Marathon Weekend 2020

[BuckeyeBama]

They aren't ready yet.

Still, they could/should have waited until they were all ready, right?

Some look better than the renderings while others look worse. I really like the Castaway medal.

 

[lhermiston]

Good morning, runDisney all-stars!

We are 163 days from the kickoff of Marathon Weekend 2020. As you're all aware, we got our first peak at the race medals this week. I think it's fair to say that most of the folks on this board were not super enamored with a majority of the designs.

So, for this week's Sundays are for Disney, show me some race swag that makes your heart go pitter-patter. While medals are great, you could also include a shirt, bib, trophy, mug, etc. But try to limit to something you earned as part of the race, not something you purchased before or after. They do NOT need to be from Disney races, but all runDisney events are fair game, of course.

Please tell us a little about your race gear - when and where the race took place and why it's meaningful to you.

The picture below is the shirt I received after the Samson Stomp & Romp at the Milwaukee County Zoo in January 2014 (little did I know this would not be my last foray into mid-winter races). This shirt means a lot to me because it was the beginning of my running career. I'd gotten into running a couple years earlier to get back into shape and had done a couple mud races, but my training was very sporadic and I always went into hibernation during the winter. I found that having a race to train for forced me to continue with training.

So, I signed up for this and ran it with some family I have up in MKE. It was a chilly, but beautiful morning and running through a zoo was really awesome. Incidentally, while I really enjoyed this race, I told myself I'd probably never do any more road races and never do anything more than a 5K.

Almost three years to the day later, I ran my first marathon.




Have a great week, everyone! Can't wait to see your swag and hear your stories!

 

[rteetz]

The picture below is the shirt I received after the Samson Stomp & Romp at the Milwaukee County Zoo in January 2014 (little did I know this would not be my last foray into mid-winter races). This shirt means a lot to me because it was the beginning of my running career.

Amazingly enough I’ve never done this one. I know exactly what it is and the zoo isn’t pretty close to me. This past year the race was on a day where it was like 5 degrees. I think that’s the biggest reason why I haven’t. It’s always bitter cold.

 

[FFigawi]

So, for this week's Sundays are for Disney, show me some race swag that makes your heart go pitter-patter. While medals are great, you could also include a shirt, bib, trophy, mug, etc. But try to limit to something you earned as part of the race, not something you purchased before or after. They do NOT need to be from Disney races, but all runDisney events are fair game, of course.

Please tell us a little about your race gear - when and where the race took place and why it's meaningful to you.

Here is one of my favorite medals, Ironman Florida in 2016. This race was very special to me for two main reasons. One, I swore for years I’d never enter a triathlon, let alone an Ironman, yet after training for 11 months mostly indoors in Iraq, I found myself on the starting line excited to meet the challenge of the day. Two, I had the absolute world's best support crew with me to cheer me on and make sure I made it to the finish. Seeing them on the course was wonderful, and going back to read all the kind words people here offered up during the race made it extra special too. I wonder if @Keels is available to do this again next year Down Under.

 

[rteetz]

SAFD:

The vast majority of my races are Disney races. My first 10K, Half, and Marathon were all Disney races. I have a fondness for a good amount of my medals. I don't think any of them have a major story behind them though at least not yet.

Here is my first runDisney medal from 2015 and my 2019 10K medal to show my five years of running Disney.



Now here would be my first half. Looking back on this medal its not the best or flashiest medal but of course because of my first half I really like it.



Next up is my first marathon and probably my favorite marathon medal. I love that it was a throwback to the one and only Disneyland marathon.



And then probably my favorite set of medals and my first complete Dopey challenge after the cancelled 2017 half. This Dopey medal was just perfect.

 

[Barca33Runner]

I’m out of town, but I posted the pics of the 2013 WDW 20th Anniversary Marathon medal a couple days ago.

I couldn’t have picked a better first marathon and, as I stated in the other post, it was entirely serendipitous. As I was finishing my first race, the 2012 WDW Half, I knew I had to come back the following year and run the marathon. The fact it happened to be the 20th anniversary and ended up having the coolest medal ever was just coincidence.

I can still look back at that medal and think of my journey running. Where I was before those first couple races and where I am now. It’s not all good, but the good things and great potential for the future are what I focus on.

 

[lhermiston]

Amazingly enough I’ve never done this one. I know exactly what it is and the zoo isn’t pretty close to me. This past year the race was on a day where it was like 5 degrees. I think that’s the biggest reason why I haven’t. It’s always bitter cold.

It was a fun race. The year I did it I doubt it was much colder than this year’s WDW 5K. But yeah, 5 degrees would be borderline unpleasant.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

I know you have to have ten posts before choosing an Avatar. Is it the same rule for being able to post photos in a message? I've not been able to figure out how to add photos to my post so I can respond to SAFD.

 

[rteetz]

I know you have to have ten posts before choosing an Avatar. Is it the same rule for being able to post photos in a message? I've not been able to figure out how to add photos to my post so I can respond to SAFD.

It might be I’m not sure. If you go to the tech board and then to the test area you can get to ten posts in there and then try to see if you can post images.

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Not a race medal, nor a medal, but it hangs with my medals and bib numbers and out shines them all from a sentimental stand point is my athlete credentials from a snowboard freeride contest. I’ve gone skydiving and bungee jumping and it was the second most scary thing I’ve done, not because my line was gnarly, because it wasn’t, but because I was “competing” against a whole slew of pros I watched in videos. My goal was to not come in last and I came in 5th to last so great success.

FTR, the scariest thing I’ve done was open mic stand up. Did it a few times, and hokey mokey was it a savage adrenaline rush.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Good morning, runDisney all-stars!

We are 163 days from the kickoff of Marathon Weekend 2020. As you're all aware, we got our first peak at the race medals this week. I think it's fair to say that most of the folks on this board were not super enamored with a majority of the designs.

So, for this week's Sundays are for Disney, show me some race swag that makes your heart go pitter-patter. While medals are great, you could also include a shirt, bib, trophy, mug, etc. But try to limit to something you earned as part of the race, not something you purchased before or after. They do NOT need to be from Disney races, but all runDisney events are fair game, of course.

Please tell us a little about your race gear - when and where the race took place and why it's meaningful to you.

The picture below is the shirt I received after the Samson Stomp & Romp at the Milwaukee County Zoo in January 2014 (little did I know this would not be my last foray into mid-winter races). This shirt means a lot to me because it was the beginning of my running career. I'd gotten into running a couple years earlier to get back into shape and had done a couple mud races, but my training was very sporadic and I always went into hibernation during the winter. I found that having a race to train for forced me to continue with training.

So, I signed up for this and ran it with some family I have up in MKE. It was a chilly, but beautiful morning and running through a zoo was really awesome. Incidentally, while I really enjoyed this race, I told myself I'd probably never do any more road races and never do anything more than a 5K.

Almost three years to the day later, I ran my first marathon.


View attachment 420751

Love this! I’ve done the Samson Stomp twice and it is fun running through the zoo! The first year I did it the weather was fine for winter. Cold while waiting around but fine once we started running (about 30 degrees). The 2nd time was very different. We waited inside before the race started because the air temp was about -2 and the wind chill was in maybe the 20 below range. I had condensation from my breath frozen on my scarf when I finished.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Here are some pics for me. I have more than one because it’s hard to choose! I don’t know why they are all sideways, but you get the idea and I don’t have the desire to try to fix it right now!

First up: the infamous Wine and Dine half of a half in 2015.



Obviously this was a race with some less than ideal conditions and a tainted outcome, but it was my first RunDisney experience so it has good meaning there. It was supposed to be my first half marathon overall, so that was also a bit disappointing. But I vowed for redemption, and that’s where #2 comes in!

#2: my first half marathon = W&D redemption!



7 months after Wine and Dine, I ran this local race (which sadly was cancelled beginning in 2018, I miss it) and completed my first half marathon! It also has a bit of a strange outcome since hot weather conditions caused them to cancel official timing when I was somewhere around the 10th mile, but I finished the distance and got my redemption!

#3: October 2018 - my first marathon!



No real explanation needed for the significance of this. My first marathon and the medal that represents it is something I’ll cherish forever. I never thought I’d complete a marathon at all, and if I did I thought it would be Disney (after all, it’s what led to my decision to run a half) but things change, and I’m so glad I did this race. It’s a great local event.

And finally, #4: April 2019 - Half Marathon PR



Not the flashiest medal, but when I look at this one, I remember a day where I set out to run a half marathon for fun, with absolutely no expectations on time. But that day turned into a race where I set a 10-minute half marathon PR. Special for sure.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Rocket City Marathon 2017. PR, first (to date only) sub-4, last medal I got to show my mom.

I 'ding' it every time I go up or down the basement stairs (my display area).

 

[Neon Cactus]

Most of my races have been Disney. These are the medal haul from the 2016 Disneyland Half Marathon weekend. The Disney World Marathon that year was my first marathon and I was in the "one and done" camp before the race. Afterwards, as I was sitting on the bus, I heard the runners next to me talking about Coast to Coast, so I asked them about it and found out that if I ran a half marathon at Disneyland that same year, I would get the Coast to Coast medal in addition to the race medal. An extra medal and getting to run through Disneyland too? I was immediately interested.

I started looking into the race and I was definitely doing the half and then started reading about the Dumbo Double Dare challenge. Then I saw the 10k course which I just wish I could run that course every day for the rest of my life, and so I was in for the challenge. Getting ready for the race was also the first time I found this forum. I'd been on Facebook before the marathon and had started on there before this, but I couldn't deal with the negativity that was on there. I met a few people from here before the races and they were incredible, but it was nice to get the nice haul of medals and I hope to have the opportunity to do another RunDisney event at Disneyland soon!



I loved the Dumbo medal and getting the Coast to Coast was awesome. Hopefully next year will see the Castle to Chateau!

 

[CDKG]

It’s so hard to pick just one...so I have chosen a few from my phone (I’m still in AZ visiting the family’s new puppy!)

First, my very first half marathon, the Wine & Dine in 2013. Not only was this my first half marathon, but it was my first runDisney race and the reason I decided to start running.



Next, comes my most disappointing medal (really, it’s a cheap 1” charm on a ribbon). But, I’m not sharing this photo because of the medal, but because it was my favorite post race beverage! All participants received a glass of champagne (sparking white really) in a souvenir glass. For context this half marathon was at the peak of my PF, leaving me almost in tears the final few miles. Sitting in the grass sipping this champagne was amazing!



Finally, the Inaugural Castle to Chateau Challenge (the first photo is courtesy of runDisney). The idea of this race and medal was pure magic! The trip surrounding it, not so much. (It’s a long story for another time but includes MRSA, a bomb threat, a car accident and a broken arm...) I am really looking forward to the 5th year next September and my European vacation redemption!



Selfies taken in (L to R): Rome, Vatican City, Mount Vesuvius, Shakespeare’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon, Tower of London, Warwick Castle, Leed’s Castle, Windsor Castle, Warwick Castle #2 (I’m not sure why I included two photos here since it was essentially a theme park), Stonehenge and Harrod’s London.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

No picture, but my favorite medal is the Kessel Run Challenge medal. Why? Because it is the Millennium Falcon. What could be cooler than that?

 

[MissLiss279]

One of my favorite medals/races was my second marathon- Route 66 Marathon and the Flying Goddess (2015). My first marathon was hot (90 at finish), but I finished. I had already signed up for Dopey, so I knew my marathon training was continuing. I decided to sign up for Route 66 after that first marathon to keep my training going. The weather was 100x better and I took 30 minutes off my first marathon (about a month later). The crowd support was much better, and it’s probably one of the reasons I kept to running marathons (that and runDisney). It’s the race I sign up for every year.

2018 Dopey is pretty special too. It was my first training plan from @DopeyBadger. I was able to PR every race! And I probably didn’t put 100% into any single race, but running those four days just felt good. It’s amazing what a training plan tailored to you can do. I had a lot of potential and was able to capitalize on it with this plan.

2018 Fargo Marathon- second @DopeyBadger plan, and I was able to see what I could do for a marathon when it wasn’t proceeded by several other races. In 4.5 months I took another 30 minutes off my marathon! And Fargo puts on a great race and is very flat. Really enjoyable race atmosphere.

 

[flav]

These are my 2016-2018 medals:


Design and look wise, my favourites are from virtual races: The 2016 Mickey pants marks the beginning of my running career, the sandcastle corresponds to when I realized that 10k was a short distance and the 9 3/4 Platforms is gorgeous, lights up and reminds me of our family trip to Universal.

Meaningful medals seem all to be linked to Challenges. The Wine & Dine Two Course Challenge 2017, I like the consistency and the fact that it was the first time that I traveled for racing, it had to be a worth it and it was: My first Half. Then the Ottawa Voyager Challenge (three races in 20h) and the Montreal Rock’n’Roll Remix (5k with DH and DD and PR the half).

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

This is the medal from my second half. It’s special to me because:
—It’s the first half that DH and I both ran;
—It was proof that my first wasn’t a fluke, or a one and done;
—It was a beautiful fall day on my “home course;” and
—The medal was designed by a local artist, David Hale (hawk.love), and I thought he did a fantastic job. My first half was Princess 2013, so I already expected race medals to be gorgeous, and this delivered. The back of the medal and the ribbon were nice, just like the front.

P.S. I did need to have ten posts before I could post pictures.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

—It was a beautiful fall day on my “home course;” and

I need to put the Athens Half back on my calendar. I did it in 2011, when it had a KILLER hill, starting at mile 12. It was the kind of hill your car (at least MY car) doesn't want to go up, let alone run up it.

They did get rid of the hill, right?