Running events & park time strategy

[escriven75]

Hi Disrunners,
I haven't participated in an event since W&D Half Marathon in 2016 so I'm trying to recall all of my planning strategies. Anyhow, I want my teens to have a chance to participate in runDis event bc I loved it so much. We are planning for Wine and Dine 2022, but we'll do the 10k since longer races are new to them (16 & 14 yrs old).
The 10k will likely be on Saturday morning if things remain as they have in the past. Our plan is to fly down TH night so we can hit the expo on FR morning. That leaves time for a late start park day on FR. Race is on Saturday and if we all survive in good shape, we have SA for a late start park day as well. My question is how do you all decide which days to hit some parks...before race day, after, or both? Do you consider a certain park a great one to do the day before a race and why? I'm thinking we would stay until Monday which would leave Sunday all day and Monday part day to hit a park. I don't want to overdue it but I also know we will get there and have a hard time NOT going to parks even with the race as the main focus!

 

[Naomeri]

I haven’t done a race weekend yet, but based on reading things here, and my own knowledge of how standing in lines affects me, I chose Epcot and Animal Kingdom to do for my longer race days on Princess Weekend because there’s more walking around and looking at stuff than standing in line for rides.

I might (as much as it pains me) actually pay for Genie+ on my MK and HS days and some individual LL as needed, just to cut down on the line standing time.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

I might (as much as it pains me) actually pay for Genie+ on my MK and HS days and some individual LL as needed, just to cut down on the line standing time.

I did it on Monday and think it was worth it. Basically didn’t wait for anything. It was annoying later in the day to have lots of down time between rides though since you can only book one at a time.

 

[ANIM8R]

Hi Disrunners,
I haven't participated in an event since W&D Half Marathon in 2016 so I'm trying to recall all of my planning strategies. Anyhow, I want my teens to have a chance to participate in runDis event bc I loved it so much. We are planning for Wine and Dine 2022, but we'll do the 10k since longer races are new to them (16 & 14 yrs old).
The 10k will likely be on Saturday morning if things remain as they have in the past. Our plan is to fly down TH night so we can hit the expo on FR morning. That leaves time for a late start park day on FR. Race is on Saturday and if we all survive in good shape, we have SA for a late start park day as well. My question is how do you all decide which days to hit some parks...before race day, after, or both? Do you consider a certain park a great one to do the day before a race and why? I'm thinking we would stay until Monday which would leave Sunday all day and Monday part day to hit a park. I don't want to overdue it but I also know we will get there and have a hard time NOT going to parks even with the race as the main focus!

We've done a bunch of running weekends and resigned ourselves to overdoing it! Haha

We always did parks every day during the race weekends (before the races, days of the races, and after the races) we just were very laid-back and leisurely in our navigation of the parks. Trying to jam in everything and racing back end-to-end of a park in order to ride/do everything seems counterproductive. We realized we weren't going to fill the day with activities but hanging out at the park and meandering around is pretty enjoyable, too. We just made sure to be back at the room to allow time to prep for the ungodly early mornings, to try and relax, and then sleep....and by "sleep" I mean waking every couple of hours to make sure the alarms were set!

My biggest recommendation for enjoying the parks during a race weekend is to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! In addition, enjoy fresh fruit and sensible meals. Leave the deep-fried stuff until after the races are completed. Grilled chicken, rice, veggies, and fruit before the races served me well.

Lastly, be prepared for a lot of walking. There's no escaping that if you're going to the parks. Be sensible, sit, and find shade if necessary.

Good luck!

 

[GollyGadget]

I've done a few race weekends but never adjusted my park plans based on the race other than visiting MK afterwards so I can get that medal + castle photo.

 

[WxKristin]

I’ve done race weekends going to the park with the family and also race weekends with just a resort stay.

I will say when doing the park the same day as the expo, I suggest starting early at the park and hitting a few key rides then take a break mid day for the expo and return to the parks around dinner time. This way you miss peak crowds at both the parks and the expo. The expo has been relatively empty between noon and 5 pm on Fridays, in my experience. Though you’ll miss out on some key merchandise I’d you’re not at the expo on Thursday (if that matters).

I did Hollywood studios after my last 10 K and it was relatively easy to get around for the day. I haven’t done a park on any of my half marathons except for the W&D party at Epcot (5 pm - midnight) and both times I started to crash around 11 pm.

 

[GollyGadget]

I will say when doing the park the same day as the expo, I suggest starting early at the park and hitting a few key rides then take a break mid day for the expo and return to the parks around dinner time. This way you miss peak crowds at both the parks and the expo. The expo has been relatively empty between noon and 5 pm on Fridays, in my experience. Though you’ll miss out on some key merchandise I’d you’re not at the expo on Thursday (if that matters).

This is great advice. I usually don't go to the park on expo day but if I were, this is the strategy I would follow.

 

[GreatLakes]

I generally don't do a ton of parks on race weekends but we are at a place where most Disney trips are a balance of a few park days, non-park days, and offsite non-Disney days. I think the key is knowing your fitness level and how hard you plan to run the race. If you are a seasoned runner that does 5 miles at lunch 3 days a week and plans to do a leisurely 10k the race might not even register much for you. If you are a new runner that will be stretching your abilities to finish a 10K don't set yourself up for failure by spending 3 days doing rope drop to park close and then try to do the race.

I would generally never do a park after the full but due to circumstances this trip I finished the race, toweled off at the car, and stayed in Epcot until park close. I ended up with almost 40 miles and 77,000+ steps and my legs felt wonderful after the first hour. I was surprised but I will tell you continuing to move for a bit after your race, even if you are tired and sore, is the best way to start a recovery provided you aren't injured.

Lastly, you have a lot of time before W&D so you have the option to try out a few things at home. Do a morning training run the same day you are planning a day at the zoo and see how you feel. Here our local zoo has a few races in the zoo that give you free admission so if you have that option it allows you to simulate a run and park day to a degree.

 

[HangWithMerida]

The amount of park time for me varies depending on the length and number of races. I am happy to treat these race weekends as destination races with a little fun mixed in and most of my experience is the race weekend itself. When I did a 5k only, no big deal. Parks as usual. I was just tired at the end of the day because of the crazy early start so we turned in a bit earlier than normal. My first HM weekend my husband and I went to parks everyday and thought we were taking it easy but that HM was hard and my legs were happy to let me know that I had not been taking it easy. This last HM weekend I skipped parks the day before the race and it was night and day in terms of how I felt.
In line with some others anecdotal experiences from this board, I do think some walking in the parks after a race is helpful in working some of the soreness out. I never last very long, even with a nap, but just getting those muscles moving seems to help quite a bit.

 

[sunshine girl]

I always go to MK post-race to get the castle + medal + race shirt photos! All the parks have great "park icon" photo ops but gotta get the castle shot.

 

[dobball23]

I generally don't do a ton of parks on race weekends but we are at a place where most Disney trips are a balance of a few park days, non-park days, and offsite non-Disney days. I think the key is knowing your fitness level and how hard you plan to run the race. If you are a seasoned runner that does 5 miles at lunch 3 days a week and plans to do a leisurely 10k the race might not even register much for you. If you are a new runner that will be stretching your abilities to finish a 10K don't set yourself up for failure by spending 3 days doing rope drop to park close and then try to do the race.

I would generally never do a park after the full but due to circumstances this trip I finished the race, toweled off at the car, and stayed in Epcot until park close. I ended up with almost 40 miles and 77,000+ steps and my legs felt wonderful after the first hour. I was surprised but I will tell you continuing to move for a bit after your race, even if you are tired and sore, is the best way to start a recovery provided you aren't injured.

Lastly, you have a lot of time before W&D so you have the option to try out a few things at home. Do a morning training run the same day you are planning a day at the zoo and see how you feel. Here our local zoo has a few races in the zoo that give you free admission so if you have that option it allows you to simulate a run and park day to a degree.

I don't think my wife would have allowed me to stay at a park after the marathon without a shower. I smelled enough at 9 a.m., I can't imagine what I would have been like at 9 p.m.!

 

[GreatLakes]

I don't think my wife would have allowed me to stay at a park after the marathon without a shower. I smelled enough at 9 a.m., I can't imagine what I would have been like at 9 p.m.!

Camping wipes are the way to go. They are basically baby wipes the size of a beach towel.

Let's be honest here friends, if you've been to a Disney park in the summer there is no way a post marathon runner is the worst thing you'll smell down there.