Everyone who's been in Florida for more than 5 minutes knows that you can't trust the weather report until maybe one day out. The forecast for the marathon had a dozen different forecasts over the weeks leading up to it, and by Saturday night "Cool & Humid" had won out.
I can take that.
Saturday evening it poured rain. For hours. It started around 6pm and the weather system was supposed to move through by 3am. Scot had planned on going down to the hotel bar and watching football but he needed an ark to do so. So he watched it on mute in the room and I crashed out hard and the TV never bothered me.
At 2:50, my alarm went off and I tried to quietly get up and dressed and fed. I wasn't hungry but I managed to eat a cereal bar and tucked a mini clif bar into my SparkleSkirt pocket. I also packed 2 Gu gels, a packet of Clif Shot Blocks, and a strawberry Honey Stinger waffle into the shorts. You can seriously fit a small African village in those things.
Pre-race selfie? Check!
This marathon was going to be my 3rd time doing 26.2. I honestly did not have a single goal for this race other than to take as many pictures as I could and just relax and enjoy it. The first time around, my stomach was in knots and I was so nervous I could barely function. The second time I was not nervous but the course was boring as shit and I about killed my knee trying to meet my time goal of 4:20 (which I did, with 30 seconds to spare), but it wasn't fun. If you go back to my post about the Long Island Marathon, it was a lonely route and the heat really got to me- that was the first time I'd felt what The Wall could be like. I knew this time around, my 3rd time, was going to be nothing but fun. I'd make sure to have fun if it killed me.
I almost didn't take my towel with me to the start area- we brought old bath towels to keep warm, and although it was cool it wasn't bad out. I was glad I hung on to it because I used it to sit on the wet ground in the corral area while waiting to go!
Anyway, I made the 3:45 am bus to Epcot and skipped the security bag check line- it was just as bad that morning as the one before. No thanks.
I wandered into the crowds and went over to the Team#RunDisney meetup area by the Cigna tent. I didn't know who I was looking for and didn't see any signs or anyone "in charge," if you will, so after about 10 minutes of loitering there not knowing what to do, I headed to my corral D.
This is where things got a little strange. I was approaching my corral when a girl stopped me with a "Hey! How ARE you!?"
She looked familiar...maybe I knew her from my Run Club? I peeked down at her bib...it said "Kevin." I didn't think that was correct.
"Oh gosh, don't look at my bib!" she said. "I bought it from my brother's friend who couldn't race. That's okay though, I'm just gonna kind of fold it..."
"Um" I said. "You better be careful, you're not supposed to run under someone else's name."
"Oh it'll be fine. I just need to figure out a way to get out of Corral P. My brother is in F so he's gonna go in and take off his bib, then hand it to me over the fence. I'll put it on and they'll let me in."
Seriously? Was I hearing this correctly? I didn't know what to say, I could see 2 girls in a bathroom line nearby giving us some serious side-eye. I distanced myself as best I could from "Kevin" and her idea, wished her good luck and headed to my corral. I still have no idea who she was.
So I was standing in my corral D waiting for things to kick off when 2 other girls, whose bibs read L and M, crawled over the fence to join us. No one was monitoring the sides of the corrals, only the entrance- because that's where normal people enter- so no one saw a thing. I just sighed and re-focused on the task before me...running MY race.
Just after 5:30, the wheelchair competition started to a fanfare of music and fireworks. Corral A went off shortly after with the same show. Disney does not skimp on fireworks for sure! Everyone moved forward, filling in the space left from the vacating corrals. I was excited now! Let's go! I snapped a few photos of the starting line-
Race announcers and Mickey Mouse at the start line!
Finally, it was our turn! Mickey counted us down- 3, 2, 1, GOOOOOO! The music flowed out from the surrounding speakers, it was deafening! The fireworks popped overhead. I hit my GPS button and crossed the timing mat. I started about at an easy 9:30 pace (getting passed by dozens of other runners right out of the gate), and I was able to peer across the highway median at the hundreds of spectators cheering in the dark. A few minutes in, we approached one of many high school bands on the route- I high-fived dozens of pom pom girls and volunteers as I ran past. My interval timer started buzzing but the crowd of runners was moving along pretty fast so I decided to do what Scot and I did the day before and run the first 4-5 miles before taking intervals, and using that time to get some photos.
Last year, it is important to note that the half marathon Powerade was yellow, and the full marathon Powerade was blue. I like blue, yellow is gross (except when you need it, then it's delicious!) I was tired of yellow from the morning before and was looking forward to something different.
Nope. It was yellow again. Ugh. I thought about how for the next 4 and a half hours I was going be drinking lemon lime Powerade and I died a little inside.
But wait! Scot was going to meet me with a Coke at Champion Stadium again! Once more, I had something to live for.
Some of the characters on the route to the TTC were the same as before- Wreck It Ralph and Vanellope were near where the Speedway used to be. The 5K point was right before them and my mind wandered briefly back to the year before when we ran around the Speedway track. I was curious as to how Disney was going to alter the route to make up the distance this year.
Where we had seen Oogie Boogie yesterday, now Jack and Sally were on the set. There were already between 20-30 people in that line...it would be the longest line I'd see during the race. I really don't love Nightmare Before Christmas enough to stand in line for that photo, so I passed. The TTC and the awesome crowd there was waiting just ahead! There was another school band and I was feeling pretty amazing as I approached Mile 4. I ran past the crowd, high fiving every hand that stuck out. The cheers and cowbells were deafening and it was awesome!
After the TTC, the route continued down toward the Contemporary, as usual. This is that stupid hill that goes down underneath the water bridge and then steeply climbs back up. Overhead is a canal that connects Bay Lake to the Seven Seas Lagoon. The DJ up on top of the bridge kept hollering out how this is the only marathon that you can run underwater. Get it, under water? Yeah, he thought that was hilarious. I took a walk break to hoof it up the hill on the other side, then headed into Mile 5 and the side entrance to the Magic Kingdom and Main Street, USA.
You know by now that I LOVE this part. The cast members backstage were welcoming, high-fives all around! When we ran through that gate once again, the crowds and noise was enough to knock you over.
I ran past the screaming spectators towards the castle and made the turn into Tomorrowland. I saw Lilo and Stitch right away and stopped in the line, there were one 4 people ahead of me. I wanted a do-over of this photo because the guy who took the one of Scot and I during the Wine and Dine Half Half took it super blurry and terrible. As soon as I got in line, Lilo left to go on break. Wait, what? Well, we'd gotten a picture with Stitch yesterday so I hopped out of line and continued on my way. There was no line for Alice and the White Rabbit as I ran toward the spinning teacups so I stopped for a picture. The teacups were all lit up and whirling around and music was playing. Fun! I grabbed my phone back from the volunteer and followed the crowd behind the 7 Dwarves Mine Train (Behind it? This part is new!) into New Fantasyland. I almost stopped for Human Ariel and Prince Eric but the line for them stretched down around the corner of the Little Mermaid ride so I passed. The pictures in the dark sometimes don't some out so I didn't want to mess with it if the line was long. I did get Cogsworth, though! No line for him next to Enchanted Tales With Belle.
This is what I mean about dark photos not coming out. Until I did some editing on this one, you'd have never have known Prince Naveen was even IN this photo.
The country bears came out good though!
I even stopped for a photo with Brer Rabbit, Fox, and Bear next to Splash Mountain, but it came out so blurry you can't tell what's even going on. And when I checked my pictures after the race, the photo with Alice and the White Rabbit wasn't even a photo, just a whitish, yellow gray blur. Terrible. I guess this is why people pay for Marathofoto?
So the new marathon route included more of the Magic Kingdom than before and I liked it! We ran around Fantasyland more- after running through the castle instead of heading directly past Frontierland and backstage, we ran an additional circle over near Big Thunder Mountain. Awesome!
The Maleficent dragon from the Festival Of Fantasy parade was backstage where Peter Pan and crew had been the morning before.
No line, so I stopped. I tried to look scared I guess?
Miles 6 and 7 headed down Floridian Way past the resorts again. There was a lot of entertainment down this road with volunteers, cast members, the train was lit up and pumping steam out at the track intersection. The music was fun here, too... a medley of songs, "Circle of Life," "Be Our Guest," and "Under The Sea" were playing and keeping us moving along. I saw Goofy at the golf course near Mile 8 so I stopped real quick
The first 8 miles of this race went by so fast! They were pretty much identical to the half marathon route, so very familiar to me. This was the point last year where we turned into the Speedway and ran around the inside track, but this time, we skipped past that and made the turn on to Bear Island Road. I remember last year I really enjoyed this part of the course. It's peaceful and there were lots of character stops. This road ran up past the greenhouses and eventually the water treatment plant, but it is also shaded and flat. I stopped at every character photo on this road! No lines for any of them!
Hades! He's so tall!
The Wicked Queen, what's she got bubbling and boiling in there?
Shan-Yu, the Hun. I have a feeling Bear Island Road is Villians Way!
Yep, villians! Jafar is more evil looking that I am
After passing the water treatment plant, I found where the rest of the "make-up mileage" had been squeezed in. The route took a left turn onto Western Way for not even a quarter mile, made a u-turn, then came back out on to Bear Island Road. Whatever. Around Mile 11 at the intersection, there was a water, Powerade and banana stop! Woo hoo! I was getting pretty hungry, I'd only taken one Gu pack, so I took a walk break and gnawed on a banana. It was delicious.
The rear entrance to Animal Kingdom was coming up, along with the halfway point (woo hoo!) and I was looking forward to seeing all the animals. Cast members had a menagerie of critters on leashes, ready for their closeups with the runners!
The cast of "Legend of the Lion King"
Alpaca selfie!
Mini donkey!
Sheep!
This pig was the cutest thing ever!
Timon was hanging out behind some of the animal pen areas- no line of course, so I had to stop for him too!
King Louie and Baloo inside the park
Of course I was waaaay to early to ride the Everest roller coaster but I enjoyed running through Animal Kingdom anyway. The crowd had thinned out enough to be comfortable and the AK cast members were supportive and cheering to everyone running. We wove around some construction walls hiding what is to be the new River of Light show and Avatar Land, through DinoLand USA, and out of the park into the parking lot. The AK crowds by the front entrance are always amazing! I saw a sign that made me laugh out loud!
Oh, Steve Harvey, you poor bastard.
Mile 14 was just at the turn out of the parking lot onto Osceola Parkway, then the long run to the Wide World of Sports began. I actually used my music for a little portion of this leg of the race- it's about 3 miles of straight open road to the WWOS. I took a walk break to eat my strawberry waffle (OMG it was sooo good!) and then kept up my intervals. Somehow, some spectators had managed to find their way onto the sides of the highway and several were hanging out pretzels and candy. The distance went by easily, but my quads were starting to feel sore. It wasn't anything unbearable though, and as long as it didn't get worse I'd be just fine.
The Haunted Mansion gravediggers were out- I wanted to get the photo laying down but the photographer wasn't letting people lay in the grass. Oh well, it was still wet anyway.
Finally, the entrance road to WWOS came in to view! Yay! 2 more miles til my Coke break!
There was a water station giving out ice cold sponges just inside the complex. I took the chance to walk a bit and wipe down. It wasn't hot out, but it was about a million percent humidity and I was feeling pretty damp. The WWOS route zigged and zagged around along the sidewalks, briefly onto a running track, then back onto the walkway. I was getting dizzy with all the twists and turns. It seemed like we were covering a lot of ground but not getting very far. I had a hard time focusing and couldn't get my bearings on where exactly I was on the property. At one point, a wheelchair racer with 2 attendants on bikes came by but I was so turned around I couldn't understand which way they wanted me to move to get out of the way!
Fortunately it was all about to end as I approached the stadium. I saw a few friends on the way in! Chip and Dale, and the Mouse himself!
Finally, I turned in to the stadium and saw Scot waiting in the stands in the same place as he was last year! I stopped to talk for a couple minutes and he opened my Coke for me. He'd also brought me some pretzels, so it was nice to have a little snack break.
The Coke and pretzels gave me the little burst of energy I needed, plus I was revitalized from seeing Scot. I sailed comfortably out of the stadium and back towards Osceola Parkway. There was a horde of runners coming in to the area in the opposite direction! I hadn't really been monitoring my time at all, but I assumed I was doing alright after seeing that!
As I approached Mile 21, I actually did something I've never had to do before. I stopped at a med tent for some Biofreeze. I've never used it but my calves were feeling pretty sore so I stopped. The medical people were very nice, very helpful, and they had towels and water so I could clean off my hands after smearing the backs of my legs with the green gel. It didn't take a half mile before I completely forgot about any discomfort I'd had. That biofreeze is no joke.
Mile 21 meant.... 2 miles til the chocolate stop! Honestly, that's what kept me going at this point- knowing that chocolate was waiting for me at Hollywood Studios!
Mr. and Mrs. Incredible were waiting for me!
When I arrived, the Disco Car Wash (aka, that tunnel in the old Backlot Tour where they had the costumes) was powered up to 11. The strobe lights and rotating colorful lights are always fun to run through, if not but a little disorienting! For some reason, I could have sworn last year we ran through the Lights Motors Action set, but this time we did not, instead going from the Backlot area straight into the Streets Of America. I saw some representatives of Monsters, Inc here!
Boo in her monster disguise! Cute! Never seen this one before
Kitty! Or, Sully, as we also know him!
The park was open by this time, so there was a good number of spectators- some intentional, some accidental- along this portion. I passed several people taking pictures of the runners and looking surprised and amazed as us passing by. It gave a fun feeling to see them! The route took us out the front of Hollywood Studios, along the same route as the Wine & Dine race. We crossed through the parking lot and turned alongside the waterway that lead to the Boardwalk. This whole area was packed with people- runners and cheering crowds. The sidewalk was a bit narrower here so we were a little more tightly packed. Somehow they squeezed a water stop on the water's edge at Mile 24. I didn't take any more Powerade, I was so over it by now! A quick sip of water, but I was feeling great!
2 miles to go!
I had mixed feelings at this point- I was excited for the finish, but sad it was about to be over. I had energy to spare at this point, and I was running at a good clip and was picking people off right and left. I'd passed close to as many as who had passed me at a quarter to 6 that morning!
The crowds were insane along the Boardwalk- people were jam-packed in front of the Beach Club hotels, more high-fives were in order as I ran past! Cowbells, noisemakers, people screaming and waving their posters around...it was nuts!
I cruised through the back entry to Epcot, the International Gateway between the UK Pavilion and France.
Then Disney poured on the feels.
I don't know what music or song it was that they were cranking over the speakers but it was beautiful and inspiring and uplifting and dramatic and heroic and lord have mercy I was about to cry!
I stopped 3 times along the World Showcase- France, Morocco, and China. There were no lines for these princesses! I think everyone at this point was just trying to finish.
Aurora in France
Jasmine in Morocco
Mulan in China, fixing to kick some Hun booty!
Epcot was open, but the World Showcase area was not open to the public yet (it opens at 11am) so things were a little quiet here. There were still some cheering cast members and LOTS of Marathonfoto guys! Once I got past Mexico and into Future World, the crowds were massive and LOUD! This was it, the home stretch! I didn't want to stop running, in fact, I kicked up my pace just a little bit, weaving around a few other people as I made my way out the front of the park, past the gospel choir, and into the sight of the finish line! I heard Scot call my name with just over a tenth of a mile left, and I looked over to see him waving frantically with one hand, trying to take a picture of me with the other. I waved, I smiled, and I shot down the finisher's chute feeling amazing. I crossed the finish line, did not collapse or burst in to tears (thankfully) but took a deep breath and let myself relax. My legs suddenly started to not work anymore so I tried to keep moving. I got my beautiful finisher medal, my bottles of water and BLUE Powerade, and then made my way to the photo stop and then through the tent to collect my Goofy Challenge medal. Love that clank sound when they hit each other!
I got my snack box and banana, then wobbled out to the reunion area and found Scot by the L flag. Hugs! He'd brought a drawstring bag for me to put all my crap in, thank god. We didn't have any more reason to hang around so, after I stretched for a few minutes on the ground, he pulled me up and we got on the bus.
The hardest part of the day was yet to come.
Was it climbing the steps to the bus? Nope.
It was getting DOWN the steps off the bus, after sitting in the seat for 15 minutes.
Oh. My. God.
I couldn't stop laughing, I grabbed the handrails and sort of just flung myself down the steps onto the sidewalk in front of the hotel. Couldn't walk!
We walked- very slowly!- back to the room where I got cleaned up and then stretched and laid on the bed for the next 2 hours before we had to check out. I ate both my snack boxes, the one from the half and the one I'd just picked up (Disney cheese, FTW!)
I was finally able to look presentable and we headed off to Magic Kingdom for some lunch and to... (This is the end of the marathon recap...stop reading here if you don't care about wedding stuff....)
...Mail our invitations! We got a postmark from Main Street USA with Mickey's head on it and mailed them from City Hall! It all feels so real now, yikes!
Mailing the invitations!
I think was the most fun I'd ever had running a race, no doubt the most fun marathon ever! I was so relaxed the whole time, I never had any doubts about finishing, I was comfortable with the course (aside from WWOS) so I kind of always knew where I was and what to expect. My chip time was about 6 minutes slower than the first time around but I didn't care. I felt so great throughout the whole race! I got a ton of pictures, which was the goal.
Chip Time: 4:43:57
Overall place: 3,906/19,838 (19%)
Age group place: 211/1,734 (12%)
Gender place: 1,304/10,315 (12%)
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