lilouisianagal said:
Gator- thanks for the pics!
Kevin thanks for that article. Now I have even more questions though!
More questions on the WDW marathon and marathon general:
What exactly is gel? What does it taste like? When should it be used?
What sort of food do they provide on course? How often?
What do you bring with you when you are running a marathon?
Kevin, you refer to in your race report that the course splits and then rejoins...huh?
What is team in training? is it the same as TNT?
How often are toilets (or portipotties) located on course?
What exactly do those numbers mean when you refer to pacing? (ie 5/1, or 4:15 group)
And whats this about tracking on the web?
I'll try to answer as best I can again...
- For the full marathon, there were two different start lines and the beginning courses were different. Those two different groups merge at the 3.3 mile mark. This is not the case for the half, where they had a single start. If you can locate a course map, you can see sort of what I'm talking about with the split start.
- Gels are little packets of (for lack of a better word) goo which give you some energy and electrolytes and such. Most folks gel every hour or so, but that's something you want to play around with during training. They come in many flavors and you will want to try a few out until you find something you like (some are better tasting than others).
- They do provide some food..... I remember bananas at the halfway point... but otherwise i used my gels. I don't have my packet handy so I can't remember the others. There are 22 water stops along the course, some with food etc
- TNT= Team in Training, yes
- What to bring-- well, that's up to you. I used a belt pack and paced WAY too much in it. I USED my gels, gloves and sunglasses. The iPod, camera, etc stayed put the entire time. if you choose to go the beltpack route, wear it while training on some long runs so you get used to the fit and weight.
- Facilities-- Portajohns at the start, near the corrals and at the finish; as well as just about every aid station (water stops). Full bathrooms were only in the parks that I remember. I believe they seriously use every single rental john from Daytona to Tampa for this thing.
- Webtracking-- if someone wants to track you run on raceday, they can sign up to ge text messages or emails of your progress at different spots on the course. Information on how to do it is posted on the WDW marathon website closer to the race.
- Pacing-- 5/1 refers to run/walk segments. In Marathoning for Mortals, they have you use these for the run/walk or walk/run training plans. So, 5/1= 5 minutes of running, then one minute of walking. The pace groups are something different entirely. If you want to run a particular time, you can follow these pace groups that Clif Bar had set up and they keep you on pace. A double caveat here, though- First, don't worry about time for your first marathon. Second, the leaders will run dead even splits the whole time. Most runners don't do that in a marathon... they tend to taper off, so it might be hard keeping up.
I hope that helps you. If there was anything I didn't answer well or needs more clarification (or if you have other questions), let me know.
Kevin (solotraveler)
and DD8 
. Not very appetizing after 24 miles.
I'm impressed...gum surgery is the pits, you've definitely got the EYE of the tiger! 
. I am too sore from yesterdays stregthen. I am supposed to cross train tomorrow, I think I will skip that and do todays run instead. I will also be more careful on how hard I push myself--it is no good if I am worthless the next day!
. I hate stepping on the scale. 
. 
no, JK! I have a belt pack with gatoraid, my phone, the gels I like, and a camra. Some people carry nothing. Really at WDW, you could run it without a pack, I gave mine to my scream team at mile 18.
), but for the time being 
to everyone! Our little group isn't quite so little anymore! Oh, and from last week, I'm 27.
Glad to see you've mastered the fine art of posting pix! Isn't it fun?
