The Darling Family Takes on Marathon Weekend: Jan at the Boardwalk Villas

[NateNLogansDad]

so mean.....

 

[dvc4life]

I vote for you to call in sick today and put up another post! I think we all will agree to that.


Just kidding.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I vote for you to call in sick today and put up another post! I think we all will agree to that.


Just kidding.

My wife is an RN. Will a Nurses note get you out for a day?

 

[mickeystoontown]

Yay! Your race day is finally here! I love the cute little headband. Can't wait to read more.

 

[lolakat]

Yippie!! I'm so excitied your report is at the race. I'm loving it!! Hopefully that will be me next year. Keep it coming

 

[mermaid764]

Yah race day is finally here

Can't wait to here how it ended!!

 

[DrMomof3]

I love that your DH ran as Peter Pan. I had forgotten about the accident last year (although I'm sure you'll never forget!). That's amazing!!!

Love the headband!

Amanda

 

[DisneyRed95]

So cool they had floats from MSEP along the race! And the Illuminations ball lit?! What a great running atmosphere!

 

[ttigger81]

Great updates!! It sounds like you had a wonderful time with your brother's family!

The start of your marathon sounds so exciting! There is something about the running community about coming together and being supportive during races...it is such a wonderful thing Can't wait to read more about the race!

 

[dismagiclover]

I vote for you to call in sick today and put up another post! I think we all will agree to that.


Just kidding.

I teach at the local college and I don't think my students would have minded one bit if I hadn't shown up

so mean.....

My wife is an RN. Will a Nurses note get you out for a day?

I'll have to try that next time!

Yay! Your race day is finally here! I love the cute little headband. Can't wait to read more.

I liked the headband too. I didn't want to wear a full costume because I wanted to be comfy, but this was a little Disney touch.

Yippie!! I'm so excitied your report is at the race. I'm loving it!! Hopefully that will be me next year. Keep it coming

Are you planning on the marathon next year? It's a great run and this report will give you plenty of details about it.

 

[dismagiclover]

Yah race day is finally here

Can't wait to here how it ended!!

Oh it will be a while before you here how it ended. I'll be dragging this thing out for a while

I love that your DH ran as Peter Pan. I had forgotten about the accident last year (although I'm sure you'll never forget!). That's amazing!!!

Love the headband!

Amanda

It was fun that DH went as Peter Pan. That is his true self And thanks. I love the headband too.

So cool they had floats from MSEP along the race! And the Illuminations ball lit?! What a great running atmosphere!

Oh just wait! The running atmosphere gets better

Great updates!! It sounds like you had a wonderful time with your brother's family!

The start of your marathon sounds so exciting! There is something about the running community about coming together and being supportive during races...it is such a wonderful thing Can't wait to read more about the race!

We always have a good time with my brother's family. They are great people! The running community really is a wonderful community full of lots of great people. Such a supportive group. There is still plenty to tell about the race!

 

[dismagiclover]

Before I continue on with the race I figured I'd show you a map of the marathon route. This is an old map from back when they used 2 starts. This year they just did 1 starting area so we all ran the Red Start.

So on with my report. I had passed Mile 3; I was feeling good. Ahead of me was my first character sighting of the race. Who was it?

It was Jose and Panchito of Three Caballeros fame. Now comes the real shocker. I DID NOT STOP! If you are familiar with the Disney Half I ran last year (If you aren't go read my Jan. '10 trip report.) you know that I am a sucker for characters. I stopped at nearly every opportunity I had. However, I’d decided this year needed to be a little different. Last year I was running my 3rd half. I knew I could finish the race and that I had plenty of time to smell the roses. I wasn’t near as confident with this whole full marathon thing. Yes, I had done my training. But 26.2 miles still seemed like a long way, and as my DH pointed out, “You’d feel pretty bad if you didn’t get your medal because you were too busy taking pictures with Mickey.” He was right on. After all the training, all of the time and all of the pain that I had put into this I would have been absolutely devastated if I hadn’t come away with a medal. So I decided pre race that I’d try to only stop if the lines were short and if they were characters I didn’t normally get to meet. Plus I had set periodic pace goals throughout the marathon so that I knew I would make it to the finish line. I was supposed to be at Mile 5 no later than 1:15. At this point my watch said about 42 minutes so I was OK, but I wanted to have extra time if possible for the Magic Kingdom because I knew I wanted to stop there. So that explains why I didn’t stop here. I felt a bit wistful as I ran by because these were characters I didn’t normally meet, but I figured I better test my resolve early. So we ran by Mexico and into Norway. I made a potty stop in the Norway bathrooms because they had real toilets and sinks. (It’s the little things that matter in marathons.) Then they sent us through Norway and we popped up backstage. And we saw some more characters. There were two sets of characters here. One had quite a line.

Oh how I would have loved to have met these guys! There is Launch Pad McQuack, Max, and Scrooge McDuck. They were all new characters to me, but the line was longer than I wanted. However, right next to them stood these fellows with no line at all.

Look at that. That is Stromboli, the bad guy from Pinocchio. When would I ever get to meet him again? I didn’t even know it was a possibility. I’d actually met Gepetto and Gideon before, but Stromboli was quite a get! Moving on we left the backstage area of Epcot right about the time we hit Mile 4.

Then we just ran on the roads around Epcot for a while. Here is Mile 5 (sorry it’s blurry.)

As you can see the sun is coming up. My watch said about 1:10 so I’m doing all right though I was hoping to pick up a few more minutes during those first 5 miles. About a half mile down the road these guys were out.

It’s Chicken Little and Abby Mallard. I have definitely never met them before. This was probably my only hope of ever meeting them, but again I needed to keep on track. So I settled for the snapshot with another runner. (And a blurry snapshot it is.) Mile 6 approached.

I’m making better time. Right past the mile marker were these fairys.

It is Silvermist and Terence. I’ve met Terence before, but never met Silvermist. To be honest though I don’t really know anything about any of the fairies except Tinkerbell. So I didn’t feel bad running by. Doesn’t Silvermist look freezing though? I kept running. I was still feeling good. It was starting to warm up a bit so somewhere around here I threw my long sleeve t-shirt. (Kept my gloves though because my hands were still a bit chilly.) I saw these guys.

They had a really long line! And these were exactly the kind of characters I’d promised myself I wouldn’t stop for. I’d be having breakfast with both of them later in the week. Right behind them was this nifty hot air balloon.

Kinda cool. I was just really glad we were well past the real Epcot ball at this point. Mile 7 hit.

Then mile 8.

My time really is a bit faster when I don’t stop to take pictures. Imagine that! I guess even those stops for quick snapshots add 30 seconds or so. Right after this we ran by the Richard Petty Race Track. There was a car with a couple of racers by the side of the road, but since I’m not a race fan I didn’t even stop for a picture. Then we ran through the TTC. This is always a fun part of the run because there is lots of crowd support. Lots of people with signs and cheering. It really does give you a lift! I made it to Mile 9.

This is a wild thought to me, but the winner crossed the finish line a few minutes before I took this picture. Granted, the female winner didn’t cross for another 20 minutes, but still. It was around this point that I noticed a couple of runners that I would see several more times out on the course. I would pass them, but then they would pass me while I was doing all my smelling the roses stuff. Then I would pass them again. One was an older man that was using a pair of modified crutches. I would guess by looking at him that he’d run his share of races, but had sustained a major injury before this race and decided to do it anyway. One tough cookie! The next was an older woman. I’d guess she was well into her 60’s. She had on a shirt that said on the back “26.2 Bucket List” She wasn’t fast, but she was steady. I don’t think she stopped the entire race, and she maintained a real steady pace. I bet I passed her at least 7 times throughout the race. I’d pass her after my photo shoots, after I made potty stops, and after I stopped to chat with my cheering sections. (Yes, I had some cheering fans. I’ll tell you about them in due time.) I talked to this woman briefly each time I passed. She would say, “I just hope I can check this one off.“ I always told her I was sure she would. Anyway both these runners were inspirations to me. Great examples of the power and will of the human spirit. OK, I was now a bit over a 1/3 done! The best was definitely still to come. The Magic Kingdom was just around the corner.

 

[DrMomof3]

Loving this race recap!!! What an awesome experience!

Amanda

 

[reelmom]

I didn't know that you had started another TR. I love the Darling Family Trips and so glad I saw this. Going back to the beginning to start reading.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Great update!! I can't believe how many characters were out!! How long do they give you to finish the race?

 

[dvc4life]

Great update!

 

[kcandbella]

You didn't stop?!?!?!?

Good for you! Even though I liked seeing all your pics with the characters last year, I understand why you had to be a little more subjective this year. At least you got pics of them. Your time seems great so far!

 

[Stefy]

Wow look at all those characters, Disney had them out to tempt all you racers, but you were very good in not stopping Can't wait to read about the MK part of the race

 

[DisneyRed95]

I love all the characters out and about! Fun!

And don't apologize for the blurry pictures - you were running a marathon! I think that's a pretty good excuse!

 

[carissanboys]

Yay! It's race day! Totally agree with you about the racing community. So supportive, welcoming, and nice!

Love your headband. Didn't realize you had it custom made.