The Running Thread - 2016

[DVCFan1994]

I think it's kind of funny that you posted this question today. Given the recent news about deferrals and Rudy it seems like the general undertone is that a lot of people are thinking about doing less with runDisney. It's frustrating for me because Disney is a great way to get people that might not normally try a half marathon to try it. For me personally I wouldn't be running now if it weren't for runDisney. The removal of the ability for others to pick bibs up for you, the changes to when POT needs to be submitted, the removal of corral changes at the expo, the elimination of deferrals, all make running a Disney race a little bit harder now than it was 5 years ago. I wound up deferring this years Marine Corps Marathon yesterday and it's sad to see how much more runner friendly their options are than Disney.

I deferred yesterday too. I was sad to do it, but happy I had the option and it was very easy. I was thinking the same thing, that if they can do it and have transfer options as well, I don't get why Disney refuses. If I can come back from my hamstring injury I am looking toward a Maine marathon as my first in the Spring, but I'll be happy to get back "home" to DC and run MCM next October!

So this is getting real now...leaving bright and early Thursday morning!

Have a great race!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Here we go:

Captain Jack Sparrow presents the Pirates of the Caribbean Moonlight Madness Half Marathon Weekend

1) Magic Kingdom and Epcot
2) 5k, 10k & 1/2 Marathon (all night races)
3) Pirates of the Caribbean
4) Jack Sparrow, Capt Barbossa, Davey Jones, Skeletal Pirates and other denizens from PotC
5a) 5k - Skeletal and normal pirates beneath a moon showing the transition
5b) 10k - The Black Pearl
5c) 1/2M - Capt Jack Sparrow with his compass
5d) 10k + 1/2M challenge - The Cursed Coin

For courses, I'll be a bit derivative and go with the stock WDWMW courses. 5k & 10k at night through Epcot and adjacent resorts with the World Showcase fires lit. PotC music and quotes throughout similar to what they did for SWDS. 1/2 marathon start at Epcot and run to MK with the route tweaked to run past PotC in addition to through the castle.

I'd be signed up for this race weekend in a heartbeat!

Sign me up too! This would be amazing.

 

[Chasing Dopey]

ATTQOTD:

Re: Triathlons... It makes me sad they can't do this anymore... In modern day Florida (thanks? to killing restrictions for the past several decades to save the species) every single tiny body of water has an alligator in it, or at least that is the assumption everyone should make when faced with a Florida pond. They even used to have a half IM at WDW. That's insane to think about. (Seven Seas Lagoon. The expo was at the Contemporary. How nice is that?)

Re: A different kind of run... at WDW, there is very little access to the course for spectators. I say throw in a couple more resorts along with the parks. I have no idea how this would happen logistically, but it would be fun.

Otherwise, I say bring back a night race, and make a real effort to keep the runners inside the parks as long as possible!

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Glad the water is moving in the right direction. Praying for @LSUlakes and everyone else being affected by this weather!

I can offer up a QOTD to distract us all a little from our daily grind and the not so fun challenges that have been popping up that are out of our control.
If you could conjure up an ideal Disney race for you where price and getting there etc, was no issue, what would be...
1) The disney park location
2) The distance
3) The theme
4) The character you will meet
5) The medal
bonus: If it was a challenge what would be the specific challenge you'd have to do for the additional medal?

1) MK, Epcot, AK, HS
2) 26.2
3) Classic characters. It would be awesome if I could ride a ride during the marathon-- perhaps Everest?
4) any character that isn't readily available at the parks to meet
6) Mickey Mouse
. . . Wait a minute! It sounds like I need to sign up for the WDW Marathon That really is the race I most excited about. Not sure what year I will do it, but I can't wait!

Awesome question @roxymama!

1) Epcot, Boardwalk and HS.
2) 10 miler in the morning.
3) The theme would be Pixar.
4) The course would have tons of Pixar Characters from a variety of movies including Toy Story, Cars, Wall-E, Incredibles, Nemo, Monsters Inc and more.
5) Medal would be a spinner with the Pixar bouncing ball on one side and Luxo Jr. on the other.
Challenge: A 10k the morning before, for a 10 and 10 challenge

But for an imaginary one, this Pixar 10 miler sounds SO FUN!!! I would love that!

 

[jhorstma]

If you could conjure up an ideal Disney race for you where price and getting there etc, was no issue, what would be...
1) The disney park location
2) The distance
3) The theme
4) The character you will meet
5) The medal
bonus: If it was a challenge what would be the specific challenge you'd have to do for the additional medal?

2 Ideas (cuz this is actually a common thing I think about when running)
First idea:
1) Disney Springs to Universal - Wizarding World of HP
2) Half Marathon (the actual distance)
3) Sorcerer's Apprentice Going Off to Hogwarts!
4) Maleficent! Voldemort! Dragons! The ghost of Leopold Stokowski, as played by John Williams, conducting the London Symphony Orchestra at the finish! It would be epic! Done at night with wicked cool fireworks and laser light shows!
5) Mickey on a Broomstick

Second idea:
1) All of WDW
2) The First Annual Disney Must-Do "Triathalon" - run around each park doing the must-dos, drive between parks, swim Typhoon Lagoon wave pool/lazy river, and finish with Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach!
3) Instant Fame and Fortune (well ok, fame) to the fastest finisher of all the Must-Dos!
4) Stacey!!!!
5) Bling incorporating the Stacey Lego

 

[jele30]

Fun question!!

1). MK and along the resorts in that area
2). 10k and half marathon
3). Night time and use a tangled theme, but focus on the lanterns. Tons and tons of floating lanterns.
4). Have all the characters from the movie especially Maximus and all the extras can be dressed like town folks from the festival scene in the movie.
5). Medal would be purple in color and have the golden star (kingdom symbol from the movie)

Just would be cool to run amongst the lanterns

 

[The Expert]

Okay, this is fun!
1. MK and area resorts. Night race ending at Haunted Mansion with the ride open.
2. 10K or 10 miler.
3. Haunted Mansion!
4. Hitchiking Ghosts, bride, Master Gracey, Madame Leota, graveyard ghosts, etc.
5. Leota in crystal ball or the HM logo laureate design.

You could bring back the ToT 10 miler as a second race and do a challenge around Halloween.

 

[rteetz]

Today's question is great. Several Years ago my answer probably would have been a Paris half marathon with an international challenge, but Disney offered that and I didn't sign up.

I'd love Disney to do a half Iron Man (Marvel Themed) but I am not sure if they could do the swim in Bay Lake.

Disney once did a triathlon. I doubt they would ever do it again. With the bad florida waters and the gator problem its very very unlikely.

 

[Waiting2goback]

Glad the water is moving in the right direction. Praying for @LSUlakes and everyone else being affected by this weather!

I can offer up a QOTD to distract us all a little from our daily grind and the not so fun challenges that have been popping up that are out of our control.
If you could conjure up an ideal Disney race for you where price and getting there etc, was no issue, what would be...
1) The disney park location
2) The distance
3) The theme
4) The character you will meet
5) The medal
bonus: If it was a challenge what would be the specific challenge you'd have to do for the additional medal?

My answer:
1) Magic Kingdom & Epcot
2) 10 miles
3) Night race themed to disney attractions. So mile markers and music specific to classic rides. With opportunity to hop on a few rides along the course.
4) Minnie mouse in her old future worl rainbow outfit would be my #1
5) A tea-cup
Bonus: I'd love to do a 5k & a 10 mile or 1/2 as a challenge. Skip the extra morning of 10k wake up

My love of Disney is all about the history and how we got where we are today. Having said that I don't think Roy gets enough credit for the creation of this company. Yes, Walt was a genius but he needed Roy to make his visions happen. So...

1. WDW and DL one week apart
2. 26.2
3. Disney Brothers Coast to Coast Challenge
4. Mickey of course, it all started with a mouse
5. The WDW Marathon medal, a medal for the DL version of the full marathon, and a C2C spinner medal with a picture of Walt on one side and Roy on the other

Because I think this would be the ultimate challenge I believe it would limit the amount of people getting it, making it more prestigious. You would need to really be serious for that one.

My runner up would be an Ultra throughout WDW.

So this is getting real now...leaving bright and early Thursday morning!

You're going to kill this race just like you do all them. Good luck!

My computer shut down on me mid response so I had to finish on my phone. I had my follow up appt today for my ankle. It was an interesting story if I can get my computer working tomorrow I'll share it.

No quote of the day as they are all saved on my computer.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Wow, everyone has such great responses! Too bad I don't have any imagination. The only thing I'd add is if fitness level/ability wasn't an issue, I'd love to run ALL.THE.MILES and even swim and bike too (I don't know how to ride a bicycle!)

 

[Slogger]

Great responses everyone and great question @roxymama !

If they would just bring back Tower of Terror 10 miler at night......that would make me happy.

Might tweak it a little to make a it a challenge, you have to run the 10 miles through various parks but you have to get on 10 rides too. Call it the Perfect 10 Challenge with appropriate gold medal.
PotC would be a fun theme as would Pixar.

 

[Chaitali]

I agree, I would love the ToT 10 miler to come back. I think 10 miles is a great distance, I loved the night race with the villains theme. I think it would be cool to have a 5 miler the evening before to make it a challenge. Maybe the 5 miler in Magic Kingdom so between the 2 races you would get all of the parks. Well, just barely Animal Kingdom but it counts in my mind

 

[roxymama]

How about a giant disboard relay where a person runs around Epcot resort area to the monorail, hops on and rides to MK, hands baton to other disboarder who runs around Contemporary resort area, hops back on monorail, baton is passed, etc etc etc. And in buses to other locations (resort and park.) Try to canvas the whole WDW...it'd probably take a long time. So I feel like beers (or non-alcoholic donuts) need to be involved. And lots of apologies to other guests for our general sweatiness Cover the whole park as a giant team.

Not a ragnar but a disnar?

I think maybe I need to bring myself back to reality, but all this dreaming up things is too fun.

Also I noticed so many people picked 10 miles as their preferred distance. Am I correct in that when you run a half marathon, once you reach 10 miles you feel like "this race could end here and that would be ok"? I've never ran a half yet but it's on my menu for next year.

 

[Chaitali]

Also I noticed so many people picked 10 miles as their preferred distance. Am I correct in that when you run a half marathon, once you reach 10 miles you feel like "this race could end here and that would be ok"? I've never ran a half yet but it's on my menu for next year.

So much of it is mental and depends on how you think about it. For me, the hardest part of a half is around miles 7-10. Once I hit 10, I know that it's only a 5k left and that perks me up to the finish usually.

 

[baxter24]

Really cool question!

I would love to run a Pixar themed race! Preferably the distance would a 10 miler that ran through the Magic Kingdom, the Boardwalk, and Epcot. I don't normally stop for pictures but it would be cool to see a character stop for each Pixar movie that has come out thus far.

 

[DVCFan1994]

How about a giant disboard relay where a person runs around Epcot resort area to the monorail, hops on and rides to MK, hands baton to other disboarder who runs around Contemporary resort area, hops back on monorail, baton is passed, etc etc etc. And in buses to other locations (resort and park.) Try to canvas the whole WDW...it'd probably take a long time. So I feel like beers (or non-alcoholic donuts) need to be involved. And lots of apologies to other guests for our general sweatiness Cover the whole park as a giant team.

Not a ragnar but a disnar?

I think maybe I need to bring myself back to reality, but all this dreaming up things is too fun.

Also I noticed so many people picked 10 miles as their preferred distance. Am I correct in that when you run a half marathon, once you reach 10 miles you feel like "this race could end here and that would be ok"? I've never ran a half yet but it's on my menu for next year.

Love the "Disnar" idea! Takes out those boring highway miles. Perhaps each member of the relay has to either ride a ride at a park or hit a waterslide at a resort? Fun for everyone As to the 10 mile distance, for me its time on my feet, especially when considering Disney races are usually part of busy family trips. 10 miles for me is going to be less than 2 hours, and I recover easiest from workouts under two hours. So I can do the race and should not have too much impact on the rest of my trip. Best of both worlds!

I picked 10k instead of 5k for my challenge because it takes me at least 2 miles to get comfortable in races usually, and in a 5k that means its almost over. Plus I really enjoy the standard WDW 10k route, and for that matter the DL/DCA 10k was fantastic as well.

 

[camaker]

Also I noticed so many people picked 10 miles as their preferred distance. Am I correct in that when you run a half marathon, once you reach 10 miles you feel like "this race could end here and that would be ok"? I've never ran a half yet but it's on my menu for next year.

It's an interesting question and I think it comes down to the mental aspect of running (for me, at least). I've run a number of half marathons and even one full marathon and miles 9-10 are always the hardest for me. That holds especially true in training. Once I get past the 10 mile point things get easier for some reason. The only thing I've been able to come up with is a mental wall around hitting that double digit mileage.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Don't forget that Disneyland also had one and only one full marathon too!

Disneyland Full Marathon

 

[Anisum]

Also I noticed so many people picked 10 miles as their preferred distance. Am I correct in that when you run a half marathon, once you reach 10 miles you feel like "this race could end here and that would be ok"? I've never ran a half yet but it's on my menu for next year.

For some reason I always do really well (for me) time wise in 10 milers. I find they get me into better corrals at 1/2 marathon than a 10k would because I sustain a similar place over the course of 10 miles to the one I do at 6.2 miles where most running calculators predict I'll finish a lot slower. I'm sure it's partially environment as I don't run either for races all that regularly but it is my favorite distance because I feel fast.

I considered this question all night before answering mostly because I was trying to figure out how to drink around the world and run without dying. Failing that, I also tried to figure out how to hit all of the parks in a 1/2 marathon which I'm pretty sure can't be done.

AQQTD:
1) Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios
2) 10 Miles
3) Cupcake Chase. Starting at Magic Kingdom (behind the castle) you run through the castle, get a cupcake on main street then run to Contemporary and get one at the Contempo Cafe, then Wilderness Lodge to grab one at Roaring Fork, then through Epcot grabbing one at Karamell Kuche, followed by hitting Boardwalk Bakery, and finishing in Hollywood Studios at Starring Roles Café. Alternatively if the course would be improved by skipping Hollywood Studios then it could cut around the boardwalk to hit Beach Club's Marketplace for the last cupcake. Also, these cupcakes would ideally be placed in some outside area as fuel would be so people aren't running through lobbies since that sounds dangerous and the cupcakes may have to come in miniature size as well because I'm not certain I could eat all those cupcakes and still run. And because this is Disney and everyone should get magic there would be gluten free and/or other allergin free alternatives at a separate table.
4) Vanellope and any character who bakes.
5) A Cupcake Obviously
Bonus: Wash down all those cupcakes with @FFigawi 's Beer Mile.

 

[IamTrike]

For some reason I always do really well (for me) time wise in 10 milers. I find they get me into better corrals at 1/2 marathon than a 10k would because I sustain a similar place over the course of 10 miles to the one I do at 6.2 miles where most running calculators predict I'll finish a lot slower. I'm sure it's partially environment as I don't run either for races all that regularly but it is my favorite distance because I feel fast.

I considered this question all night before answering mostly because I was trying to figure out how to drink around the world and run without dying. Failing that, I also tried to figure out how to hit all of the parks in a 1/2 marathon which I'm pretty sure can't be done.

AQQTD:
1) Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios
2) 10 Miles
3) Cupcake Chase. Starting at Magic Kingdom (behind the castle) you run through the castle, get a cupcake on main street then run to Contemporary and get one at the Contempo Cafe, then Wilderness Lodge to grab one at Roaring Fork, then through Epcot grabbing one at Karamell Kuche, followed by hitting Boardwalk Bakery, and finishing in Hollywood Studios at Starring Roles Café. Alternatively if the course would be improved by skipping Hollywood Studios then it could cut around the boardwalk to hit Beach Club's Marketplace for the last cupcake. Also, these cupcakes would ideally be placed in some outside area as fuel would be so people aren't running through lobbies since that sounds dangerous and the cupcakes may have to come in miniature size as well because I'm not certain I could eat all those cupcakes and still run. And because this is Disney and everyone should get magic there would be gluten free and/or other allergin free alternatives at a separate table.
4) Vanellope and any character who bakes.
5) A Cupcake Obviously
Bonus: Wash down all those cupcakes with @FFigawi 's Beer Mile.

Some of My running buddies favorite run is the Gigi's Cupcake 5k. It's a 5k, you get a cupcake shaped medal, a cupcake and a tshirt at the end of the race and it supports make a wish. If your in or around Raleigh in October you should check it out. https://app.racereach.com/r/gigis/register