Marathon Weekend 2026

[MissLiss279]

SAFD: GA runner here - the heat and humidity have been kicking my butt! I seem to be less able to handle it the older I get.
I can't stand something around my waist, or a vest sticking to my already sweaty body, so I just carry a handheld Nathan bottle.
I have been putting Skratch in it, Tailwind for longer runs.
A lot of people I know have started using an electrolyte mix called LMNT that is high sodium - anyone have experience with it?

LMNT - I have had a few samples of it from a race, and I liked it - although I didn’t use it during a run, just added to water for post race.

 

[KCO5988]

SAFD: GA runner here - the heat and humidity have been kicking my butt! I seem to be less able to handle it the older I get.
I can't stand something around my waist, or a vest sticking to my already sweaty body, so I just carry a handheld Nathan bottle.
I have been putting Skratch in it, Tailwind for longer runs.
A lot of people I know have started using an electrolyte mix called LMNT that is high sodium - anyone have experience with it?

Also a GA runner, also hate something around my waist and use a handheld Nathan haha. I've tried LMNT but I don't like the taste of it. I stick with salt stick chews.

 

[pluto377]

SAFD: I have a handheld that I use most of the time. I hate carrying it, but I hate belts more. I fill it with half Gatorade half water. I'm thinking I might switch to Powerade though to get used to it. I also take a salt tab every mile and every three miles I take a gel if the total run is 6+. I also have a vest that I use for longer runs. I should just use it for my shorter runs too but I feel like people are looking at me funny when I wear it, lol.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

A lot of people I know have started using an electrolyte mix called LMNT that is high sodium - anyone have experience with it?

I'll use LMNT after a long run or workout. It's more salt than I need after a normal easy run, but it helps prevent headaches on hot days when I'm working hard. It does have a very strong flavor, so I tend to dilute it more than it recommends on the package.

I don't carry it on runs because it has no sugar, and I'd rather use something that lets me get some extra fuel in with my hydration while I'm running.

 

[Baloo in MI]

SAFD (on Thursday): crazy week, well actually crazy month as we are gearing up for fall move in on campus. Have been struggling to catch up with everyone’s responses. Really good question this week, especially with how unrelentingly hot it has been.

I have used hydration vests, belts and hand held. Honestly, unless it is a really long run, 10+ miles I prefer to plan routes with water access and drink at those locations. Vests are my next choice, especially on long trail runs s, but they can get hot. I believe it was already mentioned but I will concur Liquid IV is really helpful after my runs. There are some really good flavors, my favorites are the sugar free lemon/lime and peach. They really help with my recovery and I end up drinking more water than I would otherwise.

 

[FFigawi]

A lot of people I know have started using an electrolyte mix called LMNT that is high sodium - anyone have experience with it?

I use LMNT. It is very salty and makes a great secondary recovery drink after your normal recovery drink.

 

[scrowl]

SAFD: GA runner here - the heat and humidity have been kicking my butt! I seem to be less able to handle it the older I get.
I can't stand something around my waist, or a vest sticking to my already sweaty body, so I just carry a handheld Nathan bottle.
I have been putting Skratch in it, Tailwind for longer runs.
A lot of people I know have started using an electrolyte mix called LMNT that is high sodium - anyone have experience with it?

Similar to you, I use scratch in a Nathan handheld during my longer runs. I also love LMNT the day before a long run or race to help me hang on to the hydration. For last year's marathon, I carb loaded (Mickey pretzel fit perfectly into the plan!) for three days and had lots of water and one LMNT the day before. I feel like I was a little doughy at the race but I didn't get dehydrated at all (maybe that three mile downpour helped!). Featherstone Nutrition and the Fuel for the Sole podcast are amazing resources for hydration and nutrition. They even have a FFTS episode on Dopey nutrition!

(PS... long time lurker and rare poster, so thank you to everyone for all the amazing posts that help build the excitement in the months leading up to races! Bring on Dopey 2026!)

 

[SimbaMufasa321]

I use LMNT. It is very salty and makes a great secondary recovery drink after your normal recovery drink.

I use LMNT but only use half a stick at a time unless its seriously hot and humid (saves money too!)

 

[camaker]

Good morning RunDisney All-Stars! Welcome to this week's edition of Sundays are for Disney (SAFD). I was reading (maybe not so) recently that there was a new nighttime parade coming to WDW. Well, we spend a lot of time parading around the parks and property in WDW, so let's talk parades! What is your favorite current Disney parade? Is there an old parade that you'd like to see brought back?

SAFD:
In the lineup of current parades, it's hard to beat the Festival of Fantasy with its steampunk, fire-breathing dragon and swinging Tangled float, yet there's one that does, in my book. My choice is the Boo to You parade from MNSSHP. I love everything it offers from the Headless Horseman leading it off, the ghostly ballroom dancers, the grave diggers throwing sparks off the pavement with their shovels, to the characters all dressed up in their Halloween finery. Absolutely magical.

The parade I'd love to see brought back is the Paint the Night parade. I loved that parade, even if I only got to see it twice! It felt like an evolutionary upgrade to the Main Street Electrical Parade, which I expect to show up on a number of folks' lists, too.

 

[Naomeri]

SAFD: Having finally seen it for the first time last Halloween, I have to say Boo to You is the clear winner. Though you'd think they could work that Maleficent dragon into it somehow--can you imagine the flames at night?!

 

[The Expert]

SAFD: I'm not a big parade person, but it is worth the MNSSHP ticket for Boo to You. The only parade I ever loved and would bring back in a second is Tapestry. I totally get the logistics were a nightmare, but I really loved the intimate scale of it, how integrated that was with WS and the MUSIC!

 

[smileyanna]

SAFD: Also not a big parade person, but I like watching Festival of Fantasy if I happen to be there. I’m excited to see the new nighttime parade, and also a bit apprehensive about crowd control in Magic Kingdom (I don’t love the post-fireworks exit at the moment).

 

[RuntheMouse]

SAFD: They only parade we watch is Boo to you. I absolutely love the headless horseman and the gravediggers! I truly think it is the best WDW parade

 

[MinnesotaDisneyFan]

SAFD: I love any night parade. SpectroMagic is my favorite because of the waltz score and the finale floats. Fantillusion and Paint The Night are great too. And I am of the opinion that The Main Street Electrical Parade can come back for return engagements indefinitely, regardless of how rickety it may get. It’s still as magical to me as the first time I saw it in 1985.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: another vote for Boo to You. It’s the only parade I watch. Any other times I’m trying my luck with ride wait times while guests enjoy the afternoon parades.

 

[KellyKateri]

SAFD: Boo to You is good, but I think Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime is my favorite. Mainly because of the decorations at MK.

Childhood favorite was Mainstreet Electrical Parade, so excited to see the new nighttime parade next week!

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD: I really enjoyed Boo to You! but I also enjoyed the pop-up cavalcades they did during covid (likely influenced by how excited DD got seeing the princesses, and the fact that it wasn't wall-to-wall people)

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: I am one who definitely does not love a parade. I don’t loathe them, either: I just won’t make any effort to see them because they really do not do anything for me. With one expection…

Boo to You in its previous model. The current version is fine, but its predecessor was truly worth the price of MNSSHP admission. Honestly, if they could do a couple hundred dancing HM ballroom dancers and butlers with shovels as a parade on its own, I’d pay to see it.

 

[Barca33Runner]

SAFD: Was never a parade person as a kid. We always skipped the parades in favor of trying to get on a couple extra rides. Then, when I started going as an adult with my nieces and nephews (who were too small to embrace a ride everything, sometimes twice, mentality), I found out I very much am a parade guy. I definitely started to see the value parades and nighttime spectaculars added to a park experience. I love Festival of Fantasy and Boo To You and am looking forward to seeing the new nighttime parade (as Back to the Future is my favorite IP in all the Orlando parks, I also enjoy the Mega Movie Parade at Universal).

Basically all of the parades I’ve seen are still active, so I can’t really think of one to bring back. The only parade I saw in my couple of trips in the early 90’s as a kid was one in MGM Studios that featured Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (which, further investigation indicates, was not a parade but merely the processional to their meet and greet). My sister and I were forced by our parents to watch because my little brother loved TMNT (and now realize it took forever because we had to wait in line for the meet and greet as well). That day was kind of a disaster on my part. I ruined a couple photos later in the day because I was being a brat and throwing a tantrum about, generally, not doing the things I wanted to do (which, I’m pretty sure, was watch Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular all day long). Anyway, I’d be a no on bringing that back.

ETA: Also witnessed the “Rainy Day Cavalcade” on January 1, 2018 on one of the coldest days I’ve ever spent at a theme park. We waited specifically for the parade before leaving and heard no announcements that it was cancelled. When about 10 CMs in rain jackets and galoshes walked by, bookending a vehicle with about five random characters, it was a laughably pitiful way to end a very weird park day and is a very funny memory. We previously rode Splash Mountain 5 times in a row because, go figure, other people don’t like to go on water rides when it’s 40 degrees, windy, and raining. But we’re that type of crazy.

 

[The Expert]

SAFD: I really enjoyed Boo to You! but I also enjoyed the pop-up cavalcades they did during covid (likely influenced by how excited DD got seeing the princesses, and the fact that it wasn't wall-to-wall people)

I loved the cavalcades, especially the Rainy Day one. I do wish they'd kept some of those in addition to the full parades.