Well, might as well start at the beginning…
Just like most of us, I am planning my next WDW trip well beforehand…even if I don’t know when it will be. So in November of 2010 (that is not a typo
)—Thanksgiving to be precise, I hatched a plan with my sister-in-law to get us back to our favorite Mouse. We talked my wife into all three of us running the WDW Half Marathon in 2012. Had I ever run a half marathon before? No!! Shoot I couldn’t even run a quarter mile before the summer of 2010, but my wife and I used jogging as a way to lose weight (with great results) and before long we were running longer distances, but never 13 miles. I figured she would agree to it because it was taking our running to a whole different level. The two of them ran WDW in 2007 and several other races along the way, but not yours truly. I was a blob on the couch.
We agreed to all stay at my brother’s timeshare at the Vistana (essentially free for me) but stay one night at POR so we could use WDW Transportation to get us to the race—we heard that was the way to go.
Then WDW came out with the free dining promotion and that changed everything. We decided to go out on our own and stay at my beloved POR for the whole week. Fly down Friday AM—come home Friday AM.
Then the Marauder Meetup started forming because several of us were going to be there at the same time. Now… I missed the last meetup by about 2 weeks so I was thrilled to be able to meet everyone (almost everyone—missed ya Amy!!!) that I have gotten to know over past few months at SSR.
So it was settled. One week at the POR: Arrive Friday—Race Saturday AM—meet-up that night—parks and fun all week.
For those of you that read my Christmas visit thread, you may recall that my older son announced that he was “done with Disney” and would not be going on any more trips. He’s 15 and parents aren’t cool, so I understood (sorta) but it was nice to have him stay home with the dogs and he enjoyed being the man of the house for a week.
(Fast forward—when we got home: everyone was OK—the dogs made it, the boy made it and the neighbors said neither the cops nor the fire dept had to visit.)
I don’t need to recount all of the Meetup planning, that is well documented here. I will say this: It was super-exciting waiting for both the race AND the Meetup. Let’s jump to Friday the 6th of January, shall we?
Day 1
The Plan: Fly in, pick up race packets and get settled in to POR. ADR: Pasta dinner at my brother’s timeshare.
Actual:
We flew on Southwest with no problems and no delays. It’s just a quick flight from NC to FL—you can hardly get comfortable…if it’s even possible to get comfortable on a plane. We rented a car—normally I wouldn’t do this, but I was worried about getting around for our race packets and some groceries so I rented it for just one day.
We checked into POR early and the room was ready—I have had good luck with that…it always seems to be ready. We dumped our stuff and admired the newly refurbished room (with free Wi-Fi!) it seemed like we were the 1st to sleep in that room. Smelled fresh and clean like new paint and the comforter was practically a sheet of plywood. It was crisp and when we pulled it off the bed, it wouldn’t fold well—lol.
My wife modeling the room:
No –the flowers did not come with the room. My bro and his wife had those put there for us after our race!
And my Son…
A hidden Mickey in the headboard:
We jumped back in the car and went over to get our race packets. We got to the WWOS complex and it was a madhouse! We parked about ½ a mile from the entrance—it was crazy! It was like MK on Christmas Day, just a flood of humanity. And of course just like in true Disney fashion they make you walk through the ‘gift shop’ after you get your bib and swag bag. They were selling everything from socks and shoes to fancy tape that is supposed to help with medical issues. I was overwhelmed!
We got the heck out of there and I was ready for a beer. So we went back to POR and had a cold beer at the Muddy Rivers Pool Bar, served to us by the most unfriendly bartender ever. I secretly hoped that he wasn’t working all week—he seemed like he was angry about something.
The huge Live Oak beside the pool bar:
By now, my Brother and his family had arrived (they drove) so we went over to the Vistana and met them for a delicious meal of fettuccine alfredo with grilled chicken breast a la microwave. It was delicious and I appreciated not having to eat fast food that night. Because of the ridiculous rules for free dining, our free meals didn’t start until Sunday---that’s a whole `nother story.
We hit Wal-Mart and got some groceries (beer) and headed back to POR to get an early night’s sleep. We set our alarms for 3:30. Of course I dreamt that we missed the bus---no, I wasn’t worried about this whole race-deal, was I?
Day 2.0—Race Day!!
The Plan: Race at 5:30am, rest in the afternoon and Marauder Meetup that night.
Actual:
We woke up at 3:30 and got right into our race gear. I shoved an untoasted bagel down my throat and some peanut butter crackers. We had to be on the bus by 4 and in our corral by 5…well neither happened. We got out to the bus stop by 3:45 or so but the busses that were coming were already full and were only taking a few people. I was getting nervous! 4:00 4:10 what the heck?!! 4:15…finally two empty busses rolled up…yay!!!! The bus was nice and warm and inviting—they were those Mears busses and not the cold, plastic WDW busses (sorry Len). We got onto the road and hit a massive traffic jam! I thought I was going to have an anxiety attack---I must have read 10 times that if you aren’t in your corral by 5am you would not be allowed to race. The traffic was terrible but once you got past where the road was blocked off you were OK. Basically they had 3 lanes merging into 1…and we all know how well that typically works.
We walked toward the corrals and it was a hot MESS!! I have never seen such confusion and chaos at WDW. It made me think that WDW wasn’t organizing this part of it—it was that bad. We were supposed to be in ‘G’ but we ended up in ‘H’ because we just could not get there. It was 5:30 and the first runners were starting as we entered the corral area.
We pushed our way up to the front of the correct corral (finally) as we waited and waited. It was exciting! This was my first race of any kind—I was ready, but very nervous. We trained hard and I knew I was capable, but I wanted to take it all in enjoy it, run the whole thing and finish without injury.
And we’re off! The three of us run at different paces so I knew we would run together for the first 5 or so and then we would gradually separate. I guess I wasn’t prepared for the mass of people. People of all shapes, ages and sizes were out there getting it done. It seemed like I was constantly dodging people and running on the grass—all the while trying to find my rhythm. Around mile 3 I finally got a little groove going, but it was still crazy! I swear I passed about a million people and began to wonder if I was running too fast, but my pace was actually a little slower than normal. It was still dark as we ran through the Magic Kingdom parking toll booths. My first “Wow” moment occurred as we entered the MK and hung a right onto Main St. The street was lined with people and there in all its glory was the Castle. It sorta took my breath away and I realized I was running my first ever race…at the Happiest Place on Earth. Prior to the trip I found an old disposable film camera that was nice and light. I carried it with me and hoped that some of the pictures would come out. I snapped one here and while I can see it on the negative, the CVS I took it to did not process it (too dark), but I may get a 2nd opinion. (Only seven of the pics I took were printed—the later ones when it was a little lighter)
Remember these are “old school” scans of film pictures…:
Mile 12!
Getting closer!
The only time I stopped running was when you come out of the Castle and into a huge bottle neck. I had to slow down to a brisk walk and then it was back into my groove. I got a little emotional around Mile 10---all the sights and sounds and determination just overwhelms you sometimes. You see people out there that if you saw them on the street you’d never think they would run a half marathon, but they are out there giving it all they have. People run in memory of other people and to raise money or awareness and some are out there just to have fun. I passed a father and son duo around mile 9 and I heard the Dad say, “There’s no way we will get swept up, Son, we’re doing great.”
At mile 10 there is a killer overpass hill and there were lots of tired people walking or stopped. My wife and I trained in the hills around our neighborhood so we felt confident about the minor hills we would encounter—I went to the outside on the grass and just passed everyone. Just before mile 12 there is another overpass and the guy was yelling, “Come on people—last hill… almost there!” I ran up that hill and on the other side, there it was: “Mile 12.” There was a band playing “I Would Walk 500 Miles…” and I pumped my fist in time with the music—I knew I was going to make it.
We ran into Epcot and up the slight hill around SSE—I yelled out, “I thought the last hill was the last hill!” and garnered a few chuckles.
Around mile 13 there was a full-on Gospel Choir singing and a chill came over my body---only .1 to go! I saw the finish and sped up a little out of excitement. Then the weirdest thing happened…after I crossed the finish line for about 2 seconds I kept running and I thought to myself…’Oh, I can stop running now.’ It was a weird feeling to say the least!
The finish line!
I finished in 2:24—a fine time for a guy that couldn’t run a quarter mile when he started. My wife was only 6 minutes behind me—a great time for her! When we talked about the race afterwards, she said that she passed my sister-in-law on the last few hills. My sis-in-law is much more fit than us and she has run in countless halfs, but she did not train for this one very well and she lives at the beach (no hills) so she struggled on the hills but finished right behind us.
What an accomplishment…but what next? How about a beer and a nap
So that’s exactly what we did. We fell asleep looking forward to the Marauder Meetup!
Next up Day 2.5 Mayhem Marauder Meetup Part Deux
I'm waiting for my oil change looking longingly at the lady next to me's tablet...sigh 
Congrats on your time. I would say that is an excellent time for your first race. Putting a little pressure on yourself for your next race aren't you?! I always thought if I ran a race, I would run one at Disney, but I just don't run. After seeing all the humanity, I don't think I could do it. Too. Many. People. 
