Might have jumped the gun, but I went ahead and booked my airline tickets - blew a bunch of miles on getting first class for the trip back, but I think a lay-flat seat on the first leg two days after the marathon will be welcome. Going down January 6, coming back the 10th. Gives me one day in the parks (probably just Epcot, maybe also DHS) after the marathon itself.
I very much think there’s a HUGE desire to get those medals and post pics at the time, not months later. Couple that with a theme that targets the very age group most likely to be social media influenced/influencers. I think we’d still see big demand if medals were strictly for finishers, but it might drop those who have no intention of training or finishing. What I see every year are a good number of people who sign up before finding out just what marathon or more training entails and then find themselves scrambling because that level of training doesn’t actually work well for their life/fitness level/other commitments. I suspect we may see more of that than the usual.I'd be curious if anyone thinks demand would drop if the race medals weren't guaranteed?
SAFD: I don't run, much, but I've been wearing New Balance shoes for as long as I can remember. I'm currently wearing a pair of 840v4 shoes.
My DW, on the other hand, will wear Hokas, NBs, Reeboks, it doesn't really matter. This past MW trip, she packed 10 pairs of shoes (for a 9 day trip), and then realized she forgot to pack running shoes... while we were in Epcot... before the expo... and she's a Dopey runner... ... She got a new pair of Hokas at the Expo, we really didn't have much of a choice.
I agree. And with that maybe becomes an extra pressure to train to finish. They say one way to keep yourself accountable is to share your goal with people. If people who signed up have a large following, they may feel more pressure to finish the races. I know that is somewhat effecting me more this time around (even though I am in no way an “influencer”).I very much think there’s a HUGE desire to get those medals and post pics at the time, not months later.
SAFD: I've completed Dopey before and although I loved the experience I really struggled for the last 6miles of the marathon. My goal this time around doing 'just' the marathon is to enjoy the entire experience start to finish. I think it's an unbelievable course and so much fun with the characters, potential ride stops and the amazing people out cheering and I just want to enjoy every minute. Of course that requires a lot of training so I can be race day ready!