Marathon Weekend 2018

[croach]

Ok seems like a good time between Christmas and people getting ready to head to Orlando next week to see who has any interest signing up for character text alert.

In case you didn't see it, I'm going to text out where characters are at on the course in case you are looking for someonce specific or want to skip some characters for later ones. I'll be in corral A so I'll be able to get out ahead of some of you best I can. If you're interested, send me a pm. Also let me know if you're international and will see about using WhatsApp so no one gets hit with fees.

I guess I should have noted that I’ll be doing this for the half and the full. Not sure if it’s beneficial for the half but we can use it as a test run. Literally.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Left -8 to start the drive down to Orlando today. Doesn’t look like it’s going to be super warm, but it’s not going to be negative temps. Arriving at our rental tomorrow and in the parks on Friday. Time to get excited!

 

[UNCBear24]

I hope it's not too cold on race days. The forecast on weather.com shows Thursday 71/47, Friday 65/47, Saturday 63/49, and Sunday 74/59.

 

[DopeyBadger]

am the only one in my party running the 5k and I will take Disney transportation to the 5k. I am pretty sure I will be in Corral A, and I will finish in about 40 minutes or less. I know that the start line is too close to where the buses need to go to bring you back to the resorts, so transportation back won't start until 6:30.
If my husband came to pick me up, is there a way I would get out of there sooner? Is the parking area for the 5k in a spot that is far enough away from the race start so I could just meet him there (in the 5k parking area?)

Yes, if you had a car you could theoretically leave sooner than the buses at 6:30am. The car parking is to the left of the course and not on it at all. Whereas, the buses are to the right of the course and share the same path. I've never driven a car, so someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[rteetz]

Minimal changes from today

Accuweather

1/3 - H 69 L 49
1/4 - H 67 L 55
1/5 - H 58 L 42
1/6 - H 72 L 53
1/7 - H 77 L 46

Weather.com

1/3 - H 63 L 48
1/4 - H 71 L 47
1/5 - H 66 L 47
1/6 - H 64 L 49
1/7 - H 74 L 59

 

[garneska]

@DopeyBadger i can't find the spreadsheet with all the runners on it. It is far back in the thread now, but when i did look i did not find me for the 10k. Now I may have missed it there are a lot of people on the list, but if i did not i thought i would let you know. FYI i had said no to the pre meet on 10k but i am now a definite maybe and more than likely a yes to the 10k meet up.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Yes, if you had a car you could theoretically leave sooner than the buses at 6:30am. The car parking is to the left of the course and not on it at all. Whereas, the buses are to the right of the course and share the same path. I've never driven a car, so someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

Great! Thank you!!

 

[Ariel484]

Are any shops/food establishments along Main Street USA open for spectators during the Half/full marathons?

Yes, at least some were when I spectated the Princess Half in 2014. I remember a small coffee cart and I think Casey's was open too...but my BFFs and I brought our own snacks to be safe.

 

[rteetz]

Just got a "Final Race Weekend Reminders" email from runDisney. At the bottom they listed sponsors and still listed New Balance which I found strange. They must have to advertise them through the end of 2017 when the contract runs out since they are not listed in the event guide.

 

[FlashAM7]

This might be a stupid question, but my parents are staying at Saratoga Springs and wanted to come to Main St for the marathon to watch the runners. How do they go about getting there? Are there buses from all the resorts to MK at 6am?

 

[garneska]

what are the opinions on driving to for the 10k rather than using Disney transport? I normally take the buses but this is my first time doing a shorter race. I notice in the Event Guide it says significant delays for Half and Full marathon but does not mention delays for the 5k or 10k. I am considering just driving over. Partly because I expect to finish before the buses start rolling again. i keep wavering back and forth. I am staying at Fort Wilderness so not sure if that makes a difference. I am thinking if i have my car then i can sit in it for a while in the morning. thoughts?

 

[SheHulk]

I had a bad dream about the marathon last night. I think I always do this time of year. I was cruising along, like mile 13, and a guy who works at Disney had a cart being pulled by donkeys. He grabbed me & two other women running by. "You have to get in the cart and be in the donkey parade!" He insisted. "Put on these hats!" I argued that I was running a race and had to keep going. "If you wanted to have a fast time you shouldn't be in a runDisney race!" He argued back. The other women and I looked at each other in disbelief and got in the cart. They stayed but I sneaked away when he wasn't looking. A bunch of other barriers like that kept springing up and I was never able to finish the race. Things like, nobody around and the course wasn't marked so I got off course, etc.

If this doesn't qualify as taper madness I don't know what does.

 

[Chaitali]

That reminded me that I had my first marathon nightmare this week too! I couldn't find any of the stuff I needed and had packed for the race and was running really late and didn't leave my room until 6:30! I obviously didn't make the start in time. Thankfully it was just a dream

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Ok seems like a good time between Christmas and people getting ready to head to Orlando next week to see who has any interest signing up for character text alert.

In case you didn't see it, I'm going to text out where characters are at on the course in case you are looking for someonce specific or want to skip some characters for later ones. I'll be in corral A so I'll be able to get out ahead of some of you best I can. If you're interested, send me a pm. Also let me know if you're international and will see about using WhatsApp so no one gets hit with fees.

Does this include for the half? That’s the one race I’m doing and character pictures are a top priority for me this time. I don’t want to stop for tons, but would love to get some good ones and have advance notice to prioritize. I’ll send you a PM!

Interesting posts about the weather so far. I know it’s still way too far out, but cold weather would be interesting and a much different experience than my other Disney races! I won’t complain - I would definitely take cold over rain - please no repeat of this year’s half! The obsessive weather checking is going to be beginning for home too. Hoping there’s not a snowstorm around to delay/cancel flights!

I cannot believe the expo opens in one week, and I leave one week from tomorrow. Anyone want to make guesses on race shirt colors? For the half, I’m hoping/expecting red or yellow since it matches with the medal. Or maybe blue (regular blue not navy).

 

[Dis5150]

I finally got my last night booked for marathon weekend! We are at Saratoga Springs till the 8th but not flying home until the 9th. I was able to get a room at AS sports for the night of the 8th! Very happy with that as that is where I kept trying and it kept telling me no availability. Someone must have cancelled. It's great for our last day as we stay there all the time and know where to take our luggage in the a.m., know the food court, where to catch ME, etc. Also kinda feels like home, we have stayed there so much!

I was also able to modify one of our ADR's (we have 2) to add another person. But no luck adding a 7th person to Beaches and Cream the evening after the marathon. I had serious doubts about that one anyway as I had a very hard time getting the table for 6 originally! Sis and fam will have to figure something out as I am not giving up my No Way Jose after the marathon!

 

[UNCBear24]

what are the opinions on driving to for the 10k rather than using Disney transport? I normally take the buses but this is my first time doing a shorter race. I notice in the Event Guide it says significant delays for Half and Full marathon but does not mention delays for the 5k or 10k. I am considering just driving over. Partly because I expect to finish before the buses start rolling again. i keep wavering back and forth. I am staying at Fort Wilderness so not sure if that makes a difference. I am thinking if i have my car then i can sit in it for a while in the morning. thoughts?

I will be driving the first 3 days of Dopey. Since I am in corral A for the 5k/10k, I'll be glad to have option to leave as soon as I'd like to. I drove to the W&D half and had no problems at all. I did like waiting in my car, since I had no need to check a bag. Try it for the 5k and see how you like it and go from there.

 

[garneska]

I will be driving the first 3 days of Dopey. Since I am in corral A for the 5k/10k, I'll be glad to have option to leave as soon as I'd like to. I drove to the W&D half and had no problems at all. I did like waiting in my car, since I had no need to check a bag. Try it for the 5k and see how you like it and go from there.

I am doing my own little thing. i am not running dopey. i am doing the 10k and the Marathon. I really wanted an Minnie Mouse shirt. It does seem like people prefer driving. i am not trying to get more sleep, am thinking it will be easier. I am not sure if i want to stick around after the race or not. Kind of depends on how i am feeling and the temps. Decisions, decisions!!

 

[Keels]

Just finished my last race weekend prep shift!!!

I haven’t seen merch or the shirts since I was working on other stuff, but the theming is SUPER cute!

 

[Keels]

Also, one shirt is purple. Like TCU purple. No idea which one it is because the banners hadn’t been hung up when they wheeled in the carts with shirt bags.

 

[rteetz]

Just finished my last race weekend prep shift!!!

I haven’t seen merch or the shirts since I was working on other stuff, but the theming is SUPER cute!

Can’t wait!