Marathon Weekend 2025

[runwithperseverence7]

I wanted to get some tips/best practices from this group...
This will be my 6th Half Marathon during Marathon Weekend so I have figured out how I like my week to go so it feels smooth to me. But sleeping the night before the race is always a nightmare. Because I'm on mountain time it is already tricky to go to bed when I should. The past few years I've stayed at the parks to watch the evening spectacular the night before my race, that usually means I'm leaving the parks about 9:30, with traffic/transportation getting back at 10 p.m. and then I have to wind down, so in bed by 11 and usually up in the 2 a.m. time frame.

This year my thought is to wake up early that day and rope drop the parks, no afternoon nap, just push through but plan to be leaving the parks by 6 p.m., eating dinner at my resort at 7ish, winding down and hopefully in bed before 9. So I get at least 5 hours of sleep. Is there anything that works better for you guys? I'll bring a white-noise machine to try and cut out some of the sound I usually hear when people are getting back from the parks.

I'm fine missing a night in the parks if I can get some sleep, but if I'm just gonna be laying there awake for a few additional hours that won't be ideal. So any tips or tricks would be appreciated. Thanks!

Since we don’t come down to WDW I’m struggling with missing fireworks. also never seen fantasmic. It wasn’t running last time we were there.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Since we don’t come down to WDW I’m struggling with missing fireworks. also never seen fantasmic. It wasn’t running last time we were there.

Naps have been a good compromise for me when I cannot miss something. We come back from the race, shower/change/eat and then go back to bed for 1.5-2hours. Made a huge difference for me last time.

 

[PrincessV]

For anyone wondering why the Michigan people are so anxious for nice (warm) weather.... here's an article about our winter sunshine from this past January. When I was a kid I had a cousin who would track sunny days on her calendar in the winter. That was days with an hour of full-sun and little-to-no clouds. And one year we were in the low teens in mid-February.

I grew up in WNY, where I swear it was grey and overcast for 6 months straight every year. I totally get this. It’s also why I wound up relocating to FL! I don’t enjoy being cold, but the #1 thing that drove me away was lack of sunshine. I’m told there are places where it’s cold, snowy, AND sunny and it’s utterly inconceivable to me lol! Even here in FL we’ll have a a stretch of overcast days and boy oh boy does it affect my mood.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I grew up in WNY, where I swear it was grey and overcast for 6 months straight every year. I totally get this. It’s also why I wound up relocating to FL! I don’t enjoy being cold, but the #1 thing that drove me away was lack of sunshine. I’m told there are places where it’s cold, snowy, AND sunny and it’s utterly inconceivable to me lol! Even here in FL we’ll have a a stretch of overcast days and boy oh boy does it affect my mood.

For us, it's the lake that brews up the clouds, but also keeps up from having the frigid temps of a state like Wisconsin (as an example.) The clouds from the lake make a nice thermal blanket that keeps us in the 20s most of the time, instead of the crazy negative teens that our neighbors across the big lake are blessed with.

 

[Herding_Cats]

OK. Something I've *never* done at the races: the pre-race character pics.

If i want to do 2 or 3 of these (and not stand in a ridiculous line), AND be at the meet-up, AND get to my corral on the earlier side, what time should I plan on getting to the start area? Does the pre-race area open when the busses start running? Or does it open before then? We will be driving for sure for the 5 and 10, possibly for the half, and I might get DH to drop me off for the full.

 

[nancipants]

Speaking of falling asleep - I also take pharmaceutical interventions to make myself fall asleep earlier, and we are local, so being in bed by 8 won’t be an issue.

What WILL be an issue is my 5yo who hates bedtime. THANKFULLY, he doesn’t nap on weekends, which means an earlier bedtime, and my husband has told me to lock our bedroom door and he will run interference until the kid is asleep.

(He stayed with my in-laws before Princess, but before last year’s 10k, he barged into our room at 1 am asking for water. He never comes into our room in the middle of the night, so I was like, you have GOT to be kidding me. )

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Must be getting late in the training cycle, everyone is on edge. My wife just headed out for her last long run and was spewing fire about it all day yesterday and this morning...Dopey is stupid, this is stupid, why are we doing this, we're not doing this next year, mixed in with several other colorful words. ‍

 

[PrincessV]

For us, it's the lake that brews up the clouds, but also keeps up from having the frigid temps of a state like Wisconsin (as an example.) The clouds from the lake make a nice thermal blanket that keeps us in the 20s most of the time, instead of the crazy negative teens that our neighbors across the big lake are blessed with.

Yep, same in WNY. Lake effect clouds for the whole area, but snow mostly to the south of where I lived. But not so much the thermal blanket part: way too many days at or below 0º. I don’t miss that part at all! Summers sure were nice, though. I hope we have plenty of sunshine for you to soak up while you’re down here!

 

[PrincessV]

Must be getting late in the training cycle, everyone is on edge. My wife just headed out for her last long run and was spewing fire about it all day yesterday and this morning...Dopey is stupid, this is stupid, why are we doing this, we're not doing this next year, mixed in with several other colorful words. ‍

This is the way.

 

[The Expert]

This year my thought is to wake up early that day and rope drop the parks, no afternoon nap, just push through but plan to be leaving the parks by 6 p.m., eating dinner at my resort at 7ish, winding down and hopefully in bed before 9. So I get at least 5 hours of sleep. Is there anything that works better for you guys? I'll bring a white-noise machine to try and cut out some of the sound I usually hear when people are getting back from the parks.

Before we moved last year, I did the races at WDW from mountain time for several years. Ultimately I started taking redeye flights and getting in early on Expo morning. That set me up for an early bedtime and a quick acclimation -- kind of like going to Europe and staying up the first day to beat jetlag. Worked great for me, but obviously that doesn't help you for this trip.

I am a very routine-oriented person (thanks ADHD), so I keep as much of my bedtime routine as possible, just shift the times a bit. I will have my biggest meal at lunch and a light dinner around 5-5:30. If I'm out, I'm back in the room by 6:30-7. I lay out my flat-me for the next day's race and take a photo, then set all the things up I will need for the race in one spot in the bathroom where I'll be getting ready. I wash my face, brush my teeth, set up my phone alarm, post my flat-me to social media, set to don't disturb, turn on white noise and head to pillow by 8. I may not fall asleep right away, but usually will.

We stay in one bedroom DVC rooms so DH can stay up in the living room and watch tv, etc. He'll set up the coffee maker and my breakfast stuff for me. Usually he ends up staying out on the couch until my alarm goes off, but that's just because he's a night owl anyway.

I don't typically nap, but my park activity diminishes with race length. And if I find myself having trouble getting into the rhythm, I'll have some Dream Water handy. It comes in liquid, gummies or a powdered mix. It has melatonin and a few other natural ingredients that seem to really work for me.

I’m told there are places where it’s cold, snowy, AND sunny and it’s utterly inconceivable to me lol!

That's how Salt Lake City is from about now through mid-March. I LOVED our winters there!

 

[kps7795]

What WILL be an issue is my 5yo who hates bedtime. THANKFULLY, he doesn’t nap on weekends, which means an earlier bedtime, and my husband has told me to lock our bedroom door and he will run interference until the kid is asleep.

You're preaching to the choir. My son was the exact same way at that age. Some might find this humorous, but parents of children who fight bedtime will find a true connection to Sam Jackson as he reads this NSFW bedtime story.

 

[The Expert]

OK. Something I've *never* done at the races: the pre-race character pics.

If i want to do 2 or 3 of these (and not stand in a ridiculous line), AND be at the meet-up, AND get to my corral on the earlier side, what time should I plan on getting to the start area? Does the pre-race area open when the busses start running? Or does it open before then? We will be driving for sure for the 5 and 10, possibly for the half, and I might get DH to drop me off for the full.

Honestly, I've given up on pre-race character pics because the meetup and pre-corral routine is my focus. I just catch the ones I want post-race. Now and then I get there early enough that the bulk of the crowds haven't arrived and the characters are just coming out, and I can jump in one short line, but typically by the time I arrive the lines are pretty long.

 

[kps7795]

Must be getting late in the training cycle, everyone is on edge. My wife just headed out for her last long run and was spewing fire about it all day yesterday and this morning...Dopey is stupid, this is stupid, why are we doing this, we're not doing this next year, mixed in with several other colorful words. ‍

I hope that she's enjoying herself come Sunday afternoon on January 12.

 

[rick1zoo2]

Must be getting late in the training cycle, everyone is on edge. My wife just headed out for her last long run and was spewing fire about it all day yesterday and this morning...Dopey is stupid, this is stupid, why are we doing this, we're not doing this next year, mixed in with several other colorful words. ‍

Hahaha. My wife “forced” us to do our long run on Christmas Day…

 

[PrincessV]

A thought on pre-race stuff (character pics, meet-ups, etc.: if they do the new corral thing like W&D*, it cuts down on how much time you have for pre-corral activities, assuming you want to be in the earliest corral available to you. Just something to keep in mind!

*For those who missed it, the new system looked like this:

Th larger corral letters were physically divided into multiple corrals, barricaded off from one another. The first physical corral for a letter opened while the others remained closed. Once that first corral was full, it was closed and no one else was allowed in. The next physical corral for that letter was opened and filled before closing and opening the next physical corral, and so on. So if your assigned letter had 4 physical corrals, and you wanted to be in the first one, you really needed to get into it shortly after it opened. I watched the first corral of D fill to capacity in about 15ish minutes. I also saw a bunch of folks assigned to C end up in E because by the time they got there, all of C and D was full and closed.

(Once you were in a corral, you were allowed to leave and come back, but had to get a password from the CMs guarding the entrance and had 10 minutes to return.)

 

[nancipants]

My BFF got that for me as a baby shower gift.

 

[sandam1]

I'm fine missing a night in the parks if I can get some sleep, but if I'm just gonna be laying there awake for a few additional hours that won't be ideal. So any tips or tricks would be appreciated.

When I can't sleep the night before a race, I remind myself that there is a significant physical benefit to being horizontal and stationary. It's not as good as sleeping, but I'll take what I can get. And usually by Day 2, falling asleep isn't an issue for me, although then waking up becomes an issue...

 

[DopeyBadger]

OK. Something I've *never* done at the races: the pre-race character pics.

If i want to do 2 or 3 of these (and not stand in a ridiculous line), AND be at the meet-up, AND get to my corral on the earlier side, what time should I plan on getting to the start area? Does the pre-race area open when the busses start running? Or does it open before then? We will be driving for sure for the 5 and 10, possibly for the half, and I might get DH to drop me off for the full.

According to my notes, the EPCOT pre-race area at the security check opens roughly the same time the buses start officially running from the hotels. So 3am for the 5k/10k, 2:30am for the HM, and 2:00am for the M. You have about 45 min from the opening of the area till the corrals open. So it doesn't leave a ton of time to do the character meets and the meet-up. Most people at the meetup take the buses, so you'll have a head start on them. If it were me, I'd do characters for the first 20 min (3:00-3:20), then head to meets (3:20-3:45), and then corrals (3:45am) as an example for the 5k. I was usually first bus and was usually about 20 min post open arrival. See how the 5k goes, and then adjust as necessary.

 

[jrsharp21]

Things are looking up on the IT band issue and addressing my hamstrings. I went and saw my son's sports doctor yesterday to get my hamstrings scraped. When he started to massage my calf and hammy, I was telling him about my IT band. He said he could tell how everything was tight all the way up. He said he knew where it was coming from. He push on my lower left back and I could feel that pressure. He touched my lower right back, no pressure. Then he had my roll over and cross my arms and he did some muscle release thing on my back. He went back to my hamstring and calf, and no more tightness. It was crazy. The scraping and cupping were some of the most painful things. He said scraping my hamstrings was like scraping concrete they were so gritty. But I came out feeling like a million bucks. He even gave me the medical grade leg compression sleeves and machine to use until we leave for the run.

 

[sandam1]

Leading up to the race, it can seem like we are overthinking things. I know that *I* overthink things, but it's how I process and prepare for stuff. I'm the person that has Plans A-J ready mentally because I'd rather stress out about things ahead of time than in the moment.

That's me as well! And I find that I can make more well-thought-out and rational decisions when I'm not under immediate stress.

My running coach is a fairly accomplished ultra runner and I've learned a LOT of tricks from him on how to approach Dopey. Yes, the mileage is spread out over multiple days, but the concepts are more relevant than those for a stand-alone race of a marathon or less.