Marathon Weekend 2024

[Disneyhanna]

I loved the start with A in the chute and B queued up behind them. We were in B and it was so nice not having the walk beforehand with everyone tripping each other. It was surprising they used so many waves, we thought they'd try and release faster. In hindsight, I’m very glad they didn’t as the course was very congested compared to last year in B corral. Couldn’t hear any announcing in the corrals so it felt so weird at the start.

The first couple miles were pretty crowded and there were so many narrow spots. It did start clearing out about halfway through and stayed that way for the rest of the race. Overall the course was pretty terrible compared to a 10k course and given we’ve already done Epcot for the 5k and 10k. The freeway turns were sharp but it was interesting watching the other runners as you passed them at those turnarounds, it was far more crowded behind us.

We didn’t stop for many characters as the lines were long. We did stop for Marie (9mins) and Pooh (couple mins) and Mickey and Minnie (7mins). As mentioned above, more runners in A/B were definitely stopping since no reason to run a fast race. The CMs and volunteers definitely amped up the cheering which was nice.

We beat the rain and finished around 6:35 and were on a bus to the boardwalk within 10 minutes. From there we got in our miles and joined up with some other friends to loop around Crescent Lake and the path to Studios. Finished our 13.1 around 8:30. It mostly rained and not too hard, no wind so it was refreshing (race was SO humid and warm). It did downpour a few times but we were wet anyway. Very bearable with a hat/visor. I wouldn’t wanna do 13.1 in that but 6 was fine. There were lots of runners, not busy or anything but we definitely weren’t the only ones.

I’d be pretty upset if this were my first half or only race but overall I’m glad we were able to run something over a cancellation.

 

[PrincessV]

I’m too tired to hash it all out. I’ll debrief when I’ve had some sleep.

I think rD absolutely made the right call, while also wishing they’d have just canceled it and allowed options like they did in 2017. I wound up running it, enjoyed the last two rainy miles the most, have no intention of making up the rest lol! I, too, missed the meet-up bc I thought everyone there was Team in Training, Doh!

If things go as planned, I’ll be cheering outside DHS tomorrow. I’ll probably miss the faster folks, but should be there for mid-pack and back. Wave hi if you see me! And have a GREAT race, all!!

 

[Dopey 2020]

Got a pre race mile in at Wilderness and with this being a slower save my body walk run race I absolutely counted the mile walk in from the Crush parking lot. After the race I was thinking resort but found myself dropping things off at the car and joining others in running about the Dory parking lot. Managed to make it back and shower before the weather. Still wishing they had kept it 13.1 but had a good time and now I’ve got a story to tell. See you all tomorrow

 

[StarGirl11]

I might have more to say on the whole lightning thing later but for now two things: 1. Bolts out of the blue are very much a real thing that Disney has to keep in mind. This is why before on occasion they have to keep in mind what they need to shut down when lightning is less than 15 miles from the resort. 2. Races are a communal thing. RunDisney needs to keep the safety of everyone from the average runner to the disabled athletes to their own staff and volunteers. Just because some people are willing to go out and run 6 miles right now in sub optimal conditions doesn’t mean rD should have put on a full race.

I get the disappointment but some people on here are willing to risk everyone’s life and limb for a thing that really as someone who has actually almost died before thanks to her medical things. Is not worth risking your own life at the end of the day

I love runDisney but not that much

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I had considered double layer of shirts this morning but thankfully opted not to. As it was I was sweating a lot by mile 3, which had me questioning the tights, but I *hate* being only halfway costumed. The wind later was welcome for the cooling, but annoying when it was a headwind.
First rain was hitting at bag check and in the bus line, so I’m glad not to have run in it, especially on slippery ground.
I didn’t worry about the other 6 miles. I’ll be happy to have a little bit more in the tank for tomorrow, plus I will probably put the miles in before I leave the park today.
And I have set a new PR for a seven miler…

 

[marty3d]

After a nap and some coffee I’ve had some time to reflect on the race. I won’t rehash what many others have said better than I can.

I think Disney made the right call but do wish there had been the option to switch my registration to the full.

I decided I wanted to get the most out of the race while trying to stay ahead of the rain. That resulted in me running the first 3 miles in 32 minutes as I didn’t stop for any pictures until I got to Chip and Dale. I took in the extended time in WS by slowing down and getting all the picture stops. I even tried for Mickey & Minnie but the rain started with 5 people ahead of me. I ended up taking 1:21 to run the last 4 miles!

As for getting in my extra miles - I’ve run the half many times. My goal this year is the CTC and technically Disney considers minimum distance for the C2C to be a 10 miler plus a half. I managed to get in another mile at Pop before heading to my room to add to my running/ walking total and get to exactly 10 miles. I’m good with that.

Good luck to the marathon runners tomorrow! I plan on coming out to cheer on the runners either at DHS or the boardwalk.

Now to enjoy a rainy day at the studios.

 

[dobball23]

Looking at tomorrow's Marathon course, does the water stop that is just below mile 17 service runners going into and out of Animal Kingdom? Or is it only on one side? Based on the map, I'm assuming runners can get water at ~mile 14.25 and again at ~mile 16.75.

I'm planning out when I will take my gels and don't want to plan on a water stop that doesn't exist.

 

[Grabnar]

Just because some people are willing to go out and run 6 miles right now in sub optimal conditions doesn’t mean rD should have put on a full race

As other people have also said, it's different being in a park/resort than 3-4 mi out on the highway. If there's a storm you can bail pretty quickly, less so when you're on an overpass…

 

[StarGirl11]

As other people have also said, it's different being in a park/resort than 3-4 mi out on the highway. If there's a storm you can bail pretty quickly, less so when you're on an overpass…

Yeah that too. I mentioned it upthread and it doesn’t hurt to repeat but while rD can evacuate the average runner quickly and safely to a bus or something if needs be. I don’t think it was the thoughts about the average runner that made them make the call. Because you have your volunteers you have to worry about evacing and on a conceptual level that should be easy but who knows. Plus as I said the wheelchair division is basically a rolling lightning rod

And it might not be a bad time to mention that the wheelchair division for the half is one of the biggest for all of the rD races combined historically. So they had a lot to keep in mind that they have to evacuate that wouldn’t be a fast process. A lot of us physically can’t get onto the couch buses for one reason or another.

Which means you’re now trying to figure out where all the chairs are. And get suitable vehicles to them. So you have lightning rods sitting around in areas that aren’t safe to be in during a lightning storm for god knows how long because even if rD mobilizes quickly you still need time to get the vehicles in the right place.

If you’re lucky the chairs are at a water stop so you know where they are and where to send people. But do you really think rD wants to risk their rep on luck?

It was too risky. Period.

I get disappointment I do. But to act like it wasn’t a giant risk to go forward as intended originally is to ignore the issues at hand

Oh and this is just from a perspective of a self propelled chair. Duos would be more complicated I think because some of them have a whole process to transfer

 

[camaker]

One incongruity from this morning that I haven't seen mentioned. I apologize if I just missed it. Did anyone else find it really strange that RunDisney was handing out both wetted cooling towels and Mylar blankets at the finish today? I had a hard time wrapping my head around that one!

 

[MissLiss279]

Looking at tomorrow's Marathon course, does the water stop that is just below mile 17 service runners going into and out of Animal Kingdom? Or is it only on one side? Based on the map, I'm assuming runners can get water at ~mile 14.25 and again at ~mile 16.75.

I'm planning out when I will take my gels and don't want to plan on a water stop that doesn't exist.

If I remember correctly from past marathons, I think that aid station is for both directions. I think it makes the course really narrow right there. I think we get a banana in that area too - but that is only on one side…

 

[Herding_Cats]

Where can I get pasta today that won’t cost me $30 (cough cough Terralina)? Not much sounds good to eat, but pasta does. We are staying at Saratoga, so DS is really accessible.

 

[dobball23]

If I remember correctly from past marathons, I think that aid station is for both directions. I think it makes the course really narrow right there. I think we get a banana in that area too - but that is only on one side…

I think the banana is usually at the stop between 15 and 16, on the back side of Expedition Everest.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

One incongruity from this morning that I haven't seen mentioned. I apologize if I just missed it. Did anyone else find it really strange that RunDisney was handing out both wetted cooling towels and Mylar blankets at the finish today? I had a hard time wrapping my head around that one!

I thought it was funny too! I mean, it does kind of make sense - right when you finish the race, you're hot and sweaty, but a few minutes later when you're not running anymore, you're cool - but still amusing.

 

[The Expert]

@The Expert we Passed the 2 old flamingo guys today. I never saw them last year, but they are forever seared into my brain from 2022 They are still screaming.

Noooooo! LOL!

he CMs and volunteers definitely amped up the cheering which was nice.

I took a couple of videos, and one of the whole crowd of runners singing along to Daydream Believer outside Creations. It was so cool.

One incongruity from this morning that I haven't seen mentioned. I apologize if I just missed it. Did anyone else find it really strange that RunDisney was handing out both wetted cooling towels and Mylar blankets at the finish today? I had a hard time wrapping my head around that one!

I didn't see either, but was struggling to get my poncho on at that point. I crossed right around 7.

Where can I get pasta today that won’t cost me $30 (cough cough Terralina)? Not much sounds good to eat, but pasta does. We are staying at Saratoga, so DS is really accessible.

If you're in a room with a kitchen, I noticed the little sundries store at Contemporary last night had packages of spaghetti and jars of sauce. The DVC shops that have groceries usually stock the same stuff, so I bet SSR has them too.

 

[The Expert]

Where were Mickey and Minnie and how did I miss them??

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

One incongruity from this morning that I haven't seen mentioned. I apologize if I just missed it. Did anyone else find it really strange that RunDisney was handing out both wetted cooling towels and Mylar blankets at the finish today? I had a hard time wrapping my head around that one!

I noticed that as well. But I wrapped the towel around my head and the Mylar around my shoulders…

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Where were Mickey and Minnie and how did I miss them??

I thought I saw them near the end

 

[StarGirl11]

Also one last thing on the wheelchair situation. I don’t think rD wants to be financially responsible if they have to make the chair and cycles abandon their aids to get them in a vehicle. Because oh yeah some of the vehicles can only fit one maybe two if your creative of them at a time

I’ve mentioned this in the DL tread. But even the smaller chairs aren’t particular small. Mines personally 6 feet from one end to the other. And that’s not that unusual I’m pretty sure

These things start usually at 4 grand. Mine was that much. And they can go all the way up to 10 grand

And then you add in the people who are using their day chairs as race chairs which can also get extremely expensive.

You could easily be looking at a 100 grand bill (because again big field) for having to replace peoples chairs from an evacuation process. Let alone the anger you would get from the community for putting them out of their chairs for several months and the possible medical problems for the day chair users.

All of this to say rD had plenty of reasons to not keep athletes out during a lightning storm.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Where were Mickey and Minnie and how did I miss them??

They were backstage after exiting Epcot. Before the choir