Marathon Weekend 2025

[Herding_Cats]

Lol, 2020 Marathon says hello, where starting temps were in the 70s, rose to 86, and the humidity was 94%. I remember that year someone handed me what I thought was a large block of Swiss cheese around Hollywood Studios, and I was thoroughly confused before I realized it was a wet yellow sponge. It’s Florida in January. It could be anywhere from 20 degrees to 80 degrees.

I wasn't there for that weekend, but thus the use of the word "unlikely" because Florida is gonna Florida.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Here's the old @DopeyBadger T+D chart:

View attachment 891504

2022 was also really rough. High of 79 degrees and you felt all of it in that dead zone between AK and HS.

Here's an updated version!




As the data usually says about Marathon Weekend, prepare for everything. The above table shows that you have a near equal chance of all five different levels of T+D during the typical dates of MW. A near 20% chance of Ideal, Good, OK, Not great, and Bad. And even within a weekend can have an Ideal on the 5k, and by the time the marathon rolls around you've moved straight to Bad. The one trend that exists is that despite only covering a 6 day period on the calendar, you are more likely to have better temps on Jan 6th than Jan 12th. The 2025 marathon weekend is late (Jan 8th-12th). So it's a higher chance of warmer temps than ideal temps. The Jan 12th date has had a split of 15% occurrence of ideal/good, 31% occurrence of ok, and 54% occurrence of not great/bad.

For reference, the @runwithperseverence7 was inquiring about a T+D of 148 at the start (74 temp and 74 dp). In the 51 date/year combos above, that has not occurred. But the T+D had gone above 148 by 11:30am once on Jan 12th, 2020. The Jan 12th, 2020 race peaked at 84 temp with 69 dp (T+D 153) at 1:53pm according to weather underground.

 

[The Expert]

The 2025 marathon weekend is late (Jan 8th-12th). So it's a higher chance of warmer temps than ideal temps.

 

[nancipants]

It's my fault. January 12 is cursed.

 

[PrincessV]

Floridians are NOT joking when we say, “Prepare for ANY type of weather in January and February.” Because we’ve seen some stuff. All 4 seasons in a single MW has happened more than once.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Have you tried using the noninsulated as well as the insulated handheld? I'm curious about the weight over the course of a marathon and if the insulated water bottle would get overly cumbersome over 26.2 miles.

I haven’t used a non insulated handheld but I have used the belt below and the bottles are similar weight, not sure if this is the one you have used. To me the weight wasn’t a big deal.

https://www.nathansports.com/collec...k-hydration-waist-pack?variant=40634775371864

 

[sandam1]

Hot tip: If it is warm and they do hand out sponges, don't toss it after it dries or warms up. Rewet it at the next water stop -- or even better, plunge it in the ice bag they'll likely give you later in the course! I stored mine in the front of my sports bra between refreshes.

Not so fun story - I had heard this advice before Dopey 2023. So I picked one up and, after a period of time, get tired of holding it and decide to tuck it under my bra strap on top of my shoulder. All of sudden I'm starting to chafe along my bra line something fierce and get some crazy back pain. Yep, just that little bit extra tension created a whole host of problems. It took me a little bit to figure out what was going on (this was about mile 16ish so my processing capabilities were shot). Thankfully, once I took the sponge out, everything settled back into place.

The only chafing I had from the whole race weekend was from the dang sponge. I suppose that's why they say "nothing new on race day."

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

SAFD: I listen to podcast normally Disney themed: So like Rise and Run, Dis, DVC, etc... when I get bored I switch to music. But music just does not do it for me as much as a podcast. I need something to distract me and music does not distract me enough. When I listen to music I tend to listen to Disney music but have some other feel good fight music in there too. When on treadmill I follow IFIT programs and will have disney utubers on or some tv show I can go through.

 

[Naomeri]

Here's an updated version!


View attachment 891525

As the data usually says about Marathon Weekend, prepare for everything. The above table shows that you have a near equal chance of all five different levels of T+D during the typical dates of MW. A near 20% chance of Ideal, Good, OK, Not great, and Bad. And even within a weekend can have an Ideal on the 5k, and by the time the marathon rolls around you've moved straight to Bad. The one trend that exists is that despite only covering a 6 day period on the calendar, you are more likely to have better temps on Jan 6th than Jan 12th. The 2025 marathon weekend is late (Jan 8th-12th). So it's a higher chance of warmer temps than ideal temps. The Jan 12th date has had a split of 15% occurrence of ideal/good, 31% occurrence of ok, and 54% occurrence of not great/bad.

For reference, the @runwithperseverence7 was inquiring about a T+D of 148 at the start (74 temp and 74 dp). In the 51 date/year combos above, that has not occurred. But the T+D had gone above 148 by 11:30am once on Jan 12th, 2020. The Jan 12th, 2020 race peaked at 84 temp with 69 dp (T+D 153) at 1:53pm according to weather underground.

Personally, I don’t care as much about the temps (though obviously, cooler is better—to a point) I would just like it to be cloudy for the marathon.

 

[nancipants]

SAFD: I usually listen to podcasts on easy/long runs, but if I'm out of podcasts I have a running playlist or I'll find some sort of workout based playlist to try. I just switched from Spotify to YouTube Music so I need to do some searching. For tempo runs, I prefer fast-paced music.

On the treadmill, I'll watch YouTube videos or binge a TV show. (Was watching Full House for awhile because it's mindless and nostalgic for me.) Similar to @Herding_Cats, I also watch race POV videos.

 

[nancipants]

Personally, I don’t care as much about the temps (though obviously, cooler is better—to a point) I would just like it to be cloudy for the marathon.

Here, here. I did a 5k at the end of September last year and it was definitely hot and sweaty, but it was overcast so it wasn't as harsh as it could have been.

 

[kristenabelle]

SAFD late: Podcasts/audiobooks all the way. Focusing on what's happening is a welcome distraction from the exhaustion of the run. I listen to music all day every day at work as background noise so it just doesn't hold my attention the way I need during runs. But I do have a "last mile" playlist I've thrown on when a book or pod runs out and i only have so much left to go.

 

[kps7795]

I haven’t used a non insulated handheld but I have used the belt below and the bottles are similar weight, not sure if this is the one you have used. To me the weight wasn’t a big deal.

https://www.nathansports.com/collec...k-hydration-waist-pack?variant=40634775371864

That's the belt that I've been using. Thank you for the point of reference. I know that I shouldn't fixate on such an issue, but this has been driving me crazy trying to come up with an alternative to my hydration belt.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Not so fun story - I had heard this advice before Dopey 2023. So I picked one up and, after a period of time, get tired of holding it and decide to tuck it under my bra strap on top of my shoulder. All of sudden I'm starting to chafe along my bra line something fierce and get some crazy back pain. Yep, just that little bit extra tension created a whole host of problems. It took me a little bit to figure out what was going on (this was about mile 16ish so my processing capabilities were shot). Thankfully, once I took the sponge out, everything settled back into place.

The only chafing I had from the whole race weekend was from the dang sponge. I suppose that's why they say "nothing new on race day."

I would never have through to stick it under a shoulder strap! I'd just smash it down IN my bra. But I'm also not a person who needs a whole lot of support from a sports bra.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

SAFD: All music here, I don't like to listen to myself breathing and I zone out after awhile on a podcast. Have a single Spotify running playlist that I lump all sorts of eras/genres in (and continue to add to whenever I hear something I like), always on shuffle. Simple and easy.

The wide variety of answers to this question is very interesting to me!

 

[MissLiss279]

I have been using a Nathan hydration belt for the last two years, but I want to switch to a handheld water bottle. It seems a little silly, but the impetus is to not cover up my costume shirt. For those that use a handheld water bottle, which can you recommend?

I use this handheld from OrangeMud. It sticks to your hand so I don’t have to really have to grab it (but I think a lot are like this). I don’t like holding anything in my hands for longer than an hour, so can’t say how comfortable it is for that.
https://www.orangemud.com/collections/running-packs/products/running-water-bottle-handheld

 

[GADisneyDad14]

That's the belt that I've been using. Thank you for the point of reference. I know that I shouldn't fixate on such an issue, but this has been driving me crazy trying to come up with an alternative to my hydration belt.

I sort of hate carrying things in my hands but have been trying this thing out lately to see if I can get used to it: https://www.nathansports.com/collec...draw-2-0-handheld-18oz?variant=40634758070360

It's a soft flask "slosh free" (Nathan's wording) type of bottle but the hand area has a small piece of rigid plastic underneath the exterior fabric that gives it structure. Feels great in my hand and is super light, and I like how it basically collapses as you drink.

If I can ever get the plasticky taste to go away (which is sort of unnerving, BTW), I think I might like it for certain circumstances.

 

[Herding_Cats]

If I can ever get the plasticky taste to go away (which is sort of unnerving, BTW), I think I might like it for certain circumstances.

Try filling it with cheap vodka (or enough that the whole inside is touching the vodka) and letting it sit for a few days. This helped my cheapo amazon soft flasks tremendously.

 

[camaker]

Try filling it with cheap vodka (or enough that the whole inside is touching the vodka) and letting it sit for a few days. This helped my cheapo amazon soft flasks tremendously.

Bet that made the miles go by faster, too!

 

[lookingforsunshine]

For those that use a handheld water bottle, which can you recommend?

Have you tried using the noninsulated as well as the insulated handheld?

I have the noninsulated bottle. It is 16 oz and I have used it for YEARS. It has never felt heavy to me but I also am known for carrying props during half marathons lol. I will say that there were several really hot long runs this summer and the water did not stay cool so I am contemplating trying the insulated.