Marathon Weekend 2020

Dopey 2020 recap

In short
: I ran my personal worsts in good health, had great mother-daughter moments, got tons of pictures and found the weather amazing but for the first time in forever, I am not wowed by Disney.

The prep work
I had a good training cycle and was happy that the nordic weather had allowed it. I had even run with an extra sweater at the end to acclimate to warmer temperatures. I packed additional shoes and ponchos in case of rain, more fuel than normal and warm throw away clothes and blankets. I had planned it all: The bookings, the ADR, the FastPasses, the PhotoPass, the MagicBands, the flights check-in, even the beach hotel and car for those staying after I left 👍🏻

The actors
We could describe our party as follow:
DD12 and me, the runners
DM and DU, the retired supporters who were there to stay with DD12 when I was running longer distances
DH and DD14, the weekenders wanting to use all of their shorter vacations.

Bottom line, too many people with different speeds and one person that dampened everyone spirit. What a waste, in top of running Dopey, I had to walk on egg shells all week 🙁

The pre-race days
We flew direct to MCO on Tuesday and took the MDE to Pop where our room requests had all been granted. We swam a bit and then headed to Epcot via Skyliner for our Frozen FastPass. And that was it!
Wednesday, DD12 and I woke up to get a BG for RoR. Stressful process, we ended up with no 96. We rode RnRC, TSMM and Alien Saucers. Breakfast at Woody’s lunchbox was fun. We decided to leave the group and skip the Beauty and Beast show to go to the Expo. Great decision. We got everything easily, enjoyed the characters meets and even got matching temporary spray tattoo. That said, I am really disappointed with the quality of the shirts. I was looking forward to new Champions since our registration. We left to go eat beignets at POFQ and then took the boat to DSprings. We got our BG call as we disembarked. DD12 had made only one request: A dinner at T-Rex so we chose to go straight there and eat rapidly. We had to Uber to HS where a huge line for RoR awaited us. We enjoyed it and finished riding at 8:25PM. That was a very long day, mostly a mother daughter one. 🥰Although enjoyable, we would not repeat that experience (RoR) given what it demanded from us, including going to bed late the night before our first race.

The 5k
Like clockwork and in a good mood we got ready and out of the door by 3:30AM. I had the bright idea to bring our light winter coats and a Gear check bag in top of the blanket and throwaway. We were impressed by the lineup to get to the bus and had fun looking at people costumes. We never found our DISers friends. We went to our A corral and even found it a bit slow at the start. We were thrilled that the first character stop, Chip and Dale, matched our costumes. DD12 stressed while in line (especially the 20+minutes Beast) because we were passed by kids younger than her. I had to reason her that speed was not the goal of a runDisney untimed race!
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After eating, napping and freshening up, we spent the rest of the day at MK: BOG, 7DMT, BTMRR, HM. I stayed with the family to watch the fireworks while DM left with DD to rest before her first 10k.

The 10k
Very similar to the 5k in terms of routine, practice calms the nerves. DD did amazing on her first 10k. The characters definitely acknowledged how young she was compared to the rest of the crowd and were giving her huge hugs 🤗 She wore her medal proudly for the rest of the weekend even though she still finds it ugly, like it is missing a part.

After we cleaned-up, we went to Typhoon Lagoon to float and rest our legs a bit. Unfortunately, DD scrapped her face at the bottom of a pool (her mistake, it was coming up and she had her eyes closed). The staff was amazing in helping and consoling her, Mickey ice cream sandwich included. We then met the rest of the family at AK, some rode FoP which is amazing (better than RoR according to DD) and Everest.
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The Half
I actually missed DD12 while prepping (😴). DD14 had enthusiastically volunteered to be woken up to apply BodyGlide to my back, she did a great job (and again for the Full). No other race (including the previous runDisney ones) had prepared me for the volume of runners present at the Half. Think Main Street USA after fireworks time ten. I walked what felt like 2 miles (3km) to corral C. I found the course crowding very frustrating. There was nowhere to run, especially after stopping for a few characters. Those were great though! First was Lilo and I was dressed as Lilo and Stitch! I made it to the castle in the dark, yeah! Thanks to the other runners who took pictures of me in front of the castle while coming on MSUSA (on both days): You are much better photographers than the ones that were there placed in front of the castle!!! Then, again, slow motion until we were back at Epcot and its dumpsters: What a boring and smelly end to four races.

After (eating, showering then) floating in the pool for a while, I meet the others at Epcot and got the heat from everyone for not having made their day. I refused to take that monkey (their happiness, their responsibility) and we ended up ok after a while. Dinner at Via Napoli was pleasant. I wished good return to DH and DD14 as they were leaving during the Full.
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The Full
Ready with a revised strategy: This would not be a 5 hours race, this would likely be an almost 7 hours race! Additional fuel, hydration, electrolytes and patience would be required. Phone was put in battery saving mode. I walked out with a sign in hand « @flav DISer looking for Goof Troop » and it worked! Thanks for spotting and getting me @SheHulk @Leia's Mom and for welcoming me other DISers!

I started with the GoofTroop but ended up wanting to stop for characters. I learnt that I needed my bubble more than company sometimes, sorry. I actually enjoyed the Full more than the Half. I ended up stopping for bathroom breaks like 12-15 time (thankful for the extra water stations) and felt great overall the entire time. Even while baking on the highway I was smiling thinking that my next run would be too cold 🥶 I had a good time but did not feel the exhilaration I was anticipating. I am proud of myself but somehow it felt too easy (?!).
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The celebrations
I wore my Dopey medal to MK that afternoon (Pirates, PeterPan, Carrousel) and the next day. The sense of community (shared accomplishment) it gives feels great.
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I had decided to splurge on StoryBook Dining at AP and truly enjoyed that experience and the food.

The next day, DM and DU were leaving, so, after a breakfast together, it was DD and I with a wish list.

We swam at Pop, we rode the Skyliner, we met Winnie the Pooh and Minnie, we ate School Bread with the DATW gang, we ate tacos and I got a Margarita, we discovered Coronado Spring (we were upgraded), swam in its pool and sat in its hammock, rode SDD, saw the MK fireworks from a super spot and I went to recuperate our luggage while DD fell asleep from happy exhaustion.

The pluses (what I would repeat)
Rooms, breakfast and runners energy at Pop, Skiliner, warm weather stolen from winter days, FoP, running and touring with DD12, PhotoPass, Characters Meets

The minuses
runDisney Shirts, Medals, RoR BG process, Epcot bypass via dumpsters, race official Castle pictures, Magic Bands upgrades, managing too many people

The conclusion
This was a good trip but not a great one. I have to work on my capacity to shrug little irritants and appreciate the big picture. I am usually of a much lighter spirit and thank you for reading all the way: I might have needed to write this down to see how many good moments there was.

And DD12 asked if we could do her first half at Disney to celebrate her 14th, 15th or 16th birthday! I am already envisioning Wine&Dine 2021 or 2022 🙄
 
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Does runDisney do anything to limit people at the Expo from buying up certain items to increase the demand, like all the marathon challenge pins (obviously for resale on eBay)? They were all gone in an hour or so when I got there and the prices on eBay are now laughable. I realize this a free market, but holy cow.
 


Does runDisney do anything to limit people at the Expo from buying up certain items to increase the demand, like all the marathon challenge pins (obviously for resale on eBay)? They were all gone in an hour or so when I got there and the prices on eBay are now laughable. I realize this a free market, but holy cow.
No they just want the stuff sold. What they could/should do is put limits. Something like you can only buy 5 of one pin or something. They’ll do this with Funkos in the parks and stuff.
 
No they just want the stuff sold. What they could/should do is put limits. Something like you can only buy 5 of one pin or something. They’ll do this with Funkos in the parks and stuff.
Interesting. Something like that would make sense, and maybe also cut down on the mad rush through doors I heard about. Oh, well.
 
Does runDisney do anything to limit people at the Expo from buying up certain items to increase the demand, like all the marathon challenge pins (obviously for resale on eBay)? They were all gone in an hour or so when I got there and the prices on eBay are now laughable. I realize this a free market, but holy cow.
I wish they did. I really wanted the 4-park Minnie ears. I went straight to the merchandise tent Friday after we got into town, before even picking up bibs. Everything was picked over, and there were no ears. I asked three people working there, in hopes that someone knew where more were. I feel like there should have been enough for the marathoners who wanted them. (Thank you again, @kirstie101 for trying to help me get some when you saw how much I wanted them. I really appreciate your kindness).

I would have happily pre-ordered and pre-paid, if Disney was worried about how many they could sell. I know they just wanted them sold, but for those of us who couldn’t go to the expo on the first days, it was a big disappointment to not get what we wanted. Those ears were the one thing I really wanted, but there wasn’t much left of anything by Friday. I checked the merchandise tent at the race Saturday, but they didn’t have them, either. They will probably show up on eBay, at inflated prices, but I just can’t support that. It’s very disappointing.
 


2020 Disney Marathon Trip Report and Race Recap

The short version is that I did not reach my goal of a sub-3 marathon (3:35:00). Something went wrong with my left quad almost from the very beginning of the race. Overall though, it was a good vacation and the highlight of the trip was running the one miler with my daughter.
Thank you for sharing your trip report, and for all you do for DISers. Congratulations on an incredible race! It may not have been what you had hoped, but what you did under those dreadful conditions, makes it a huge success! That is champion racing that you did. I’m so glad you had a wonderful trip with family. I hope the quad heals up soon. I know you will get the BQ.
 
Thank you for sharing your trip report, and for all you do for DISers. Congratulations on an incredible race! It may not have been what you had hoped, but what you did under those dreadful conditions, makes it a huge success! That is champion racing that you did. I’m so glad you had a wonderful trip with family. I hope the quad heals up soon. I know you will get the BQ.

Thanks! Happy to share the highs and lows of the journey. The reality of the long journey running takes us all on.
 
I am in awe of all of you who run the the marathon or the challenges. I signed up for the half marathon after some debating over the marathon vs the half. I am so glad I chose the half. I do not do well in heat/humidity and would have been one to pass out if I was attempting the full.

I made my goal of finishing my first half since Princess Half 2013. I had a son in 2014 and another daughter in 2017 so I didn’t have much time to myself. Once DD turned one I got back into jogging a bit. I woke up last January determined to do the half this year. Briefly considered the full but between 3 kids and working full time I decided no way I could manage. Maybe I could handle the actual training runs but didn’t have enough time for The recovery and cross training like I’d like.

I trained all summer and planned on doing a local half in Sept. Training went well enough. I am a slow jog/walker usually around 12/13 minute miles. The end of August hit and I ended up in the Er with a kidney stone and kidney infection. I am horrible at knowing when I am actually sick so it had started to spread to my blood. It took me about 2-3 weeks of recovery and since I was on strong antibotics I miss the local half.

While having a CT for the kidney stone they saw a mass on my liver. I was referred to gi dr. Sept and Oct were spent having test after test. Bloodwork, CT, ultrasound, MRI all inconclusive. I had a liver biopsy Oct. 22.

The night before Halloween I got the call that it had come back as cancer. Stage 2 liver sarcoma. Very rare. 1 in a million. More test. Visits with the oncology surgeon. Visit the transplant team. Test after test.

Through this whole nightmare I kept up my training. Even when the surgeon said no way are you going to Disney. You need surgery in Dec and are looking at 2-3 months recovery. Ok. Still I continued my runs. They weren’t very good and I did a whole 10 mile run with tears pouring out but it was my therapy through all of this.

I cancelled our trip. It was supposed to be me and DD15. I cancelled everything besides our flights. I even emailed Rundisney to see if they would refund or defer.
A few days later I got a call from my surgeon that everything was on hold. The pathologist at the new bigger hospital didn’t agree with the cancer diagnosis. They needed to redo it and needed a special something that needed to be delivered. About another week later it came back that it was not cancer but a very rare benign tumor. Still not the best since it can spread and cause issues but hey not cancer.

It was decided surgery would not be immediate. We will repeat my scans in Feb and go from there. The surgery is a major operation and risk vs benefit of surgery vs observation are being weighed.

Trip was rebooked with many upgrades over our original plan. A week Before our trip Dh decided to come with our 2 little kids to be at the finish line. He hates Disney but wanted to be at the finish line.

Ok. Even back story. We flew down Fri and left Monday. We stayed at YC and I left the hotel at 3am. Got there quickly and headed to the frontish of Corral F.
I really disliked sitting on the ground for an hour only to have people push ahead and try to find space where there was none.

Once I started I jogged/walked based on how I felt. I kept it very slow and just enjoyed being alive and healthy and running through Disney. It was a long road there and I was going to soak it all in. We never know if we will be able to do this again.

Around mile 8 I felt a blistering forming. By mile 10 it was getting hard to run. I switched to mostly walking to save my foot but jogged every once in awhile.

I finished around 3:30 which is crazy since some of you do a marathon in that time but it doesn’t bother me. I try to just work with what I have. (Did I mention I have a messed up heart valve and don’t like going to hard)

I love jogging through MK and had tears in my eyes the whole time I was in there. I loved my family being at the finish.

The heat and humidity sucked for the race but the weather was amazing for hitting the parks and pool. I also loved our day at the Gf. What a beautiful place.

I don’t know what is next for me/us. I have another MRI in Feb where we will decide if surgery is needed.
Our family will actually be in Fl for a cruise the weekend of Wine and Dine races but I can’t figure out how to get early to get my bib. DD is in high school and will miss a week of school for the cruise. I don’t think I can have her miss another day so I can do the 10k. I wouldn’t mind doing the half but if I end up having surgery in March I don’t think I can handle that yet.

Other wise we are looking at Star Wars weekend 2021. Dd and myself for the 5k and Dh and I for the 10k. I would like to do the half but we will see where I am health wise for that. If I ever do a half again I would like to train a little harder so that I feel stronger towards the end. However training through Nov/Dec thinking I had cancer, running all the what if’s that go with that, working full time and having 3 kids I feel pretty good about just making it over the finish line.

Thanks everyone for this board. Even though I don’t post much I love the support on here.
7302C6E2-9207-4C55-A4C6-6728E104FEB9.jpeg9C07E91C-2641-46D8-89F6-CC354DCB6645.jpeg
 
I am in awe of all of you who run the the marathon or the challenges. I signed up for the half marathon after some debating over the marathon vs the half. I am so glad I chose the half. I do not do well in heat/humidity and would have been one to pass out if I was attempting the full.

I made my goal of finishing my first half since Princess Half 2013. I had a son in 2014 and another daughter in 2017 so I didn’t have much time to myself. Once DD turned one I got back into jogging a bit. I woke up last January determined to do the half this year. Briefly considered the full but between 3 kids and working full time I decided no way I could manage. Maybe I could handle the actual training runs but didn’t have enough time for The recovery and cross training like I’d like.

I trained all summer and planned on doing a local half in Sept. Training went well enough. I am a slow jog/walker usually around 12/13 minute miles. The end of August hit and I ended up in the Er with a kidney stone and kidney infection. I am horrible at knowing when I am actually sick so it had started to spread to my blood. It took me about 2-3 weeks of recovery and since I was on strong antibotics I miss the local half.

While having a CT for the kidney stone they saw a mass on my liver. I was referred to gi dr. Sept and Oct were spent having test after test. Bloodwork, CT, ultrasound, MRI all inconclusive. I had a liver biopsy Oct. 22.

The night before Halloween I got the call that it had come back as cancer. Stage 2 liver sarcoma. Very rare. 1 in a million. More test. Visits with the oncology surgeon. Visit the transplant team. Test after test.

Through this whole nightmare I kept up my training. Even when the surgeon said no way are you going to Disney. You need surgery in Dec and are looking at 2-3 months recovery. Ok. Still I continued my runs. They weren’t very good and I did a whole 10 mile run with tears pouring out but it was my therapy through all of this.

I cancelled our trip. It was supposed to be me and DD15. I cancelled everything besides our flights. I even emailed Rundisney to see if they would refund or defer.
A few days later I got a call from my surgeon that everything was on hold. The pathologist at the new bigger hospital didn’t agree with the cancer diagnosis. They needed to redo it and needed a special something that needed to be delivered. About another week later it came back that it was not cancer but a very rare benign tumor. Still not the best since it can spread and cause issues but hey not cancer.

It was decided surgery would not be immediate. We will repeat my scans in Feb and go from there. The surgery is a major operation and risk vs benefit of surgery vs observation are being weighed.

Trip was rebooked with many upgrades over our original plan. A week Before our trip Dh decided to come with our 2 little kids to be at the finish line. He hates Disney but wanted to be at the finish line.

Ok. Even back story. We flew down Fri and left Monday. We stayed at YC and I left the hotel at 3am. Got there quickly and headed to the frontish of Corral F.
I really disliked sitting on the ground for an hour only to have people push ahead and try to find space where there was none.

Once I started I jogged/walked based on how I felt. I kept it very slow and just enjoyed being alive and healthy and running through Disney. It was a long road there and I was going to soak it all in. We never know if we will be able to do this again.

Around mile 8 I felt a blistering forming. By mile 10 it was getting hard to run. I switched to mostly walking to save my foot but jogged every once in awhile.

I finished around 3:30 which is crazy since some of you do a marathon in that time but it doesn’t bother me. I try to just work with what I have. (Did I mention I have a messed up heart valve and don’t like going to hard)

I love jogging through MK and had tears in my eyes the whole time I was in there. I loved my family being at the finish.

The heat and humidity sucked for the race but the weather was amazing for hitting the parks and pool. I also loved our day at the Gf. What a beautiful place.

I don’t know what is next for me/us. I have another MRI in Feb where we will decide if surgery is needed.
Our family will actually be in Fl for a cruise the weekend of Wine and Dine races but I can’t figure out how to get early to get my bib. DD is in high school and will miss a week of school for the cruise. I don’t think I can have her miss another day so I can do the 10k. I wouldn’t mind doing the half but if I end up having surgery in March I don’t think I can handle that yet.

Other wise we are looking at Star Wars weekend 2021. Dd and myself for the 5k and Dh and I for the 10k. I would like to do the half but we will see where I am health wise for that. If I ever do a half again I would like to train a little harder so that I feel stronger towards the end. However training through Nov/Dec thinking I had cancer, running all the what if’s that go with that, working full time and having 3 kids I feel pretty good about just making it over the finish line.

Thanks everyone for this board. Even though I don’t post much I love the support on here.
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Congratulations on your half marathon! I am in awe of you, training for and completing a HM despite all the health issues. Sending you best wishes!
 
I am in awe of all of you who run the the marathon or the challenges. I signed up for the half marathon after some debating over the marathon vs the half. I am so glad I chose the half. I do not do well in heat/humidity and would have been one to pass out if I was attempting the full.

I made my goal of finishing my first half since Princess Half 2013. I had a son in 2014 and another daughter in 2017 so I didn’t have much time to myself. Once DD turned one I got back into jogging a bit. I woke up last January determined to do the half this year. Briefly considered the full but between 3 kids and working full time I decided no way I could manage. Maybe I could handle the actual training runs but didn’t have enough time for The recovery and cross training like I’d like.

I trained all summer and planned on doing a local half in Sept. Training went well enough. I am a slow jog/walker usually around 12/13 minute miles. The end of August hit and I ended up in the Er with a kidney stone and kidney infection. I am horrible at knowing when I am actually sick so it had started to spread to my blood. It took me about 2-3 weeks of recovery and since I was on strong antibotics I miss the local half.

While having a CT for the kidney stone they saw a mass on my liver. I was referred to gi dr. Sept and Oct were spent having test after test. Bloodwork, CT, ultrasound, MRI all inconclusive. I had a liver biopsy Oct. 22.

The night before Halloween I got the call that it had come back as cancer. Stage 2 liver sarcoma. Very rare. 1 in a million. More test. Visits with the oncology surgeon. Visit the transplant team. Test after test.

Through this whole nightmare I kept up my training. Even when the surgeon said no way are you going to Disney. You need surgery in Dec and are looking at 2-3 months recovery. Ok. Still I continued my runs. They weren’t very good and I did a whole 10 mile run with tears pouring out but it was my therapy through all of this.

I cancelled our trip. It was supposed to be me and DD15. I cancelled everything besides our flights. I even emailed Rundisney to see if they would refund or defer.
A few days later I got a call from my surgeon that everything was on hold. The pathologist at the new bigger hospital didn’t agree with the cancer diagnosis. They needed to redo it and needed a special something that needed to be delivered. About another week later it came back that it was not cancer but a very rare benign tumor. Still not the best since it can spread and cause issues but hey not cancer.

It was decided surgery would not be immediate. We will repeat my scans in Feb and go from there. The surgery is a major operation and risk vs benefit of surgery vs observation are being weighed.

Trip was rebooked with many upgrades over our original plan. A week Before our trip Dh decided to come with our 2 little kids to be at the finish line. He hates Disney but wanted to be at the finish line.

Ok. Even back story. We flew down Fri and left Monday. We stayed at YC and I left the hotel at 3am. Got there quickly and headed to the frontish of Corral F.
I really disliked sitting on the ground for an hour only to have people push ahead and try to find space where there was none.

Once I started I jogged/walked based on how I felt. I kept it very slow and just enjoyed being alive and healthy and running through Disney. It was a long road there and I was going to soak it all in. We never know if we will be able to do this again.

Around mile 8 I felt a blistering forming. By mile 10 it was getting hard to run. I switched to mostly walking to save my foot but jogged every once in awhile.

I finished around 3:30 which is crazy since some of you do a marathon in that time but it doesn’t bother me. I try to just work with what I have. (Did I mention I have a messed up heart valve and don’t like going to hard)

I love jogging through MK and had tears in my eyes the whole time I was in there. I loved my family being at the finish.

The heat and humidity sucked for the race but the weather was amazing for hitting the parks and pool. I also loved our day at the Gf. What a beautiful place.

I don’t know what is next for me/us. I have another MRI in Feb where we will decide if surgery is needed.
Our family will actually be in Fl for a cruise the weekend of Wine and Dine races but I can’t figure out how to get early to get my bib. DD is in high school and will miss a week of school for the cruise. I don’t think I can have her miss another day so I can do the 10k. I wouldn’t mind doing the half but if I end up having surgery in March I don’t think I can handle that yet.

Other wise we are looking at Star Wars weekend 2021. Dd and myself for the 5k and Dh and I for the 10k. I would like to do the half but we will see where I am health wise for that. If I ever do a half again I would like to train a little harder so that I feel stronger towards the end. However training through Nov/Dec thinking I had cancer, running all the what if’s that go with that, working full time and having 3 kids I feel pretty good about just making it over the finish line.

Thanks everyone for this board. Even though I don’t post much I love the support on here.
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Congrats!!!! You should be so damn proud of yourself for training with your health issues and running that race in those conditions!!!
 
I am in awe of all of you who run the the marathon or the challenges. I signed up for the half marathon after some debating over the marathon vs the half. I am so glad I chose the half. I do not do well in heat/humidity and would have been one to pass out if I was attempting the full.

I made my goal of finishing my first half since Princess Half 2013. I had a son in 2014 and another daughter in 2017 so I didn’t have much time to myself. Once DD turned one I got back into jogging a bit. I woke up last January determined to do the half this year. Briefly considered the full but between 3 kids and working full time I decided no way I could manage. Maybe I could handle the actual training runs but didn’t have enough time for The recovery and cross training like I’d like.

I trained all summer and planned on doing a local half in Sept. Training went well enough. I am a slow jog/walker usually around 12/13 minute miles. The end of August hit and I ended up in the Er with a kidney stone and kidney infection. I am horrible at knowing when I am actually sick so it had started to spread to my blood. It took me about 2-3 weeks of recovery and since I was on strong antibotics I miss the local half.

While having a CT for the kidney stone they saw a mass on my liver. I was referred to gi dr. Sept and Oct were spent having test after test. Bloodwork, CT, ultrasound, MRI all inconclusive. I had a liver biopsy Oct. 22.

The night before Halloween I got the call that it had come back as cancer. Stage 2 liver sarcoma. Very rare. 1 in a million. More test. Visits with the oncology surgeon. Visit the transplant team. Test after test.

Through this whole nightmare I kept up my training. Even when the surgeon said no way are you going to Disney. You need surgery in Dec and are looking at 2-3 months recovery. Ok. Still I continued my runs. They weren’t very good and I did a whole 10 mile run with tears pouring out but it was my therapy through all of this.

I cancelled our trip. It was supposed to be me and DD15. I cancelled everything besides our flights. I even emailed Rundisney to see if they would refund or defer.
A few days later I got a call from my surgeon that everything was on hold. The pathologist at the new bigger hospital didn’t agree with the cancer diagnosis. They needed to redo it and needed a special something that needed to be delivered. About another week later it came back that it was not cancer but a very rare benign tumor. Still not the best since it can spread and cause issues but hey not cancer.

It was decided surgery would not be immediate. We will repeat my scans in Feb and go from there. The surgery is a major operation and risk vs benefit of surgery vs observation are being weighed.

Trip was rebooked with many upgrades over our original plan. A week Before our trip Dh decided to come with our 2 little kids to be at the finish line. He hates Disney but wanted to be at the finish line.

Ok. Even back story. We flew down Fri and left Monday. We stayed at YC and I left the hotel at 3am. Got there quickly and headed to the frontish of Corral F.
I really disliked sitting on the ground for an hour only to have people push ahead and try to find space where there was none.

Once I started I jogged/walked based on how I felt. I kept it very slow and just enjoyed being alive and healthy and running through Disney. It was a long road there and I was going to soak it all in. We never know if we will be able to do this again.

Around mile 8 I felt a blistering forming. By mile 10 it was getting hard to run. I switched to mostly walking to save my foot but jogged every once in awhile.

I finished around 3:30 which is crazy since some of you do a marathon in that time but it doesn’t bother me. I try to just work with what I have. (Did I mention I have a messed up heart valve and don’t like going to hard)

I love jogging through MK and had tears in my eyes the whole time I was in there. I loved my family being at the finish.

The heat and humidity sucked for the race but the weather was amazing for hitting the parks and pool. I also loved our day at the Gf. What a beautiful place.

I don’t know what is next for me/us. I have another MRI in Feb where we will decide if surgery is needed.
Our family will actually be in Fl for a cruise the weekend of Wine and Dine races but I can’t figure out how to get early to get my bib. DD is in high school and will miss a week of school for the cruise. I don’t think I can have her miss another day so I can do the 10k. I wouldn’t mind doing the half but if I end up having surgery in March I don’t think I can handle that yet.

Other wise we are looking at Star Wars weekend 2021. Dd and myself for the 5k and Dh and I for the 10k. I would like to do the half but we will see where I am health wise for that. If I ever do a half again I would like to train a little harder so that I feel stronger towards the end. However training through Nov/Dec thinking I had cancer, running all the what if’s that go with that, working full time and having 3 kids I feel pretty good about just making it over the finish line.

Thanks everyone for this board. Even though I don’t post much I love the support on here.
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You are amazing!! You should be very proud! I hope all works out well, health-wise. Please take some time to bask in your accomplishments, because what you just did was fantastic!
 
For personnal stats purposes, do we have an idea on how many finishers for the 5k? About the same size of field as the 10k?
 

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