Official 2015 Disney Marathon Thread

[annmarieda]

Planning on going for Dopey in 2015. For those that have been there marathon weekend, I'm hoping to stay at a DVC Villa 1-bedroom (want that whirlpool tub). I'll be running all 4 days, so I was going to limit my park time. Any advice of which DVC would be the best distance-wise (to the start line/finish line), pool-wise (hot tub?), food-wise (easy access for meals). I'll be spending most of my hours at the resort, so one that worked well in the past for marathoners would be good. What has been your experience in the past few years?

We did a split stay at POR and OKW. They both are very close to the start. (in past years people were allowed to walk from to the start from either resort..but not this last year) Given that you are looking at at 1 bedroom, I would go with OKW. They are HUGE. They have bigger balconies with full tables that people can sit around as well as a dinning room table that can seat more than just a couple people. The whirlpool tub was huge too. Food wise though... I kinda feel like Olivias is just limited. The "cs" is really just a walk up outside. Also, OKW is pretty spread out so if you won't have a car you will definitely want to stay near the hospitality house or you will have to use take the bus from your villa to the main building in order to use the RD transportation. (I think)

 

[dumbo_buddy]

Planning on going for Dopey in 2015. For those that have been there marathon weekend, I'm hoping to stay at a DVC Villa 1-bedroom (want that whirlpool tub). I'll be running all 4 days, so I was going to limit my park time. Any advice of which DVC would be the best distance-wise (to the start line/finish line), pool-wise (hot tub?), food-wise (easy access for meals). I'll be spending most of my hours at the resort, so one that worked well in the past for marathoners would be good. What has been your experience in the past few years?

i stayed at OKW for the last two marathon weekends. fabulous. i will stay there every time. OKW is spread out but if you get either a hospitality house location or buildings 27, 28, or 29 on penninsula road it's a breeze to get to/from the buses on race day morning (have requested building 28 and have gotten it 3 out of 4 trips and when didn't get 28 they gave me hospitality house!). OKW never had any line on race morning. we'd get picked up and then get runners at SSR and there was always at least a 30+ person line at SSR. the rooms are huge and points-wise they are very cheap!

the counter service is pretty minimal but it has everything you'd need to fuel for the races. plus olivia's has an awesome breakfast (and a post-10k and half bloody mary! hehe).

the best part is that the bus ride is very quick! even with traffic it never took very long.

i don't think you can go wrong with any place that you choose, though. BCV and Boardwalk are walkable, AKL is peaceful, etc etc.

 

[Weluvdisny]

Planning on going for Dopey in 2015. For those that have been there marathon weekend, I'm hoping to stay at a DVC Villa 1-bedroom (want that whirlpool tub). I'll be running all 4 days, so I was going to limit my park time. Any advice of which DVC would be the best distance-wise (to the start line/finish line), pool-wise (hot tub?), food-wise (easy access for meals). I'll be spending most of my hours at the resort, so one that worked well in the past for marathoners would be good. What has been your experience in the past few years?

We've stayed at BWV and didn't have a problem with busses. The whirlpool tub is great after a race! Two of the races (10k and full) go right by BW so if you have cheering fans they can sleep in a little and then still see you as you run by.

 

[disneyfan888]

Hi everyone!

I have family who will be doing the 5K and the 10K and my question is are the spectator packages available for these races? I am looking on the website and only see spectator packages for the half/full marathons. If they are not available is there anywhere were non running family members can watch, wait, cheer? Any help advice is greatly appreciated. We are putting everything together so that everything goes as smoothly as possible. Also is transportation from the hotels on race days consistent in picks ups? Is their transportation to the races from every hotel or select few? Thanks again!

 

[hroyale]

Planning on going for Dopey in 2015. For those that have been there marathon weekend, I'm hoping to stay at a DVC Villa 1-bedroom (want that whirlpool tub). I'll be running all 4 days, so I was going to limit my park time. Any advice of which DVC would be the best distance-wise (to the start line/finish line), pool-wise (hot tub?), food-wise (easy access for meals). I'll be spending most of my hours at the resort, so one that worked well in the past for marathoners would be good. What has been your experience in the past few years?

We like to stay at BLT so we can use the monorail instead of the buses to EPCOT. I believe all DVC have a hot tub. The one at BLT isn't the best, but it's not bad. Also you can see the fireworks from the roof-top lounge (or your room). The food options at the Contemporary are Ok, with a food court it's better than some other DVC resorts. But what we like about a 1br is having the full kitchen for our regular pre and post run foods, and the washer and dryer for running clothes.

Also since we are just doing one race we still go to the parks so being walking distance to MK is also a selling point for us.

We stayed at BCV the first year we ran but discovered after we made the reservation that we still had to take a bus to get to the starting line. And wait for the bus was a long one. But the pools and hot tubs are much nicer than BLT.

We stayed at the Boardwalk for the Wine and Dine but I don't think it would be my first choice for the Jan marathon. It has all the drawbacks of BCV but without the great pools.

Last resort I'll comment on is our home resort: AKL. I think the atmosphere there is exactly what you'd want when running the Dopey. It's relaxing, nice pools, interesting food choices enough going on that you don't need to think about going to a park. However the location makes it so inconvenient to get to and from the races that it's probably easy to rule out.

Good luck.

 

[disneyfan888]

Hi everyone!

I have family who will be doing the 5K and the 10K and my question is are the spectator packages available for these races? I am looking on the website and only see spectator packages for the half/full marathons. If they are not available is there anywhere were non running family members can watch, wait, cheer? Any help advice is greatly appreciated. We are putting everything together so that everything goes as smoothly as possible. Also is transportation from the hotels on race days consistent in picks ups? Is their transportation to the races from every hotel or select few? Thanks again!

Anyone??

 

[Diskidatheart]

Hi everyone!

I have family who will be doing the 5K and the 10K and my question is are the spectator packages available for these races? I am looking on the website and only see spectator packages for the half/full marathons. If they are not available is there anywhere were non running family members can watch, wait, cheer? Any help advice is greatly appreciated. We are putting everything together so that everything goes as smoothly as possible. Also is transportation from the hotels on race days consistent in picks ups? Is their transportation to the races from every hotel or select few? Thanks again!

I don't believe there are any spectator packages. I think the races are too short for that. Family can watch runners in the 5k at the finish area. For the 10k, the race does go around the Boardwalk and past the Beach Club, so a family member could always watch from that location. Also, for the 10k, family can watch at the finish area as well.

 

[bgenew1]

I hope you get to do one of the races in Jan, they are so much fun!

I trained for a marathon in 11 months, so it is definitely possible! I was an on and off runner before, but I never did more than 3-4 miles (with lots of walking). I started with the C25k, then moved right in to the 10k program. I really wasn't very good at the 10k program. I could do the distance, but I couldn't run the entire running segments without walking.

The 10k program ended about 2 weeks before Galloway's marathon training program began, so I jumped right into that. I actually skipped the first 2 weeks or so because I was already up to 6 miles. The run/walk/run method that Galloway promotes is really what made me start to enjoy running. I always tried too hard to run a certain distance without stopping (i.e. the 10k program) and I would just get frustrated and too worn out to continue. Once I accepted that I didn't need to run it all, it became much easier!

Anyway, I just wanted to throw my experience in. I really love the half-marathon distance and will continue to do those for as long as I can.

I am considering getting back into running to try and help with my stress. I have completed 2 half marathons but walked them both. I could never keep the running going either so come race day I just walked. I said after the last one I was retired and would only come out of retirement to run thru the Castle. My question for anyone that uses Galloway is how to you keep track of your running/walking ratio? Do you wear the beeper/timer he sells?

 

[pixarmom]

We love BWV or BCV for marathon weekend. We've only done the full, but we bring our park tickets on race day and enjoy a leisurely walk through Epcot (and a beer in England ) on our way back to our resort.

We love walking through Epcot after the race. We haven't booked anything yet, but we'll probably stay at BW, BC, or YC for the 2015 Marathon. We bring a change of clothes, some deodorant, baby powder, comb, etc and make ourselves as presentable as possible. After some PowerAde and food, we head into Epcot for a beer and a stroll and to cheer other runners on. It's a lot of fun (if the weather's good) and I think it helps with recovery to keep walking for a while.

I really love this idea!!! We stayed at BWI for the Princess Half Marathon this year and took runDisney buses to the expo, the 5K, the kids' races and the PHM. The buses were great at BWI for that particular weekend - always one around the corner, always a CM with info about when the next one would arrive, never a line and always plenty of space on the bus. On the way back, we usually got off the bus at Swan and walked back to BWI to avoid the whole loop. I didn't get to walk through Epcot after the PHM because it was a long way from opening when I finished, so I'm really excited to walk back to BWI after the full marathon in January!

 

[Ariel484]

I am considering getting back into running to try and help with my stress. I have completed 2 half marathons but walked them both. I could never keep the running going either so come race day I just walked. I said after the last one I was retired and would only come out of retirement to run thru the Castle. My question for anyone that uses Galloway is how to you keep track of your running/walking ratio? Do you wear the beeper/timer he sells?

Currently I am running with a Garmin watch and I know the intervals can be set up in there...so you don't necessarily have to buy the Galloway version. My husband used the RunKeeper app (which is free) with his phone and could set intervals in there as well.

 

[laughinplace199]

I really love this idea!!! We stayed at BWI for the Princess Half Marathon this year and took runDisney buses to the expo, the 5K, the kids' races and the PHM. The buses were great at BWI for that particular weekend - always one around the corner, always a CM with info about when the next one would arrive, never a line and always plenty of space on the bus. On the way back, we usually got off the bus at Swan and walked back to BWI to avoid the whole loop. I didn't get to walk through Epcot after the PHM because it was a long way from opening when I finished, so I'm really excited to walk back to BWI after the full marathon in January!

Cool! We'll see you there. We haven't booked yet, but we're thinking of trying the YC this time.

 

[Fellowship9798]

I really love this idea!!! We stayed at BWI for the Princess Half Marathon this year and took runDisney buses to the expo, the 5K, the kids' races and the PHM. The buses were great at BWI for that particular weekend - always one around the corner, always a CM with info about when the next one would arrive, never a line and always plenty of space on the bus. On the way back, we usually got off the bus at Swan and walked back to BWI to avoid the whole loop. I didn't get to walk through Epcot after the PHM because it was a long way from opening when I finished, so I'm really excited to walk back to BWI after the full marathon in January!

I've been at BWV for two Marathon weekends and I did the walk back through the park. It was a good way to let the legs cool down and keep moving at a slow pace. I did bring another non-sweaty shirt to change into for the walk back however.

I will say that I found busses at the BWV two years ago to be pretty poorly run for the half marathon when we stood in line for about 45 min or so without a single bus showing up, but I don't think that's a matter of what resort you stay it. We just had bad luck that morning with the way the busses ran.

 

[ZellyB]

I am considering getting back into running to try and help with my stress. I have completed 2 half marathons but walked them both. I could never keep the running going either so come race day I just walked. I said after the last one I was retired and would only come out of retirement to run thru the Castle. My question for anyone that uses Galloway is how to you keep track of your running/walking ratio? Do you wear the beeper/timer he sells?

Ditto what Shannon (Ariel484) said. I use my Garmin with the intervals, but there are several apps out there that will also do it. My DH was using Runtastic, but they made some "upgrades" that took away some of the functionality, so he quit using it. I have one as well called Seconds that will count intervals for you and it was free.

 

[CantWaitToGoAgain]

I am considering getting back into running to try and help with my stress. I have completed 2 half marathons but walked them both. I could never keep the running going either so come race day I just walked. I said after the last one I was retired and would only come out of retirement to run thru the Castle. My question for anyone that uses Galloway is how to you keep track of your running/walking ratio? Do you wear the beeper/timer he sells?

I started my interval training just using the stopwatch on my phone. Tedious but if work well until I convinced myself I could and would actually do this!! After about 2 weeks I then switched to Endomondo an app on my phone. That worked well for quite some time. A year into still running intervals I got a TomTom for Christmas!! I love it and now wonder why I waited so long.
Good luck to you!!

 

[longhorns2]

Goofy medal anyone? Just released this morning. It spins!

http://www.noguiltlife.com/2014/04/rundisney-releases-new-medals.html

 

[Nole95]

Goofy medal anyone? Just released this morning. It spins!

http://www.noguiltlife.com/2014/04/rundisney-releases-new-medals.html

I'll be signing up for Goofy next week. That medal looks pretty nice.

 

[moose615]

Goofy medal anyone? Just released this morning. It spins! http://www.noguiltlife.com/2014/04/rundisney-releases-new-medals.html

Thanks for sharing, I may end up doing the goofy now!

 

[Olallamom]

Looking forward to signing up for 5k, 10k and 1/2 next week.
My last Disney 1/2 was in 2011. Super excited about doing a Disney event again.
Today I ran the Seahawks 12K. Super fun run sponsored by the Seattle Seahawks.

 

[annmarieda]

Looking forward to signing up for 5k, 10k and 1/2 next week.
My last Disney 1/2 was in 2011. Super excited about doing a Disney event again.
Today I ran the Seahawks 12K. Super fun run sponsored by the Seattle Seahawks.

You and I are neighbors. I live just to the south of you... I did the 12k yesterday too!! I have a cold though and it really kicked my but. (as did the hills ) I have a question though...... what did your miles come out to be for the 12k? The pace that they show doesn't match up with what a 12k would give. It has me thinking they tried to say it was a 12k just to keep with the "12th man". I know that is crazy though... but look at your finish time and the pace they give. Seems to not be consistent with what a 12k would give. Plus..mine and someone else I know had their gps show a different distance...more consistent with what the final results show as a pace.

 

[pangeles]

Hi all! My gf and I are looking to run the half next year after a three year WDW break. Traveling from CA, we are just trying to figure out our budget after just renting DVC points from David's.

How fast does the half sell out? I remember registering a couple of years ago well into the summer. Any prices yet? Thank you!