Marathon Weekend 2017!

[DOOM1001]

My coworker is doing the Gasparilla Ultra Challenge this year. I'll let you know what she says.

I've thought about doing it in the past,the only thing that made me rethink it is how the races all tend to have similar courses all running down Bayshore blvd.But I know at some point I'll end up running it and 2017 sounds right to me.I've just realized I like trying new races,runningintheusa.com has me researching all these races and there's too many out there I want to try,there's even a race in Seaside,Fl that gives out Very Bradley bags at the finish.The Disney races especially the full are the only ones that are a must every year.This year for example I barely did any local races.

 

[Baloo in MI]

For those of you that have a done a good job in finding ways to reduce costs for the marathon weekend, what have you done? Share your secrets. I am trying to look at ways I can reduce the cost of next year, should I go. I know that runDisney and savings don't really go together, but if there are ways to cut costs that you currently do please share! Thanks!

Hope everyone had good recovery runs, did 10 miles today and felt pretty good. Six weeks to my next half, I am jumping right back in!

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

For those of you that have a done a good job in finding ways to reduce costs for the marathon weekend, what have you done? Share your secrets. I am trying to look at ways I can reduce the cost of next year, should I go. I know that runDisney and savings don't really go together, but if there are ways to cut costs that you currently do please share! Thanks!

Hope everyone had good recovery runs, did 10 miles today and felt pretty good. Six weeks to my next half, I am jumping right back in!

I've actually driven over from Tampa on race morning for the full a couple times. Normally it 's because I have something going on Saturday, but it does end up being cheaper due to no hotel involved and I was able to eat spaghetti at home the night before the race. But the timing to leave at 1:30 AM and arrive ~ 3:00 AM (you don't want to get there much later than that because the traffic gets very bad very quickly) is not good and neither is driving 90 minutes on race morning.

 

[bellanotte10]

Ok yup.. As quickly as I was in I'm out. Im gonna find a local marathon or just make up my own in advance of dopey 2018.

Good luck everyone for 2017!

 

[IamTrike]

For those of you that have a done a good job in finding ways to reduce costs for the marathon weekend, what have you done? Share your secrets. I am trying to look at ways I can reduce the cost of next year, should I go. I know that runDisney and savings don't really go together, but if there are ways to cut costs that you currently do please share! Thanks!

Hope everyone had good recovery runs, did 10 miles today and felt pretty good. Six weeks to my next half, I am jumping right back in!

Define cost savings. I've seen people share offsite housing. We avoid the meal plan and just use tables cards. We also work with a travel agent that gets blocks of semi-discounted rooms.

 

[limabeanmom2003]

For those of you that have a done a good job in finding ways to reduce costs for the marathon weekend, what have you done? Share your secrets. I am trying to look at ways I can reduce the cost of next year, should I go. I know that runDisney and savings don't really go together, but if there are ways to cut costs that you currently do please share! Thanks!

Hope everyone had good recovery runs, did 10 miles today and felt pretty good. Six weeks to my next half, I am jumping right back in!

It's so hard to save money when you run their races, but you can by giving up things. Biggest way to save money is go for the race and don't do the parks. Next, stay off site. This can save you hundreds of dollars depending on where you would stay onsite. The first time I ran the disney marathon, my family went with me - husband and two kids. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge and spent two days in the parks. Some of my friends who ran that year did not bring families, stayed at a lower cost resort and didn't go into any parks. They left the afternoon of race day to head home. They spent a lot less money than we did! LOL

 

[RunningGirl]

For those of you that have a done a good job in finding ways to reduce costs for the marathon weekend, what have you done? Share your secrets. I am trying to look at ways I can reduce the cost of next year, should I go. I know that runDisney and savings don't really go together, but if there are ways to cut costs that you currently do please share! Thanks!

Hope everyone had good recovery runs, did 10 miles today and felt pretty good. Six weeks to my next half, I am jumping right back in!

Don't do the parks. Stay value (we like Pop for value resorts). Bring your own breakfast food/snack food/water/etc. Eat healthy counter service - easier than it sounds. The food court at Pop Century has a wide selection and you won't have to have a single chicken nugget. Don't take a credit card to the Expo.

For me, staying on-site - at least the night before the race - is worth it to not worry about driving in. You can get late check out the day of the marathon and make it back in time. We've done it!

 

[Keels]

Florida races come at a cheaper cost for me, mostly because we drive (free transport), stay at my parents house (free lodging) and I have a Platinum Plus AP (free parks and stuff) plus Tables in Wonderland. My parents gifted me Dopey as my birthday present and I pay for every other race out of pocket, but can get part of it back on my tax return if there is a celebratory charity attached.

If I were trying to do a bare bones trips, I'd stay at one of the Marriott properties on Palm Parkway (Fairfield Inn or Courtyard) that are roughly $100/night, rent a cheap car so I could drive to the race and to cheaper restaurants than Disney dining.

 

[Keels]

Also - I LOVED driving to the races over Dopey weekend. We got to the parking lot at 5 am (we'd leave by 4:45) and then would get to our corral around 5:30-5:35 after the first corral had gone off and had no problem getting to the front portion of our corral.

 

[FFigawi]

Also - I LOVED driving to the races over Dopey weekend. We got to the parking lot at 5 am (we'd leave by 4:45) and then would get to our corral around 5:30-5:35 after the first corral had gone off and had no problem getting to the front portion of our corral.

We do the same thing. Leaving bag check at or just after 5 got us to our corral at 530 every day with the added bonus of no porta potty lines.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Define cost savings. I've seen people share offsite housing. We avoid the meal plan and just use tables cards. We also work with a travel agent that gets blocks of semi-discounted rooms.

Well, being far away I have to travel in. Fly in or drive in it is a commitment as I need a place to stay, eat, etc. and over the course of Dopey it really adds up. I am thinking about off-site options and ways to save for meals. Up to this point I have been staying on site one as a full on race-vacation with the family = meal plan, all four parks... This year it was just me but still the money added up quick. I am open to any ideas/suggestions that might save a bit here or there.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

I'm definitely going for the Kessel Run C2C in 2017, but I had so much fun with the Dopey this year that now I'm also considering the half again. The castle all lit up is just too gorgeous. Guess I'd better get going on that rD savings account for next year...
#firstworldproblems

 

[rteetz]

I'm definitely going for the Kessel Run C2C in 2017, but I had so much fun with the Dopey this year that now I'm also considering the half again also. The castle all lit up is just too gorgeous. Guess I'd better get going on that rD savings account for next year...
#firstworldproblems

We all need a rundisney savings account.

 

[cavepig]

To save costs we stay value, brought most breakfast stuff, didn't do any ADRs, only got like 2 snacks in the park for a 9 night trip, brought water bottles and other drink bottles, purchased the refillable mugs to get our soda fill at the resort.

And yes a RunDisney savings account sounds awesome!

I hope to be back for the marathon 2017, I need redemption after the flu 2015 and food illness this year!

 

[ZellyB]

I'll just chime in and say that offsite has worked well for us. We get good cost savings by renting a place and I really like having my own washer/dryer when running races (especially multiple races). We also enjoy driving to the races. We get to control that aspect of coming and going and we've never had traffic issues, although we arrive early. The other benefit is sitting in your comfortable car and relaxing until time to walk to the corrals.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

We stayed off-site on 192 in 2014 and it worked out pretty well, but you likely need to account for the cost of a car rental compared to the savings of a discounted hotel room. We have since purchased DVC so we now stay on points, but we still rent a car which allows us to go off property to some cheaper restaurants (Olive Garden is a great cheap carb loading option) as well as hitting the grocery store for all of our breakfast/snacks/Powerade needs. We do a couple of ADR’s, but they are of the celebratory variety after the races and we have Tables in Wonderland to help cut the cost there a bit. We do hit the parks but have Annual Passes.

 

[team weasel]

We stayed at POP for less than $100 a night (Disney discount plus Orbitz code). We brought all of our own water and snacks, and only did one ADR to celebrate our run. I purchased two things at the expo, but did all of my other Disney shopping at the outlet on Vineland. I was even able to score the 2015 runDisney plush for $5!

We didn't do any parks, but we were never bored. We finally got to visit the AMC at Downtown Disney to see The Force Awakens. We rode lots of Disney transport (totally counts as a "ride"), and visited new-to-us resorts and explored. We watched fireworks every night, from different locations. If we had APs, I'm sure we would have made it into parks, but not for extended periods of time. Since I felt that way before we even left, I couldn't justify the cost of tickets for this trip. We are very lucky in that we can visit multiple times a year, so our Spring and Fall trips will be park based. For now, Winter is all about rD.

 

[PrincessV]

Bah! I'm really going to be a registration-day decision. At a minimum, I'm doing Goofy.

But I really enjoyed the 5 & 10 so much that I'm worried I will miss them if I don't run!

#DopeyProblems

Lol! I've got the opposite problem going... I'm totally OVER the WDW 5Ks and 10Ks, and Donald's anniversary is a must-run, so it would seem Goofy is for me, right? But then I start thinking "if you're doing a half and full, and you KNOW darn well you'll go to WDW as early as Wed., you may as well add the 5K and 10K and get the full Dopey!" Ugh.

For those of you that have a done a good job in finding ways to reduce costs for the marathon weekend, what have you done? Share your secrets. I am trying to look at ways I can reduce the cost of next year, should I go. I know that runDisney and savings don't really go together, but if there are ways to cut costs that you currently do please share! Thanks!

Hope everyone had good recovery runs, did 10 miles today and felt pretty good. Six weeks to my next half, I am jumping right back in!

I'm local enough that my costs are already reduced thanks to not needing airfare and having a car, so I'd say my general cost-saving advice is to crunch, crunch, crunch the numbers. Check all possible discounts for onsite stays: general public, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. Also check Hilton Bonnet Creek, which offers special rates and race transportation. Compare against the costs of offsite options with a rental car or taxi/Uber costs. Consider the potential food cost difference between a hotel room vs. condo/timeshare rental with a kitchen. I've been staying offsite in a timeshare unit lately; spending less per night than a Value resort, and able to prepare my own meals. But that's only a cost savings for me because I already have a car; not sure it would be such a great deal with a rental added in.

I'm 5 weeks out from my next race, and feel like I'm starting from scratch, lol! Most surprising bit of my first full? How good I felt during and immediately after, and how bad I've felt since. This has been a long recovery!

 

[IamTrike]

Well, being far away I have to travel in. Fly in or drive in it is a commitment as I need a place to stay, eat, etc. and over the course of Dopey it really adds up. I am thinking about off-site options and ways to save for meals. Up to this point I have been staying on site one as a full on race-vacation with the family = meal plan, all four parks... This year it was just me but still the money added up quick. I am open to any ideas/suggestions that might save a bit here or there.

I had a random thought about this, this morning. In terms of cheaper trips, if you are going to fly either way, there is less sacrifice in doing a budget west coast trip. The race course and expo is walking distance to a large number of hotels and there are also a lot of offsite meal options. For dumbo I stayed at the fairfield and at more than one meal at McDonalds. (yeah I'm ashamed of myself)

Other people have mentioned not doing parks. Another varient of this is to look at an annual pass. If you are going to be doing multiple trips in a year that would drastically reduce your ticket price on a per day basis.

Also look for a disney travel agent that buys blocks of rooms for race weekend. They will often offer them at a decent discount.

 

[WhereInFlorida]

We stayed at Swan this year as a cheaper alternative to the Boardwalk hotels which are a great location for family for marathon as well as quick trip from start/finish. But this will probably be the last time, kind of nickel-and-dimed you at every turn... daily parking charge, resort fee, tried to charge for rollaway bed. And the resort is just not as well kept as Disney's.