marathon

[disneyholic family]

Anyone participating in the marathon in Janaury?

 

[dc1964]

DW and myself were going to do half marathon but entries have closed. Shame that.

 

[disneyholic family]

DW and myself were going to do half marathon but entries have closed. Shame that.

the full marathon is actually more fun - you go through all 4 parks....

there's still room in the full marathon....it's not closed yet..

it's definitely the experience of a lifetime - and you don't have to run - you can walk...
you just have to be able to maintain a 16 minute mile pace to be able to do it(finish in about 7 hours) ....
16 minutes is not very fast....the main thing is being able to go for 26 miles..
but it's flat as a pancake and you're at DISNEY!!! what better motivation could you possibly have to keep you going?

and you've got the characters cheering you on!!

 

[dc1964]

sounds good....we are thinking about it, it would be great to run through all the parks, very exciting, mind you i did the london about 20 years ago when i was young and fit, could not walk for a week after.

 

[disneyholic family]

sounds good....we are thinking about it, it would be great to run through all the parks, very exciting, mind you i did the london about 20 years ago when i was young and fit, could not walk for a week after.

i'm also not as young as i used to be - so it's fast walking for me these days....but it's ok......the key is to not stop....once you stop, you freeze up and that's it for a week as you say...

here's what the marathon is like:
you begin at 6am behind EPCOT. It is dark and cold since it is January.
Then to begin you see fireworks and Mickey is on a cherry picker and you begin to run. If you are doing the half, you run thru EPCOT in the dark and it is all lit up, thru all the countries. If you are doing the Full, then you don't run thru EPCOT until the end.
then you proceed to the Magic Kingdon right by the Contemporary Hotel.
You approach as the sun is rising.
On the way there there are several characters where people stop to have their pictures taken. Then you enter Magic Kingdom and run up Main Street while they play Zippity Do da while people are cheering you on then you run /walk thru all the areas and exit towards the Animal Kingdom.
If you are doing the half you end in the parking lot of the Magic Kingdom just past the Polynesian hotel.
If you are doing the full, then you enter thru the back of Animal Kingdom and right thru the center where people are cheering, always cheering.
Do you know how cool it is to run thru these parks, just amazing!!
Then you run down to Wide World of Sports. The funny thing is that where there aren't people cheering, they actually pipe it in thru speakers!!!
Next is MGM studios. I think this is the most fun since you see all the people dressed up as actors, then you proceed by the Boardwalk and then enter EPCOT by France and run by all the countries. I remember someone yelling it is just around the corner and probably only a tenth of a mile which felt so far by that time.
At the end of the run, you get a medallion with Mickey on it and if you do the half you get the DUCk!!

That is the course. It may have changed slightly but how cool is it that you are able to run around Disney World.
It is the ultimate way to see Disney.

here is the link to the route for the 2009 run:
http://adisneyworldsports.disney.go.com/media/dwws_v0220/en_US/pdf/08MarathonCourseMap.pdf

 

[Laumau]

Lurking...
could someone tell me what the date is for the marathon? We're going to be there the first week of January and were hoping to avoid it in all honesty.

 

[dc1964]

Lurking...
could someone tell me what the date is for the marathon? We're going to be there the first week of January and were hoping to avoid it in all honesty.

why?

 

[Laumau]

I read in a guide book that can pull in somewhat of a crowd and make it harder to get around in the parks- altering traffic patterns and such. If that's not really the case, then it doesn't really matter to me.

 

[dc1964]

it starts at 6am, there will be some disruption i would imagine but i would have thought that it would be a bit of a spectacle.

 

[disneyholic family]

I read in a guide book that can pull in somewhat of a crowd and make it harder to get around in the parks- altering traffic patterns and such. If that's not really the case, then it doesn't really matter to me.

the marathon is over the weekend of January 8th to 11th this year...
the half marathon and full marathon are run on two different days...

thousands of people come for the marathon, so it does have an impact....(13,000 people ran in the full marathon last year just to give you an example)..
but it's only over that weekend...
i don't think there is any spillover into the week before or after..

 

[Laumau]

the marathon is over the weekend of January 8th to 11th this year...
the half marathon and full marathon are run on two different days...

thousands of people come for the marathon, so it does have an impact....(13,000 people ran in the full marathon last year just to give you an example)..
but it's only over that weekend...
i don't think there is any spillover into the week before or after..

It looks like we'll just miss it then. Thanks.

 

[markndean]

We are doing the half marathon.

We did the Cardiff one a few years ago, and due to arthritis in my spine I cant run but we did it walking in 3 hrs 10mins, which is well inside the time for Disney.

We did the family safari last year, which is one the Friday before the half, and by the time you got into a good pace it was over!

 

[disneyholic family]

We are doing the half marathon.

We did the Cardiff one a few years ago, and due to arthritis in my spine I cant run but we did it walking in 3 hrs 10mins, which is well inside the time for Disney.

We did the family safari last year, which is one the Friday before the half, and by the time you got into a good pace it was over!

i wanted to do the goofy challenge, but the half marathon is already full...
the full marathon is 70% full...
so i guess, if i go (i'm not sure yet, but i'm registered) i'll be on the sidelines of the half, cheering you on!!..
if you wear a disboard shirt maybe i'll spot you among the 13,000 runners...

 

[markndean]

so i guess, if i go (i'm not sure yet, but i'm registered) i'll be on the sidelines of the half, cheering you on!!..
if you wear a disboard shirt maybe i'll spot you among the 13,000 runners...

We will be wearing blue 'MIND' t-shirts, as we are raising money for the mental health charity. So, if you see us please give us a cheer!