Marathon Weekend 2024

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I'm rejoining the thread for more motivation for Dopey training.

My training is going okayish, I guess. I completed the twenty miles this weekend but the final three miles were almost entirely walked with almost no running. I'm experiencing extensor tendonitis so took today off from running and I have been stretching my calves like crazy.

This is going to be my first marathon. Well, kind of. We signed up to do the Texas Double which just happened to fall the week of training that requires a half and full marathon back-to-back. Because this is my first time ever going this far (only ever done 4 half marathons), I have a lot of doubt in my mind about whether or not I can even do it. Is it silly that I will remind myself of all of you across the country who are also out running at or around the same time I am? Somehow that makes me feel better. I think it helps me think I have a support system that will all be running with me in person in a couple of months.

 

[jrsharp21]

SAFD: Training this year has definitely been a little bit more difficult than last year due to all the travel I have been doing since the summer. My son went off to college this summer and he is on the baseball team. So we have been traveling out there frequently to watch their fall games, parent's weekend, etc. And when you are surrounded by so much good food, hard not to give in. Also, when you are on the go constantly on the trips, hard to find time to mix in runs. I get in a good 2-3 weeks of runs and then fall back into four or five days of no running. I feel like it's 2 steps forward, 3 steps back constantly since the summer. I am hoping as the holidays approach and travel winds down, I can really hit it hard for this next 45-50 days.

Definitely prepping myself to cut my expectations for time for Dopey. I was hoping to try to break sub 4 hours again this year for the marathon, but I am starting to think that won't happen. This may be the year I don't care about time and run for fun and relax.

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

I don’t recall buses from the finish to the parks, I would just hop on whatever resort bus is closest/has the shortest line, and then hop a HS bus from that resort. Caribbean beach bus and then hopping the skyliner to HS might be fastest (although I don’t know what the walk from the CB buses to the skyliner is like)

I just stayed at Caribbean Beach for W&D and I stayed in Jamaica for this reason as it's closest to the Skyliner. The bus stop for Jamaica is a really short walk to the Skyliner station if you wanted to use this method to get to HS directly from the races.

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

SAFD: Training is going decently well so far. I just ran all three races at W&D and felt incredibly strong during the half which gave me a lot of comfort and motivation heading into the "hell" portion of Dopey training these next 7 weeks. My only goal is to finish all four races without getting injured (messed up my IT band in my left knee last year during the full doing Goofy) so I can still do all three races the following weekend at DL. My running coach just sent me my training plan for the next 7 weeks this morning and it is brutal. But, W&D gave me that extra boost of Disney magic that I needed and now I am so pumped to train hard and complete Dopey!

For ADRs, I forgot about them until someone reminded me while I was in the parks on Friday and I scrambled to grab a few. I didn't book a ton since I am finding that I spend way too much money on these trips when I do a lot of sit-down restaurants. And since I'm by myself usually, it's just not worth it. I did book San Angel Inn for dinner on Tuesday 1/2 when I get in, my new tradition of Via Napoli for lunch on Saturday after the half, and a celebratory lunch at Beaches & Cream after the full (staying at YC so easy walk).

 

[GollyGadget]

SAFD: Training this year has definitely been a little bit more difficult than last year due to all the travel I have been doing since the summer. My son went off to college this summer and he is on the baseball team. So we have been traveling out there frequently to watch their fall games, parent's weekend, etc. And when you are surrounded by so much good food, hard not to give in. Also, when you are on the go constantly on the trips, hard to find time to mix in runs. I get in a good 2-3 weeks of runs and then fall back into four or five days of no running. I feel like it's 2 steps forward, 3 steps back constantly since the summer. I am hoping as the holidays approach and travel winds down, I can really hit it hard for this next 45-50 days.

Definitely prepping myself to cut my expectations for time for Dopey. I was hoping to try to break sub 4 hours again this year for the marathon, but I am starting to think that won't happen. This may be the year I don't care about time and run for fun and relax.

I’m also in a state of 2 steps forward and 3 steps back. Although mine is due to new ailments popping up. Adjusting my expectations is emotionally difficult but there’s still a lot of time so trying to stay positive that I can right this ship. If that fails, I’ll still be able to have fun and maybe this is the year I try to ride Everest?

 

[kps7795]

SAFD: Training is going fantastic. I was able to hit a BQ-5:00 at Atlantic City in Oct., so I can take every marathon from now until Sept. relatively easy. We just got back from Marshall University Marathon in WV, and that went very well. My wife ran the half and I did the full, and we met a bunch of fun runners. Marshall finishes on the football field in the stadium, and they even hand you a football as you enter the stadium so you channel your inner Walter Payton as you run down the center of the field towards the finish. Great fun. Next up is a Goofy simulation at the Philadelphia half/full, and then Kiawah Island in Dec. I recently realized this coming WDW Marathon will be my 50th marathon, so it'll be exciting to celebrate that milestone at the Happiest Place on Earth. Can't think of a more fun race than Disney to celebrate.

50 marathons? Wow! Congratulations on that amazing accomplishment.

 

[dobball23]

Training Update: I'm following a @DopeyBadger plan and I've completed every run. 49 of them so far, with 48 to go. I guess I hit the halfway point at mile 3.75 of today's run. Things have been going well, although I need to slow down, especially on my long run paces. I tend to be 7-12 seconds too fast per mile on my long runs. Maybe I'll do better on my next one a week from Sunday that has a fast finish looming at the end.

I'll be arriving at Disney World eight weeks from tomorrow, and exactly two months from now everyone who is doing the marathon should be done. Good luck as you continue your training!

 

[AJruns]

SAFD: my training has been going *ok,* which is about the best I can ask for right now. I took a break from the boards while I prepared for jaw surgery this summer, and then out of frustration when it was pushed back last minute til the spring. One of the reasons it was pushed back so far though was to let me run the marathon, so I'm not upset about that timing. I kept up my regular running schedule, but it was such a relief when I realized I didn't have to stress about my recovery having a deadline. That said, my regular running schedule has changed a bit this year, and I've been running less on my long runs because it just seems to be taking more of a toll. So I'm at the same point I always am at this time, but with less of a base to build on, and have the usual knee issues (arthritis, used to running with it now) and temperamental hip flexors and shin splints. I'm always superstitious about planning for and getting excited for the marathon too early, but I had a good run last week after a bunch of meh ones and woke up one morning a few days later literally bursting with excitement to go on this trip. One of the reasons I love this race is that it's not just about the race, it's about the whole experience! Getting ADRs is a big part of that to me, and I do a mix of standard favorite (CRT Sunday evening, right now I have an extra spot if another solo traveler wants to join) and trying something new (Ale and Compass breakfast after the 10k, maybe Hoop-Dee-Doo Monday evening once those dates open up). I'm going to start costume brainstorming soon and maybe even make a draft packing list- I love nothing more than planning things and it's going to be more complicated flying straight to California for the C2C. I'm not a huge holiday celebrator after many years of retail, so this weekend really is the most wonderful time of the year for me and I can't wait!

 

[RuntheMouse]

I’m also in a state of 2 steps forward and 3 steps back. Although mine is due to new ailments popping up. Adjusting my expectations is emotionally difficult but there’s still a lot of time so trying to stay positive that I can right this ship. If that fails, I’ll still be able to have fun and maybe this is the year I try to ride Everest?

You must ride Everest this year! It was the highlight of DH’s marathon last year. Don’t pause your Garmin, it makes for a great story!

 

[The Expert]

Don’t pause your Garmin, it makes for a great story!

And run track...

 

[GollyGadget]

SAFD: my training has been going *ok,* which is about the best I can ask for right now. I took a break from the boards while I prepared for jaw surgery this summer, and then out of frustration when it was pushed back last minute til the spring. One of the reasons it was pushed back so far though was to let me run the marathon, so I'm not upset about that timing. I kept up my regular running schedule, but it was such a relief when I realized I didn't have to stress about my recovery having a deadline. That said, my regular running schedule has changed a bit this year, and I've been running less on my long runs because it just seems to be taking more of a toll. So I'm at the same point I always am at this time, but with less of a base to build on, and have the usual knee issues (arthritis, used to running with it now) and temperamental hip flexors and shin splints. I'm always superstitious about planning for and getting excited for the marathon too early, but I had a good run last week after a bunch of meh ones and woke up one morning a few days later literally bursting with excitement to go on this trip. One of the reasons I love this race is that it's not just about the race, it's about the whole experience! Getting ADRs is a big part of that to me, and I do a mix of standard favorite (CRT Sunday evening, right now I have an extra spot if another solo traveler wants to join) and trying something new (Ale and Compass breakfast after the 10k, maybe Hoop-Dee-Doo Monday evening once those dates open up). I'm going to start costume brainstorming soon and maybe even make a draft packing list- I love nothing more than planning things and it's going to be more complicated flying straight to California for the C2C. I'm not a huge holiday celebrator after many years of retail, so this weekend really is the most wonderful time of the year for me and I can't wait!

Unless something is changing, I’m fairly certain that hoop Dee doo is closed on Monday and Tuesday. We were planning to go Tuesday but that got pushed to Thursday Jan 11.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

You must ride Everest this year! It was the highlight of DH’s marathon last year. Don’t pause your Garmin, it makes for a great story!

The other useful thing is that you can see how you were doing before and after Everest. In my case, I felt "off" following Everest and wondered how much it would impact my splits. Turns out that my miles post Everest were similar to my miles leading up to Everest. So while I didn't know it at the time, it is useful for future reference.

After missing a month of training, I have adjusted my expectations accordingly. I may have to skip many, if not all character stops. But I'm okay with that.

 

[BikeFan]

50 marathons? Wow! Congratulations on that amazing accomplishment.

Thanks! A friend in my run club has run over 200 marathons, so 50 doesn't seem like *that* many, but it's still pretty exciting, especially for a late-onset runner like myself. I ran my first in 2012, and to be coming up on 50 just over 11 years later is a little stunning. I'd have never guessed I'd be heading down this path, but here we are. Running rewards those who simply refuse to stop moving forward.

 

[jrsharp21]

SAFD: ADR's are every changing. LOL.

For New Year's Day, got Beaches N Cream for lunch and Rain Forest Cafe for dinner (we have someone in our party who loves RFC, so had to do it).

For our Epcot day on the 2nd, got San Angel Inn for lunch and Space 220 for early dinner.

For race check in day (a park day off), headed over to Grand Floridian Cafe for dinner and to make the monorail circle tour of the resorts.

Then I made a boo boo. I booked 50's Prime Time on our non Hollywood Studios day. DOH! The day we have planned for DHS, no reservations available for 50's PT. So we may be switching our DHS and AK days.

 

[AJruns]

Unless something is changing, I’m fairly certain that hoop Dee doo is closed on Monday and Tuesday. We were planning to go Tuesday but that got pushed to Thursday Jan 11.

Wow thank you I didn’t know!

 

[DisneyGamer11]

I'm sure the answer is no, but do occasional slots open up for the race(s)? Interested in doing the Half solo.

 

[marty3d]

I'm sure the answer is no, but do occasional slots open up for the race(s)? Interested in doing the Half solo.

Yes - this is how I ended up getting into the DL half after missing out on registration. I follow this account on X (formerly Twitter) - you may want to turn on notifications too - usually you have to move fast as it usually sells out again in minutes. @runDISalerts

 

[DisneyGamer11]

Yes - this is how I ended up getting into the DL half after missing out on registration. I follow this account on X (formerly Twitter) - you may want to turn on notifications too - usually you have to move fast as it usually sells out again in minutes. @runDISalerts

thanks - i had seen that account and thought it was too good to be true, but will keep an eye!

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Hmmm. So far I have a reservation at HS H&V for breakfast at 9:30 on Saturday. Feel free to join me.
Not sure about Sunday evening. I hate to buy a park ticket and barely be able to ride anything, just to get dinner.
Doing CRT and getting medal photos sure sounds tempting, though.
I was thinking maybe Port Orleans Boatwrights. Still deciding.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I'm sure the answer is no, but do occasional slots open up for the race(s)? Interested in doing the Half solo.

I've seen a few charities start posting about bibs that are still available. We are getting closer to when they have to have their bibs assigned (charities purchase the bibs, and then usually "hold" them until the people who signed up for them hit certain fundraising goals, and then send them a link to "claim" the bib so it shows up in their runDisney account) so that may be a route to look into as well.