Marathon 2009

Hooray!

The Disney Marathon was a success. Never one to shy away from long stretches of painful and ill-advised activity, I finished the race. Much to my surprise, things went more smoothly than expected. I was not fighting off any sort of infection this year, nor did I barf during the run. My IT band gave me no trouble, and though my pes tendonitis seems to have migrated from my knee to the middle of my calf, it didn't bother me until we got back to Austin.

Having family cheer me on again was wonderful! I was apprehensive about running by myself this year, but I saw Jeremy, my parents, and a few familiar Disney characters so often I always had something to look forward to. I was actually stunned how quickly the marathon was over. I never thought I'd say, "it went by so quickly!" but it did.

The support Disney provides runners was unbelievable. Compared to last year, I think there were a lot more water/powerade/food/medical stations along the course. There were even volunteers available to massage your legs with Biofreeze (still not sure what that is, but I had a stranger massage me with it) mid-race! I could run confidently knowing that I was never more than a few minutes from a port-o-let or a water stop. This is a big deal. (Tip to future Disney runners: Take advantage of nicely equipped theme-park restrooms!) It is a bit jarring to see so many people peeing in the bushes and on trees in Walt Disney World, especially when there are all sorts of port-o-potties, but oh well.

I really like the starting line arrangement for the marathon. All runners are assigned a corral based on their estimated finishing time. Since my time exceeded 5 hours last year, I had to begin in Corral D, which is the first corral of the "slow" runner course. This was AWESOME. It meant I could cross the start line within 20 seconds of the official race start time. (Note: You run about 1/3 of the race pre-dawn.) All of the faster runners start running on an entirely different course, thus lessening start line congestion.

Running by myself meant that once the race began, I had no one to point out that I was running way too fast. (We deliberately avoid spending time in the parks pre-race because it is SO MUCH COOLER to visit the parks first as a part of the race. This can also encourage you to run full speed AT the parks, if you get as excited as I do about being in WDW.) Because I was at the very front of the slow people course, I had a (very unfounded) sense that I was "winning". This fed my competitive nature, and I continued to run faster and faster. As I ran towards Epcot's famous sphere, I really felt awesome because I was in the lead pack and people were cheering like crazy! When the slow and fast courses finally converged around mile 3, I was startled to see that I was running ahead of the 4:00 pace group. Did I mention that it took me more than 5:00 to finish last year's race??! Needless to say, I slowed down a bit after that.

Running into the Magic Kingdom is pretty cool because you run through a couple tunnels of fans (my wonderful hubby was at mile 8 cheering). Just as I began to tire after passing mile 10, I turned a corner onto Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, and began running towards Cinderella's castle. It is a little overwhelming because there are so many people lining the street cheering. You eventually run thru the castle and out of the MK which begins a boring stretch. Thankfully, I did get to see Jeremy around mile 13. When I saw him I yelled, "I need a kiss!" Not realizing my scream was directed to someone specific,the man running to my left was visibly alarmed.

The Disney Magical Trash/Sewage Center is really the only highlight on this stretch until you reach Animal Kingdom which you smell long before it comes into view.

Animal Kingdom was a nice place to run thru because it is pretty shady, a little bit downhill, and there are drummers in a couple of places. In all honestly, I don't remember much about Animal Kingdom, or MGM because you run thru these parks for miles 16-18 and 22-24 respectively.

Throughout the race people will cheer you on by name because your first name is printed on your number. That is pretty helpful, actually, because I'm not sure I'd remember my name by the end if it wasn't pre-printed and pinned to my clothes.

By far the WORST stretch of the race is between miles 19 - 22, since you are running on the highway, have some uphill action, begin to feel the day's sun, and have to watch faster runners pass you since you go out and back around a corner. Fortunately, my wonderful Mom and Dad were waiting for me on top of an overpass. It was awesome! I was feeling pretty yucky, so it was just the boost I needed.

Not long after this, I actually saw a bus driver (who drove a marching band to the race to play for the runners) mock an older man who had slowed to an exhausted walk at mile 21. She said, "whoa! not so fast!" and had I not just run for four hours and remembered to bring my lead pipe, would have responded generously on his behalf.

Once you leave MGM (or Hollywood Studios) you are golden. The rest of the run mostly lined with fans and is through the Board Walk resort & Epcot's World Showcase. The last part of the race was really hard for me because there are SO MANY PEOPLE cheering for you. It is breathtaking. There is a gospel choir and mile 26, and adrenaline carries you the rest of the way.

I finished the race as they played "Sweet Home Alabama"; they actually announced my full name and hometown as I locked in a time of 4:36:14. :)