Marathon Weekend 2023

[accm]

SAFD: I'm running in a New Balance 880 right now, but I'd be lying if I said there was anything specific that went into buying it. I went to the local running store, and they felt fine? So I bought them? Sometimes I wonder if I'd be better off with something different.

 

[accm]

Doing research on getting a Disney resort for 2023 MW...last year stayed at Grand Floridian. However, the monorail from GF was slow and the rooms are not worth $1000/day. Sad, because we have
great memories staying there years ago;but things have changed there. So, what resorts could you stay in that you could walk to the Epcot parking lot for the start of the races?? tia

If you liked the GF, you could always rent points to stay there again without spending $1k/night.

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: I'm here to give a HUGE shout-out to Altra. The Torin 5 and Escalante 2.5, specifically.

Background: natural forefoot stride, petite person, dancer (which means strong feet and ankles, and used to being barefoot or in ballet slippers - a transition to zero-drop running shoes was easy). Slow run-walker, but oddly light, efficient gait: I'm mostly slowed by age, lung damage, and chronic tendonitis.)

I ran in Brooks Glycerin 16s for a couple years, and they were fine: heavy and not very efficient for my mechanics, but didn't hurt anything, which was a coup - I have a lengthy history of many, many shoes not working at all. But the 17s and 18s were uncomfortable enough, and reviews of the Altra Torin 5 glowing enough, that I opted to try a switch only 2 final long runs out from Dopey 2022. And I could not have been happier!

I'm easily 30-45 seconds/mile faster in the Altras, not because the shoes are magically faster, but because they don't interfere with my natural stride. My stride length is longer at the same cadence. My feet are stupidly happy in them. My chronic pain points - knees, hips, back - are much less touchy using Altras than any other shoe I've tried.

I tried Altra waaay back when they first arrived on the scene, but the fit wasn't great for me. This current iteration is perfection! So I fully expect them to ruin it with the next versions. I'll be stockpiling when they go on sale...

 

[sandam1]

SAFD - I'm a New Balance girl both for my running and every day sneakers and have been for years.

I started out in 860's and then moved to 870's after they changed the 860's. When they discontinued the 870's, I had a really, really hard time find another shoe. I am a picky shoe buyer - I swear that the sales associates all run in the back when they see me walk in the door - and have returned a number of shoes that felt good in the store, but couldn't stand when I got them home. When NB brought back the 870's, I bought numerous pairs of them, which is a good thing because they only stayed around for one year. Right now, I have:

- 1 fairly dead pair that can be worn in a pinch
- 1 pair on the end of its life-cycle, but is still okay for short runs
- 1 broken in pair that I can use on almost any run
- 2 brand-new in box pairs

The place that I was able to score a couple of discounted pairs recently ran out of them, but if I happen to find a store with another stockpile, I will probably grab some. My goal is to have a good shoe rotation to last me through this year's Dopey training.

 

[luv2cheer92]

SAFD: Another one for Brooks Adrenaline! The 19s were my favorite. I love how the 21s feel, but they give me blisters. They definitely had a more narrow toe box. Haven't tried the 22s yet.

 

[beltwaybarry]

SAFD: Another one for Brooks Adrenaline! The 19s were my favorite. I love how the 21s feel, but they give me blisters. They definitely had a more narrow toe box. Haven't tried the 22s yet.

I've heard the Adrenalines called the "Swiss Army Knife of running shoes." I guess there's something to that. I like the guiderail technology and the way it helps straighten me out a little. I also had trouble with the toe box with the 21s, and the 22s work better for me.

 

[sandam1]

Any thoughts on how the upcoming construction/addition to the Poly might impact the race courses for the next two (?) years?

 

[GreatLakes]

Any thoughts on how the upcoming construction/addition to the Poly might impact the race courses for the next two (?) years?

I don't think it will have much impact since Floridian Way isn't going to close.

 

[The Expert]

I don't think it will have much impact since Floridian Way isn't going to close.

Agreed. The construction is on the water and nowhere close to the road. If the monorail station rebuild didn't impact the race course, I seriously doubt this will.

 

[sandam1]

Agreed. The construction is on the water and nowhere close to the road. If the monorail station rebuild didn't impact the race course, I seriously doubt this will.

I'm not terribly familiar with the area and will defer to those that are, but some speculation that I was reading suggested the possibility of needing to move things around to make room for parking, etc. And I will admit that my first thought went to "is this going to impact the race courses?"

 

[The Expert]

I'm not terribly familiar with the area and will defer to those that are, but some speculation that I was reading suggested the possibility of needing to move things around to make room for parking, etc. And I will admit that my first thought went to "is this going to impact the race courses?"

Looking at the map, it's closer to the road than I remembered, but I still don't think it will impact the course. There isn't room for much parking next to the building, so suspicion is there will be a drive-up area for loading/unloading luggage and perhaps a valet desk, but self parking will be with the rest of the Polynesian parking.

In the image below, the area where they are constructing is the long beach on the left side, to the left of the Tuvalu Longhouse. The parking you see at the top left is for the Wedding Pavilion.

 

[matt and beth]

SAFD: I'm running in a New Balance 880 right now, but I'd be lying if I said there was anything specific that went into buying it. I went to the local running store, and they felt fine? So I bought them? Sometimes I wonder if I'd be better off with something different.

I liked my 880s

 

[GreatLakes]

Looking at the map, it's closer to the road than I remembered, but I still don't think it will impact the course. There isn't room for much parking next to the building, so suspicion is there will be a drive-up area for loading/unloading luggage and perhaps a valet desk, but self parking will be with the rest of the Polynesian parking.

In the image below, the area where they are constructing is the long beach on the left side, to the left of the Tuvalu Longhouse. The parking you see at the top left is for the Wedding Pavilion.

View attachment 654922

In addition to what @The Expert said there isn't really an alternative road to Floridian Way. Unless they build a bypass they aren't going to close that road since people need it to get to the Grand Floridian. Any other route is way to long. If they aren't closing the road I don't see a reason for the race not to use it but I supposed Disney has done stranger things.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Anyone else started tracking flight costs? They seem......high.

 

[sandam1]

Anyone else started tracking flight costs? They seem......high.

Not me! I fly Southwest and, if they stick to their normal pattern, won't be able to book my flight going down for a couple more months and then will have to wait for the next flight release to book the return flight.

For some unknown reason, SW flight release straddle RD weekends. The next release will be over Wine & Dine and the following one is usually Marathon Weekend.

 

[fatmanatee]

Anyone else started tracking flight costs? They seem......high.

Just took a look at how I would book if I were doing this (flying JetBlue out of JFK) and right now it seems pretty normal. However, I've def been concerned about the impact of fuel costs on flights. I've been looking at a couple of vacation options for the summer/fall so it's something I've been keeping an eye on.

 

[camaker]

Anyone else started tracking flight costs? They seem......high.

I’d be shocked if they weren’t super high right now, given current events.

 

[accm]

Anyone else started tracking flight costs? They seem......high.

We'll be coming from Brazil after visiting family there, and I want to cry looking at the cost of the flight. Not only that, but the actual flight times/connections are so bad, I'm now thinking I need to add an extra day at the beginning to recover from the flights.
Clearly I've been spoiled by all the direct flight options from Toronto.

 

[jpeterson]

Not me! I fly Southwest and, if they stick to their normal pattern, won't be able to book my flight going down for a couple more months and then will have to wait for the next flight release to book the return flight.

For some unknown reason, SW flight release straddle RD weekends. The next release will be over Wine & Dine and the following one is usually Marathon Weekend.

I'm in the same boat. I only fly southwest and I will book once they release flights for that time period.

 

[The Expert]

This far out there will be many schedule changes, especially for international travel. A lot of flights still aren't reinstated for certain routes due to staff shortages. You're best to wait and see what things look like about 3-4 months out.