Marathon Weekend 2023

[jpeterson]

Alright, bit of a worse case scenario question: If I DNF, or do not start the half marathon during my dopey challenge, will I still be allowed to run the full marathon and receive the full marathon medal? (I understand I will not receive the challenge medals.)

Context: While I run half’s pretty consistently, I haven’t trained to the level I would’ve liked (Never underestimate the time commitment of planning a destination wedding - I was a fool, but at least now I’m a married fool! ). I’ve never DNF’d and can usually push myself through the mental block, but with something as serious as Dopey I respect that I just may not be able to complete it. I’d love to finish a marathon by 30 and this is my last chance, so if I had to triage Dopey weekend I’d rather take an active rest day on Saturday and try and push myself through the full. I completed my 18 mile weekend last week and since then I’ve done more research and will be adjusting my fueling for my 20 miler next weekend, but the way my legs were cramping has me worried, and I don’t know if salt caps are gonna cut it.

Yes. You should still be able to run additional races and collect their corresponding medals.

 

[Ariel484]

HIPSTERS (yes I’m going to refer to all of us as this now ): my PT made a pretty simple suggestion that I forgot to mention, and I think it has helped a lot: pay attention to the way you’re sitting during the day. I mentioned my hip would hurt a lot after sitting and I assumed it was tightening up. She asked me how my posture was (poor) and do I sit with my legs crossed (yes). I think paying attention to posture and not crossing my legs, which GOOD LORD is that a hard habit to break, have made a really big difference for me. No more soreness after sitting!

 

[WhereInFlorida]

Orlando news station has been discussing the record warm weather in the area, it has never been this late in the season without getting into the 40s and they are not predicting anything close until next weekend. The past doesn't mean anything for trying to figure out what will happen in 4 weeks but it has been one of those years so far.

 

[azrivest]

I ran the 2019 and 2020 Marathons and there were options to buy a jacket and the race retreat.

Since the pandemic, the races that have had pre-order merch has been only Pandora charms & pins. No clothing whatsoever.

 

[jpeterson]

Since the pandemic, the races that have had pre-order merch has been only Pandora charms & pins. No clothing whatsoever.

Marathon Weekend this year had pre-orders for shirts and jackets. I don't believe any of the other's did though.

EDIT: To make sure I wasn't misremembering, I found my order for the weekend jacket for 2022 and the "runner's bundles" which had pins, magnets and shirts for each distance.

 

[jpeterson]

HIPSTERS (yes I’m going to refer to all of us as this now ): my PT made a pretty simple suggestion that I forgot to mention, and I think it has helped a lot: pay attention to the way you’re sitting during the day. I mentioned my hip would hurt a lot after sitting and I assumed it was tightening up. She asked me how my posture was (poor) and do I sit with my legs crossed (yes). I think paying attention to posture and not crossing my legs, which GOOD LORD is that a hard habit to break, have made a really big difference for me. No more soreness after sitting!

One more tip from me: if you keep your wallet in your back pocket, consider moving it. It causes me to sit unbalanced. I don't it's the cause of all my woes, but it's not helping!

 

[camaker]

Alright, bit of a worse case scenario question: If I DNF, or do not start the half marathon during my dopey challenge, will I still be allowed to run the full marathon and receive the full marathon medal? (I understand I will not receive the challenge medals.)

Context: While I run half’s pretty consistently, I haven’t trained to the level I would’ve liked (Never underestimate the time commitment of planning a destination wedding - I was a fool, but at least now I’m a married fool! ). I’ve never DNF’d and can usually push myself through the mental block, but with something as serious as Dopey I respect that I just may not be able to complete it. I’d love to finish a marathon by 30 and this is my last chance, so if I had to triage Dopey weekend I’d rather take an active rest day on Saturday and try and push myself through the full. I completed my 18 mile weekend last week and since then I’ve done more research and will be adjusting my fueling for my 20 miler next weekend, but the way my legs were cramping has me worried, and I don’t know if salt caps are gonna cut it.

You'll still be able to run and collect the marathon medal. Why not stick with the Dopey, though? You may not be as trained as you'd like to be, but it sounds like you're pretty far along the training plan! I'd suggest just taking the first three races as easy as possible, then let how you feel on Sunday morning dictate how hard you go out for the marathon. When you complete the marathon on Sunday, you'll always wonder if you could've finished Dopey if you'd just given it a shot on Saturday. Also, while I understand that you'd love to complete a marathon by 30, there will be lots more opportunities to complete a standalone marathon (even if not by 30) than there will be opportunities to take a shot at Dopey.

 

[Herding_Cats]

When you complete the marathon on Sunday, you'll always wonder if you could've finished Dopey if you'd just given it a shot on Saturday.

ALL OF THIS.

 

[Ariel484]

One more tip from me: if you keep your wallet in your back pocket, consider moving it. It causes me to sit unbalanced. I don't it's the cause of all my woes, but it's not helping!

Good one! Bottom line is to keep your pelvis as stable as possible, I guess (while sitting, running, walking, etc.).

 

[Herding_Cats]

Alright, bit of a worse case scenario question: If I DNF, or do not start the half marathon during my dopey challenge, will I still be allowed to run the full marathon and receive the full marathon medal? (I understand I will not receive the challenge medals.)

Context: While I run half’s pretty consistently, I haven’t trained to the level I would’ve liked (Never underestimate the time commitment of planning a destination wedding - I was a fool, but at least now I’m a married fool! ). I’ve never DNF’d and can usually push myself through the mental block, but with something as serious as Dopey I respect that I just may not be able to complete it. I’d love to finish a marathon by 30 and this is my last chance, so if I had to triage Dopey weekend I’d rather take an active rest day on Saturday and try and push myself through the full. I completed my 18 mile weekend last week and since then I’ve done more research and will be adjusting my fueling for my 20 miler next weekend, but the way my legs were cramping has me worried, and I don’t know if salt caps are gonna cut it.

Also, in addition to the fomo Camaker pointed out, if you skip the half you're going to end up with half the medals that you signed up for (no half, no goofy, and no dopey.)

I'm the queen of contingency plans, so I understand trying to talk through things ahead of time so you can wrap your brain around it. But there's a line between making contingency plans and psyching yourself out. If you're headed on a TWENTY MILE RUN this weekend I have a feeling you'll be ok.


Maybe consider an alternate (aka: slower) pacing strategy for your early races so you feel like you'll have more gas in the tank for the marathon. Or see if you can find a fellow Dis'er with similar time/pace goals for race day to run with for awhile. The marathon has a SEVEN HOUR time limit, and unless you're starting at the very end you'll probably have more like 7.5 hours (and adding a little extra for weaving, that's a 17:00/mile pace which is a reasonable walk.)

 

[GollyGadget]

if you skip the half you're going to end up with half the medals that you signed up for (no half, no goofy, and no dopey.)

I know this was true about the challenge medals at one point but I don’t think it is anymore. They no longer take the photos at expo and at W&D they didn’t do anything more than see that I was wearing a challenge bib.

I do agree that you may regret not doing the half, but I can understand why you might choose to prioritize the marathon. Besides the long runs, what kind of weekly mileage have you been running? What is your expected pace/how much buffer do you expect on the 16mm?

If the reason you have doubts is the leg cramps, I’m doubtful that’s a training issue. I guess it depends on the cramps but my cramps are always hydration or nutrition related.

 

[jennysdcc]

You'll still be able to run and collect the marathon medal. Why not stick with the Dopey, though? You may not be as trained as you'd like to be, but it sounds like you're pretty far along the training plan! I'd suggest just taking the first three races as easy as possible, then let how you feel on Sunday morning dictate how hard you go out for the marathon. When you complete the marathon on Sunday, you'll always wonder if you could've finished Dopey if you'd just given it a shot on Saturday. Also, while I understand that you'd love to complete a marathon by 30, there will be lots more opportunities to complete a standalone marathon (even if not by 30) than there will be opportunities to take a shot at Dopey.

My training has been so inconsistent building base miles that I’m running into longer recovery time on these long runs than I’d like - I’m also extremely sensitive to heat, so I’m hoping to avoid putting myself in a situation that is potentially dangerous. I am leaning towards going for it and walking a large portion, but any last minute advice is welcome!

Y’all are honestly making me tear up a little bit with the support and encouragement. I am already goin pretty slow on the 15 and 18 mile runs I’ve completed, however 14mm is my average, so I definitely have some buffer to slow it down. When I’m doing my 45 min sessions or short runs I average 12-13mm. I’m a back of the packer who does run/walk intervals, but even then my weekly mileage has been ALL over the place. I’ve been pretty on it through November and I’ve still got three weeks to maintain, and one last Dopey sim weekend…It’s really going to come down to how I feel after my 20 miles next weekend (this weekend is a break with only 7 miles).

I do think my nutrition is where I’m failing. I usually just use a few caffeinated GU gels during my halves so I was just doubling, but with the way I’m crashing and cramping after mile 16 I’m going to invest in some salt caps, as well as lower my caffeine intake since I heard it can hurt performance if you take too much. Definitely digging through previous nutrition talk on this thread and taking notes!

 

[Herding_Cats]

My training has been so inconsistent building base miles that I’m running into longer recovery time on these long runs than I’d like - I’m also extremely sensitive to heat, so I’m hoping to avoid putting myself in a situation that is potentially dangerous. I am leaning towards going for it and walking a large portion, but any last minute advice is welcome!

Y’all are honestly making me tear up a little bit with the support and encouragement.

I do think my nutrition is where I’m failing. I usually just use a few caffeinated GU gels during my halves so I was just doubling, but with the way I’m crashing and cramping after mile 16 I’m going to invest in some salt caps, as well as lower my caffeine intake since I heard it can hurt performance if you take too much. Definitely digging through previous nutrition talk on this thread and taking notes!

ask any and all of the questions. even if it's stuff that's been asked before. I'm newer to running, and going into my 3rd marathon and this group has yet to give me unrealistic advice. Everyone is encouraging but realistic.

 

[The Expert]

My training has been so inconsistent building base miles that I’m running into longer recovery time on these long runs than I’d like - I’m also extremely sensitive to heat, so I’m hoping to avoid putting myself in a situation that is potentially dangerous. I am leaning towards going for it and walking a large portion, but any last minute advice is welcome!

Y’all are honestly making me tear up a little bit with the support and encouragement. I am already goin pretty slow on the 15 and 18 mile runs I’ve completed, however 14mm is my average, so I definitely have some buffer to slow it down. When I’m doing my 45 min sessions or short runs I average 12-13mm. I’m a back of the packer who does run/walk intervals, but even then my weekly mileage has been ALL over the place. I’ve been pretty on it through November and I’ve still got three weeks to maintain, and one last Dopey sim weekend…It’s really going to come down to how I feel after my 20 miles next weekend (this weekend is a break with only 7 miles).

I do think my nutrition is where I’m failing. I usually just use a few caffeinated GU gels during my halves so I was just doubling, but with the way I’m crashing and cramping after mile 16 I’m going to invest in some salt caps, as well as lower my caffeine intake since I heard it can hurt performance if you take too much. Definitely digging through previous nutrition talk on this thread and taking notes!

There are LOTS of us here that are about your speed. We call ourselves Team Not-So-Fast and you're welcome to join! Some of us have even run races or parts of races together. It's all about having fun and being supportive.

My strategy last year for my first Dopey was to walk the 5K and 10K, run to the castle and walk the rest of the Half, then spend whatever I had left on the marathon. As the distance got longer, I spent less time on my feet during the rest of the day. A little bit of active recovery is fine, but also float your legs in the pool and don't commando through the parks. I finished and am going back for Dopey #2 this year. YOU GOT THIS!

 

[fatmanatee]

Really cool (and too short!) look back the first WDW Marathon, complete with original map, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...-of-the-rundisney-walt-disney-world-marathon/

 

[Ariel484]

Really cool (and too short!) look back the first WDW Marathon, complete with original map, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...-of-the-rundisney-walt-disney-world-marathon/

This would have been a great opportunity for them to release this year's event guide...

(NOTE: This is my wishful thinking, no event guide yet): "Growing over the years from just one endurance event to now four races and two challenges, the course has expanded from running through just three theme parks to now weaving the magical 26.2 miles through all four of Walt Disney World’s current theme parks. Check out the original course map below, and - just released! - this year's course map in the Event Guide to see how the marathon has evolved over the past 30 magical years!" Or something. Why Disney, whyyyyy

 

[Herding_Cats]

This would have been a great opportunity for them to release this year's event guide...

(NOTE: This is my wishful thinking, no event guide yet): "Growing over the years from just one endurance event to now four races and two challenges, the course has expanded from running through just three theme parks to now weaving the magical 26.2 miles through all four of Walt Disney World’s current theme parks. Check out the original course map below, and - just released! - this year's course map in the Event Guide to see how the marathon has evolved over the past 30 magical years!" Or something. Why Disney, whyyyyy

They just keep giving us filler stuff this week. That's 3 things now? *sigh*

 

[GollyGadget]

Really cool (and too short!) look back the first WDW Marathon, complete with original map, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...-of-the-rundisney-walt-disney-world-marathon/

I really hope this Mickey makes an appearance

 

[PointerPower]

Costumes finished (still have to get a sheriff's badge and make some belt buckles) -- looking forward to Dopey in a few weeks!

 

[Disney at Heart]

Really cool (and too short!) look back the first WDW Marathon, complete with original map, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...-of-the-rundisney-walt-disney-world-marathon/

DH is somewhere in that starting line crowd, and he still has that shirt Mickey is wearing! The little medal is about the size of a silver dollar.