crafty91
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2008
- Messages
- 679
Ok let me start by saying that I have never watched a marathon of any sort before so anything I say here is biased by that fact.
Secondly, this was my wife's first half marathon. To sum everything up, Disney can put on a race!!
Day One-Registration Day (Friday): We get up bright and early to head over to ESPN Wide World of Sports to get my wife's running packet. On the way down to Florida we tried to stay somewhere "close" or in "walking" distance to make it easier but there is no such thing. We stayed at the All-star resort as recommended by reservations but its not really close. Pop Century would be closer.
So we get there right at 9am and the line had already formed to go into the tent but as soon as the gate opened all 100 people in front of us got right in! I really didn't see much waiting at all! Well except for those that wanted to take a pic with the characters out front. (skip by this unless you really want a pic) Once inside everything is easily laid out and my wife was in line to get her bib in no time. After receiving her bib she went to runner relations to get her corral moved as she had a better time in a race prior to this one. (this was key as you'll see later) She was corral A which is the first corral, she had posted a time of 10:30 or so in another race.
While she was getting her bib the kids and I went to spectator relations to get our ChEar package. Consisted of a very nice rolled up blanket with arm strap, t-shirt, and clappers. Oh and our very important wrist bands which the nice lady forgot to give me but my wife reminded me we needed! For my money the ChEar package was VERY much worth it because of the nice sitting area at the finish line. The drinks were nice as were the "private" potties but the view from the ChEar stands is not to be beat! More on this later.
Be sure to check out the Expo, lots of cool runner gear there. MOST IMPORTANTLY: sign up for the text message updates for your runner!!!! This will help you plan where/when you see your runner! Invaluable!
Later, we checked in to Tree House Villas, Saratoga Springs for our stay. A "host" resort for the race.
Day Two Saturday (day before race)-So we had gone into Magic Kingdom on Friday after registration and we headed to Animal Kingdom today. In hindsight my wife said two days of walking the parks was just a little too much walking, that her legs felt tired at the start of the race. Our plans had us come in Thursday night and leave Sunday after the race. In the future we will come in later and stay the night after the race, Sunday night. So after dinner Saturday night and knowing that she has to get up at 3am
to get on the bus to go to the race, we got to bed around 10pm. Certainly no one slept much. She was up every so often making sure everything was 'ready'. Alarm clock, clothes out, power bar ready, etc. I guess we finally drifted off.
Day Three - Race Day: My wife gets up on time, 3am and a friend drives her over to meet the race bus near the check-in of Saratoga Springs. Editorial: I highly recommend staying at a "host" resort it makes life much easier for your runner. Don't plan on driving much that morning unless its straight to Epcot from off Disney property. Most all of the roads are completely shut down and the re-routes can take you WAY out of the way. She gets on a slow bus and gets to Epcot close to 5am which is when they say you have to been in your corral for the 5:45 start. But Disney gives this extra time for such occasions so she walked the MILE from the bus drop off to her corral in time.
This is where my odyssey begins! I had dutifully set my alarm for 4:15pm to get up in plenty of time to get the LAST spectator bus at 5am. If you miss this bus the next one isn't until after the start of the race one hour later! Oh and that isn't a typo I set it for PM!!!
So I wake up at 6:07am in a cold sweat just knowing I had missed it all! After much swearing, I run around like a headless chicken getting myself and two kids ready. Thankfully there are 11 and 10 and can get ready themselves! My wife's start time was 5:45am ish and I knew I had missed that. (Note: a friend of mine went to the start line and later said forget going to the start because you won't see anything at all.) Knowing I had to skip this anyway I made a beeline for Magic Kingdom in my car. Fingers crossed that traffic wasn't completely shut down! (In the book that they give you about the race there are "spectator plans" on when and where to see your runner. You take their anticipated pace and multiply it by the mile markers and compare that to travel times on the monorail from Epcot and walking times. So I had planned to see her in Magic Kingdom.) So back to my panic'd nightmare. Luckily was on the proper side of the race course to get to Magic Kingdom and was able to park by 6:30am at the transportation center, my wife was scheduled to arrive at any moment. The kids in tow we run a 6 minute mile pace towards the monorail to board it for the trip to MK to see my wife run by. This is when I realize you can NOT get from one side of the race course to the other easily! I am told I have to get on a bus to cross over the top of the race course to the other side for the monorail, which is literally 25ft from me. Knowing there is no way I'm going to make that we set up shop on the course to watch for my wife. Sure enough 5 minutes later there she comes. Later she told me that this was a great spot because there weren't many people and she could see us. MK was packed with people she said and it would have been hard for her to see us. Disaster averted. So we hoped on the bus to drive over the bridge to get to the monorail to get back to EPCOT for the finish. We probably could have seen her again near the Polynesian but I figured by now its better for me to make sure I can get to the finish line in time.
Now here is where her being in a earlier corral helps; I am in front of all the crowds. The crowds move with their runners and those in the middle of the pack will have larger crowds to deal with, the monorail is busting at the seams coming from Epcot to MK when i get on it to head back to Epcot, no one is on it. (In the future I'd probably skip the whole start thing at Epcot and just drive to MK to see her there. Then head back to Epcot. CAVEAT: you would want to check road closures to make sure you could get there driving, I heard driving into Epcot was way backed up for parking!
Upon arriving back at Epcot we walk over to the parking lot where the finish is set up and man is it a party! People are cheering, announcers yelling out names and states for finishers, Mickey and Minnie highfiving the finishers, it really is a sight. And to be truthful as I reflected on all the hard work that my wife and thousands of other ladies did to get here I got a little emotional. I found the ChEar section and went in, we had about 40 minutes before my wife was due to arrive so we grabbed something to drink and grabbed a seat at the very top of the grandstand. The ChEar grandstand is much taller than the two general grandstands and offers a great view of the final turn for the ladies coming to the finish. It gives you time to find your runner and get your camera and signs ready for their finish. Btw, signing up for the text message updates is an invaluable tool!! You can really estimate when they will arrive. If you don't opt for the ChEar zone I HIGHLY recommend getting to the finish line as early as possible to set up shop on the general grandstands. If you have to stand by the fence it will be really hard to find/see your runner. There are LOTS of people! However if you don't its not the end of the world, remember I said people move with their runner so as they cross the finish line they will leave their spots to got meet them at the family greeting area.
Disney makes it easy to find your runner, there are tents set up with letters so you can meet your runner by your last name letter. Bring money for the meeting area, you can get medals engraved, buy food, buy FLOWERS for your runner, buy champagne if you like, get shirts customized, etc. The buses for your return are right there as well.
Later my wife tells me about all of the things on the course during her run, the characters, the picture opportunities, music, etc. If I were a runner (and I'm not) this would be a great place to run just for the shear entertainment factor. Seriously how cool would it be to run down MK main street and see the castle before you??
As for the runners some take it seriously others not as much. You'll see people running in tutus, in tiaras, dressed as dalmatians, as Tinker Bell, etc. Some runners go non-stop and others run/walk. Some don't stop for anything, others stop at every photo opportunity. If you think about it even the last place runner has achieved more than those of us just watching. They got out there and at least tried, its more than I can say for me. I can't even get the alarm set right!!
Secondly, this was my wife's first half marathon. To sum everything up, Disney can put on a race!!
Day One-Registration Day (Friday): We get up bright and early to head over to ESPN Wide World of Sports to get my wife's running packet. On the way down to Florida we tried to stay somewhere "close" or in "walking" distance to make it easier but there is no such thing. We stayed at the All-star resort as recommended by reservations but its not really close. Pop Century would be closer.
So we get there right at 9am and the line had already formed to go into the tent but as soon as the gate opened all 100 people in front of us got right in! I really didn't see much waiting at all! Well except for those that wanted to take a pic with the characters out front. (skip by this unless you really want a pic) Once inside everything is easily laid out and my wife was in line to get her bib in no time. After receiving her bib she went to runner relations to get her corral moved as she had a better time in a race prior to this one. (this was key as you'll see later) She was corral A which is the first corral, she had posted a time of 10:30 or so in another race.
While she was getting her bib the kids and I went to spectator relations to get our ChEar package. Consisted of a very nice rolled up blanket with arm strap, t-shirt, and clappers. Oh and our very important wrist bands which the nice lady forgot to give me but my wife reminded me we needed! For my money the ChEar package was VERY much worth it because of the nice sitting area at the finish line. The drinks were nice as were the "private" potties but the view from the ChEar stands is not to be beat! More on this later.
Be sure to check out the Expo, lots of cool runner gear there. MOST IMPORTANTLY: sign up for the text message updates for your runner!!!! This will help you plan where/when you see your runner! Invaluable!
Later, we checked in to Tree House Villas, Saratoga Springs for our stay. A "host" resort for the race.
Day Two Saturday (day before race)-So we had gone into Magic Kingdom on Friday after registration and we headed to Animal Kingdom today. In hindsight my wife said two days of walking the parks was just a little too much walking, that her legs felt tired at the start of the race. Our plans had us come in Thursday night and leave Sunday after the race. In the future we will come in later and stay the night after the race, Sunday night. So after dinner Saturday night and knowing that she has to get up at 3am
to get on the bus to go to the race, we got to bed around 10pm. Certainly no one slept much. She was up every so often making sure everything was 'ready'. Alarm clock, clothes out, power bar ready, etc. I guess we finally drifted off.Day Three - Race Day: My wife gets up on time, 3am and a friend drives her over to meet the race bus near the check-in of Saratoga Springs. Editorial: I highly recommend staying at a "host" resort it makes life much easier for your runner. Don't plan on driving much that morning unless its straight to Epcot from off Disney property. Most all of the roads are completely shut down and the re-routes can take you WAY out of the way. She gets on a slow bus and gets to Epcot close to 5am which is when they say you have to been in your corral for the 5:45 start. But Disney gives this extra time for such occasions so she walked the MILE from the bus drop off to her corral in time.
This is where my odyssey begins! I had dutifully set my alarm for 4:15pm to get up in plenty of time to get the LAST spectator bus at 5am. If you miss this bus the next one isn't until after the start of the race one hour later! Oh and that isn't a typo I set it for PM!!!
So I wake up at 6:07am in a cold sweat just knowing I had missed it all! After much swearing, I run around like a headless chicken getting myself and two kids ready. Thankfully there are 11 and 10 and can get ready themselves! My wife's start time was 5:45am ish and I knew I had missed that. (Note: a friend of mine went to the start line and later said forget going to the start because you won't see anything at all.) Knowing I had to skip this anyway I made a beeline for Magic Kingdom in my car. Fingers crossed that traffic wasn't completely shut down! (In the book that they give you about the race there are "spectator plans" on when and where to see your runner. You take their anticipated pace and multiply it by the mile markers and compare that to travel times on the monorail from Epcot and walking times. So I had planned to see her in Magic Kingdom.) So back to my panic'd nightmare. Luckily was on the proper side of the race course to get to Magic Kingdom and was able to park by 6:30am at the transportation center, my wife was scheduled to arrive at any moment. The kids in tow we run a 6 minute mile pace towards the monorail to board it for the trip to MK to see my wife run by. This is when I realize you can NOT get from one side of the race course to the other easily! I am told I have to get on a bus to cross over the top of the race course to the other side for the monorail, which is literally 25ft from me. Knowing there is no way I'm going to make that we set up shop on the course to watch for my wife. Sure enough 5 minutes later there she comes. Later she told me that this was a great spot because there weren't many people and she could see us. MK was packed with people she said and it would have been hard for her to see us. Disaster averted. So we hoped on the bus to drive over the bridge to get to the monorail to get back to EPCOT for the finish. We probably could have seen her again near the Polynesian but I figured by now its better for me to make sure I can get to the finish line in time.Now here is where her being in a earlier corral helps; I am in front of all the crowds. The crowds move with their runners and those in the middle of the pack will have larger crowds to deal with, the monorail is busting at the seams coming from Epcot to MK when i get on it to head back to Epcot, no one is on it. (In the future I'd probably skip the whole start thing at Epcot and just drive to MK to see her there. Then head back to Epcot. CAVEAT: you would want to check road closures to make sure you could get there driving, I heard driving into Epcot was way backed up for parking!
Upon arriving back at Epcot we walk over to the parking lot where the finish is set up and man is it a party! People are cheering, announcers yelling out names and states for finishers, Mickey and Minnie highfiving the finishers, it really is a sight. And to be truthful as I reflected on all the hard work that my wife and thousands of other ladies did to get here I got a little emotional. I found the ChEar section and went in, we had about 40 minutes before my wife was due to arrive so we grabbed something to drink and grabbed a seat at the very top of the grandstand. The ChEar grandstand is much taller than the two general grandstands and offers a great view of the final turn for the ladies coming to the finish. It gives you time to find your runner and get your camera and signs ready for their finish. Btw, signing up for the text message updates is an invaluable tool!! You can really estimate when they will arrive. If you don't opt for the ChEar zone I HIGHLY recommend getting to the finish line as early as possible to set up shop on the general grandstands. If you have to stand by the fence it will be really hard to find/see your runner. There are LOTS of people! However if you don't its not the end of the world, remember I said people move with their runner so as they cross the finish line they will leave their spots to got meet them at the family greeting area.
Disney makes it easy to find your runner, there are tents set up with letters so you can meet your runner by your last name letter. Bring money for the meeting area, you can get medals engraved, buy food, buy FLOWERS for your runner, buy champagne if you like, get shirts customized, etc. The buses for your return are right there as well.
Later my wife tells me about all of the things on the course during her run, the characters, the picture opportunities, music, etc. If I were a runner (and I'm not) this would be a great place to run just for the shear entertainment factor. Seriously how cool would it be to run down MK main street and see the castle before you??
As for the runners some take it seriously others not as much. You'll see people running in tutus, in tiaras, dressed as dalmatians, as Tinker Bell, etc. Some runners go non-stop and others run/walk. Some don't stop for anything, others stop at every photo opportunity. If you think about it even the last place runner has achieved more than those of us just watching. They got out there and at least tried, its more than I can say for me. I can't even get the alarm set right!!
