Marathon Weekend 2020

[goingthedistance]

Even though we have a link to the guide, remember that things can change and it has not yet been officially published.

 

[DerTobi75]

Remember that things can change and it has not yet been officially published.

Like the Marathon Course?

 

[steph0808]

1. We run right by ToT. Sweet. I want to hop on, if possible.
2. So much highway.
3. There seems to be a lot of backtracking.
4. Epcot looks cool. Around Spaceship Earth at the start and then WS at the end.

 

[goingthedistance]

Like the Marathon Course?

The course should be pretty close but we have seen the illustrations change in the past (for example prior years showed the course not going through the castle on the illustration).

An example of something I saw in the guide currently is the requirement for Goofy Challenge runners to pick up race bibs on Wednesday and Thursday. There is no reason why Goofy runners would be prohibited from Friday pickup.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Hot mess is the first thing that came to mind on the marathon course. It looks like DHS is just the auxiliary exit from Fantasmic! I can’t even call that entering the park. I think MK that late is going to be less fun and, yeah, I’ve got no idea how they are considering this to be more park time. Even semantics don’t get there for me. I guess they were really banking on people being so happy about eliminating WWoS that they wouldn’t care what else was done to the course?

Oh well, I’m sure I’ll have fun anyway. I don’t dislike change, but I feel like we’ve been a bit short-changed with this course.

ETA: looked closer and see we make it into the Beauty and the Beast theatre before taking a left and exiting. It’s still a cut back on a park the was only a very small portion before.

 

[DerTobi75]

Might Runners in the last corral be able to see the first Runners, while they are going to pass the Starting Area around Mile 4?!

 

[goingthedistance]

First thoughts on new course for marathon:

Glad WWOS is gone, as well as the out and back on Western Way
Marathon Investigation is going to have a field day identifying course cutting. There are SO many places someone can cut this course
Thought finish would be more like W&D. Glad to see the "usual" finish
Corral H and getting to the start line port-a-lets are on the course from Epcot to MK. Handcycles and lead pack will be going through there (mile 4) as early as 5:10-5:20. That will be dangerous. Don't think Corral H will be moved up by then?
EE is still in play

 

[Barca33Runner]

Might Runners in the last corral be able to see the first Runners, while they are going to pass the Starting Area around Mile 4?!

It looks like there are a lot of out and backs and retracing of steps on this course. Plenty of time to view other participants.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Marathon Investigation is going to have a field day identifying course cutting. There are SO many places someone can cut this course

Do you think my new world record time will come under suspicion when I cut straight to the finish line here?

 

[ZellyB]

It looks like there are a lot of out and backs and retracing of steps on this course. Plenty of time to view other participants.

So, I'm not running the marathon this year but I'm struck by this section as well. The elite runners are likely running a sub-6:00 min/mile pace right? And it looks like the course retraces mile 1 with mile 4-5 before it diverges at mile 5. Right? So, that would mean you would have to have your last corral started and at least close to the one mile mark within 25 minutes or so wouldn't it? And if your balloon ladies are at a 16 minute per mile pace for that first mile, that leaves you like 9 minutes to get all the preceding corrals started? That's impossible right? Or maybe I'm misreading the map and it just looks like the courses cover the same ground but maybe they are on different sides of a divided road??? I think it is a divided road there isn't it?

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

My first reaction is disappointment. There’s an awful lot of highway time, and more importantly, an awful lot of highway time in the dark. I want to run down Main Street and through the castle while it’s dark, or run around WS in the dark, not down the highway.

 

[DerTobi75]

Handcycles and lead pack will be going through there (mile 4) as early as 5:10-5:20. That will be dangerous. Don't think Corral H will be moved up by then?

Do they put Corrals on both lanes of Epcot Center Drive?

It looks like, there are two lanes and right after the start, the first sharper left turn looks like a "bridge". So, Lead Pack and last Corral Runners should be on two different "lanes", hopefully ;-)

 

[ZellyB]

My first reaction is disappointment. There’s an awful lot of highway time, and more importantly, an awful lot of highway time in the dark. I want to run down Main Street and through the castle while it’s dark, or run around WS in the dark, not down the highway.

I actually thought the same. For the most part the sun will be up enough that the run up Main Street with the dream lights against a dark sky will not be something most runners will see.

 

[croach]

So, I'm not running the marathon this year but I'm struck by this section as well. The elite runners are likely running a sub-6:00 min/mile pace right? And it looks like the course retraces mile 1 with mile 4-5 before it diverges at mile 5. Right? So, that would mean you would have to have your last corral started and at least close to the one mile mark within 25 minutes or so wouldn't it? And if your balloon ladies are at a 16 minute per mile pace for that first mile, that leaves you like 9 minutes to get all the preceding corrals started? That's impossible right? Or maybe I'm misreading the map and it just looks like the courses cover the same ground but maybe they are on different sides of a divided road??? I think it is a divided road there isn't it?

Yeah they look to be on two different sections of the road. The two groups of runners won't be on the same route.

 

[rdiver]

The start staging map shows the start on the outside lane and the return portion on the inside line. If you look at google maps, it seems to make sense, as the outside lane loops back towards epcot, while the inside loop meets World Drive SB.

 

[michigandergirl]

An example of something I saw in the guide currently is the requirement for Goofy Challenge runners to pick up race bibs on Wednesday and Thursday. There is no reason why Goofy runners would be prohibited from Friday pickup.

Yeah that has to be a mistake. At least I sure hope so because this Goof Trooper isn't flying in until Friday.

 

[DerTobi75]

Hope that makes sense

 

[ZellyB]

Yeah they look to be on two different sections of the road. The two groups of runners won't be on the same route.

So I'm trying to remember that portion of the course which is tough since it's dark, but seems like they would have like some staging things (water, bands, supporters?) possible on the other side of the road. So, instead you'd potentially see race leaders running past there if you are in the later corrals. That could actually be fun.

 

[Barca33Runner]

So, I'm not running the marathon this year but I'm struck by this section as well. The elite runners are likely running a sub-6:00 min/mile pace right? And it looks like the course retraces mile 1 with mile 4-5 before it diverges at mile 5. Right? So, that would mean you would have to have your last corral started and at least close to the one mile mark within 25 minutes or so wouldn't it? And if your balloon ladies are at a 16 minute per mile pace for that first mile, that leaves you like 9 minutes to get all the preceding corrals started? That's impossible right? Or maybe I'm misreading the map and it just looks like the courses cover the same ground but maybe they are on different sides of a divided road??? I think it is a divided road there isn't it?

I don’t know enough about the roads to know exactly what the setup is, but I’d have to think there are at least two lanes there. Hopefully more because that would be a tight squeeze that early in the race. I also think this verifies the belief among many that they capped registrations at a lower number. This course looks like it wouldn’t function well for 20,000 runners.

 

[FFigawi]

Do they put Corrals on both lanes of Epcot Center Drive?

It looks like, there are two lanes and right after the start, the first sharper left turn looks like a "bridge". So, Lead Pack and last Corral Runners should be on two different "lanes", hopefully ;-)

This should be the case, yes. That’s how it was when they ran the red and blue starts several years ago. The start should be on the right and the runners at mile 4-5 should be on the left. I’m really glad they’ve gone back to this start but disappointed we don’t run around World Showcase like we used to do.