Marathon Weekend 2020

[BikeFan]

For most people, drinking to thirst (that is, drinking water when you're thirsty) is the best advice. Water "quotas" and similar formulas are a bad idea, since our fluid needs are so specific to us as individuals. Feel free to skip a water station or two if you don't feel you need the fluids.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

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

The confusion over what exactly Dopey is to non runners is such that I usually just say I'm running a marathon. I've had running friends ask me "how?" after learning that I ran Dopey. A non running friend of mine approved of Dopey being my new bff after learning exactly what I did.

Now my local running store way out here in California knew exactly what Dopey is.

 

[dobball23]

I usually say I'm running a marathon on first reference too. If I get deeper into conversation then I say I'm running a 5K, 10K, half and full marathon on four straight days. It then usually takes a minute for people to process that. Then they usually say, "You're crazy!"

 

[DerTobi75]

The confusion over what exactly Dopey is to non runners is such that I usually just say I'm running a marathon.

It is not only confusing to non runners. A lot of my runners from my running group cannot believe, what I did that weekend over in Orlando!

Most of them ask, how many days rest are between each race When they understand, that it is four consecutive days, they cannot imagine doing it as well, ...

 

[Sleepless Knight]

It is not only confusing to non runners. A lot of my runners from my running group cannot believe, what I did that weekend over in Orlando!

Most of them ask, how many days rest are between each race When they understand, that it is four consecutive days, they cannot imagine doing it as well, ...

I was really sore after my first half marathon. As it was at Disneyland, I saw many runners who had collected their Coast to Coast that weekend wearing all their medals the day after the race. I remember looking at some runners with Goofy medals and being in complete awe that they had literally ran a marathon one day after a half given how sore I felt at the time.

The funny thing is that once we do it, it doesn't quite seem so crazy anymore. I felt substantially less sore after my second Dopey than I did my first Dopey even though my race times for all 4 races were actually faster than the first time and I still dealt with the brutal heat and humidity that weekend.

 

[knhellesky]

Anyone else noticed that the 10K shirt has Oswald The Lucky Rabbit vs the other 5 shirts that have runDisney tags/labels

 

[rsimon]

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.

This was my first Dopey and first full marathon so I was not sure what to expect other than to rely on the training I had done and know I could finish the races. I live in the Dallas, TX area so am no stranger to heat and humidity during the summer. This time of the year is not as common and most of my training was in the cooler months leading into MW. As a practice, I always drink an oz of water minimum for 1/2 my body weight. I usually drink a gallon a day so well above that threshold.

During the summer months and doing yard work in the summer in Dallas for 3-4 hours, I can easily lose 6lbs net weight and that is with me drinking during that 3-4 hours. So for the half and full marathon I knew I would need to be well hydrated in advance and I had to recover the water I lost from the HM the day before. Its not about guzzling water, but taking it in constantly. By the time you feel thirsty, it is too late to hydrate and you may be on a quick trip to heat exhaustion in the summer type heat.

I ran with a small bottle and filled it at each station as well as drank a glass of water and sometimes a power aide. I was taking water in small amounts constantly and never felt thirsty during the marathon. I used the restroom right as we entered Epcot and then again at mile 11 but then didn’t need it again until after the race. I have never thought of it as a victory to NOT have to use the bathroom but rather a sign that I need to hydrate more. I am not saying it isn’t annoying and I would prefer not to overdo it during a race. Your body will sweat a lot for sure but I would keep hydrating until you are going regular again (every couple of hours) after the race as so many functions of your body require good hydration.

I saw a lot of people struggling out in the heat on the marathon and I also so a lot of people bypassing the water. I am sure there was a correlation to that and hope more people will understand that you need to drink even if you are not thirsty when you are doing that kind of activity and sweating that much. The water has to come from someplace and your blood actually gets thicker as you lose water making it harder to pump and putting even more stress on your body.

My strategy allowed me to finish without any cramps, headaches, dizziness, or thirst and I was not sore later on or the next day. I think a lot of that comes from being well hydrated and keeping my electrolytes up (I used a gel with electrolytes during the run).

 

[GuinnessRunner]

Keep forgetting to ask....

Before the marathon when we were out at the corals they were interviewing Jon Hughes from Track Shack. He commented that he and his wife "would still be around" and the WDW races were in good hands. Does anyone know if he and Betsy are just retiring or is Run Disney taking more of the back office portions of the races in house? It was hard to hear and I may have been a tad distracted at the time trying not to think about 26.2 miles.

 

[Sleepy425]

I called the PhotoPass number the other day, since my Horace Horsecollar photo is missing from the half. Spoke with a very pleasant man who told me to fill out the online request form and they'd look for it. He told me that they took 1.35 million photographs during the 4 main races + the kids races. This does include the pre and post race photos, but not photos from the expo. I think he said they took 300,000 more photographs than ever before for MW.
Could be like getting information/rumors from a bus driver, but thought I'd post it here.

Did you get your pictures? I called last night and the nice cast member I spoke with went through the pictures while I was on the phone with him and found the 3 I knew were missing from the half.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Did you get your pictures? I called last night and the nice cast member I spoke with went through the pictures while I was on the phone with him and found the 3 I knew were missing from the half.

Thanks for asking. Yes, I did get my Horace Horsecollar photo. For every character photo I stopped for, they only seemed to take one picture (somewhere my dad is saying "back up your shots"). I received an email that they'd found a photo and would be uploading it to Photopass. Within a few minutes, I got a notification from the Disney app that I had new photo(s) in my account.

 

[wdwjoe13]

Keep forgetting to ask....

Before the marathon when we were out at the corals they were interviewing Jon Hughes from Track Shack. He commented that he and his wife "would still be around" and the WDW races were in good hands. Does anyone know if he and Betsy are just retiring or is Run Disney taking more of the back office portions of the races in house? It was hard to hear and I may have been a tad distracted at the time trying not to think about 26.2 miles.

I thought they mentioned that another individual would take over as Race Director going forward. Not sure if that means within Disney or not.

 

[rteetz]

I thought they mentioned that another individual would take over as Race Director going forward. Not sure if that means within Disney or not.

Track Shack will still be involved per what they said. I’d be surprised if Disney took over everything. They did mention a name for the new race director but I don’t recall who.

 

[steph0808]

For those who stayed longer after MW, how were the crowds? We always leave on Monday evening, so it is hard for me to say. I know in 2013, the parks were really nice on wednesday and thursday after the race, but a lot has changed since then.

Just trying to figure out if I can make 2021 a vacation for the whole family...with a race thrown in. My DH will hate the crowds no matter what, but I am trying to plan when it is somewhat slow.

 

[FFigawi]

For those who stayed longer after MW, how were the crowds? We always leave on Monday evening, so it is hard for me to say. I know in 2013, the parks were really nice on wednesday and thursday after the race, but a lot has changed since then.

We stayed until Wednesday and didn’t think the crowds were too bad.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Thanks for asking. Yes, I did get my Horace Horsecollar photo. For every character photo I stopped for, they only seemed to take one picture (somewhere my dad is saying "back up your shots"). I received an email that they'd found a photo and would be uploading it to Photopass. Within a few minutes, I got a notification from the Disney app that I had new photo(s) in my account.

I've taken to verifying that the photo was indeed taken on my phone for some of those rare photos just in case. My phone did not actually take the Chip and Dale photo during the 5K, but photopass had it. But sometimes neither one has it and that's a problem.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

For those who stayed longer after MW, how were the crowds? We always leave on Monday evening, so it is hard for me to say. I know in 2013, the parks were really nice on wednesday and thursday after the race, but a lot has changed since then.

Just trying to figure out if I can make 2021 a vacation for the whole family...with a race thrown in. My DH will hate the crowds no matter what, but I am trying to plan when it is somewhat slow.

We stayed until Wednesday. On Tuesday, we went to Epcot, and it was very crowded. We even had a CM ask us why everyone was getting on the Skyliner to go to Epcot that morning. We never did find out why—we had discussed which park to visit and decided on Epcot partly because we wanted to ride Spaceship Earth one more time. I’m not sure why everyone else decided to go there that day. Maybe the other parks weren’t crowded on Tuesday, but Epcot was.

 

[rteetz]

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/bus...0200206-pa7u2l634nhzzpud2sa34z7az4-story.html

 

[lhermiston]

Hottest WDW marathon on record? I think you can thank the Goof Troop for that.

Look at this pic. You can practically feel the heat radiating off.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/bus...0200206-pa7u2l634nhzzpud2sa34z7az4-story.html

Thanks for posting that story. The runner who made sure his new focus was to help his newfound running friend cross the finish line was powerful.

 

[tiggerunner]

Did you happen to stay at Boardwalk? I think I might have met you in the elevator / laundry....I remember someone there talking about their chip not registering for the full.

Ha, yes we moved over from AKL. Only there a few days, did they ever fix the elevator?