Marathon Weekend 2023

[nekonekoneko]

Possibly dumb question-but are spectators allowed on Main Street during the marathon before MK officially opens?

It's not on the guide this year, for some reason, but previous years had MK open for spectators. The non-runners will all be on the left side of Main Street, the runners on the right. No ticket needed, but everyone not running still has to go through security.

I'm not sure why it's not on the guide this year, I'm hoping it's just an oversight.

 

[DisneyGamer11]

Participated in the W&D and didn't find any of the merch attractive. This upcoming one even has subpar merch - except the hat - love it.

I hate the 'I did it!' on the shirts - very tacky, imo. Love the retro theming though.

 

[Dom497]

Just had my first race dream and all I remember is that I was devastated they didn’t give out ears at the marathon finish

Tbh, given what Disney has been doing, I wouldn’t put it past them to stop giving them out

 

[surfde22]

Is there transportation to/from the parks and expo? Wednesday is a HS for us and they open at 8 for early park hours. Would like to go over there with the fam before heading to the expo as close to open as possible. I know I can walk to a nearby hotel or Uber/Lyft, but would take transportation from HS if possible.

 

[Zutroy]

Participated in the W&D and didn't find any of the merch attractive. This upcoming one even has subpar merch - except the hat - love it.

I hate the 'I did it!' on the shirts - very tacky, imo. Love the retro theming though.

My biggest problem with every expo is I simply refuse to buy anything with “I did it“ until I actually complete the run. I’ve done RunDisney events since 2011, but I’m sure the moment I buy one of those merch items I’ll twist an ankle walking out of WWOS.

 

[Zutroy]

Is there transportation to/from the parks and expo? Wednesday is a HS for us and they open at 8 for early park hours. Would like to go over there with the fam before heading to the expo as close to open as possible. I know I can walk to a nearby hotel or Uber/Lyft, but would take transportation from HS if possible.

There is no transportation from parks to the expo, only hotels.
From the guide:



“EXPO TRANSPORTATION
NOTE: Transportation runs 30 mins before from Host Resorts to Expo and 30 min after Expo back to Host Resorts TRANSPORTATION SCHEDULE runDisney Health & Fitness Expo FROM RESORT TO EXPO: Wednesday, January 4th 9:30am – 7:30pm “

 

[Bree]

Just ran my last long run for Dopey & 2022. Three more easy runs until expo day

 

[DisneyParrothead]

My biggest problem with every expo is I simply refuse to buy anything with “I did it“ until I actually complete the run. I’ve done RunDisney events since 2011, but I’m sure the moment I buy one of those merch items I’ll twist an ankle walking out of WWOS.

I bought an I did it shirt before my first half. Then I handed it immediately to my mom and told her don’t give it to me unless I cross that finish line. It’s super cute too. The course is on the back with pixie dust in the shape of Mickey.

 

[fatmanatee]

Is there transportation to/from the parks and expo? Wednesday is a HS for us and they open at 8 for early park hours. Would like to go over there with the fam before heading to the expo as close to open as possible. I know I can walk to a nearby hotel or Uber/Lyft, but would take transportation from HS if possible.

As mentioned above it’s only expo-to-hotel. I found this out the hard way this year lol, went to HS and went looking for a bus to WWOS after getting a few rides and lunch in. If you’re aiming for the quickest trip over I’d guess Uber/Lyft is the way to go.

 

[The Expert]

Tbh, given what Disney has been doing, I wouldn’t put it past them to stop giving them out

I actually can see them ratcheting this back to just Dopey or anniversary races, though sorting out finishers would mean going back to a verification process. Maybe it's just easier to order hats for everyone or nobody?

 

[Novatrix]

Tbh, given what Disney has been doing, I wouldn’t put it past them to stop giving them out

Honestly, I think Disney gets a net GAIN in money from distributing the hats.

I remember in 2018 receiving one after my 1st marathon, dropping it off to get embroidered at the hat store in Magic Kingdom and they already had 15 other hats dropped off with similar intentions.

 

[PrincessV]

Hi, I’m V, and I am math-challenged. Can someone please check my calculations?

If I’m spectating the half from the GF-ish around mile 7, and the first runners start at 5am, last runners at 6am:

Going with a maybe-unrealistic-but-I-like-to-pad-my-deadlines 4:30/mile pace, the first runners should pass about 5:30am? And going with the 16:00/mile pace of the sweep, the last runners around 8am? So about 2.5-3 hours of spectating before 2nd breakfast?

Also…

I did a final 6 mile “long” run this morning and it went GREAT!!! Only my usual chronic pain points, which are totally run-through-able. Which is giving me (possibly false, let’s be honest) hope for my Maybe Not a Marathon marathon. So I’m setting up goal scenarios in my head - and one of them involves more math:

1. Get through EP, stopping for all pics and call it an overpriced 5K
2. Get to MK, stop for all MK pics, and slow walk to the GF, Poly, or sweep bus and call it a rD-priced 13.1
3. Get to AK, slow walk and stop for pics, ride EE, slow walk to get 2nd breakfast, then bus back to EP and call it a bargain-priced 26.5K. Here comes the math:
Say I start at 5:30am and I’m averaging a 15:00-15:30mile pace - I should hit EE around 9:45-10am at the latest? If I start at 5:45am, 10-10:15am?
If sweep starts at 6am (or let’s just say :15-:30 behind my start, whatever times those wind up being), it should pass EE about 10:25-10:30am, or be about 15-30 minutes behind me? Does any of this add up?! I hate time math.
4. If by some miracle I’m still feeling good by the time I hit EE, skip it and keep going because at that point, I could maybe actually make it to the finish. No math involved.

 

[The Expert]

Honestly, I think Disney gets a net GAIN in money from distributing the hats.

I remember in 2018 receiving one after my 1st marathon, dropping it off to get embroidered at the hat store in Magic Kingdom and they already had 15 other hats dropped off with similar intentions.

True! I didn't have time to get my first one embroidered, but I took last year's in for my first Dopey and the shelves were FULL of them waiting to be picked up.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Honestly, I think Disney gets a net GAIN in money from distributing the hats.

I remember in 2018 receiving one after my 1st marathon, dropping it off to get embroidered at the hat store in Magic Kingdom and they already had 15 other hats dropped off with similar intentions.

Does anyone know if there is a place in Epcot to get them embroidered? That is where my tickets reservations are for and I do not have a hopper and do not want to go to disney springs.

 

[The Expert]

Does anyone know if there is a place in Epcot to get them embroidered? That is where my tickets reservations are for and I do not have a hopper and do not want to go to disney springs.

When I was there in October trying to get a hat embroidered for my soon-to-be-born nephew, I was told the only places that still do it on property are at MK and Disney Springs.

 

[accm]

What does everyone embroider on the hats? I want to do it, but can’t think of what to put on there.

 

[Livelovedance]

What does everyone embroider on the hats? I want to do it, but can’t think of what to put on there.

The positive to having so many people embroidering them ahead of you is you might see some neat ideas. Two that I remember seeing were:

_____’s first (insert race/challenge name here)

Race name and finish time (I think they put periods instead of colons)

 

[camaker]

Honestly, I think Disney gets a net GAIN in money from distributing the hats.

I remember in 2018 receiving one after my 1st marathon, dropping it off to get embroidered at the hat store in Magic Kingdom and they already had 15 other hats dropped off with similar intentions.

Yep. I had full blown bronchitis for Dopey in 2018, but went out to DS Sunday night after the marathon to get mine embroidered. Wouldn't have left the room otherwise.

What does everyone embroider on the hats? I want to do it, but can’t think of what to put on there.

I got my name and marathon time embroidered on mine.

 

[Dopey 2020]

I always cut the ears up to sew the patch onto my park bag

ETA: found an old picture, have since added 2022

 

[Novatrix]

What does everyone embroider on the hats? I want to do it, but can’t think of what to put on there.

I got "1st Marathon" and the date embroidered below it.

I've also seen people do finishing times. You could do a milestone (1st Goofy, 1st rollercoaster marathon, ect.), a phrase ( "Every mile is magic" "If you can dream it, you can do it!") or even just your name to personalize it.