Spectating Full Marathon

laxnsun

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 8, 2019
Hi, I am hoping to see my daughter run her first marathon. She is fast and has ran 1/2 marathons under 1 1/2 hours. Being in Disney, we would probably only get to see her twice. We will have a car, so is it possible to see her more times on the course in various locations by venturing out?
 
Short answer: probably not. Road closures will keep you from easily getting around. Most people will suggest you go to the Ticket and Transportation Center (park at Epcot and take the monorail over) which is roughly mile 4. Then after you see her there, walk over past the Poly to Floridian Way and see her again, roughly mile 7.5. Then go back to Epcot and see her at the finish.

If she is running 7-8ish mile pace, trying to see her at AK after would be really unlikely. Trying to see her at WWOS might be possible, but a traffic nightmare.

If she provided a time that has her in corral A, then she will start close to 5:30. You would need to be at TTC by 5:45 at latest.
 
As a runner, my favorite spot to see one of my supporters is in Hollywood studios, just after the area where Tower of Terror is. You'll see other spectators lined up there as well.
It's towards the end, probably just as the runner is getting over "hitting the wall" and will give them that extra push and motivation to make it through the last few miles.
 
@jmasgat Thanks you! Yes she is assigned to corral "A" and she is hoping to start in the front of that group. So WWOS is a traffic nightmare even that early in the morning? I wonder if it is possible to see her on the road somewhere in between the parks? Thanks for your help!
 


@VAfamily1998 Thanks....I will definitely look into Hollywood studios. How do I get there since the park buses will not running that early....Can I easily drive there? I can understand that could be a very important place to be. Thanks!
 
@VAfamily1998 Thanks....I will definitely look into Hollywood studios. How do I get there since the park buses will not running that early....Can I easily drive there? I can understand that could be a very important place to be. Thanks!
If she will be passing through Hollywood studios early enough that the buses aren't running, then the park will not be open either. As an alternative you could spectate near the Boardwalk Inn--near the path that heads towards Hollywood Studios.
I'm sorry, I'm not too familiar with how the roads would be to drive there; hopefully another poster will be able to answer! :)
 


My husband surprised me at the Animal Kingdom parking lot last year and it was a great boost just after the halfway mark. From there, he took an Uber to Epcot in plenty of time to see me finish.
 
So I guess driving is a good possibility. And since it is my first time too....do I want to risk it? Drive or Uber around is the question in my mind now. Whichever...it will be an adventure and I will post my story here when I get back. All the little tips add up to great advise...thanks
 
Check out this road closure and restriction map from last year. Part of this depends on where you will be driving from.
(Scroll down to see the map and listing)

https://disneytalkblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/30/wdw-marathon-guest-impacts/

You would need to prioritize this with seeing her at the finish.

If you go to wwos , you could approach from I-4. Not sure which way would then get to Epcot since she is an early finisher and some roads will still be closed.

If you go to HS or Boardwalk, best to park at Boardwalk and walk to a viewing area. Keep in mind, the path to HS from BW will be full of runners. If you do this, since it’s at mile 24-25, you will not see her finish. She will beat you to it!
 
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i checked with DH who is usually a spectator for the marathon, but not this year he is running. I am a lot slower than your daughter so i mentioned that. His suggestion is kind of on point with what jmasgat said. he did not suggest driving. He said bus to epcot then monorail to TTC see her there and then cross over to Grand Floridian way then back to the finish at Epcot. Since your daughter is fast you should have less problems seeing her finish. As a runner i will second that i love having a spectator on the boardwalk but i am not sure you can get there. Plus if you do get there unless you have a park ticket to walk through Epcot, which probably wont be open, you will have a hard time going from boardwalk to Epcot.
 
I'm so confused...I have a lot of decisions to make in a few days. All great information! I wonder if driving from boardwalk to Epcot is possible? Need to check out jmasgat's road closures and map out a plan. I really would like to give my support during the hardest part, after 17 miles. It probably will be difficult to see her finish as we did not purchase the Cheer package and there will be mobs of people.
I am very excited and hope to find a way to see her more than 2 times with a spotting somewhere after mile 17.
 
Well if you are not as worried about the finish, and from my perspective since they can all be different, I don't need a personal spectator boost at the end, that finish line is boost enough. I really, really like having someone on the boardwalk and at AK. My very first disney marathon, i had my dh, my parents and my in laws to spectate. It was nice as people were positioned in different spots. Without any previous experience, my folks were at AK which was mile 16 back then. They were actually the only spectators I saw, and i really needed it at that point. You probably can't make AK so i would try for Boardwalk area. That is mile 23 to 24 and really nice for the runner.
 
Here is an estimated timing map for you. This is based on the 2018 marathon course, but they should be really close.

Screen Shot 2019-01-09 at 9.42.45 AM.png

Screen Shot 2019-01-09 at 9.42.58 AM.png

I chose two different possible marathon times based on you saying she has run a sub-90 min HM. This is a 3:07 and 3:19 marathon projection. This estimates she will be at TTC around 5:59-6:01 am, Poly around 6:25-6:28am, AK exit around 7:11-7:17am, DHS exit around 8:17-8:28am, Boardwalk around 8:25-8:36am, and Finish around 8:38-8:50am.

If you go to DHS or Boardwalk, you are unlikely to beat her to the finish line when factoring in you driving, parking, getting through security, and walking to the finish area. WWOS is possible, but if you go to AK, then you're unlikely to beat her to WWOS (unless you plan to see her exit, but then that's a crunch to the finish).

So possibly, TTC, then Poly, then WWOS, then Finish?

Given her expected finishing time around 3:08-3:19 there won't be many people finishing with her. In my experience the finish line is not crowded at all and you can very easily see your runner from the non-Chear squad grandstands. You've got about 4-10 people crossing the line per minute at that time in the race. I've finished in 3:15 and 3:20 and my wife has caught great pics of me crossing and we've chatted for a few moments in the finishing chute (while she stands in the spectating area).
 
Last year, my mom and I stayed at All-Star Sports. I can't remember the mile - maybe 16-17? - but she walked from the resort down to the overpass by McDonald's to cheer me on there. She had to climb a small grassy hill to get up on the overpass, but she was easily able to see me there and then at the finish. (But I'm slower than your daughter!).
 
Last year, my mom and I stayed at All-Star Sports. I can't remember the mile - maybe 16-17? - but she walked from the resort down to the overpass by McDonald's to cheer me on there. She had to climb a small grassy hill to get up on the overpass, but she was easily able to see me there and then at the finish. (But I'm slower than your daughter!).

This is a great middle of nowhere stop which is fairly straightforward to get to. Also a place in the race where encouragement would be welcome.
 
This is a great middle of nowhere stop which is fairly straightforward to get to. Also a place in the race where encouragement would be welcome.

Yes! It isn't in a park, you are starting to get tired, there isn't a lot going on for several miles, so it's a great place to see family!
 
Thanks for everyone help. My husband and I split up to watch our daughter. We did a combination of everyone’s suggestions. I took monorail to TTC, walked over to poly (that was a little confusing in the dark), then took monorail back to see her enter the finish strip. My husband drove to McDonald’s, parked car in back where you can easily get on over head road and saw daughter at mile 16. Then he walked down road about mile passing lots of people and a water stop then crossed highway and walked a little more to see her run out of WWS mile 21.5. He rush back to car then drove to Epcot and got to see her cross the finish line. We all did great both spectators and first time marathoner. :)
 

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