Official WDW Marathon Weekend 2013 Thread

[sunshine girl]

Does anyone have thoughts about flying in the day before the race? I was thinking of flying in on Saturday (taking the first flight of the day from Detroit area, I would arrive around 10-ish AM) for the Sunday marathon.

I'm starting to wonder if it would be better to arrive on Friday afternoon. What are your experiences re: flying in the day before a marathon?

Obviously it would be better to arrive early from a the standpoint of buying souvenir merchandise, but (believe it or not) that's not my main concern. I'm mainly concerned about whether the travel process will affect my legs somehow and whether an extra day will help.

What do you think? Haven't booked my flight yet but I'd like to do it by next week... and my hotel reservation can be altered to add a day at the beginning. Maybe I could try one day at the Art of Animation and relax by that fancy pool with the underwater talking Nemo!

Anyway ... just realized that for my previous marathons, I never had to fly in because I lived locally. I had no problem flying in the day before the HALF marathon in the past but have never tried it for a full.

 

[maganda]

Thanks to all who have given their thoughts on the Garmins - I have always just used a basic heart rate monitor, felt I didn't need all the bells and whistles, but I am starting to realize I'm ready to upgrade. I am a bit, ah, shall we say, intimidated by technology - is there a huge learning curve with the Garmins? Will I easily be able to figure out how to utilize all those cool features?

Picked up my first Stinger products today to try (waffle and the chews) - I usually stick with the Clif shot blocks or Gu chomps, but I'm willing to try something new!

Have you settled on which garmin you want? When I was researching them I found a blog with really detailed reviews. Google dcrainmaker. Very thorough.

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

If it were me, I'd want to be there a whole day early to get acclimated to the weather and to go for one early morning run.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

If it were me, I'd want to be there a whole day early to get acclimated to the weather and to go for one early morning run.

I’ll be in town about 3 days early (Thursday), but there’s no point in trying to acclimate. You should go on a short run if you really need to, but acclimating to a different climate takes two weeks.

 

[DrMomof3]

Does anyone have thoughts about flying in the day before the race? I was thinking of flying in on Saturday (taking the first flight of the day from Detroit area, I would arrive around 10-ish AM) for the Sunday marathon.

I'm starting to wonder if it would be better to arrive on Friday afternoon. What are your experiences re: flying in the day before a marathon?

Obviously it would be better to arrive early from a the standpoint of buying souvenir merchandise, but (believe it or not) that's not my main concern. I'm mainly concerned about whether the travel process will affect my legs somehow and whether an extra day will help.

What do you think? Haven't booked my flight yet but I'd like to do it by next week... and my hotel reservation can be altered to add a day at the beginning. Maybe I could try one day at the Art of Animation and relax by that fancy pool with the underwater talking Nemo!

Anyway ... just realized that for my previous marathons, I never had to fly in because I lived locally. I had no problem flying in the day before the HALF marathon in the past but have never tried it for a full.

The only concern I would have is SNOW. If it snows and your flight is cancelled, you'll miss packet pick-up. Unless you have a back-up plan.
I'm doing the Goofy so I'm racing on Saturday but I'm flying in late Thursday. My roommate is flying in earlier in the week so she can also pick-up my race packet.

Amanda

 

[r3ngels]

As far as Garmins go I have the forerunner 305... Love it!

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

For everyone that wanted to try the cw-x tights but thought they were too pricey, Running Warehouse is having a sale and with the WISH code,you get an extra 15% off. Wishraced

 

[jmasgat]

sunshinegirl I'm also flying out of Metro, and every other year I have done Disney, I have arrived at least 2 days before race day, i.e. Friday for the Marathon. Weather/flight delays can definitely be an issue. And depending on which airline you book, your flight options may be limited. So if one gets cancelled or delayed, you may not have much recourse (I'm looking at you Spirit!)

Also, you will need to hit the expo and get settled in--why tire yourself out pre-race day.

Obviously it's possible to do it all on the day before race day---but if you do you'll miss the WISH meet on Friday afternoon?

Maura

 

[ZellyB]

Thursday is super crowded, but has almost double the range of merchandise. I went Thursday and Saturday morning this year, and there was basically nothing left by Saturday morning.

That's disappointing to hear. We don't get in until Friday evening though so it'll just be what it is, I guess. I didn't want a lot of stuff, but maybe an item or two. How late is the Expo open on Friday? Maybe we'd have time to hit it on Friday evening instead of waiting for Sat morning.

 

[CaptHomer]

Does anyone have thoughts about flying in the day before the race? I was thinking of flying in on Saturday (taking the first flight of the day from Detroit area, I would arrive around 10-ish AM) for the Sunday marathon.

I did that this year. I got in on Saturday morning for the marathon. You have to make sure you get there in time to get to the Expo so you can pick up your papers. I think it closes at 5 on Saturday. If you can't make it by then, you can get someone to pick up your paperwork for you if you fill out a form to allow them too.

I was at the Expo by noon so it wasn't a problem. Only bad part of getting there was I had to get up at 5 on Saturday to get to the airport and the first sleep I got after that was 9:30 Sunday night.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Only bad part of getting there was I had to get up at 5 on Saturday to get to the airport and the first sleep I got after that was 9:30 Sunday night.

Oh, dear.

 

[randomiam79]

Do the parks open early for marathon weekend? We were looking to stay at AKV and I was hoping to figure out spots where my husband could see me run without him having to make too much of a hike (once or twice during the race and at the finish is fine for me - I worry he will get confused with the transportation ). I saw the course runs through Animal Kingdom, but that I would probably be running through around 8/8:30 a.m. - didn't know if he could get in and see me run then.

Or if anyone has other suggestions on where to stay or where to watch the race, let me know. I appreciate any help since I haven't been to Disney in, gulp, 11.5 years, and never for marathon weekend.

The parks don't open early but they let people in to MK to cheer runners on down main street and at a far distance from the castle. Epcot (second time) and DHS were open by the time I got to them 2 years ago and with the new route i'm sure will be open by the time many runners get that far.

he won't be able to get into animal kingdom but could see you if he waits out in front of the turnstiles. There is a breakfast cart and park bench some friends waited on to see me.

Depending on where you stay there are plenty of options. We stay at BLT so my family will just go downstairs and walk to the road.

Good spots are also at the T&TC, and anywhere they can get to along the road from animal kingdom to WWOS (this is a good spot for encouragement as it is a tough somewhat boring part of the race, and may be easier to spot your husband as they won't be in a crowd of people). May be able to park at McD's and walk to the road, but i'm not sure how you get there from AKL with some of the road closures.

One tip, have him wear something that will stand out or make a poster you will recognize. It can be easier for us runners to spot our friends and family than for them to spot us with thousands of runners passing by

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

One tip, have him wear something that will stand out or make a poster you will recognize. It can be easier for us runners to spot our fiends

I agree with this a million times. You should find your spectator, they should not find you.

It’s incredibly hard to find a runner in a sea of them, even if you know what they are wearing and what time they should be coming by.

When we went down for W&D the first time, I told my DH what time I’d be finishing. He saw what I was wearing. I am easy to spot.

He started videotaping a minute before I asked him to, and then taped the finish line for an hour. After an hour, he gave up and looked at his cell phone, to see he had SIX voicemails from me, worried and wondering what had happened to him. He swore I must have been faster than I said, because he didn’t have me on film.

When we got home to NYC, I watched his footage. There are 73 minutes of footage. I run by after 22 seconds.

 

[SingingMom]

We will be in WDW during the marathon (didn't realize this until plans were made!) and we happen to know an avid participant. Is there a site or thread I can go to so we can understand the route and make a plan to cheer him on, with sign in hand? ;-). Thanks for your help!

 

[RENThead09]

We will be in WDW during the marathon (didn't realize this until plans were made!) and we happen to know an avid participant. Is there a site or thread I can go to so we can understand the route and make a plan to cheer him on, with sign in hand? ;-). Thanks for your help!

The RunDisney site has spectator information. That would be a great place to start.

 

[SingingMom]

The RunDisney site has spectator information. That would be a great place to start.

Thanks very much for your help! I'll check it out!

 

[sunshine girl]

Thanks for the suggestions re: my pre race flight! I agree it will probably be worth it to fly in on Friday. I have been lucky in the past with the weather not causing any delays, but one never knows.

And yes, Spirit airlines is the worst!! I stopped flying them years ago.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[VernRDH]

A question for Coach Charles or other experienced marathoners:

How many Gu's do you use for 26.2 miles? I know each person is different, but on my long (longest of my life so far) run today of 14 miles, I had success with one every 4 miles, or about 42 minutes (I am using 9:2 run/walk intervals). That would mean like 6 for the marathon. Is that too much?

I felt good after running, some muscle soreness. Not the usual GI issues I have when I finish a half (nausea, needing to go many times). But I am concerned that too many Gu's can cause problems. Thoughts? Any advice/help is appreciated.

I will say that I really felt today like I can do 26.2 miles. It may not be fast or pretty, but I am relatively certain I can get it done.

 

[jmasgat]

The rule of thumb is one every 30-45 minutes. During marathons, I use one every 5 miles--which is about every 45 minutes.

If what you used today works for you--stick with it. And congrats on your 14 miles!

Maura

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I gel/shot block every 5 miles or hour, whichever comes first. I took about 4 gels at last year's full. Forgetting to take a fifth was a mistake.