Marathon Weekend 2025

[DHSsenior007]

I definitely woke up at 4:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. And I have the Magic Kingdom After Hours tonight. That's what coffee is for, right?

 

[Disney at Heart]

Not my day. Hamstring decided it was no longer a load-bearing muscle group coming through Epcot. Had to pull myself at the mile 4+ medical tent. Just got back to the room.

Saw a bunch of folks go by as I was waiting and said hello to @Herding_Cats when she paused there. Good luck to everyone! Stay warm!

Sorry the hamstring acted up. Hope it behaves after a rest and some PT, whether at home or professional. Look forward to seeing you at DATW. We can all share our individual stories!

I was a good boy and got some rest, took the half slow and steady. tried to not overindulge on Disney food and beer, and asked them politely to turn on their perfect running weather machine for the marathon.
I’ll skip the long write up on this one and go straight to the spoiler

HUGE PR
I was able to keep side by side with Galloway pacer Marc until mile 23, lost sight about 24, took a walk break, then ran the rest of the way in for a 3:32:00 unofficially, nearly a ten minute PR as part of Dopey.
Couldn’t be happier with the weekend. Great to see so many at the meetups, hope everyone has a good time and safe travels.
See you at the next one. I’m going to go eat everything I see and hit the hot tub.

Yay for you! That time is amazing!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Shout out to all the amazing spectators yesterday. Seemed like a ton of people on Main Street, the TTC, outside Hollywood Studios, Boardwalk, probably other places I’m forgetting. Keeping up the energy cheering for so long is crazy impressive. So many amazing signs as well.

 

[fatmanatee]

I definitely woke up at 4:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. And I have the Magic Kingdom After Hours tonight. That's what coffee is for, right?

Not sure what time but I also woke up way early and couldn’t get back to sleep.

 

[Disney at Heart]

Good morning everyone! Hope you slept well. I know I did!

A giant thank you to all who contribute to these threads. They really are immensely helpful for anyone doing these races. I’ve so enjoyed reading for years as a lurker but am SO THRILLED to have come to the meetups and see the actual faces behind the screen names. It is amazing group of kind, helpful people.

@Cliff Secord it was great to meet you in the morning. I hope your first marathon went well. Also, GO TIGERS!

@camaker I hope your hammy has a swift recovery and sees you on the road again soon.

@Dopey 2020 CONGRATULATIONS on your huge PR. I wanna be you someday. Or at least run that pace.

@marty3d I will be on the lookout for our flat and fast 10 mile POT race. We WILL get to corral A for Marathon weekend!

@Herding_Cats thank you for all your efforts with the group costume coordination. Was very fun to see us all over the courses!

@Novatrix thanks for your tireless list of characters/attractions on the course.

@nancipants i thought of you often yesterday and am so glad your birthday wish was granted. Also, this was the first time in four years that Clarabelle was NOT on the course. I am sorry she stood you up. Rude!

@Z-Knight thank you for all our good conversation in the frozen corrals and the amazing meetup sign and challenge medal too. Your posts may be few, but your heart is BIG. It was a joy to see you here this week.

@Disney at Heart @GuinnessRunner, @garneska ,@Jason Bryer ,@AJruns ,@Baloo in MI ,@Kerry1957 (the mayor), @Naomeri, @azrivest, @DisneyMountainWoman, @jrsharp21 It was great to meet/see you all again. I KNOW I’m missing a bunch of others too.....

And to any of you reading these threads, whether you never post, rarely post, or always do, please come and meet your fellow rundisney crazed people. We really are a bunch of nice folks. And it makes the whole experience BETTER.

Until next time.........

Amen to everything @Fischstick said. Hope many of you will be at DATW today and we can hear more of the exploits, shenanigans, and struggles everyone had.

@rick1zoo2 Also saw @akrosie yesterday at MK. She also fell and fractured an arm, and should be at the meetup today to tell all about it. Hope you and DW can make it!

 

[marty3d]

I definitely woke up at 4:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. And I have the Magic Kingdom After Hours tonight. That's what coffee is for, right?

I woke up multiple times starting at 3 but luckily managed to fall back asleep each time. Also at after hours tonight so refused to get out of bed!

Finally getting up and going to find some breakfast….

 

[Dopey 2020]

Woke up at 5 to head to MCO and thought wow, it was nice to sleep in

 

[Herding_Cats]

I woke up multiple times starting at 3 but luckily managed to fall back asleep each time. Also at after hours tonight so refused to get out of bed!

Same! Except we are standing on the bridge to France for Early Entry right now

 

[marty3d]

Same! Except we are standing on the bridge to France for Early Entry right now

Nice - have fun! I can see France from here but needed to consume a days worth of calories carbs and protein first!

 

[Naomeri]

@DisneyMountainWoman YOU LOOKED AMAZING!!!

It appears that @Naomeri made the rundisney video montage right a the the beginning you can see her running (back to the camera, but I’m pretty certain that’s her skirt!)

That totally is my skirt! I missed that yesterday--good eye!

And to any of you reading these threads, whether you never post, rarely post, or always do, please come and meet your fellow rundisney crazed people. We really are a bunch of nice folks. And it makes the whole experience BETTER.

She's right, lurkers--having friends on course, even if you've only known them for 10 minutes, makes it better. You never know when you're going to need someone to (literally) drag you along for a few minutes (thanks @Herding_Cats )

 

[jrsharp21]

Lazarus Lake. You can look him up on wiki. He is the creator of a race called the Barkley Marathon. It has bizarre rules. He also does Big’s Backyard Ultra. This is the race that never ends.

Never heard of him before, but I like his Tennessee Vols shirt!

 

[jrsharp21]

My favorite castle pic from 4 marathon weekends:
View attachment 928961

That is awesome!!!!

 

[Grabnar]

Thanks for the encouragement all, I posted about getting covid at an inopportune time last month which super derailed my training.

Well, thanks in no small part to a wonderful group of interval runners that adopted me for the last 8 miles, I made it! Dopey 2 under my belt, looking forward to ‘26!

 

[People_Mover]

My favorite castle pic from 4 marathon weekends:
View attachment 928961

Obsessed, excellent photo!

 

[The Expert]

My favorite castle pic from 4 marathon weekends:
View attachment 928961

DITTO! I'm so glad we thought to do this pose.

Good morning everyone! Hope you slept well. I know I did!

A giant thank you to all who contribute to these threads. They really are immensely helpful for anyone doing these races. I’ve so enjoyed reading for years as a lurker but am SO THRILLED to have come to the meetups and see the actual faces behind the screen names. It is amazing group of kind, helpful people.

@Cliff Secord it was great to meet you in the morning. I hope your first marathon went well. Also, GO TIGERS!

@camaker I hope your hammy has a swift recovery and sees you on the road again soon.

@Dopey 2020 CONGRATULATIONS on your huge PR. I wanna be you someday. Or at least run that pace.

@marty3d I will be on the lookout for our flat and fast 10 mile POT race. We WILL get to corral A for Marathon weekend!

@Herding_Cats thank you for all your efforts with the group costume coordination. Was very fun to see us all over the courses!

@Novatrix thanks for your tireless list of characters/attractions on the course.

@nancipants i thought of you often yesterday and am so glad your birthday wish was granted. Also, this was the first time in four years that Clarabelle was NOT on the course. I am sorry she stood you up. Rude!

@Z-Knight thank you for all our good conversation in the frozen corrals and the amazing meetup sign and challenge medal too. Your posts may be few, but your heart is BIG. It was a joy to see you here this week.

@Disney at Heart @GuinnessRunner, @garneska ,@Jason Bryer ,@AJruns ,@Baloo in MI ,@Kerry1957 (the mayor), @Naomeri, @azrivest, @DisneyMountainWoman, @jrsharp21 It was great to meet/see you all again. I KNOW I’m missing a bunch of others too.....

And to any of you reading these threads, whether you never post, rarely post, or always do, please come and meet your fellow rundisney crazed people. We really are a bunch of nice folks. And it makes the whole experience BETTER.

Until next time.........

YES! It's so much better to have some support or just someone say "hi" as they are running by on the course (or spectating). Even if you run by yourself most of the time, knowing these folks are out there rooting for you helps.

 

[nancipants]

@Herding_Cats That photo is amazing, and I know nothing about football.

@Fischstick Thank you so much! I was bummed about Clarabelle but all the Star Wars stuff made up for it. I was grinning the entire two miles. And now I have a reason to do it again.

@camaker I thought I saw you at the med tent but was hoping I was mistaken. Sorry about your hamstring, and hope it gets better quickly.

 

[marty3d]

Just noticed this on my running app this morning. Apparently set 2 personal records yesterday. furthest run and longest run - at 7h14m - that puts me well below balloon lady pace yesterday

(I attribute this to having ridden both Everest and TOT)

 

[jenljeffers1989]

I definitely woke up at 4:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. And I have the Magic Kingdom After Hours tonight. That's what coffee is for, right?

Same. I plan on having a mid-morning nap, then a 90 minute massage planned at 1 PM today so planning on powering through the After Hours with a poncho

 

[Lemon Head]

Signs of the run (for me):

"You guys have been running longer than Galactic Starcruiser did."

(Woman stood at 25.5 miles) "Leo DiCaprio would have stopped at 25!"

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Congrats to all who finished. I'm planning on MW 2026.
To that end, I have a question about DATW. Roughly how many people usually do it (from our forums)? How long does it last?
I'm not much of a drinker, but I'd love to spend more time with the gang and not sure whether to extend my visit an extra day next year instead of driving home first thing Monday morning.