Marathon Weekend 2025

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: a little late. I’m not doing MW but I’m doing Princess and I’m doing three new to me things. Before the races I’ll be doing the Rhino tour at AK, and then after the race I’m doing Cape May brunch one day, and Steakhouse 71 another day.

 

[StarGirl11]

I just remember with 2018 we were spending NYE somewhere else before I went to FL. So I had to pack for two trips. And thus didn’t know what MW weekend was going to be like. Had the foresight to grab one cold weather clothes on what I thought was an off chance at the time. By the time we were finishing our time in AL it became clear I was going to need more then that.

I always pack a cold weather clothes as a just in case with MW. Which saved me in 2017 from having to make a run for cold weather clothes. And in 2018 from having to buy four new pants.

Anyways point is it’s always good to pack for all conditions if you can. Rain, cold, etc. like pack most based on what the forecast is looking like. But plan for backup in case we get a curveball

Also speaking of rain. If you don’t have a rain jacket but do have another type of jacket REI carries a product that if you wash it in it it will give some water proofing/resistance.

Saved me from having to spend 140 bucks on a jacket (since I almost exclusively wear race jackets) I would hardly ever use for Rocket City

SAFD: Not really planning anything new but if I do it will be something I probably hadn’t planned knowing me

 

[Herding_Cats]

I have modified mine a couple times since initial booking (probably in the last week or two) and am probably down closer to $150-200. Total for 7 days in $208 through Hertz (booked through CapitalOne Travel).

Yeah ours was originally around $360, and now I'm down to $250 (Hertz now instead of Budget) which is closing in on the cheapest we've ever gotten a rental car per day. Adding that extra day to the week sometimes does weird things to the rate.

Don’t even bother looking at race weather forecasts until January 9th…

And Marathon tip #42: tuck a couple of Tylenols into your pocket or race belt to use halfway through the marathon for aches and pains. Tylenol; not aspirin or Motrin, because they both thin the blood. The medical tents usually have some, but you have to sign paperwork and it takes a few minutes. Better to just have them with you and be able to gulp and go.

I've never had to sign anything at a med tent for grabbing tylenol there? And I get something pretty much every year by marathon day. There's always a quick speech about when I can get another dose and the maximum I'm supposed to take in a day, but never any paperwork.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I grabbed some Tylenol at a stop in 2023. No signing anything. My wife had told me in prior Dopeys they put a mark on her arm and could only get Tylenol twice, but they didn’t do that or otherwise say anything with my one experience. For whatever that is worth!

 

[Herding_Cats]

My wife had told me in prior Dopeys they put a mark on her arm and could only get Tylenol twice, but they didn’t do that or otherwise say anything with my one experience. For whatever that is worth!

I wonder if the arm-marking was pre-covid because someone had mentioned the same thing to me and it's never happened. I've only run since the 2022 races. May have been a "distancing" measure for that year that just never returned.

 

[sandam1]

I'll add some "lesser known" tips -

- If you are carrying your ID/money/credit card (which you should be), secure it to your clothes. I put everything in a bundle with a hair tie and then pin in to the pocket in my running belt or my shorts. On my first Dopey, I just put them in the pocket of my shorts for the 5K (I wasn't wearing the running belt because it was "just" a 5K) and I managed to lose my license in the first mile. Thankfully, someone picked it up and I got it back from Lost and Found, but it could have been a mess.

- If you have a family member coming to watch you at the start, have them wear something lighted and carry something large and very distinct (someone had a bunch of balloons one year) if you want to be able to find them. As the runner, if you have something lighted as well (I picked up some bracelets, necklaces, etc. in the Halloween clearance that I throw away when the sun comes up), that will help your family pick you out of the thousands of runners. I can tell you from experience that the "in the group by fourth light pole after the second police car" is NOT a good description.

- The above recommendation also applies to finding your family on Main Street during the race (it is going to be very crowded) and in the reunion area at the finish. If you can, decide on a meet-up location in advance. My personal rule is, as the person who is running X number of miles, it is my spectator's responsibility to find me. (Okay, that sounds harsh, but it does prevent both of us wandering around, looking for the other)

- In the past, the medical tents have had spray-on sunscreen available. Make sure that you stop and reapply often.

- If you are driving, take a photo of the row where you parked in the morning. You think that you're going to remember where you parked. Spoiler alert - you aren't!

 

[PrincessV]

W&D runners - question on the new corral fill process that was used. If I want to be in the middle or back of the corral, do I need to wait and not enter the corral until the first few mini-sections or filled? I usually go the corrals on the earlier side but wondering if that needs to change assuming they do the same thing for MW that was done at W&D.

If you want to be at the back of your corral LETTER, I’d loiter around the last of the corrals for that letter until it opens, then hop in and hang out in the back of it. I’m being very specific because they had multiple corrals for each corral letter and only opened one at a time. It wasn't mini corrals within a corral, but totally separate physical corrals, separated by barricades. For example:

I was in corral D
D had 4 physical, separate corrals
The first was open until it filled to capacity (maybe 15-20 minutes after opening)
The next D corral opened when the first closed, and remained open until it hit capacity.
Same routine with the other two D corrals.
Once the final D corrals closed to capacity, your only option would be to start in one of the E corrals.

So in that scenario, if you wanted to start in the back of D altogether, you’d want to time things to enter that final D corral when it opened, and then hang toward the back of it as it filled. You were allowed to leave and come back, so long as you got the secret password from the CM on your way out and took no longer than 10 minutes.

 

[StarGirl11]

It’s my time to shine, right?!

Y’all… it is WAY too early to make any decisions in regard to weather! My home forecast for 90 miles west of WDW has changed 18 times in the last 48 hours. I have no faith in the forecast for this Saturday, two days from now, let alone several weeks from now. Go ahead and look - it’s not a bad way to pass the taper time! But please don’t think anything this far out is accurate.

Once again: January in FL means anything from 20º to 85º and can include bright sun, dangerous storms, and anything in between. We genuinely will not know anything definitive until maybe a few hours before race start each day. Please see just last year, when the half was unexpectedly cut short due to dangerous weather moving in.

So how the heck to you plan and pack?! You bring LAYERS and make decisions in real time. A few days out will give a good general view of what’s coming - i.e.: if we’re expecting a cold front to blow through in the next week or so. But cold fronts are fickle and can speed up, slow down, or refuse to descend to Central FL altogether. Which is why we MW vets issue a constant refrain of “plan for EVERY possible weather condition.” You can’t go wrong if you’ve got options!

ETA: one thing I think lots of folks miss when packing for winter FL trips that should be with you, regardless of forecast… SUNSCREEN. Just because the weather’s cooler than summer’s surface of the sun temps doesn’t mean the sun isn’t still stronger than pretty much anywhere else you’re coming from. I diligently apply SFP50 every run and am still tanning through that this time of year.

Good point about sunscreen. Mom’s a skin cancer survivor so I’m diligent about it. And it should be noted if the sun is brutal enough you can still get sun when it’s cloudy. Learned that the hard way when I got a couple of minor sunburns

So cloudy won’t always save you. It helps but it’s not a guarantee of not getting a sunburn.

Also knowing a skin cancer survivor is why I’m always pushing people to wear actual hats over visors. The visor won’t protect your head. The hat will.

And trust me since that’s where my Mom had it. Yes you need to protect your head as well. And there are two ways to handle it hat or sunscreen for your head/hair specifically (yes it exists).

I grabbed some Tylenol at a stop in 2023. No signing anything. My wife had told me in prior Dopeys they put a mark on her arm and could only get Tylenol twice, but they didn’t do that or otherwise say anything with my one experience. For whatever that is worth!

I wonder if the arm-marking was pre-covid because someone had mentioned the same thing to me and it's never happened. I've only run since the 2022 races. May have been a "distancing" measure for that year that just never returned.

Yeah it was a preCovid thing it sounds like. I can also say I got my hand marked (I remember pulling off my hand sweat bands before to get the mark). When I forgot to pack my own (I usually do for the longer races just to save time.)

 

[runwithperseverence7]

Y’all talking about another one of my favorite subjects…weather. I’ve been checking but I j ow it changes so frequently. Thankfully I’m driving down so I can bring as much as a want. I’ve been working on my planning for my race outfits and trying to include warmer items in case it’s cold. Im hoping we get beautiful temps and weather.

 

[cburnett11]

I have had their cookies, but haven’t sat down to eat there.

Thoughts on their cookies? We haven’t been there.

 

[supersnoop]

I’m getting a pair of Shokz open run pro 2 mini. We were out Christmas shopping for kids yesterday and ended up in Best Buy. I tried them on and was sold. My DH asked if that’s what I wanted and I said I’ve been wanting some but have been using my AirPods since they still work. He liked that I can hear my surroundings.

I've heard a lot of people prefer the OpenRun Pro over the Pro 2 model. I picked up some that are sitting in the closet for my wife to wrap up and put under the tree.

 

[supersnoop]

Anyone have advice for cutting it way to close for bib pickup? I just had to reschedule my flight due to a meeting and I'm worried I won't be able to pick up my bib on Wednesday. Do they have any sort of bib pickup in the morning before the 5k? My wife and kiddo will be there ahead of time, but it looks like they won't allow someone else to pick up your bib.

 

[rick1zoo2]

let's see

extra shoes: check
different layers: check
hat, sunglasses: check, check
running belt with pockets: check
gels: check
tylenol: check
sunscreen: check

oh yes, need to add band-aids to the shopping list this week. Got a bad case of nip chafe from our long run on Monday in the cold and rain. I completely forgot to prepare them.

 

[Erika10021]

Anyone have advice for cutting it way to close for bib pickup? I just had to reschedule my flight due to a meeting and I'm worried I won't be able to pick up my bib on Wednesday. Do they have any sort of bib pickup in the morning before the 5k? My wife and kiddo will be there ahead of time, but it looks like they won't allow someone else to pick up your bib.

I would send an email to the rundisney folks to ask about options. I have found they are very responsive to emails and I am sure this is the sort of thing that comes up often.

 

[MissLiss279]

Thoughts on their cookies? We haven’t been there.

I like them. I should have written down which ones I liked best, but I’m pretty sure I got the chocolate cake-like cookie a few times. It had a little powdered sugar on top. I’m not sure if they still have it, because it’s not listed on the menu.
Are they better than Gideons? That probably depends on what type of cookie you like: Gideons with the lots of extra stuff on and in it and very dense or the more traditional type of cookie. The line at Summer House was much shorter.

 

[nancipants]

- If you are driving, take a photo of the row where you parked in the morning. You think that you're going to remember where you parked. Spoiler alert - you aren't!

The Disney app also has a Car Locator feature that marks where you parked. I've never had an issue using it, but of course, sometimes the app is fickle.

 

[StarGirl11]

Anyone have advice for cutting it way to close for bib pickup? I just had to reschedule my flight due to a meeting and I'm worried I won't be able to pick up my bib on Wednesday. Do they have any sort of bib pickup in the morning before the 5k? My wife and kiddo will be there ahead of time, but it looks like they won't allow someone else to pick up your bib.

They've allowed emergency bib pickup in the morning in the past. No guarantee of course. They could pull it. But if you don't make it I would go by the info tent on the walkin to the staging area. Usually, there's a line of people picking it up, from my experience.

Also if were talking desert I will say that the new cake shop is expensive but the cakes are really good. Bring a reusable bag though if your going to get one or else there going to charge two bucks for one. There not bad bags either but there a bit on the small side (just big enough to fit two boxes with slices in it.) IDK about the restaraunt itself but if your in the area I say they're worth a stop

 

[fatmanatee]

I would send an email to the rundisney folks to ask about options. I have found they are very responsive to emails and I am sure this is the sort of thing that comes up often.

They strongly discourage race day bib pickups. Comes up every race weekend, they don’t have the capacity to handle it. It’s one of those things where if you don’t have any other options, expect to head over to the information area VERY early that morning to request it.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Anyone have advice for cutting it way to close for bib pickup? I just had to reschedule my flight due to a meeting and I'm worried I won't be able to pick up my bib on Wednesday. Do they have any sort of bib pickup in the morning before the 5k? My wife and kiddo will be there ahead of time, but it looks like they won't allow someone else to pick up your bib.

They strongly discourage race day bib pickups. Comes up every race weekend, they don’t have the capacity to handle it. It’s one of those things where if you don’t have any other options, expect to head over to the information area VERY early that morning to request it.

Get to the race area EARLY. Like as soon as it opens. This means first bus if you use the busses. Bring photo ID. Go to the runner relations tent. The official line from rD is that there's no race-day bib pick-up, but since flight cancellations/weather issues happen (I think 2022, maybe 2023 there was a big storm and tons of flights got delayed and some people in here even cancelled their flights and drove 15 hours instead. And there was a big line for emergency bib pick-up on 5k morning.) You would have to go to the expo later that day (with your bib) to pick up your included shirt.

 

[DopeyBadger]

This question might be best geared toward @DopeyBadger, but can I please ask for some help regarding the taper and the HMM? According to Hansons, you should do your last SOS workout ten days before your race. I'm doing Dopey, so should I stick with the Hansons schedule or should my last SOS workout be ten days for the 5K?

Depends on how you plan on pacing each of the four races, and what your goals are for the weekend.

Hard racing for all - Wednesday of the week prior
Hard racing just for the M or No hard racing - Thursday/Fri of the week prior

The 5k and sort of 10k from a load management standpoint are vastly less than typical training when doing a marathon training cycle. For instance, a hard 30 min 5k is roughly equivalent to the same load as a 60 min easy run. That doesn't mean you reap the benefits the same if you were to do a hard 30 min 5k in replacement of a 60 min very easy run, as training load is just one piece. But helps paint a picture. So when it comes to the necessity to start the taper sooner, it really isn't justified. But you won't hurt anything if you did it a few days earlier, just might hamper the sharpness on race day.