Long before I had a blog, I was writing detailed recaps of my races for my own personal use. I've decided to try and transcribe some from my scrapbooks and post them here for posterity! Enjoy the story below of my first-ever full marathon.
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Walt Disney World Marathon
Kissimmee, FL, 1/11/09
After my 3:10 AM wakeup call, I got ready and headed for the
bus, which barely had a wait. It was about 56 degrees, so it felt chilly but
not too bad. Sat next to, and befriended, a lovely woman named Susan on the
bus, who was doing her first marathon as a part of Goofy’s Challenge. She said
her son pushed her too hard during the half yesterday, so she wanted to take it
easy and just finish the marathon.
When we got to Epcot we parted ways. I managed to break my
aviator sunglasses as I walked in. Oh well, that’s what a hat is for – to block
the sun. Plus I ended up being glad I had no sunglasses, because I have
unobstructed pictures of myself from the race!
Went to the Family Reunion area to hang out. At 4:50 AM I
checked my sweat bag and got in the port-a-potty line, which took about 30
minutes and the thing was out of toilet paper. Ew.
Went from there to the corrals – long walk, so I got there
only a few minutes before the start. Snapped pictures of the start line (which I
was much closer to than when I did the half last year!) and myself in the back
of the E corral.
Be afraid.
At 5:50 AM the wheelchairs started, then the fireworks went
off and we all started! It took me almost 4 minutes to cross the line, and I
stayed off to the far left so I wouldn’t get in the way of runners. I was
pleased with the lack of jostling and pushing – everyone was polite and
respectful of everyone’s pace. Folks were in great spirits as we wound around Epcot.
Once we got into Epcot, they made us all funnel through a
small lane, which caused an annoying backup. Other runners were like “why did
they make us do this?” People were still patient and courteous, though, and
after that it was smooth sailing through Future World. I went to the bathroom
at the Horizons pavilion (a real bathroom! Praise Allah!), then kept on the red
course (there was a split start with red and blue merging eventually) past
Mexico and Norway. There were characters along the way, and the lines to greet
them were predictably long.
We turned left between Norway and China and went backstage.
Apparently there was a merge point somewhere around here, but I didn’t notice
it! Probably because the blue start had faster runners! We hit the mile 5 mat
and I thought of the people tracking me who would see that I was right on pace!
By my watch, that split was exactly 1:15! After this point the runners had
thinned out, so I was able to increase my pace a bit.
Before the TTC we saw runners coming the other way and heard
the announcer saying “you’re halfway done” to them. I said “I’m jealous!”
Someone else mentioned that they were tempted to cut the course, and I said
there was a bigger temptation at mile 20!
Kept up the faster pace through the TTC and past mile 10 (2:27:53 – banked a couple minutes!) into the Magic Kingdom. When we turned onto Main Street, the energy was great! I had someone take my picture in front of the castle, then went through Tomorrowland into Fantasyland. As we went into the castle, I got my pic taken with the Fairy Godmother, who told me to have a good race. I said “I’ll try!”
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah!
Coming out of the castle, I slowed down slightly to get an
official photo – yay! Last year (2008 Half Marathon) I wasn’t able to get one
because there was an actual LINE for official photos. Saw more characters through
Frontierland, but the lines were too long to stop.
Hit mile 11 in front of Splash Mountain, then went through
the backstage area to the resort road. At this point the course was almost
eerily silent, and the Sharpie signs were the only entertainment. This was the
point where it mentally turned around – until then there was excitement and
distractions, but when it got so quiet I stopped being distracted and started
getting in my head and thinking about what lay ahead. I kept trying to pull
myself back into the moment, but it was tough in this stretch.
Went past Grand Floridian (Mary Poppins was out for a photo
op) and the wedding pavilion, where a woman had a “Groom Wanted” sign and
flirted with all the running men. Awesome! We continued past the Polynesian,
then down the long road towards Animal Kingdom. Crossed the aforementioned halfway
point at 3:12:33 – I saw that a 6:25 marathon was possible, but I was extremely
pleased that I had banked that 5 minutes in case I needed to slow down later.
Although I didn’t really have a time goal, I did want to meet my expectation of
a 6:30 race!
The stretch between the resorts and Animal Kingdom was a
boring, and at times smelly, road past a water treatment plant and composting facility.
Even the port-a-potties in this area were gross. On the bright side, Susan and
I found each other a few times on this stretch, so we were able to talk for a
bit more – a nice distraction! She was running more than I was, though, so she’d
go ahead and I’d eventually catch up during her walk breaks.
Besides chatting with Susan, more Sharpie signs and the
occasional boombox with music from 1997-2001 were pretty much the only
entertainment until the Animal Kingdom, which was around mile 16. Animal
handlers were out near our entrance into AK with goats, sheep, and birds –
which I personally found hilarious. The last thing I would think at mile 16 of
a marathon is “boy, I wish I could pet a goat right now!”
Came into AK to some African drummers, then turned through
Asia. I got a picture of Susan in front of Everest. Susan later told me that
she heard of other people getting off the course to ride Everest, and that they
were allowed on with no wait! Hey, whatever motivates you!
Pictured: Everest, Susan.
We all continued through to DinoLand, where we went past the
Dinosaur ride backstage. Got a picture with Minnie on the way to the AK parking
lot. I loved the car with what looked like kids in their late teens honking and
cheering all the way past the course in the lot! A spectator called out that I
looked great, and I said “I don’t feel great!” He responded “it doesn’t matter
what you feel like, just what you look like, and you look MARVELOUS!” It was
exactly what I needed to hear!
So many great characters between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.
Got my picture with Mickey in the parking lot – no line!
Amazing! On the far side of the parking lot, we passed mile 18, and I told
Susan “I’ve never gone this far before! Every step is a new PR!” She went ahead
and I started talking to Erica from the south. She was very nice and helped distract
me until mile 20. After that I ran a bit and she kept walking.
At this point I started really noticing the pain in my feet
and ankles, and tried to stay in the moment and not think about the path ahead –
which included a turnaround, which was quite long! Said hi to, and high-fived,
a few folks on that stretch. Finally turned around and turn off to go to the
Studios. Told a girl near me “at least we’ll have something to look at soon!”
and we started talking. She, too, was very nice – had done Chicago in October
and is from Florida.
I ran a bit again and was by myself going into the Studios.
As I was about to enter the backlot tunnel, the blister on the small toe of my
left foot popped. It hurt like hell. I fought off tears through the park (no, I
did not take the Hershey’s miniatures offered at mile 22/23).
As we left HS for the resort path, the blister on my right
foot’s little toe popped. The pain was crazy and I was trying not to cry. I
kept thinking “I only have 5K to go,” and I was grateful that in my training I’d
had to walk on popped blisters before (for 1.5 miles) so I at least had
experienced that pain. Saw the Florida girl again, who expressed condolences
for my blister issues. I basically fought tears through the resort area and the
Boardwalk, which was a huge distraction in a gorgeous area and I was upset that
I couldn’t be more excited about this part of the race!
As we were about the enter Epcot I tried to pull myself
together so as not to sob in front of the spectators! Turned into World
Showcase out of the UK pavilion, and passed mile 25 in France. There was some
hoopla about the “hills” at this point, but my foot pain made me not even
notice them!
Most of the last stretch is a blur – I got confused when I
thought the outpost was Mexico, only to proceed into China. I kept going and
saw Mom with my video camera. I said “this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever
done,” which elicited some laughs from spectators nearby. Tried to jog more
going through Future World just to get it over with, but at this point I was fairly
sure I wouldn’t be under 6:30 – that’s okay! I just wanted to be done at this
point!
Finally went past the gospel choir, who were just swaying to
recorded music at this point – kind of disappointing. I passed mile 26 and
jogged the final stretch to the finish line past the huge, screaming crowd. I
got very emotional when I finished – combo of pain and pride. According to my
watch, I finished in 6:30:55 – could still call it a 6:30 finish! Choked back tears
in the finish chute and as I got my mylar, got my chip removed, and got my
medal (my sobs were dampened somewhat when I realized my medal was put on
backwards – kinda funny!).
Picked up water and a Clif bar, then got my finisher photo.
Went out to the bag-check tent for my last initial and found my mom. She kept
telling me what I’d done was so amazing, but it wasn’t really sinking in that I
had actually finished a marathon. I think the pain had put me in a state of
shock!
I later limped slowly back to Epcot for Guinness.
Race Grade (this written in 2021): B+. Disney really does
put on a high-quality event. The logistics are well-executed but seem to be
optimized for events half their actual size (such as not having enough
port-a-potties). It is a one-of-a-kind race experience to go through the theme
parks, though, and the on-course entertainment is always top notch. Disney fans
can get photo ops with characters they NEVER see in the parks. The long time
limit of 7 hours (although it is a HARD limit and you will be swept by a bus)
make this a good first-marathon choice.
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