Marathon Weekend 2016

[camaker]

My base training has gone poorly this summer. Too many family functions and weekends out of town. Could have been overcome with some diligence on my part, but it's tough for me to stay on track when I lose my routine. Weekday mileage was good, mainly missed out on longer weekend runs.
I am winging it and I an ramping up my weekend long runs this weekend while beginning to build my weekly mileage (I run primarily on the treadmill, so the BPL being back for Saturday and Sunday morning runs is huge). One of these years I'll come to my senses and use a proven program and probably see my greatest gains, but winging it has gotten me across the finish line to this point.
I'm hoping mid-50's to start and high 60's at the finish. These races are a vacation for me after all and I can handle running in the heat if it means nicer weather for the parks, pools, etc. Also, the 5k and 10K this year were in that 35-40 degree range, which was great for the races and my time, but was not fun for the queue time before the race and waiting for my group afterward.

I've got the opposite going on with the BPL back in session! I can't stand running on a treadmill, so the return of the BPL means I have to plan my weekend morning long runs around Arsenal's match schedule.

Fortunately I've been able to keep my summer mileage in the 25mi/week area. The only downside to that has been that I try to get 4 mile runs in at lunch at work and that's been brutal with the 90-95 degree temps and high humidity here in NC. I guess it helps that I grew up here and am used to it...

 

[IamTrike]

Glad you went out for the run. Running in the rain is a lot of fun as well though! It never rains when I go out for runs, even if I wait for it, it just stops...



Thanks for the tips! Why the first bus and what kind of issues did you have? I am staying at WL and figured it would take ~20 minutes to get to drop area. Is that a inaccurate guess?
Any idea on how many overpasses? There are a few I can train on around here. Starting out slow will probably be a good thing for me.

Thanks for answering all these questions and I appreciate your tips!

I've never stayed at WL. I had issues coming from POR it took about an hour to get to the drop off. I think the driver got lost. It might take 20 minutes I would probably budget 30-45 min in case there are issues. (Bus being full, traffic stopping busses...etc...)
I think at the half there is an underpass for the water bridge at about mile 4 and then 3 over passes between mile 10-11 as you go into Epcot. For the full i can't remember how many overpasses there are. I think it's fewer than the half because you come in through studios.

I've got the opposite going on with the BPL back in session! I can't stand running on a treadmill, so the return of the BPL means I have to plan my weekend morning long runs around Arsenal's match schedule.

Fortunately I've been able to keep my summer mileage in the 25mi/week area. The only downside to that has been that I try to get 4 mile runs in at lunch at work and that's been brutal with the 90-95 degree temps and high humidity here in NC. I guess it helps that I grew up here and am used to it...

Where in NC are you? I'm in Raleigh.

 

[camaker]

I've never stayed at WL. I had issues coming from POR it took about an hour to get to the drop off. I think the driver got lost. It might take 20 minutes I would probably budget 30-45 min in case there are issues. (Bus being full, traffic stopping busses...etc...)
I think at the half there is an underpass for the water bridge at about mile 4 and then 3 over passes between mile 10-11 as you go into Epcot. For the full i can't remember how many overpasses there are. I think it's fewer than the half because you come in through studios.

Where in NC are you? I'm in Raleigh.

Not far from you at all. I'm in Holly Springs. Getting ready to run the Race 13.1 Raleigh Fall half Saturday after next and the Charlotte Fall half the weekend after. Two last chances to improve that PoT!

 

[Barca33Runner]

I've got the opposite going on with the BPL back in session! I can't stand running on a treadmill, so the return of the BPL means I have to plan my weekend morning long runs around Arsenal's match schedule.

Fortunately I've been able to keep my summer mileage in the 25mi/week area. The only downside to that has been that I try to get 4 mile runs in at lunch at work and that's been brutal with the 90-95 degree temps and high humidity here in NC. I guess it helps that I grew up here and am used to it...

I'm the exception to the rule on treadmills. I feel like I am multitasking if I use the time I am watching television to also get a run in. I'm a long-time Barcelona fan, so BPL is purely for the enjoyment of the game. Makes me feel good seeing the distance covered stats during the game and knowing that I have covered more ground than these elite athletes in the same time frame.

 

[AThrillingChase]

Guys, I'm super proud of myself right now. I woke up this morning and the weather was supposed to be thunderstorms starting ASAP (in fact, it was torrential downpour starting about 5 mins after I would have left the house). So I automatically pushed my run off to tomorrow.
But, I hate running on Fridays, so I just decided to go out and do it when we had a break in the rain this afternoon. Not my best run ever, but my best 5K since I got my Garmin (36:56), and I'm just really proud of myself for going out there and doing it!

Plus, I decided to shuffle my Disney playlist for the walk home from the park and ended up with great celebration music:
Under the Sea & Kiss The Girl (from The Little Mermaid)
Gaston (from Beauty and the Beast)
I Just Can't Wait to Be King (from The Lion King)

So, overall, even though I don't feel great about the run, I'm so happy I went out! Best Thursday Run ever! (or at least this week...)

I always forget to download some fun Disney songs for my Disney races. I will have to find a couple of the ones you listed and some from Aladdin!

Thanks for the tips! Why the first bus and what kind of issues did you have? I am staying at WL and figured it would take ~20 minutes to get to drop area. Is that a inaccurate guess?
Any idea on how many overpasses? There are a few I can train on around here. Starting out slow will probably be a good thing for me.

Thanks for answering all these questions and I appreciate your tips!

The pre-race area is always a lot of fun for me too (dj, character lines for photos, seeing runner costumes). If it is your first disney race, I highly suggest you go early and check it out! Plus, you will be a lot less stressed out if a bus is late, or is full and you have to wait for the next, or the driver gets lost. These are run by Mears I believe, not Disney bus drivers, so they are not as familiar with the roads. Plus the road closures for the races can screw them up too.

I think at the half there is an underpass for the water bridge at about mile 4 and then 3 over passes between mile 10-11 as you go into Epcot.

This is what I remember too. One hill just by the contemporary resort heading into the MK (the steepest, but short), and then overpasses of terror close to EP. They really are not that steep overall, but they are just long. So instead of going up one hill, it is like going up a small hill for an hour. Ok that is an exaggeration, but you get my point

 

[cburnett11]

If you are in an early Corral and are taking a Disney bus to the start try and get the first bus. I've had more bus issues on the half than on the full.

For the full marathon, where would you consider the cutoff for "early corral"? I will be taking a bus (most likely from Pop) and am curious if I will want to try and catch first bus. Thanks!

 

[DOOM1001]

For the full marathon, where would you consider the cutoff for "early corral"? I will be taking a bus (most likely from Pop) and am curious if I will want to try and catch first bus. Thanks!

I'm usually on the first bus since I have to be there early.For the half this year from POP I got on the first bus and was there with more than enough time,the problem with that was that it was very cold so I may have preferred to have gotten there later to avoid freezing my butt off,if it's anywhere near as cold in January I have to bring more than I did this year,at least a garbage bag for the start.The next morning for the full I got on a bus closer to 3:30 to avoid being in the cold as long and that my mom woke up on Saturday with a 1 day mega cold and didn't go to cheer me on for the half,amazingly a good amount of sleep on Saturday did away with her cold and she was able to go to the full but the less time in the cold the better,the temperatures were also not as cold as the previous days.Well apparently those 30 minutes made a huge difference in traffic as we sat for about 25 minutes on Buena Vista dr. barely moving.Once we got to World dr. the traffic cleared up but those 25 minutes made this the latest I ever got to the race.Once I got there my corral (I) had already been called to head to the starting line,I went to bathroom fairly quick and dashed to my corral.I wasn't even in my corral as the fireworks went off for the first corral,for many people this would be considered being on time since my corral didn't go off for like 30 minutes but I have OCD as far as being early for most things and especially for running my favorite race of the year.Obviously between getting on the bus a bit later and the traffic we hit on Buena Vista Dr. and if I would have been in an early corral it would have been very close to not making it.Oh and I forgot to mention the wait for the bus was also much longer,I think from the time we got in line about 3 buses loaded up and left and we even had to wait for another one to come for about 5 minutes.Usually there's another one ready to go behind the one loading up but when our turn came to get on one there wasn't one waiting.

 

[IamTrike]

Not far from you at all. I'm in Holly Springs. Getting ready to run the Race 13.1 Raleigh Fall half Saturday after next and the Charlotte Fall half the weekend after. Two last chances to improve that PoT!

A bunch of my running buddies have done the 13.1 races. They like everything but Lassiter mill hill.

The pre-race area is always a lot of fun for me too (dj, character lines for photos, seeing runner costumes). If it is your first disney race, I highly suggest you go early and check it out! Plus, you will be a lot less stressed out if a bus is late, or is full and you have to wait for the next, or the driver gets lost. These are run by Mears I believe, not Disney bus drivers, so they are not as familiar with the roads. Plus the road closures for the races can screw them up too.



This is what I remember too. One hill just by the contemporary resort heading into the MK (the steepest, but short), and then overpasses of terror close to EP. They really are not that steep overall, but they are just long. So instead of going up one hill, it is like going up a small hill for an hour. Ok that is an exaggeration, but you get my point

. The busses are run by Mears.

The hills aren't huge. The first time my wife did a half with me at Disney I warned her about the overpass at 11. She was not happy when we started going up for the third time.

For the full marathon, where would you consider the cutoff for "early corral"? I will be taking a bus (most likely from Pop) and am curious if I will want to try and catch first bus. Thanks!

The corrals a-g are supposed to go off in the first 15 minutes. So I guess that would be my group of earlier corrals. The lower the corral the smaller number of people in it and the less time between it and the corral in front of it.

.Well apparently those 30 minutes made a huge difference in traffic as we sat for about 25 minutes on Buena Vista dr. barely moving.Once we got to World dr. the traffic cleared up but those 25 minutes made this the latest I ever got to the race.

you helped me crystallize what I was thinking. Catching a bus 15 minutes later may actually mean getting there 30 or 45 minutes later because of sitting in traffic because of the road closures and traffic.

 

[MeridaAndAngus]

If you stay at one of the Epcot resorts, you still have to take a bus to the start line area in the early AM hours, correct? I know the advantage of staying in an Epcot resort is being able to walk back through the park after the races (if the parks are open & you have a ticket). I'm just wondering if there's any real advantage to those locations pre-race.

 

[LSUlakes]

Time to revise my game plan for marathon morning based on yalls input. Based on last years times, I should end up in corral C (3:25:00 projected finish time). Looks like getting on the first bus is my safest bet. To get on the first bus, do I need to get to it before 3:00 AM? I'm staying at WL, not sure if that makes a difference or not... Thanks again for everyone's input, it has been very useful.

 

[RunDisneyDad]

If you stay at one of the Epcot resorts, you still have to take a bus to the start line area in the early AM hours, correct? I know the advantage of staying in an Epcot resort is being able to walk back through the park after the races (if the parks are open & you have a ticket). I'm just wondering if there's any real advantage to those locations pre-race.

Correct.

Keep in mind too that walk from the entrance of Epcot (Finish Line) to the Epcot resorts is pretty long. But, it was pretty awesome walking through Epcot and having people congratulate me on having just finished the Marathon. For me personally I didn't feel like I had an advantage staying in the Epcot Resorts.

 

[michigandergirl]

Correct.

Keep in mind too that walk from the entrance of Epcot (Finish Line) to the Epcot resorts is pretty long. But, it was pretty awesome walking through Epcot and having people congratulate me on having just finished the Marathon. For me personally I didn't feel like I had an advantage staying in the Epcot Resorts.

I'm guessing I would need to have a park ticket to walk through Epcot back to Beach Club after the marathon?

 

[PrincessV]

It's a lot of people's first marathon so you wind up with issues in some of the waterstops. I try to stay in the center to the end of the waterstop then grab one of the last cups.

(Bolding is mine) YES, this! It takes some extra attention for me to get it right, but if you can bypass the first couple tables and grab water from the last tables, it's a bit less crazed.

To get on the first bus, do I need to get to it before 3:00 AM?

I always aim to catch one of the first buses or if I'm driving myself, to leave at the time the buses first start running: being out there at 3am has always meant a quick, easy trip. I've heard horror stories of long delays for folks catching buses toward the end of the window and I don't do well in running late situations; I'd rather be there early and hang out for a while.

I'm guessing I would need to have a park ticket to walk through Epcot back to Beach Club after the marathon?

Yes.

 

[GreatLakes]

I'm guessing I would need to have a park ticket to walk through Epcot back to Beach Club after the marathon?

And keep in mind that if it isn't a park hopper Epcot is now your park for the rest of the day.

 

[Kathymford]

Time to revise my game plan for marathon morning based on yalls input. Based on last years times, I should end up in corral C (3:25:00 projected finish time). Looks like getting on the first bus is my safest bet. To get on the first bus, do I need to get to it before 3:00 AM? I'm staying at WL, not sure if that makes a difference or not... Thanks again for everyone's input, it has been very useful.

WL is a smallish resort and with them moving a lot of people due to construction, it might not be as full as usual. Are you staying on the hotel side or the villas? Either way it won't take you long to get to the buses.

 

[roxymama]

Maybe this has been answered already but I could not find it. I saw Dooney & Burke special purses for the Disneyland Half weekend and was wondering if they do the same thing for Marathon weekend? Also, has the pre-order already happened and if not, how do I find out about it.
I am not 100% sure that I would get one, but it intrigues me and I'm afraid of missing out. I see that there were ones available at the Disneyland Expo for purchase, but I am so new to this. I will be going to the Expo on Wed, but mid-day.

 

[LSUlakes]

WL is a smallish resort and with them moving a lot of people due to construction, it might not be as full as usual. Are you staying on the hotel side or the villas? Either way it won't take you long to get to the buses.

Staying on the hotel side. Thanks for your answer. I think I'll play it safe. It's a 15-30 minute change and worth it to keep myself calm.

 

[rteetz]

Maybe this has been answered already but I could not find it. I saw Dooney & Burke special purses for the Disneyland Half weekend and was wondering if they do the same thing for Marathon weekend? Also, has the pre-order already happened and if not, how do I find out about it.
I am not 100% sure that I would get one, but it intrigues me and I'm afraid of missing out. I see that there were ones available at the Disneyland Expo for purchase, but I am so new to this. I will be going to the Expo on Wed, but mid-day.

Yes they do my mom got one last year. You can preorder or buy at the expo. I don't believe preorder is open yet.

 

[Ariel484]

Maybe this has been answered already but I could not find it. I saw Dooney & Burke special purses for the Disneyland Half weekend and was wondering if they do the same thing for Marathon weekend? Also, has the pre-order already happened and if not, how do I find out about it.
I am not 100% sure that I would get one, but it intrigues me and I'm afraid of missing out. I see that there were ones available at the Disneyland Expo for purchase, but I am so new to this. I will be going to the Expo on Wed, but mid-day.

If they do have pre-order it'll be through Active.com under the "Commermorative Items" section of runDisney.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Great cloud cover at WDW this morning made for a very pleasant run. Still sweated buckets, but felt great.