I won't give in till I reach the end... and then I'll start again (comments welcome)

[flav]

Great reports, thanks

For the bladder question, I had the same problem, only during the Marathon of Dopey 2020. It was very hot. I put it on an electrolyte imbalance: When at WDW, we don’t eat like we do at home, we move a lot more while touring the park, we wake up at weird hours, etc. I have wondered if there were also part of it due to excitement but, having done other marathon and other runDisney weekends before and after that one, it is not a plausible factor.

 

[azrivest]

WDW Half of a Half race report
At the last minute, I decided to switch up my costumes. I knew it was going to be pretty warm because of the cloud cover and the incoming storm, and I also wanted the opportunity to wear green and purple for Dopey. So I got out my green Dottie skirt, my white Dopey tank and my purple biker shorts and stored my Wanda costume to keep for the Princess 10k.

I was super psyched about the half. I met up with the DIS group at the pre-race meetup and as Disney at Heart said, it's these events we talk about. Not the ones that go smoothly. So I was excited to be part of history. And not to have to run a full 13.1 miles I was not going to join all the people running laps in the reunion area.

The course started out like the 10k, with me having to pee and it being overcrowded. I started in wave 1 or 2 of Corral D, so the huge Corral C had already started. I learned that for next time, I also need to lie and say 4:30-5:00 as an estimate to also be put with 50% of the total field in C. Seriously, there were like 9 or 10 waves of Corral C that I saw.

I ran for the first 2 miles (except the porta-potty stop). When I got to 2 miles, I read on the boards that there was a rumor about them sweeping even faster so I was like what the heck, I'll stop for at least one character pic so I get something out of this. I stopped for Clopin and Esmerelda (about 10 min wait). I knew that the Rescue Rangers were further ahead and they were the only characters I really wanted to stop for. When I got there, the character attendant told us 30 minutes. I decided to stop since I was still seeing runners on the other side of the course. We saw the balloon ladies go by, which really causes anxiety even tho I was ok. The line ended up being about 15 minutes.

We entered into Epcot and the CM energy was incredible. I was already excited about the race and their energy had me even more hyped. I high-5'd everybody who was willing and hoop and hollered.

Right as I was getting into World Showcase, it started raining harder and harder. Photopass employees were packing up, which means I didn't get many on-course photos. (But reading about Disneyland, I'm not so disappointed...) Pocahontas was out with a little line so I decided to try it. I was the last person to take a picture with her before she went inside. I did get a great shot in the Connections archway, where I usually get Mike Wazowski'd. Not the most flattering picture of me but I'm happy I got that shot finally!



I finished running in the pouring rain, still having the time of my life.


After the race, I hurried to get a I did it picture with the grumpiest PP employee in history and then went to take the bus. I had not planned to really do the 6 miles but when I got back to CSR, I saw a bunch of people running around the lake. I dropped off my pack, took off my Dottie skirt and went out for 3 loops, so a total of about 3 miles. I didn't want to do more since we were running on concrete and I didn't want to get any blisters. My marathon was my ultimate goal.


Some takeaways from this race:
- I am never doing a Dottie skirt again. Those things are such a pain to go to the bathroom in. I'll be sticking to simple bounding outfits from now on, no fancy costumes for me.
- I am never doing a race without legging pockets. I had to carry my hydration pack for the 10k and the 7.1 miles because I didn't have anywhere to put my phone otherwise.


After the race, we relaxed at the hotel until our 11am Cape May Café reservation. It was great to have a quiet place to take pictures with Donald and Daisy. We took the bus from Beach Club to the Expo since I wanted to do a little more shopping and take more pictures.

It was at this point that I had enough of doing this trip with the kids. They weren't that interested in the Expo atmosphere, understandably, and I was getting frustrated that my Dopey experience was hindered by having to deal with arranging the trip around the family. I get resentful that I can't experience all the things. Like, I knew I was going to miss the Rise&Run meetup that afternoon because of them (and spoiler alert I also missed DATW because of J). The runDisney races have become our yearly family WDW trip, but we might rethink this for the future. Either they join me before or after, but not during the weekend. I'm relieved I've planned Princess without them.

 

[nancipants]

Great recap. And I feel you about doing this without kids. I’m grateful to be local and not need to worry much about childcare. My in-laws always come here for a month during February so for Princess weekend they’re taking him so I can sleep the night before.

 

[flav]

Fantastic attitude and pictures for that Half of a Half!

Also, I totally get you with family (and it doesn’t apply only to kids) and traveling for a race. Both cannot necessarily be given full attention and energy at the same time.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Some takeaways from this race:
- I am never doing a Dottie skirt again. Those things are such a pain to go to the bathroom in. I'll be sticking to simple bounding outfits from now on, no fancy costumes for me.

As much as I love how the dotties look, yes. My solution is to just take it off while I'm waiting in the inevitable line for the bathroom. It's hard enough with your shorts/leggings sticking to your sweaty legs when you try to pull them back up, but adding tulle into the picture is just. Ugh. NOPE. I was absolutely "that person" who was taking off their skirt in the bathroom line during the full, and also getting rid of my undershirt.

- I am never doing a race without legging pockets. I had to carry my hydration pack for the 10k and the 7.1 miles because I didn't have anywhere to put my phone otherwise.

SO MUCH YES. My 5k costume didn't have any pockets, and it was so annoying. I always bring a hydration vest and belt, but I just can't bring myself to wear them.



RE: all of the peeing during the race. "The Science of Sport" podcast talked about this in one of their hydration episodes, and basically they said that if you have an imbalance of water/electrolytes that your body will either tell you to add water (drink) or get rid of water (urinate) to get the balance right. I think I had the fewest bathroom stops I've ever had (3?) during the marathon this year and it was kind of amazing.

 

[Scootin'By]

Great recap! I totally feel you about a) planning the whole trip (that's me too) and b) feeling that you come second after everyone else. Frustrating. I like your solution for Princess Weekend

The Science of Sport" podcast talked about this in one of their hydration episodes, and basically they said that if you have an imbalance of water/electrolytes that your body will either tell you to add water (drink) or get rid of water (urinate) to get the balance right.

This is really interesting! I'm going to have to pay attention to this more now.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Great recap! I totally feel you about a) planning the whole trip (that's me too) and b) feeling that you come second after everyone else. Frustrating. I like your solution for Princess Weekend


This is really interesting! I'm going to have to pay attention to this more now.

the podcast is "The Real Science of Sport Podcast" and the episode is from August 17, 2020.
The hosts are a phD in exercise science and a (former?) editor for runner's world. They do (IMO) a good job of bringing the nerdy science and explaining it in terms that regular people can understand.

 

[SheHulk]

Congratulations! Looks like an amazing trip.

 

[azrivest]

What's Next?

I haven't published my marathon report but I still want to look ahead now.

I haven't run a single minute since coming back from WDW. I caught some sort of pharyngitis, probably on the plane back from Orlando. On Thursday, I starting feeling sick and it's just worsened since then. I was planning on starting running again this week but it'll be a few more days until I can go out again. I am really weak and get coughing fits that leave me breathless. I'll surely end up with that 100-day cough as well... Apologies to everyone I meet at Princess, though I'm coughing, I won't be contagious anymore!

And oh how the weather has changed since I left on Dec 31st. Like a few other parts of North America, I came home to a blizzard last Tuesday night. We've had about 20 inches since then, and it's snowed non stop for 4 days. Outside running conditions are yucky. I am just so grateful I was able to finish my Dopey training in relatively good weather and in good health.

I was maybe planning on racing the Half at Princess but now I'll enjoy party pace again I think. I won't have time between the quick turnaround and this illness to do any real training.

If I look at potential races for the first half of 2024:
- There's an indoor 5k race in the Montreal underground tunnels on Feb 11th. My running group has done it in the past and it's a lot of fun, although a lot of stairs.
- @flav are you doing the race in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu in April?
- May 12th is the A Girl Running 10k/15k, which is where I got my PR in 2023. It's a great race for women. A good lead-up to a half at the beginning of June.
- I've always wanted to do Tamarack Race Weekend in Ottawa, but it's again the same weekend as my kids' dance recital. I need to be a good mom and show up for them, so no go.
- My running group always signs up for the local firefighter race in Laval at the beginning of June. I hate the course, it's net uphill and hard. It's still the best for me in terms of scheduling and location for a half marathon this spring. My 2022 result was 2:16:24, so who knows if I want to try and beat that time?

As for runDisney
I really, really enjoyed the marathon. Much more than I thought I would. runDisney makes it much less daunting than any other marathon race I've heard about. I think I might consider coming back to Marathon Weekend 2025 (by myself haha) to try the marathon again, but this time really racing it. I don't really feel a need to do Dopey in the near future. Those 6 medals are impressive, but those 4 consecutive mornings were hard.

I might try to do Springtime Surprise in 2025. I like the idea that the challenge encompasses all 3 races and it's the only race that is planned at a decent time training wise.

I have absolutely no FOMO about DL anymore seeing everyone's comments. Thanks The courses, especially the 10k, look amazing. But the rest looks to me. I'm all about the photos during the races so I would have been livid. (They weren't allowing photos for Chip & Dale ) Besides, Anaheim is too far from Montreal to plan a trip just for a rD weekend, so we'll see if I ever get over there. Spoiler alert, I might try to convince Hubby to go to California for our summer family holiday. My son would go nuts over visiting Super Nintendo World. So I still might get to visit DL for the first time yay!

 

[flav]

Re: What’s next

First, I wish you a speedy recovery from whatever you caught. The silver lining is that you are recovering from your Dopey as well.

As for the local blizzard, I am happy to report that with some flexibility in the planning of your outings, it is not that bad out there. Having no plan in January so far has allowed me to run in that blanket of snow or puddle of slush, depending on the day. Today, the park trails were all shovelled, I hope that the same is true in your area!


As for the upcoming races…
Indoor 5k: If it is to have fun with your gang, go for it! It might not be the best timing for a PR according to what you said about PW.

I have not registered nor am I planning to run the Courses Thématiques this year. They are on the South Shore and their schedule isn’t optimal for me this Spring. Instead, I registered to some of the Circuit Endurance races to push my 10k. They don’t have bling though Here are my lineup and objectives:

02-25 Vaudreuil-Dorion 10k, if road conditions permit, try sub-50 and assess my fitness​

04-07 St-Laurent 10k, sub-50​

04-19, 20, 21 runDisney Springtime Surprise Challenge, have fun
05-26 Ottawa Marathon, have fun​

The reason why both of the last two have no time goal is that they are way too hot to race after a cool season of training.

I would maybe suggest the 21k de Montréal for a cooler April race. Parc Jean Drapeau can be windy but the courses are pretty flat. DD ran the 5k in 2022 and 2023. I ran the HM in 2022. PM or call me if you have any questions.

So maybe we see you at StS 2025 Bonus, kids are in school, so they aren’t available to join you.

As for Ottawa, that race weekend will be there when you are ready Enjoy your kids’ recitals while being in that period of your life.

I am with you, FOMO for runDisney at DL is all gone. However, I 100% recommend a California summer holiday. It is expensive but it is possible to fit a lot in a couple of weeks. I did put my 2019 trip itinerary recently on the DISboards as an answer in the DL forum.

Good luck in your next steps

 

[azrivest]

WDW 2024 Marathon race report (part 1 of 2)

I'll try not to be too expansive, but I had such a terrific time. Out of the 4 runDisney weekends I've done, the marathon has been my favorite race. The energy, the participants, the on-course cheering were second to none. I thought my 2nd marathon would be my last but now, definitely not.

My goal for the marathon was simply to finish. I had no time goals but I figured I would finish in about 5:30. Oh how was I wrong. I got so caught up in the fun of the race that I threw any idea of finishing in a certain time out the window and just had fun. I walked many parts just to soak it in and spend time with friends I met on course. And it was 100% the right decision. I made every mile worth my while (and my money! ) haha.

I also was super smart about my costume. I wanted to be comfortable for the full 42.2km and I made the right choice. First, shorts with pockets FTW. Not many people acknowledged that I was Mei Mei, and that was probably mostly because of my visor. I was inexplicably really proud to represent Canada during the race, it was fun to be called out by the few other Canadians on course or spectating. The country representatives from the Canada pavilion went nuts especially.


My last thought is that I spent way too much time on my phone. I was overall pretty lonely during the race and had to rely on my distant spectator friends to talk to and cheer me up. I had activated Garmin LiveTrack so my family and friends could follow me in real time. But I should have stopped with the text messages and spent more time looking up around me.

So here goes for my recap:

I'm usually all about the pre-race characters and meetups but I was not feeling it today. I went to the DISBoard meetup for a little time, and everyone was even more friendly than the day before, but it was hard to socialize. Just wanted to be in my own personal bubble. So I headed out to be as far front of corral D as I could.

Right behind me in the corral was this super friendly lady who kept saying how much she loved us and how she was proud of all of us runners. When we started, I saw that we had similar paces (to start) and similar run/walk intervals. After a few minutes, I bluntly asked if I could run with her for a bit. I just wanted a friend to make the full marathon not feel so long. I quickly realized that our paces weren't that similar and I was going to be faster than her. But no matter, my goal was to have a positive running buddy. We trodded along together until Epcot and chatted about our goals. Remember that bladder question from earlier? I knew that as soon as we would come into Epcot, I would need to find a restroom. She didn't wait for me at that point and continued. Which ended up being positive for both of us... (TBC in part 2)

Right up until MK, my paces were right on track at about 12mm. I leapfrogged with Disney at Heart and her husband all the way to the underpass at Contemporary. I also had to stop right after mile 6 cause it's was 7am on the dot and my husband didn't know how to book ILLs (cue eyeroll). The underpass is when the storm rolled in. I was at the garbage truck when people started ripping plastic bags from each other. I remember thinking how I much preferred running soaked than suffocating under a plastic bag, but to each their own.

By the time we passed under the MK railroad, I was crying. I had no idea what the forecast was and I was not going to finish a marathon if it was pouring rain throughout. I called my husband and he reassured me that the rain would stop in 15-30 minutes (but Florida is what it is ). My experience through MK was somewhat ruined, in the sense that it was pouring rain and I ran the whole Main Street trying to find a familiar (and reassuring) face and I saw no one. I did manage a semi-decent photo in front of the castle

I had to concentrate to get back into a positive mindset, but I was not having it at that moment.

I also got a good photo in front of Tron. I texted another one of my friends right after that to tell her to send me encouraging messages because I was going to struggle from that point on. There was a PhotoPass photographer right after Tron and the only picture of me is miserable looking at my phone. It was the exact moment I was texting her

The rain started to slightly let up. I never got any good PhotoPass photographers coming down from the castle, but someone on the Rise&Run group posted a pic of herself with me in the background, so I have that at least. I have good castle photos from other runDisney weekends, it wasn't a must-have for me that day.

My mood lifted again going through Cone Alley and Bear Island Road. For some, it's the longest stretch but I was in my zone, getting encouraging texts from my friends and my brother. I got a picture with Agent P (YES!!!!) and the people I presume are from Society of Explorers and Adventurers? (I'm not a big enough disnerd to be very invested in the SEA though) And before I know it, I'm crossing the half way point. I yelled to other runners we're half way there! To what someone answered : whoa-oh, living on a prayer

Throughout the race I had been tracking the 7hr pacer and I knew I had a decent buffer but couldn't really compute how much. I was pretty much keeping up with my 12mm pace except for longer restroom or character lines. Going into Animal Kingdom is when I confirmed mentally that I would have the buffer to ride Everest, which was my #2 goal for the race, since the pacer hadn't even crossed the 13-mile marker yet. It gave me so much energy. I got a picture with a goat and a turtle (where else but Disney???) and then a great picture of me through AK
Little did I know at that point that riding Everest was not going to be guaranteed...

I got to EE around 9:00 am. The park seemed okay busy but the lines for the ride Single rider wasn't open and the CM's kept yelling "runners in standby only!" which was a 30-minute wait at that point. These stories I had heard about CMs letting runners into the single rider line and filling up trains with them was not happening. Might be my petty self, but I thought the CMs were being jerks about the whole thing. Yes, I do expect preferential treatment for that 1 day a year where a special event like this happens in Animal Kingdom. I started waiting for a few minutes but bailed, cause I knew I was going to melt any buffer with the balloon ladies if the wait was inded 30 minutes. Just as I was leaving, they decided to open up the single rider line, so I jumped right in and was about the 20th in line. Because there were so many runners in the standby queue, it went pretty quickly to go through the single rider line (which I thought was $hitty for the runners who did wait in the standby queue).

All the runners were yelling "Dopey! Dopey! Dopey!" for the whole duration of the ride. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure.



I kept my Garmin running throughout the ride just cause I wanted to see the wanko tracking I would end up with it. It did not disappoint.

 

[azrivest]

WDW 2024 Marathon race report (part 2 of 2)

My next mental checkpoint after AK was to see my family. They were waiting on Western Way for me to go through before going to the Epcot finish line (no they did not get attacked by an overzealous sheriff but from what I understood, they could have )

Now that I had done EE, and I knew I was far ahead enough of the balloon ladies, I let go of my paces. I was going to go by feeling and just enjoy the marathon - what an oxymoron. Right as I got into Western Way, I moved up to congratulate a lady who was walking the marathon in a boot. What was my surprise to realize it was one of my friends! She had told us on Friday that she had been planning on starting and pulling herself at the first med tent. She realized during the race that she was able to walk a decent enough pace, so she was planning on keep going until she got swept. I decided to walk the whole Western Way with her. We chatted and exchanged photos with our online Facebook group. Such a joy to find a friendly face.

When we met up with my family she went on ahead and I stayed a bit to chat with my kids and restock on GUs. Another highlight of the race.


Pic of me and my kids on Western Way
The "dreaded" Blizzard Beach wasn't really that bad. The porta-potty line after coming out of that though... Ugh. According to my Garmin, I waited 8 minutes. Boo runDisney They really under-estimated the number of porta-potties they would need for the marathon. I should have gone up to my room at GDT instead. The detour probably wouldn't have taken more time

Back on World Drive towards Hollywood Studios was fine. But that's when I started getting some worrying texts from DH. The buses for Epcot were simply not coming. Traffic was terrible around CSR at that time since only one lane was open on Western Way. I started stressing that they would not reach the finish line in time. So I just slowed to a walk. I took my time in HS. I chatted with some familiar faces cheering at the HS entrance. DH was radio-silence at that point. I had no idea what was happening to them and I started panicking.

Snapped a pic of my favorite race sign:


I tried to enjoy the atmosphere in Epcot. After running 24 miles at that point, my brain wasn't very rational and I was alternating between laughing at the amazing energy from all the spectators and crying because I didn't know if my family was going to see me finish. I tried to smile for the PhotoPass photographers

I practically crawled the last 400m just looking for them in the crowd and I never saw them. Again, tried to run and smile for the finish line cameras, with an official finish time of 6:30


The emotion of finishing my marathon and Dopey, and the stress of not seeing my family got to me and I bawled the whole finish line chute. They had indeed seen me from the stands and my kids were running alongside the chute, so I caught up to them quickly.

I ordered my husband to get me a glass of bubbly to apologize for the radio-silence and I cheered up quickly. I snapped my favorite picture of the whole trip:

I started realizing what I had finished. That picture shows just how proud of myself I am.

After the race, I was in decent shape and stood in line to get a picture with Dopey and my medals. We had booked Space 220 Lounge + a LL for Cosmic Rewind around 2pm so we ambled over there. I was amazed that I was still able to walk and not suffering from, you know, finishing a marathon an hour ago. A mix of good training and a slow pace I guess? Either way, it was great.

After that, I was ready to go back to the hotel. I rested in the room for the rest of the day. We finished celebrating with a 7pm reservation at Toledo's. Then I crashed


Oh and remember the nice lady from corral D? I found her again by chance on Carissa Galloway's IG stories. Apparently, she ended up being one of the very last finishers. I was relieved that I wasn't with her the whole time as I would have been doubly stressed. Still, I was so happy to learn she was able to finish successfully, and by happenstance was able to reach out to her on IG to congratulate her on becoming a first-time marathoner.


Will I do Dopey again? Maybe. Billy had told me more than once that it isn't more difficult to train for Dopey than a marathon and he was right. What would prevent me is the time investment on site. January isn't the most obvious to get time off at work when we already take two weeks because of school holidays. But I will 100% come back for "just" the marathon, maybe even next year? Who wants to join me?

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Congratulations on an amazing marathon and race weekend!!

 

[flav]

Congratulations on your races, you are officially a Dopey!

It was great to read your reports and feel your experience through them. Good for you for riding EE

I agree that the WDW Marathon is really something special, just very badly placed with respect to vacations

 

[NYC_MW]

Congratulations on what looks like an amazing weekend and Dopey! Really enjoyed reading all your recaps.

 

[nancipants]

Great recap! Congrats on finishing!

I will gladly join you next year!

 

[Scootin'By]

Congratulations! Great job!! And wonderful recap too

This sounds like an amazing experience. I was thinking that maybe I would stop when I hit the half, but now I'm thinking maybe some year I'll reach out for the full

 

[azrivest]

I was thinking that maybe I would stop when I hit the half, but now I'm thinking maybe some year I'll reach out for the full

I 100% thought a few years ago I would never be able to run anything longer than a 10k and 5 years later I finished my first marathon. I don't regret it

Don't think you have to either. It is not the end all be all to running. If you want to, we'll all be here to encourage you on your journey. If not, we'll be here too.

 

[GollyGadget]

Just wanted to be in my own personal bubble.

I feel this in my bones and appreciate you sharing. I saw the group and sign but had zero social battery. All I wanted to do was sit in my corral and talk to no one so I decided to skip the meetup. Maybe next year

By the time we passed under the MK railroad, I was crying.

I’m so sorry you were feeling this way and that you MK leg was kind of a bummer. I’m a frequent race crier but it’s always been happy/proud tears.

These stories I had heard about CMs letting runners into the single rider line and filling up trains with them was not happening.

This is so confusing! I tried to get in the standby line and was told to get in the LL lane. This was right after opening and most of my train was empty. I wonder if the CMs got in trouble for it and that’s why the change of tune later?

I snapped my favorite picture of the whole trip

Love this pic!!!! You look sooooo happy. Congratulations!

 

[azrivest]

This is so confusing! I tried to get in the standby line and was told to get in the LL lane. This was right after opening and most of my train was empty. I wonder if the CMs got in trouble for it and that’s why the change of tune later?

If I do the marathon again, I'll work to run faster just to get to EE earlier I saw plenty of pictures on social media of half-empty trains. You're fast so you probably got to AK much earlier than 9:00