2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
The pics are awesome, B-babe, thanks for posting them! I wish I had the kind of relationship with my dad where we could do things like that together. But that's not the case and never will be, so consider yourself very blessed and very fortunate.
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boilerbabe
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
I'm sorry to hear that Soarin.Soarin08 wrote:The pics are awesome, B-babe, thanks for posting them! I wish I had the kind of relationship with my dad where we could do things like that together. But that's not the case and never will be, so consider yourself very blessed and very fortunate.
I do consider myself very blessed. I've always had a close relationship with my mom but over the past years since my dad has been retired, we've gotten closer. He's getting mushy in his old age too, LOL!
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Mousekedude
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
Wow, Soarin, I'm sorry to hear that! Of course, I can relate: my dad and I had a falling-out years ago, and our relationship was never the same afterwards. We sorta made up, and were on sorta okay terms toward the end (he passed away last year), but I miss him and wish it would have been better. I don't know what your situation is, but all I'm trying to say is that I understand. Seems like a conversation we need to have over rum-spiked Dole Whips next time we meet up...Soarin08 wrote:...I wish I had the kind of relationship with my dad where we could do things like that together. But that's not the case and never will be, so consider yourself very blessed and very fortunate.
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Mousekedude
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
I posted this in the trip report, but it seems more appropriate to also post it here.
So Friday, January 6th was the big day for Mouseoholic and me! The 5K! We had to get up at "0-dark-thirty" in the morning to get ready, which was tough after the late night gorging ourselves at Victoria and Albert's, but we managed.
We met up with the Boilers and her parents at the bus stop for our special transportation to the race. It was very cold, foggy, and damp, and we were miserable. We were also amazed at how many people from the Boardwalk were also going! There must have been at least 100 or 200 people waiting for the bus, and we could see that the transportation coordinator was freaking out! He ended up calling on the radio for extra buses because there was no way that the planned bus arrangements were going to be adequate for getting everyone there on time. This was a foreshadowing of things to come.
When we arrived at Epcot, it was obvious that Disney had messed up big-time. Here's why: when we originally signed up for the 5K many months ago, the website said that the race would be limited to about 2500 people (I think that was the number). But when we got there, we saw immediately that something wasn't right: there were literally thousands of people milling around, trying to figure out what to do! We later learned that over 8,000 people ran the 5K! So somehow Disney screwed up big-time by registering over 8,000 people for a race that was only set up to accommodate 2500 or so.
Anyway, there were some guys on a stage trying to entertain the crowd and provide some sort of direction, but it was obvious that total chaos was the order of the day. No one seemed to know what to do or where to go, so we were on our own as far as figuring out how to get ready for the race. By the way, we were also joined at this point by Boilerbabe's cousin Steven, his wife Kristi, and another couple that Kristi had invited... so there were 10 of us altogether trying to figure out what to do. We did manage to discern, based on what “stage-boy” was saying, that the race would be run in 3 waves. In each wave, there was supposed to be a series of “corrals” lined up in order with the fastest runners in front, followed by the next fastest (there were categories based on running speed that every participant was supposed to check to see where he belonged), with the slowest group (including runners with baby strollers) bringing up the rear. Well, no one seemed to be paying any attention to which corral he was supposed to be in... in fact, it was very hard to tell where the demarcation lines were for each one because they were not clearly labeled. Actually, they probably were labeled okay for the expected crowd of no more than 2500 people, but with over 8000 folks milling around, it was impossible to figure out what was what. On top of all that, keep in mind that it was very cold, damp, and foggy, which made everyone miserable.
Anyway, after the first two waves were sent off, we finally made our way into the “corrals”, but it was extremely disorganized. In fact, at one point a barricade got moved, which caused people to start filling in at a point that wasn’t intended... leading to several cast members running around and yelling at people... which led to B-dude yelling at a cast member who was obviously clueless about the confusion that was being created... anyway, we finally all got into the queue and got ready for our start gun. We all got separated because some of our group who were faster runners realized that we needed to work our way further toward the front, while the others needed to go more towards the back... yeah, total chaos.
Well, after what seemed like an eternity, the race finally started for us. By this time we had been waiting in the freezing damp fog for almost an hour and a half, so guess what? Yeah, you got it: I had to go to the bathroom (I wasn’t the only one, by the way...).
Well, when the race started, B-dude and “Dad” immediately shot out to the front of the pack, and I did my best to keep up. I was struggling a little because I had not been able to train as much as I needed due to illness and injury in the months leading up to the trip. But the biggest issue for me at this point was my dire need to find a restroom, and my panic in not knowing how that would be accomplished. Well, to my great relief, Disney did at least one thing right for this race: they had a row of out-houses set up at about the one-mile mark. So I stopped for that, and of course afterwards was not able to catch up with the guys. So I ran the rest of the race by myself, having no clue, of course, where the rest of our peeps were. When I finished, I bolted across the finish line and kept going for a little way in order to get out of the crowd, but I didn’t realize that I had run right past the guys, who had stopped right at the finish line to wait. Well, I ended up all by myself for over 30 minutes at the exit while everyone else finished the race and met up with the guys at the finish line. But it turned out well, and we all had a good time. Mouseoholic and I then went back to our resort to freshen up while the rest of the gang did their own thing. I don’t remember what we did the rest of the day, but maybe some others can fill in the blanks....
By the way, I don't have any pictures of this whole adventure because obviously I didn't carry my camera with me, and the ones that Disney took for us didn't come out well and are too expensive, so... but some of our gang have some pictures, so maybe they can post them....?
So Friday, January 6th was the big day for Mouseoholic and me! The 5K! We had to get up at "0-dark-thirty" in the morning to get ready, which was tough after the late night gorging ourselves at Victoria and Albert's, but we managed.
We met up with the Boilers and her parents at the bus stop for our special transportation to the race. It was very cold, foggy, and damp, and we were miserable. We were also amazed at how many people from the Boardwalk were also going! There must have been at least 100 or 200 people waiting for the bus, and we could see that the transportation coordinator was freaking out! He ended up calling on the radio for extra buses because there was no way that the planned bus arrangements were going to be adequate for getting everyone there on time. This was a foreshadowing of things to come.
When we arrived at Epcot, it was obvious that Disney had messed up big-time. Here's why: when we originally signed up for the 5K many months ago, the website said that the race would be limited to about 2500 people (I think that was the number). But when we got there, we saw immediately that something wasn't right: there were literally thousands of people milling around, trying to figure out what to do! We later learned that over 8,000 people ran the 5K! So somehow Disney screwed up big-time by registering over 8,000 people for a race that was only set up to accommodate 2500 or so.
Anyway, there were some guys on a stage trying to entertain the crowd and provide some sort of direction, but it was obvious that total chaos was the order of the day. No one seemed to know what to do or where to go, so we were on our own as far as figuring out how to get ready for the race. By the way, we were also joined at this point by Boilerbabe's cousin Steven, his wife Kristi, and another couple that Kristi had invited... so there were 10 of us altogether trying to figure out what to do. We did manage to discern, based on what “stage-boy” was saying, that the race would be run in 3 waves. In each wave, there was supposed to be a series of “corrals” lined up in order with the fastest runners in front, followed by the next fastest (there were categories based on running speed that every participant was supposed to check to see where he belonged), with the slowest group (including runners with baby strollers) bringing up the rear. Well, no one seemed to be paying any attention to which corral he was supposed to be in... in fact, it was very hard to tell where the demarcation lines were for each one because they were not clearly labeled. Actually, they probably were labeled okay for the expected crowd of no more than 2500 people, but with over 8000 folks milling around, it was impossible to figure out what was what. On top of all that, keep in mind that it was very cold, damp, and foggy, which made everyone miserable.
Anyway, after the first two waves were sent off, we finally made our way into the “corrals”, but it was extremely disorganized. In fact, at one point a barricade got moved, which caused people to start filling in at a point that wasn’t intended... leading to several cast members running around and yelling at people... which led to B-dude yelling at a cast member who was obviously clueless about the confusion that was being created... anyway, we finally all got into the queue and got ready for our start gun. We all got separated because some of our group who were faster runners realized that we needed to work our way further toward the front, while the others needed to go more towards the back... yeah, total chaos.
Well, after what seemed like an eternity, the race finally started for us. By this time we had been waiting in the freezing damp fog for almost an hour and a half, so guess what? Yeah, you got it: I had to go to the bathroom (I wasn’t the only one, by the way...).
Well, when the race started, B-dude and “Dad” immediately shot out to the front of the pack, and I did my best to keep up. I was struggling a little because I had not been able to train as much as I needed due to illness and injury in the months leading up to the trip. But the biggest issue for me at this point was my dire need to find a restroom, and my panic in not knowing how that would be accomplished. Well, to my great relief, Disney did at least one thing right for this race: they had a row of out-houses set up at about the one-mile mark. So I stopped for that, and of course afterwards was not able to catch up with the guys. So I ran the rest of the race by myself, having no clue, of course, where the rest of our peeps were. When I finished, I bolted across the finish line and kept going for a little way in order to get out of the crowd, but I didn’t realize that I had run right past the guys, who had stopped right at the finish line to wait. Well, I ended up all by myself for over 30 minutes at the exit while everyone else finished the race and met up with the guys at the finish line. But it turned out well, and we all had a good time. Mouseoholic and I then went back to our resort to freshen up while the rest of the gang did their own thing. I don’t remember what we did the rest of the day, but maybe some others can fill in the blanks....
By the way, I don't have any pictures of this whole adventure because obviously I didn't carry my camera with me, and the ones that Disney took for us didn't come out well and are too expensive, so... but some of our gang have some pictures, so maybe they can post them....?
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Amy
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
Wow ~ I would have thought Disney would have the whole shebang organized down to the last little thing. How disappointing to have such chaos one what should have been a super fun morning But at least you finished! That's the great thing 
But at least you finished! That's the great thing -
boilerbabe
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
Excellent summary M-dude!!! He is totally correct, Disney messed this race up big time, very unorganized and lotsa chaos, very unDisney! I think they kept allowing people to sign up b/c they saw $$$ signs, but that's just my guess?!
I chose to walk this one with my mom, Mouseoholic (who ran in the beginning and then again at the end ) and my cousin walked until 2 1/2 then ran the last 1/2. He was doing the "Goofy" challenge and was saving it for the next two days, the kid is like a Gazelle! Just to give you an idea...on 1/2 marathon day, my dad and I were in corral "B" cousin Steve was in "D" and he passed us like we were standing still at mile 4! He managed to PR Sat/Sun! (He's like my brother, so I had to brag a little! ) I walked the 5K b/c with all of my injuries leading up to this event, didn't think it was wise to try and run the day before the 1/2, plus, wanted to be there for my mom. For those of you that don't know, she was diagnosed with Scleroderma 4 years ago. It's a horrible auto immune disease. She used to be a power walker and never sick a day in her life until this. She has done amazing in managing her disease and choosing to live her life. So, this was a big accomplishment for her! My dad and B-dude ran and so did M-dude of which I'm so very proud of! Even with all injuries and being sick he ran an awesome race. Way to go M-dude (dad and B-dude too, of course)!!!! 
I was proud of the Mouse Couple, this was their first event and I was so happy we were able to take part together! Kristi ran with her friend and dad, so didn't see them until after the race.
It was very cold/foggy at dark thirty in the morning like M-dude stated! It was pretty cool to see the sunrise in Epcot though. The finisher "medals" were cool. I was glad we were all able to be there! We did purchase some pictures from the actual race, but I don't have my scanner hooked up, unfortunately. So I will post the ones with my camera. I don't normally take a camera with me during races, but since I was walking, I thought I would make an exception!
Here we are at dark thirty in the a.m.:
Chaos:
Mouseoholic and I at mile 1:
Heading into Epcot:
Mom and I (she hates the way she looks in this picture, shhh, don't tell her I posted her here! )
Love this shot, sunrise in WS:
Yahoo, almost there!
The fam:
Way to go Mouse Couple!
After the race, we headed back to the resort. Relaxed a bit then headed to Downtown Disney. We had ADR's at Portobello's, time to carb load before the big event in the a.m.! It needed to be a super early evening b/c we had a 2:30 a.m. wake up call!
I realize this is a bit backwards for my trip report, but thought I would help M-dude fill in and post some pics here! Promise to get started on the rest as soon as I can!!! Think of this as a little preview!
He is totally correct, Disney messed this race up big time, very unorganized and lotsa chaos, very unDisney! I think they kept allowing people to sign up b/c they saw $$$ signs, but that's just my guess?! I chose to walk this one with my mom, Mouseoholic (who ran in the beginning and then again at the end
) and my cousin walked until 2 1/2 then ran the last 1/2. He was doing the "Goofy" challenge and was saving it for the next two days, the kid is like a Gazelle! Just to give you an idea...on 1/2 marathon day, my dad and I were in corral "B" cousin Steve was in "D" and he passed us like we were standing still at mile 4! He managed to PR Sat/Sun! (He's like my brother, so I had to brag a little! ) I walked the 5K b/c with all of my injuries leading up to this event, didn't think it was wise to try and run the day before the 1/2, plus, wanted to be there for my mom. For those of you that don't know, she was diagnosed with Scleroderma 4 years ago. It's a horrible auto immune disease. She used to be a power walker and never sick a day in her life until this. She has done amazing in managing her disease and choosing to live her life. So, this was a big accomplishment for her! My dad and B-dude ran and so did M-dude of which I'm so very proud of! Even with all injuries and being sick he ran an awesome race. Way to go M-dude (dad and B-dude too, of course)!!!! I was proud of the Mouse Couple, this was their first event and I was so happy we were able to take part together! Kristi ran with her friend and dad, so didn't see them until after the race.It was very cold/foggy at dark thirty in the morning like M-dude stated! It was pretty cool to see the sunrise in Epcot though. The finisher "medals" were cool. I was glad we were all able to be there! We did purchase some pictures from the actual race, but I don't have my scanner hooked up, unfortunately. So I will post the ones with my camera. I don't normally take a camera with me during races, but since I was walking, I thought I would make an exception!
Here we are at dark thirty in the a.m.:
Chaos:
Mouseoholic and I at mile 1:
Heading into Epcot:
Mom and I (she hates the way she looks in this picture, shhh, don't tell her I posted her here!
)Love this shot, sunrise in WS:
Yahoo, almost there!
The fam:
Way to go Mouse Couple!
After the race, we headed back to the resort. Relaxed a bit then headed to Downtown Disney. We had ADR's at Portobello's, time to carb load before the big event in the a.m.! It needed to be a super early evening b/c we had a 2:30 a.m. wake up call!
I realize this is a bit backwards for my trip report, but thought I would help M-dude fill in and post some pics here! Promise to get started on the rest as soon as I can!!! Think of this as a little preview!
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Amy
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
Yay for 5K pictures! What a lovely looking group you were. I'm proud of all of you and so glad you could run/walk with your friends and family b-babe! I would have to take a camera on the run. There is no way I could pass up all those lovely photo ops with the sunrise and all the extras!
Looking forward to the next part of your report
So the "medals" are more plastic-y it looks like??
Looking forward to the next part of your report
So the "medals" are more plastic-y it looks like??
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boilerbabe
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
Thanks Amy! I was proud of everyone!!! The 5K medals were plastic. Still thought they were cute. The other race medals are metal and very heavy! Most races don't give out any type of medal for a 5K, so I thought it was a neat idea of Disney! Recognize everyone's accomplishment!
I was proud of everyone!!! The 5K medals were plastic. Still thought they were cute. The other race medals are metal and very heavy! Most races don't give out any type of medal for a 5K, so I thought it was a neat idea of Disney! Recognize everyone's accomplishment!-
MmeLeota
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
Yes. Definitely in a good way....growing up, mom and I used to butt heads a lot. Now we have a fantastic relationship!boilerbabe wrote:Hopefully it's different now with your mom you mean in a good way!MmeLeota wrote:We have that in common - that "trio" mentality. It was always "the three of us" too! (though I can't say I've always had the best relationship with my mom...but that's completely different now.boilerbabe wrote:Thanks Amy and Mmeleota!!! No, I never have grown out of Mickey!!!
Awesome pictures boilerbabe! I remember the fogginess of that morning...but we were up a bit later than you guys
Those were pretty cool looking "medals". We earned our first medal at the 1 mile (also a 5K) fun run we participated in as part of the All Star Game events back in 2010. Even though we only did the 1 mile, everyone got the medal...it felt awesome to earn one though! Someday we'd like to participate in a Disney run...we'll see how things go.
Good idea to walk it...and take pictures
Love the sunrise pic too!!!
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Mousekedude
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
Thanks for the extra details and pics, B-babe!
Looking forward to rest of your trip report in the meet-up thread. Of course, I'm still working on ours too...
Looking forward to rest of your trip report in the meet-up thread. Of course, I'm still working on ours too...
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pixiesparkles
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
I have read about this...it sounds sooooo cool, but alas, not in any of my WDW plans for this year. Maybe next time!
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Amy
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
Ok, I know this is for Disneyland, but isn't it sparkely and pretty?! Is anyone running the Disneyland Princess 1/2?
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boilerbabe
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Amy
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
Me too! Not enough to run 13.1 miles though probablyboilerbabe wrote:Oooooooh! I would love one of those!!!!
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boilerbabe
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Re: 2012 WDW Marathon Weekend
I would if I could! But, I can't run right now.Amy wrote:Me too! Not enough to run 13.1 miles though probablyboilerbabe wrote:Oooooooh! I would love one of those!!!!