Marathon Weekend 2020

[rteetz]

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?

They don’t release those because it’s untimed. It is usually a similarly sized field though.

 

[Baloo in MI]

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.
View attachment 466592View attachment 466593

Congratulations!! I hope your February results are positive. Wishing you the best!

 

[Jason Bryer]

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.

Not what you wanted, but still an awe of you accomplishment. That BQ will come eventually. Glad to have met you at HH and that was me yelling as you left AK.

 

[disneygpa]

Does anyone have a printable certificate for DATW??? Would love to print one off and frame it!!

 

[dbb727]

Anyone have suggestions for missing photos? Specifically, I am missing my in-front of castle pic from the half (of course the only pic I was really excited for). I do have plenty of on the course and the character pic I stopped for so I can’t imagine my bib number would have been unreadable with a straight on posed photo I’ve tried re-linking my bib number which didn’t make a difference. Should I bother to call Memory Maker or anyone have other ideas?

 

[FFigawi]

Anyone have suggestions for missing photos? Specifically, I am missing my in-front of castle pic from the half (of course the only pic I was really excited for). I do have plenty of on the course and the character pic I stopped for so I can’t imagine my bib number would have been unreadable with a straight on posed photo I’ve tried re-linking my bib number which didn’t make a difference. Should I bother to call Memory Maker or anyone have other ideas?

The photos are tagged manually, I was told. Your best bet is to contact PhotoPass, give them the approximate time you were there, and ask them to see if they can find it.

 

[flav]

Anyone have suggestions for missing photos? Specifically, I am missing my in-front of castle pic from the half (of course the only pic I was really excited for). I do have plenty of on the course and the character pic I stopped for so I can’t imagine my bib number would have been unreadable with a straight on posed photo I’ve tried re-linking my bib number which didn’t make a difference. Should I bother to call Memory Maker or anyone have other ideas?

I used the online form to recuperate missing pictures and it worked well:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/photopass/contact-us/

 

[Chrisizzle]

Anyone have suggestions for missing photos? Specifically, I am missing my in-front of castle pic from the half (of course the only pic I was really excited for).

I too am missing the castle pics from the half marathon. Fortunately, I stopped again during the full marathon since I saw they didn’t show up on the app and wanted to be safe.

Let us know if you were able to recover the pics and how.

 

[dobball23]

I know Disney doesn't release official Dopey Challenge rankings, but I'm curious if anyone has taken the Disney data and come up with a ranking of Dopey finishers?

I know most of us do Dopey to compete only against ourselves, but my competitive side makes me curious how I compare with others. It doesn't matter if I was first, 3,000th or 6,000th, I'm just curious.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

Anyone have suggestions for missing photos? Specifically, I am missing my in-front of castle pic from the half (of course the only pic I was really excited for). I do have plenty of on the course and the character pic I stopped for so I can’t imagine my bib number would have been unreadable with a straight on posed photo I’ve tried re-linking my bib number which didn’t make a difference. Should I bother to call Memory Maker or anyone have other ideas?

Last year, I was missing the photo with Mary Poppin’s penguins ( bib was obscured). I called PhotoPass and told them the approximate time we were there, and the photo was in my collection before I was even off the phone. She easily found us by looking at our other photos, then searching for us when we would have been at that spot. Definitely call!

 

[PrincessV]

Anyone else here finish the marathon near the Balloon Ladies - around 12:40pm? I ask because I have NO - not a single one - finish line/chute photos. Not even the overhead ones of a big group of people. My bib was visible and I have a bunch from right before the finish chute. I'm beginning to wonder if while manually sorting through them, they found people down in them, as there were calls for medics all around as I was finishing, and decided not to post them. I would totally understand that decision - just wondering if others who finished around then are finding the same thing: no pics.

 

[AJruns]

Hi everybody, it was great meeting some of you at the Friday HH and DATW last week (the week before? so confused about time right now ). I've only posted a few times but love reading all the info and have found everything and everyone so helpful (if you met me in person I'm the one who came to the race straight from vacation in Antarctica). This was my third full and second Disney marathon, and I've decided that it's definitely "my" race- will try to do the full every year as long as my body will let me. I have two instagram accounts, one of my "real" life and one for everything running/fitness/injuries/eating etc that's like a word vomit journal, but it's there that I put up a race recap in a series of posts this week- @annasnotarunner if anyone is interested. I wish I could get the survey- I have soooo much to say about the weekend, but I tried to boil it down to the basics as much as possible for social media.

I'm definitely struggling with the post marathon blues- that was my biggest goal and I just did it- now what? Lots of spring halfs on the schedule as long as my knees will let me keep going, and then picking up training for the full again in the fall I guess... My actual question, in a very roundabout way, is how early is too early to start planning logistics? Last year I "pre-registered" at the Boston Marathon expo in April, but I'm not running it again and not sure if I will be in the area. The year before I went through a travel agent because I knew I was going to be out of town and it guaranteed me a bib. I don't mind their hotel stay/park ticket minimum, that's part of the experience for me, but are there better/other (cheaper, really) options for booking on- property lodging that I don't know about? How early can you book a hotel, and are there ever deals for that weekend outside of a travel agent? I'm not a member of anything helpful probably, and it's just me traveling.

Thanks!

 

[MissLiss279]

Hi everybody, it was great meeting some of you at the Friday HH and DATW last week (the week before? so confused about time right now ). I've only posted a few times but love reading all the info and have found everything and everyone so helpful (if you met me in person I'm the one who came to the race straight from vacation in Antarctica). This was my third full and second Disney marathon, and I've decided that it's definitely "my" race- will try to do the full every year as long as my body will let me. I have two instagram accounts, one of my "real" life and one for everything running/fitness/injuries/eating etc that's like a word vomit journal, but it's there that I put up a race recap in a series of posts this week- @annasnotarunner if anyone is interested. I wish I could get the survey- I have soooo much to say about the weekend, but I tried to boil it down to the basics as much as possible for social media.

I'm definitely struggling with the post marathon blues- that was my biggest goal and I just did it- now what? Lots of spring halfs on the schedule as long as my knees will let me keep going, and then picking up training for the full again in the fall I guess... My actual question, in a very roundabout way, is how early is too early to start planning logistics? Last year I "pre-registered" at the Boston Marathon expo in April, but I'm not running it again and not sure if I will be in the area. The year before I went through a travel agent because I knew I was going to be out of town and it guaranteed me a bib. I don't mind their hotel stay/park ticket minimum, that's part of the experience for me, but are there better/other (cheaper, really) options for booking on- property lodging that I don't know about? How early can you book a hotel, and are there ever deals for that weekend outside of a travel agent? I'm not a member of anything helpful probably, and it's just me traveling.

Thanks!

A couple of years ago I was able to rent DVC points from someone here on the DIS, and the total cost was about $100-200 total more than the same week (7 nights) at All Star Sports the year before. So that could be an option. Also there’s a separate board (maybe in the Budget section?? I can’t remember), that usually has discount watches for a given month. Usually someone will post relatively quickly after a new deal is available. If you’re ‘watching’ that post, then you can hopefully get that discount. Sometimes I will go ahead and book a room where I’m willing to pay that price, and then as discounts become available, I will modify my reservation and choose the discounted rate and possibly switch resorts.

 

[jmasgat]

I don't mind their hotel stay/park ticket minimum, that's part of the experience for me, but are there better/other (cheaper, really) options for booking on- property lodging that I don't know about? How early can you book a hotel, and are there ever deals for that weekend outside of a travel agent? I'm not a member of anything helpful probably, and it's just me traveling.

Disney typically has a discounted room offer for this time period, but it won't be released til the fall (mousesavers has data on historically when). Example: for 2020 it was released Oct 4. By then, your preferred room may not be available (Value resorts in particular). DVC can be a good option if you are looking at that deluxe villa end of the spectrum. You would need to do that as early as possible (11 month window) to guarantee you get what you want, and you'd be locked in.

As mentioned, it's possible to book a room at rack rate and play it by ear for discounts. Not sure when Disney opens 2021 hotel booking--but can be done over the phone earlier than online.

 

[michigandergirl]

I started a mini trip report over in my training journal (Running in the Mitten). I figured I better get on it while things are still fresh in my mind and, of course, to relive Goof Troop shenanigans.

 

[wdwjoe13]

Got back late last week and have just caught up on the boards. We had a great trip. Here are highlights and observations:
#1-I like the new course. No, the Western Way and BB section were not great. I actually didn't mind WWOS when we did that. You are going to have to have highway miles some point late and usually mile 20 sucks no matter where you are. What I loved was the fact that it was not the same first 7 miles as the half. Plus, once you exited MK area, you were about halfway through, instead of just at mile 8. That mentally is huge.
#2-I didn't like the backstage finish. I thought I would, but it was tough on Marathon day
#3-Ran the 5k with DS8. Such a blast. He did great. Only had to walk a couple of times. I was so genuinely proud of him.
#4-After years of trying to make a DIS meet, and missing it at 5k, 10k, and half this year, I finally made it to the prerace group for the marathon. I was nervous and probably came off looking like an idiot, but it was kind of surreal meeting message board celebrities (yes, I know that sounds stupid). I didn't have a good answers as to why I didn't join Goof Troop in Corral C, other than my family was meeting me and needed to run to them. But, a roving Goof Troop party sounds like fun for a future race.
#5-I was surprised how quickly they let the corrals go on Sunday. I thought I would catch the last corrals on my way back, but they were long gone and quickly cleaning up the area.
#6-This was the first time I kind of ignored my total time. I stopped my watch while waiting in any line for characters. If it was a quick pic, I let the time run. So, I got a good sense of what my actual run time was. Normally I let my watch run and stress about how slow that mile may be. Overall time was 4:34, so definitely my slowest solo marathon in my last 10 attempts. But, my actual run time was 4:14:26. So, a decent time considering heat and the fact that I did 20 miles running/walking on Friday and 25+ on Saturday.
#7-A random occurrence in the TTC Parking lot at Mile 9. Someone brought up the weather and we were talking about hoping for Saturdays conditions of clouds, wind, and even mist to keep things cooler. I mentioned that I was borderline cold at the kids races with the rain. The response I received was that I must not be from up north. I responded that I am from Omaha. Ten yards ahead of me, someone turned around and said they were from Omaha. Turns out it was a friend that I have known since we played soccer together in grade school. That gave me a great lift to see him a few times on the course. Small World!
#8-Amazing that we had 8 straight days of perfect vacation temps. Sucked for the marathon, but amazing for the rest of the trip.
#9-A great part of this weekend is the preparation and reflection that this board allows us. Thanks to all of you for your stories. Not sure If we will be back next year. It is up to my wife. We just had baby #5 (our first girl). So, DW gets to pick our next marathon since she didn't get to run this year. I am sure we will be back either next year or 2022

 

[BigEeyore]

I used the online form to recuperate missing pictures and it worked well

Thanks for posting the link! Going to give it a try to recover some missing photos.

 

[KevM]

Where was this weather a week and a half ago?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/4533510002
http://www.wlsam.com/2020/01/21/orlando-theme-parks-close-attractions-because-of-cold/

 

[PCFriar80]

Where was this weather a week and a half ago?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/4533510002
http://www.wlsam.com/2020/01/21/orlando-theme-parks-close-attractions-because-of-cold/

As Maxwell Smart would say:

 

[broadsheet]

Anyone else here finish the marathon near the Balloon Ladies - around 12:40pm? I ask because I have NO - not a single one - finish line/chute photos. Not even the overhead ones of a big group of people. My bib was visible and I have a bunch from right before the finish chute. I'm beginning to wonder if while manually sorting through them, they found people down in them, as there were calls for medics all around as I was finishing, and decided not to post them. I would totally understand that decision - just wondering if others who finished around then are finding the same thing: no pics.

I finished then and I got three finish line photos. You didn’t happen to be dressed as Goofy, did you? If so I have an excellent finisher photo in my photo pass