Walt Disney World Marathon - RunMarathon

Given the situation with my soleus strain and recovery, I was not able to get the longer training runs in and was limited to 18miles. Because of this and based on my 3 race goals, I wanted to modify my race plan - so I decided to use the 8/1 run/walk approach. My treadmill pace during my injury recover was 9.20/mile, so my plan was to see how things felt using this pace for running and a fast walk pace during walking. If I felt great, I could speed up the run pace but decided to stay with the run/walk. I felt this would give me the best probability in finishing injury free.

I was placed in corral A and arrived with enough time to stretch / loosen up a bit. I was probably placed in corral A becaus upon registration, my goal finish time was 3hrs 45min - of course that wasnt realistic anymore. The race started with typical Disney fanfare and we were off. Immediately I was able to hit my target pace and was still passing folks - so the corral placement was OK. This was not the case in 2011, as I was in corral B back then and the first two miles were at 1min+ my goal paces due to congestion. I felt a little silly in mile 2 when I started my 1min walk, but told myself "not to worry about other people - stay dedicated to the plan".

My wife was camped out at the contemporary sepctating area, which was around mile 4.5 or so, where runners ran under an overpass. Great to see her at that point. I was feeling really strong and no signs of calf twinging. Ran through the Magic Kingdom (which was fantastic with support/spectators). At mile 7 or so, my wife was waiting for me with a bottle of Coke - which we set out the night before to defizz. I filled up one of my consumed infinit bottles on my belt with Coke and drank the remiainder of the Coke. She said that it was not the easiest place to access from the Grand Floridian resort, but I am sure glad she was able to make it. That Coke helped me during the later miles.

Running through the Speedway was really a treat. Some of the cars were amazing; '67 Corvette, GT500, Lambo's, Ferrari's, FordGT, etc. Nice addition to the course for this year. This is where the sun was just starting to rise. After the Speedway, the course heads down to the Animal Kingdom. This is the longest part of the race with limited spectator access and no parks, so it tends to be a bit boring. Just before Animal Kingdom we passed the 12 mile mark - I still felt really strong with no pain.

Entering Animal Kingdom, the sun was now officially starting to heat things up. This park is a little different to run in as there are various turns and sections that narrow, plus there are small rises and dips - nothing serious, just a change. The time in Animal Kingdom doesnt seem to last long and we were off to the ESPN WWS complex before I knew it. Mile 15 and 16 went well and I continued to feel strong. I lowered my running pace and was hitting 8.15 to 8.45/mile, but still continued to walk at 8/1. This was interesting, as I would pass folks during my run portion, then have to catch the same people after walking. Felt great through the Sports complex, even enjoyed running the gravel track in the baseball stadium.

I started to feel like I was slowing down around mile 22, then we entered Hollywood Studios. I really slowed down at mile 23 and had to take an extra walk break. No pain though, so I powered through. There was a crazy amount of spectator support in this park, which was great as I needed it. Onto the path which connected to the Boardwalk and Beach Club. I continued my walk/run but my running was slower and walking was a bit longer - probably about 5/1 at this point. Still no pain and no cramping.

Hit the entrance to Epcot and the 4hr pace group passed me. I was hoping that I could hang on, but no luck there. Was still on track for a PR, so I made that my goal. Ran/walked around Epcot and managed to run right by my Wife without even seeing her! I was zoned out, tired and focused on finishing. Passed the Church Chior and entered the finish chute - high fived a guy who was passing me, but didnt care at that point. 0.1 mile left and I gave Minnie Mouse a High five then crossed the finish line. The displayed clock time was 4.09 so I knew I had a PR especially since I crossed the start mat about 1.5min after the gun.

Not much. I used 2 bottles of Infinit up to mile 16, then switched to coke and poweraide. Consumed 4 gels and had a bannana at mile 17. Works out to around 250 calories per hour, up to about 3.5 hours. I ran out of coke close to mile 22 and had to live off of poweraide alone, so I would probably want to buy a 4bottle belt for the next race.

No cramps, finished injury free......and set a PR. So 2 out of 3 goals achieved.

Received my medal, took post-race picture and went straight to self-serve medical to grab a bag of ice. Placed this on my neck to cool off as it was now about 75-77 degrees out. Continued walking around just to prevent tightening up. Met up with my Wife and drove back to the Boardwalk for a shower.



Modified the race plan to include run/walk. This was due to soleus strain during training 6wks prior to race start. Longest training run was 18miles (twice) and the original plan was to hit 24, before the injury.

IM Louisville is on the schedule this year, so I didnt want to spend the next 4-6months recovering from a more-severe calf injury.

I am writing this 5days after the race and I can confirm that my recovery was faster this year compared to 2011 where I didnt use the run/walk. I ran a 4miler with hills on Friday after the race with no pain or soreness.


It is hard to beat the Disney experience - given the family orientation, fun and activities during the weekend. This race was special, because I was so proud of my Wife for finishing the half marathon as her first race ever and beating her goal time by 19min. So we both set PRs and had a blast together. I think I am up for the Goofy Challenge next year....