Congrats to everyone! I am back home now and finally getting a chance to read thru this and add my thoughts! Sorry, this is gonna be long...
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Overall: I did the marathon post-pneumonia and it went GREAT! I was nervous, having been so sick and not training for most of December. I never hit a wall thanks to taking it easy, eating often, and strictly following a short interval, run/walk strategy. My longest training run was 15 miles in mid-November... which was obvs not ideal.
My takeaway: more consistent training would CLEARLY have been helpful, but many long (18m+) training runs are not necessary for me personally to finish/enjoy the race. In fact, based on my past experience they may be detrimental and cause injury. (Side note: I switched to a standing desk at work 3 years ago and my legs have been noticeably stronger and rarely tire out since then... so that helped too!).
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Expo: I had no problems w/ crowds at the expo Saturday at 11am! However, I preordered the Dooney tote and they had none left to fulfill my preorder.
I was sad. It's just a purse, but still, I had so looked forward to it. Dozens of them were already on eBay, meanwhile Disney was explaining to me that they had a "shipping error" and did not receive enough nor would they get any more. Hmm. I mean, I preordered the day they were released! (I was still sure to be nice to the poor Disney rep who had to break the news. Poor lady, not a fun job.)
Silver lining: this was the first expo at which I exited with MORE money than I had when entered.
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Merch Sizing/Quality: I liked the “intense Mickey face” look on some of the merch! But I’m not a big fan of the thin Champion tech shirts w/ race-specific branding that are sold at the expo. The sizing/length is weird and the shirts are flimsy. The preorder jacket design was great but sizing was also quite off. I was able to wear my ladies medium, but it was so tiny! I could have worn an XL with the way they were sized. The hats I saw were cheap material, one size fits all (which is not true). Overall everything seems of lesser quality than it was a few years ago.
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Weather: After much consideration, I decided to layer up and focus on staying warm for the initial cold/dark miles and was glad I did. I was 100% comfortable the whole time. By the end I was down to a tshirt. I easily pocketed/tied all my layers around my waist and ditched my handwarmers. I also brought two large mylar blankets and used them in the corrals - they really kept me warm. I am always cold, and doing run/walk doesn't warm me up as much as straight running. When it comes to race day clothing, know and trust thyself!!
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Gear check: I had on even more layers pre-race to stay warm, and checked it all in the gear check. Disney does SUCH a good job with the gear check. I've never waited in a line either to check my bag or retrieve it at Disney. Do no be afraid to gear check! Use it if you need it, and stay warm!
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Medals: Speaking of cheap... I do love my new marathon medal, but holding it up next to my 2013 20th anniversary Disney marathon medal, there is NO comparison. The 2013 medal looks far higher quality and remained without a scratch after multiple days of in-park wear. My 2018 medal has rough seams, scratched-up edges, and the finish is rubbing off the silver in patches. However, a medal is a medal! And I do love the big Mickey ears and ribbon w/ sparkly text.
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Crowds: I started further back in the corrals than I usually do, and the crowding was NOTICEABLE. I felt crowded almost the entire first half. Got stuck behind people walking in groups, multiple times. It didn’t really bother me since my goal was to take it slow, but I sure did notice it.
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Photos: Many times people leaped, scrambled, or cut in front of me just as we were approaching a photographer, in order to improve their personal photo prospects. I wish more people would be aware of / courteous toward others when it comes to race photos! It also seemed like there were fewer photographers on the course? I got just as many photos from Wine & Dine, and that was a half marathon. However overall I think Disney does a great job w the photos and with making the photo spots obvious.
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Theme parks: Super crowded until Monday evening when it cleared out (everyone was maybe home watching football?) and from then on out it was great. I especially enjoyed the new, frolicking baby tigers at Animal Kingdom, they were so cute!
Whew. That was long. Despite any minor complaints above, I had a GREAT time!!! Already planning on coming back for Wine and Dine and possibly, maybe even Star Wars! In my opinion Disney put on an excellent, well-organized, fun, inspiring race and I feel lucky to have been able to take part.
And a huge THANKS to everyone here, I have so enjoyed following along the excitement on this thread. While I unfortunately couldn’t make the meet ups, I was thinking of you all!