mile race weekend.

If you would like Disney to be your first half you can check out a training program like Hal Higdon's and time the race for the end of the program. I would recommend doing at least a couple of 5Ks and a 10K so you have some experience running (or waking or jogging) in a group of people going different paces, moving over to get water at water stops, and all the other little nuances that you can't prepare for in training.

 

[leeshiebean]

Congrats on deciding to run! If you check out my signature, my running blog is there. I have a long, detailed race report from the Princess Half earlier this month. It was such an awesome first half marathon. You have plenty of time to train right now, so find yourself a program (there are tons - check out Jeff Galloway's or search on runnersworld.com) and just keep that Disney goal in mind. It will help you get through the toughest training days!

 

[airman]

http://www.chtrust.org/Nationalruns...08/2008DisneyHalfMarathonTrainingSchedule.pdf

Here is a link to a training schedule to get ready for the half marathon. I am not a runner also and I'm using this schedule to train for the Wine & Dine half marathon.

 

[WDWFAN9]

A lot of us have used John Bingham's Marathoning for Mortals. There's also a lot of tips buried somewhere in the Welcome sticky at the top of the Events/Competition page.

 

[SamSam]

http://www.chtrust.org/Nationalruns...08/2008DisneyHalfMarathonTrainingSchedule.pdf

Here is a link to a training schedule to get ready for the half marathon. I am not a runner also and I'm using this schedule to train for the Wine & Dine half marathon.

Thanks for the training schedule! I'm a walker so I am substituting walk for run and plan on following it to train for the Food and Wine Half.

 

[FireDancer]

Thanks for the training schedule! I'm a walker so I am substituting walk for run and plan on following it to train for the Food and Wine Half.

Just as an FYI, Hal Higdon has a training plan for walking a half marathon. It is designed for first timers but most programs are more suggestion then gospel so a few tweeks could make it for more advanced walkers who are looking to knock down their time.

 

[jmasgat]

Lots of good advice, so I don't really have anything unique to add, but I would second the advice about doing another race befire next January. One reason that no one mentioned---training fatigue!

Sometimes you just get bored/aggravated/nervous waiting for the big event to come aroun. So it's good to have some kind of race experience, just to keep you motivated. You don't have to make it a half--any race will do. It will give you a sense of how a race day goes, let you try out your race strategies (pace, fueling), etc. You can pick a race of a length that fits into your training plan. For example, if you have a Long Walk of 5-7 miles to do, you could do a 10k instead.

Also, most training plans are of the ~12-16 week length, so if you wanted, you could find a plan to train for a shorter distance now as a way to build a mileage base before you dive into your half training.

Maura

Maura

 

[SamSam]

Just as an FYI, Hal Higdon has a training plan for walking a half marathon. It is designed for first timers but most programs are more suggestion then gospel so a few tweeks could make it for more advanced walkers who are looking to knock down their time.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

[ADPiSpaz16]

Thanks everyone for the tips and pointing me to some great articles. I see I'm not the only one that's taken advantage of everyone's knowledge! I've done a 5K in the past and I registered to do a 10K in June. I think that'll give me a decent taste of what I can expect. My next decision is do I run the Disney World Half or the Princess. Hmm...

 

[sk8ingmom]

I posted this when I returned from my first half marathon in January. It isn't so much "how to" as it is "why?".

 

[crewmatt]

Good luck. Def run a half marathon and some 5ks or 10ks beforehand so you are comfortable with that kind of environment. Dont want to let the pre-race jitters bother you in disney.