W&D Course Elevation

[Figment1990]

21 days til the W&D race! I'm starting to get nervous about the actual course. I haven't done a lot of hills during my training because where I live (Pittsburgh), they are more like mountains! Is anyone familiar with the course and can give insight as to how flat or where the elevations are along the course? I'm pretty sure I remember that there's a "hill" in Animal Kingdom before the tree of life from being in the park, and the Epcot portion right past spaceship Earth always seems to slope downhill slightly. But what about the highways? Is there a MapMyRun of the course available?

 

[justcruisin]

There's a "hill" just after entering the IG at Epcot. I've learned the term "hill" is relative so I'll call it a upward slope but steeper than an incline.

I think most Disney uphill are met with an equivalent downhill just on the otherside.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I am pretty sure that there is a mapmyrun elevation chart...but that isn't what you should be worried about. Staying up that late is the most difficult part of that course.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Is there anyone who has done the Disneyland 1/2 and can tell me how the inclines compare to that race? Only the I-5 overpass right after you exit Disneyland was 'tough' for me. And it was easier in 2012 knowing it was there.

I'm a night owl and can't get to sleep much earlier than 11:00pm except when I'm beyond exhausted. Hoping that the late night won't be too bad. And sometimes my Disney vacation nights go late anyways.

 

[FFigawi]

I haven't done a lot of hills during my training because where I live (Pittsburgh), they are more like mountains!

Can we trade places for a while? I live in Qatar and would kill to have some hills to run on, no matter how big they are. It's tough training for my big spring race that looks like this when you live in the desert.

As an aside, you really should do a lot of hills during your training. Just like speed work and intervals and fartleks make you faster, hills make you stronger and give you extra endurance at the end of a race.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

What race is that John? Yikes, that is quite a course!

Sleepless Knight, The DL Half course has more inclines than the Wine & Dine. The Animal Kingdom area to some is considered hilly, but I don't consider it that bad. If you do live somewhere with zero hills, I can see that being an issue, but just like John said, hill training should be incorporated into any training schedule. I hate running hills, and I live in the wrong part of the country for that dislike, but they really do make you so much stronger.

 

[FFigawi]

What race is that John? Yikes, that is quite a course!

It's Two Oceans, a 56k ultra I'll be doing in Cape Town in March. There's about 20 of us from here going. Should be a lot of fun.

 

[Figment1990]

To try to keep this from turning into a should/should not do hills thread, I want to clarify before people start telling me to go run some hills. I realize I gave the wrong impression in my post.

I DO run hills, but I don't do them ALL the time. i.e. I can't just go out my front door and jog for 8 miles every run b/c I'm talking SERIOUS elevation issues. And yes, I know they make you stronger.

I have knee issues and for me, doing 100% of my runs on the roads by my house right now is not a good prescription during this return to running. I'm sure I will get there, but I am easing my way back (as easy as you can while training for a half) and do training on treadmills, tracks, and road.

As for my original question, I was mainly asking about the elevation map in order to compare it to what I have done around here and because I like to know as much as I can ahead of things. I'm 99% sure it's much flatter, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

 

[rmgreenesq]

If you are interested in Disney Wine & Dine Course, below please find a link to the Garmin Data of a person who ran this race in 2010.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51788863

The course has changed a bit from the course this runner ran, but I don't think those changes affect the elevation profile too much.

Rick

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

It's Two Oceans, a 56k ultra I'll be doing in Cape Town in March. There's about 20 of us from here going. Should be a lot of fun.

One word, Amazing!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

What race is that John? Yikes, that is quite a course!

Sleepless Knight, The DL Half course has more inclines than the Wine & Dine. The Animal Kingdom area to some is considered hilly, but I don't consider it that bad. If you do live somewhere with zero hills, I can see that being an issue, but just like John said, hill training should be incorporated into any training schedule. I hate running hills, and I live in the wrong part of the country for that dislike, but they really do make you so much stronger.

Thanks for that. Makes me feel better about the inclines. I've incorporated more hill training this time around and I feel like that really helped my speed at the 2012 Disneyland 1/2.