Race Report: Goofy Challenge Part 3 - The Full Marathon

...and this finally wraps up the Goofy race report series.  Part 1: The Expo can be found here and Part 2: The Half Marathon can be found here.

This race report will be mostly pictures because I really don't remember that many details of a race I ran 8 months ago, lol. Bad Audrey for being so delayed in getting this together.

But if you're really interested in the nitty gritty of the WDW full, feel free to check out my much more detailed 2008 WDW race report.

Here is the course for the full marathon - there were still a lot of expressways but at least we got to go through all four of the parks this time. The weather was slightly better - still freezing cold (high 20s/low 30s, I think) but at least it didn't rain on us.

Hitting all four parks this time!

I had fun hanging out with Roadbunner at the start of the race. We were both bundled in sweatshirts and our heat sheets. I've never been so grateful for overpacking. It took a long time to walk from the staging area to the actual start corrals. I ended up missing the start of my corral wave so I was one of the stragglers. I was actually sad to start because that meant I had to get rid of my extra layers... so I kept my big hoodie on for the first mile or so.

Obligatory Cinderella's Castle Photo

For the full, I didn't really stop to take pics with characters as much as I did with the half. It was already going to take at least five hours and I really didn't want to add that much more time in the freezing cold.

But once I saw Mickey outside Animal Kingdom, I had to stop! I love how quick the picture taking guys (not the race photographers, but the character "escorts") are... they usually had two of them so while one runner was having their picture taken, the other guy was already grabbing the camera of the next runner so they would be ready to go.  These guys are seasoned pro's!

Of course I had to stop for Mickey!

Then later on at Hollywood Studios, I was thrilled to see the guys from Up! I think this was around mile 23 or something. It was perfect timing because I told myself, after this - no more stopping until the finish. (Keep in mind that I'm the kind of runner that likes to take quick walk breaks on every mile! *Especially* at the end because I'm usually so exhausted and slightly delirious.)

I was so excited to see Russell and Carl! New additions to Disney!

And guess what - I did just that! Sure, I was running super slow but I was proud of myself for sticking to it :)

Headed out of Hollywood Studios

Judging by the smile on my face, I must be close to the finish.

How could you not love a race that has adorable characters high fiving you on your way to the finish?

Whee!!!

V is for Victory :P

Sharing all my medal loot with Daisy

Medal Mania: Donald for the half, Goofy for both, Mickey for the full

This race was pretty interesting... the freezing weather was one issue. Hazardous aid stations were another! All the water that was thrown on the ground would freeze creating ice patches. Luckily, the volunteers were really good with giving us warnings so I didn't have any slip ups. The other funny thing was that some of the water cups were frozen! Not frozen solid, just the top layer so I would have to crack it to get the water out. Such a crazy experience!

I know this will be no surprise to anyone, but I am a big fan of the WDW marathon. I like how the different parks break up the course. Kind of like with the Nike marathon, where instead of thinking 12 miles to go, 11 miles to go, 10 miles to go and so on... it's more: OK around mile 4 there's a hill and then it's flat... but then get ready at mile 7 when the the big hills start, etc.

Same thing here... instead of thinking how far to the finish line, my mind instead wonders how long until we hit the next park. It is pure joy running through the Disney parks especially with all the characters around. And once you hit Hollywood studios around mile 22, it's all downhill because it's pretty scenic from there to the finish.

Official Results

Chip Time 5:18:48

Overall Place 9368 / 16906
Gender Place 3699 / 8160
Division Place 630 / 1288

5 Mile 56:06
10 Mile 1:54:31
Half Split 2:31:49
20 Mile 4:00:14

This is a bit of an improvement from my 5:25 time in the 2008 WDW marathon but considering it was 30 degrees vs 80, it was to be expected.

Showing off my prized Goofy medal to Goofy

One last anecodote... I had a great time wearing my Goofy medal around the parks on the following Monday and Tuesday. (No way was I wearing all three - 1) it would be way too heavy and 2) I wouldn't be able to deal with all the clinging and clanging!) When I flew home the following Wednesday, I got stopped by airport security and he asked if they could go through my bag. He then asked if I had a bag of coins or something and I was at first pretty confused. And then I realized it must have been my medals which I had in my carry-on so I pulled that out to show it to him. I asked if he had seen other runners with their medals and he said yes, but with only one medal, not three! Then before I knew it, this came flying out of my mouth, "Well, they must have not been as awesome as me."

Seriously! So embarrassed... :-/

Running Belt Deals from Disneyland Half

Hello all! Had a great time at the Disneyland Half last weekend... race report will be coming soon, but not until I post the WDW Full Marathon race report, heh heh.

Until then... I saw a couple cool deals on running belts from the expo that hopefully, you can take advantage of as well.

iFitness

This is the belt I have - love it!!!

Get a 15% discount when ordering online by using code: MagicRun

More info at http://www.ifitnessinc.com

SPIbelt

• FREE SPIbelt with any other race pocket belt trade-in
• 50% off any new SPIbelt when you trade in your old SPIbelt
• 15% off online purchases by using code: disney10. Free USPS shipping by using code: ship10.

More info at http://www.spibelt.com/disney

Race Report: Goofy Challenge Part 2 - The Half Marathon

Side note: I *started* this race report months ago, but in typical fashion, I never finished it. With the Disneyland Half coming up this weekend, I wanted to get the Goofy race reports out there. I attempted to fill in the blanks below, but apologies for any missing details. Enjoy!

OK, I'm back with the next segment of the Goofy Race Report series. Part 1: The Expo can be found here.

It's now race time and first up is the WDW Half Marathon - a course that routes you from Epcot to Magic Kingdom and back.

As I mentioned in my last post, we were treated to freakishly cold weather for marathon weekend. All of us runners were checking weather forecasts religiously leading up to the race. For the half, not only was it freezing cold (high 20's / low 30's) but we also got some rain (sleet?) as well! Oh joy!

Luckily, I was well-trained for running in this weather. CIM had similar weather (if not slightly "warmer") plus my peak training runs were in 30-40 degree weather in the snow back home in Ohio during the holidays.

I always say I want cold weather for race day so it's just like they say "Be careful what you wish for!"

On to the pictures...

Disney gang greets us at the start!

This was my first time running the half and let me just tell you, other than the short stint through Magic Kingdom, this course is BORING. Seriously. You start outside Epcot but don't actually run through it until the end. It's basically 5 miles of just boring WDW expressways and then you hit Magic Kingdom. That part is fun but once you leave, you're back to the boring expressways.

Below: Once again, guilty of jazz hands. It's like this weird reflex action that comes over me whenever I see a race photographer on the course.

The fun thing about Disney is they know people are running it mostly for the picture opportunities. And just in case the race photographers didn't get a good picture of you running out of Cinderella's castle, they set up a special location to the side to take a posed one for good measure. Of course, I had to take advantage of that!

And since I was obviously not in a rush, I made sure to take lots of pictures with the characters...

I especially admire the runners that ran in full costume!

ARGH! :)

This was a photo spot outside Magic Kingdom on the way back to Epcot. This captures the beauty of Disney races... no one is concerned about their time! I waited several minutes for this one but for Minnie and Goofy, totally worth it!

Finally crossing the finish line! Bet you haven't seen that time on the clock for a half marathon before, huh? ;)

All in all, it was an OK race. Definitely not one I would do on its own but that's just me. The worst part came after the race. It had rained on us during the race, but it doesn't really bother you while you're running. But once you're done with the race, standing in a very slow moving line waiting for food while shivering cold, you become quite miserable. I may have cried a little. OK, maybe not but I was very unhappy.

Normally, I would have skipped the food line altogether but I knew I didn't have anything in my gear check bag and I wasn't sure what food would be available in the meet and greet area. Knowing I had to run a full marathon the next day, I was especially concerned with getting some recovery food back in my system ASAP.

The nice thing was that my family was waiting for me so at least once I got through all of that, I got some much needed TLC :) [Although it did take some time to find them as well - one drawback to big races.]

I wised up for the full and packed post-race food and drinks in my gear bag and left that with my family to bring with them. The gear bag pickup line could be slow moving as well so I didn't want to take any chances.

Official Results

Chip Time 2:46:27

Overall Place 10346 / 17127
Gender Place 4989 / 9688
Division Place 799 / 1444

Age Grade 39.9%

5K Split 34:36
10K Split 1:17:02
15K Split 2:00:37

This ended up being my slowest half marathon time to date (ah, but stay tuned for this weekend!) but if you look at my rankings, it was actually pretty average for the Disney runners. This is why I love Disney races!!! WHEEEEE!!!

Next up, Goofy Challenge Part 3 - The Full Marathon!