Marathon Weekend 2020

I remember looking at my phone when I left my room before 3. It said 71F, 97% humidity. Wunderground says that at 4:53 a.m., the weather at MCO was 70F, 90% humidity.
 
I did some digging on the National Climate Data Center's website. The closest observation I could find was 4:53 AM at MCO, and the dew point reading was 67°F. That is oppressive. It rose to 70°F around 10:53 AM, and topped out at 72°F at 5:53 PM.

For some reference, the percentage of humidity is not a particularly useful measurement for this type of thing. Because of the differences in density of air due to temperature, the humidity will always be near 100% in the morning and drop during the day.

Dew point is a much more useful measurement. The dew point is the temperature at which air will become saturated. The closer the real air temperature is to the dew point, the more stifiling it will feel.

The dew point will not often exceed 80°F, but in general, any dew point of at least 65°F is uncomfortable at best and bordering on oppressive.

It's not surprising, then, to see so many people suffering from the heat and humidity! Might as well have been a swimming race.
 


The dew point will not often exceed 80°F, but in general, any dew point of at least 65°F is uncomfortable at best and bordering on oppressive.
I live with a DP at or above 65 most of the year - that's my baseline of "normal" lol! I was a bit chilly for the first mile or two of the marathon, and comfortable until the sun was overhead.
 
Does anyone have the exact temperature / humidity % / dew point from the Marathon at race’s start?

From my Strava feed. The data is grabbed from Dark Sky based on GPS location and time.

Conditions - ☁️ Mostly Cloudy, Wind 5mph to 15mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 68°F + 67°F; FL - 69°F
End: Temp+Dew = 72°F + 69°F; FL - 69°F

I know @DopeyBadger has the stats on this, but how many minutes could I have shaved off if running conditions were ideal? As it stands I managed to get a BQ and NYC Marathon qualifying time, so I'm thinking about setting a goal of 2:50 for one of those races in 2021.

So I certainly can't say with 100% accuracy. I would use the ending T+D of the race as my adjustment value. So that's a 141 and a 3.5% adjustment. So a 2:56:08 would be a 2:49:58. Daniels adjustment calculator seems to put the adjusted time more around the 2:53:30 range (only deals with temp and not humidity). These then assume you have ideal racing conditions on the new race day and that the elevation profile of the race itself is similar to Disney.

My suggestion is to race a HM between now and then in better conditions and that will probably be a better indicator closer to those actual two races.
 
Let me start by saying that I am so proud of everyone who finished the marathon, whether you ran the full course or the shortened course. The conditions were brutal out there from the beginning. I am especially proud of @Neon Cactus who was given the option to skip Blizzard Beach but chose to run it anyway. You are a rock star!

However, as someone who ran the full course but was severely affected by the course change, I am still struggling with my performance.

The cumulative fatigue from five days in the parks (even though I took it easy), running the 5k and 10k, and the extra 20 minutes waiting in my corral combined with the heat and humidity made for a very slow start. I am prone to heat illness and fainting, so I had to make sure my hydration game was on point. I felt like it was better to spend time in the restroom then to end up on the side of the course with an IV. I probably could have made do with a few less restroom stops, but I had it stuck in my head that I needed to take advantage of real restrooms (which of course had much longer lines).

Due to the heat I decided to walk (and enjoy) the parks on the back half of the course, resuming running intervals in between. But, what I am struggling with was the aftermath of the course modifications. I received the text that the course had been modified as I was exiting Blizzard Beach. I wasn’t sure what that meant until I exited the parking lot and turned right. All of the back of the pack runners, that I was only a couple of miles ahead of at this point, were being merged into the course in front of me. Once I reached the merge, the course had narrowed and everyone was walking. So, I walked the final 6+ miles of the course adding what I estimate to be 25 minutes to my overall time.

I did make the best of things and stopped to see Pluto a second time on the Boardwalk and diverted 1/10 mile (each way) from the course to purchase my Finish Line Margarita. But, only about 150 runners finished behind me. Who knows how many hundreds of runners that were once behind me had finished in front of me. I know these are not normal circumstances, but it is still nagging at me that I performed so poorly.

I think you all know what these thoughts are leading to...but I just don’t know...

DH here. I had to work last weekend, and am catching up today.

I've tried to read as many posts as I could about the marathon. It was my first full, and our first rD MW, so we had no first-hand experience. I finished, and was through BB before the course was modified. I try to think how I'd feel if I'd been after the BB change, it would likely have left me feeling unfulfilled. But: everyone ran the race and course we were presented with on the 12th. So much was out of our collective control.
More than 1 person on the thread posted something like, "everyone who ran today in those conditions...", which makes me feel that whatever the day gave each DISer, everyone achieved.

It was a pleasure to meet you at HH on Friday.
 


DH here. I had to work last weekend, and am catching up today.

I've tried to read as many posts as I could about the marathon. It was my first full, and our first rD MW, so we had no first-hand experience. I finished, and was through BB before the course was modified. I try to think how I'd feel if I'd been after the BB change, it would likely have left me feeling unfulfilled. But: everyone ran the race and course we were presented with on the 12th. So much was out of our collective control.
More than 1 person on the thread posted something like, "everyone who ran today in those conditions...", which makes me feel that whatever the day gave each DISer, everyone achieved.

It was a pleasure to meet you at HH on Friday.
Thank you. This race was a unique experience for everyone. The course changes affected everyone still on course at 11:30, not just those directly affected by the modifications (a.k.a. The Lucky Ones 😂) . While my brain knows all of this, it still bugs me... But, all I can do now is move on to the next!

It was nice meeting you at HHHH too, fellow dog rescuer!
 
I try to think how I'd feel if I'd been after the BB change, it would likely have left me feeling unfulfilled. But: everyone ran the race and course we were presented with on the 12th. So much was out of our collective control.
More than 1 person on the thread posted something like, "everyone who ran today in those conditions...", which makes me feel that whatever the day gave each DISer, everyone achieved.
I think that sometimes in the running community even beyond DISers we can get too caught up in what something means. We see debates over finisher medals and what they mean or don't mean especially where runDisney chooses to treat them as participant medals. We make a big deal out of distance, whether it be 3.1, 6.2, 13.1, or 26.2. I struggled with that during the race with what the shortened course meant for my second marathon because the course was cut before I had the choice.

Ultimately, I made my peace with it because I knew I had put in the distance to cover the shortage with the walk to the corrals and so forth. At the same time I want to express my gratitude to my running friends here who have been so encouraging and have taken the approach that whatever results were on that day, we all won. Some made the choice to DNS. They still won because they chose to not risk injury or health issues in that heat. Anyone who did not finish still won because they started. Whether or not they decided to withdraw or were swept, they gave it what they had on that day.

Yes, we can still be disappointed over whatever our result was on race day. With proper perspective, we can either learn from mistakes we made and go forward to run another race. Maybe one decides that the marathon is not for them. And that's great too.

I believe this journey of running is not about what we accomplish, be that BQ, PR, slowest time ever, just finish, and/or enjoy the medals. Instead it's about what the process teaches us. We achieve better fitness, in some cases completely turning our lives around. In other cases, we learn that we can accomplish difficult things. Maybe we inspire loved ones on a path to fitness. Perhaps we inspire friends. That is the real value of what this means.

I would not be here for many reasons. Those first runners in Disneyland that I talked to who helped explain to me that a 16 minute mile is very possible even for a person who hated running. The many folks here who listened to my fears about the marathon and then helped me work through them. The people here who share both their successes and their failures in this endeavor.
 
I was one who was diverted. I was annoyed when I heard the announcement on Western Way, though I'd received "inside" information way back before MK that they were planning to cut the course and I figured if they did, it would be to eliminate BB, so it wasn't a total shock. I was irritated because I felt good and knew I could finish the full distance, but understood the decision was being made for the greater good. I'm not one to get very wrapped up in official vs. unofficial distances, so it was easy to think, "Fine, whatever. I'll just take the longest route possible from this point and add whatever distance I need to at the end. It doesn't matter what official results say: I'll know I did the full distance." I think my attitude was helped by knowing before the races even got started that Sun. was going to be hot I figured changes might be made: my mind was already moving on to a 2021 do-over before the 5K ever started.
 
Anybody wore their Dopey shirt in public and got puzzled look from strangers, like in « what kind of challenge is dopey ? » Looking at it, it is true that there is no reference to running there 🤔
 
Anybody wore their Dopey shirt in public and got puzzled look from strangers, like in « what kind of challenge is dopey ? » Looking at it, it is true that there is no reference to running there 🤔

My shirts are still rolled up nice and neat as they were handed to me. Now I’m curious to see what they look like.
 
I was in the diverted group and my Garmin had me at 25.2 when I finished.

I was surprised I only had one bathroom stop and it was early in the race. I was drinking water and Powerade each stop, sometimes more than one, and I had a water bottle with me I was sipping on the whole time. I am positive I would not have finished if I wasn’t taking saltstick tablets. The amount of salt on my skin was disgusting when I finished.

PhotoPass just loaded a few photos I emailed them about so if you’re missing any definitely reach out to them.
 
My shirts are still rolled up nice and neat as they were handed to me. Now I’m curious to see what they look like.

They're better off rolled up where they are. I took my Dopey shirt on an easy 4 mile run and ended up chafed to the point of bleeding from the scratchiness of it. The Champion shirts I could wear for 6-8 mile runs before I needed to invest in chafing protections. Color me very unimpressed by this rD cost cutting measure.
 
They're better off rolled up where they are. I took my Dopey shirt on an easy 4 mile run and ended up chafed to the point of bleeding from the scratchiness of it. The Champion shirts I could wear for 6-8 mile runs before I needed to invest in chafing protections. Color me very unimpressed by this rD cost cutting measure.
After 3 washes, mine are softer, but still nowhere near the softness of previous Champion ones. I've also found that these new ones don't breathe at all. I can feel air move through my Champion ones, especially if it's windy, but nothing penetrates the new ones. Which actually has made them nice for layering over a soft, cotton tee in cooler, windy weather. But I can't see me wearing these for running much.
 
They're better off rolled up where they are. I took my Dopey shirt on an easy 4 mile run and ended up chafed to the point of bleeding from the scratchiness of it. The Champion shirts I could wear for 6-8 mile runs before I needed to invest in chafing protections. Color me very unimpressed by this rD cost cutting measure.
I don't think it's just cost cutting. A friend of mine spoke to them about the poor quality and that she and most everyone she knew preferred Champion. The rD representative said they were tired of dealing with Champion's nonsense. I have to wonder if Champion has become difficult to work with all around because Target (at least the one in my area) is no longer selling the C9 by Champion, which was a specific Target line.
A different friend was at a Target the day the all in motion line launched and the Target rep said that Champion hadn't made any changes in years and the new line was going to have nicer fabrics and whatnot. I have to say that what I saw was definitely softer, more colorful, and many had phone pockets, which is basically unheard of in women's bottoms.
I do hope that rD can get it together to give us better quality.
 
After 3 washes, mine are softer, but still nowhere near the softness of previous Champion ones. I've also found that these new ones don't breathe at all. I can feel air move through my Champion ones, especially if it's windy, but nothing penetrates the new ones. Which actually has made them nice for layering over a soft, cotton tee in cooler, windy weather. But I can't see me wearing these for running much.
I’ve been wearing mine for normal wear rather than running. Don’t think I’ll really run in them.
 
I'm always interested in hydration strategies... I know it's super hard to compare data on this one because of how specific it is to each individual, but how do I figure out what's best for me? In 3 years of running I've never had anything to drink on a training run, and have only had water on my three marathons and first half. In this race (full) I finished my 10oz bottle around the halfway point and then "filled" it 2-3 more times after that (pouring cups in while running, so I probably only got it half to 2/3 full each time after that). In my regular life I barely drink any water, so this all feels normal, but I've always wondered how to find that point of drinking enough to help me but not too much that I have to stop and pee (have only done that twice in all my runs)- I've always erred on the not drink enough side. But, more specifically to this race, I never felt as thirsty (or hungry) as I thought I would with the weather. I was miserable from mile 1 with the conditions, but I can't help but wonder if I would have felt better after mile 20, when the sun really hit and I slowed down, if I'd come in with a better plan. For context, I run in mid-atlantic weather September-May; my work schedule doesn't allow for any summer running so I've never practiced warm weather specific techniques. Has anyone tried the weigh yourself before and after trick? I'm curious how good the scale needs to be to get an accurate reading.
 
Has anyone tried the weigh yourself before and after trick? I'm curious how good the scale needs to be to get an accurate reading.
I have, on a regular old home scale; it's digital, but no bells and whistles, just weight to the nearest 1/2 pound. In the worst heat of summer - Feels Like near or over 100*, Humidity over 85%, full sun - I lose easily 5-10% of my body weight to fluid loss. Generally around a pound per mile. That is a HUGE amount. But I've also lived in FL for 30 years and have adapted to the climate: I sweat much more, and more readily, than I did when I first moved here from Up North. I remember never drinking water when I first moved down here, because it was never something I did before - I'd have coffee, soda, beer, juice, all of which supplied some hydration, but nothing like the 60-80oz of water per day I drink now.

That said, I don't follow a formula: I simply drink to thirst. But I think it can be hard to determine what thirst feels like if one is chronically dehydrated? I never realized I needed more until I started drinking more and felt the difference.

ETA: what I think a lot of southern runners learn from experience, but isn't talked about a lot, too, is that good hydration starts before one runs. I'm hydrating properly every day, not just during a run. And when I know I'll be doing a long, hot run, I make sure I'm taking in electrolytes in the 1-2 days before that run.
 
For context, I run in mid-atlantic weather September-May; my work schedule doesn't allow for any summer running so I've never practiced warm weather specific techniques. Has anyone tried the weigh yourself before and after trick? I'm curious how good the scale needs to be to get an accurate reading.

My husband has done that with our home digital scale. We live in Southwest Florida where it is often hot and humid. He's had 6 to 12 mile runs where he drops between 5 and 10 lbs at the after weight, especially in summer. He easily put down 2 to 3 of the publix sparkling water 2 liters on those days.

@PrincessV is so right - hydration starts way before the run.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top