Cross-posting this from my Facebook, for the amusement of anyone here who cares to read my race ramblings!
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Here's my somewhat stream-of-consciousness report of my Walt Disney World marathon experience. I've divided it into 3 parts, covering the hours before the race, the race itself and some housecleaning thoughts on the experience as a whole.
PREGAME
I woke up at 3 a.m. on race day to get to Epcot on time for the start. I was on about 2 hours' sleep (because going to bed at 9 on vacation wasn't happening), but I had made sure to sleep in the day before to try and compensate.
One nice snag right away...my friend Rain was giving me a ride, but some of her friends thought it would be a great idea to toilet paper her car the night before. We lost 5-10 minutes cleaning up that mess, but we were still ahead of the game getting to the Epcot parking lot on time.
By 4 a.m., I was in a holding area for all the athletes...just an empty section of parking lot with lots of portable toilets lined up. Not much to do here, but I managed to strike up a conversation with a couple of people.
Around 4:30, they started marching us over to our corrals, which took about 20 minutes. For most of this early stuff, you could have beamed me into the moment from outer space and I'd have had no clue where I was. The parking lot and backstage areas we went through were all pretty sterile and bland. Nothing about it screamed "You're about to run a race at DISNEY WORLD!" to me.
We finally emerged from backstage, and entered our corrals on Epcot Center Drive to the east of the park around 4:50. The street signs at least gave a little more of a feel of location.
In the corral, they tried to keep us entertained with a few DJs and some pre-race videos on huge TV screens. There was no screen near my location in Corral E (the fifth of eight starting waves), so I just sat on the pavement and listened to the audio or strained to see one of the screens in the distance.
Hearing some of the stories about veterans running this race after returning from Afghanistan really helped fire me up to get excited and do my best, more so than all the cheesy tunes they were piping in. Some of those interviews helped remind me what a big deal these pieces of "normal life" are to those guys, and made me really appreciate the chance to run with them.
Around 5:30, they played the national anthem and then the waves started taking off. First were the wheelchair athletes, then the eight running waves in projected order of finish, with the fastest folks taking off first.
At the moment when the race officially started, the sky exploded in a blaze of fireworks. I should have expected it from Disney, but it caught me off guard and gave me another huge surge of adrenaline. As each wave took off, there was a smaller burst of fireworks and giant torches along the Start line erupted into flame. Hard not to be worked up to run with that as your sendoff.
THE RACE
My wave worked its way forward, and at around 5:53, it was our turn to take off. We passed a giant stage for the DJ's, with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy waving as we took off. I was very pumped in these opening minutes, and kinda forgot the huge challenge ahead. It just felt like a huge party, with all this stuff going on and all the runners bunched together.
During the first mile, my friend Doug caught up to me. We were in the same corral, but I hadn't seen him before the start. He had come over from Mississippi and signed up for the Goofy Challenge, which has runners do the half marathon on Saturday and the full on Sunday. In all, Doug and the rest of the "Goofy's" were shooting for 39.3 miles for the weekend.
The first couple of miles went by quickly and easily, with Doug pacing me. Before I knew it, we had finished 2 miles in about 25 minutes and were heading into the Epcot parking lot to enter the park.
During mile 3, Doug held back to walk through a water stop. I had packed 2 large bottles and a small flask of Powerade for hydration, so I kept running on. There were characters scattered all along the trail, and some of the coolest were on the path approaching Epcot. A couple of Main Street Electrical Parade floats (they were smaller than normal, so I think they might have been customized) were turning around in circles in the predawn, with the famous Baroque Hoedown synthesizer theme playing.
A little before 6:30, I found myself getting ready to enter Epcot. In the darkness, the massive Spaceship Earth loomed up ahead. I was glad I had gotten placed in one of the waves that would enter the park through the front entrance. Another group of starters further back were set to enter the park through the side before the two groups merged, but I really wanted to run underneath the iconic dome. It didn't disappoint. This was another "wow" moment that reminded me where I was running.
After Spaceship Earth, we ran past some other impressive sights, like the park's fountain, the monorail beam and the giant Christmas tree (yes, they still have the decorations up) between Future World and World Showcase.
We cut a left into World Showcase, ran through the Mexico and Norway pavilions, then cut a left between Norway and China to head backstage and leave the park.
Around mile 4, we were back near the starting point on Epcot Center Drive. The runners had dispersed pretty well by now, but somewhere in here, Doug managed to catch me again. I was surprised he had managed to find me, but it was nice to have a pacer again.
The next couple miles just tracked Epcot Center Drive westward before turning north onto World Drive. Somewhere in here, I lost Doug for good. He had a little better grip on an incline outside Epcot, and I fell back. I saw Doug's back get further away for a while, but didn't want to expend the energy to catch him. It was just me against the course, and pace would work itself out. I wasn't making any pushes this early on.
At 6 miles, we made a big loop onto World Drive and started going north toward Magic Kingdom. Near mile marker 8, we passed the Richard Petty Speedway with a race car near the road. There were lots of things to look at along the way, but that one sticks in my mind.
During the ninth mile, we went through the Transportation and Ticket Center, but skipped all the ferries and monorails to the Magic Kingdom. This trip was going to be on foot.
Somewhere around here, I passed a girl with a shirt that said she was doing the Goofy. At this point, she'd have been about 21 miles into her weekend, so as I went by, I yelled "You're halfway through your 39!" Her eyes lit up and she went "Oh yeah!" as it sank in. There's not too many better feelings than encouraging another runner along the trail.
The course continued circling the Seven Seas Lagoon along the eastern side, and we passed the Contemporary Resort on the right. Somewhere in here, we went beneath an overpass with a large banner featuring Hercules that said "You can go the distance." On top of the bridge was a guy with giant Mickey gloves yelling "You're almost 10 miles into a marathon and everybody else is still in bed!" A very encouraging stretch of the course there.
The sun was well up by now as we approached Magic Kingdom. Monorails soared overhead as the park drew closer.
It was around 8 a.m., a little over 2 hours into the race as we entered the park through backstage and turned up Main Street. The park wasn't open yet, but there were crowds of spectators lined up tightly along the ropes, all yelling encouragement and offering high-fives. It is a profoundly life affirming experience to pass hundreds of strangers pouring their souls into cheering you on, yelling your name (printed on our bibs) and sticking out their hands to tag yours as you pass. At this point, I was high as a kite and felt like I could run forever.
We cut right into Tomorrowland, made a left turn into Fantasyland, and approached another of the race's defining moments as Cinderella Castle rose up around a corner.
There were royal trumpeters along the castle's upper balconies as we approached from the rear, and they played ceremonial heraldry as we entered the castle. Seriously, our own trumpeters. How cool is that!
After running out the castle's front, it was right into Liberty Square, then left through Frontierland and out of the park. On my way out, I saw a steam engine parked on the train tracks just beside the course. I love the old-fashioned locomotives at Disney World and Disneyland, so that was pretty neat.
Now onto a little bit more information than you might need, but it's just part of the deal.
Forty-five ounces of Powerade has to have somewhere to go, and while I warmed up pretty well along the course, I wasn't sweating it all out. Suffice it to say I lost count of how many times I had to stop and ______. This usually only happens to me on long runs on cooler days and usually wasn't an issue in training. It was definitely an issue today, though.
Running through Magic Kingdom, I had another "gotta" moment and was kinda hoping to use a real park bathroom instead of a disgusting porta-john or the bushes, but for some reason I just decided to keep going when I passed some in Frontierland. I had heard other runners say the bathrooms were open even if the park wasn't, but I just wasn't sure if I'd get in trouble, so I pressed on to another portable unit outside the park.
After that, my bladder's timing sucked for the rest of the day. Anytime I was in a park with pristine automatic toilets, I didn't feel the need, but as soon as I was on a long stretch of highway with no trees or portables handy, I had to go. Pretty irritating.
At 11 miles, Magic Kingdom was behind me, and this was where I got into a spot of trouble. The stretch of course just after the park was pretty bleak. At one point, there was nothing to look at but some signs with goofy Steven Wright type questions like "Why are they called apartments if they're all together?" The most interesting thing around here were the golf courses we passed, with Mickey and Minnie dressed in duffer gear next to a golf cart.
It wasn't enough to keep me up. The high I had got running through the park was gone. I was starting to feel the miles now, and wondered, not if I would finish, but if the last 15 miles or so were going to be a real fight. I still had 3 hours or so, and I didn't want it to be a miserable slog to keep going.
We made the long, dull trip along the west side of Seven Seas Lagoon (but far back from the lagoon itself), turned onto Bear Island Road during Mile 14, and started heading southwest toward Animal Kingdom.
I think Bear Island is basically a Cast Member access road. It has a water treatment plant, a compost facility, and other things that aren't all that interesting. There was a giant hot air balloon at one point to break up the monotony, but in general this was a mentally hard stretch, knowing there was still half the race to go.
Around Mile Marker 14, I got a big pick-me-up. A Davy Crockett character stood out along the course encouraging us and promising "potassium" up ahead. After reading the program, I knew this meant volunteers would be handing out bananas soon.
I had been taking GU gel shots every 45 minutes or so during the race, but I really craved something substantial. The banana I picked up 14 miles in was just the thing. I was over 3 hours into the run, mentally beat down, and craving something hardier than a mouthful of goo. As soon as I bit into the banana, I immediately felt a boost. Running is such a mental game...obviously that one bite of fruit didn't have any immediate effect on my body, but it put my head back in the game and encouraged me to push on.
At 16 miles, we reached the gated backstage area that marked the northern boundary of Animal Kingdom, the third theme park. As we approached the park, Cast Members welcomed us, including one guy holding a live ferret...or maybe it was a weasel. It was fitting, at any rate.
Animal Kingdom has a huge geographic footprint, largely because of all the space needed to house the animals. We spent a good part of the 17th mile just running backstage, past animal enclosures and Cast Members screaming encouragement.
We finally emerged into the park itself. By this time, it was about 9:30, and the parks were open. We had a coned off track through the park, but now there were regular day guests joining the characters, Cast Members and family members we had seen the whole way. Somewhere in here, we reached the 17 mile marker, a big milestone in my head because it meant we now only had 9.2 miles left, a single digit number! The total was starting to look more manageable.
Animal Kingdom proper is kind of a blur to me. At one point, Expedition Everest reared up on the left and I know we ran through the Dinoland area some. After more than a mile in the park, we exited into the parking lot. Day guests were having to cut across our track when the path cleared to reach the park, adding a bit of a complicating wrinkle as we had to try and adjust our pace to avoid hitting anybody.
We made a long trek through the park's parking lot, then headed out onto Osceola Parkway for another highway stretch. Eighteen miles in, and I started wondering how my body was going to hold up. Somewhere between 18-22 miles is when many runners "hit the wall" as their muscles become depleted of crucial glycogen and their bodies try and force them to stop moving. I just kept moving along the long highway stretch and waited to see if things would get harder. So far, so good.
This was another dull stretch of road, but it didn't beat me down the way the bit after Magic Kingdom had. I knew we were getting close and just kept moving. At some point in here, I picked up another banana for an extra potassium shot. I also got a nice mental boost at this point when my phone went off. It was an encouraging text from Heidi, watching my progress online from her home in Alabama. Knowing people in other states are watching you and wishing you well is another great reason to keep moving with purpose.
After a long 2-mile stretch heading eastward on the pavement, we approached the turnaround near ESPN's Wide World of Sports. Little signs along the road giving fun facts about ESPN's history let us know where we were.
I had been concerned about this stretch just looking at the map, because it was the only part of the race where the course doubled back on itself. Running the same stretch of pavement out and back can be tough mentally, because it feels like you're not getting anywhere. Plus, the double back was set near the infamous 20-mile mark, so any little mental challenge could become a big hurdle here.
Fortunately, the race organizers broke up the monotony of this stretch by placing a camera and a giant TV screen right at the turnaround. As we went by, they encouraged us to smile and wave at the camera, saying the footage was being broadcast live. I have no idea if some of the race was on TV, but it was fun to imagine people watching us from their houses anyway.
The course snaked back along Osceola, then turned north onto World Drive again, this time heading to the fourth park, Disney's Hollywood Studios (but always Disney-MGM to me).
Somewhere just before the end of the 22nd mile, we passed a long set of speakers playing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" on a loop. It might be cheesy, but something about that song's beat and lyrics just gave me a huge burst of energy. I started belting out the words as I sped up and passed other runners. I'm sure it wasn't much of a performance, but it was energizing me and that's all I cared about. Plus I'd never see these people again, so who cares?
It was a strange reversal. Instead of flagging in the race's final miles, I started feeling stronger. Starting around mile marker 22, I sped up and started passing people. My pace had gradually slowed from 12 minutes on average to a hair over 13 minutes over the course of the race, but I actually managed to reverse it on these last miles and drag that average back under 13, to a final mark at 12:50.
On the 23rd mile, we cut east and headed into the Studios...the park I had worked in many moons ago. Cast Members yelled "Welcome to Hollywood!" as we entered. Knowing that "my" park was welcoming me and pushing me on to the finish line was another big boost.
My old ride, the Tower of Terror, loomed up on our shoulders at one point. We cut through a long enclosure used on the Backlot tour, then ran up New York Street with Frank Sinatra crooning "New York, New York" over the speakers. From there, we headed to the park's hub, past the Sorcerer's Hat and up the park's main thoroughfare, Hollywood Boulevard. Just like at Animal Kingdom, regular park guests were lined up to cheer us on.
Toward the back of the park, another big milestone popped up. We passed Mile Marker 23, leaving just 3.2 miles, or just a hair over a 5-kilometer race. As we passed the mile marker, I yelled out that we only had a 5K left, trying to perk up the other runners. They didn't respond much, but I'm guessing they were just too tired.
Out of the park, down past the Friendship Boat lagoon on our way to the Boardwalk and our final destination back at Epcot. I had walked this exact stretch on my way between the Studios and Epcot just a couple days before, so I knew there wasn't far to go.
More than five hours in, we hit the 24-mile marker approaching the Boardwalk, just past 11 a.m. At one point here, we passed a couple of speakers playing the "it's a small world" theme set against some techno beats. Definitely a strange little jam, but it perked me up all the same.
Across the Boardwalk we went, and entered Epcot for the second time, this time from the rear World Showcase entrance. Our starting place would be our finishing spot. Five hours ago, I had run through this park in the dark, with no one but early clocked-in Cast Members cheering. Now heading through World Showcase, the park was lit up and full of people.
Epcot the second time was nothing but energy from every corner. Running through the German pavilion, I passed a clapping group of international Cast Members and heard one yell "You're almost dere!" in his European accent. Around the 25 mile mark, a woman called me by name and said "You're going to finish this marathon!" Just try slowing yourself down after that.
Out of World Showcase and on into Future World, heading back toward Spaceship Earth. At this point, we were well into the 26th mile. I knew there was less than half a mile to go, and felt a huge burst of motivation.
As I passed Spaceship Earth for the second time, I started running flat out as fast as I could, passing dozens of other people.
The crowd's reaction was incredible. What had been a buzz of pleasant cheers erupted into a chorus of full-throated roars, like they had just seen a winning 3-point shot, and several of them called me by name. For a few seconds, they were all focused on me, giving me every dose of good will they could manage. It was an amazing moment, as close as I'll come to knowing how an all-star athlete in front of a friendly crowd feels. I really can't describe how incredible it felt.
Out of the park, into the parking lot, and within a minute or so, the Finish line was right there in plain sight. Spectators were seated on high bleachers to see the finish, which I didn't really like. I preferred having them right along the race path instead of watching from up in the stands.
As the finish line came into view, we passed a gospel choir. I caught the word "Hallelujah" as they sang, and it all seemed very appropriate, because this moment felt like something akin to a religious experience.
I tried to pick up the pace again, and within seconds, it was over. I had finished the race in a hair under 5 hours and 37 minutes. It was 11:30 on the dot.
Race volunteers draped a silvery foil cape over my shoulders and slipped my finisher's medal around my neck. The finish was a little anti-climatic. After running for so long, it just didn't seem that I should be done. But I was. There was nothing else left. I kept moving, grabbed some snacks, and sat down on the pavement for a while.
WRAP UP
As with any race of this distance, there were some postgame complications. Most notably, I ended up with a pretty severe (but short lived) case of delayed onset muscle soreness. I tried stretching and applying some muscle ointment, but an hour or 2 after the run, I still ended up with some pretty severe throbbing pain in both legs. I couldn't relieve it in any position, but fortunately it abated after another hour or so.
On the foot front, I only ended up with a single blister, a smallish one on the side of my left big toe. Compared to the raspberry that popped up on my opposite big toe after my 20-mile training run, it was practically nothing.
No worries at all on the chafing front, which I learned in training can be a very unpleasant thing to deal with. I had greased up pretty much any part of me that could rub up against any other part, and it seemed to work out well.
This race was the culmination of five months of training. I started in August and kept it up, 4 days a week without fail. I ran in 20 degree weather, 80 degree weather, and everything in between. I ran in daytime and night time, rain and snow. I showered in a high school gym to give me time to get to work after a run, and mapped out a route from my parents' house in Brunswick to avoid missing a long run over Christmas weekend.
More than that, it culminated a year of training that began with me just struggling to keep running for 60 seconds at a time in hopes of managing to run a local 3 mile race. That training started last January, and if you'd told me I'd run a marathon a year later, I'd have laughed at you.
In short, it was an adventure every step of the way, with surprises both pleasant and nasty...and it ended with one of the biggest adventures of my life.
Whether I ever do it again or not, for the rest of my life, I can say I ran a marathon. No one can ever take that away from me. It's a heck of a feeling.
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Here's my somewhat stream-of-consciousness report of my Walt Disney World marathon experience. I've divided it into 3 parts, covering the hours before the race, the race itself and some housecleaning thoughts on the experience as a whole.
PREGAME
I woke up at 3 a.m. on race day to get to Epcot on time for the start. I was on about 2 hours' sleep (because going to bed at 9 on vacation wasn't happening), but I had made sure to sleep in the day before to try and compensate.
One nice snag right away...my friend Rain was giving me a ride, but some of her friends thought it would be a great idea to toilet paper her car the night before. We lost 5-10 minutes cleaning up that mess, but we were still ahead of the game getting to the Epcot parking lot on time.
By 4 a.m., I was in a holding area for all the athletes...just an empty section of parking lot with lots of portable toilets lined up. Not much to do here, but I managed to strike up a conversation with a couple of people.
Around 4:30, they started marching us over to our corrals, which took about 20 minutes. For most of this early stuff, you could have beamed me into the moment from outer space and I'd have had no clue where I was. The parking lot and backstage areas we went through were all pretty sterile and bland. Nothing about it screamed "You're about to run a race at DISNEY WORLD!" to me.
We finally emerged from backstage, and entered our corrals on Epcot Center Drive to the east of the park around 4:50. The street signs at least gave a little more of a feel of location.
In the corral, they tried to keep us entertained with a few DJs and some pre-race videos on huge TV screens. There was no screen near my location in Corral E (the fifth of eight starting waves), so I just sat on the pavement and listened to the audio or strained to see one of the screens in the distance.
Hearing some of the stories about veterans running this race after returning from Afghanistan really helped fire me up to get excited and do my best, more so than all the cheesy tunes they were piping in. Some of those interviews helped remind me what a big deal these pieces of "normal life" are to those guys, and made me really appreciate the chance to run with them.
Around 5:30, they played the national anthem and then the waves started taking off. First were the wheelchair athletes, then the eight running waves in projected order of finish, with the fastest folks taking off first.
At the moment when the race officially started, the sky exploded in a blaze of fireworks. I should have expected it from Disney, but it caught me off guard and gave me another huge surge of adrenaline. As each wave took off, there was a smaller burst of fireworks and giant torches along the Start line erupted into flame. Hard not to be worked up to run with that as your sendoff.
THE RACE
My wave worked its way forward, and at around 5:53, it was our turn to take off. We passed a giant stage for the DJ's, with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy waving as we took off. I was very pumped in these opening minutes, and kinda forgot the huge challenge ahead. It just felt like a huge party, with all this stuff going on and all the runners bunched together.
During the first mile, my friend Doug caught up to me. We were in the same corral, but I hadn't seen him before the start. He had come over from Mississippi and signed up for the Goofy Challenge, which has runners do the half marathon on Saturday and the full on Sunday. In all, Doug and the rest of the "Goofy's" were shooting for 39.3 miles for the weekend.
The first couple of miles went by quickly and easily, with Doug pacing me. Before I knew it, we had finished 2 miles in about 25 minutes and were heading into the Epcot parking lot to enter the park.
During mile 3, Doug held back to walk through a water stop. I had packed 2 large bottles and a small flask of Powerade for hydration, so I kept running on. There were characters scattered all along the trail, and some of the coolest were on the path approaching Epcot. A couple of Main Street Electrical Parade floats (they were smaller than normal, so I think they might have been customized) were turning around in circles in the predawn, with the famous Baroque Hoedown synthesizer theme playing.
A little before 6:30, I found myself getting ready to enter Epcot. In the darkness, the massive Spaceship Earth loomed up ahead. I was glad I had gotten placed in one of the waves that would enter the park through the front entrance. Another group of starters further back were set to enter the park through the side before the two groups merged, but I really wanted to run underneath the iconic dome. It didn't disappoint. This was another "wow" moment that reminded me where I was running.
After Spaceship Earth, we ran past some other impressive sights, like the park's fountain, the monorail beam and the giant Christmas tree (yes, they still have the decorations up) between Future World and World Showcase.
We cut a left into World Showcase, ran through the Mexico and Norway pavilions, then cut a left between Norway and China to head backstage and leave the park.
Around mile 4, we were back near the starting point on Epcot Center Drive. The runners had dispersed pretty well by now, but somewhere in here, Doug managed to catch me again. I was surprised he had managed to find me, but it was nice to have a pacer again.
The next couple miles just tracked Epcot Center Drive westward before turning north onto World Drive. Somewhere in here, I lost Doug for good. He had a little better grip on an incline outside Epcot, and I fell back. I saw Doug's back get further away for a while, but didn't want to expend the energy to catch him. It was just me against the course, and pace would work itself out. I wasn't making any pushes this early on.
At 6 miles, we made a big loop onto World Drive and started going north toward Magic Kingdom. Near mile marker 8, we passed the Richard Petty Speedway with a race car near the road. There were lots of things to look at along the way, but that one sticks in my mind.
During the ninth mile, we went through the Transportation and Ticket Center, but skipped all the ferries and monorails to the Magic Kingdom. This trip was going to be on foot.
Somewhere around here, I passed a girl with a shirt that said she was doing the Goofy. At this point, she'd have been about 21 miles into her weekend, so as I went by, I yelled "You're halfway through your 39!" Her eyes lit up and she went "Oh yeah!" as it sank in. There's not too many better feelings than encouraging another runner along the trail.
The course continued circling the Seven Seas Lagoon along the eastern side, and we passed the Contemporary Resort on the right. Somewhere in here, we went beneath an overpass with a large banner featuring Hercules that said "You can go the distance." On top of the bridge was a guy with giant Mickey gloves yelling "You're almost 10 miles into a marathon and everybody else is still in bed!" A very encouraging stretch of the course there.
The sun was well up by now as we approached Magic Kingdom. Monorails soared overhead as the park drew closer.
It was around 8 a.m., a little over 2 hours into the race as we entered the park through backstage and turned up Main Street. The park wasn't open yet, but there were crowds of spectators lined up tightly along the ropes, all yelling encouragement and offering high-fives. It is a profoundly life affirming experience to pass hundreds of strangers pouring their souls into cheering you on, yelling your name (printed on our bibs) and sticking out their hands to tag yours as you pass. At this point, I was high as a kite and felt like I could run forever.
We cut right into Tomorrowland, made a left turn into Fantasyland, and approached another of the race's defining moments as Cinderella Castle rose up around a corner.
There were royal trumpeters along the castle's upper balconies as we approached from the rear, and they played ceremonial heraldry as we entered the castle. Seriously, our own trumpeters. How cool is that!
After running out the castle's front, it was right into Liberty Square, then left through Frontierland and out of the park. On my way out, I saw a steam engine parked on the train tracks just beside the course. I love the old-fashioned locomotives at Disney World and Disneyland, so that was pretty neat.
Now onto a little bit more information than you might need, but it's just part of the deal.
Forty-five ounces of Powerade has to have somewhere to go, and while I warmed up pretty well along the course, I wasn't sweating it all out. Suffice it to say I lost count of how many times I had to stop and ______. This usually only happens to me on long runs on cooler days and usually wasn't an issue in training. It was definitely an issue today, though.
Running through Magic Kingdom, I had another "gotta" moment and was kinda hoping to use a real park bathroom instead of a disgusting porta-john or the bushes, but for some reason I just decided to keep going when I passed some in Frontierland. I had heard other runners say the bathrooms were open even if the park wasn't, but I just wasn't sure if I'd get in trouble, so I pressed on to another portable unit outside the park.
After that, my bladder's timing sucked for the rest of the day. Anytime I was in a park with pristine automatic toilets, I didn't feel the need, but as soon as I was on a long stretch of highway with no trees or portables handy, I had to go. Pretty irritating.
At 11 miles, Magic Kingdom was behind me, and this was where I got into a spot of trouble. The stretch of course just after the park was pretty bleak. At one point, there was nothing to look at but some signs with goofy Steven Wright type questions like "Why are they called apartments if they're all together?" The most interesting thing around here were the golf courses we passed, with Mickey and Minnie dressed in duffer gear next to a golf cart.
It wasn't enough to keep me up. The high I had got running through the park was gone. I was starting to feel the miles now, and wondered, not if I would finish, but if the last 15 miles or so were going to be a real fight. I still had 3 hours or so, and I didn't want it to be a miserable slog to keep going.
We made the long, dull trip along the west side of Seven Seas Lagoon (but far back from the lagoon itself), turned onto Bear Island Road during Mile 14, and started heading southwest toward Animal Kingdom.
I think Bear Island is basically a Cast Member access road. It has a water treatment plant, a compost facility, and other things that aren't all that interesting. There was a giant hot air balloon at one point to break up the monotony, but in general this was a mentally hard stretch, knowing there was still half the race to go.
Around Mile Marker 14, I got a big pick-me-up. A Davy Crockett character stood out along the course encouraging us and promising "potassium" up ahead. After reading the program, I knew this meant volunteers would be handing out bananas soon.
I had been taking GU gel shots every 45 minutes or so during the race, but I really craved something substantial. The banana I picked up 14 miles in was just the thing. I was over 3 hours into the run, mentally beat down, and craving something hardier than a mouthful of goo. As soon as I bit into the banana, I immediately felt a boost. Running is such a mental game...obviously that one bite of fruit didn't have any immediate effect on my body, but it put my head back in the game and encouraged me to push on.
At 16 miles, we reached the gated backstage area that marked the northern boundary of Animal Kingdom, the third theme park. As we approached the park, Cast Members welcomed us, including one guy holding a live ferret...or maybe it was a weasel. It was fitting, at any rate.
Animal Kingdom has a huge geographic footprint, largely because of all the space needed to house the animals. We spent a good part of the 17th mile just running backstage, past animal enclosures and Cast Members screaming encouragement.
We finally emerged into the park itself. By this time, it was about 9:30, and the parks were open. We had a coned off track through the park, but now there were regular day guests joining the characters, Cast Members and family members we had seen the whole way. Somewhere in here, we reached the 17 mile marker, a big milestone in my head because it meant we now only had 9.2 miles left, a single digit number! The total was starting to look more manageable.
Animal Kingdom proper is kind of a blur to me. At one point, Expedition Everest reared up on the left and I know we ran through the Dinoland area some. After more than a mile in the park, we exited into the parking lot. Day guests were having to cut across our track when the path cleared to reach the park, adding a bit of a complicating wrinkle as we had to try and adjust our pace to avoid hitting anybody.
We made a long trek through the park's parking lot, then headed out onto Osceola Parkway for another highway stretch. Eighteen miles in, and I started wondering how my body was going to hold up. Somewhere between 18-22 miles is when many runners "hit the wall" as their muscles become depleted of crucial glycogen and their bodies try and force them to stop moving. I just kept moving along the long highway stretch and waited to see if things would get harder. So far, so good.
This was another dull stretch of road, but it didn't beat me down the way the bit after Magic Kingdom had. I knew we were getting close and just kept moving. At some point in here, I picked up another banana for an extra potassium shot. I also got a nice mental boost at this point when my phone went off. It was an encouraging text from Heidi, watching my progress online from her home in Alabama. Knowing people in other states are watching you and wishing you well is another great reason to keep moving with purpose.
After a long 2-mile stretch heading eastward on the pavement, we approached the turnaround near ESPN's Wide World of Sports. Little signs along the road giving fun facts about ESPN's history let us know where we were.
I had been concerned about this stretch just looking at the map, because it was the only part of the race where the course doubled back on itself. Running the same stretch of pavement out and back can be tough mentally, because it feels like you're not getting anywhere. Plus, the double back was set near the infamous 20-mile mark, so any little mental challenge could become a big hurdle here.
Fortunately, the race organizers broke up the monotony of this stretch by placing a camera and a giant TV screen right at the turnaround. As we went by, they encouraged us to smile and wave at the camera, saying the footage was being broadcast live. I have no idea if some of the race was on TV, but it was fun to imagine people watching us from their houses anyway.
The course snaked back along Osceola, then turned north onto World Drive again, this time heading to the fourth park, Disney's Hollywood Studios (but always Disney-MGM to me).
Somewhere just before the end of the 22nd mile, we passed a long set of speakers playing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" on a loop. It might be cheesy, but something about that song's beat and lyrics just gave me a huge burst of energy. I started belting out the words as I sped up and passed other runners. I'm sure it wasn't much of a performance, but it was energizing me and that's all I cared about. Plus I'd never see these people again, so who cares?
It was a strange reversal. Instead of flagging in the race's final miles, I started feeling stronger. Starting around mile marker 22, I sped up and started passing people. My pace had gradually slowed from 12 minutes on average to a hair over 13 minutes over the course of the race, but I actually managed to reverse it on these last miles and drag that average back under 13, to a final mark at 12:50.
On the 23rd mile, we cut east and headed into the Studios...the park I had worked in many moons ago. Cast Members yelled "Welcome to Hollywood!" as we entered. Knowing that "my" park was welcoming me and pushing me on to the finish line was another big boost.
My old ride, the Tower of Terror, loomed up on our shoulders at one point. We cut through a long enclosure used on the Backlot tour, then ran up New York Street with Frank Sinatra crooning "New York, New York" over the speakers. From there, we headed to the park's hub, past the Sorcerer's Hat and up the park's main thoroughfare, Hollywood Boulevard. Just like at Animal Kingdom, regular park guests were lined up to cheer us on.
Toward the back of the park, another big milestone popped up. We passed Mile Marker 23, leaving just 3.2 miles, or just a hair over a 5-kilometer race. As we passed the mile marker, I yelled out that we only had a 5K left, trying to perk up the other runners. They didn't respond much, but I'm guessing they were just too tired.
Out of the park, down past the Friendship Boat lagoon on our way to the Boardwalk and our final destination back at Epcot. I had walked this exact stretch on my way between the Studios and Epcot just a couple days before, so I knew there wasn't far to go.
More than five hours in, we hit the 24-mile marker approaching the Boardwalk, just past 11 a.m. At one point here, we passed a couple of speakers playing the "it's a small world" theme set against some techno beats. Definitely a strange little jam, but it perked me up all the same.
Across the Boardwalk we went, and entered Epcot for the second time, this time from the rear World Showcase entrance. Our starting place would be our finishing spot. Five hours ago, I had run through this park in the dark, with no one but early clocked-in Cast Members cheering. Now heading through World Showcase, the park was lit up and full of people.
Epcot the second time was nothing but energy from every corner. Running through the German pavilion, I passed a clapping group of international Cast Members and heard one yell "You're almost dere!" in his European accent. Around the 25 mile mark, a woman called me by name and said "You're going to finish this marathon!" Just try slowing yourself down after that.
Out of World Showcase and on into Future World, heading back toward Spaceship Earth. At this point, we were well into the 26th mile. I knew there was less than half a mile to go, and felt a huge burst of motivation.
As I passed Spaceship Earth for the second time, I started running flat out as fast as I could, passing dozens of other people.
The crowd's reaction was incredible. What had been a buzz of pleasant cheers erupted into a chorus of full-throated roars, like they had just seen a winning 3-point shot, and several of them called me by name. For a few seconds, they were all focused on me, giving me every dose of good will they could manage. It was an amazing moment, as close as I'll come to knowing how an all-star athlete in front of a friendly crowd feels. I really can't describe how incredible it felt.
Out of the park, into the parking lot, and within a minute or so, the Finish line was right there in plain sight. Spectators were seated on high bleachers to see the finish, which I didn't really like. I preferred having them right along the race path instead of watching from up in the stands.
As the finish line came into view, we passed a gospel choir. I caught the word "Hallelujah" as they sang, and it all seemed very appropriate, because this moment felt like something akin to a religious experience.
I tried to pick up the pace again, and within seconds, it was over. I had finished the race in a hair under 5 hours and 37 minutes. It was 11:30 on the dot.
Race volunteers draped a silvery foil cape over my shoulders and slipped my finisher's medal around my neck. The finish was a little anti-climatic. After running for so long, it just didn't seem that I should be done. But I was. There was nothing else left. I kept moving, grabbed some snacks, and sat down on the pavement for a while.
WRAP UP
As with any race of this distance, there were some postgame complications. Most notably, I ended up with a pretty severe (but short lived) case of delayed onset muscle soreness. I tried stretching and applying some muscle ointment, but an hour or 2 after the run, I still ended up with some pretty severe throbbing pain in both legs. I couldn't relieve it in any position, but fortunately it abated after another hour or so.
On the foot front, I only ended up with a single blister, a smallish one on the side of my left big toe. Compared to the raspberry that popped up on my opposite big toe after my 20-mile training run, it was practically nothing.
No worries at all on the chafing front, which I learned in training can be a very unpleasant thing to deal with. I had greased up pretty much any part of me that could rub up against any other part, and it seemed to work out well.
This race was the culmination of five months of training. I started in August and kept it up, 4 days a week without fail. I ran in 20 degree weather, 80 degree weather, and everything in between. I ran in daytime and night time, rain and snow. I showered in a high school gym to give me time to get to work after a run, and mapped out a route from my parents' house in Brunswick to avoid missing a long run over Christmas weekend.
More than that, it culminated a year of training that began with me just struggling to keep running for 60 seconds at a time in hopes of managing to run a local 3 mile race. That training started last January, and if you'd told me I'd run a marathon a year later, I'd have laughed at you.
In short, it was an adventure every step of the way, with surprises both pleasant and nasty...and it ended with one of the biggest adventures of my life.
Whether I ever do it again or not, for the rest of my life, I can say I ran a marathon. No one can ever take that away from me. It's a heck of a feeling.
