Marathon Weekend 2023

[Disneyhanna]

Quick healing to anyone who came home sick! When I finally got Covid after my Thanksgiving trip I did not have symptoms until 8 days after returning home. I was worried it would impact my Dopey runs but I had zero troubles despite only having maybe two healthy weeks before the races. I missed multiple long runs and still did great. So definitely don’t think the worst like I did, many people can go back to normal quickly (but definitely listen to your body and ease back in, don’t push yourself through Covid/other sickness).

 

[xjillianpaige]

Surely there's a story for us here somewhere!

No story! Just 4 mornings in a row of 2 am wake ups is bogus and I don't like it.

Just wait. After my first Dopey, I vowed I would never do it again. Then I signed up for another one, and after I finished I swore that was it. Then I signed up for another one . . . .

More marathons and Disney race weekends? Sure! But Dopey is one and done for me. I'm in awe of the folks who complete it year after year.

Sure, you say that now. Let's see what you say April 11th. (aka General Registration for Marathon Weekend 2024.)

2024 will likely be the Wine & Dine half for me! But I'd do Marathon weekend again - just not Dopey!

Yup! Right there with you. It was a blast (and I hit up all the parks), but I'm definitely in the one and done camp.

Yay for one and done! I did parks afterwards and I think that was the right choice for me. On the day of the 10k and marathon I was out cold on the couch after.

Same! It wasn't actually as bad as I thought, but doing it not 100% healthy sucked.

But it is too many early wakeups and time away from parks.

Tooooo many early mornings. Sorry you weren't at 100%!

That was really nice of them!

I was so grateful! Took some negotiating because they wanted to keep it for the day but I wanted it back for photos and because I was park hopping to meet my friends.

My W&D challenge medal was in pieces when I got it home in November. It took 2 months but they finally sent out a replacement this week.

It took me ages to get a replacement of my 2021 marathon medal (and they initially said no) so hoping this time they say yes first and then I can be patient and wait! lol

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

We drove home Wednesday afternoon, after taking DS and his GF to MCO that morning and then going to Disney Springs. DH started feeling his throat close up on the way home, and commented that when we picked up the dog, he didn’t smell like he’d been bathed. DH took a Covid test Thursday morning, and the positive line started showing up almost immediately. So far, I’ve had three negative tests, although I don’t feel great, either. Thankfully, DS and GF are still fine.

We were among those that came home sick at MW 2020. I started feeling sick while there, and tested positive for flu when we got back. Then, a week later, I was even sicker, and DH was sick and lost his senses of taste and smell. All told, we were horribly sick for six weeks then. I’m pretty sure I ran the marathon with the flu and maybe the beginning of Covid.

I was happy with how this weekend went. I ran the half, and while I’ll probably never be back to my pre-surgery times, I was able to finish it faster than I did Space Coast in November. I’m running Princess next month, and hope I can run more, walk less, and get faster.

DH completed Goofy, and DS completed his first marathon. They ran together on Sunday, and I was able to figure out being a spectator instead of a participant on Sunday. It was fun seeing the race from that side. I caught them on Main Street, got a glimpse of them coming out of the castle, saw them on the Boardwalk, and caught a glimpse of them rounding the turn right before the finish line.

I swore off fulls last year after my first DNF. I’ve completed six (three Disney, Chicago, Marine Corps, and Atlanta), and that’s more than I ever expected to do. DH has done 11, and says he’s finished with that distance, too. I don’t think I could actually do another at this stage, after the trauma surgery this summer, so I’m happy to focus on the half distance. I want to get to at least 50 (this one was 43 for me). We are definitely going to consider the DL races, and will probably be back for MW, but not to do the full again.

I really enjoy this thread, and it was wonderful to put names and faces together at the HH and pre-race meetups. I am looking forward to PW next month, and hope to see some of you at the meetups then. It‘s awfully nice to hang out with a bunch of folks who enjoy these events as much as we do!

 

[kateichl]

no edit button

Just wondering if you ever figured this out since I am having the same issue!

 

[fatmanatee]

Just wondering if you ever figured this out since I am having the same issue!

Might be due to you both not having enough posts, although I’m not sure how many you’d need to upload an avi. Just a guess.

 

[Z-Knight]

I just came back home after taking a short non-Disney cruise and I needed to say a few things.

The last few months have been the worst in my life and I wish none of it on anyone. Running DOPEY is the only thing that I have to look forward to now, as my life will be horrible for a very long time - sadly I hope my time is limited. So, I wasn't looking forward to this weekend at all and it was kind of hard to get to the start line because of some personal memories it brought back for me. But I made it to the start of each race and I made every DIS meetup and I'm very glad I did. I really appreciate the people I met for the first time this weekend and some that I've met at earlier races so it was great to see you again. I got to meet up with a few of you before the races:

@The Expert
@Dopey 2020
@surfde22
@Disney at Heart
@HangWithMerida
@Novatrix
@NYC_MW
@camaker
@opusone
@WillRunForPizza
@lookingforsunshine

Everyone one of you were super kind and friendly during the meetups - you were why I made it through.

I truly apologize for anyone I missed, and I know I did - I am HORRIBLE with names and remembering who was there. I also apologize if I'm a downer. Thank you for the hugs, the smiles, the good wishes - you don't know how much that means to me right now. Let me know who else was there so I can remember you for the future.

Thank you @Dopey 2020 for all of the running info you gave me and sharing your experiences and letting me tag along even though I am mostly annoying - your advice truly helped me for the Marathon. It gave me inspiration to try the Run-Walk method again with some decent results this time so I will try it for my next race.

It was awesome to see @Bree during the Half marathon - even though she was trying to pass me!

Thank you to @DopeyBadger for the friendship over the years and the training plans and advice. You are an inspiration and I'm jealous of you. I hope to see you at Princess.

Thank you @PrincessV for helping me and being so kind. I wish you the best in everything you do.

Thank you @surfde22, you are an awesome person and I wish you the best. Great job destroying your 4 hour goal!

@opusone, it was awesome to see you again after the Inaugural Darkside weekend back in 2016 - I didn't die this year at least.

Thanks also to @Blue Caterpillar, I don't know if we met in person, but you are super kind and generous and I hope I can repay the kindness in the future.

I also know I missed a few people from previous years but I appreciate their support in these boards - like @FFigawi, @Sleepless Knight, @cburnett11, @Baloo in MI, @cburnett11

RACES

As to the races, this was my 8th DOPEY (including 1 virtual) and I'm really sad I missed the first 2 ones because it would be nice to have guaranteed entries for the future. After my life events early summer I restarted my training to focus on something else - I was running in high heat and humidity of summer in Houston to build up my endurance. I'm at least 25 to 30lbs overweight right now even though I ran on average 200 miles each of the last 5 months - I simply can't lose the weight, but hoping I can do so this year. Considering how chubby I am, I had actually pretty decent times on the runs I did, so I know I can kick butt when I drop the weight.

5K - I didn't plan on racing this race, I just wanted to see if I can hit 25 minutes or 8 min/mile average after having started the summer being so out of shape that I could barely run a mile at 12-13 min/mile pace. I made it in just over 25 minutes - so I was happy.

10K - I wanted to semi-run this race with a target of 55 minutes. I started the race not too fast and kept the constant pace for the entire race because I was afraid of blowing up. I ended up finishing in 52 minutes and I could have run faster. I think 50 would have been achievable because I wasn't overly tired at the end - my best ever was 48 minutes in actual races and about 45 minutes in training. So this race surprised me because I achieved 52 minutes without looking at my watch and being 25lbs too fat. I imagine I can PR if I just lose the weight - this also applies to the marathon.

Half - I walked this thing and I didn't care. Well, actually I ran a little because I wanted to finish it under 3 hours and that was a mistake because I ran the first 3 miles, got myself sweaty and wet and then the temperature got colder and so I was miserable walking the last 10 miles while also being cold. I ended up running one or two of those miles just to be warmer.

Full - My 2022 Marathon time was 6:32 hrs because I gave up running that thing very early, so I wasn't really expecting anything spectacular this time around. My best marathon was just over 4:00 hrs and that was before I had neck surgery 5 years ago. My main goal was to just be under 5 hours since my training the last month showed I could likely reach 4:30 hrs. After talking with @Dopey 2020, I decided to try to join one of the Run-Walk pacers and in my Corral C was the 4:30 pacer, so I figured let me try it until I can't. On my training runs I could achieve that time, but those were after easy days before hand, and not 22 miles of running like we had with the 5k, 10k and half. Unfortunately, the pacer ran the wrong times - instead of running at 4:30 hrs pace he was running at 4:15 pace. I think he was looking at this split times on the pacer card and trying to match those with the race clock times - but in Corral C we started 10 minutes after that start. But I kept up with him for the fist 19 miles - I started to swear at him (not out loud) at mile 13 because we reached the half at 2:07 hrs - so on pace for 4:l5. This overall time would have been over my PR anyway, so I didn't really care about reaching that time and hence I let them go after mile 19 and just continued on my own for the rest of the race. I ended up finishing in 4:28 - which, considering again how overweight I am, I will happily take. I could have kept up with the pacer probably till mile 22 or so, but personal memories and emotions started to hit me around mile 19 and I kind of just gave up.

Overall I finished this race without any issues - no leg pain, no blisters (I've been using tape on my feet the last few marathons and it helped) and I had no walking issues. I think I'm lucky in that respect because I've only had one marathon where my feet hurt and that was the NY marathon because I spent too much time on my feet.

Oh, and if you've seen my finish line pic from an earlier post, you will see that I am actually the official Marathon Winner - I had confetti cannons go off when I crossed the finish line. I still can't believe the luck/timing of having that happen - the pic proves it even though I hate looking at myself or my own pics. That won't ever happen again - one in a million!

So, Dopey #8 is done - I can't wait till the next one, assuming I make it. I know my life won't be very happy from now on, but I truly hope it continues to be DOPEY.

Thank you all for your support and I am glad that I can look forward to seeing you in the future - I hope I am a better person the next time we meet and not so gloomy.

 

[Dopey 2020]

@Z-Knight It was great meeting and talking to you, I hope to see you for Dopey 2024

 

[PrincessV]

@Z-Knight I’m so glad you did the weekend and sorry if this is weird, but I am very proud of you! I hope at least a little of you is proud of yourself: you are very, very deserving of it. Please keep hanging in there, one second, one minute, on hour, one day at a time. It gets better, I promise.

 

[RunWI1265]

I’m late to the post-race recap so I’ll keep it short. This was my second time going down for Dopey solo and I had a blast. It was great to have last year’s experience as it allowed me to loosen up a bit. I met a few of you before the 5k meet up but regrettably never made it back to another one due to pre-race character lines and for the half and full I like to get to the corrals early. It was nice chatting with those of you who I did meet. I should have asked for your screen names. Those would have been much easier to remember than names.

My goal for the marathon was sub 5. Which I didn’t know if I could do and I was still wavering the night before if I should go for it or not. but @DopeyBadger’s plan and encouragement gave me the final push to give it a try. I started in the front of corral C and was really happy with my course experience the entire time. I don’t remember much congestion at all including expected spots like Main St and the HS path. I finished in 4:56 with a few picture and bathroom stops. But most importantly I felt great and was smiling the whole time. I truly can’t believe I beat my goal on top of running a half the day before. I thought this dopey challenge would be my last and I would move on to the next thing, but I had so much fun this past weekend I’m going to try for a spot next year. I’m still trying to find the balance of MW with running, socializing (and my social anxiety ), and staying off my feet and I hope next year I’m able to experience a few more of the meetups.

I hope everyone who came home from MW with illness has mild symptoms and recovers quickly. I tested + last year after returning home and feel lucky to have escaped it this year. Though I did return to my 6yo with a 103+ fever so my turn may still be coming up.

congrats to everyone who showed up and hope to see some of you at springtime surprise!

 

[QueenFernando]

Here are a couple of additional data points for post MW illness. I ran Dopey, DH ran marathon with me. We're locals so no travel and no staying on Disney property. Drove from home each day, so no busses. Weekend went great, but DH woke up Wednesday morning not feeling well and running a fever. I gave him a test and it was positive for covid. I still felt great as was actually itching to get our and go for an easy run, but didn't because of work and taking care of stuff around the house. I tested on Wednesday as well and was negative. Friday morning I wasn't feeling well, but no fever. Took a test, but it came back negative. By Saturday I was feeling like death. Tested positive at that point. Given the timing, likely we picked it up at the expo or the marathon. This is the first time I've ever come away from a runDisney weekend sick. But at least we didn't get sick until after the weekend was over!! I really had a great time!

 

[luv2cheer92]

Now I have two giant 10 medals! Love them both lol. Most people seemed to love the Goofy one when that came out.

 

[EDS19]

This was my 4th WDW Half and I think it’s my favorite one so far. Big thanks to everyone in this thread for all their tips and wisdom. My time was a little slower than last year because I did change costumes on course for the last couple miles hahaha. Won't plan to do that again (especially since I was traveling alone and didn't have anyone to hand my costume off to.) But it was fun to run as my two favorite leading men from 90’s Disney movies. I’m thinking maybe next year I’ll try to add a 10K to the Half… not ready to try the full Marathon or Dopey yet.

I carried my camera along and captured the highlights of the course. Mainly the characters, and the parks. If you want to relive any of the course here it is:

Once again thanks to everyone for calming my fears whether about the expo, course layout, or anything else race related. Hopefully I'll see you guys in 2024.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

@Z-Knight, we are all pulling for you, and pulling for good things for you. You did an incredible job this weekend, and this last year, and have many things to be proud of—including hanging in when things are tough. That’s not easy, and I have great respect that you’ve kept going, and that you’ve opened up here. Looking forward to seeing you at PW!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Just did my first post-marathon run! Very slow and easy and could definitely feel some lingering fatigue even though I didn't actually race the marathon, but it was soooo nice to get out there again!

Sorry to everyone coming down with various illnesses post-MW - wishing you all a quick recovery!

(Also sorry for all the exclamation points; I am adding this sentence just so there's at least one form of end punctuation in this post that isn't an exclamation point.)

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I also just did my first run, a casual 30 minutes. There's not a cloud in the sky here, so more bright sun running! I've felt pretty strong/not really sore most of the week but my calves were feeling super tight from the first step. I'm not the best stretcher, so I should probably re-think that. Was hoping I'd be feeling a little more sprinty, but not so much.

I wore my Half t-shirt for the run. Smarty pants wife was like "well you don't have to worry about anyone not seeing you."

 

[steph0808]

My Garmin tells me that my training status is now "detraining" - my hrv has remained balanced since a week before Dopey - so I guess tomorrow I am going to get out for a slow, short run to test things out.

 

[AJruns]

That awkward feeling when you finally fly home a week later, from a non-Orlando airport, and are the only one in ears because you can’t pack them or they’ll get crushed

I wore my mask 10 days prior to travel and 95% of my time at Disney because I was worried about passing something to my 80 yo mother and 104 yo grandfather that I’ve been staying with afterwards, and so far we all seem healthy probably being sick in November was what helped the most though, I feel really lucky with how that timing ended up working out.

 

[camaker]

My Garmin tells me that my training status is now "detraining" - my hrv has remained balanced since a week before Dopey - so I guess tomorrow I am going to get out for a slow, short run to test things out.

My Garmin probably thinks it was left in FL by mistake. My cold symptoms have been slowly improving and my new plan was to start running on Tuesday. Unfortunately, we thought DW had the flu, but she couldn't taste her orange juice at breakfast this morning. She's now tested positive. I'm still negative, but as contagious as today's variants are it's probably just a matter of time until I'm positive, too. Who knows when I'll get back to running again?

 

[Barca33Runner]

I realize Sundays are for Disney has migrated to the 2024 thread, but I thought maybe there was time for one last completely fun and frivolous query as this thread begins to wind down.

To that end, there was some discussion over the soundtrack for the weekend (and it’s somewhat limited scope); what are 5 90’s songs you would have added to the Disney playlist to enhance your 90’s weekend? Doesn’t have to be Disney and no wrong answers.

SAFD: (in no particular order)

Always Be My Baby-Mariah Carey-Always felt like kind of the quintessential 90’s pop song to me.

To Love You More-Celine Dion-My 90’s need Celine and this is my personal fave.

Drain You-Nirvana-Once again, my 90’s need Nirvana and once again picking a personal fave over larger songs.

Zombie-The Cranberries-Although not necessarily germane to the actual meaning of the song I think it is very fitting for my look on the course and finishing form. Plus, it’s a great song.

To Think of You is to Treasure an Absent Memory-Zao-It’s unlikely anyone else here has heard this song, it’s relatively obscure metal, but it’s my favorite song and it would be completely bizarre and fun to hear it over speakers at a Disney race.

No big deal if no one wants to join in. Just had a bit of a laugh thinking of all the 90’s songs I didn’t hear over the weekend and thought it might be fun for others.

 

[wdwjoe13]

Well, a week later, time for my recap. A great trip overall, although a bit stressful with DW and I doing Dopey and hitting the parks with 5 kids. But, we made it. My 5th Dopey and 12th Marathon. Her 2nd Dopey and 11th Marathon. DS11 did the 5k with us. Had a blast with him.

Lots to recap, but here are the major parts of the marathon weekend for us.
-I thought the combination of music was random. I was a bit over most of the songs after 4 days. After the 5k, I mentioned that just playing random 90s pop songs does not give a theme to your race. Two songs I would love to hear were "Go the Distance" and "I'll Make a Man out of You". Heard the first once. Never heard the latter. Maybe its not considered appropriate anymore?
-I didn't love the 90s theme for shirts. I feel like the 10k, half, and full shirts are such a similar color. And, lots of costumes on course were 80s themed. I think several people were wearing clothes from Flashdance.
-We were surprised to be in Corral A instread of B, but were happy to be there.
-Stopped quickly by the Dis meet up on Sunday morning, but quickly headed to the corrals.
-This was the first marathon that we didn't care about time at all. We have stopped for pictures in the past, but always had a bit of a time goal in the back of our head. Nothing this time. We stopped for somewhere between 20 and 30 bathroom stops. No exaggeration. We literally stopped both coming in and out of BB lot. Both in DHS and at Skyliner afterwards.
-Stopped for 21 character pics, plus 10 other spots. Had a 5+ minute stop outside DHS to see the kids. I asked if they had a phone charger, as I was running low on battery. So, I ran to my parents car in the lot to get it for the last couple of miles.
-Loved seeing the final start group go off while passing mile 4. We were able to get a pic with John Pelkey and Carrissa Galloway. I have always enjoyed him. Brings a great balance of self-deprecation and excitement for the accomplishment.
-Adventurer's Club being back on Bear Island Road is always a highlight for me. Kungaloosh!
-Stopped in Club Cool for a mile 25 soda. But, definitely not for Beverly...
-Didn't need 4 character stops in the first two miles. Wish they would have moved 3 of those to the part between AK and BB.
-I really love the first 18 miles, including the early 4 mile Epcot loop. Just wish something better was at mile 20.
-Overall, really proud of DW. She has been stressed about this, as this was the first long run since kid #5. So, her body doesn't respond the way it used to. She started to struggle about mile 9, with a tearful mile. But, after that point, she was amazing.
-I felt good after this run. I think every marathon gets easier in terms of this. Plus, the more relaxed time probably helped. I could have run Monday if we weren't in a park.

Thanks to all on this board for the great comraderie throughout the year.