Marathon Weekend 2016

[SarahDisney]

lot of people today seem to not respect the distance and demand a marathon requires

This is probably going to sound really harsh, but ...
I blame charities for that.
It used to be that to run a marathon, you had to qualify for the race or enter a lottery ... and you were only going to do that if you were already willing to put in a huge commitment. But now, if you can't qualify through your time, you can just raise money and do it for a charity, even for the most "serious" of marathons. People sign up for marathons because it's a fun way to raise money for their favorite charity, and may not realize going into it what kind of commitment it will really require.
The other issue is "experience" races like Disney or Rock 'n' Roll ... people see a fun experience and want to do it, and don't necessarily realize how much commitment it will be. If we made marathons less fun, maybe more people would see them as the serious physical, mental, and emotional challenge that they are.

That said ... I love the fact that the Disney marathon and other "fun" marathons exist ... I just think that they're contributing to people's perception that a marathon is "no big deal." I wish more people approached the marathon the way the people on this thread seem to approach it - like the time-consuming, hard-work-requiring, all-encompassing goal that it is.

 

[ANIM8R]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

I know there are gifted people out there that can go out and run a ton of miles without ever having to train (or minimally train). Maybe your co-worker is one.

Most people are not.

I will say, that's a great attitude. If the mindset is "I can run 100 miles", that's a start! However, that could be a little fool-hardy, too.

I've run 9 marathons now. I don't run very fast...I'm around 50% on the age/gender grading...but when I'm in the middle of training, I feel I get to the point where a half-marathon is not too bad. I wouldn't call it easy but not difficult either.

But that's the key - after training. Even with training a marathon is tough, both physically and mentally. Good training makes it easi-ER but I've never found it easy.

26 miles with training isn't daunting but it certainly needs to be respected (for lack of a better term). I'm worried that your co-worker isn't giving 26 miles (and certainly 100 miles) the respect needed to run that distance. Without that respect, the training won't be sufficient for the effort required.

So, no, you shouldn't feel like a wimp...as evidenced by your training thus far. I think your co-worker would be wise to follow your advice.

 

[faneuil]

Looks like it should be the same link. Once you change it to 2016, it says "All Events" in the drop-down box. If you click on it, you can see it has all the events listed including the half.

oh, oh. Duh. I see now.
On the second tab, not at top.

It's been a loooong week. Thanks.

 

[Ariel484]

@bellanotte10 im so sorry about your aunt and your dog. I would be devastated.

@dancingtodisney yes, good quality! Get lots of compliments on it.

 

[LSUlakes]

I did check the boards yesterday afternoon, and then this morning another 2-3 pages. Things are picking up steam now. This weekend I am running the Baton Rouge Beach half marathon. My schedule calls for 18 miles with 14 at marathon race pace. So what I am going to do is run 5 miles before the race at a easy pace, and then run the half marathon at marathon pace. Weather is going to be ideal! a low of 41 race morning, sunny, wind ENE @ 7mph, and RH% ~ 64%. Packet pickup is today, and a easy 5 miler is on the schedule for this afternoon.

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

The thing about a ultra is the pace is very different than even marathon pace. I think that is you are normally a 8 minute/mile marathon runner, in a ultra you run around a 10 minute mile. It's still a very hard task, and one that I want no part of, but its a very different type of race. Some tri folks say that running just a marathon is harder than running the marathon segment of an iron man.

so, anyone else starting to freak out a little bit? Or will it really hit home next week when the corral assignments are posted?

I'm looking forward to finding out all the important information like bib #'s and course. I'm not saying I am ready 100%, but I feel that I could run a marathon this weekend if I had to. I trust that the remainder of my training will get me to the point of being confident to PR the event this January.

I am! Honestly so much in my personal life has gone to shambles and I'm trying to pick the pieces up... And I completely forgot this was in a month until I saw rumblings that Skipper Canteen might open soon and started stalking the boards for hints to when ADRs might open. It is going to be so much fun... But I am no where near as already as I should be. Not training wise. That I'm fine with. I'm not mentally prepared at all. I'll probably start crying as soon as I get my medal. My mom and I decided to do this race after my aunt suddenly passed away, and ironically registration was right after her funeral, so we've had this fighting spirit to complete in her honor (my mom who wasn't a runner before this) and for me to do something she would've enjoyed watching (me). Then my dog suddenly passed away and now I have no drive what so ever, and I'm not looking forward to the 10k at all anymore.

I am sorry to hear about you and your family's loss. My family and I will keep you in our prayers.

This is probably going to sound really harsh, but ...
I blame charities for that.
It used to be that to run a marathon, you had to qualify for the race or enter a lottery ... and you were only going to do that if you were already willing to put in a huge commitment. But now, if you can't qualify through your time, you can just raise money and do it for a charity, even for the most "serious" of marathons. People sign up for marathons because it's a fun way to raise money for their favorite charity, and may not realize going into it what kind of commitment it will really require.
The other issue is "experience" races like Disney or Rock 'n' Roll ... people see a fun experience and want to do it, and don't necessarily realize how much commitment it will be. If we made marathons less fun, maybe more people would see them as the serious physical, mental, and emotional challenge that they are.

That said ... I love the fact that the Disney marathon and other "fun" marathons exist ... I just think that they're contributing to people's perception that a marathon is "no big deal." I wish more people approached the marathon the way the people on this thread seem to approach it - like the time-consuming, hard-work-requiring, all-encompassing goal that it is.

Easy on the charity runners. The Boston marathon is probably the only one that requires a qualifying time for entry for a large race. The other US majors have a lotto type system and/or a qualifying for entry. The charities are what make these races a success. Nearly every marathon has "volunteers" on the course. Depending on the marathon, these volunteers are part of a charity. In order for the charity to receive bibs from the race, they must provide "x" amount of people to man hydration stations or other various task. In return the charity gets to make its runners raise money to support their cause. Other marathons donate money to charities to work water stations. Without the charity organizations and its runners the marathon as we know it today would either cost twice as much to pay people to work the marathon or would be without course support.
If someone decides to run a race while not being prepared for it, what impact does that have on anyone but themselves? Sure we think its a bad idea, but at the end of the day will those participants interfere with our runs? More than likely not. The races that have "entertainment" are in business to make money and have successfully found a way to increase revenue.

 

[StarGirl11]

I did check the boards yesterday afternoon, and then this morning another 2-3 pages. Things are picking up steam now. This weekend I am running the Baton Rouge Beach half marathon. My schedule calls for 18 miles with 14 at marathon race pace. So what I am going to do is run 5 miles before the race at a easy pace, and then run the half marathon at marathon pace. Weather is going to be ideal! a low of 41 race morning, sunny, wind ENE @ 7mph, and RH% ~ 64%. Packet pickup is today, and a easy 5 miler is on the schedule for this afternoon.



The thing about a ultra is the pace is very different than even marathon pace. I think that is you are normally a 8 minute/mile marathon runner, in a ultra you run around a 10 minute mile. It's still a very hard task, and one that I want no part of, but its a very different type of race. Some tri folks say that running just a marathon is harder than running the marathon segment of an iron man.



I'm looking forward to finding out all the important information like bib #'s and course. I'm not saying I am ready 100%, but I feel that I could run a marathon this weekend if I had to. I trust that the remainder of my training will get me to the point of being confident to PR the event this January.



I am sorry to hear about you and your family's loss. My family and I will keep you in our prayers.



Easy on the charity runners. The Boston marathon is probably the only one that requires a qualifying time for entry for a large race. The other US majors have a lotto type system and/or a qualifying for entry. The charities are what make these races a success. Nearly every marathon has "volunteers" on the course. Depending on the marathon, these volunteers are part of a charity. In order for the charity to receive bibs from the race, they must provide "x" amount of people to man hydration stations or other various task. In return the charity gets to make its runners raise money to support their cause. Other marathons donate money to charities to work water stations. Without the charity organizations and its runners the marathon as we know it today would either cost twice as much to pay people to work the marathon or would be without course support.
If someone decides to run a race while not being prepared for it, what impact does that have on anyone but themselves? Sure we think its a bad idea, but at the end of the day will those participants interfere with our runs? More than likely not. The races that have "entertainment" are in business to make money and have successfully found a way to increase revenue.

My trainer who does IronMans is definitely one of those with the mentality of marathon is harder then just the Marathon portion of the IronMan. To the point where he's pretty much stopped doing fulls (though he might do Dopey eventually, issues prevented him from doing it last year like planned).

@Waiting2goback I do about a 10-12 min mile on roads. A 14 minute mile when I first start on trails. By the end of my last ultra I was doing a little over a 18 min/mile. With stops. That's a full 8 minute difference in pace from roads to trails.

On a side note. If he really wants to try an ultra eventually then he is welcome too. Just maybe not right now. When I was first reading up on ultras one person said the first step to doing an ultra is just making the decision to do one. And there is definitely some truth in that. Sometimes the hardest part about moving up in distance isn't so much the distance challenge but making the decision to try that distance.

 

[StarGirl11]

Dooney Designs are up!

 

[jAcKs_x0]

Does anyone know if there is transportation from Swan/Dolphin to the Half?

 

[mbwhitti]

I'm gonna need rD to work on getting better images for these Dooney pictures. They are so tiny every time.

 

[Ariel484]

Backpack is kind of different. From what I can make out of this one, I like it. Love the colors.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

My reply is going to be a little more harsh than most. It is, essentially, that this person has no idea what they want. I know many, many people who wanted to run a marathon, but didn't understand the training required. Then, after putting in the training and running the marathon decided, "never again".

Then there is the jump to a 50 miler. Then double that. They just don't understand what they are talking about.

 

[MinnieMarathoner]

so, anyone else starting to freak out a little bit? Or will it really hit home next week when the corral assignments are posted?

Me! Me! Me! I wish I could add a couple more weeks just to get in a little more training. I've followed my training pretty faithfully, but still don't feel trained enough. Even with 6 more months of training, I doubt I would feel ready.

 

[Mickey Momma]

Just trying to get psyched up for the 9miler/19miler weekend ahead and wishing Disney would throw us a bone of information to motivate me! Bib #'s, the marathon course, shirt designs,the DOONEY....just something! I think we must all feel a little desperate for something to make this thing feel real at this point (when you get excited that your race just shows up as an option on a results page, it is lean times indeed!).
Am I the only one feeling this way?

No, I feel exactly the same. I am dying to know the course most of all!

 

[PrincessV]

I don't know if I'm excited, or scared to death now.
Does anyone else just want it to be over? I feel like I think about this 24/7...I'm obsessing over everything.

Yep. I'm staring at two more long-long runs and just want one of them to be the race at this point, lol! My last one was 19+ miles and it was... easier than I expected. That came as a shock. And should mean that my next two plus the race will be fine... but I live in fear of injury now. ARE WE THERE YET?!?!

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard?

I think distance running is hard... but I seem to have no natural talent in that arena. I'm a natural sprinter, so this endurance stuff is freaking HARD! But I know people who have a natural talent for distance running and really can pull out a fast marathon with very little training.

 

[sostacey]

I'm not a sprinter at all, I'm more of a lobber and long miles are not bad. 5Ks kill me. I'm dreading the 5k over the full that's how much I dislike short distances lol.

Oh I do like the Dooney colours this year, did not care for the white background last year.

 

[cburnett11]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

I know all Ultras are not created equal, but for anyone that either needs additional motivation to train for one or who needs a reality check of what some of these runners go though, I'd encourage you to read....

A Few Degrees from Hell: White Hot Tales from the Badwater Ultramarathon

This book chronicles the experiences of several participants of the 2003 135 mile ultra that begins in Badwater, Death Valley. This race is on the extreme side of ultras, but you gain a real understanding of the physical, mental, and emotional makeup of these participants. I can't even imagine jumping from point A to Z like your co-worker. I guess I assumed a 100 mile race would have some entry standards to keep this from happening.... Something like a PoT from a 50 mile, 12-24 hour race, or something like that.

 

[BigEeyore]

I don't think I love the Dooney

It's kinda hard to make out the pattern, maybe it's the kind of bag you really need to see in person to appreciate. Disappointed there aren't more styles of bags (satchel? crossbody??). I really liked last year's bag but didn't run it last year so I was hoping I'd love this year. Oh well, more $$ to spend at the expo!

 

[faneuil]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

Late to the party of this one, but a good friend of mine jumped from a 5K to a full in less than 6 months, with no training.
Then I had to hear her whine for another 6 months about how a full marathon was "unreasonably difficult".

After two years, I'm no where near trained enough for a full. Mostly, because I don't want to do a full, so I haven't put in the work involved.
Training for a 1/2 is some of the hardest work I've ever done.
I can't imagine training for 100.

I know people who have done the breast cancer 3 day, and can't walk for days afterward.

 

[StarGirl11]

I'm not a sprinter at all, I'm more of a lobber and long miles are not bad. 5Ks kill me. I'm dreading the 5k over the full that's how much I dislike short distances lol.

Oh I do like the Dooney colours this year, did not care for the white background last year.

I'm with you on the 5ks. It takes me a good 2 miles to just get going so by the time I hit the finish of a 5k I'm just getting going. It's why I haven't actually raced a 5k in over a year. And am planning to walk the 5k portion of Dopey with my Mom.

I know all Ultras are not created equal, but for anyone that either needs additional motivation to train for one or who needs a reality check of what some of these runners go though, I'd encourage you to read....

A Few Degrees from Hell: White Hot Tales from the Badwater Ultramarathon

This book chronicles the experiences of several participants of the 2003 135 mile ultra that begins in Badwater, Death Valley. This race is on the extreme side of ultras, but you gain a real understanding of the physical, mental, and emotional makeup of these participants. I can't even imagine jumping from point A to Z like your co-worker. I guess I assumed a 100 mile race would have some entry standards to keep this from happening.... Something like a PoT from a 50 mile, 12-24 hour race, or something like that.

Speaking from looking at race websites. Whether or not a race has a qualification depends on the course and race itself. Two of the most famous 100 milers out there fall on opposite ends of the spectrum. Leadville doesn't require qualification via another race to enter their lottery. Western States on the other hand does, and what counts as qualifying varies from race to race.

What was going to be my first 100 required a qualifying race (50 in under 15 hrs, so an 18 min/mile pace). Of course after I missed finishing the 50 its back to the drawing board for me.

Late to the party of this one, but a good friend of mine jumped from a 5K to a full in less than 6 months, with no training.
Then I had to hear her whine for another 6 months about how a full marathon was "unreasonably difficult".

After two years, I'm no where near trained enough for a full. Mostly, because I don't want to do a full, so I haven't put in the work involved.
Training for a 1/2 is some of the hardest work I've ever done.
I can't imagine training for 100.

I know people who have done the breast cancer 3 day, and can't walk for days afterward.

I just glanced at the Breast Cancer 3 day because I was curious. I can see why they would have issues if you don't fully understand what your getting into. Even though its a 3 days even it could technically fall into the ultra category since distance falls above the marathon distance.

I know people were struggling to recover post the 100k two day I did (which is close in distance to the Breast Cancer walk but shorter period). You really do have to respect the distance on these high mile races especially if you are running large distances back to back.

 

[rteetz]

I don't think I love the Dooney

It's kinda hard to make out the pattern, maybe it's the kind of bag you really need to see in person to appreciate. Disappointed there aren't more styles of bags (satchel? crossbody??). I really liked last year's bag but didn't run it last year so I was hoping I'd love this year. Oh well, more $$ to spend at the expo!

It's the race characters (Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Minnie, dopey, goofy) Plus the park icons.

My mom likes it but wishes they had the letter carrier. She wants me to get her one when we are there of course but doesn't know which one.