The Walt
Disney World Marathon and Half Marathon:
What I wish I could say to everyone planning to run it. Disclaimer: Author is not a doctor, nutritionist, trainer or other medical professional of any kind. She is an experienced runner who decided to provide some tips.
Welp,
WDW Marathon weekend is six months away (tiggeriffic!), it’s almost time to
book hotel and airline reservations and, for many of us, it’s also time to
start building our mileage base for the January race(s). Our family is going to be all over the 2014
Marathon Weekend, with my little sister and my baby sister’s boyfriend running
their first half marathon on Saturday, and myself and aforementioned baby
sister running the marathon on Sunday (her first!). No, none of us is running Goofy (too
expensive) or Dopey (we don’t want to die).
13.1 and 26.2 miles are long enough for us for one weekend. Mom (and hopefully Dad too) will be
travelling down to see us run, so it will be like a full on family party for
the weekend. Sweet.
But,
now that the six month mark has rolled around, I was thinking about the Disney
races and some of the things I wish I’d thought about going in for the first
time. And I decided to share them,
because so many people are clamoring to hear everything I have to say. And because I’m such a marathon expert (not
really) and a total Disney geek (absolutely) and therefore who better than to
bore you with some not so revolutionary tips for your Disney race
experience. Sadly, I have no tips for
anyone running Goofy and/or Dopey (see above).
I have never run either of those challenges, and don’t really have the
time/money/body to do so. If you’re
running either of them, good luck, but I got nothin’. Just take care of yourself. And don’t try to run anything hung over. And try not to sh*t your pants (this is a
family weekend, people). But, I digress,
so onto the tips!
Tip
#1: TRAIN. Yup, that’s right. It seems like a no brainer, but it’s the most
important thing you can do for yourself coming into the Disney races (any race,
really), which is why I put it in bold, italics, and all caps. Both 13.1 and 26.2 miles take an enormous
physical and mental effort, and nothing will prepare you for that except a
solid training base. Yes, there are
probably people out there who can (or have) run a long distance race with
little to no training. No, you’re
probably not one of those people. So go
online, find a training program that works for you, schedule your workouts, and
start putting one foot in front of the other.
Jeff Galloway has some very approachable training schedules that he
shares for free on the RunDisney
webpage. If you don’t know Jeff
Galloway, google him to find out what he’s all about. He’s awesome.
Just sayin’.
Also,
don’t underestimate the distance you’re about to tackle. Yes, you’re running through WDW (yay), and
you’re going to be very entertained.
However, even in Disney World, 26.2 miles is still 26.2 miles, and it isn’t easy (the same goes for 13.1 miles). Mile 22 is probably going to hurt. A lot.
So is mile 23. Your hurt might
start at mile 18. If you’re having a
really bad day, it might start at mile 12 or mile 14 (it’s happened to me at
mile 9). Sometimes, your training runs
might hurt too. I’m not saying this to
scare you or be Debbie Downer or anything.
Running is very rewarding, and can even be fun. Running can be especially fun when you’re
swearing and calling the huge hill you’re on every nickname for the male
reproductive organ you can think of and then you get to the top and there are
people up there, and you realize that you are officially the crazy lady in the
neighborhood. Running is super fun
then. But it can be hard. So, please, don’t let your longest run
leading up to the races be 6 miles, and think that you’ve got it in the
bag. Sh*t happens. Sometimes we can’t always get optimal
training in. But do the best you can to
prepare yourself as well as possible.
Pretty please. With a cherry on
top.
Tip
#2: Eat right. Both during your training and up to the
race. Yup, another no brainer. Jeff Galloway says it well here: “garbage in, garbage out” (I’m really not
obsessed with this guy, it’s just a good quote). So nourish your body with good food, and
watch good things happen. We’re all
grownups here, so I’m not going to tell you exactly what and when you should be
eating. I’m not your mom. I will say a couple of things, though. The first is about carb loading. For some people it works really well, and for
others, not so much. One of the worst
things you can do to yourself, however, is to eat yourself sick the night
before a race. That’s almost a guarantee
for sh*tting your pants right in front of Mickey. No fun for you or him or your fellow runners. Just eat a reasonable amount the night
before, and make sure you get your pre race meal in before the start gun goes
off. Hopefully, you will have rehearsed
your pre-run nutrition well before race day.
I also recommend that you avoid the booze for at least a few days before
the big distance. No, I’m not a teetotal
– I can belly up to the Rose and Crown bar with the best of them. Probably better than you can. But alcohol dehydrates and causes hangovers
(duh) which involve gastric distress (here we are at sh*t again), headaches,
fatigue, etc. It also lowers your
inhibitions and makes those nachos in Mexico, that brat in Germany, and more
alcohol seem like a really good idea. It’s not, especially before a big race, and
I’m not talking about why that is because I’m tired of potty talk. You’ll also probably sleep like sh*t (not the
potty kind but kind of like it), and be a miserable bastard the morning of the
race. And no one will want to be your
friend. So, yeah. Avoid the booze, and stop whining at me. It’s only a few days and I believe in you
just like we all believe in Tinkerbell.
Now, clap! Clap!!!!!
Tip
#3: Guess what? I’m going to stop being such a pain in the ass now, because it’s time for the fun
tips! Hooray! My first tip is actually more for before the
race than during, but whatevs, you’ll still like it. Tip #3 is to be patient with and proud of
yourself. The fact that you even signed
up for a race like this takes super huge balls.
Especially if you’ve never done this kind of distance before, pressing
that registration button is really brave.
And really awesome. But it’s also
the easiest part. So, be patient with
yourself, and understand that it’s going to be a process with many challenges
and rewards (see Tip #1). Don’t be angry
with yourself if you have a bad workout, or you miss a run because you’re sick,
or you’re slower than you want to be.
Running is like that. Sometimes,
it’s going to be bad, but learn from what happened and move on. And don’t beat yourself up for any perceived
failures you might have. Chances are,
they’re not failures anyway, and you’re still more awesome than most people you
know for trying something like this.
Also, take the time to celebrate every new milestone you hit, no matter
how pretty you may have looked or felt getting there. Did you just finish your first ever 7/10/15/20
miler? Did you just PR your 5k time on a
midweek training run? Get through your
first long distance without wanting to murder everyone you saw? Celebrate it.
And when you toe that starting line at the ass crack of dawn on race
morning, celebrate that too. You made it
there. Awesome.
Tip
#4: Relax. So, this tip is actually more for race day
(which you get to trained, nourished, and rested see Tips 1 and 2) and applies in more than one context. First of all, relax in the sense that you’ll
be well taken care of. I have run one
Disney race (more on that later), and many local and city races. I’m always racing at least a half marathon,
so I’ve seen widely varying levels of organization, support, and
spectators. Disney is the best, bar
none. So have some peace of mind, you’ll
be in good hands. They have aid stations
about every 1.5- 2 miles which are stocked with water and sports drink. They provide gels and bananas in at least
three places, and there is always prompt
medical help if you need it (and I sincerely hope you don’t).
“Relax”
also applies to the idea that race day can be a tossup for an infinite number
of factors. You might have had an
awesome training cycle, have eaten perfectly, and slept like a baby only to
wake up to a runny nose, headache, and cough on race morning. You probably won’t run your best on that day,
and that’s okay. You can’t control
that. The same applies to the weather,
which can be hugely inconsistent in a Disney race. For instance, when I ran the WDW Marathon in
2010 (my first!) it was 30 degrees at the start. The Powerade froze. There was ice all around the aid
stations. I ran in a hat, gloves, and
underarmor. My toes went numb. In 2013, however, it was in the 90’s at the
finish line, and people were getting heat sickness. Both of these scenarios will make a huge
difference in your running, but they are not the only things. You might get attacked by a stitch (or a
Stitch!!!) at mile 4. You might develop
a minor strain (never race with a
major illness or injury). You might get
stuck behind a huge pack of walkers who lied about their expected finish time
or snuck up into a higher corral or didn’t train and bonked at mile 2 (don’t do
that – it’s obnoxious, and there’s no need for it – it’s Disney, not an elite
race). It might happen. It might not.
But if it does, relax, adjust, and go with it. You’ll have a better race experience.
Finally,
relax. The race should be fun and, quite honestly,
Disney works really hard to ensure that if you get to the starting line, you’ll
get to the finish line. So take a deep
breath, and calm down. Psycho.
Tip
#5: Take a minute to drink it all in,
and appreciate where you are, what you’re doing, and how far you’ve come. You’re running one of the most unique races on
the planet and, despite how mentally and physically challenging it might be,
you’re still running through all four theme parks, past dozens of characters,
and with the cheering of thousands of spectators. You’re also running maybe the friendliest,
most supportive race on earth (and don’t be that a$$h*le who knocks everybody
down at every aid station in order to keep running full speed – again, it’s
Disney, and unless you’re running in the “elite” category, you can take a few
seconds to be polite. A$$h*le). So look around and notice the magic because,
yes, it’s magic. Be proud of yourself
and enjoy your race. And, after you
cross the finish line, enjoy your bling, and all the glory that comes with it
when you wear it around the parks and resort for the next week. Because you can’t do that in the real world,
people will think you’re craycray.
And
I’ll meet you at The Rose and Crown, where we can party our faces off, you
awesome (half) marathoner, you.
And
try not to sh*t your pants.
