Marathon Weekend 2023

[GuinnessRunner]

May I present my all-time-favorite Garmin track. Everest during the 2020 marathon! I so hope my time lines up to ride it this year now that it's back open.

If I could find mine I would post as well. By far my fastest mile in a marathon! Had always wanted to do it but in 2020 it was so hot and I was just trying to finish so didn’t care about my pace. I figured if I ever was going to ride that was the time and glad I did. Not sure I would do it again though as it was rough getting out of the train and getting going again!

 

[steph0808]

After four Disney marathons and one Disney half, I'm in for my first (and last) Dopey in 2023.

Goals are to:
1. Finish all four races
2. Have fun

That's it. I would love to ride a ride during the marathon, but I'm always too early for Everest and by the time I hit DHS, I don't feel like sitting down and riding would be a great idea!

 

[opusone]

SAFD: Wow, I’ve thought about it for quite some time today, and I’m really having a tough time answering this week’s question. Maybe it’s because I thought I was skipping MW 2023 altogether, so even though I registered for the marathon very last minute (and only because of the delayed registration snafu), I clearly didn’t do any planning ahead of time and actually haven’t thought about my plans since registration. So, goals? Hmmm… here is my current thinking:

• My first goal is to find a time and proper way to tell my wife that I have registered
  • Last we discussed, I said I wasn’t registering because of other potential (and potentially conflicting) family vacation plans, plus the fact that I had an important meeting that started right at the time that registration opened
• My second goal is to figure out the logistics
  • Is this a solo trip, or will other family members join? Choice of resort will greatly depend on the answer.
  • Is this just a quick weekend trip (due to the above-mentioned potential vacation conflict), or will I have time to arrive early and attend HH on Friday and/or stay later and attend DATW on Monday?
• My third goal is to determine my actual goal for the marathon which could be one of many…
  • Take it somewhat seriously and train similar to how I have in the past. If I choose this path and am realistic, my goal would be to get a time in the 3:30-4:00 range. While I know this is a fairly wide time range, I haven’t run a full marathon for time in almost 20 years, and I’m starting to feel that a marathon is a little longer than my body wants to run.
  • Have fun and run with the Goof Troop again. I really enjoyed the relaxed pace of Goof Troop this past January… no pressure, great pictures, interesting coversation to keep your mind off the miles/sun, and alcohol!
  • Ride a ride. This was one of the things that I really wanted to do this past January, but with EE closed, it just wasn‘t to be. By the time we got to DHS, everybody was just ready to get to the finish line (plus the ToT line looked really long).
  • Try using the Galloway method. I truly think I may be faster if I had a short walk break every so often, but I’ve never tried (or trained) to do it. I would probably still have the same time goal range as above, but this may make it more likely to achieve.

 

[marty3d]

SAFD:

Registered for my second Dopey even though I had planned to be one and done after this year. My goals are pretty simple:

- Improve on my training this year
- Enjoy running the 5 and 10k with my son - zero time goals here other than finishing
- Make it to the HH meetup. I’d planned to this year but messed up on timing. Will be a priority next year.
- Costume(s) for the first time?
- Stop for more photo ops
- Ride EE
- Not do anything stupid and therefore improve on my marathon time. I wiped out in MK on the marathon this year and almost got pulled from the race. So my Dopey goal is no injuries this time around.
- Have fun!

 

[FFigawi]

Everest seems to be by far the most popular to do this for, since it’s close to the course and has been quick on, quick off. I’ve seen chatter about people going on ToT or Aerosmith but both of those are higher risk due to the amount of time it takes to get through it and honestly i can’t imagine doing either since they’re at the tail end of the race. The last thing I want to do at mile 23 is sit down, I have no confidence in being able to get up again.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of people doing epcot rides during the race, but i have heard of people getting epcot beers.

I always stop to ride ToT and RnRC. Takes about 30-45 minutes to get through both of them and back into the race again. Very fun, and most people already in line are kind enough to let runners cut right up to the front of the queue.

 

[Naomeri]

SAFD: I’m just a virtual participant for MW, since that’s just not a time of year that works for vacations for me, so my goal is boring: run the 10K and the half outside (as opposed to inside on a track like 2022). Which means that my goal is 100% out of my control and in the hands of Mother Nature and how she chooses to treat central Minnesota the first weekend in January.

 

[softball chick]

SAFD: I'm in for what will be my first marathon and my first return to Marathon Weekend since the 2017 5K which started off my RunDisney journey.

My goals for the weekend are:
1. Start building myself back up to walking/running in time for the training plans to start (health issues took me out these last 9ish months)
2. Stick with my training plan as best I can
3. Come up with a fun costume and post race shirt to wear in the parks
4. Stop for characters and some yet to be determined drink
5. Finish the race and soak in every second of the experience

 

[deadvc]

SAFD

First Dopey. I don't care at all about PR'ing any of the races, rather I just want to survive the four straight wake up calls and finish each race in a reasonable time frame.

I'll probably skip the rides as I always have a hard time getting going again if I stop during a run. I'm also not sure if Everest would be open yet when I pass by as I expect to be in an early corral.

Get some good shots in MK/Epcot with the medals after the races.

Enjoy the process.

Edited to add I also want to grab each photo stop for each race.

 

[Livelovedance]

We have gotten a sketch from every trip we've taken to WDW, so I have some tips on this for anyone who is not familiar with them.

Go to Art of Disney EARLY. Like on your first or 2nd day. Look at all of the "in-stock" pictures because different artists definitely have different styles. (Monica Willis is my absolute favorite because she uses a lot more "force" on her colors so they pop a lot more instead of just light shading with the particular color.) They have a big 3 or 4in binder of ALLLLLLLL of the drawings they can do AND there are special "race weekend" drawings they can do as well (I'll come back and add my Goofy pic that is not in the regular fab-5 section as an example) on a page or 2 toward either the very front or very back of the binder. There are a TON of options for framing. I haven't done the big race-medal thing (yet) but we did get some framed sketches there in the past.

You can buy the in-stock sketches if you like one OR you can get a custom sketch done (you pick out the particular sketch, the colors, if you want it personalized, etc.) Art of Animation resort also usually has some sketches in their shop area since they have an artist working there daily. During MW weekend this year they shipped our drawings to us when they were complete since there is such an enormous demand for them.

Sketches fit into an 11x14 frame when they are on their own.

Customized goofy (race weekend specific sketch and I requested the race weekend title and year)


View attachment 664641
As opposed to an in-stock sketch

View attachment 664642

I love this! Thanks for the info. I happened to be in Disney Springs during PW and I stopped into Art of Disney and saw an artist drawing PW sketches. I want to say it was Monica Willis, but I’m not 100% certain. It was so cool to watch her work! They had a table set up next to her with some of her premade sketches. I ended up buying one of Mickey to commemorate my first marathon that past January, but I had NO idea they had a whole binder of sketches or that you could request custom ones!

For 2020 Dopey, I purchased a custom chalkboard bib and medal hanger from York Sign Shop on Etsy. They provisioned a slot to write in times for the 5k, 10k, Half, and Full.

That sounds like a great idea too, thank you!

 

[wdwjoe13]

My goal for WDW marathons is always the same: enjoy the last six miles.

My wife will be doing Dopey this year too. With 5 kids, training can be tough. 2021 was a tough year for our family with one of our boys going through chemo. So, the hope is that his cancer remains in remission and everyone stays healthy for a celebration at Marathon Weekend. As a couple, our goal is to have a good training plan that we can enjoy (as much as is possible).

 

[shellott-hill]

SAFD:

As said by all, have a safe, healthy and happy runDisney weekend.

This will be my second official Dopey (ran an unofficial second one two years ago during the lockdown). What I mentioned in my running Journal after the last Dopey (2022): More strength training so my quads are not a mess (I was worried when I had a rough time walking normal after the half and then had to do the marathon the next day) and figure out a better fueling strategy so I can stomach fuel after mile 15 of the marathon (the bananas did me in).

As always, I am not looking for PRs anymore. I am looking forward to fully embracing the race experience and all the delights that come with it.

 

[Novatrix]

SAFD: Registered for 2nd Dopey, which I promised myself I'd register for back I 2018 if I was still running (did my first marathon at WDW that year and was jealous of how gorgeous the 5th anniversary medals were

Goals:
1. Finish uninjured.
2. Enjoy the ambiance of race week/disboard meetups/DATW.
3. Ride a ride. So far I've done EE and ToT. I was mentally thinking this year that Ratatouille would be a possibility without the virtual queue, so I may aim for that or Rockn Rollercoaster (it was closed last year when I gt done with ToT.)W

Really hope the Haunted mansion gravedigger photo op is back this year too.

 

[Geographilia]

SAFD:

I’m in for Dopey during MW 23, which will be my second MW after the ill-fated Goofy of 2017. Dopey had been on the wishlist for a while but it only came into focus after my wife (not a runner) was convinced by a friend to do the Springtime Surprise 10k earlier this year as part of a girls weekend … and loved it. The enabler friend also wanted to go Dopey in 23 and convinced a dozen others in our circle to register for a suite of MW 2023 events; my wife is in for the 5k and half.

My goals are still evolving, but this is where I am currently:

• Diversify the training and don’t overdo it. My Goofy 2017 experience was a mess, not just because of the canceled half or the temperature at the start of the marathon. My training for that was just to add more miles but not more strength, stretching, recovery, or better nutrition. Add an extra 50+ miles with family in the parks in the days leading up to the races and it didn’t end well. I ran a decent marathon (PR by 23 minutes, had a 12 minute negative split from first to second half) but ended up using my youngest’s stroller as a walker for the 36 hours after the race and came home with the worst tendinitis I’ve ever had. I need to remember that my 45 year old body needs more prep and recovery than the 16 year old body I had in high school.
• For the 5k and half, enjoy the experience with my wife. I‘ve run regularly for over 30 years but she’s relatively new to it so I want her to have fun. Running in costume isn’t really my thing, but we have a few good couples ideas that will add to the experience. (Hint: Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor)
• Take advantage of what I hope is a decent PoT corral placement (3:44 marathon) to get photo ops I skipped during 2017.
• Start and finish each event as healthy as possible!.

 

[Mexacajun]

SAFD: Got into the marathon. Goal is to PR. Coming off of a PR this past year in the Louisiana marathon following a PR in the gulf coast marathon. I have a lot of work to do but this past marathon was my first not crashing the last 10k. Hoping for a good training season.

 

[missposh]

SAFD:
I'm in for my first Dopey, so my overall goal is just to complete the challenge and feel good, during and after.

In an ideal world, I'd also PR each race, but I'm still deciding on how hard I want to run the first three races or if I should take it easy and conserve energy for the full. I'd also like if I could manage to make and wear a costume for a race or two this year - I've done several rundisney weekends but never worn a costume. And, obviously, I plan to have as much fun as possible (or try to, at least)!

 

[RunWI1265]

SAFD
- Related to the above: leave the mom guilt at home when I’m at WDW without my husband (who is super supportive and excited for me train for this and to go on the trip) and kid (who would probably be less supportive and excited if he knew where I was really going that weekend!)

I did Dopey this past Jan and came down solo. My husband stayed home with our two toddlers. The guilt was there from the start of planning all the way to getting on the plane. But once I was there it was so nice to be alone and only have to worry about myself! Can't say I caught up on sleep or that it was relaxing by any means but I had a really nice time even though I missed my family. My husband was able to fly down for a couple nights after the marathon so we were able to enjoy the parks together then. Doing it again in 2023, same plan! You will have a great time!

SAFD: Dopey #2
1. Finish every race feeling strong. If I could mimic my 2022 experience I'd consider that a win.
2. Reintroduce strength training into my routine.
3. Show up in January fitter, stronger, lighter, and hopefully with no covid anxiety!!
4. Try to get under 5 hours for the marathon without sacrificing having fun and taking pictures.

 

[ciaoaloha31]

SAFD: This will be Dopey #3 (4 if you count 2021 Virtual weekend)

My goal is to keep my streak of a new PR for the Marathon during Dopey.

 

[jrsharp21]

Speaking of races. Today is the Texas Ironman, which runs where I live. There are Kona spots given from this IM so it attracts some major competitors. Conditions are not awesome but pretty standard for this time of year here. Those folks amaze me!

Sounds like you and I live in the same place! Last Wednesday through Friday I was out running on the waterway while the Ironman participants were also training. Started to get me thinking, hmmm........

 

[jrsharp21]

SAFD: The goal this year is to make it through the full marathon without any injuries or ailments from the previous 3 days. For this years Dopey, the first three races went very well. No issues at all. Then on marathon day, around mile 8, my knee buckled and had a lingering pain down the side of my knee for the next few miles. Turns out it was my IT band. Had to stop at one of the med stations and have them wrap my knee up. I ended up finishing right under the 4:30 mark. I am hoping to finish at 4 hours for the 2023 marathon.

 

[kps7795]

Sounds like you and I live in the same place! Last Wednesday through Friday I was out running on the waterway while the Ironman participants were also training. Started to get me thinking, hmmm........

FOMO is a *****.