Poor Unfortunate Soles: A 2013 Marathon Weekend (5K, Half and Full Marathon) Trip Report!

Another Marathon Weekend at Disney has come to a close. Let me tell you about it!

The cast includes me (Shannon, 28), my husband Will (27), my brother Craig (aka Princess Craiggy, 26), my mom, Kriss, my aunt Laurie, and my mom’s childhood best friend Barb. I got no photo of all 6 of us, and in fact have no photos at all of my mom, aunt or Barb (not my choice). Le sigh.

Anyhoo, as the title of this report suggests, this year I participated in the 5K, half marathon and full marathon (unofficially known as the Dopey Challenge) during Disney’s Marathon Weekend. Originally this trip was strictly for the Goofy Challenge (the half and full), but the idea of the 5K had been in the back of my mind for a while...eventually I pulled the trigger and signed up in August.

In my previous race reports (for the 2011 Princess Half and the 2012 WDW Full) I rambled on quite a bit about training. This time around I’m going to restrain myself. I actually did document my training on a different message board (not sure why I didn’t do it here…I guess I wanted it to be somewhere where I felt more “anonymous.” I’m weird), so if anyone is interested in reading about that, shoot me a PM and I’ll send you the link. Or if anyone wants the Cliff’s Notes version I can post that here too. I will say that I am extremely Type A and was very, very diligent when it came to preparing for these races. I should also warn you that you won’t find any speedy fast times here, but if you’re looking for a somewhat detailed play-by-play of all 3 races with lots of character pictures, you’ve come to the right place.

4 parks. 3 races. 42.4 miles. Let’s do this!

 

[Ariel484]

It was actually a somewhat decent time to start feeling crappy because we were finally about to enter another park! Woohoo!

I ran past some CMs that were holding animal friends, the most noteworthy being the giant snake that runners would drape across their shoulders for photo-ops. I felt bad for the snake having to deal with the sweat. Next I went past Jiminy Cricket, Rafiki and Terk (have met all before) backstage before entering Animal Kingdom! This part came later in the race last year (mile 16?) and had been open to guests...so it was weird to run through an empty park this year.

This was a great park to run through because of all of the SHADE, but I could definitely see how the designs stamped in to the concrete could trip people up.

Smiling even though my feet huuuuuuurt:

Approaching the mountain...

One awesome thing I have read about is how runners will leap off of the marathon course to take a spin on Everest. Apparently guests and Cast Members let runners enter through the fastpass area of the queue so that they can hop on the ride and get off quickly. After not doing this last year Craig and I agreed that riding Everest during the race was on the top of our must-do list this year - how often does one get to ride a roller coaster in the middle of the marathon? Then the course changed, and I figured there was a good chance we'd be in Animal Kingdom before the park opened, so we bagged the idea.

Now that I was actually here I knew there was no way I was going to challenge the (disco) yeti this morning. We were only about 10 minutes from park opening, but with how I was feeling I just did not want to take those extra 10 minutes (15-20 total once the ride was done)...plus there was a distinct possibility that I wouldn't be able to sit down in/get up from the train, and what if I did ride the ride and was totally spent afterward? So it didn't happen. I think it was the right decision, but I do kind of regret not doing it.

Folks waiting in line for the ride to open (you can see that the clock reads 8:52 AM):

 

[Ariel484]

The course continued on into Dinoland and I saw a photo-op that I wanted to stop for. Yes I'd have to waddle for a bit afterward, but there was no way I was going to pass up a picture with the ladies:

We left Animal Kingdom and were finally at about the halfway point of the marathon, and two-thirds Goofy!

Half split: 13.1 miles in 3:09:36, average pace of 14:28/mile. Estimated finish time of 6:19:10 (12:09PM).

This is another course change that I didn't like so much. On the old course we were in Animal Kingdom for miles 16-17, which was a nice boost so late in the race. Today we were gone from the park and only at the halfway point with almost 10 miles to go until the next park. I'm such a crab.

After leaving the AK we ran past the entrance and toward the parking lot. The course was super narrow here but there was great spectator support.

Mickey and Pluto were out for photos in front of Mickey's Jammin' Jungle float...they had a pretty decent line so I passed them up since I got a photo with Jammin' Jungle Mickey last year.

Then it was past Mile Marker 14...

...and time for what I've seen others call the Highway March of Death. This was a 2-3 mile straight shot down Osceola Parkway toward the Wide World of Sports and it was AWFUL. This was my least favorite area of the course last year too (it came later...miles 18-20 I think). It's just boring highway, out in the sun, and unfortunately it seems to keep popping up in a few Disney race courses. And despite the fact that my legs kept moving the entire time, for a brief, fleeting second, I just wanted to be done. Physically I wasn't feeling any worse than I had been before - actually, except for my quads screaming at me and the desire to get a feet transplant I felt surprisingly great - but mentally I momentarily lost it. I wanted to find a bus, stagger up the steps, stick my legs in giant ice buckets and not have to do this anymore. I don't know if that was me technically "hitting the wall" because I never actually stopped running (yes, I was still running at that point...like I said, the feet and quads were dunzo but everything else was good), but it was certainly the first time I'd ever thought about quitting a race at Disney. I knew I was never actually going to drop out of the race though, and the thought left my mind almost as soon as it had arrived.

After mile 14 we approached some Haunted Mansion gravediggers. They had the same photo-op set up as last year, where the gravediggers posed next to gravestones and runners would lie on the ground to get their photo taken. And just like last year, there was no way I was laying on the ground. I would need some serious assistance to get back up. So I cautiously approached one of the grave diggers not posing near the gravestones. We had a brief stare-down and I held up my camera and meekly asked, "Smile?" This is what I got:

Pretty.

 

[LindsayLoves]

I nearly forgot to post this as promised. I like it because I am not a sweaty mess just yet, my brother on the other hand.... It also serves as proof to those who asked if I "really" ran with a camera in my hand for 26.2 miles.

 

[LindsayLoves]

The more I think about Goofy 2015, the more I want to do it. Just need to get the husband on board...

Thanks for the tip! I think I thought taking Powerade at every other aid station (and then at every station later in the race) would help that, but I know they dilute the stuff they give out. I'll definitely have to look into something better for Goofy 2015, assuming it happens.

Oh man 2015 sounds so far away but I know registration will be opening for it sooner than we know. I would love to run Goofy in 2015. Right now I am aiming to do the NYC Marathon in November 2014 and then chill out with running to maybe try to have a kid or something (my soon to be husband is very much on board with my logic/timing on this one). But maybe I can do Goofy 2015 and then go for the baby-making. I really like my logic there.

After mile 16 I was taking water and powerade at every station and mixing them together. I was seriously sweating at that stage in the race and did not want to cramp like a lot of people who were around me. I never thought about them per-diluting it for us. When training I usually use Nuun tablets for my post-run electrolytes. It goes down so well but I don't like it while running so much because its a bit fizzy which causes me to choke a bit if I am drinking it while running.

 

[Ariel484]

I nearly forgot to post this as promised. I like it because I am not a sweaty mess just yet, my brother on the other hand.... It also serves as proof to those who asked if I "really" ran with a camera in my hand for 26.2 miles.

That is AWESOME! Your brother looks just like my brother did during the half (as far as sweatiness goes)...except Michael looks happier than Craiggy did. Seriously though, great photo of you guys.

Oh man 2015 sounds so far away but I know registration will be opening for it sooner than we know. I would love to run Goofy in 2015. Right now I am aiming to do the NYC Marathon in November 2014...

Yeah, I guess registration would open next spring...March/April 2014? Seems far away but really not...and I bet it'll sell out quicker since it's an anniversary year, though I don't see Disney making as big a deal out of it as they did with the 20th marathon. I'd love to run New York some day.

...and then chill out with running to maybe try to have a kid or something (my soon to be husband is very much on board with my logic/timing on this one). But maybe I can do Goofy 2015 and then go for the baby-making. I really like my logic there.

I could have written this post myself...except replace "soon-to-be husband" with just "husband" and we're pretty much in the exact same situation. Isn't your wedding soon????

After mile 16 I was taking water and powerade at every station and mixing them together. I was seriously sweating at that stage in the race and did not want to cramp like a lot of people who were around me. I never thought about them per-diluting it for us. When training I usually use Nuun tablets for my post-run electrolytes. It goes down so well but I don't like it while running so much because its a bit fizzy which causes me to choke a bit if I am drinking it while running.

I started taking both at the water stops too at some point. I don't know if they advertise that they dilute the Powerade, but I've read it a few places from people that have a lot of experience with these races, so I believe them. I definitely need to look more into the electrolyte stuff if I really want to do Goofy in 2015. I have heard of Nuun tablets...I'll definitely check those out but I know what you mean about the fizzy-ness while running. Not good!

 

[plaz10]

Shannon...thank you so much for not taking/posting a picture of the giant snake. If someone chased me with said giant snake...I would finish that marathon in no time!

 

[DisneyFan1003]

Awesome report! It's taken me forever to finally catch up. So impressed that you ran all three races! Looking forward to the rest...and the exciting conclusion!

 

[dreamfinder]

I started taking both at the water stops too at some point. I don't know if they advertise that they dilute the Powerade, but I've read it a few places from people that have a lot of experience with these races, so I believe them. I definitely need to look more into the electrolyte stuff if I really want to do Goofy in 2015. I have heard of Nuun tablets...I'll definitely check those out but I know what you mean about the fizzy-ness while running. Not good!

I don't know if they actually dilute it, or just don't make it at full strength, but it definitely is not mixed the same way the bottles are. Better than straight up water, but definitely not full strength. And also can't say I've ever seen them mention this either.

 

[Ariel484]

Shannon...thank you so much for not taking/posting a picture of the giant snake. If someone chased me with said giant snake...I would finish that marathon in no time!

Haha...you are welcome. Seriously though, it was one of those really giant things. Crazy.

Awesome report! It's taken me forever to finally catch up. So impressed that you ran all three races! Looking forward to the rest...and the exciting conclusion!

Thanks! Glad you're all caught up.

I don't know if they actually dilute it, or just don't make it at full strength, but it definitely is not mixed the same way the bottles are. Better than straight up water, but definitely not full strength. And also can't say I've ever seen them mention this either.

Maybe it's an urban legend...who knows. They probably use that powder mixture stuff. Either way, it tastes like crap.

 

[TakeMeThere81]

Loving your update! I love the cute pictures with characters, especially Minnie and Daisy! That is a winner! I watched Adam Rucker's video on Youtube and it's fun to see your pictures because I feel like I have been there!

The snake...I HATE snakes!! But funny thing is that I could see myself standing there having them put it on my shoulders...on my endorphine high thinking I could rule the world and conquer my fear. On the other hand maybe not! I hate those disgusting things.

Everest...good point. I am not sure I could stand there and then sit for the ride then try to run the rest of the marathon! It would be a unique experience though!

Love the gravedigger, that picture is hilarous!

I love your running outfit too! The blue is awesome!

 

[Tidbit]

Great report, and I am learning a lot! I am training for my 1st ever Disney run.....even tho it's in 2014 I know it's gonna be hard for me as I have never done something like this EVER!! I do TaeKwonDo/Karate, and this is way different than that!! LOL!!!...but when my friend told me how much fun she had running the ToT run last year I knew I was in! I mean a nighttime race AND one of my favorite rides!!! Dude I'm in! I can't wait to read more!!

 

[LindsayLoves]

That is AWESOME! Your brother looks just like my brother did during the half (as far as sweatiness goes)...except Michael looks happier than Craiggy did. Seriously though, great photo of you guys.

Well how can you not be happy running down Main St? Also my brother loves cameras and was ready with a smile no matter how much misery he was in whenever he saw someone snapping away.

I could have written this post myself...except replace "soon-to-be husband" with just "husband" and we're pretty much in the exact same situation. Isn't your wedding soon????

Great minds Shannon.... great minds....
And yes we are getting married in just over two weeks from now!!! I was thinking about doing a half two days after the wedding because its an interesting course and the swag is pretty good for the cost but I came to my senses and realized lots of food and drinking before a race are not conducive to race success. (hopefully it sells out soon or I might be stupid and sign up for it)

 

[Ariel484]

Loving your update! I love the cute pictures with characters, especially Minnie and Daisy! That is a winner! I watched Adam Rucker's video on Youtube and it's fun to see your pictures because I feel like I have been there!

The snake...I HATE snakes!! But funny thing is that I could see myself standing there having them put it on my shoulders...on my endorphine high thinking I could rule the world and conquer my fear. On the other hand maybe not! I hate those disgusting things.

Everest...good point. I am not sure I could stand there and then sit for the ride then try to run the rest of the marathon! It would be a unique experience though!

Love the gravedigger, that picture is hilarous!

I love your running outfit too! The blue is awesome!

Thanks Melanee! I agree with you, the picture with Minnie and Daisy is a good one. Definitely one of my favorites (though I feel like I have dubbed quite a few photos "one of my favorites" already so maybe I have low standards...).

I don't mind snakes myself. Would have been a cool photo-op but I think by then I was just so anxious to get back into a park that I wasn't going to stop for much.

Maybe someday I'll ride Everest during the marathon...maybe. But I feel like each trip I ride Everest it scrambles my brain a bit more than it did the last time, and that's riding it on a normal day, not 12 miles into a marathon or whatever. Maybe it's not meant to be.

I love the gravedigger pic too! He was very in character.

I got the running top at Dick's Sporting goods on clearance...then I needed new shoes and they just so happened to match almost perfectly. It was meant to be!

Great report, and I am learning a lot! I am training for my 1st ever Disney run.....even tho it's in 2014 I know it's gonna be hard for me as I have never done something like this EVER!! I do TaeKwonDo/Karate, and this is way different than that!! LOL!!!...but when my friend told me how much fun she had running the ToT run last year I knew I was in! I mean a nighttime race AND one of my favorite rides!!! Dude I'm in! I can't wait to read more!!

Thanks!! I bet you have a pretty decent fitness base since you are already active. My best advice to you would be to START SLOWLY with running, get fitted for good running shoes, and when the time comes to train, find a training plan that works with your life and STICK TO IT. I bet you'll have a blast!

Well how can you not be happy running down Main St? Also my brother loves cameras and was ready with a smile no matter how much misery he was in whenever he saw someone snapping away.

Haha, your brother is hilarious. Good point though, you can't not smile when you're running down Main Street!

Great minds Shannon.... great minds....
And yes we are getting married in just over two weeks from now!!! I was thinking about doing a half two days after the wedding because its an interesting course and the swag is pretty good for the cost but I came to my senses and realized lots of food and drinking before a race are not conducive to race success. (hopefully it sells out soon or I might be stupid and sign up for it)

Great minds indeed!

AHHHH 2 WEEKS. Congratulations!! Is everything coming together?! I'm so excited for you! Are you guys going on a honeymoon right after??

...and that's probably a good call not signing up for the half.

 

[Ariel484]

Continuing along the highway...please note the guy behind the mile marker stretching his calves. Another runner approached him and was like, "Don’t jump! You have so much to live for!" I definitely appreciated any little moment of humor I could get at that point.

By now I was back to auto-pilot mode...I don't remember feeling sad or discouraged or happy or anything. My mind was blank once again, which I think was helping me to ignore the pain in my feet. I was just all-business and wanted to get it done, and I felt like I was still running at a somewhat decent pace...but then...

When there's trouble you call D-W!!...

...*quads seize up...waddle waddle*...

Okay, back to normal-ish running.

Up next were some trampolinists. I was hoping for a cool action shot similar to this one from the 2011 Princess Half:

I stopped and waited for the chick on the trampoline to start doing something cool. This is what she gave me:

Umm thanks, but not quite what I was looking for. I can do that, give me a cool back flip or something!

And the march continued on...

We were about to head into the Wide World of Sports and were running right past the runners that had already exited the complex (they were running the opposite way down Osceola to get to the Studios). They were almost to mile 21, and an announcer on their side kept shouting excitedly how they had "less than 6 miles to go!" DUDE. SHUT UP. Those of us at mile 16 can hear you! I took a short walk break to eat my Gu chomps and thought very mean thoughts about the announcer. People around me didn't seem to appreciate it either.

By now it was about 10:15, 10:30 and we were approaching the hot part of the day. The water stops were AWESOME though. The first few volunteers had one job - to re-fill bottles that runners were carrying. I'm sure this isn't some new thing, but I've never seen this at a race before. Then there were volunteers giving out cups of Powerade, then cups of water like normal. But in these later miles a fourth set of volunteers were added to the stops, and their sole purpose was to dump water over runners' heads. This was FANTASTIC. Whoever thought of this is a genius. I was still dealing with the heat better than I'd expected, but by now instead of alternating Powerade/water at each station I was now taking one cup of each. Add in getting the water dumped over my head and I was a happy camper, except for the time that it went right into my eyes. Blech.

 

[Ariel484]

Finally I arrived at the complex (passing by naked - i.e. no special costumes - Chip and Dale).

UPDATE: Lower appendages still hate me. Nothing new there. Yet feeling somewhat awesome otherwise.

This was another addition to this year's course, and just like the Speedway I was pretty "meh" on the whole thing.

Again, I can appreciate that this gets us off of the highway/back roads, and it does break up the awful mile 20/21 out-and-back that I hated so much in 2012...but when I first saw the map I was dreading all of the twists and turns, and just like the Speedway I knew we wouldn't be getting much shade.

But right after Mile Marker 17 one of my VERY FAVORITE things of the entire day was given to me...

*cue angels singing*

That's a kiddie pool filled with wet sponges. Squeezing the sponge over my head and shoulders felt amazing. Unfortunately I made the mistake of tossing the sponge almost immediately...I wish I'd kept it with me and got it re-soaked at each water stop like I saw other smarter runners doing later in the race. Oh well.

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

Continuing along the highway...please note the guy behind the mile marker stretching his calves. Another runner approached him and was like, "Don’t jump! You have so much to live for!" I definitely appreciated any little moment of humor I could get at that point.

That's funny!

When there's trouble you call D-W!!...

Great pic!

 

[Ariel484]

That's funny!

Great pic!

That guy jumping off of the bridge would not have been a very magical memory from the race...

I love the Darkwing Duck picture too! I think he was switching out with Launchpad McQuack. Great characters!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Don't Jump! That is funny!
I definitely thing your picture stops with the ladies and Darkwing Duck were worth it!

 

[Ariel484]

Don't Jump! That is funny!
I definitely thing your picture stops with the ladies and Darkwing Duck were worth it!

And he didn't jump! Yay!

I think those stops were worth it too! I especially love the one with the ladies...they're just so darn cute.

 

[Ariel484]

So by now we were in the complex...which was fine at first.

We ran by a few practice fields and came up to the track. I know Olympians train here and all that, but rather than channeling my inner-Olympian it mostly just took me back to having to "run the mile" in high school PE, which I HATED. It was kind of a funny thing to think about in the middle of my second marathon. At least the surface was a nice, squishy change from the concrete we'd been running on for 17 miles.

To leave the track area we had to go over a grassy, lumpy area. I had a brief vision of me spraining my ankle on one of those lumps...thankfully I came out unscathed. Mile 18 was right after the track.

After the track we passed a practice baseball field. I am a big baseball fan so I thought this was cool, but I read later that a runner got hit by a foul ball...and I think they actually needed medical attention. Yikes. I wonder if runDisney will re-think the scheduling here.

By the time we got to mile 19 I was starting to curse this place. The turns weren't as bad as I'd expected, but in looking at the course map I'd somehow failed to grasp just how long this part of the race was going to take. Seriously, it felt like this portion going through WWoS would NEVER END. Clearly Disney wanted to take advantage of the fact that they could keep the runners on an enclosed area of Disney property and off the roads for as long as possible, but man, I just wanted to GET OUT OF THERE. It was annoying to think we were in both the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom for less than a mile, yet now we were getting a very thorough tour of this place. I understand that they work with what they have when it comes to running through the parks during these races (what portions can actually hold runners, still having the park operate as normal for day guests, etc.), but when you really look at the course maps and see how little time is spent in the parks it's kind of...sobering. Or maybe it's just the fact that I was 19 miles in and seriously contemplating walking on my hands for the last 7 miles...so every emotion was heightened. Who knows.

This race seemed like it had happened AGES ago at this point.

But I will say this about the WWoS - I saw lots of *REAL* bathrooms here. At least 3, I think...but they had huge lines. Arrg.