Stay before or after event

[Leleluvsdis]

Dh and I are starting to plan for our first rundisney race (haven't decided which on yet) and were wondering would it be best to have the race in the middle, stay several days after, or several days before? I'm thinking after but wanted to get the advice of those who have done it before. Why did you choose they way you did? What would you have done differently? TIA

 

[Tiggeroo]

Dh and I are starting to plan for our first rundisney race (haven't decided which on yet) and were wondering would it be best to have the race in the middle, stay several days after, or several days before? I'm thinking after but wanted to get the advice of those who have done it before. Why did you choose they way you did? What would you have done differently? TIA

Following dh amd I are planning on princess one year from now I want to go the expo but want a full week for touring. It will be my first race over a 5k and I am afraid if I run through the parks I won't be able to race. But if I come in on Friday night it sounds like all the good expo stuff will be gone.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I like to have it somewhat in the middle.

I don't like getting there the day before the race (unless it's a night race) because I'm too worried that if I am somehow delayed, I won't be able to get to the expo in time. Also, I don't want to leave (to go home) the same day as the race, because I want to make sure that after the race I have plenty of time to shower, rest if needed, etc.--and check out of Disney resorts is 11 am.

So in general, I like doing a Friday-Monday long weekend for my races (so far my Disney races have either been Saturday nights or Sunday mornings.) 4 days is the most I can really take off. If I was able to add more, I would probably tack them on to the "after race" part--just because then I would feel free to eat however I wanted.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Following dh amd I are planning on princess one year from now I want to go the expo but want a full week for touring. It will be my first race over a 5k and I am afraid if I run through the parks I won't be able to race. But if I come in on Friday night it sounds like all the good expo stuff will be gone.

Yes, I've heard that is true--some of the merchandise goes FAST. For me, I really don't care about the merchandise, so that has never played a part in my decision. But if it is very important to you to get something specific, then you maybe want to aim to be at the expo as soon as it opens, very first day.

 

[bumbershoot]

After.

But I have to get in a bit before, because we're dealing with cross-country travel, jetlag, needing to pad the travel just in case of delays (for my mental health), and wanting to hit the expo first off (not because I'm always a merchandise fiend, but if I am going to shop, I want the best selection possible). Alas, that takes days from the bank account, DVC points, DH's days off, and DS's dance schedule. If possible I would just go out myself to deal with those things, then DH and DS would come later. And then after the race, there would be a week or so of park time.

 

[Keels]

For Disneyland, our run will be in the middle of our trip (we get there Thursday - I'm doing the Anniversary Party on Thursday night, and most of the day in the parks on Friday and Saturday, run on Sunday and then parks, the parks and pool Monday and Tuesday until we leave).

For Wine & Dine ... the plan is to drive out and stay in New Orleans for a couple of days around Halloween. My husband has to work, so we'll probably not do park stuff until the days after the race - and even then, he'll probably just do Food & Wine at EPCOT with me. We're lucky enough that my parents still live 10-15 minutes from Downtown Disney, so we can drive in, stay with them for a couple of weeks and drive back!

 

[zanzibar138]

In an ideal world, I would aim to do the run at the start of your trip. Leaving your touring for afterwards means that you can make yourself as exhausted as you like and don't have to worry about getting up at 3:30am to run 10k the next day lol!

However, coming from Australia, we do have to arrive a few days in advance just to allow for travel delays, dealing with jetlag, and acclimatising to summer conditions (we'll be coming from winter). So for us it's more the middle of the trip, but we have a full week there.

 

[AThrillingChase]

I arrived the Saturday before the princess half last weekend, so I was there for 7 or 8 days prior. I was worried, but to be honest, it didn't end up bothering me. I put icy hot on my legs before bed each night, hopped in the hot tub every other day. Made sure to foam roll the couple of days before the race. We would come back to the room for an hour or two before our dinner reservations or heading out for the night and hot tub or shower. The parks were open late - 3am one night and 1am the rest - but it was so cold we rarely made it all the way to close. We did usually arrive around park open except for the day before the race when we slept in knowing we'd get little that night. I did both the 5k and the half. So, I'd say do whatever fits your schedule the best! And/or, even try it out beforehand to see how your body handles it. Try to walk a lot the couple of days leading up to your longest run that week.

I will say my cousin, who is not a runner but did the 5k with me, was complaining more than I was on Sunday night after the race!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

In an ideal world you would be in great shape heading into the race. If that is the case, you can walk all day long for days leading up to your race and it will minimally impact you on race day or thereafter. If you are in less than ideal shape, you might want to factor in the leg/foot fatigue associated with long days on your feet in the parks.

I like to arrive the Tuesday before a race at WDW. It allows time to acclimatize to the warmer weather in Florida while also allowing me to visit the Expo when it opens. I tour the parks in the days before the race(s), on race day(s), and for a few days after the race. It means more training to be better prepared for the additional walking, but I love running so that isn't a problem for me.

If finishing the race ahead of the sweepers is a concern, one should try to rest as much as possible leading up to the race - tour in the days after the race. These trips are supposed to be fun, not stressful.

 

[pixarmom]

I'm definitely in the minority, but I love having the race at the end of our trip. Like buckeyebama, I need to adjust to the warmth and humidity and I like to get to the expo early. I love walking and feel like it's a great way to keep warmed up for the race. I also love the increasing hoopla for race weekend - so much that I'm starting to feel like something's missing when we do a non-race Disney trip! Last month, we arrived over a week before the marathon and it was so fun to see more and more runners in the parks each day. For the PHM last year and the marathon this year, I traveled with our boys in the week before the race and then my husband joined us just for race weekend. So in both cases, I was in the parks with our three boys on my own for several days before the run and then I was in a complete zen zone while running - the peace and quiet of the run (at least for me) was a great end to our busy park days. And for me, the race is the main event so I like to save the best for last. When it's over it's kind of a downer, so it's time to go.

One other thing - at Disney, I eat way better than I do at home. I don't skip meals because we're eating together and I have to feed the kids. And I can order what I want, which is usually more healthy than the stuff I make at home to accommodate my family. So from a nutrition standpoint, I'm in a better spot to do well in the race when we're at Disney the week before.

 

[Brea1971]

YAY for your first rundisney race!
I had the same question going into last weekend and running my first Disney half. I live about an hour away but my husband and I enjoy staying on property as often as possible and going to the parks for us isn't a priority during race weekend since we have annual passes. We decided to head over Friday and stayed for three nights; staying Friday night gave us the opportunity to head over to the expo first thing in the AM. I was glad we did because I had one purchase in mind and I bought the last one they had. We ended up going to the parks on Saturday and then to dinner which didn't put us back in our room until 9:00 PM, for me that was a mistake. After the race we spent some time at Epcot before heading back to the room very early and sleeping 10 hours straight. So with that said, I recommend staying in the middle Friday-Monday but not trying to do all the parks before race day.

Just a note if staying on property. We had a wonderful stay at Port Orleans Riverside in one of their Royal rooms, but we were the last bus stop for race weekend transportation which was a huge issue race morning. My husband and I got to the bus stop at 3:30 and because every bus that passed us was full, we weren't picked up until 4:30 (after numerous calls to send an empty bus) and didn't get dropped off until 5:15. That 20 minute walk to the start line ended up being a run and we missed the first corral. Love the hotel but will choose something closer with less pick ups in November for Wine and Dine

 

[bumbershoot]

One other thing - at Disney, I eat way better than I do at home. I don't skip meals because we're eating together and I have to feed the kids. And I can order what I want, which is usually more healthy than the stuff I make at home to accommodate my family. So from a nutrition standpoint, I'm in a better spot to do well in the race when we're at Disney the week before.

Oh I wish that were true for me. Not sure of the nutrition level, but restaurant food just kills my stomach, and my stomach is just so sensitive. My already-slow time is just destroyed if I'm not very very careful.

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Thanks everyone for your sharing your wisdom with me I'm thinking we would be better off to arrive on Wednesday/Thursday before the race, and leave on Tuesday/Wednesday after. That way we would have time to do the Expo, get unpacked and settles before the race, but have park time after.

 

[Luv2Run]

Thanks everyone for your sharing your wisdom with me I'm thinking we would be better off to arrive on Wednesday/Thursday before the race, and leave on Tuesday/Wednesday after. That way we would have time to do the Expo, get unpacked and settles before the race, but have park time after.

This is exactly what we do. And as a rule, I save EPCOT & MK for after the races, so as to save my legs pre-race day. At most, I'll do DHS & AK before the race, since we can see & do what we want in less than half a day, whereas we like to stay at EPCOT & MK till park closing.