Marathon Weekend 2025

[fatmanatee]

RE: backpacks, I've actually been looking into crossbodys recently, wanted to find something that could hold a portable battery, keys, a small water bottle, maybe a couple other small things. My last couple of park trips were a pain bc I'd have a few things in my pockets and would have to dump them out on some rides and at the end obviously you have to make sure you're grabbing everything before you go and it's just annoying. I'm likely ending up with a Timbuk2, which I wouldn't describe as cute, so if you're looking for something with color they're probably not the best option. ANYWAY, since doing one search for this my IG has been bombarding me with crossbody bag ads so all this is to say is that there are a ton of options and if you have IG and search for this too the algorithm will show you every backpack known to humankind.

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

I've been looking into something like this and am curious who you're using. Feel free to DM if you don't want it on the boards.

I just sent you a DM. I'm happy to pass the info along to anyone else as well if anyone is interested! We're a fun group! Haha.

 

[RunningAriel]

For all those waiting to hear back from RD about the Stitch Glitch (aka the dog ate your registration), I have finally heard back from them after a week! Nadine (wonderful CM) explained that when someone else registers you it creates a new account-even if all your correct and current information is used during said registration! They are aware this is an ongoing issue (it's been an issue for YEARS) and there does not seem to be any fixing of it in sight. They are working through thousands of emails and are trying to get to everyone as quickly as possible. She did say that emails were the best way to reach them. Calls may or may not be returned.

Faith, Trust and Pixie dust my friends! You will hopefully hear from someone soon!

 

[Bree]

Strength Training - when I am consistent I hit legs twice a week (quad focused one day & hamstring the other day), back/biceps, chest/triceps & shoulders/abs.

Park bags - I am super minimalist. I use a small crossbody or lululemon waist pack. It’s enough to hold my phone, a tiny wallet if it doesn’t already have card slots, chapstick, hand lotion, floss and poncho. I get free water from quick service. I hate carrying things.

 

[RuntheMouse]

This is sort-of off-topic, but for me is tangential to a MW trip. Does anyone have a favorite alternative to a loungefly backpack for park touring? I know some people will say, "You don't need a bag at all!" but I really like having somewhere to store my wallet, a couple of ponchos, a couple of pins to trade, a couple of water bottles, and clip a popcorn bucket. And I don't need a full-sized bag for that. I have a cute Merida loungefly, but it makes my shirt ride up in the back and that gets really annoying, which helps me to not impulse buy a race weekend loungefly every year.

I was firmly in “you don’t need a bag” camp but I needed to change that up and searched high and low for the perfect small bag. I’ve done 2 park trips with this bag and I love it. It holds everything I need but isn’t bulky.
https://www.patagonia.com/product/atom-sling-bag-8-liters/48262.html

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Park bags - I am super minimalist. I use a small crossbody or lululemon waist pack. It’s enough to hold my phone, a tiny wallet if it doesn’t already have card slots, chapstick, hand lotion, floss and poncho. I get free water from quick service. I hate carrying things.

This! I hate carrying things as well.

I've found some running shorts with zippered front pockets, plus a back-of-the-waistband pocket.
Cell phone goes into one pocket. The other pocket holds my ID, a credit card (just in case), maybe a $20 bill (again, just in case and because I'm an old fogey now), chapstick, maybe a packet of sunscreen. If I'm someplace where I had to drive, the car key/fob goes into the waistband pocket. That way I'm not aggravating my carpal tunnel with holding stuff, and if it is a ride that doesn't abide loose items, then just my hat goes into the storage bin/pocket.

 

[Naomeri]

Re: bags
When I want more than my cellphone wallet with me, but less than my whole Loungefly, this is what I use. I can fit my phone, a poncho, lip balm, gum, and if I really need to, my Kindle (useful for days when I want to get a good seat for Fantasmic and have lots of time to sit around)

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

I was firmly in “you don’t need a bag” camp but I needed to change that up and searched high and low for the perfect small bag. I’ve done 2 park trips with this bag and I love it. It holds everything I need but isn’t bulky.
https://www.patagonia.com/product/atom-sling-bag-8-liters/48262.html

Ok, this bag may be exactly what I've been looking for. I wish it wasn't like 36 hours before I leave for WDW. Haha.

 

[HubbsRunsDis]

Ok, this bag may be exactly what I've been looking for. I wish it wasn't like 36 hours before I leave for WDW. Haha.

They have them at REI if there is one close to you!

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: I’ve been making my own training plans for many years. They’re pretty basic: start with wherever I am currently with long runs and build from there at a slow, steady pace. I’ve had to back off high mileage a lot over the past year+, though, and I’m no longer doing b2b races, so that will change any training plans going forward. I took 4 weeks off running entirely in Jan. And have built back up o 6 mile long runs, and hope to keep my off-season (i.e.: summer in FL) long runs at 5-6 miles, so it’ll only be a short build to W&D Half, which is my next race after the Spring Surprise 10K this weekend. I’ve always done 2-week cycles with long runs and cut-backs, but may try a 3-week cycle with cut-backs and mini-builds plus extra rest days to see if that works better in my older years.

 

[PrincessV]

How often do you all do strength and do you do it on days when you run or days you don't?

I use yoga and Pilates plus dumbbells for my arms as my ST, and that happens twice a week, non-run days. I’ve tried combining with runways and my body said NO. Trial and error has shown me I do best keeping my days separated!

This is sort-of off-topic, but for me is tangential to a MW trip. Does anyone have a favorite alternative to a loungefly backpack for park touring? I know some people will say, "You don't need a bag at all!" but I really like having somewhere to store my wallet, a couple of ponchos, a couple of pins to trade, a couple of water bottles, and clip a popcorn bucket. And I don't need a full-sized bag for that. I have a cute Merida loungefly, but it makes my shirt ride up in the back and that gets really annoying, which helps me to not impulse buy a race weekend loungefly every year.

I am VERY pro-bag and always carry one! I do a lot of day visits and don’t want to have to go back to my car for an umbrella, snack, jacket, hat, etc. - I prefer to just have everything I might need in a day on me. I am also cheap and refuse to spend a lot if I don’t need to, lol! I have a backpack from the brand AOTIAN I got from Amazon that I love: lightweight, fits all I need it to, and sports adequate pockets for organizing. I also have a cross-body bag from Uniqlo that’s smaller and won’t hold a water bottle, but is good for days I don’t need as much - also super lightweight and comfortable.

We just throw everything under our double-stroller. It's basically a rolling fortress.

My “baby” is about to be 22 and I STILL look longingly at OPS (Other People’s Strollers) pretty often, lol! I miss that basket on wheels a lot.

 

[fatmanatee]

This is off-topic from the training and bag talk right now but I'm thinking ahead to the possibility of riding Everest during the marathon, which I missed in 2022 because it was shut down for a refurb! Does anyone who ran this year have a good estimate for how long it would remain open to racers? I know at some point they stopped letting people through for a quick ride but not sure when that happened.

 

[Herding_Cats]

@fatmanatee I don't have a time stamp, but I can estimate that it was still open at around 9:15, but single rider was closed, and they were directing runners to the standby line, which said 45min.

 

[Disneyhanna]

This is off-topic from the training and bag talk right now but I'm thinking ahead to the possibility of riding Everest during the marathon, which I missed in 2022 because it was shut down for a refurb! Does anyone who ran this year have a good estimate for how long it would remain open to racers? I know at some point they stopped letting people through for a quick ride but not sure when that happened.

It changes every year, last year they let us go through single rider and basically right on but this year it was much busier when I got there and we were sent through lightning lane (I think). Still went super fast like 5-10 minutes. I got in line at 8:40AM no issue. I started around 5:10 so it looks like my pace was around 13:30 which checks out since my actual running pace was probably around 11:30 and then I typically stop for all short character waits.

Looking back at the server I cannot name here apparently, it looks like someone posted that Everest closed the line to runners around 9:15, not sure if it reopened. Someone posted in the MW 2024 thread that it was standby only at 8:02 but I'm not sure what time really was since idk if Disboards is showing my timezone, FL timezone, or what (if it's my time that would mean 9:02 in FL). Looking back at park hours it looks like the park opened up at 8:00. Everest was around mile 15.5 I think?

Looking back at 2023, my selfie while on Everest was 8:45 which is really funny as that means I got in line basically the exact same time two years in a row despite the course differences. I think Everest was just before mile 17 in 2023, and it looks like the park also opened at 8:00 in 2023.

So you can definitely be too fast, and it seems like you probably want to aim to be there in the first hour of park opening for a shorter wait. Since there's early entry of 30 minutes I'm guessing you can ride then too? Would be interested to hear from people who got there much earlier than I did and their experience.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Ok, this bag may be exactly what I've been looking for. I wish it wasn't like 36 hours before I leave for WDW. Haha.

They have them at REI if there is one close to you!

Check at Dick’s too if they’re close to you.

 

[azrivest]

Has there been any updates on the transferring/linking marathon registrations to another account? I haven't heard back from rD since I contact them early last week.

I registered my friend and they transferred her registration yesterday. So they are working on it!

 

[kps7795]

This is off-topic from the training and bag talk right now but I'm thinking ahead to the possibility of riding Everest during the marathon, which I missed in 2022 because it was shut down for a refurb! Does anyone who ran this year have a good estimate for how long it would remain open to racers? I know at some point they stopped letting people through for a quick ride but not sure when that happened.

Keep in mind that it is most likely that next year's marathon will be a different experience because it is a week later. For the most part, most Florida schools will be back from winter break already so there will be less families next year on vacation (from Florida at least) than there were this year.

 

[GollyGadget]

This is off-topic from the training and bag talk right now but I'm thinking ahead to the possibility of riding Everest during the marathon, which I missed in 2022 because it was shut down for a refurb! Does anyone who ran this year have a good estimate for how long it would remain open to racers? I know at some point they stopped letting people through for a quick ride but not sure when that happened.

I rode everest this year and arrived about 10 min after early entry started (I.e. 20 min before official park open). I tried to go in the regular standby lane but was directed to the LL.

My hypothesis is that early entry hours were allowed to use LL but once the park opened, runners were told to wait in the standby queue.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

Re bags: I use the Loungefly backpacks now after finding out my crossbody Dooney would rub on my race shirt an make it pill. I don't think this happened with the Champions shirts, but we have discussed the change/lower quality in the shirts. I find I like the Loungefly, or a backpack style, so I don't have to keep switching shoulder to shoulder. It surprisingly holds a lot. I can fit my phone, wallet, keys, a water bottle, and a full size sunscreen in that bag.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I rode everest this year and arrived about 10 min after early entry started (I.e. 20 min before official park open). I tried to go in the regular standby lane but was directed to the LL.

My hypothesis is that early entry hours were allowed to use LL but once the park opened, runners were told to wait in the standby queue.

I think part of the reason to switch to standby pretty early on was it did start getting so backed up in that area, the LL probably wasn't long physically enough anymore. I still went thru the LL 40 mins after regular opening but there were a lot of people in line (moved so fast though). It was overflowing with CMs directing people where to go like the line gets midday on a regular day.

When I got there, a regular guest was absolutely handing it to a CM, she was so frustrated by the longer wait due to all the runners. (I sort of get where she was coming from but still...did not feel bad at all )

So they probably get to a point where the LL gets long enough to disrupt the regular operations and they have to cut it off and enforce standby. And sounds like they may sort of encourage runners not to stop when it gets really busy by quoting long wait times (Everest is such a people eater that I'm not sure I believe them when they say 30-45 minutes at 9AM but who knows)