Disney Half-Marathon Race Report

Disney Half-Marathon Report

I’ve heard a lot about the Disney races in my years of running and race stalking and wondered what kind of race the Happiest Place on Earth would put on. I found out. The Goofy Challenge Race. 2 days. 39.3 miles. 3 medals. And these were not your ordinary medals. They were the Donald Duck medal for the ½ marathon, the Mickey Mouse medal for the full marathon, and, of course, the Goofy medal for doing both. When I mentioned it to my family and they got on board it was a no-brainer. A Disney vacation and a challenging race. I was told it would sell out within 3-4 weeks. I signed up the first day registration was open.

Since I should be working instead of writing this, I will break down this race report in two separate reports…first up, the half-marathon. And, it’s super long. Sorry.

*** Pre-Report Warnings ***
There are going to be a number of people mentioned in this report, mostly family, as there were 13 in our traveling party alone. My husband Dan, parents, cousins, cousin’s children, aunt and uncles. My Uncle Terry was joining me for the half-marathon, and husband Dan and his buddy from college Wes, as well as my cousin and her husband were joining me for Sunday’s full marathon. Several also ran the 5k on Friday. Everyone else was along as Sherpas.

I came very close to the overtraining edge leading into this race, maybe even just crossing it. I don’t know. I was a little snappish for a few days before this race, but, fortunately, that dissipated.

Half-Marathon

One thing I did not realize when signing up for these races was that they started at 5:30 am. The Disney weenies threatened that if you were not in your corrals by 5 am that you would not be able to start the race (untrue). We were staying about 7 miles outside the park and heard about the long traffic lines race morning, so I soon realized it was going to be very early mornings both days. Our plan was to leave the house at 3:50 am. I woke up a little before my 3:15 am alarm and did what I have to do. Dan gets up shortly thereafter. Now this is where he earns his Sherpa award for the weekend - even though he’s not running on Saturday, he agreed to chauffeur my uncle and I to the start line and let the rest of the family sleep in a little and just meet us at the finish line. Now, I am a morning person and I normally hit the ground sunny side up. However, 3:15 am borders on the edge of insanity. I am pretty grumpy until I get some coffee in me.

Before I go any further with this report, I should back it up a bit to pack pick-up on Friday. We hit the expo Friday mid-morning to pick up our packets.I went to the Goofy Challenge check-in to get my packet and upon receiving it checked to make sure both bibs were in there. I pulled out both bibs and saw I was in Corral A for the marathon, but my half-marathon bib said Elite on it. When signing up for the race you had to have proof of race times so that they could assign you to the correct corral based on your pace. I was pretty sure someone had made a mistake with mine by putting me in the Elite Corral, but hey, I wasn’t going to say anything…

Anyway, back to the race. My goal going into the race was a 1:33 half and a 3:15 marathon. I figured that would put me at racing 75-80% for the half and then I could go all out on the full. I knew the mileage would not be a problem as I felt confident in my endurance base, I just had no idea what kind of speed I would be able to pull off on 2 consecutive days.

We arrived at the race site right at 4:30 am. We had to quickly say goodbye to Dan as they weren’t letting spectators through the runners area. I heard it was a hike from the parking lot to the starting line, so we decided to hit the port-a-pottys first. There were 28,000 runners but not enough little boxes to go around. I really thought the Mouse would have better control of such things. I decided to forgo the porta-a-potty line and just head to the start line. Said goodbye to my uncle and wished him luck.

Began the long walk to the actual starting line. A brief stop in the woods along the way (you gotta do what you gotta do). And then into my corral. The “elite corral” (of which I shouldn’t be one, but I won’t beat that horse today). Let me say the elite corral was pretty awesome. You are right up in the grill of everything and the best thing you have is precious space. The elites are not herded like cattle into tight spaces like everyone else in the corrals. We were able to get in and out of the corrals as we please to warm-up, unlike everyone who is forced into the corral to wait 30 min prior to race start. I felt like a rock star. I will also say that the moment I stepped into the corral I realized there is no way in hell I wasn’t going to go all out that day. I felt like I had to “represent” and earn my spot in the corral…going 75% wasn’t going to cut it, I was going to gun for a PR. My plan was now to “race” this race, not worrying about saving something for the full marathon the next day. I’d deal with tomorrow tomorrow. So, I warmed-up and then waited in the corral with the rest of the elite Brooks Hanson-Team runners …while I self consciously noted that I had at least 20 pounds on pretty much every single runner in the elite corral…yeah, did lots for my ego.

The countdown starts. The fireworks go off. The gun goes off. Thousands of runners go off. Well, those of us at the front, anyway.

The first mile, because of the congestion, is pretty much always a bit on the slow side in these types of races. Not today – I was right in the front, so no weaving in and out of people at all. It was glorious, but I also started out too fast. After the first mile, I reminded myself to run my own race and settled into a good rhythm.

By the way, of the 13.1 miles of this course, only about 1.5 miles have any real “Disney” value. Maybe three quarters of a mile through the Magic Kingdom between 5 and 6 and another three quarters through Epcot between 12 and 13. The rest is on highways and byways and service roads. There were smatterings of spectators and Disney characters and staff. Maybe there were actually more, but since I was “racing the sunrise” most of my run was spent in total to semi-darkness. It didn’t even start to get light until mile 11. This was a little disappointing to me.

Now, back to the run. The first mile was over and done with. I knew there was plenty of time to pick up the pace so I settled in around 6:55 pace. I felt good, I felt comfortable. I kept it steady until about mile 6 then thought - let’s goose the accelerator a little and see what happens. I pick it up to around 6:53 pace. Hot damn! This is great!

I really had no idea as to how many other runners were in my general vicinity. It’s about 6:15 am and still very dark. There’s man-made light, but not a whole lot of it. Though soon we’re into the brightness of the Magic Kingdom and running up Main Street. Lots and lots of spectators. I’m looking for my parents, aunt & cousin, but I don’t see them. (For all I know they’re still driving around Disney. No wait, that was the return trip back to Epcot.) From Main Street we bear right to Tomorrowland then to Fantasyland and into Cinderella’s Castle.

I keep on trucking. Miles eight, nine, and ten were strong. I had picked it up to 6:51 pace, and I was still feeling great. I just needed to hold on. Somewhere in the 8.5 to 9 mile section those of us heading back home started sharing the road with those still heading out in their 2.5 to 3 mile section. There are lots and lots of people heading out. I mean lots and lots. Those of us heading back have pretty much spaced out.

Shortly before the 10 mile banner we go under an overpass, then up the up ramp (a Disney “hill”) to the overpass. While on the up ramp, I glance ahead to see who is in front of me. I spy, with my eye, two girls. They appear to be about 30 seconds ahead me. I figure I’ll run steady and see what happens. I pass them at mile 11 and hope they stay behind me. Two to go. Right before the mile 12 banner we’re in a bit of a parking lot. An animated pre-recorded voice keeps repeating “caution . . . sharp turn ahead . . . caution . . . sharp turn ahead . . . caution . . . sharp turn ahead . . .” I was glad to make the turn, not all that sharp, and leave the voice behind. Now, we’re just about into Epcot. There are lots of spectators around. Here is mile 12. One and a bit to go.

We run across the bridge into Epcot. We’re getting closer to the finish line. I try to shift into top gear. Unfortunately there’s less than half a gear left. There is Mile 13. Only a tenth of a mile to go.

I ended up with a 1:29:58 (chip time) and a new PR. That put me 23rd overall (woman) and 5th in my age group.

I cross the line and stop to catch my breath. I get my Mylar blanket, picked up my Donald medal, got my picture taken with my Donald medal. I grabbed a bottle of water, looked at the food, decided I didn’t want any, then wandered out in search of my Sherpas and to watch my uncle finish. Turned out my family members had some difficulties getting around Disney so they missed me, but Dan had been waiting at the finish line since around 4:30 am so he was able to see me cross the line.

We actually miss my uncle come through, but get a text from my mom and aunt that they made it to the finish line and got to see him cross. We leave the bleachers to head to the family reunion tent. It’s been a long morning. I’ve spent way too much time on my feet. I’m getting pretty hungry. But those are very minor inconveniences. My uncle just completed the Disney Half Marathon!!! In a very respectable 2:06, which includes battling through an injury mid-run. We are proud of him.

We all hang around and chat for a bit but then it’s really time to head back to the condo and start some serious recovery. While I was super excited with my time, I was also PETRIFIED that I may not have much left in the tank for tomorrow. What good would a PR be if I bombed the marathon? I’m a little worried.

So, I went back to the condo and took a hot shower. Then I decided I needed to go back to the expo because I enjoyed my elite experience so much that morning, that I wanted to see if I could get in the elite corral for the marathon the next morning. I knew when I signed up for Disney originally I had submitted a 3:17 marathon, but thought maybe my Vegas time might bump me up to the elite corral…HAHAHAHAHAHA WRONG.

I headed to the Runners Relations area. First, I felt like a complete jackass even asking if I could get in the elite corral, but I figured it was worth a shot. I was quickly rejected. You needed to have run a 3:01 or better to get in the elite corral…I was quickly put in my place and send back to Corral A…proof that I should have never been in the elite corral to start with! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Went to lunch at the Sweet Tomato and ate like a pig. Then mostly just sat around watching TV. I putzed around a little bit getting everything together for another round of Disney running. My legs started to get really tight later in the afternoon, so I did some stretching, which felt very good. Another spaghetti dinner was scheduled for 5:30 pm at the condo with the family.

We ate while watching a football playoff game. Somebody was playing somebody else. I just wanted to eat and then think about bed. I put the game on the TV in the bedroom and laid down to watch. After a few minutes, when I realized I didn’t really care who was playing, much less who was winning, I turned if off.

Lights out around 8 pm. I am praying to all Gods out there that not only myself, but Dan, Wes, my cousin Kelly and her husband Bear, all have strong races the next day…