Marathon Weekend 2026

[Dopey 2020]

SAFD luckily I’m not prone to much chafing, just learned the hard way in the early years that a man’s chest can be ultra sensitive when moist clothing and HM+ distances are combined. Now it’s generous amounts of body glide before anything ten miles or longer and the shower doesn’t hurt.

 

[Dopey 2020]

Hello everyone! I was lucky enough to score a bib for the marathon through telegram! This will be my first marathon and I am feeling all the feelings. Excited, nervous, sick! . This is my first time posting, and am very excited to have a built in support group!

I have successfully completed the springtime surprise challenge this past April, along with a couple of local half marathons. I’m definitely nervous about the fuel I need to bring for the full. For my half’s, I just shoved 4-5 gels in my biker shorts pockets. I get overstimulated very easily so belts and vests just haven’t worked well for me. How many gels/snacks does everyone bring and how do you store them all?

Welcome! You should sample as many different gels and or other forms of fuel to see what agrees with you on a long run. You’d be surprised how that good tasting gel at mile 5 treats you at mile 15. I find gels to be the easiest, Honey Stinger berry in particular as I can take them with or without water, they taste good, and the consistency doesn’t seem . I take one every three miles if I’m pushing hard, every 3-1/2 - 4 on slow training runs. I use a belt but if you don’t like them any pocket that they stay in will do. Good luck, have fun, and don’t be shy about coming to the pre race meetups.

 

[The Expert]

Hello everyone! I was lucky enough to score a bib for the marathon through telegram! This will be my first marathon and I am feeling all the feelings. Excited, nervous, sick! . This is my first time posting, and am very excited to have a built in support group!

I have successfully completed the springtime surprise challenge this past April, along with a couple of local half marathons. I’m definitely nervous about the fuel I need to bring for the full. For my half’s, I just shoved 4-5 gels in my biker shorts pockets. I get overstimulated very easily so belts and vests just haven’t worked well for me. How many gels/snacks does everyone bring and how do you store them all?

Welcome! You've already heard some great advice here, and I will echo that you need to try your fueling during your training and keep track of what works and what doesn't. Note also that gels and purpose-made running fuel don't work for everyone, so don't be afraid to expand your options to natural fuels (I use Untapped, which is straight up real maple syrup), packaged candy (Nerd clusters seem a popular choice here) or even real food (Uncrustables, apple sauce packets).

I hope to meet you in January at one of the meetups!

 

[LSUlakes]

SAFD: Chafing prevention is a routine part of running life for me and my preventative measures are based on where and how the chafing occurs. I finished more than one RunDisney race in my early running career looking like Andy Bernard after his rabies foundation 5k. Simple band-aids now prevent that from reoccurring. Another area I have an issue with is my lower back where the band of my compression shorts tends to rub. A well-placed piece of KT tape provides a perfect barrier for prevention. Finally, without getting into too much detail, there are certain nether regions that can get aggravated on occasion. For that, I find a quick application of Body Glide to be immensely helpful. Pro tip: keep a dedicated applicator for that area and label it "not for general use" to prevent mix-ups.

I have band-aids for the nips for anything over 7 miles and for all runs I use body glide. The odd place I sometimes have issues with is around my armpit areas IF its cold and dry. As the sweat evaporates, it leaves a layer of salt on my skin in dry conditions and this, then feels like sandpaper. Only happens on those cold / dry days and runs of 17+ miles. So not often around here.

 

[scrowl]

Hello everyone! I was lucky enough to score a bib for the marathon through telegram! This will be my first marathon and I am feeling all the feelings. Excited, nervous, sick! . This is my first time posting, and am very excited to have a built in support group!

I have successfully completed the springtime surprise challenge this past April, along with a couple of local half marathons. I’m definitely nervous about the fuel I need to bring for the full. For my half’s, I just shoved 4-5 gels in my biker shorts pockets. I get overstimulated very easily so belts and vests just haven’t worked well for me. How many gels/snacks does everyone bring and how do you store them all?

Congrats on scoring a bib for the marathon! You will crush it!

There's a lot of great advice on here and I'll share a couple things that I think are helpful:
1) I highly recommend the "Fuel for the Sole" podcast and following Featherstone Nutrition on Instagram. Meghann Featherstunn is a registered sports dietitian and a super fast runner. She is so knowledgeable and relatable in the fueling advice she provides through both the podcast and her Instagram account. My family rolls their eyes at how often I say, "well Meghann says..."!
2) There are a couple sites like The Feed and Fuel Goods that let you sample all kinds of different pre- during- and post-fueling options to see what you like and what works best for you. Fuel Goods even has a Featherstone sample pack

As far as where to store all this stuff, I did a combo of my shorts (Lululemon Wunder Train with pockets) and a soft Nathan handheld water bottle when I ran the WDW marathon in 2024. I plan on shifting some of the gels from my shorts to a pocketed running bra I got from Bandit for the 2026 Dopey.

 

[nancipants]

As far as where to store all this stuff, I did a combo of my shorts (Lululemon Wunder Train with pockets) and a soft Nathan handheld water bottle when I ran the WDW marathon in 2024. I plan on shifting some of the gels from my shorts to a pocketed running bra I got from Bandit for the 2026 Dopey.

Thank you for reminding me that I need to practice running with stuff in my sports bra pocket! I've never used it because my short T-rex arms find it hard to reach my phone, but I can stuff other things I won't need as often in there.

(For reference, it's the Janji long bra.)

 

[KCO5988]

Congrats on scoring a bib for the marathon! You will crush it!

There's a lot of great advice on here and I'll share a couple things that I think are helpful:
1) I highly recommend the "Fuel for the Sole" podcast and following Featherstone Nutrition on Instagram. Meghann Featherstunn is a registered sports dietitian and a super fast runner. She is so knowledgeable and relatable in the fueling advice she provides through both the podcast and her Instagram account. My family rolls their eyes at how often I say, "well Meghann says..."!
2) There are a couple sites like The Feed and Fuel Goods that let you sample all kinds of different pre- during- and post-fueling options to see what you like and what works best for you. Fuel Goods even has a Featherstone sample pack

As far as where to store all this stuff, I did a combo of my shorts (Lululemon Wunder Train with pockets) and a soft Nathan handheld water bottle when I ran the WDW marathon in 2024. I plan on shifting some of the gels from my shorts to a pocketed running bra I got from Bandit for the 2026 Dopey.

I love Fuel for the Sole! Just got some of the salty carbs from RNWY they were talking about recently. So good!

 

[Disney at Heart]

@WDW 4 ME You have great advice already, so I will just welcome you to our runners group. It’s a wonderful bunch of people. I hope to see you at one of our meetups!

 

[scrowl]

Thank you for reminding me that I need to practice running with stuff in my sports bra pocket! I've never used it because my short T-rex arms find it hard to reach my phone, but I can stuff other things I won't need as often in there.

(For reference, it's the Janji long bra.)

I need to practice, too! I'm wondering how warm those gels may get in the side pockets!

Also related to both side pockets and the SAFD chafing topic... I used the 2Toms sport wipes on the inside of my arms during the 2024 marathon. I always get chafing where my arm rubs against my bra/shirt seams. Even with that huge downpour, I had no issues at all! I'm hoping it works as well when I have some gels stuffed in there, too

 

[jrsharp21]

SAFD: Humidity and heat, yup chafing is a right of passage of Texas. If you see someone walking bold legged, may not be from riding a horse. LOL.

My go to is the Gold Bond chaffing stick. It is money. Never leave home for a Marathon Weekend without it. Now for the Andy Bernard problem, my wife put some nipple cover stickers in my stocking for Xmas a few years ago. It was kind of a gag gift. Little did she know that those covers probably get the most use out of anything in that stocking. So far I have not had any chafing issues when using those. Heck, sometimes I forgot I put them on to run and they didn't come off in the shower. I get ready to go to bed at night and still have them on. LOL.

 

[radiodome21]

SAFD: Chafing has always been an issue for me and I never knew much about preventing it but more so on how to treat it. I didn’t even know chafing sticks were a thing until our 2023 Disneyland trip we took when I was just dying in the August heat. That Gold Bond Stick is now always in my travel toiletries bag and made the trip with me on my recent UK trip. In fact I used it for the first time for running with great success on my training runs in Dublin, Galway and Edinburgh this week. While training for my SS 10k I started to use Squirrels Nut Butter rather liberally on my areas south of the border with great success. This is my go to. I was using Vaseline but wasn’t a fan if the time it took to come off of my fingers to my liking. I do run in lined lululemon shorts and janji running tights as well which also help. Haven’t had any issues with my feet and do rotate between smartwool socks for running.

 

[The Expert]

my short T-rex arms

LOL I feel this to my core!

 

[WDW 4 ME]

I found my planning notes for the 2024 WDW Marathon, and apparently I used 10 Gu gel packs. These fit in my shorts pockets, five to a side at the start. For me anyway that was plenty, I could perhaps have been fine with less but it wasn't too much either. I planned them out to coincide with hydration stops (since I don't carry my own hydration). For reference, I'm an older runner, on the slower side.

In case it's of any interest, here are those fueling notes from the marathon. (I stopped at each hydration stop and had one or two cups of Powerade at each, but the numbers below indicate which stops I also ate a Gu pack, i.e. I only drank at stops 1 and 4, but I also fueled at stops 2 and 3, etc.)

Oh thank you! I’m a visual person so this makes my type A personality happy so early in the morning!!!

 

[WDW 4 ME]

Tried belts and vests during my long a go ultra days but ick.

Yes!! This resonates so loudly for me!

 

[WDW 4 ME]

@Naomeri thanks for the recommendation! No bouncing at all? The bounce is so distracting for me. Have experienced that with a vest, and a couple of belts and it just ruins my experience!

 

[WDW 4 ME]

I fuel a marathon in one of two ways, either Tailwind or gels/chews. In both cases, I target ~75g of carbs per hour. When using Tailwind, I mix two soft flasks with enough to get me through the race and carry them in a Naked belt. The end result is super concentrated and kind of syrupy, but very easy to use. When not using Tailwind, I stuff a variety of Skratch chews, Clif gels and bloks, and Sport Beans into the Naked belt, allowing me to carry everything I need without having to rely on the on-course aid stations. The Naked belts are very tight and never bounce, no matter how full they get. You don't notice them at all once they're on and you're running.

I’ve heard of the flip belt before but not the naked belt. Thanks for the recommendation! I also need to check out this Tailwind magic everyone speaks of!

 

[WDW 4 ME]

Welcome! Your first marathon is very exciting!

Fueling is critical for the marathon, and while there will be a bit of fuel on course (usually bananas and Sport Beans, as others have mentioned), it's definitely not enough for the whole race. Use your long runs to figure out what works for you. It's worth tweaking your vest/belt setup to try to find something that works for you even just because that will help a lot with long runs. I can't imagine running 18 miles without having something to carry my hydration and fuel!

Like @FFigawi, I run longer races with a Naked belt - if you get the right size, it's really not noticeable. I can fit two 8oz soft flasks, quite a few gels (I aim for 70-80g of carbs/hour), and my phone in there with no problems. I know people also like Flipbelts for similar reasons, though I've found they bounce a bit more and don't hold as much. Flipbelt makes shorts with a lot of pockets as well if you really can't do a belt. I haven't tried those myself, but I have heard numerous people recommend them.

If you're traveling with someone, there's also the option to have them meet you at some point on the course to hand you additional fuel. There's a small risk that you won't find each other for whatever reason, but other people have successfully done this in the past.

My DH (not a runner), has said he will meet me along the course with anything I need. I’m nervous we will miss each other! How hard is this to pull off? Where do you recommend is a good spot? I’m thinking around halfway, so I can easily carry what I need for the first half and then reload for the second half.

 

[WDW 4 ME]

Welcome! I also use Tailwind. I carry a handheld water bottle for the Tailwind and use the aid stations for plain water. For the marathon, I also had two bananas from the food stops (one after Magic Kingdom and one after Animal Kingdom), and a few applesauce pouches. I carried everything in my handheld and my shorts pockets, but found it really annoying whenever I had to go to the bathroom and readjust everything in my pockets. For shorter races, it's not as big of a deal (I can do halfs with zero or one bathroom stops), but since I'm a back of the packer, I know there's no way I can go the entire marathon without several bathroom stops. For this reason, I'm planning to run the next marathon with a Flipbelt, which I've been trying out on long runs. The first one I tried bounced too much, but then I went down a size and it felt like it was part of my shorts.

Thanks for the advice! I have added flipbelts to my list to investigate more.

 

[WDW 4 ME]

Welcome aboard! All of those feelings are totally normal and part of the marathon fun.

I’m a gel user, too, and let me tell you: you can stuff way more of those things into a pocket than you think! I take a gel every 45-50 minutes, so how many I need is based on estimated finish time, and I learn that through training runs. I always pack at least one more gel than I think I need, for races and in training. That covers me if one gets lost along the way, or the wheels come off and I take longer than expected, or I forget just how far from home I am on an out-and-back run, or if I don’t need them all and see someone else in need. As an example, for a 6:30:00 marathon, I carried 9 gels - all jammed into a stretchy pocket. Pro-tip: if your body can handle any gel, GU gels come in the smallest packages: you can REALLY fill a pocket with those, lol!

Thank you!! Your post made me laugh! I was seeing how many gels I could indeed cram into my side pockets yesterday morning as practice. DH walked in and said “forgive me babe, but your hips are looking extra hippy this morning.”

 

[WDW 4 ME]

@Dopey 2020 , @Disney at Heart , and @The Expert it’s like you already know me! I am indeed shy and will need the personal invitation to join the meetups!

Thanks so much for all the great tips and advice! And for such the warm welcome!!