Walt Disney World Marathon - RunMarathon

My initial goal for this race was 3:05 or to qualify for boston with at least a 3:10:59. My ultimate goal would be to just run sevens flat the entire race, pretty much what I did in training and a pace that is comfortable and not over exerting. I start off and I feel magical. Ha ha ha, if you haven’t been , EVERYTHING in Disney is magical. Really though, I feel very good. I pass the 3:20 pace group. I am moving along pretty well. It is still dark and misty and we are running on a highway type access road. I look to my right and see thousands of other people on the other road where the marathon split is. Pretty cool.

The first aid station comes up. I run through, grab some powerade and keep going. I was planning on drinking at least one cup of powerade at each aid staion, 2 gus that I brought at mile 10 and 13, then eat wherever else there was for food. We make it into epcot and I am flying. I feel light on my feet and full of energy. At the entrance to epcot I pass the 3:10 pace group like they are standing still. We circle through the parkt, around the lake, and through the back lot. Maintenece people cheer for us. We dodge large puddles. There are ten people in my little running pack. We run solidly back to the access roads. Finally we come to the first mile marker I have seen, I still don’t know how I missed the others, mile 4. I look at my watch 27:40, a 6:50 pace for the first 4 miles, a little faster than planned but that’s ok, I still feel great.

Me and this blond german kid break away from the pack at one of the overpasses. Don’t be fooled when they say there are no hills in florida, they are all liars. There are hills, they may be man made but they are still a bitch to climb. I reach the top and start my descent. Mile 5. 7:01, perfect. My breathing is calm, legs still feel good. Keep running along the terribly exciting access road… in the dark. Mile 6. 6:51 pretty good. Mile 7, 6:59, perfect, still on an access road. 8, 6:57, still perfect, still on an access road, the sky is starting to brighten up and I feel pretty warm. At this time I notice my tummy is really warm, kind of like you get when you are waiting for dinner and it seems like it will never come out kind of warm. This is when I start to see buildings and start to prepare myself for the magical Magic Kingdom.

I am now running with that Japanese guy who dressed up like Minnie. This rouses the crowd into a frenzy as we enter tomorrowland. Everyone is laughing and cheering and this would be the beginning of the end. We come around a bend and I realize I don’t feel as zippy as I did before. Miles 9 and 10 are at a 7:05 pace, a little above my pace but I can spare the extra 10 seconds. We run through the castle, which was cool, I take my gu and prepare for more access roads.

We come out of the back of the Magic Kingdom. This is now the 5 mile stretch of purely access roads, mostly straight and very flat. I am 10 miles into my run, I have run much longer runs than this with no issues whatsoever at the very same pace I am now. Those other runs are not today. Mile 11, 7:26. Way off pace and not controlled. It is HOT! I decided to take off my shirt at this point. I felt like I was overheating and my shirt was soaked and weighed an extra 5 pounds. It happened all of a sudden. I couldn't run anymore. I took some water and a banana as I walked through the aid station. This was the first time I ever walked in a race. I was completely drained. I had no enery, it was difficult to even walk. The thought of even jogging made me sick to my stomach. I then came to the realization that I had 15 miles to go. 15 miles. The distance all at once seemed impossible. I continued walking. I finished the banana. I ate my other gu that was for mile 13. I drank powerade. I begged for my energy to come back. It didnt. I decided to jog a little more. I jogged for as long as I could, the mile 12 marker. I walked. People passed me. At this point I was thinking I seriously might not make it. I was still running though. At mile 13 (10:30 per mile pace) I gave up the thought of any goals I had hoped for and was totally humbled. The 3:10 pace group passed me as I walked.

At first I was really upset wirh myself. I continued walking, going over in my head what I think might have happened. I bonked, I didnt do my nutrition right, I went out too fast. The worst part was this was my training pace, I actually RAN this pace in training. I did a 16 miler at this pace and was fine. After an 1/8th of a mile of this, I kind of came to terms with the fact that my goals had run by me and had a new determination just to finish... faster than Katie Holmes.

I knew there was no way I was running the rest of the race so I started making short term goals. I will run to that overpass, then I'll walk. I'll walk to that yield sign then I'll run, I'll walk to that bend then I'll run. I won't walk passed those spectators. This was my hell. The race kind of changed for me at mile 16.

This was where we entered the animal kingdom. We came out of the hot sun into a tropical tunnel of bamboo walls and green canopy. It was cooler, I was walking of course, and I saw that huge freakin tree. I started realizing that now that my goals were completely out of sight that I was free to just run and walk and enjoy the course and the event in general. It didnt matter that I wasn't running fast just that I was still running. It was eye opening. I smiled as I walked passed this HUGE yellow dinosaur. We came around the bend, I was walking again, The guy on this announcer platform goes... Just think, most people aren't even awake yet, go get em. I seriously thought about picking up a rock and throwing it at him. We eventually run out to thte parking lot and out of animal kingdom.

I may seem happy but at this point I am still dying. I can't run more than a quarter of a mile without walking. When I do walk I am just catching my breath not wanting to run again, but I do... at the next corner, or that underpass, or that aid station. The sun is really hot and it feels like its above 80 and very humid. I start to notice my chest is really red, I figure I should probably stop and get sunscreen. I am in bad enough shape already I don't need sunburn. i stop at the medical tent and ask for it. They start running into the tent like a nascar pitcrew. She comes out with a snowball sized handfull of sunscreen and splashes it all over my chest and says go. I laughed and said, I'm not in that much of a hurry, look at me. She laughed and I started walking some more rubbing the sunscreen in. I walk, I run. It's hot and we are back on access roads and coming to the turn around, I notice. I turn around and walk some more. On the way back from the turn around I notice my toes on my left foot hurt kind of bad. I start to run again.

We come out of the area where the sports complex turn around was and merge back onto the access road that takes us to MGM. Oh sorry... HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS. We do this via an access road ramp that is like a huge hill, I decide to walk up it, of course. As I do this a woman runs up next to me. "How you doin?" She asks. I look at my watch it says 3 hours and 5 minutes. I laugh. "Well I hoped to be done right now." She laughs back. " Ha I'm suppose to be done in 25 minutes, looks like both our goals are shot, come on lets run a little" I agree and we run for a while. She stopped to walk but I really appreciated her little pep talk. It was this point my energy started to come back a little.

I was still walking alot when we got into MGM. There was a lot of crowd support here. I was still walking and running but I got into a kind of rythym. I was running between 9:50 and 11 minute miles. I think I peaked once at 12:30 when I stopped at the med tent. I have yet to pee. Some highlights here were running through the costume sewing building. What are they really making in there. You know its not costumes! This is the best part of the race.... THE END!!! just kidding.

We come out of MGM and down to a nice river area that goes passed the swan and into the boardwalk resort area. I, in my small run goals run, see the yellow haired german kid I was running with for the first 13 miles. It looks like he blew up to. I run up next to him and start walking, he looks over at me and shakes his head. I was starting to get some more energy so I ran some more.

We finish through boardwalk seeing all of the families coming out of thier resorts like bears out of a hibernation cave, watching the idiot humans run 26.2 miles. We cross a little bridge. Some kid yells at me, "you're doing great, you're almost there!" I look to my left at a guy who is also in pain. I say "We are NOT almost there, we still have 1.5 miles!!! Someone throw that kid off the bridge." We come into Epcot and I notice we are tracing part of the first part of the course. I remember back, 4 hours ago when I felt great. I run through all the countries and I start walking right before the finish. I come out to a HUGE crowd screaming and yelling and it's great. I am suddenly not in pain anymore. I run across the finish line. I start laughing for no reason. I get my medal. I get my nasa blanket. I drink the best can of coke I have ever had in my life. I start to develop neck problems because this freakin medal must weigh ten pounds.



I guess looking back I should have had a bigger breakfast. I should have run slower in the beginning and negative splitted. Wear a pair of sneakers that are 1/2 size bigger.

Stood around waiting to meet Ailene and Carla. Took off my shoe to find that I am definitely losing 3 toe nails. my toe was black and nasty and hurt pretty bad. I limp to the bus back to the hotel, the huge disney medal clanging and swinging throwing me off balance. I ran my first marathon. Imagine that!


Only 2 months of training and 10 weeks off from running before that.


The volunteers at this race we unbelievably good. The course was fun. i would do this again, I think.