Poor Unfortunate Soles: Marathon Weekend 2013 (5K, Half and Full Marathon)-COMPLETE!!

[DancinDaisyDuck]

I'm jumping in! It's so exciting (and very informative) to read your WDW Marathon weekend trip report!!! My sister and I are planning on running the half marathon next year and have no idea what to expect. I love that you stayed at the Grand Floridian, too. We hope to stay Deluxe on race weekend too. If we're going to run 13.1 miles, I want a hot tub and nice linens, lol.

Looking forward to more!!

 

[beachgirl2000]

I am here! I hope one day to do the Half Marathon!!!! Can't wait to read all about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[leopardmickeyears]

THOSE PINS! are too cute! So is the Vinyl! I'm not big on collecting vinyls either (I actually got my first one a few months ago just because it is my favorite sports team) but I would def get that guy .


YAY Disney Dooney! Wow, look at that logo on it

 

[Ariel484]

I'm really enjoying this report! I've never participated in a run (I'm not a runner) and I haven't really seen pictures from one either. It really looks like a lot of fun! And how cute is that medallion!

Don't worry, I have LOTS of pictures. The runs really are a lot of run...the bling is the icing on the cake!

Just found your TR, but I'm def in. I am FINALLY getting to participate in a runDisney event next year and I am so doing Goofy. Can't wait to read your adventure and live vicariously through you

Welcome! I hope you get to run Disney next year. If you go Goofy, the best advice I can give you is to find a training plan that you are comfortable with and STICK TO IT. (It sounds obvious, but it worked for me!)

Awesome review of the 5K! I think the Royal Family 5K runs the same route, so a lot of your pictures looked very familiar!!

Your room at GF looks so lovely! I'm glad that you were able to find the cupcake!

I think you're right that the two 5K routes are the same. Possibly different characters though, right?

We really loved our room at the Grand Floridian. It was beyond what we were expecting!

I'm jumping in! It's so exciting (and very informative) to read your WDW Marathon weekend trip report!!! My sister and I are planning on running the half marathon next year and have no idea what to expect. I love that you stayed at the Grand Floridian, too. We hope to stay Deluxe on race weekend too. If we're going to run 13.1 miles, I want a hot tub and nice linens, lol.

Looking forward to more!!

Welcome! How fun that you are going to run the race with your sister! You're right, having access to a hot tub is a huge bonus on race weekends.

I am here! I hope one day to do the Half Marathon!!!! Can't wait to read all about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome!!

THOSE PINS! are too cute! So is the Vinyl! I'm not big on collecting vinyls either (I actually got my first one a few months ago just because it is my favorite sports team) but I would def get that guy .


YAY Disney Dooney! Wow, look at that logo on it

They really do have some cool merchandise for the races! I'm glad I got to the expo early enough to get a good selection. I'll have to post a picture of the vinyl with the medals on. He's bling'd out!

 

[Ariel484]

2013 Walt Disney World Family Fun Run 5K! Final Thoughts

1. Like I said earlier, I think this is a GREAT race for newer runners. I read a lot about people who want to do a race at Disney (or anywhere really) but aren't sure they can do a half or full marathon - CHECK OUT THE 5K! It's really fun, low-pressure (no sweepers or official timing), less distance, it's much cheaper than the longer races, and you still get the full Disney race experience.

2. Along those lines, this is a great race for KIDS! There were lots of families running this race, which I thought was really neat. I could see myself doing this with a kiddo sometime in the future.

3. However, despite the fact that this race is cheaper than the other two, I keep going back and forth over whether I think it's overpriced. I think that the entry fees for the half and full marathon are in line with what other big races cost (New York, Marine Corps Marathon, Chicago, etc.)...but $55 for a 5K is easily twice as much as I've ever paid for a 5K race. Then again part of that is paying for the experience of running through a Disney park, and they did have refreshments afterward, lots of porta-potties, good transportation, and the finisher medallion, which is rare for a 5K (this was my 7th 5K and the only one where I got a finisher medal/medallion at the end). So I'm still not sure what I think about the entry fee.

4. If you do a 5K at Disney, be prepared for LONG character lines. There were 5 character stops, and all of the lines looked to be just as long as the one line I stood in...so if you're really dedicated that's 40 minutes just standing in lines.

5. There are official photographers along the race course, and participants get an email after the race with a link to purchase their photos. A single image download is $30 (!!) and a download of all of the images starts at $70...no video. I didn't buy mine.

Overall I really liked this race! The finisher medallion, which I really love, was a big draw for me. I think the only way I'll do the 5K again is if I'm not alone...it just makes these Disney races much more fun to run them with someone else!

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

The Beauty of the Annual Pass

I was on the bus at about 7:45 and back at the Grand by 8. I checked in with Will, took a shower, jotted down some notes about the race and (overshare! ) laid out my 5K clothes to dry out. I felt very, VERY bad for the mousekeeper that had to deal with our room that weekend...we made sure to tip well. My last task before heading out to breakfast was to check my stuff for the half marathon the next morning. From one race to the other!

At about 9:45 I headed out to the monorail station...TTFN, awesome room!

You really cant beat the convenience of only having to go ONE monorail stop to get to the Magic Kingdom...awesome.

From here I headed down to the boat docks to catch a ride to the Wilderness Lodge! I love taking the little boats at Disney...so relaxing!

Once we stopped at the Lodge (10ish?) I headed straight for Roaring Forks...NOM!

It has fruit on it, so it must be healthy!

Yummmmm. SO good. Does it get any better than sitting outside at the Wilderness Lodge on a beautiful day eating specialty Mickey waffles (and drinking tons of water - hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!)? I think not. Too bad Will wasn't there to enjoy it as well.

By now I was texting back and forth with my mom a bit - she, my brother and aunt were en route from Jacksonville and were due to arrive at about noon, so I had an awkward amount of time to kill.

And this is the beauty of the annual pass (or any park-hopper, I guess)...gotta love being able to just pop into the Magic Kingdom for an hour or so at will!

Continued in Next Post

 

[BigEeyore]

Those lines are awful!!! The characters were so cute in their special world showcase outfits, I can imagine it was hard to have to pass them by.
I think the only way I would do the 5k would be if my kids really wanted to do it with me, though that medal is really cute!

 

[Ariel484]

Solo morning in the Magic Kingdom!

Since we were meeting at the Grand anyway I figured a slow, relaxed journey up and down Main Street was the perfect way to close out my morning. My first stop was to meet the big guy himself.

Now, last year my one and only to-do after the marathon was to get a picture with Mickey. I'd heard great stories of character interactions with runners after races, and let me tell you, in 2012 dude was NOT pumped to see my marathon medal. But this year he totally made up for it! I was wearing my 5K shirt, and as soon as Mickey saw me he jumped up and down, clapping and pumping his fists. He made a running gesture to me and a motion like he was clicking a camera to the CM/photopass. And here's what we got! Yay!

Ta-daaa!

After meeting the mouse, I headed out to Main Street and got caught up in Move It, Shake It...etc. etc.

And I just kind of slowly headed up and down Main Street...browsed the shops a bit and stared at the castle (because that's what you do in the Magic Kingdom ), briefly wondered if the castle's Christmas lights were still up (it looked like they were), and then headed back out.

This is basically how my (very limited) park time was on this trip. Small chunks here and there...definitely a BIG downside of these race weekends.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Those lines are awful!!! The characters were so cute in their special world showcase outfits, I can imagine it was hard to have to pass them by.
I think the only way I would do the 5k would be if my kids really wanted to do it with me, though that medal is really cute!

I know! I was so bummed. Oh well, at least I got SOME pictures of them...even if I'm not in them.

I'm with you on the 5K...I didn't even sign up for it until they released the concept art for the finisher medallion. It seemed like it would be really fun for parents and kids to do together though!

 

[UGAFan0829]

What a great way to spend post-race!!! Those waffles sure do look yummy! I had no idea WL had those there, so I may have to give them a try sometime! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Mickey pic and I'm so glad it made up for 2012! I don't think you could have spent your morning any better!!!

 

[leopardmickeyears]

"It has fruit on it, so it must be healthy!"

That has to be one of the smartest things I've ever heard.

MICKEY WAFFLES

YAY for running pose Mickey

 

[ZellyB]

Love the Mickey shot. We also went to see him post marathon for a picture and he was great. Did running motions to us and high fives although our picture with him is far more boring than yours. Great job!

 

[pxefig]

I couldn't participate in the "guess the resort" portion of your trip report festivities since I saw the PTR, but the shots with the bed spreads totally gave it away! Or maybe I just have a weird fetish that I can identify a resort by the bed spread alone ...?

I think Goofy was the right line to wait in. I have always wanted my picture with Colonial Goofy. I thought for sure it would be a home run when I did the Liberty Tree character dinner back when they still had that, but it was more of a Colonial peasant Goofy than military soldier. I guess I prefer my Goofy men in uniform!

And not to thread jack, but since it was mentioned in your PTR, I have since officially signed up for the Dumbo Double Dare, so I guess instead of being a dope I can be a Dumbo instead. Definitely a step up!

 

[DisneyParrothead]

"It has fruit on it, so it must be healthy!"

That has to be one of the smartest things I've ever heard.

MICKEY WAFFLES

YAY for running pose Mickey

That's my mantra, for anything. It's got fruit, it's healthy

 

[Laracroft72]

I am loving your TR! I hope to someday run the 1/2 or the 5k. I feel like I am right there with you, great perspective.

 

[BigEeyore]

Cute action photo with Mickey!

Mmmm...waffles! Best post-run meal ever!

 

[Ariel484]

What a great way to spend post-race!!! Those waffles sure do look yummy! I had no idea WL had those there, so I may have to give them a try sometime! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Mickey pic and I'm so glad it made up for 2012! I don't think you could have spent your morning any better!!!

Yep! The waffles are available until 11. I have heard they let adults order the kid's portion (2 waffles instead of 3 and you get applesauce along with bacon on the side) but I wanted AS MANY WAFFLES AS POSSIBLE. No regrets.

You're right...it really was the perfect solo morning!

"It has fruit on it, so it must be healthy!"

That has to be one of the smartest things I've ever heard.

MICKEY WAFFLES

YAY for running pose Mickey

Oh yeah, I'm just full of wisdom.

Mickey waffles and running with Mickey...it was just a Mickey-filled morning! If only every day was like that.

Love the Mickey shot. We also went to see him post marathon for a picture and he was great. Did running motions to us and high fives although our picture with him is far more boring than yours. Great job!

Yay! Glad he was great for you too! Gotta love a fun character interaction.

I couldn't participate in the "guess the resort" portion of your trip report festivities since I saw the PTR, but the shots with the bed spreads totally gave it away! Or maybe I just have a weird fetish that I can identify a resort by the bed spread alone ...?

I wondered if anyone would recognize the bedspreads!

I think Goofy was the right line to wait in. I have always wanted my picture with Colonial Goofy. I thought for sure it would be a home run when I did the Liberty Tree character dinner back when they still had that, but it was more of a Colonial peasant Goofy than military soldier. I guess I prefer my Goofy men in uniform!

My friend ran the marathon in 2009 and got a picture with Colonial Goofy, Mickey and Donald...that has been one of my top wishes for character photo stops in the last 2 marathons and it hadn't happened. So at least I have 1 out of the 3 now! I agree with you, gotta love the fellas in uniform!

And not to thread jack, but since it was mentioned in your PTR, I have since officially signed up for the Dumbo Double Dare, so I guess instead of being a dope I can be a Dumbo instead. Definitely a step up!

Congrats on going Dumbo! I really wanted to do it but the funds just aren't there this year. I could have been a Dopey Dumbo...or a Dumb Dope...or something.

That's my mantra, for anything. It's got fruit, it's healthy

We should get that printed on t-shirts!

I am loving your TR! I hope to someday run the 1/2 or the 5k. I feel like I am right there with you, great perspective.

Awesome! 1/2 and 5K are great goals and I bet you would love running at Disney. I hope you get to do it some day!

Cute action photo with Mickey!

Mmmm...waffles! Best post-run meal ever!

YES. OMG I love waffles. They're on the dinner menu for tonight! (Just regular ones, not Mickey-shaped...but still.)

 

[emilyindisney]

Jumping in! I'm a runner myself, and arrived in the world just after marathon weekend. Seeing everyone wearing their medals made me so excited to read some marathon trip reports! Plus, your title is genius!

I agree that it's sort of a toss up for the 5k price. I've done color runs, and Warrior Dashes that are similarly priced. I suppose I always just figure the experience is worth it. Not to mention the medal is a big plus!

Loving all your Grand pictures! I went for a character breakfast last weekend and was blown away at how nice the staff was while I was wandering around the property. Everyone asked how I was doing, how my morning was, etc. it was awesome! I see why people love it there so much!

I'm sure your mouse keeping was understanding, haha! I'll bet they've seen/smelled much worse!

Can't wait to hear about your next race of the weekend!

 

[Ariel484]

STAY OFF YOUR FEET, DUMMY! Part 1

Before I go any further I think I'll just say this once and get it out of the way. In some instances my family and I don't exactly jive when it comes to Disney - I think I alluded to this a bit in my other 2 race reports - and this trip was no exception. I am not exaggerating when I say that except for a few instances, they found something to complain about CONSTANTLY (except for my brother - I think he "gets" Disney - but he likes to tell gross nursing stores DURING MEALS so that's a whole other issue ). In the past it's really bothered me, as I am the planner of the group and put a lot of thought into hotel/park/dining choices based on what I think people will like, but I've finally started to learn to tune it out and just enjoy myself. It took me awhile to get there though, and this combined with my crazy arrival day and general nerves for the upcoming races made the first couple of days of this trip pretty tense. This also contributed to why I have no pictures of any of our travel group except for me, Will and Craig, and why I have very few pictures from Friday afternoon. I'm not going to dwell on it throughout the report, but this is what went on the entire time the whole group was together.

ANYWAY...they arrived and we headed to my room for a quick tour. I also gave my brother his Christmas present (a Cleveland Browns tech shirt to wear for the race!) and his race shirts. Now, we were both signed up for Goofy...but while I'd been preparing for it basically all year and had officially started training in early September, for a variety of reasons Craig pretty much did not train AT ALL. As far as I know he basically ran a handful of 5- and 6-milers and nothing else. Before the trip he finally admitted that he was probably only going to run the half, but now that he was there I think he was getting caught up in the excitement and started talking like he was going to do both races. We'll see!

After the GF tour we piled into my brother's car to head to Caribbean Beach resort so that they could check in. Here's a tip from me to you - if you're planning on traveling to Disney for Marathon Weekend, don't wait until AFTER THANKSGIVING to book your room, because the only rooms that will be left will be CBR pirate rooms. I never actually got to see the room, but the reviews ranged from "it's fine" to "it sucks." Eh, whatever. The drive to CBR was tough because the GPS in my brother's car just could not make sense of Disney property and I never drive in Disney so I was pretty clueless. Eventually we made it to the resort and were told that the room wasn't ready, so we headed to Epcot to get lunch. We parked at the Boardwalk, got everyone's tickets squared away, and headed to France...bonjour, delicious food!

I think everyone else got some kind of sandwiches (croissants, baguettes, etc.)...I got the quiche Lorraine and some kind of chocolate mousse dome...and water, of course (hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!):

I had them toast the quiche so that it was hot and it was SOOOO good. Really creamy and the perfect temperature. The chocolate mousse was awesome if I remember correctly it had a dark chocolate layer with a white chocolate layer inside. Very rich and oh so tasty.

Everyone was pretty happy with this meal overall, so we were off to a good start. I didn't take very good notes on this day (or many pictures, like I said before)...just wasn't in the mood.

After lunch I think we looked around France a bit and then headed to the UK pavilion, then Canada. We're all big Off Kilter fans but never managed to catch them on this trip, so that was sad. I pulled up the My Disney Experience App to check wait times in Future World and led everyone to Spaceship Earth.

Thumbs-up for a life of leisure in the future!

One thing I KNOW I kept doing was checking the wait times for Test Track...and there were no wait times because it was down all day. LAME. I was also occasionally checking the fastpass return time for Soarin' (wait time was 45-60 minutes...way too long) and at some point we grabbed fastpasses with a 6:50-7:50 return window and walked on to Living with the Land.

After frolicking in The Land we headed back to World Showcase to explore a bit more. Everyone was quite taken with Mexico but didn't want to go on the Grand Fiesta Tour...I think my aunt got a pair of earrings though.

Sup, bro.

Somewhere in here I got a text from Will that he was boarding his flight...yay!

Anyone got an extra $37,500 lying around??

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

STAY OFF YOUR FEET, DUMMY! Part 2
Eventually we decided it was time to check in for our 5:45 dinner reservations.

I feel like people either love or hate Via Napoli...this was my 3rd time eating there and I LOVE it. My only complaint is that it is LOUD in there, but I guess that's just a function of how the space was constructed.

My mom and aunt split a medium-sized pizza (a white pizza, I think - it was HUGE)...actually, this is one other small issue I had with Via Napoli on this trip. Craig and I got our pizzas (individual-sized pepperoni for me, individual-sized mushroom for bro) about 5-10 minutes before the white pizza came out. No one else seemed to mind (bizarre considering the other stuff they moaned about...but I digress). I think I was actually the only one that was perturbed by that.

The kid is trained now. I pointed my camera toward his pizza and without saying anything he instinctively threw his arms up. Good boy!

I need to note that last year Craig got some kind of pasta with clams that he liked, but not as much as he liked the bites of pizza he tried from me and mom. When we were going to order he asked me if I remembered what he had last year and I relayed the info. He was much happier with his pizza this year...hooray for trip reporting and taking pictures of food!

I think this is a great pre-race meal because it's not too heavy thanks to the thin crust and light cheese. I'm normally not a huge fan of pizza sauce, but I like what they use here. It's a little...sweeter than other pizza sauce, I think? Whatever it is, it's delicious.

After dinner we headed back to The Land to use our Soarin' fastpasses (thumbs up all around...but COME ON Disney, clean the film up already! ) and I had to call it a night. I'd been up since 4AM and did have a race to run the next day, after all...plus I just needed alone time. I gave everyone instructions on how to get back to the car, set up a meeting time with Craig for the next morning (4AM "near the DJ"...my idea. Way too vague) and made my way to the monorail station.

If I could go back in time there are a few things I'd change about the weekend, but the biggest would be to go slap my Friday-afternoon-self silly and say, "STAY OFF YOUR FEET, DUMMY!" That afternoon/evening of walking around in Epcot was WAY too much before the races, enough that my feet felt a little achy by the time I got back to the Grand Floridian. I know everyone always says that runners need to stay off their feet before a race, and Disney runners will sort of half-heartedly nod while thinking, "yeah, but the parks are RIGHT THERE..." but seriously, this was a mistake. It honestly never occurred to me that I'd walked around too much until my feet started bugging me. DUMB!

Back at the resort I made a stop at Gaspirilla Island for cupcake #2 of the weekend (cupcakes cure all! ) and got back to the room at 8:15. I was very surprised to see that wed gotten turndown service. Nice!

The rest of the evening was just re-checking everything for the half, waiting for Will to arrive and stuffing my face with cupcake.

S'mores Cupcake from Gaspirilla Island:

Some kind of fudge on the inside:

This was good, but nothing super special. I think I like the s'mores cupcake from the Boardwalk Bakery better. I ate half of it and shoved the rest in the fridge for Will to have later (he never actually ate it).

Will's flight was due to land at MCO at about 9:50 (he'd connected in Nashville...long travel day after a full work day!), meaning that he wouldn't be at the hotel until about 11:30. There was no way I was going to make it until 11:30, so I sent him a message to just keep me updated (he argued against it since I needed to go to sleep but I said it was fine) and went to sleep at 9:30. About 5 minutes later I got the message that he'd landed early! Yay! I went back to sleep pretty easily and he sent me a message to let me know he was at the resort at about 11:15. I rolled out of bed, met him in the lobby and gave him a quick tour before we got back to our room. I think I was back to bed at about 11:30 with my usual 3 alarms set: my phone at 2:45, a wake-up call for 2:55, and the iHome for 3AM. Race #2 coming up!

Continued in Next Post