Marathon Weekend 2023

[supersnoop]

If it wasn’t for the fact that many people think resellers would just buy bibs and take away spots from people that actually want to run,

Is this a valid concern? I mean, how much money is in it for the resellers? The Dopey bib is $661; is there really enough room for resellers to profit with that much extra overhead?

 

[Disney at Heart]

Is this a valid concern? I mean, how much money is in it for the resellers? The Dopey bib is $661; is there really enough room for resellers to profit with that much extra overhead?

If runDisney limited the expo to runners only, the resellers would only have to buy a 5k bib to get in, which is much cheaper than a Dopey bib. Then the profit margin is probably pretty good. It’s difficult enough to get a 5k bib without having to compete with people who don’t even intend to run it.

 

[nekonekoneko]

If runDisney limited the expo to runners only, the resellers would only have to buy a 5k bib to get in, which is much cheaper than a Dopey bib. Then the profit margin is probably pretty good. It’s difficult enough to get a 5k bib without having to compete with people who don’t even intend to run it.

But my idea from before would mean that those resellers would then only be able to purchase 5k-themed merch. In order to buy everything, like @Livelovedance said, they'd need to buy a Dopey bib.

And I also said that all items would be limited to 1 per style.

 

[Herding_Cats]

But my idea from before would mean that those resellers would then only be able to purchase 5k-themed merch. In order to buy everything, like @Livelovedance said, they'd need to buy a Dopey bib.

And I also said that all items would be limited to 1 per style.

It’s an idea, but Disney has no interest in limiting people buying merch. And it would also require a lot more logistics and CMs to check everything, and it would trickle back to bibs.

So many people already know how to use a VQ system.

I think the biggest complaint at this point about the VQ is lack of personal control. I would absolutely have gotten in line for merch at 7am or earlier, and been done by 11. Now I don’t know when I’ll even be able to get in that building and the whole morning/afternoon plan has to wait to see where we land in the queue.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

is lack of personal control. I

Yeah. I wish you could know your time when all of the other reservations have to be made.

 

[nekonekoneko]

It’s an idea, but Disney has no interest in limiting people buying merch. And it would also require a lot more logistics and CMs to check everything, and it would trickle back to bibs.

So many people already know how to use a VQ system.

I think the biggest complaint at this point about the VQ is lack of personal control. I would absolutely have gotten in line for merch at 7am or earlier, and been done by 11. Now I don’t know when I’ll even be able to get in that building and the whole morning/afternoon plan has to wait to see where we land in the queue.

Yeah, my idea does have a bunch of logistical problems. But I'm also trying to figure out how someone coming in at 7 am has the same chance of getting merch as someone coming in at 4 pm. I'd also love to get the scalpers out of the mix.

Like my plan to get there would be either to get there first thing in the morning, or go before dinner. I don't want like BG30, with a 1pm return time. That would totally mess up that day for me.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Good morning runDIsney All-Stars! It is time for SAFD. And today will take us back to April. On 4/24 the SAFD question asked for your goals for Marathon Weekend. A caveat then, and now, was that many folks missed out on what they wanted during that crazy registration. So feel free to replace Marathon Weekend with a different race if you want. Hopefully some that missed out in April have been able to remedy the loss when races have reopened here and there.

You can take a look at your goals (they are on pages 140-145). Are you keeping your same goals? Any updates or changes? Additionally, let us know if you are thinking about any of the potential meet-ups: Pre-race Meet ups before any of the four races, Hurricane Hanna’s on Friday at 3pm or DATW on Monday in Epcot.

My Answer:

My goals were

1. Run the Marathon faster than I did in 2022, which was a 5:14. This is still my goal, planning sub 5.
2. Stretch goal was to do all 4 events under 8-hours…. Not a chance (I guess I thought it was still 2018. I am going to cruise the first three and see if I can get my old body back under 5 hours on marathon day.
3. Eat all the snacks that I can. I will hold to this goal!
4. And I am adding ride Guardians of the Galaxy at least twice during marathon week. Way excited for this ride!

Meet-ups

• Pre-race: I am planning to attend all four and am happy to be an early person and plant myself at the meeting location.
• Hurricane Hanna’s: I can not attend, but I hope everyone has fun!
• DATW: I can not attend, but I hope you all have a lots of fun!

 

[steph0808]

After four Disney marathons and one Disney half, I'm in for my first (and last) Dopey in 2023.

Goals are to:
1. Finish all four races
2. Have fun

That's it. I would love to ride a ride during the marathon, but I'm always too early for Everest and by the time I hit DHS, I don't feel like sitting down and riding would be a great idea!

My goals are exactly the same. I have no time goals (I'd like to finish the marathon under 5, but who knows with Dopey). I just want to have fun and finish. I should try to ride a ride during a race, just to say that I did, but I don't know how that would turn out!

I can be at all four meetups pre-race, as long as I'm there early enough!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

SAFD: Run my first marathon without being totally destroyed afterwards!

Yup, still this

I'll be at the pre-race meetup as long as I can find it. HH and DATW are still a bit up in the air for me. I am planning to hang around Epcot for at least a little while after the race, though.

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD: My goals for MW in order are
1. Do the training.
2. Finish all of the distances.
3. Have good couples’ costumes for myself and DH for the 5k and 10k.
4. Do the finisher backdrop pics after each race.
5. Have even more fun than last year (I don’t know if that’s possible though?!)
6. Be less awkward at the HH meetup

1. Doing the Training-the last couple of weeks have been a real struggle. I'm currently caffeinating and trying not to sabotage myself mentally for my 13mi treadmill run this morning because that last few days have been awful for food, hydration, and sleep.
2. Still the goal (obviously)
3. YES. I do have these. I'm excited. And I'm going to force DH to do a test run soon. (He's not doing any formal training, but "only" doing the 5k and 10k so he can get away with it I guess.)
4. The only day this might be an issue is after the half because I REALLY want my dang mimosa and will have to use the walk-up to get a table.
5. Trying for more fun seems like a good goal still.
6. YES. Planning on being at HH.

DATW will not be possible for us due to flight times. I will try to be at the meetups pre-race. Not sure DH will want to hang out with my "internet friends" 5x (including the HH meetup) or if we will get stuck in pre-race character opportunities though. I also like to get to the corrals early for the half and the full so I can be toward the front and have as much time as possible in front of the sweepers, so I may not stay too long at the pre-race on Saturday and Sunday. I checked my garmin and it says that I completed the half in about 3:40 last year, which was around 15min in front of the balloon ladies. It also says I did a 7:09 full, which is about right considering I ran 27 (!!!) miles with all the weaving and bathroom stops, and had WAY less cushion in front of the sweepers due to the expedited start.

PLEASE LET THERE BE AN EVENT GUIDE TOMORROW

 

[DisneyParrothead]

I'm not doing MW but am doing Princess. My cousin and I are doing the 5k and 10k, and very recently I registered for the Springtime ten miler. My goals are to have fun during the 5k and then push my pace for the 10k. And then use all that fitness to hopefully have a good ten miler. I haven't gone beyond a 10k in 8 years because of my right ITB, and now I'm ready to test those waters.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

Traditionally, haven’t we done Hurricane Hannah’s at 2:00?

 

[The Expert]

I got to the Expo around 12:30, went straight to bib pickup and there was literally no one there, so I'm surprised about your step-dad. But maybe I just got really lucky at that time!

He was unable to get his expo pass with bib number for some reason, so he did have to go in a separate line for them to look him up. He indicated that he waited about 30 minutes outside the building, but I wasn't up the hill with him, so not sure if the look-up line was that or after that.

I’ve never done W&D, but I know the number of participants is less, and I read on social media that the generic merch seemed to be moving faster than the race specific merch. I don’t know if that’s because they actually had enough items in stock to make it possible for almost everyone to get everything they wanted, or if it’s because the race specific merch wasn’t as popular. I heard the race themes weren’t well received by many. Again, I wasn’t there so this is solely based on other’s comments.

I was there and the general merch was definitely busier, even with just the Club folks. There were some new items I hadn't seen before, like a tech material spirit jersey and a Dooney rD backpack, so I chalked it up to that. The race specific merch areas seemed just as popular as usual.

Yeah, my idea does have a bunch of logistical problems. But I'm also trying to figure out how someone coming in at 7 am has the same chance of getting merch as someone coming in at 4 pm. I'd also love to get the scalpers out of the mix.

They key is to kill the demand for the resale merch. If nobody wants to buy it, there's no incentive for the resellers to fight so hard to get to it. When VQ was introduced before W&D, I mentioned that this is a step that allows rD to track user activity even more. IF they wanted to and IF it were a priority, they could learn who bought bibs and never started or finished the races they bought bibs for, and exclude them from VQ or even registration in the future. But, as someone else said, there's really no incentive for Disney to limit merch sales other than customer service to the runner, which doesn't seem to be a huge priority. They're trying to strike a balance, and it's tricky with merch that is only desireable for a limited window and to a limited audience.

Once the weekend is over, they are stuck with what doesn't sell, which is why preordering makes so much sense! But I also understand that timelines for design and production are months long. It used to be that the designs were relatively secret, but then came virtual races. The only way to sell those is for folks to know what they are getting, so at least the main color scheme and design/themes are revealed. With the races selling out so quickly, it's not like they are incentivizing registration by revealing merch and medal designs later, because by then, the races are sold out. I'd love to see them dump all those self-imposed "reveal" dates and just toss the merch designs out there at registration and allow pre-sales early enough to inform their ordering. They'll know exactly what is in demand and what to order more of for the expo, because they'll know what is selling and how many people are registered who did not preorder. Optimizing sales and minimizing waste, and cutting off resellers in the process.

 

[The Expert]

SAFD: Got in for my second Dopey!
My goals:

- Stick to the training and start the weekend uninjured.

Wellll.... I have done a terrible job sticking to training lately, but I AM listening to my body and have not been injured. I have definitely learned when to push and when to rest, which is good.

- Finish all 4 races feeling good.

I suppose we will see!

- Four epic race costumes that get me on at least one rD social media posting or gallery.

I do love my costumes and my theme, but I am losing hope ever making the rD social gallery. If my HM bride didn't make the cut during W&D weekend, I am not holding out hope for my less obvious Inside Out mashups for MW. Oh well. My new goal is to just have fun and enjoy the comments and attention from my fellow racers, because that's enough!

Also, I still need to finish making my marathon costumes, design/apply the graphic for the back of all my shirts and test run everything.

- Take advantage of the placement that comes from my upgraded Club rD and get as many character photos as possible.

FOR SURE I will do this for the 5K and 10K. I'm still trying to decide what to do for the Half and Full. I had a blast with @Herding_Cats last year and we definitely propped each other up during tough parts of both races. I am thinking I will start with my upgraded corral and maybe plan a meet-up at a certain mile marker or landmark partway through the races so we can run the rest together. We should strategize for sure. (And anyone else wanting to join Team Not-So-Fast is welcome!)

- Ride Everest during the Full.

Looks like it's going to be open, but I'll have to do some math once the course is out. It's been late enough in the race in the past, I'm comfortable I'll be able to time this right without too much issue.

- Join all the pre-race meetups, HH and DATW!

On the calendar! And I've booked a flight home early Tuesday so no issues having to skip or leave DATW early this time. I may even be able to drag DH along with me!

 

[1lilspark]

RE: VQ for those that didn’t do wine & dine or just want to hear someone’s expo experience

-VQ #50 and were given an estimate return time of 10:35
-Got to WWoS at 11 and that estimated return had gradually moved to 11:45 during our commute down I4
-line wrapped around building for bibs but grabbing bibs for 5&10k sister talking to runners relations and a restroom stop it was roughly a half hour from queuing up to exiting merch return time was now 12:07
-grabbed shirts didn’t poke around at venders was in that building about 10-15 minutes and by the time we walked down to the arena our push notification popped up telling us we could go shop

 

[sandam1]

SAFD - To toe the line for Dopey healthy and well-trained/prepared. If it still doesn't happen, for whatever reason, I will be okay with it. No "what ifs" this time.

SAFD - Wow! Looking at this goal, I was suddenly hit by how close I am to achieving it.

- I completely rehabbed my injury from last year and my body feels awesome. on the healthy part.
- I found the perfect training plan for me and have been able to follow it to a "T." I have my last Dopey simulation (including my first marathon distance) next weekend and then the hay is in the barn. on the well-trained/prepared.
- I've done everything reasonably possible to be ready for the races and, barring an unforeseen issue, it's going to happen. I know that I'm probably going to have issues with pace, but no matter the outcome, there will be no "what ifs."

What I could really use now is a cool weather report. Sorry, Floridians, but I would really, really, really like some cool (mid-50's) and dry weather for these races.

 

[Herding_Cats]

FOR SURE I will do this for the 5K and 10K. I'm still trying to decide what to do for the Half and Full. I had a blast with @Herding_Cats last year and we definitely propped each other up during tough parts of both races. I am thinking I will start with my upgraded corral and maybe plan a meet-up at a certain mile marker or landmark partway through the races so we can run the rest together. We should strategize for sure. (And anyone else wanting to join Team Not-So-Fast is welcome!)

You BETTER take advantage of that primo corral placement! Having a running partner was a huge help last year, especially in my first rD races where I was kind of clueless about stuff. (For the full, I might be able to catch up with you by the time we hit the castle...pending the course....during your wardrobe change.)
For anyone who might be interested in our not-so-fast group, I/we were in S5 last year with at 5:01-5:30 estimated finish time (E corral if the only change to that system this year is making numbers into letters) and I believe we ran somewhere around 13:00 pace for most of it with a lot of character stops, which knocked it down to around 14-15:00 in reality, and then slowed quite a bit more at around mile 22.

During the half we ran with @SheHulk for a bit until she dropped us entering MK.

Also, this is where sharing costumes and being at the pre-race meetup helps a lot because then you can recognize others on-course....it was the space miss Piggy and the ponytail hat that helped us spot SheHulk! I also spotted the Goof Troop exiting the castle pic as I got in line because Lee is kind of hard to miss, and I recognized Bree from HH.

Looks like it's going to be open, but I'll have to do some math once the course is out. It's been late enough in the race in the past, I'm comfortable I'll be able to time this right without too much issue.

Depending on if I actually LIKE this ride (I'll find out on the Tuesday) I want to do this as well if the timing works out. It might depend on if I feel like sitting down for a few minutes would be a disaster or not.

 

[opusone]

SAFD:

• My first goal is to find a time and proper way to tell my wife that I have registered
  • Last we discussed, I said I wasn’t registering because of other potential (and potentially conflicting) family vacation plans, plus the fact that I had an important meeting that started right at the time that registration opened
• My second goal is to figure out the logistics
  • Is this a solo trip, or will other family members join? Choice of resort will greatly depend on the answer.
  • Is this just a quick weekend trip (due to the above-mentioned potential vacation conflict), or will I have time to arrive early and attend HH on Friday and/or stay later and attend DATW on Monday?
• My third goal is to determine my actual goal for the marathon which could be one of many…
  • Take it somewhat seriously and train similar to how I have in the past. If I choose this path and am realistic, my goal would be to get a time in the 3:30-4:00 range. While I know this is a fairly wide time range, I haven’t run a full marathon for time in almost 20 years, and I’m starting to feel that a marathon is a little longer than my body wants to run.
  • Have fun and run with the Goof Troop again. I really enjoyed the relaxed pace of Goof Troop this past January… no pressure, great pictures, interesting coversation to keep your mind off the miles/sun, and alcohol!
  • Ride a ride. This was one of the things that I really wanted to do this past January, but with EE closed, it just wasn‘t to be. By the time we got to DHS, everybody was just ready to get to the finish line (plus the ToT line looked really long).
  • Try using the Galloway method. I truly think I may be faster if I had a short walk break every so often, but I’ve never tried (or trained) to do it. I would probably still have the same time goal range as above, but this may make it more likely to achieve.

The nice thing is that I have completed all my goals before the event even begins…

• First, I told my wife that I registered, albeit only a couple weeks ago when I finally determined that the logistics were possible. We are returning to Chicago from our family ski trip on Friday the 6th, which gives me just enough time to fly to Orlando the next morning, make the Expo, and be at the start line for the marathon on Sunday “morning.”
• Second, logistics all set… solo trip, staying at the Swan, quick weekend trip but am adding Monday such that I can make DATW
• Third, well my third goal was to determine my marathon goal: race it or Goof Troop it. Given that I really just decided I was coming a few weeks ago, I am not in shape to race it, so this decision was easy… Goof Troop it is! Also, I am hopeful that we will be able to ride a ride this time as the Goof Troop did not last year.

Since I am not arriving until late morning on Saturday, I will not be able to make anything but the pre-marathon meet-up and DATW, but I do intend on joining in on both.

 

[HangWithMerida]

SAFD: I am signed up for my first Dopey and first marathon. I have no time goals
1. Arrive healthy and prepared. I am consistent to a fault so I have no real concerns that I won't be ready come race day as long as I stay healthy. I know the experience will be much more enjoyable if I put the work in over the next several months.
2. Commit to organized strength training. I rock climb and have used that as my strength training for years. Overall, it's a great sport that requires a lot of core strength and works all the muscles but I know I need some dedicated strength training to prevent injuries headed into marathon training. I have started runsmart sessions but am struggling with getting more that 1 a week in. Starting this week, I am writing in 2/week on my calendar to hold me accountable. I do this for my run schedule and it works really well.
3. Soak in the experience. I am a bit of an introvert and can usually find a reason to stay in over being sociable. And I am not a big character person. But, I really think this is a one and done for me so I want to immerse in the experience. I want to do the meetups and come away from MW feeling like I did more than run and sleep!
4. Finish all the races with a smile on my face and able to walk after! Again, not terribly worried about this if I achieve goal #1. But it is important for me to remind myself that this isn't about time. The event itself is a major accomplishment!

1. Arrive healthy and prepared. I’m doing my best in this regard. I was on track with training before my Achilles started misbehaving. Currently, I am adjusting my training and race day plan to be able to meet this goal.
2. Commit to organized strength training. Haven’t done great with this one. I slacked off as my weekly mileage ramped up and it became pretty inconsistent. With the break in running lately, I am using my time to address my lapse.
3. Soak in the experience. Yep - still planning on all the meetups!
4. Finish all the races with a smile on my face and able to walk after. If my plan for goal #1 holds up, this should still be possible. I hope through the meetups I will put more faces with names and be able to lean on some of you along the way for some encouragement and be able to give some back!

Meetups: I am planning on all pre-race meetups, HH, and DATW. I enjoyed meeting a few of you before the Princess 10k this year and am looking forward to meeting even more of you lovely folks!

 

[SheHulk]

During the half we ran with @SheHulk for a bit until she dropped us entering MK.

Well, I wouldn’t say I *dropped* you, more like lost you in the fog of war of Main Street/the Castle! And I just had to stop for my fellow space officer, Buzz Lightyear! I was so glad that you did recognize me and my ponytail so we could run together.