WDW Marathon - I'm Goofy!!

Just me and a few friends running this race. lol I'm happy to say I am definitely Goofy now! I was able to complete the marathon in 5:53:57, AFTER running the half the day before. I am SO happy that I was able to do this without injury and with just a little bit of soreness in my legs.


This was another awesome race, just as the day before was. I stayed at my hotel after the half marathon and just chilled for the rest of the day. I really wanted to go to one of the parks, but was a good girl and stayed put. I knew I'd regret it if I didn't do that.


The night before the race, a fellow DM/Twitter friend, Albert, contacted me about meeting up and riding to the start together. We were both staying at the same hotel so it was easy to do. I had realized that I really didn't need to be the first one on the bus OR at the start line so we left about 3:20 AM. He wasn't in the race retreat so we parted at the start area. It was nice to meet him. He was also running the Goofy Challenge. I had planned to meet some other friends before the race, but a communication problem led me to miss them. I waited for about 10 minutes and then headed to the start line at 5:15 AM. Note: Disney says you need to be in your corral at 5, but it's not enforced. I got to my corral (G) at about 5:20 and managed to squeeze my way to the rope again. I just didn't want to try to weave my way through people at the start.

I love the way Disney sets off fireworks before each corral start, not just at the beginning. It made me feel a part of the race even though my corral was second to last. I started off at a 2 min run/walk just like the day before, but took it a little easier. I walked quite a bit of the middle portion of the race because I wanted to make sure I finished strong, running. At about mile 20, I began my run/walk again and was able to finish running!

We got to run through all 4 parks for the marathon and it was great! The only downside to this marathon is the section of parkway we have to run for a large portion of the race. It can be a bit boring, but Disney is good about adding lots of entertainment along the way. I made sure I ran through the park sections no matter how I felt. lol Vanity, you know.

I love that there is a choir just before the finish line. They were singing a great chorus, "God is Good, All the Time" and it was very motivating.

ASI photography is all along the course taking pictures and video and they did a great job of getting lots of shots of me. I'm impressed for sure.

I was able to finish this race and still walk after. hahaha! I had SOME soreness in my legs, but really not much at all considering I had run 39.3 miles in two days. After my first marathon, I couldn't even walk. I've improved!!

The day after the marathon, I was able to meet up with my DM/Twitter friends, @Maddyhubba, @CrazyRunner, @Runs4Coffee, @jmsenger, and @EvaTEsq, at EPCOT for #DATW. I had a blast and best of all, I could walk. Unfortunately, I lost my RoadID wrist band along the way. Good thing I have another one at home. Can't leave home without one. :)

I have already decided I am running this again next year. It should be interesting since I am also running a marathon each month for the 3 months preceeding it. No worries, it's all for fun.

WDW Half Marathon

Wow, what a great race! I had no idea what fun I would have running this. I admit I entered the race with some trepidation, not knowing what was going to happen, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Since I was running the marathon the next day, I knew I needed to take it easy on this race, but it was difficult to do because of the crowding in some areas. I kept getting ran into so I ended up going faster than I had planned. Still, I felt great at the finish, not sore or tired. I had wanted to run this at about 3 hrs, but finished in 2:46:48.

I arrived in Orlando on Thursday evening and didn't make it to the expo until Friday morning. I got there when it first opened, and the lines were long, but moving quickly. I was able to get in and out of there, with a bit of shopping, in less than an hour. Disney does a good job of organizing.

The night before the race, I went to bed at 7:30, knowing I had to get up at 1:30 to catch the shuttle to the start line before 3:00. Unfortunately, I only slept for 2 hours and then woke up and couldn't go back to sleep until about midnight. I was still on Pacific time. The race info said you needed to be in your corral at 5 or you wouldn't be able to race. I found out that really wasn't true at all, but who knew? I was the first one on the shuttle and made it to the start at just a little after 3:15 AM. I had purchased the race retreat package and was SO glad I did since it was pretty cold. The tent was climate controlled, there were chairs, tables and a padded area for stretching, food, and a private bag check. We had a brunch after. I will definitely purchase this again.

I had met up with a couple of ladies from my hotel so we headed over to the start line at 4:30 since we were told it would take 20 minutes to get there. It was VERY crowded and DID take about that long to get to the start. I was one of the first ones in my corral (D) so I ended up starting the race at the rope.

I started out at a 2 min run/2 min walk and did that for the majority of the race. The race is said to be flat, but there are a lot of on-ramps which are uphill and have an extreme camber on them. I walked those and ran the decline portions. It was SO much fun running through Magic Kingdom and through the castle. I usually run alone or I'm at the end of race (I'm slow), and didn't realize how motivated I stayed, just because of the support of other runners and spectators. The cast members in Disney were also there to cheer us on. It was fantastic.

I managed to finish this race running strong, got to high five Mickey at the end, and left feeling great and ready for the race the next day. I DID spend the remainder of the day in the hotel and didn't give in and go to one of the parks.

I'll say it again, it was a fantastic race! I'm doing it again next year.