Walt Disney World Marathon 2014

My first race for 2014 was the Walt Disney World Marathon, my very first marathon! The weekend festivities started on January 9. This year they introduced the new Dopey Challenge that included 4 races: 5k, 10k, Half Marathon and the Marathon. My cousin did the challenge, I opted to just do the marathon, since it would be my first marathon I was already nervous about that.

We decided to drive down, we left right after work on Wednesday night and arrived at WDW Thursday night, with one stop in between. I wanted to get there early so I can see my nephew complete his first Disney 10k on Friday morning which he ran with my cousins. That afternoon we went to the expo which was located at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. I didn’t like the expo too much, it was crowded and it was set up in 2 different buildings. Maybe I was still tired from the road trip. We didn’t stay there too long.

On Saturday we spent the day with my family that came from California and from Jacksonville, FL. We had brunch at the Animal Kingdom Resort, then we spent the day in The Animal Kingdom Park.

Sunday was race day! I got up at 3:00 to get ready to go to the shuttle area at 4:00 to go to Epcot for the start. Once I got to the park I saw the amount of people there I was afraid I wouldn’t find Nanette. I did find her where we took pictures then we heard our corral was ready to depart to the staging area. Once we got to our corral it wasn’t long until we started. Once we started, I ran with Nanette which she was doing the 30 sec run/walk intervals because she needed to do so she can do her next race next week without getting injured or strain. It was a good technique because we did 6 miles and it didn’t feel like we did that much.

I lost Nanette when I started taking pictures. The first park that we entered was the magic kingdom. We entered the park on a side street by Space Mountain and brought us to the main entrance, once we got to Main Street I saw the castle and I almost got teary eyed. We ran up to the castle then took a right into tomorrowland. We went through fantasyland where I saw the new addition then we entered the rear of Cinderella’s castle and exited in front where I stopped to take a picture. Then the course took us through adventureland then we exited the park.

The side streets were very long, they did have characters along the way but there were a lot of spaces that there was nothing around, which I listened to my music to keep my mind busy. We entered the Walt Disney World Speedway, which we ran on the track, and they had cars lined up, which was neat to see. We ran about 3/4 of the track then we exited to the streets again.

Next stop was the animal kingdom. We entered and ran partly in Africa then into Asia. Just before the 13 mile mark we had the opportunity to ride Expedition Everest. How could I not stop and ride my favorite ride in that park? They allowed the marathoners to go to the fast pass line, it took about 7-10 min to complete the ride. There I met a couple also from Chicago and a woman who was also running her first marathon like me. After the ride we ran a little bit in the park, there wasn’t a photo op for the tree of life which was disappointing. After we left the park we approached the halfway mark.

After another long stretch of road we entered ESPN, which took us around the complex, which was larger than I thought it was when we went there for the expo. When we exited I saw the sweeper! But I didn’t worry because it was a good 2+ miles behind me.

Around mile 20 my legs started cramping up, so I started to stop at every med tent to lather my legs with bio freeze. That’s when I started to take more walking breaks. We then entered Hollywood Studios, entering through the backlot leading us to the entrance. The parks were open so there wasn’t too much room for a photo op with the icon hat. Once exited we were lead towards the waterfront boardwalk, which I never knew existed. When we were closer to Epcot there was a photo op with Dopey. The line was really long. But who do I see finishing taking a picture with him…Dave Mari! Out of 25,000 runners I see him! So I said hello gave a quick hug and he snapped a picture of us,then I was off to the last park!

We entered Epcot and ran 3/4 of the countries. Once we passed by the spaceship earth ball I knew we were almost done. I saw rick where we watched 10k and the ran towards the finish! I finished my first marathon in 6hrs. 58min. 35sec. I didn’t make my projected goal of under 6hrs. but I am very happy with my time. I was reunited with Nanette at the end and went with her to get her additional medals for running the a Dopey Challenge.

We met up with our family and felt good completing my first marathon. For my day of recovery we went to the Magic Kingdom, which we were able to spend some time with my CA relatives before their flights.

I had a great time during this race weekend. Not only happy that I completed my first marathon, but was able to spend time with family. Walt Disney World is definitely a place where memories are made.