Official WDW Marathon Weekend 2013 Thread-Part 2

[robynslp]

Heat and humidity was rough, but for me it was the beating sun. When we were in clouds or shade, I could go. In the sun, I was head down just moving forward.

I agree that mile 20 was not spectacular. I was also disappointed in the race start. Couldn't see the jumbotrons to watch all the action. I was in G last year and could watch one.

The only picture I really wanted was with the villains. We were doing fine for time so we stopped and waited.

I had asked on here about Everest. As we were running up I asked BIL if he wanted to ride it. He laughed. As we ran past he said, stand by is only 5 minutes, lets do it. So he headed in and the cast members yelled at us to come back and do fast pass!!!! Suddenly there's a handful of other runners whooping and giggling as we run the switchbacks of the fast pass line! We were on and riding in one full train. It was great!!!!

The rest of the race I worried about how far off we were but it wasn't long before we were back up with people we remembered from our corral. Like I said, we marched on. Found my sister at the gate coming in from the back of Epcot. My family was waiting near Spaceship Earth. I worked hard holding back tears as I saw the finish.

I ran as Tigger. My tutu died from the heat before I did. Thank you WISHERS with the pretzels out of HS. I needed the salty bland!

Congrats to all! Remember its the courage to start that got us here.

 

[tehvalerie]

Congratulations, everyone! Conditions were super rough yesterday, and I trained all summer in hot, humid North Carolina. I got swept just past mile 21. Obviously I'm disappointed, but considering I never got past 14 miles in training thanks to an injury I'm proud I made it as far as I did. Things went really well for the first 8 miles then the wheels fell off. Missed being swept at mile 16 by 50 seconds and knew it was over for me by mile 18. I feel like I could've walked the last 6 miles had they let me, but given how sore I am today (ie can barely walk let alone navigate stairs) it's probably for the best that I got yanked.

I know people say this all the time and change their minds, but I will never train for another full marathon again. I will consider running a half if I'm in better shape, but it's just too much of a time commitment and physical beating than I can personally handle. I admire all of you walking around with your medals (especially the Goofys) today!

ETA: Oh and by the time I got to mile 20 I assumed they'd torn down the "spectacular." Post-race my fiance confirmed that nope, that's all it was. All that buildup for nothing!

 

[Qltrgrl2]

Thanks to all the Disboards people who cheered for us during the marathon. It was awesome to see the sea of lime green shirts. I yelled out to the group, but was actually on the other side of the road in a crowd. The race weekend was awesome and I am delighted to have completed my first marathon and Goofy Challenge. I took the 1/2 slow (2:24) and my goal (in the back of my mind) was under 5 hours for the full. The heat and humidity were a concern, but I hydrated at all the water stops with both Powerade and water. The volunteers were amazing as always and I loved that they had bananas twice on the course. Cramping was definitely something to worry about with heat. In any case, I met my goal with a 4:54 full and now I can put marathons to bed....one and done! Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. Anyone going back next month for Princess besides me?

 

[LSUfan4444]

I finished in 4:14, quite a but off my PR (3:54), but exactly where I thought I'd be on that day. I took it easy, took quite a few pics and battled tough conditions like everyone else.

Congrats to all, especially the goofy finishers and first timers.

 

[joan4mickey]

Check
Marathonfoto.com

 

[PixieDust32]

It was the most beautiful event ever, just like everything Disney does. We want to do the marathon next year, how do I know when to sign up? I don't want to miss it, the food and wine event is sold out already

 

[steph0808]

Goal was around 5 hours, finished in 6:42:53.

I came down with the flu on Thursday and was laid out until the race. Also have a terrible head cold and cough. I just wanted to finish because when I was throwing up on Thursday, I thought there was no way.

At mile 2, I saw Captain Jack and Barbosa and thought "screw time, I am having fun." i stopped for a lot of characters. I was mad that I waited for Ariel and Belle/Beast and then around the corner was king/queen Mickey and Minnie. I skipped them. I also skipped some at the end to make sure I kept my time ahead of the sweepers.

i was good, but slow, through Animal Kingdom. The highway killed me. I slowed down 2mm after that.

WWOS never seemed to end. Mile 20 was not very spectacular.

The volunteers were awesome and thank you WISHers who were outside Hollywood Studios with pretzels. I needed that salt very badly! Hydration was good - I drank a lot but no sloshing in stomach. No potty breaks during the race and I was fine after another bottle of water and chocolate milk an hour after the race.

 

[Bephus]

It was the most beautiful event ever, just like everything Disney does. We want to do the marathon next year, how do I know when to sign up? I don't want to miss it, the food and wine event is sold out already

Wine and Dine has not opened yet.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[sunshine269]

Probably low on salt/sodium/electrolytes. My non-medical advice is a margarita

Excellent advise, thanks

Jennifer

 

[PixieDust32]

Wine and Dine has not opened yet.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Oh I musth have been reading the old one. Thank you. Do you know when? Thank you

 

[dreams91]

I wanted to show you just how swollen I was from dehydration at the end - I didn't know that was what happened to you. My hands were so big, I couldn't type on my phone or open my bottle of water.

Left is right before race start. Right is at finish. I look like I gained 30 pounds in 7 hours.

I was also swollen. I drank powerade or water EVERY stop. Also had a bottle I carried. At mile 20 I stopped at medical because my fingers were so swollen that I couldn't bend them. He gave me ice and said you will be fine. So on I marched!

 

[Cruz91]

I also kept the sponge for the remainder of the race, I think until I got into Epcot. I would pour water over it as well at the water stops. Or I would have a volunteer poor water over it for me. (Thank you Coach Charles for that tip. I think it was you who suggested it? )

So glad you were able to finish!! I know you were pretty worried about it, and you should be SO proud of yourself!

When's your next race?

 

[Cruz91]

I was also swollen. I drank powerade or water EVERY stop. Also had a bottle I carried. At mile 20 I stopped at medical because my fingers were so swollen that I couldn't bend them. He gave me ice and said you will be fine. So on I marched!

And another side effect of all that hydration? I don't think I've gone more than 30 minutes without hitting a bathroom! I have hit more WDW bathrooms in the last day and a half even though I'm solo than I did on any trip with my kids!

 

[mickeysgal]

Oh I musth have been reading the old one. Thank you. Do you know when? Thank you

Keep checking the RunDisney.com website. I believe you can sign up for email updates. I found it - select an event - then pick the PLAN tab. All the way at the bottom you can sign up for emails.

Hope to see you there!

 

[guava]

I've been thinking about it for a day now but I still don't have the words to adequately describe it...awesome? agonizing? inspiring? painful? wonderful? All of those things and more I guess. It was definitely harder than I imagined. So much harder than my 20 mile long run and way more than twice as difficult for me as last year's half. My first 11 miles were good but then I started having a harder and harder time getting back to the run part of my run walk run. I had a rough time with WWOS and the long highway. Saw the sweepers four miles behind me but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other trying to maintain my forward momentum. Once we got to DHS though things really looked up. I started running again and felt stronger. I loved the last few miles, the crowds were amazing, the Twizzler from the WISHers was the best thing I ever tasted and I was laughing and crying as it hit me I was actually doing it. I finished in 6:44:42.

The whole experience taught me a lot. I'm in awe of the people that can run marathons in under 4 hours. I'm equally in awe of those that preserved for 7 hours to finish. I'm so proud of those that started but were swept as their courage and positive attitude is both heart wrenching and inspiring. And I am just amazed by the thousands of spectators that stood for hours cheering us all on. Simply incredible that people from all walks of life, all body shapes, all religions, all political parties, all everything can come together in one special spot to simply...run. I feel privileged to have run alongside you.

Congratulations to all those that participated!

 

[Cruz91]

... Simply incredible that people from all walks of life, all body shapes, all religions, all political parties, all everything can come together in one special spot to simply...run. I feel privileged to have run alongside you.

Congratulations to all those that participated!

Holy Cow, YOU ARE BRILLIANT! I think we should scrap both political parties in favor of the WISH party!

 

[tinkeramy]

Okay, powerful marathon people, I'm taking a poll! I am running the Princess for the third time and have 2 other halfs under my belt. Am considering making the jump to the full next year, but wanted to hear thoughts on if you think Disney is a good "first" marathon. My only hesitation is the time. I have no idea how long it would take me. (I run a half in about 2:20). I am all about the pictures, so throw that in and the thought of how long I'll be out there on the course kinda scares the bejeebers out of me! I would appreciate opinions.

 

[sunshine girl]

Congrats to all! I finished the full, but backed off my pace significantly due to the heat, and decided to walk almost the entire last two miles. As a result my time was over 30 min slower than expected, but I don't care. I wasn't going for a PR (was waaaay off of that anyway) and I wanted to finish with enough left in me to enjoy the rest of the day with friends. And I did! No nap necessary.

I love the medal!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[joan4mickey]

Okay, powerful marathon people, I'm taking a poll! I am running the Princess for the third time and have 2 other halfs under my belt. Am considering making the jump to the full next year, but wanted to hear thoughts on if you think Disney is a good "first" marathon. My only hesitation is the time. I have no idea how long it would take me. (I run a half in about 2:20). I am all about the pictures, so throw that in and the thought of how long I'll be out there on the course kinda scares the bejeebers out of me! I would appreciate opinions.

You can do it. I ran my first half 5 years ago..the Princess and ran the full last year and this year. My halfs have been from around 2:10 to 2:30. Depending on who I am running with and how I am feeling the day of the event.

 

[DEA]

Congratulations to everyone who came out this weekend and put feet to pavement in pursuit of whatever goal you took on many months ago. DW (myweegirls) and I had a great time running the half and cheering on the marathoners. I ran the race of my life in the half, and came in faster than I expected. Everything just came together Saturday morning: I was fueled enough with a little before the race started that I didn't need anything else during the race, I was hydrated enough that I only hit a few of the water stops, and I was rested enough that I didn't end up walking until I got to those three hills before getting back to Epcot. Yeah, you know the ones.

I ended up really pleased with my race, but strangely, after seeing people on Sunday walking around with Marathon and Goofy medals, a little disappointed in my accomplishment. It's completely irrational, I know, but seeing all those medals is motivating me to actually give it a try next year. Some of your tales of completing the Goofy Challenge by running your first marathon this year is a tremendous source of comfort as I think about this; it can be done.

Thanks again for all the advice and support that goes on in this forum. The WISH folks had a great presence out there this weekend, and it is a wonderful community.