Official 2014 Donald Half Marathon

[CatherineC]

It was my first half, and only second race. I LOVED it! It was the second half for my friend that ran with me. She enjoyed it, but is really hurting from IT issues also. I had some issues (sick family member, holidays, sick myself, and small muscle strain) the last month of training and only did one long run with 4-5 short runs, but I'm not hurting from the run at all. My feet are dying from 4 days in the parks though! In the future, I feel like I should train for dopey in order to do the half plus park time!

Don't get me wrong, I'm a tad but sore from the run. It's a good sore though like a hard strength training workout, and not a tightened muscle/over use kind of soreness. I will say the 10min massage after I believe helped a ton!

 

[PrincessV]

Half #2 is in the books! It didn't go the way I thought it would, but I'm surprisingly okay with that. I'm still digesting the experience, so that's all I can say for now... sorry, that's rather cryptic sounding, isn't it?! I'll put together a full review soon and will share here when it's done. For now, I'm happy to say I finished, got a teeny little PR in the process, and had a HUGE amount of fun. Totally a winning combination.

Oh, and ITBS? Yep, here, too. Again.

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi,

That was my first half marathon and I LOVED it! Everything about the weekend has been fantastic, runDisney is now yet another reason why I love Disney

I found the course quite congested (because of starting in Corral O) so my pace was a little off, but finished in 02:02:31 so I was happy! Definitely worth 9 months of training and all those miles

I still keep remembering little things that happened before/during/after the race - it's a day I'll never forget.

Well done to all!


Emma x

 

[cepmom]

Hi,

That was my first half marathon and I LOVED it! Everything about the weekend has been fantastic, runDisney is now yet another reason why I love Disney

I found the course quite congested (because of starting in Corral O) so my pace was a little off, but finished in 02:02:31 so I was happy! Definitely worth 9 months of training and all those miles

I still keep remembering little things that happened before/during/after the race - it's a day I'll never forget.

Well done to all!


Emma x

wow! great time!!

 

[NJDorioles]

wow what an awesome race! Was my first half and was worried about being in corral O as well but was able to finish with a net of 1hr 52min which was far better than I was anticipating. Probably could have been faster but I realized where I was and had to just appreciate the sights and sounds at times. I'm pretty sure this race has me addicted now. I either want to enter in the half again next year with better corral placement or work toward the marathon. Heck…maybe I'll go Goofy or Dopey!

 

[mssmith2711]

I may be the only one who was disappointed? I understand it is because of my expectations, not really the event itself. I think the biggest problem for me was the congestion - I'm a new runner and not a people person so I think it really messed me up mentally having all those people on top of me and not being able to always do my run segment when it was time because of all the crowding. I was amazed at the people who just stopped right in the middle of the course to take a picture - REALLY???? - they couldn't step off to the side? - is that really discourteous or is it just me being cranky?
My time was not what I had hoped - but I did finish and did not get swept (Thank goodness I started in corral K) - which I was telling myself was my only goal. But already by the half way point I was not feeling as well as I thought I would be and kept trying to figure out how I was not as prepared as I thought I was. Maybe the humidity played a bigger role than I give it credit for? Or just all the walking in the parks for 5 days before? Or it took more out of me than I realized trying to work around all the people? or maybe I really wasn't as prepared as I thought I was.
So I should be thrilled that I finished my first 1/2 marathon and super proud of my accomplishment, but I'm a little disappointed that the experience wasn't all I was hoping for - maybe I was just too stressed to really get into the spirit of things.
So we had been talking about running in Disneyland in August for the Dumbo Double Dare and Coast to Coast - now I'm really reconsidering. Actually, when I finished on Sat I was saying no way was I going to do another one. By Sunday I was thinking I could probably struggle through another 1/2. Today I'm thinking how much difference could the 10K the day before make at this point.
I'm a mess .

 

[bumbershoot]

I had a lousy run, too. I know the reasons. I had been sick as a dog for days. My son had just gotten it. He was being watched by my aunt, who shouldn't get sick as she's about to be a grandma again and she lives in the same house as her daughter's family.

And the people walking in solid walls (and a few times running in solid walls!) just messed with me hugely. Also the tall people with over active elbow swings. And the woman in the Brasilia shirt literally dancing around the corner with Surfin' Safari who nearly took me out. Who does that?

Because of my cold from hades I hadn't really eaten, and because of that my stomach was even more messed up than usual. It's hard to do a run if your stomach is scaring you.

And I just looked up my official time to find I did ten minutes worse then I bought I did. Realize now it's because my garmin autopaused for bathroom and "whats going on with my foot gotta retie my shoe again" breaks. Dang.


Oh, my foot. As I stretched out feet afterwards I looked at my cep socks. Not only are they marked L and R and I didn't know that, but I had them on the wrong feet. No wonder my foot was messed up.


On the other hand, recovery was a breeze. No soreness or aches at all. Then again I'm still sick and it would take a lot to make me feel worse than I already do.

Ugh.

 

[PrincessV]

I found the course quite congested (because of starting in Corral O) so my pace was a little off, but finished in 02:02:31 so I was happy! Definitely worth 9 months of training and all those miles

Awesome time - congrats!

wow what an awesome race! Was my first half and was worried about being in corral O as well but was able to finish with a net of 1hr 52min which was far better than I was anticipating.

Another fantastic time - congratulations!

I may be the only one who was disappointed? I understand it is because of my expectations, not really the event itself. I think the biggest problem for me was the congestion - I'm a new runner and not a people person so I think it really messed me up mentally having all those people on top of me and not being able to always do my run segment when it was time because of all the crowding.

I totally get this; it's exactly how I felt after my first few rD races. I think a huge amount of what changed for me this time was experience; already knowing what the course would be like (re: crowds, noise, runner behavior, etc.) made for a much more relaxed race for me. All of those etiquette things used to aggravate me, but I've just accepted that they're part of Disney racing and all I can do about it is adjust my own attitude about it. But I couldn't have done that my first race, before I already had the experience, KWIM? I hope you'll try again!

I had a lousy run, too.

I'm so sorry - I know you trained hard for this and it sucks to be felled by illness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a roll yesterday, I got a race recap put together - you can find it here: 2014 WDW Half-Marathon Race Recap!

 

[bumbershoot]

One amusing moment. That first aid-type stop with people with goop on Popsicle sticks, calling out "who forgot to lube up? There's no shame in it, come get your lube..."

Cracked me up.

 

[hauntedcity]

~~~ On a roll yesterday, I got a race recap put together - you can find it here: 2014 WDW Half-Marathon Race Recap!

Great recap! Thanks for sharing.

 

[WhereInFlorida]

One amusing moment. That first aid-type stop with people with goop on Popsicle sticks, calling out "who forgot to lube up? There's no shame in it, come get your lube..."

Cracked me up.

I enjoyed the signs along Osceola stretch heading into and out of WWOS. A few were inappropriate from Disney standards but at that stage I definitely enjoyed them.

 

[mssmith2711]

I totally get this; it's exactly how I felt after my first few rD races. I think a huge amount of what changed for me this time was experience; already knowing what the course would be like (re: crowds, noise, runner behavior, etc.) made for a much more relaxed race for me. All of those etiquette things used to aggravate me, but I've just accepted that they're part of Disney racing and all I can do about it is adjust my own attitude about it. But I couldn't have done that my first race, before I already had the experience, KWIM? I hope you'll try again!

Thanks for the support. Yes, I think being an inexperienced runner and this being my first rD race and my first 1/2 marathon (I've only done 2 5K's and a 10K before this) I was not really able to take the time to enjoy much of it. I was stressed about a lot of things. I'm sure if I was more confident about finishing before being swept it might have been more fun for me.
We have been planning on going to Disneyland in August to run for the Coast to Coast, but then Monday night I realized I missed the 16min/mi pace by 1:08 minutes and am really upset that it might mean I can't get the Coast to Coast medal even though I finished the race. I sent an email to rD to find out for sure but haven't heard back yet. But, instead of being upset about that I'm trying to convince myself it's just an excuse for another trip to Disney World sometime soon . I just didn't anticipate ever "running" more than two 1/2 marathons...
We'll see.

 

[fairestoneofall]

I have a love/hate relationship with this race! I loved how much fun it was and loved the characters. However, all of those character stops made for a harder race for me.

I did my first marathon last month with a 2:05 finish. I knew this one would be longer because I'd planned to stop a lot. But all of that stopping added almost 45 minutes to my Garmin time. The Mickey stop was the worst! It was so long--they only had the photographer there--no CM. So one person was taking the official photos and the photos with the runner's camera. It was hard to get my groove back after that.

I think next time I won't stop as much. The shorter lines were fine, but the long line for Donald/Daisy and then Mickey threw me off.

It's funny because I stopped for three characters at TOT 10-miler, but only added about 10-11 minutes to my chip time.

I also think Disney races are more fun when running with someone else. Next time, I hope I can find someone with a similar pace to run with me. My daughter and I walked the 10k together and had a blast!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I stopped at least 16 times during the marathon for photos, which added at least an hour to my run time, but for the first time running I found that I didn't care. I loved the run. It was like no other that I have experienced.

 

[Shelby109]

Thanks for the support. Yes, I think being an inexperienced runner and this being my first rD race and my first 1/2 marathon (I've only done 2 5K's and a 10K before this) I was not really able to take the time to enjoy much of it. I was stressed about a lot of things. I'm sure if I was more confident about finishing before being swept it might have been more fun for me.
We have been planning on going to Disneyland in August to run for the Coast to Coast, but then Monday night I realized I missed the 16min/mi pace by 1:08 minutes and am really upset that it might mean I can't get the Coast to Coast medal even though I finished the race. I sent an email to rD to find out for sure but haven't heard back yet. But, instead of being upset about that I'm trying to convince myself it's just an excuse for another trip to Disney World sometime soon . I just didn't anticipate ever "running" more than two 1/2 marathons...
We'll see.

Hi! I think that As long as you are considered a finisher (not swept) you can still do coast to coast.

 

[tink_lover]

Bumping an old thread. Anyone running in a week? Can't find a dedicated 2015 half thread. Coach- are you around? Have a few questions......

 

[FFigawi]

Bumping an old thread. Anyone running in a week? Can't find a dedicated 2015 half thread. Coach- are you around? Have a few questions......

Charles hasn't been around for quite some time. There's plenty of us here that will be happy to help with your questions though, so ask away.

 

[goofeygirl]

Does anyone know what DD half marathon medal looks like? Is there a link to see it?

 

[FFigawi]

Does anyone know what DD half marathon medal looks like? Is there a link to see it?

This page has pictures of the medals

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...isney-world-marathon-weekend-medals-revealed/

 

[goofeygirl]

I was scrolling through these pages actually looking for a photo of what the Donald Duck medal looks like this year. Does anyone have a photo of it? I am dying to see it already!

Anyway, in my search for this photo...I saw a post by coach and it was dated in later December. So I am guessing he must have went away someplace and decided to put all media down!!!!


Meanwhile...I would love to see a pic of the medal if anyone has a link!

Thx.