Marathon Weekend 2016

[RunDisneyDad]

We cant make our ADR's till Monday, and I have to say I am a little jealous of those who already have. A curious question/questions for yall... how many days will you be at the resort/park before the event you are running? If you are arriving early, are you planning on walking around the parks like you would any other day, or do you plan to stay off your feet as much as you can and not spend as much time at the parks? Do more people come in before and during the running weekend, or for the running weekend and a few days after?

We will be there the day before the marathon for about a half a day at the park. I'm scheduled for a 4 miler that morning, but I think I am going to skip it since we will spend some time at one of the parks that afternoon.

In 2014 we arrived on Thursday and spent just under a half day at Epcot and then full days in the parks on Friday and Saturday (did full only). I pretty much did the opposite of resting and limiting time on my feet, but I wasn't necessarily going for time, just wanted to reach the finish line having run the whole thing.

This year we are getting in on Friday and will spend a 1/2 day in the parks, then doing the expo/kids races on Saturday (potentially spending a few hours at AK that morning) and then more time at the parks after the kids race.

My problem is its impossible for me to be at WDW and not at the parks! So,

 

[kevdad]

not hearing vehicles and other things concern me.

I totally relate to this. When people ask how I can possibly run without music I tell them "because I want to hear the tires screech before the car hits me." Half joking, of course...

 

[AmynVal]

Complete unrelated to marathon weekend question. Does anyone know or remember how quickly the princess half fills up. We are going to take a cruise on the magic princess weekend and I thought if I'm going to be there why not run. I haven't fully decided as of yet but depending on how fast it fills up will speed that process up.

 

[Frankster]

I am planning to get there Friday morning, hit the Expo and then a park that night. I am running the marathon only so I plan to spend time at the parks. I don't care if it hurts.

Really? Just running a marathon "only"? I am looking forward to when I can say that.

 

[SarahDisney]

Complete unrelated to marathon weekend question. Does anyone know or remember how quickly the princess half fills up. We are going to take a cruise on the magic princess weekend and I thought if I'm going to be there why not run. I haven't fully decided as of yet but depending on how fast it fills up will speed that process up.

It's within the first few hours, usually ... I know last year there were problems with the site (or at least I had problems with the site), but it definitely sold out within the first 3-4 hours, maybe even earlier.
There's a princess half thread around here somewhere - people on that thread may have a better idea.

 

[Frankster]

I was going to inquire about Memory Maker and the Marathon, but found a thread last December that indicated MMaker doesn't apply, but that another vendor marathonfoto would sell you the package.
That would be more convenient than selfies. Maybe I will do some character stops, after all.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/memory-maker-and-wdw-marathon-weekend.3361819/

 

[Ariel484]

I was going to inquire about Memory Maker and the Marathon, but found a thread last December that indicated MMaker doesn't apply, but that another vendor marathonfoto would sell you the package.
That would be more convenient than selfies. Maybe I will do some character stops, after all.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/memory-maker-and-wdw-marathon-weekend.3361819/

FYI: MarathonFoto is VERY pricey, and they aren't guaranteed to be at every character stop. Just so you know.

 

[rteetz]

FYI: MarathonFoto is VERY pricey, and they aren't guaranteed to be at every character stop. Just so you know.

So would you recommend it or not. I was thinking about doing it this time but didn't know much about it.

 

[MissLiss279]

I signed up for Dopey! What was I thinking??? I am excited though, although not for all those early mornings. I ran the half this past year, and now I feel like I may become addicted to these runDisney races.

My plan right now is to arrive on the 2nd and stay through the 11th. I had originally planned on arriving on the 5th, but with one more vacation day, I can add a few more Disney days!!! First half of the stay will be at AoA - Little Memaid, and the second half (during the races) will be at POFQ. I really enjoyed being there last time.

Now I just need to make sure I stay motivated and continue my training after my current group training ends in October.

 

[Frankster]

FYI: MarathonFoto is VERY pricey, and they aren't guaranteed to be at every character stop. Just so you know.

What!? A product related to Disney that is very pricey?

 

[Ariel484]

So would you recommend it or not. I was thinking about doing it this time but didn't know much about it.

I bought my photos this year - they had a package that made it not TOO terrible and there were some decent ones of me. You can look at them afterward and decide. I've done 6-7 race weekends at Disney and that was the second time I've bought the photos (first time was the first time I did the marathon - because it was my first marathon and, at the time, I thought it would be my last. Haha...). Some years the photos are good, some years they are terrible, so it's tough to say.

What I DO recommend is, if the pictures are important to you, carry your own camera with you when you run. That's what I have always done.

Sometimes they will post an offer to buy the MarathonFoto package ahead of time at a slight discount, so keep an eye out for that as well.

What!? A product related to Disney that is very pricey?

They're a total outside company - they do photos for many major races, Disney and non-Disney.

 

[Neoflynn]

allright so ADR's are officially booked....

8am Crystal Palace Monday Post Marathon....Hoping for some cool photo ops with my medal and the castle with no one in the background

Dinner at T-rex during the marathon after party at Downtown Disney (or Disney Springs or whatever the heck its called now LOL) this one is more for the little guy He will be 4 and LOVES dinosaurs

That's it for us I think, we kicked around the idea of Tusker House Saturday morning because that's where my wife thought Tonga Toast was but when we discovered that it wasn't we dropped the idea, we are aiming for a very laid back trip this time so we didn't want to much time invested in ADR's and as mentioned before we are not really foodie's anyway so we don't often do many to begin with

 

[Waiting2goback]

Baloo- Don't get me wrong, it can be intimidating. It is a huge place and very busy. Throw on top of that the running and not having someone there if something happens. But, it's Disney. Everything will be OK and if it's not, you're at Disney. If I were to have something go wrong I would rather have it go wrong at Disney than anywhere else cuz it means I'm still at Disney. Can you tell where I wish I was right now.

Really? Just running a marathon "only"? I am looking forward to when I can say that.

It does sound silly doesn't it. There is no doubt a marathon is still hard. But when you put it in perspective of those running Goofy and Dopey then it is "just a marathon" for that weekend at least. Besides, I am on my feet all day long at work and I still get in my training runs. If I can do that for boring training runs, I can be on my feet all day and still run the marathon. I can rest when I get home.

 

[Barca33Runner]

So would you recommend it or not. I was thinking about doing it this time but didn't know much about it.

The last couple years the marathonfoto booth at the expo has offered a 100 coupon code for 65 dollars. I have purchased that and then used the 100 towards the Dopey digital package which has been, I believe, $114.95. So total after tax has been around $80-85.

I have done it because I am a highly uncoordinated runner with little to no ability to manipulate my phone as I am running and appreciate the ability to get pictures without having to worry about possibly damaging my phone or a camera. You get all of the digital prints from all four races (for the Dopey package anyway; I believe they sell the same packages for the individual races at a slightly lower price) so it can be a pretty hefty number of images depending on how available you make yourself for the photographers. Yes, there will be images you wish did not exist. But I have been happy with the purchase. I try to hit many photographers as possible without varying my course or cutting in front of other runners. Also, it is another motivator to keep a smile on my face (being at Disney is a pretty good influence as well).

 

[Ariel484]

When I hear/read "just" or "only" any of the races, it makes my skin crawl.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Thanks for the kind words Waiting2goback. I hear you, a bad day at Disney is better than a good day at work! I really enjoy solo adventures but this will be the first to Disney and given that I am doing Dopey it will be a long solo stay; but I am excited!

Suggestions from folks on things to do when going solo?

 

[FFigawi]

When I hear/read "just" or "only" any of the races, it makes my skin crawl.

^^^THIS

Especially the Disney announcers. They should never say "just" the <insert race of the day here>. Somewhere out there in those thousands of people waiting to start is someone who is absolutely terrified of what he or she is about to do because it's pushing way beyond the limits of what they thought they could do. They must feel absolutely awful when they hear that what they think is the hardest thing they'll ever do is merely "just" whatever distance it happens to be. I'm often as guilty of saying this as anyone else, and I'm trying to be more mindful of it. Whether you're running your first 5k or your 78th marathon or Goofy or Dopey, you're out there running "the" race of the day, not "just" the race of the day.

 

[FFigawi]

Suggestions from folks on things to do when going solo?

Same things you'd do if you were with someone else. Go to the parks, have some nice meals, hang out at the WISH meet on Friday afternoon. The nice thing about going solo is that you can take advantage of the single rider line at a lot of the rides without wasting a Fast Pass. Being by yourself also gives you time to sit somewhere with a book and a drink and watch the world go by.

 

[Ariel484]

@FFigawi exactly. I love doing the challenges but hate that they seemingly make people feel like it's now not enough to do a single race by itself. The announcers adding to it just make me cringe.

 

[Barca33Runner]

@FFigawi exactly. I love doing the challenges but hate that they seemingly make people feel like it's now not enough to do a single race by itself. The announcers adding to it just make me cringe.

To be fair to the announcers (for marathon week, not sure if it is the same guys at other weekends) I think they are in on the joke about 90% of the time and aren't intentionally malicious the other ten. Mainly they just seem to want to get some hands raised and "woos" from different portions of the crowd.

My first race was in 2012 and it was the first time I had been to Disney in 10 years or so and the first thing we heard other people talking about on the magic express was how they were "only" running the marathon. That made our group that was "only" running the half marathon feel pretty small. It probably had a motivational effect on us in the end and was entirely unintentional, but has certainly given our group some perspective on trying to avoid those two adjectives when talking about these races.