Walt Disney World Marathon - RunMarathon

We all counted down from 10 to zero…about 18,000 people all in one voice. As usual it humbled me to know there were that many souls, that many stories, out there on the road. The usual fireworks and torches lit up, and we were off! I was nervous about the little bits of soreness in my left shin and my right ankle. I made sure that I stretched before the race so I was hoping I was in great shape. It was very dark and very foggy, which made it hard to breathe. I was sweating immediately. During the first two miles, I debated whether or not wearing my hat and glasses was the right idea. I took them off, and felt less hot but dreaded having to carry them, so I put them right back on. My first few splits were about 9 minutes flat each. That’s exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to be able to keep up 9 minute miles for as long as possible. I wanted to have a more consistent race, rather than a fast race. My goal was to keep running until I was finished, not having to take walk breaks. We ran through Epcot, it brought back lots of memories of when I worked in that park. I ran past the store that I was on the opening team for, Mouse Gear, and smiled. I ran thru the light arch at the bridge between Future World and World Showcase and then headed through Mexico and out the back gate into the backstage area. This also brought back memories when I worked at Epcot. As I ran out the back of the parking lot, I was still on pace. I headed down the same road we walked as we headed to our corrals pre-race. On I went. I was glad to see the water stop at Mile 5, I was thirsty. As I reached Mile 6, I noticed my splits had gone down into the high 8’s and I told myself to slow down. I tried to slow down but I was comfortable, and sometimes I felt worse if I slowed down because I wasn’t allowing my legs to stretch out. Just past Mile 7, I saw the Marathon Maniacs guy that they had interviewed before we started. I said congratulations to him and he asked my name. I told him, and said I was number 442. He told me he was 111. I smiled and waved as I went past.

As I passed Mile 8, I remembered that this was where I’d had a bad cramp at my first Disney and thought I might have to stop. I was happy to be feeling good. As we came around to Mile 9, I thought I might see Terri and Shane in that area, so I looked around but didn’t see them. I figured they had a little bit of trouble making it out to the spectator area because of traffic. So I kept going. But I was going too fast. My splits at Miles 9 and 10 were 8:45 apiece, and that’s where I told myself to take it easy. By Mile 11, I had settled back into my 9 minute pace. As we ran through the Magic Kingdom, I remembered what it like during my first Disney Marathon, which was my first marathon…and I got a big smile on my face. Main Street was lined with hundreds of guest cheering at the top of their lungs! It was so awesome. Then I kinda got a little sad because I started to miss all the good times I used to have when I worked out there, and lived near Disney. But as I came around the Dumbo ride and headed towards Cinderella’s castle, that all went away. I was smiling again! I knew there were gonna be some pictures taken so I smiled big. There were lots of guests there, cheering us on. I was still on pace and ran comfortably at that pace until Mile 13 where I saw Terri and Shane jumping up and down trying to get my attention. I stopped so I could grab my halfway point bag…it had Endurolytes, caffeine pills, water, and Skittles in it. I took the Endurolytes and the caffeine with the water and then grabbed the Skittles from Shane, who had opened them for me (what great jockstrappers he and Terri are!!) and then Terri took a pic of me and Shane. Hugs all around, and I headed back out. That mile, with the stop took 9:39 so I wasn’t too far off track.

I hit the halfway point at 1:59 and change. I still felt great! This is where I’d started to feel tired in my first Disney Marathon. I kept going at my low 9’s pace until about Mile 16 where we were running along the back road of Animal Kingdom and the sun finally had come out, full blast. It got hot VERY quickly. All of a sudden my splits went up into the high 9’s. This was the first time I’d seen gels on the course. I took one. It was Clif gel. Wow was it thick. It’s a damn good thing they had water just about 500 feet after the gel station, because I felt like I was chewing glue. As we passed the (very smelly) Walt Disney World wastewater treatment center, I realized that I needed to take water and Power-Ade at each station now. The sun was too hot to neglect my fluids. I had been eating Skittles along the way, which kept me going, but the hydration mattered more at that point.

It was good actually running through Animal Kingdom, because the last time I ran that race, I was already walking some at that point. I felt good this time, and enjoyed the park. I saw “Expedition Everest” there, and it was HUGE. I really MUST ride that some time soon. After I ran past Everest, we were on our way out of the park. I kept thinking to myself, you’ve done great so far, don’t stop now. But that 3 mile stretch of NOTHING on Osceola Parkway was looming. I gave up my goal of not walking until the finish at Mile 18.5, when I decided I was bored and I just wanted to take a break. So I walked…for one minute exactly. Then I ran past Mile 19, and about halfway to Mile 20, I walked again…for one minute. Those two splits were about 10:40 each. It was getting hotter, I couldn’t get enough water in me at that point. About halfway between Miles 20 and 21, I grabbed a beer. Oh wow, did that taste great. I almost turned around and got another one. But I kept going. I didn’t stop to walk again until after Mile 23, and that was just to get multiple cups of water so I could drink a couple and throw one on my head. I didn’t take the chocolate or the second gel that they offered. My stomach was not having that. I just kept drinking water and Power Ade. I was only 3 miles from the finish so I knew I’d be fine without more food. My splits were now in the 11’s. As the race exited the studios, there were again hundreds of guests cheering in the street. But at that point I was so blind I couldn’t see them. I heard a few people scream GO MANIACS, but all I could do was smile at that point. I knew I was getting closer and closer to finishing as we ran down the path along the waterway that goes between MGM and Yacht/Beach/Boardwalk. It was so nice to run on the boardwalk at the Boardwalk resort, it was so much softer than concrete. I looked at my watch. I knew I’d beat my last Disney Marathon time and I decided I didn’t want to run anymore. So I walked for three minutes. Just until I got up the big hill at the back of Epcot. I noticed some blood on my right leg but didn’t feel as though I had cut myself, so I ignored it. I ran again and decided not to stop for the last 1.5 miles.

I hit Mile 25 at the Eiffel Tower. It hurt a lot, but at that point, it was only 15 minutes to go. Once again I ran past my old store, Mouse Gear, and then I went down past Spaceship Earth. I knew that I was almost done. There it was, Mile 26. The mile between 25 and 26 had taken me 13 minutes, and I hadn’t even stopped to walk. It was HOT. Then I noticed blood on my other leg. Oh well, I was done, so what did it matter? I mustered up every last bit of energy I had and I ran to that finish line, put my hands up and smiled for the cameras. It was over!!!

Not run an ultra the week before.

After the race was over, I bypassed the people with the mylar blankets, it was way too hot for one. Then I walked thru the chute, got my medal, and headed to the medial tent where they gave me ice for my knees, and water to drink. The girl there noticed my bloody legs. She asked what had happened and I said that I wasn't sure. So I lited up my shorts a bit and there it was, major chafing inside my thigh. Then I moved the liner of my shorts and...wow. She said "sir, we can't touch that"...and I said "of this I'm glad". So she wiped off the blood from my legs and gave me a couple band aids. I sat for a few minutes, talked to another Marathon Maniac (this was his 181st) who told me he was also doing IMAZ this year, and then I got up and walked toward the area where I was supposed to meet up with the gang. I saw Terri and Shane there, surprisingly, and they hung with me until I felt well enough to get up and get back to the condo to take care of the bleeding.

I took a cold bath when I got there, but could only handle about 5 minutes of it. Plus we had to check out of our condo before 1.


The heat. 85 degrees in January, even in Florida, is unseasonably warm.


Disney puts on a great race. The traffic gets annoying though. Marathon weekend is always a blast though.