Marathon Weekend 2022

[BikeFan]

SAFD:

I can't really remember how I learned about RunDisney, but my wife and I had been taking the kids since about 2004. I remember seeing a triathlon there one of those years, and being surprised they held that sort of thing on property. Fast forward a few years to 2011 or so, when I started running to get in shape, and at some point I learned about the Marathon Weekend and the Goofy Challenge (probably here on this board). I'd already signed up for my first full marathon (Richmond in Nov. 2012) but before I even completed that, I talked my brother into running the Goofy Challenge (and 20th Anniversary Mickey Marathon) with me in 2013. Nothing says foolish overconfidence like signing up for back-to-back half and full marathons before you've even run a marathon! Still, it went great and I've done as many Run Disney events as I can, including 3 Goofys, 2 Dopeys, 2 Wine & Dine Halfs, 2 Star Wars Dark Side Halfs, 1 Tower of Terror 10 Miler (much missed!) and the halfs in Disneyland (also much missed!) and DIsneyland Paris. RunDisney race weekends are such great fun - great courses, fun atmosphere, and the chance to meet so many impressive and inspiring fellow runners. I'm really missing it this past year, and can't wait to Marathon Weekend again.

 

[RunDopey]

SAFD:

My wife started running in 1999. Her second marathon was the 2001 WDW Marathon. I had zero interest in running at the time but was trying to be supportive and would join her on trips.

Fast forward to 2013 and I agreed to walk the Austin half with her and one of her friends. They had planned on running but her friend had injured her knee a few weeks prior to the race. I had a good time but after seeing people running, decided that I needed to give that a try.

Started running off and on. Made some of the beginner mistakes like not following a plan and getting injured. I ran some local races and the Austin half. Decided some time in 2014 to run my first marathon. We settled on WDW and set our sights on the Goofy Challenge.

The half went well and we were happy with the race. The marathon did not go so well. Due to the amount of people in "cone alley", I was not able to dodge a cone that had wandered about 18 inches onto the course. Hit the cone really hard and it took everything I had not to end up on my face. Kept moving and things were OK until the speedway. My left leg started to feel off and it felt like I was running in mud. By the time we got out of AK (we alwasy run rD races together), my left hip was super tight and starting to hurt. Just before WWOS, I stopped at medical and got some Tylenol and had them try to loosen the hip. Just before the two in and out for WWOS I had to start walking. By the time I was in WWOS, I was hurting a lot and only able to keep about an 17 min pace. That made the delightful time spent in WWOS that much more special. Some time after mile 21, I fell on the side of the road and could not get back up. After a tearful goodbye to my wife, two very nice state troopers carried me back to a van and I got a free ride back to the finish line. It turned out to be a stress fracture of the neck of my femur. Six weeks on crutches (I was good) but the fracture had worsened. I now have three screws in the hip and an undying dislike of WWOS.

Finished my first marathon in Septmber of that year at the Quad cities marathon with friends. Redemption was obtained by finishing the 2016 Dopey. Tearful finish at marathon finish line. That kind of sealed the deal with getting hooked on rD races. We have done a lot of races in WDW, DLR and one in DL Paris.

 

[xjillianpaige]

For this week's SAFD, how did you come to runDisney and what's been your experience with it so far?

I went to Disney for a bachelorette party in 2017 during the same weekend as Princess and I was GREEN with envy. We stayed at OKW (my friend used her parent's DVC points for us) and so when we went to check in, the front desk kindly had a cast member in a van pick us up and drive us/our bags to our room. He asked if we were there for the run weekend and I was like... "No.. but tell me more, sir."

A year later I was running Princess weekend!

Two years later I did the challenge during Princess weekend!

Now I'm hoping for Marathon weekend 2022 (just the marathon for now... probably...)

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

SAFD:

Name: Kelly
Where I’m From: Wisconsin
What I Do: High School Math Teacher
Family: Not married yet, no kids
Interests & Hobbies: Seeing Live Theatre, Reading, Walking/Running, Cheering on the Milwaukee Brewers or Marquette Men's Basketball teams, and Starting to Get Into Baking (I blame Great British Bake Off)

I know this post is from a few days ago now, but I just needed to say hi to a fellow Marquette basketball supporter! I am a 2010 Marquette grad and my Dad has basketball season tickets, so I still get to go to games. Even though the team is hard to watch this year, I miss going and can’t wait for fans to be allowed back.

 

[flav]

SAFD:
In the Spring of 2017 a mix of things coincided:
- My 2016 running buddy with whom I had done a C25k got hurt while snowboarding,
- I switched trainers at the gym for someone who could help me with training for my first 10k,
- I help my cousin plan his engagement trip to Disney and learned on the DISboards that there was a race the weekend he was going to be there. I had not heard of runDisney before,
- DH convinced me not to crash their party but that maybe we do a trip in November instead.

By the time I ran my first 10k in June, I was following the running board and the Wine and Dine board and knew that a sub 1 hour 10k meant corral C for the half. A week later, I reserved a solo trip to Wine n Dine 2017 and ran the Two Course Challenge (10k+my first Half). I liked every seconds of it. The atmosphere, the energy, the characters, the warmth, the Expo, the running, etc.

My youngest DD couldn’t believe that her mom had gone to Disney without her and I think she secretly vowed it would never happen again. She started running in 2018 and still does. When I started planning Dopey 2020, she asked to signup for the 10k. I found that a first big race experience can be overwhelming so I also registered her for the 5k. I enjoyed the four races but found the Half to be very slow. I would stop less the next time to avoid being caught in the crowd. The castle with its icicle lights is truly magic though.

I am more focused on running some of the Majors right now (was supposed to run NYC in 2020) but DD would like to run her first Half at Disney. We will see if and when 2022 becomes possible.

 

[Barca33Runner]

I know this post is from a few days ago now, but I just needed to say hi to a fellow Marquette basketball supporter! I am a 2010 Marquette grad and my Dad has basketball season tickets, so I still get to go to games. Even though the team is hard to watch this year, I miss going and can’t wait for fans to be allowed back.

Another Golden Eagle here, although my allegiance to Ohio State athletics goes back to the womb and overrides my Marquette allegiance in the incredibly narrow possibility of the two meeting.

My commencement was the one which the speaker used all of his time to make gifting promises in order to try and get the board to switch the sport team names back to Warriors (and ultimately resulted in the illustrious Marquette Gold era).

 

[nekonekoneko]

SAFD: I took my DW, who was my gf at the time, and her 3 daughters to Disney back during Christmas 2014. As we were ending our trip, we heard a couple of people talking about the Marathon coming up, and my gf's ears perked. She liked to run, but never run anything that long.

It took us about 3 years, but by then, we were able to manage to get the first Marathon Weekend in motion. Beyond the cold of the 2018 weekend, we had a complete blast! Since then, we've been coming every year in mid-January.

Even with this year's race going virtual, we came, anyway, and at least hit the parks.

We are hoping that 2022 will show a bit of normalcy, fingers crossed!

 

[rteetz]

Another Golden Eagle here, although my allegiance to Ohio State athletics goes back to the womb and overrides my Marquette allegiance in the incredibly narrow possibility of the two meeting.

My commencement was the one which the speaker used all of his time to make gifting promises in order to try and get the board to switch the sport team names back to Warriors (and ultimately resulted in the illustrious Marquette Gold era).

Alumni and fans (albeit primarily older ones) still wish it was the warriors. I went to Marquette for a year and a half.

 

[softball chick]

I know this post is from a few days ago now, but I just needed to say hi to a fellow Marquette basketball supporter! I am a 2010 Marquette grad and my Dad has basketball season tickets, so I still get to go to games. Even though the team is hard to watch this year, I miss going and can’t wait for fans to be allowed back.

That's awesome! I had season tickets last year too and I'm missing going to games like crazy this year! I can't wait to hopefully get back next season.

Another Golden Eagle here, although my allegiance to Ohio State athletics goes back to the womb and overrides my Marquette allegiance in the incredibly narrow possibility of the two meeting.

My commencement was the one which the speaker used all of his time to make gifting promises in order to try and get the board to switch the sport team names back to Warriors (and ultimately resulted in the illustrious Marquette Gold era).

Oh those few days we were the Marquette Gold...my family still laughs about that one

Alumni and fans (albeit primarily older ones) still wish it was the warriors. I went to Marquette for a year and a half.

I always say that I'm a Golden Warrior...it acknowledges the fact that I was in fact a Golden Eagle but as a legacy family, I still have to show my love to the Warriors

 

[softball chick]

SAFD: My first introduction to the existence of RunDisney was Marathon Weekend 2016. The day of the marathon was the day that I arrived at WDW to check in for my College Program. As we were at the bus stop at Pop, we saw everyone coming back with their medals and later saw tons of people at Disney Springs wearing theirs. Because of this, my sister decided that she wanted to do a race and get a medal like that, so my Mom/sister/I signed up for the Marathon Weekend 2017 5K. When we were there for that weekend, someone on the bus told my mom that we really needed to try Princess Weekend, so the next year we tried that 5K and it became our yearly tradition.

Personally, after that 2nd 5K I saw everyone walking around with multiple medals and decided that I also wanted to clink as I walked down Main Street and get a double medal castle pic which lead me to sign up for my first 10K. It was that race which really sparked my interest in running and led me to where I am today.

 

[lhermiston]

(just the marathon for now... probably...)

Fixed that for ya. There is no "just" in runDisney

 

[lhermiston]

I just wanna say I'm loving these runDisney origin stories this morning. So fun to see the circumstances that bring us from across the globe to celebrate together.

Special shout-out to the over-40 crowd. I'm 37 and, for reasons that aren't clear to me, it's hard to look past 40 in terms of my running career. So, it's especially encouraging to see those 40 and up who are still knocking out races or even just beginning their running careers. I'd love to do this at least into my 50s.

 

[FFigawi]

I just wanna say I'm loving these runDisney origin stories this morning. So fun to see the circumstances that bring us from across the globe to celebrate together.

Special shout-out to the over-40 crowd. I'm 37 and, for reasons that aren't clear to me, it's hard to look past 40 in terms of my running career. So, it's especially encouraging to see those 40 and up who are still knocking out races or even just beginning their running careers. I'd love to do this at least into my 50s.

My serious running didn’t start until I was 36. You’ve got a long running journey still in front of you.

 

[PCFriar80]

My serious running didn’t start until I was 36. You’ve got a long running journey still in front of you.

My serious running is ending at 62..... at least that's what my achilles tendon's are telling me.

 

[MissLiss279]

SAFD:
In summer 2014, I was training with a group for my first half marathon that fall. I overheard someone mention a race at Disney. I had no idea that Disney had races! I grew up really liking Disney, but had been to DisneyWorld three times I think - well before I ever started running.
I immediately went home and looked it up. Of course Marathon Weekend 2015 was all sold out. I randomly checked again a couple weeks/a month later, and there were half marathon spots available!! I quickly messaged my sister to see if they would want to go to Disney in January. Before they decided I went ahead and signed up. Turns out that was part of the Goofy gives back campaign (after I think they had shown an episode of Extreme Makeover/Biggest Loser?? where someone had ran a Disney race). My sister and BIL did end up traveling with me that year. I ran my first Disney half MW 2015. Then proceeded to run DL Half and W&D Half (of half) that year, and then Dopey the next year! I skipped MW 2019, but otherwise have ran MW every year and also Star Wars... Hopefully a race will return in that same timeframe.

 

[BikeFan]

Special shout-out to the over-40 crowd. I'm 37 and, for reasons that aren't clear to me, it's hard to look past 40 in terms of my running career. So, it's especially encouraging to see those 40 and up who are still knocking out races or even just beginning their running careers. I'd love to do this at least into my 50s.

I didn't run my first marathon until age 42, so everything significant I've done in running has been at 40+ (and now 50+). That's included 4 Boston Marathons and 2 50-milers. I've got a friend who's 50+ and can still run sub-3:00 in the full. You've got your entire running career in front of you. Enjoy it, and remember that age is just a number.

 

[Popo]

For this week's SAFD, how did you come to runDisney and what's been your experience with it so far? (Also, newcomers please feel free to keep answering the "get to know you" question from last week.)

The year 2003, saw my first Disney cruise with my stepdaughter and grandsons. After the cruise, the 14th floor of the Contemporary Hotel was our temporary home. Early on Sunday morning, our first morning at WDW that trip, I awoke headed for the concierge lounge to get coffee and something to eat. There was a huge commotion outside so I went out on the balcony to see what was going on. A large number of people lined the raod in front of the hotel. Later that morning, as we were in the Animal Kingdom park that I learned it was Marathon Weekend. That night my stepdaughter and I were in the Adventurer's Club (my all time favorite place at WDW). Runners were hanging out there, swapping stories about the race that morning. It was then I decided I was going to try the 2004 Disney Marathon. Two months later my training started. The Race for the Taste, in October of 2003 became my first Disney race. In 2004, at the age of 53, I completed the Disney Marathon. It was at that time I decided that was the dumbest thing I had ever done and that would be the end of my running.

After the race I was walking across the EPCOT parking lot with my family to catch the monorail back to the Polynesian. My 5 year old grandson walked beside me wearing the marathon medal. As he stared at the medal he said, "Popo, I am pround of you, but I can beat you to the monorail." Needless to say after running 26.2 miles the race was on. I was beaten to the monorail. That moment has served as the inspiration for years as a Disney runner, including 12 marathons, 5 Goofys, and 1 Dopey.

 

[bpr2002]

For this week's SAFD, how did you come to runDisney and what's been your experience with it so far? (Also, newcomers please feel free to keep answering the "get to know you" question from last week.)

We take a January trip to WDW for my husband's birthday each year. We usually get in on the Sunday but well after the Marathon has finished. Last year, we changed up our routine and got to see the runners when we arrived at EPCOT. I knew immediately that I wanted to be a part of the next race, even though I wasn't a runner. Unfortunately, all of the races I've signed up for have been turned virtual. But I have used this time to get experience running. No regrets so far!

 

[SheHulk]

I just wanna say I'm loving these runDisney origin stories this morning. So fun to see the circumstances that bring us from across the globe to celebrate together.

Special shout-out to the over-40 crowd. I'm 37 and, for reasons that aren't clear to me, it's hard to look past 40 in terms of my running career. So, it's especially encouraging to see those 40 and up who are still knocking out races or even just beginning their running careers. I'd love to do this at least into my 50s.

I ran my first marathon at Disney, in my 40s. I had always been a runner but more the type that ran 3-4 miles every day, always as fast as I could, and the notion of doing that for even 13 miles, let alone 26 seemed impossible. It was a dream to run a marathon someday, but I figured not really for me. I like to say I'm a distance runner trapped in a linebacker's body, even at my most fit. In my late 30s I had stopped running, and felt totally overwhelmed by work + kids + life in general, and gained 50 lbs. I missed running and just was physically ill a lot of the time. Egged on my an office mate who ran the NY Marathon a few times, I trained for a local half. No expectations performance-wise, and I really loved it.

In spring 2013 I was early 40s and maybe it was a midlife crisis but I thought, "If not now, when?" So I started looking for races in the back of Runner's World and on marathonguide.com or one of those sites for races that would fit with my work schedule. I think a lot of us are familiar with that runDisney ad of people running on Main Street with Snow White and the dwarves looking on admiringly. January in Florida was perfect timing for me so I signed up. My first marathon was WDW 2014. I was woefully undertrained though I had done my best starting from scratch again, and my poor performance just made me want to try harder the next time. 4 more WDW marathons later and I'm still here. It's changed my life. I lost the majority of that weight and just feel like a different person: more precisely, I feel like me again. I honestly think if I had made that first attempt at a local marathon I would have been so dejected just from coming in dead last most likely, that I would have quit distance running right there. I love this community and all the support it gives.

I wish I had found distance running earlier, or at least realized it was for me earlier, but I am glad to have gotten to it in my 40's and hope the late start means I have more in me.

 

[bpr2002]

It's rare to find anyone else who fences. I used to in college and pre-kids. Foil and Saber.

I discovered fencing around the time I turned 40. I prefer modern epee and historical rapier. I'm eccentric but fun.