Disney Marathon Weekend 2015

greypilgrimess

Registration for the 2015 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend in Florida opened at noon EST on the 22nd. By 1pm some of the more popular races were sold out. As of this post, all the races have sold out, except for the Marathon (60% full) and the Goofy challenge (50% full).

Who else was successful in securing a running spot? Which race(s) have you signed up for? Is anybody brave enough to try the Goofy/Dopey challenges?

This will be my first RunDisney event, and my first marathon. I am extremely excited, and I hope I will meet some people on here who will be training for the events, and people who have run at this weekend before and have tips or advice!

tinkerbell2run

We are going down for Marathon Weekend as well - and signed up at noon on the 22nd. I'm running the half and my husband and some friends signed up for Dopey.

We have run Wine and Dine the past four years and are going down for it again this year in November. Also have run Disneyland Half. You will LOVE runDisney events. They are the best! Make sure to get hotel reservations on property before they are gone. Marathon Weekend is busy.

Good luck in your training and let me know if you have any questions.

greypilgrimess

Thanks for the response! I don't know anyone who has run any of them so it's good to find someone who has. I've only heard good things about the marathon weekend (apart from the costs, early start and walk to the starting corrals!)

How long are the lines for the character photos on the course? I'm thinking of queuing for a couple, preferably shorter lines, and I'm expecting that I should allow a fair bit of extra time on to my projected finish time to account for it all!

My Mother-in-Law (coming along with my sister-in-law as my ChEar squad!) is trying to book us some accommodation, when you say 'On Property' do you mean any of the Disney resort accommodations? Or are there specific ones to aim for?

Have you ever run in Costume? I'd love to do something simple to get into the spirit

Total respect for your Husband and friends doing the Dopey, I was so tempted for that or Goofy but I thought it would be far to much for my first marathon! Good luck in your training too :-)

tinkerbell2run

HI! You are so going to love the Disney races. I'm excited for you doing your first one!

I have never actually stopped for photos - so I don't know how long of a wait the lines really are. I am always just trying to get done as quickly as possible (which is pretty slow in running times), so I haven't ever stopped. I have four kids - so when I do make a stop, my stops are for bathroom breaks. Which, when you see a real bathroom stop - because you do run by some. I'm thinking about trying to make some time for photos over the January trip. We are running Wine and Dine this year as well, so that one I am going to try to do more for time. Costumes are always really fun - I have never worn one, but there are so many cool ones I see running by me.

We have stayed at the Beach Club for most of our races and then can walk through Epcot, however, this year I believe we will be at Art of Animation, which is a value resort. There are currently no discounts available on lodging for marathon weekend, so we are trying to do this trip as cheap as we can. It is nice to stay at a Disney resort just for the ease of transportation for race weekend and also theme parks. If you have any other questions on resorts just let me know. We have stayed at quite a few over the years. Our favorite location is Epcot resorts, but they can be a little pricey undiscounted.

Good luck!

boatsie77

Signed up for WDW full marathon Jan 2015. First Disney run, first full marathon. Booked the Pop Century Value hotel on-site for stay--with one-day deposit. (Currently full rack rate, but can apply discounts as they come up)

Purchased Race Retreat for me & Platinum ChEAR Squad for (non-running hubby) because we're old & it's my 60th birthday gift to myself.

I start my run-walk training (Galloway-ish) June 1st. I've done three 1\2 marathons since Nov 2013 & plan to do another in November.

There's some great info from other runDisney runners throughout the web. I will start compiling some links and tips when I start training and put them on my MFP blog in the upcoming weeks.

Good luck to all fellow WDW 2015 Marathon Week Participants... see ya at the finish line!

greypilgrimess

We got our accommodation booked! We're staying at the Boardwalk Inn, which is very conveniently located. (I'm being spoiled for Birthday/Christmas by my awesome Mother-in-Law)

I wasn't going to go for Race Retreat, I don't know how much I'd use it and I didn't want my supporters to feel they should get Platinum ChEar too. But if I wasn't splurging elsewhere I'd consider it, it definitely looks useful. Mostly for the toilets! lol

Boatsie, wow, your training starts early, how many weeks in your plan? How many 20 mile (or longest) runs do you have to do?

Tinkerbell, the Art of Animation hotel looks very cool, I love the themed rooms. I bet you'll have a blast there!

I have been browsing Youtube for Disney Marathon videos which keep adding to my excitement, and there is definitely a lot of information out there on blogs and websites, which I keep soaking up enthusiastically!

Good luck everyone in your preparation and getting to the Starting Line in one piece!

boatsie77

We got our accommodation booked! We're staying at the Boardwalk Inn, which is very conveniently located. (I'm being spoiled for Birthday/Christmas by my awesome Mother-in-Law)

Wow! Did you hit the Mother-in-Law jackpot!! I understand the marathon runs right by that--so your supporters can just roll out of bed and ChEAR as you trot by.

Boatsie, wow, your training starts early, how many weeks in your plan? How many 20 mile (or longest) runs do you have to do?

I am using the Galloway plan off the RunDisney site. It's a 29 week plan that really begins on July 1st, but I'm starting early since I need to build in some wiggle room incase of sickness, injury or travel. I also plan on doing a 1/2 marathon during the training as well.

According to the actual "Galloway" training plan I do 2 short (30 minute run-walks) during the week and "LONG" runs every other week, so for example starting in September:
Week Sep 2/4/6 30min/30min/11 Miles
Week Sep 9/11/13 30min/30min/3 Miles
Week Sep 16/18/20 30min/30min/13 miles
Week Sep 23/25/27 30min/30min/3 Mile

So that 30 min pattern continues mid week with a varying weekend run including a LONG run almost every other week:

Oct weekend runs: 4 (15 miles) 11 (3 miles) 18 (17 miles) 25 (5 miles)
Nov weekend runs: 1 (7 miles) 8 (20 miles) 15 (6 miles) 22 (7 miles) 29 (23 miles)
Dec weekend runs: 6 (6 miles) 13 (6 miles) 20 (26 miles) 27 (6 miles)
Jan weekend runs: 3 (6 miles) 11( Marathon)

So to answer your question there 3 runs 20 & over mile runs (20, 23 & 26). I am planning on doing the marathon run-walk and the thought of actually "doing a marathon distance" before the actual race (as I did before my 1st 1/2) will give me the confidence going into the race knowing I'm capable of finishing so I can better enjoy the experience.

andreafischer1982

I signed up for the Dopey Challenge and can not wait to run it.

had my first 2 disney races this year at the tink half and the glass slipper challenge. They were epic can not wait to run disney again in Aug at dumbo and at wine and dine i really got hooked

lines for character fotos depends in which coral you start and what character it is. Also at princess the first 3 stopps pirats, heros and villians were really crowded it got better at magic kingdom (expect king and queen mickey)

greypilgrimess

Thanks for the info! I think I'll just have to wait and see on lines, stop for photos when it seems good.

Bravo for signing up for Dopey, Andrea! It would be epic, I'd not cope though. Have an amazing time!

andreafischer1982

thanks i am super excited for it. will run my first full in october so i hope i am prepared for the little dwarf.

tip for the photos lines - on the mainroad there are normally the pirats and the heros when you go up to magic kingdome the lines were super long but on the way back tehre were just 3 people waiting for each of this photo opps - only thing that late there is no photographer from marathon photo so you need your own camera for this pic but it is a good alternative instead of queuing long at the beginning of the race

greypilgrimess

Less than a month to go now! I already printed out my waiver and found my corral, which I'm happy enough with, I got tickets for the Pasta in the Park party, transport is booked, costume is ordered and my training should get me to the finish line.

Is everyone else nearly ready?

boatsie77

I just got back from my final looonnngg run...Gallowaying 26.2 miles at a 3/2 run/walk interval. I survived it...now my poor, battered bones are hanging out in my recliner. Bring on the taper!! Oh how I LOVE the taper! Now I can start making checklists, gathering together my gear and tying up all the loose ends (boy, do I have lots of loose ends)! But thank goodness, "the hay is in the barn" (as they say about training)...just hope I'll be able to get out of my recliner tonight.