DW was thinking about cheer squad, as it will be my first full.
My mom purchased ChEAR Squad when she spectated me during the 2015 Star Wars Half. In her opinion, she did not regret signing up for chEAR Squad, but also would not do it again.
ETA: If there is something you want, buy it at the expo (even if its the full "I did it" shirt. Just don't wear it beforehand. And in the unlikely event you "don't did it" you can return to any WDW merchandise location.
I fully recommend this. In 2018, my sister wanted to look at the tent to pick up something she decided she should have gotten at the Expo and it was not at the merchandise tent post race. Sometimes, sizes run out as well. If you might want something, get it at the Expo. If you change your mind, it's easy enough to return.
Thanks everyone! Just starting to get anxiety, it's becoming real. Follow up questions- How do you carry your snacks? I have a handheld bottle with a little pouch for my inhaler, ID and such, but is a small belt a good idea? Also what do you eat before long runs and before the actual race?
I just wanted to say that the anxiety is normal. I felt this way a year ago.
I can't offer up much more than to say use these months leading up to race weekend to try things out.
This is tremendous advice. I learned in marathon training that I had been fueling "wrong" for all my previous half marathon races. While my fueling had not cost me anything major in all of those races, it probably would have destroyed my dreams of finishing the marathon. But the runs leading up to the race helped me learn what worked.
All of this is an individual thing with a gazillion different answers - you'll see.
But if we don't share what works for us, you won't get any ideas to start trying things, so I'm happy to add my preferences to the pile!
Absolutely. And that can make all the difference. Sometimes my body does not like to eat food before 8:00am. For obvious reasons this can pose a major problem on race day. A runner recommended applesauce to me and it worked. The thing is, I don't really love applesauce. Well on marathon morning this year, I realized I had a problem. My stomach was clearly telling me that it did not want applesauce for a 4th consecutive morning. So while sitting in race retreat, I remembered reading about all the people who love a bagel with creamy peanut butter. I know the risk of nothing new on race day, but I also knew that my body liked the idea of a bagel with peanut butter and that was a better "risk" than something my stomach did not feel like again. It worked wonderfully for me.
Learn what works for you. Just because it works for me does not mean it will work for you. But without people sharing their experiences, I may have had a much bigger issue on marathon morning.
Yeah, I went there for the Half this year and they let spectators onto Main Street at 5:30 AM. It was awesome, with Main Street and Cinderella's Castle all lit up and they had shops open and food available.
That almost makes me regret signing up for Dopey this year. But I wasn't going to skip out on the anniversary Goofy medal so I knew before I committed back in February that I was definitely running Goofy so the only debate was Dopey.
