This is kind of general b/c I put it on my myspace too.....
Sunday-Marathon Day
I got up at 3 AM. We had to be gone from Michaels Aunts by 3:30 AM to arrive on time for the line up at Epcot. Michael was at the start of the Marathon. He also planned to be at the ticket and transportation center (about mile 9) as well as the finish line. I gave him a hug and kiss, we had a short prayer and I had to leave him about 5 o clock to go for the line up. On the way to the starting line I needed to stop at the port o potties. The whole morning I was nervous about the race. My thought processes were something like this : its ok if I dont finish ..it doesnt mean Im a loser .at least I tried .what if I cant keep the right pace my shoes feel tight ..maybe I need to readjust my socks ..is my number on right .what if I really cant do it ..what if I never get through the port o potty line I must have been crazy to sign up for this I have lost my mind. It took me nearly 45 minutes to get through the port o potty line (it was the longest line I waited in the entire time I was at Disney). So finally I began my walk from the potties to the start. There was a great sea of people(18,000 if you want a specific number). I squeezed in behind some people to get into my corral and stood there scared to death
but more excited 
than I had ever been in my life. Mickey and Minnie came out and they gave a countdown to the race start. There were fireworks and the masses began to move slowly forward. My shoes felt wrong and I had to re-tie them at least twice. There were thousands of people behind me. I was hoping that no one would run over me while I was bent over. Finally my shoes felt right and I got moving. And so the journey began
.
Miles 1-8
This portion of the race was pretty fun. I saw a man running in a blinking multicolored top-hat and a cape. It wouldnt be so funny except that he was followed by a group of people .also wearing blinking multicolored items. Once I moved past the blinking multicolored cult, I met up with some people I was acquainted with on the disboards (disboards.com is a Disney forum in case you didnt know). I stayed with them for a little while and then proceeded with the mp3 player on. I was faster with music playing. I met a girl named Elizabeth. We got to talking and stayed together for a few miles. Its funny what you see during a marathon. I saw multitudes of people frolicking off to the grass and bushes where they unashamedly relieved themselves for all to see. Volunteers were set up to pass out Tylenol, Biofreeze and Vaseline (on a popsicle stick for chub rub I assume). I thought to myself silly people, if you train right you dont need all this stuff. However, before it as all over with I was begging for Tylenol and following suit with the biofreeze. I didnt know what the biofreeze stuff was. I saw people stopping and shoving it down there pants .putting it on there buns as well as there hips, thighs and calves. I decided not to waste any time doing this because A: it looked silly and B: I didnt see any benefit from it. Later in the marathon I would come to appreciate the blessing that is biofreeze.
Miles 9-10
Mile 9 got me to the ticket and transportation center. My sugarpie was waiting for me there. He took a couple of pictures and then I got some good luck sugar : ) At the beginning of Mile 10 Elizabeth told me to go on ahead because she was going slow and she didnt think she was going to finish so we parted ways. Miles 10 through 11 went through the Magic Kingdom. We went down main street, through tomorrowland, through the castle, and then out the back way beside splash mountain. There were lots of characters that I could have gotten pics with, but I wanted to make sure that I was keeping pace so I wouldnt get swept(and it is a good thing I did).
Miles 11-16
This was the most boring part of the entire race. At the beginning of Mile 11 I got the worst cramp I have ever had in my life. My left calf muscle cramped up so bad that my foot (toes and all) tried to curl up into a ball. This is the part where I began to cry out to God
. At this point I was with a couple of people from the disboards. One of the ladies I was with new a good stretch(nycpas daughter) , so she went on the grass with me and showed me how to stretch. She even massaged my calf muscle. It went away for a little while. We ran and caught back up with the other disboards people. Shortly after, the cramp returned to my calf and I just toughed it out. Throughout miles 11-16 my left calf cramped almost continuously. My right calf occasionally chimed in. If you have never tried to walk with your toes curled completely in I suggest you try it
..its lot of fun. In order to concentrate better I put on my headphones and continued onward.
Miles 17-19
We ran through Animal Kingdom during this part of the race. My calf cramps went away (due to advice from a fellow marathoner who said to make sure I drank a lot of powerade at the next stop to replace my electrolytes; I was also encouraged to eat some pretzels which helped). Somewhere in this span of time I lost feeling in the bottom of my feet(Well maybe not all feeling .as you will see in the next segment). I was primarily listening to my mp3 player and trying to ignore the facts that my hip joints felt like they were going to pop out of socket, I was hungry, I had to pee, and my fingers were as big as bratwursts. My need to go to the bathroom became resolute and unyielding at Mile 19. I stopped in a lone port o potty and yay no paper. However I improvised and got on with the show. About halfway through Mile 19 it felt like someone took a razor blade and cut off the pad of skin on the ball of my foot
. At first I didnt know what it was . I quickly realized that the giant blister forming on the bottom of my foot had exploded (gross
.I know). I thought briefly about taking my shoe off and tending to it at the first aid station
..then I thought na
.....Ill just keep on moving cuz if I stop Ill never start back. There was a bus sitting on the side of the road somewhere between 17 and 19 and I began to see Disney officials on bikes. Whats this? I began to ask myself
..as I continued on. I stopped briefly at a volunteer station offering biofreeze and followed suit with the other participants. I rubbed it on my hips, knees, calves and temples. It helped with all the pain/soreness/exhaustion that I was feeling. I also got biofreeze every subsequent time it was offered
.
Mile 20
So I was trucking along at Mile 20. The cramp came back. Then I see another bus ahead. More Disney officials on bikes and a lady with a flag. Hhhmmmmm. So I came to the water station Quasi Moto-ing it due to the cramps and one of the cast members says You have 2 minutes so I said to the girl beside me 2 minutes til what?. Then another cast member says The course will be closed to you if you dont make it to the next mile marker (about 21) in 1 minute 30 seconds. I looked to my left and on the double back course I could see that there were lots of people that got swept off the course where I went past the buses. I threw down my water cup and sprinted past the bus .I was safe .I thought.
Miles 21-23
Now I was mad
I began to speak ugly of Disney. I actually said the words I am developing a healthy hate for Disney. All those people
who made it to 20 miles
.I would have been mad if it was me who didnt get to finish. My calve cramps continued in both legs. Occassionally, I let out a battle cry to get through the pain
. Another time I saw the people on Disney officials on bikes but no busses. They told me and another lady that we only had a short amount of time to make it to the next mile so we hurried but I think they were just bluffing. At mile 23 (in MGM
now Disney Hollywood Studios) they were supposed to provide candy for the runners. I was perturbed when I discovered that they had run out of candy
. About mile 23 Lisa (my walking friend) and I found out from a cast member that we would be allowed to finish (no matter our pace). We continued on at an appropriate pace but we were no longer scared of getting swept from the course.
Miles 23-26.1
We exited MGM and made our way past the Boardwalk and entered Epcot. My mood shifted dramatically. I apologized to all the people that had heard me say ugly things about Disney. Although we were in pain, Lisa and I chatted and enjoyed the scenery as we rounded world showcase. We discussed that we might do the half-marathon together next year(but definitely not the full marathon). The finish was so close. As we went around the corner there was a gospel choir singing
. And then
..
Mile 26.2
THE FINISH LINE ..only a few die hard spectators remained (including my wonderful boyfriend Michael
: ). Lisa and I crossed the finish line with our hands in the air. I smiled the biggest smile I could conjure. I thanked God for allowing me to finish.
Afterwards:
I got my medal and met back up with Michael. We headed back to his Aunts and stopped at Waffle House on the way. I had been hungry all morning(but I couldnt eat before because I knew it would make me sick). I ordered a pecan waffle, scrambled eggs with cheese, hashbrowns, regular toast, raisin toast, and bacon. I couldnt eat very much of it but it sure was good. On the way home I talked about everything mentioned here. I said that marathoning is torture and I only needed to do it once in a lifetime. When I got home I nursed the blister on the bottom of my foot and discovered an egg sized blister one on the side of my foot. Despite my injuries we continued with the Disney Parks portion of our vacation.
The marathon was a very interesting experience. I highly recommend it. Yeah .I got a few huge blisters ..but I didnt die ..or severely injure myself ..So I could survive it again.
Who knows I might do it again next year ; )
The following is the Disney Parks trip report:
On Monday:
I was sore and my blisters hurt but I refused to use a wheelchair. I limped around all day and wore my medal with pride. Michael and I went to Epcot. We rode Mission Space twice and Test Track. We rode the Mexico Ride (Which I now hate due to the current refurbishment that made it completely about the Three Cabelleros). We did the Norway ride. We did Figment, The Land, and the Nemo fish adventure thing at the Living Seas. We also rode Spaceship Earth (Which has been refurbished in a good way ..updated costumes and animatronics). We ate at the Coral Reef(a surprise birthday thing for Michael) and had some awesome food. On the menu we had some Lobster Soup, a nonalcoholic Sour Apple Pina Colada thingy, Grilled Mahi Mahi with couscous and honey balsamic glaze, crème brulee and cake. After that we rode the monorail to Magic Kingdom and did Pirates of the Carribean, Jungle Cruise, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We then headed back to Epcot. We grabbed a great spot to watch Illuminations and sat down to rest. I was happy but my feet were not by the end of the day. I was completely exhausted from limping all day.
On Tuesday:
We slept in a little and Michael pretty much insisted on pushing me around in a wheelchair at least for part of the day. We went to Animal Kingdom. We looked at all the animals and rode Dinosaur and Everest. Everest was kind of a let down for me. It was fun ..but I expected it to be more thrilling like RockN Rollercoaster. We ate at the Rainforest Café. It was a cool atmosphere but the food wasnt that great. The bathrooms were disgusting. We left there to go to MGM. We did Indiana Jones, the Great Movie Ride and RockN Rollercoaster. Then we went and ate cotton candy while we waited for Fantasmic to begin. Fantasmic was a nice new experience. After this we headed back to the house to prepare for Wednesday.
On Wednesday:
We had an early reservation for Ohanas. I wanted to go there because it is a character breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. The food was great (fresh pinapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydewmelon, grapes, biscuits, mickey head waffles, bacon, sausage, eggs, breakfast danishes, juice and coffee). Stitch came and out and was fun to interact with. He was throwing stuff across the restaurant at folks. Cast members would act like they were feeding him coffee. He made sounds when he came to the table. He gave me a hug an Michael took a picture. The other characters werent nearly as fun. Then we went for the opening ceremonies for Magic Kingdom. By 4PM Michael and I had rode Buzz Lightyear, Stitchs Great Escape, Snow White, Philharmonics, Small World, Peter Pan, and Winnie the Pooh, Space Mountain twice, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, The Train, The people mover, Pirates of the Carribean, Jungle Cruise, and the Haunted Mansion. We had also looked in several gift shops, eaten a funnel cake, got fast food at Columbia Harbor House and gotten a cream cheese pretzel . We were both tired and had rode everything we wanted to. I really wanted to see the Wishes fireworks display so we stayed around. We went and explored the Contemporary a bit. We then parked ourselves at the Polynesian. We looked at an art exhibit on the First Floor, looked in the gift shops and then listened for a few minutes to some authentic Hawaiian music. We decided to go outside and watch the fireworks show on the Polynesians dock. It didnt have the music with it but It was still great. Then we headed home. And so ended the greatest Disney Vacation I have ever had.
Sunday-Marathon Day
I got up at 3 AM. We had to be gone from Michaels Aunts by 3:30 AM to arrive on time for the line up at Epcot. Michael was at the start of the Marathon. He also planned to be at the ticket and transportation center (about mile 9) as well as the finish line. I gave him a hug and kiss, we had a short prayer and I had to leave him about 5 o clock to go for the line up. On the way to the starting line I needed to stop at the port o potties. The whole morning I was nervous about the race. My thought processes were something like this : its ok if I dont finish ..it doesnt mean Im a loser .at least I tried .what if I cant keep the right pace my shoes feel tight ..maybe I need to readjust my socks ..is my number on right .what if I really cant do it ..what if I never get through the port o potty line I must have been crazy to sign up for this I have lost my mind. It took me nearly 45 minutes to get through the port o potty line (it was the longest line I waited in the entire time I was at Disney). So finally I began my walk from the potties to the start. There was a great sea of people(18,000 if you want a specific number). I squeezed in behind some people to get into my corral and stood there scared to death
but more excited than I had ever been in my life. Mickey and Minnie came out and they gave a countdown to the race start. There were fireworks and the masses began to move slowly forward. My shoes felt wrong and I had to re-tie them at least twice. There were thousands of people behind me. I was hoping that no one would run over me while I was bent over. Finally my shoes felt right and I got moving. And so the journey began
.Miles 1-8
This portion of the race was pretty fun. I saw a man running in a blinking multicolored top-hat and a cape. It wouldnt be so funny except that he was followed by a group of people .also wearing blinking multicolored items. Once I moved past the blinking multicolored cult, I met up with some people I was acquainted with on the disboards (disboards.com is a Disney forum in case you didnt know). I stayed with them for a little while and then proceeded with the mp3 player on. I was faster with music playing. I met a girl named Elizabeth. We got to talking and stayed together for a few miles. Its funny what you see during a marathon. I saw multitudes of people frolicking off to the grass and bushes where they unashamedly relieved themselves for all to see. Volunteers were set up to pass out Tylenol, Biofreeze and Vaseline (on a popsicle stick for chub rub I assume). I thought to myself silly people, if you train right you dont need all this stuff. However, before it as all over with I was begging for Tylenol and following suit with the biofreeze. I didnt know what the biofreeze stuff was. I saw people stopping and shoving it down there pants .putting it on there buns as well as there hips, thighs and calves. I decided not to waste any time doing this because A: it looked silly and B: I didnt see any benefit from it. Later in the marathon I would come to appreciate the blessing that is biofreeze.
Miles 9-10
Mile 9 got me to the ticket and transportation center. My sugarpie was waiting for me there. He took a couple of pictures and then I got some good luck sugar : ) At the beginning of Mile 10 Elizabeth told me to go on ahead because she was going slow and she didnt think she was going to finish so we parted ways. Miles 10 through 11 went through the Magic Kingdom. We went down main street, through tomorrowland, through the castle, and then out the back way beside splash mountain. There were lots of characters that I could have gotten pics with, but I wanted to make sure that I was keeping pace so I wouldnt get swept(and it is a good thing I did).
Miles 11-16
This was the most boring part of the entire race. At the beginning of Mile 11 I got the worst cramp I have ever had in my life. My left calf muscle cramped up so bad that my foot (toes and all) tried to curl up into a ball. This is the part where I began to cry out to God
. At this point I was with a couple of people from the disboards. One of the ladies I was with new a good stretch(nycpas daughter) , so she went on the grass with me and showed me how to stretch. She even massaged my calf muscle. It went away for a little while. We ran and caught back up with the other disboards people. Shortly after, the cramp returned to my calf and I just toughed it out. Throughout miles 11-16 my left calf cramped almost continuously. My right calf occasionally chimed in. If you have never tried to walk with your toes curled completely in I suggest you try it
..its lot of fun. In order to concentrate better I put on my headphones and continued onward. Miles 17-19
We ran through Animal Kingdom during this part of the race. My calf cramps went away (due to advice from a fellow marathoner who said to make sure I drank a lot of powerade at the next stop to replace my electrolytes; I was also encouraged to eat some pretzels which helped). Somewhere in this span of time I lost feeling in the bottom of my feet(Well maybe not all feeling .as you will see in the next segment). I was primarily listening to my mp3 player and trying to ignore the facts that my hip joints felt like they were going to pop out of socket, I was hungry, I had to pee, and my fingers were as big as bratwursts. My need to go to the bathroom became resolute and unyielding at Mile 19. I stopped in a lone port o potty and yay no paper. However I improvised and got on with the show. About halfway through Mile 19 it felt like someone took a razor blade and cut off the pad of skin on the ball of my foot
. At first I didnt know what it was . I quickly realized that the giant blister forming on the bottom of my foot had exploded (gross
.I know). I thought briefly about taking my shoe off and tending to it at the first aid station
..then I thought na
.....Ill just keep on moving cuz if I stop Ill never start back. There was a bus sitting on the side of the road somewhere between 17 and 19 and I began to see Disney officials on bikes. Whats this? I began to ask myself
..as I continued on. I stopped briefly at a volunteer station offering biofreeze and followed suit with the other participants. I rubbed it on my hips, knees, calves and temples. It helped with all the pain/soreness/exhaustion that I was feeling. I also got biofreeze every subsequent time it was offered . Mile 20
So I was trucking along at Mile 20. The cramp came back. Then I see another bus ahead. More Disney officials on bikes and a lady with a flag. Hhhmmmmm. So I came to the water station Quasi Moto-ing it due to the cramps and one of the cast members says You have 2 minutes so I said to the girl beside me 2 minutes til what?. Then another cast member says The course will be closed to you if you dont make it to the next mile marker (about 21) in 1 minute 30 seconds. I looked to my left and on the double back course I could see that there were lots of people that got swept off the course where I went past the buses. I threw down my water cup and sprinted past the bus .I was safe .I thought.
Miles 21-23
Now I was mad
I began to speak ugly of Disney. I actually said the words I am developing a healthy hate for Disney. All those people
who made it to 20 miles
.I would have been mad if it was me who didnt get to finish. My calve cramps continued in both legs. Occassionally, I let out a battle cry to get through the pain . Another time I saw the people on Disney officials on bikes but no busses. They told me and another lady that we only had a short amount of time to make it to the next mile so we hurried but I think they were just bluffing. At mile 23 (in MGM
now Disney Hollywood Studios) they were supposed to provide candy for the runners. I was perturbed when I discovered that they had run out of candy . About mile 23 Lisa (my walking friend) and I found out from a cast member that we would be allowed to finish (no matter our pace). We continued on at an appropriate pace but we were no longer scared of getting swept from the course. Miles 23-26.1
We exited MGM and made our way past the Boardwalk and entered Epcot. My mood shifted dramatically. I apologized to all the people that had heard me say ugly things about Disney. Although we were in pain, Lisa and I chatted and enjoyed the scenery as we rounded world showcase. We discussed that we might do the half-marathon together next year(but definitely not the full marathon). The finish was so close. As we went around the corner there was a gospel choir singing
. And then
..Mile 26.2
THE FINISH LINE ..only a few die hard spectators remained (including my wonderful boyfriend Michael
: ). Lisa and I crossed the finish line with our hands in the air. I smiled the biggest smile I could conjure. I thanked God for allowing me to finish. Afterwards:
I got my medal and met back up with Michael. We headed back to his Aunts and stopped at Waffle House on the way. I had been hungry all morning(but I couldnt eat before because I knew it would make me sick). I ordered a pecan waffle, scrambled eggs with cheese, hashbrowns, regular toast, raisin toast, and bacon. I couldnt eat very much of it but it sure was good. On the way home I talked about everything mentioned here. I said that marathoning is torture and I only needed to do it once in a lifetime. When I got home I nursed the blister on the bottom of my foot and discovered an egg sized blister one on the side of my foot. Despite my injuries we continued with the Disney Parks portion of our vacation.
The marathon was a very interesting experience. I highly recommend it. Yeah .I got a few huge blisters ..but I didnt die ..or severely injure myself ..So I could survive it again.
Who knows I might do it again next year ; )
The following is the Disney Parks trip report:
On Monday:
I was sore and my blisters hurt but I refused to use a wheelchair. I limped around all day and wore my medal with pride. Michael and I went to Epcot. We rode Mission Space twice and Test Track. We rode the Mexico Ride (Which I now hate due to the current refurbishment that made it completely about the Three Cabelleros). We did the Norway ride. We did Figment, The Land, and the Nemo fish adventure thing at the Living Seas. We also rode Spaceship Earth (Which has been refurbished in a good way ..updated costumes and animatronics). We ate at the Coral Reef(a surprise birthday thing for Michael) and had some awesome food. On the menu we had some Lobster Soup, a nonalcoholic Sour Apple Pina Colada thingy, Grilled Mahi Mahi with couscous and honey balsamic glaze, crème brulee and cake. After that we rode the monorail to Magic Kingdom and did Pirates of the Carribean, Jungle Cruise, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We then headed back to Epcot. We grabbed a great spot to watch Illuminations and sat down to rest. I was happy but my feet were not by the end of the day. I was completely exhausted from limping all day.
On Tuesday:
We slept in a little and Michael pretty much insisted on pushing me around in a wheelchair at least for part of the day. We went to Animal Kingdom. We looked at all the animals and rode Dinosaur and Everest. Everest was kind of a let down for me. It was fun ..but I expected it to be more thrilling like RockN Rollercoaster. We ate at the Rainforest Café. It was a cool atmosphere but the food wasnt that great. The bathrooms were disgusting. We left there to go to MGM. We did Indiana Jones, the Great Movie Ride and RockN Rollercoaster. Then we went and ate cotton candy while we waited for Fantasmic to begin. Fantasmic was a nice new experience. After this we headed back to the house to prepare for Wednesday.
On Wednesday:
We had an early reservation for Ohanas. I wanted to go there because it is a character breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. The food was great (fresh pinapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydewmelon, grapes, biscuits, mickey head waffles, bacon, sausage, eggs, breakfast danishes, juice and coffee). Stitch came and out and was fun to interact with. He was throwing stuff across the restaurant at folks. Cast members would act like they were feeding him coffee. He made sounds when he came to the table. He gave me a hug an Michael took a picture. The other characters werent nearly as fun. Then we went for the opening ceremonies for Magic Kingdom. By 4PM Michael and I had rode Buzz Lightyear, Stitchs Great Escape, Snow White, Philharmonics, Small World, Peter Pan, and Winnie the Pooh, Space Mountain twice, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, The Train, The people mover, Pirates of the Carribean, Jungle Cruise, and the Haunted Mansion. We had also looked in several gift shops, eaten a funnel cake, got fast food at Columbia Harbor House and gotten a cream cheese pretzel . We were both tired and had rode everything we wanted to. I really wanted to see the Wishes fireworks display so we stayed around. We went and explored the Contemporary a bit. We then parked ourselves at the Polynesian. We looked at an art exhibit on the First Floor, looked in the gift shops and then listened for a few minutes to some authentic Hawaiian music. We decided to go outside and watch the fireworks show on the Polynesians dock. It didnt have the music with it but It was still great. Then we headed home. And so ended the greatest Disney Vacation I have ever had.
Hope you are feeling better soon! 
Great race report, though I am sorry you were in so much pain. I'm right with you on going for the Donald next year! 
