I should have paid attention to my starting placement prior to packet pick up. I was in one of the back starting waves. This proved to be a big hurdle. I think the wave I started in was the last wave. It took me over 11 minutes just to get to the starting line after the firworks went off to start the race! Literally the first half of the marathon was an off road marathon for me b/c I was running in the median trying to get around walkers. Around mile 3, I saw a girl with a blond pony tail running at a decent clip in the median also. I fell in behind her and we exchanged turns pulling each other until about mile 10 or 11 when she fell off the pace. It was shortly after mile 11 when I was finally able to run on the road. During training I had laid my fluid bottles out every 3 miles. I had planned on taking 30 second walk breaks every 3 miles to stay consistent and get my fluids in. However, due to all the congestion I hit the most every water station to take in small sips while continuing to run. The previous 2 marathons I've done I've reduced to walking around mile 18. At mile 18 this time I still felt very strong. At mile 20 I decided to tried to pick up my pace a little more. I also made the decision to skip a couple of the drink stations. This might have not been the best decision. The only period of darkness I had was around the 23.5 miles. I really just wanted to stop and walk. However, I just kept telling myself I only had a couple more miles then I could do all the walking I wanted. The darkness only lasted for about a mile and half. At the 25 mile mark I kind of looked around at all the yelling people, smiled, and enjoyed the rest of my run.

Get in a closer starting wave!

Drank some powerade and water. I aslo ate a bananna and an orange.


Be stuck in the back of the pack.


Disney does a wonderful job putting on this race!