Marathon Weekend 2017!

[derekleigh]

Can I take this moment to say I'm still so sad they discontinued the ToT 10-miler run. I really wanted to do that one some day. It's my favorite ride in all of Disney.

Same here! TOT weekend was probably my 2nd most desired race on my rD bucket list (Disneyland being first as I've already run the half and full on Marathon Weekend). TOT like you was my favorite ride!

I do hope that maybe after all this construction and additions are done, they will bring it back into a Halloween theme weekend! Have a 5K Saturday morning, 10-miler Saturday night and a half Sunday morning!

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

The 1/2 in January will be my first runDisney race. I am 1/2 excited and 1/2 terrified! I am trying to read and learn as much as I can, while training like crazy, in the hopes that it will make me feel more at ease about the race.

Is there someplace to find out where porta-potties are located on the course?
What about the same thing for character meet and greets?

 

[Ariel484]

The 1/2 in January will be my first runDisney race. I am 1/2 excited and 1/2 terrified! I am trying to read and learn as much as I can, while training like crazy, in the hopes that it will make me feel more at ease about the race.

Is there someplace to find out where porta-potties are located on the course?
What about the same thing for character meet and greets?

There isn't really a list for either of these things. One thing that is nice about the races is that the park bathrooms will be open in the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, so you can jump into those (HOWEVER - some of the lines are crazy long! The TTC bathrooms are also open but I never stop because the line is insane!).

As for characters, again, no list. I'd say check out trip reports on this board and others to see where people have run into characters - the line-up can always change but I find that they do use the same locations quite a bit.

 

[WhereInFlorida]

Is there someplace to find out where porta-potties are located on the course?

It's like the hidden mickey's, potties all over the place including the not-so-secret trees on the walk out to the corrals, surrounding the corrals, and the first couple of miles.

 

[SRUAlmn]

The 1/2 in January will be my first runDisney race. I am 1/2 excited and 1/2 terrified! I am trying to read and learn as much as I can, while training like crazy, in the hopes that it will make me feel more at ease about the race.

Is there someplace to find out where porta-potties are located on the course?
What about the same thing for character meet and greets?

Same!! The longest we've done is a 10K and I (stupidly) started reading reviews and looking at YouTube videos and saw something about people passing out, someone having a heart attack, etc... And I'm freaking myself out (for no reason, I know, I tend to be an anxious person by nature so NO MORE videos and blogs! Haha)

I'm wondering if there's a race FAQ somewhere? There is a LOT of info here and I'm trying to find resort recommendations that make for easiest transportation options for races. I've tried searching, but words like resort and race and run and Disney are so common that I can't seem to find applicable threads. Thanks for any advice in advance!

 

[DOOM1001]

Same here! TOT weekend was probably my 2nd most desired race on my rD bucket list (Disneyland being first as I've already run the half and full on Marathon Weekend). TOT like you was my favorite ride!

I do hope that maybe after all this construction and additions are done, they will bring it back into a Halloween theme weekend! Have a 5K Saturday morning, 10-miler Saturday night and a half Sunday morning!

That would make for a crazy wacky nu nu challenge,start with a 5K on Saturday morning and then sleep all day to go out and run 10 miles at 10pm followed by an after party until 3am to then get back to the starting line to run a half at 5-6am.Sounds crazy but its right up my alley as I'm sure I can do it as long as I can get a decent amount of sleep Saturday throughout the day.It would be like running 23.1 miles with a 4-5 hour break,who else would be in??

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Question about the 5k and 10k races. I have never run in a rD race shorter than a half marathon. Are there character picture spots along the course for the 5k and 10k? How about at the start/finish? I will be running these with my wife and a few friends in January and want to know how many of these opportunities exist so I know how much time we will lose getting the pictures taken. Some of these girls are completely new to running, so long stops along the course may not be an option.

 

[FFigawi]

Yes, the 5k and 10k have character stops. The lines can be quite long, however, because the courses are shorter and offer less time for the runners to spread out.

 

[team weasel]

Same!! The longest we've done is a 10K and I (stupidly) started reading reviews and looking at YouTube videos and saw something about people passing out, someone having a heart attack, etc... And I'm freaking myself out (for no reason, I know, I tend to be an anxious person by nature so NO MORE videos and blogs! Haha)

I'm wondering if there's a race FAQ somewhere? There is a LOT of info here and I'm trying to find resort recommendations that make for easiest transportation options for races. I've tried searching, but words like resort and race and run and Disney are so common that I can't seem to find applicable threads. Thanks for any advice in advance!

Try not to stress about it too much. I am an extremely anxious person and did exactly what you're describing last year for my first WDW 1/2. I just knew that I was going to fall out. I didn't. And...IT. IS. SO. MUCH. FUN. I can't wait to do it again in January 2017!

All resorts are host resorts for Marathon Weekend, so pick your favorite and book away.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Try not to stress about it too much. I am an extremely anxious person and did exactly what you're describing last year for my first WDW 1/2. I just knew that I was going to fall out. I didn't. And...IT. IS. SO. MUCH. FUN. I can't wait to do it again in January 2017!

All resorts are host resorts for Marathon Weekend, so pick your favorite and book away.

Thank you so much for this! The longest race we've done is a 10K and our heat indexes here for the last few months have been 105+ so we haven't been fully training and it's making me so nervous. This made me feel better! Thank you!!

 

[Weluvdisny]

Does anyone have Dopey training calendars they would like to share? I know about JF & HH. Any others?

 

[DopeyBadger]

Does anyone have Dopey training calendars they would like to share? I know about JF & HH. Any others?

I can share what I've done for the past two Dopeys, but my mileage and paces will be based off my fitness level so they may not be completely translatable to others.

2014 - I used Galloway (adjusted the high mileage to cap at 20 miles)
2015 - See below



You can see in 11/23/14 week and 12/14/14 week I did 5 days in a week (3 miles Thurs, 5 miles Fri, 10 miles Sat, 15 miles Sun)

2016 - See below



I moved to 6 days a week in preparation for the 2016 Dopey and this significantly improved my time.

2017 - I haven't made the plan yet, it will be based off current fitness after 10/2/16 marathon. But I would imagine it will look similar to the following.



As a hobby, I help other runners make training plans (no matter your current pace or distance preference and no matter if you're a 3x week or a 9x week). So, if anyone's interested just send me a PM. I recently detailed my methodology in the Running Thread in this post (link).

 

[PrincessV]

I'm wondering if there's a race FAQ somewhere? There is a LOT of info here and I'm trying to find resort recommendations that make for easiest transportation options for races. I've tried searching, but words like resort and race and run and Disney are so common that I can't seem to find applicable threads. Thanks for any advice in advance!

Not really, but stick around here, ask away, and I think all and any questions you have will be answered! We've got a TON of collective race knowledge around here.

About resorts, all WDW resorts are hosts, so all provide race transportation. My feeling is pick the resort that best fits your likes and budget. Some prefer the monorail for race mornings, but the buses can be just as convenient at other resorts.

Question about the 5k and 10k races. I have never run in a rD race shorter than a half marathon. Are there character picture spots along the course for the 5k and 10k? How about at the start/finish? I will be running these with my wife and a few friends in January and want to know how many of these opportunities exist so I know how much time we will lose getting the pictures taken. Some of these girls are completely new to running, so long stops along the course may not be an option.

Yes, the 5k and 10k have character stops. The lines can be quite long, however, because the courses are shorter and offer less time for the runners to spread out.

I'll agree with @FFigawi and just add that the character stops later in the race often have shorter lines because so many stop at the early ones with lines and lose time, so they skip the later ones. And the 5K time limit isn't really policed, so that's a good one to go ahead and stand in some lines.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Not really, but stick around here, ask away, and I think all and any questions you have will be answered! We've got a TON of collective race knowledge around here.

About resorts, all WDW resorts are hosts, so all provide race transportation. My feeling is pick the resort that best fits your likes and budget. Some prefer the monorail for race mornings, but the buses can be just as convenient at other resorts.


I'll agree with @FFigawi and just add that the character stops later in the race often have shorter lines because so many stop at the early ones with lines and lose time, so they skip the later ones. And the 5K time limit isn't really policed, so that's a good one to go ahead and stand in some lines.

Thanks so much!! I always hate asking questions that have already been asked a million times, so I thought an FAQ would save people from being annoyed with me

 

[lhermiston]

Thanks so much!! I always hate asking questions that have already been asked a million times, so I thought an FAQ would save people from being annoyed with me

I'm certain that I've asked questions that have been answered before and no one has responded negatively. Feel free to ask anything that comes to mind. I agree with the earlier post: there is a ton of collective knowledge and experience on this thread.

 

[Keels]

Thanks so much!! I always hate asking questions that have already been asked a million times, so I thought an FAQ would save people from being annoyed with me

I was actually working on one earlier this year, but abandoned it. I'll try to get it up and done this weekend/early next week.

 

[SRUAlmn]

I'm certain that I've asked questions that have been answered before and no one has responded negatively. Feel free to ask anything that comes to mind. I agree with the earlier post: there is a ton of collective knowledge and experience on this thread.

Aw,thanks! Everyone is always so nice, but I just didn't want to be THAT person who kept asking things that had already been asked a hundred times

I was actually working on one earlier this year, but abandoned it. I'll try to get it up and done this weekend/early next week.

Yeahooooo!! Thanks!

 

[camaker]

Thanks so much!! I always hate asking questions that have already been asked a million times, so I thought an FAQ would save people from being annoyed with me

I tried to get momentum up for creating a FAQ (at least for registration) earlier in the year and the mods never got back to me as to whether we could do a "sticky" FAQ type post so I let it drop.

 

[rteetz]

I was actually working on one earlier this year, but abandoned it. I'll try to get it up and done this weekend/early next week.

Let me know if you need or want help!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

16.25 mile training run this morning - somehow it felt awesome! I have really been suffering on my long runs but today was magical.