Marathon Weekend 2020

[Princess KP]

SAFD: My answer is exactly what @lahobbs4 said.

Definitely doing the 2017 full after the half being cancelled. I was only registered for the half and did not want a disney credit. I came all that way to run down Main Street and I wasn't going to miss it!

Smart to run a marathon after only training for a half? NO. But there is no way I would be training for my second Dopey right now if it hadn't happened.

 

[tigger536]

Me too.

Running all the races? CC in that instance could stand for the Credit Card Challenge. I have a mental image of a run disney exec pulling a scrooge mcduck and diving into a pool filled with your race fees.

It stands for Castway Cay Challenge but you're not wrong. LOL.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

What is your greatest Disney or runDisney achievement?

My answer may surprise people.

1. Finishing the 2017 Kessel Run Challenge.
2. 2019 Dopey as part of my first Marathon.
3. Finishing the 2017 Avengers course on 3 weeks training.

Without going into great details, my life as a runner has been a series of doing things I once believed impossible. The 2017 Kessel Run broke down one of the biggest barriers to impossible and the 3 week Avengers training helped break down the remaining barrier. After Avengers 2017, my next race was Dark Side 2018, by which point I had gone from no way is a marathon ever happening to using that race weekend as a test of sorts to the feasibility of Dopey. 2018 Dark Side marked my first 5K and first all races runDisney weekend.

 

[roxymama]

for RD achievements: probably finishing the Tink HM (my first) in a time just shy of my goal after stopping more times for pics than I thought I'd allow myself.
Second place would be staying in the parks until midnight that same day

 

[Bree]

SAFD:
RD Accomplishment: Finishing Dopey and feeling like I could have added a fifth race. Other than the undiagnosed hip fracture I finished that weekend feeling fantastic. The hip wasn’t even feeling bad.

Non-RD: Riding RnRC 10 times in a row on a solo trip.

 

[jennamfeo]

What is your greatest Disney or runDisney achievement?

Let's see... I think my greatest runDisney achievement would have to be doing the Dumbo Double Dare as my first 10k & Half Marathon races on barely any training and kind of sort of surviving them. Followed very closely with doing Dopey, I suppose.
My greatest non-Disney accomplishment is doing Disneyland rope-drop to close with my husband and my (at the time) 6 year old and riding nearly every single thing and our favorites twice! I know everyone does parks differently, but I just wanna ride all the rides all the time.
Second place is riding Tower of Terror at Disneyland with my daughter when she was 3.5 (I might have my years wrong on this) but moral of the story is: I HATED that ride. Like drop rides are the most terrifying for me. But my husband wanted to take her when she was finally tall enough and I wasn't gonna miss riding it with them. So I pulled up my big girl pants and got on that ride. The picture was just too funny because I was screaming my head off and my kid had the biggest smile on her face. Fast forward a few years and now I LOVE that ride and I have to ride it any chance I get.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

This is our first marathon weekend, but 4th rD event. At past events, they've had a merchandise tent, but it was only open Sunday, after the half. Do they open the merch tent in the finish area both Saturday and Sunday of MW?

Does it normally take this long for race retreat and cheer squad to open for booking? DW was thinking about cheer squad, as it will be my first full.

 

[lhermiston]

This is our first marathon weekend, but 4th rD event. At past events, they've had a merchandise tent, but it was only open Sunday, after the half. Do they open the merch tent in the finish area both Saturday and Sunday of MW?

Does it normally take this long for race retreat and cheer squad to open for booking? DW was thinking about cheer squad, as it will be my first full.

I think the merchandise trailer was open after every race this year, but I could be wrong. I'm almost certain it was open after at least the half and full.

 

[tigger536]

This is our first marathon weekend, but 4th rD event. At past events, they've had a merchandise tent, but it was only open Sunday, after the half. Do they open the merch tent in the finish area both Saturday and Sunday of MW?

Does it normally take this long for race retreat and cheer squad to open for booking? DW was thinking about cheer squad, as it will be my first full.

Save your money for some merch. She doessn't need cheer squad to see you on course (Main Street is a great spot) and (at least) some of the bleachers are open for non cheer squad too. No need to buy this, IMO.

ETA: If there is something you want, buy it at the expo (even if its the full "I did it" shirt. Just don't wear it beforehand. And in the unlikely event you "don't did it" you can return to any WDW merchandise location.

 

[UNCBear24]

SAFD: My greatest Disney achievement was riding Tower of Terror 20 times in a single day. It was so much fun and the cast members were great!

 

[mjcorral]

I second this. You might want to try sports beans during a long run and see how you like them/tolerate them. Or find something else you like. I do fine with sports beans, but train with Clif chews, so I bring those for the half and the full. I definitely wouldn't rely upon Disney for your race fuel.

Thanks everyone! Just starting to get anxiety, it's becoming real. Follow up questions- How do you carry your snacks? I have a handheld bottle with a little pouch for my inhaler, ID and such, but is a small belt a good idea? Also what do you eat before long runs and before the actual race?

 

[Desdemona924]

Thanks everyone! Just starting to get anxiety, it's becoming real. Follow up questions- How do you carry your snacks? I have a handheld bottle with a little pouch for my inhaler, ID and such, but is a small belt a good idea? Also what do you eat before long runs and before the actual race?

I can't offer up much more than to say use these months leading up to race weekend to try things out. I have a SpiBelt and I love it, but with the wrong shorts, it rides up and annoys me. I have another belt that didn't bounce much, until it did. You might be able to get by with just pockets. I now have some capris and shorts with big pockets on the thighs, good for my phone and snacks. Of course, pockets are a novelty it seems on women's pants, so that makes it extra thrilling.

I like a PB&J before a long run and it's handy that there are uncrustables for sale in the Disney food courts (at least at the values, which is where I stay for race weekends). That's another thing to just try out. Luckily, it's only August, not December, so plenty of time to test out fueling.

 

[PrincessV]

Thanks everyone! Just starting to get anxiety, it's becoming real. Follow up questions- How do you carry your snacks? I have a handheld bottle with a little pouch for my inhaler, ID and such, but is a small belt a good idea? Also what do you eat before long runs and before the actual race?

All of this is an individual thing with a gazillion different answers - you'll see. But if we don't share what works for us, you won't get any ideas to start trying things, so I'm happy to add my preferences to the pile!

Fuel - I use gels for mid-race fuel. Because they work for me, but lots of other things work for me, too - gels come out on top because I find them to be really easy to carry. For 13.1 or shorter, I can carry a couple/few in the leg pockets of my Skirt Sports skorts or Athleta capris/tights. For a marathon, I use a race belt that has little elastic loops all around it: the gels squish into those loops and stay in place until I pull one out to eat. I also carry an inhaler, car key, ID - inhaler either goes in another pocket, or in a little pouch on a belt, and key and ID go in a small zippered pocket on my waistband.

Breakfast - Long runs and races, I wake up and eat a slice of oatmeal bread (preferably toasted), topped with peanut butte,r banana slices, and a little drizzle of honey. Plus a cup of coffee with milk. For training runs, I start running about an hour and a half later. For rD races, it's a much longer gap between breakfast and starting to run, so I bring a granola bar to the start and eat it about an hour before I expect to start.

 

[IamTrike]

Thanks everyone! Just starting to get anxiety, it's becoming real. Follow up questions- How do you carry your snacks? I have a handheld bottle with a little pouch for my inhaler, ID and such, but is a small belt a good idea? Also what do you eat before long runs and before the actual race?

I'll second what everyone else says. This is really a trial and error thing. I personally like gel fuel. (either cliff shots or gu). They fit in my pocket so I didn't really need anything special to carry them. I didn't like sportbeans and I found waffles to hard to chew. I have my morning routine down before long runs. I always wake up and make coffee immediately leaving 45 minutes between finishing the coffee and leaving to run. Unless it's unusual I don't eat anything until 15 minutes before I run and then it's just a gu.

 

[Neon Cactus]

Thanks everyone! Just starting to get anxiety, it's becoming real. Follow up questions- How do you carry your snacks? I have a handheld bottle with a little pouch for my inhaler, ID and such, but is a small belt a good idea? Also what do you eat before long runs and before the actual race?

I use either the sports beans or gel and can carry them in my pocket. Before my marathons, I usually eat one or two granola bars. This year, I also had an uncrustable and that was good.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

DH here: lately, found sport beans pre-run and gel during. Trying to get the sport beans pack out of a pocket, spi-belt, etc. during a run and then feeding 1-2 at a time has been more challenging for me than just squeezing gu into my mouth.
Tip #1: open your sport bean bags before heading to the run. Often times, I have them tear funny, and then can't get them open. At home, I just reach for the scissors then. They have a zip top.
Tip #2: don't overfill the pack like (this guy) did prior to a race. Made it even harder to yank out of the carrying pocket. That sensation I felt was most of the bag (now burst open from being too full and tugged too hard) spilling all over me as the beans fell to the rain-soaked course.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Save your money for some merch. She doessn't need cheer squad to see you on course (Main Street is a great spot) and (at least) some of the bleachers are open for non cheer squad too. No need to buy this, IMO.

So you can get to MK and spectate without purchasing cheer squad? I will (hopefully) be at MK prior to park opening.

 

[Neon Cactus]

So you can get to MK and spectate without purchasing cheer squad? I will (hopefully) be at MK prior to park opening.

Yeah, I went there for the Half this year and they let spectators onto Main Street at 5:30 AM. It was awesome, with Main Street and Cinderella's Castle all lit up and they had shops open and food available.

 

[StarGirl11]

So you can get to MK and spectate without purchasing cheer squad? I will (hopefully) be at MK prior to park opening.

You can! Chear squad is only for a small area just in front of the castle (or it was the last time my parents did it). Get there early if you want a good spot because Main Street gets packed with people cheering on runners.

 

[DopeyBadger]

So you can get to MK and spectate without purchasing cheer squad? I will (hopefully) be at MK prior to park opening.

The MK doesn't open until 9am on Marathon Sunday and the Balloon ladies will be at Grand Floridian (thus out of MK) by an estimated 8:23am (ETA: or earlier if the marathon is smaller again pushing the balloon ladies start time earlier, I believe it was closer to 6:17am in 2019). So the race course is cleared from MK before the first day guests are getting in. But like others have said, DW can cheer from inside MK before the park opens without cheer squad or park tickets.

Once the race gets closer we can get a general idea of your pace plan and then run the math as to when time wise you'll be at different places on property.