WDW Marathon

[surgefest]

Hoping that those who have done the WDW Marathon before can give some tips on the event??? Anything you learned after doing it... Pre race post race...
Anything you learned from the whole weekend and the race its self... Thanks!

 

[syko]

Come on over to the events / competitions pages and post there: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=109

You will get all the info you could ever need!!!

 

[cewait]

Hoping that those who have done the WDW Marathon before can give some tips on the event??? Anything you learned after doing it... Pre race post race...
Anything you learned from the whole weekend and the race its self... Thanks!

Read this and you will geta flavor of the race.

http://disneyrunning.com/fullreportcw.html

If you want to train for 2011, I would suggest getting out and running tomorrow. If are not currently a runner, walk - try for three miles. If you can't get to three miles, go as far as you can. Purchase a notebook or go to a running store and purchase a log, or create a spreadsheet. Write down how far you went, the weather, what shoes you wore and how you felt. The next day you may feel sore, so skip that day and do the same again. and so on.

After a couple weeks, try to add more running into the mix. Run 30 seconds and walk for 5 minutes and repeat til you get your three miles. Do this for a week and then add more running.

By January, you should have a feel for your attitude and whether you really want to pursue this. IS you are still on go, get to a running store and get them to help you pick out a pair of shoes. Treat these like gold. Wear them only for running. Log your miles and try to keep a weekly schedule for the next couple months where you are running (or run walking) 3 miles a day; 3 to 4 times a week.

Get to the bookstore and purchase a running book by either Jeff Galloway or John Bingham (the penguin). Both are well written and have marathon plans in them. I would suggest getting both and trying to fit you into one of the plans. You know who you are and what your life is like.

Then in the summer you are going to pull out one of the books and start following the schedule. Your first runs will be cool because you are 'training' for a marathon. Some runs in the first six weeks are not going to feel good. That's OK as you are training for a marathon. You will run 6 miles one weekend and think that was a long way. You will soon pass 10 miles 14 miles and 16 miles. After a week in the teens, you will have a pullback week where you go 10 miles and think, "Man that didn't seem like anything!" You are getting close at that time. You have been training for a marathon.

You are going to have weeks where you do not want to run, where you feel tired, where you want to cry or just do not feel motivated. You will have friends who don't understand why your Friday night is a light pasta meal and off to bed. Why you do not go to lunch but bring in a carefully packed lunch containing your fuel for the day. You will make new friends that you see on the road.

You will create your own little small wave as you meet a runner on the road. It's not really noticeable to anyone other than the other runner. You are becoming a runner.

One day you will leave the house early and run and run and run. You will total up 20 miles (or something in that neighborhood) and you will celebrate as you are ready to head to Disney.

After that really long run, you will enter a taper period where overall training is dramatically reduced. You will have these uneasy “I need to do something” thoughts that you drive you mad. We call it taper madness. It just does not feel right to do that little, that close to the race.

New Years 2011 will come and soon you will head to WDW. You will go through the Expo with all the other runners. It’s kind of heady as you are part of the club. You wonder if there is a secret handshake or something you should know. You compare yourself with everyone there and wander what they think of you. Don’t worry, we all kind of head through this. You get your bib (Race number) then head to the section of the expo where you pick up your race shirt. Once done with that… you pick up a few mementos. Then the wait begins. You know to get a good night’s sleep on Friday night because someone said that Saturday night would not be very restful.
Saturday night you try to go to bed at 9 but you hear fireworks. 9 becomes 10 and the neighbors get back. 10 becomes 11 then 12 you wonder if you are sleeping or just napping. Then at 3 the phone rings. It’s Mickey calling to let you know it time to get up! Your alarm goes off then just to make sure. You dress following your trusted procedure ironed out over months of training. But today….you pin on the bib and head out the door. In less than 3 hours you will start the ending of the trip. A few hours later...it’s done. You have become a marathoner!

 

[RENThead09]

thank you for posting this. This is exactly what I needed before my long run tomorrow morning.

 

[cyberbox2]

This will be my first half and at Disney no less. I'm very excited and anxious!

 

[FireDancer]

This will be my first half and at Disney no less. I'm very excited and anxious!

My first half was the WDW half in 2006. It is a great first half. I've done 9 more halves and one full since.

Hope you find it as addicting as I did. There are races through out the year where we end up with little WISH meets because we get so many of us turning out.