Since much of the staging of the race is similar to the half marathon, I will only discuss the things that were different. Also, this will not be about my particular experience running my first marathon, that will be in a later post. This is simply a review of the event.
The staging for the Marathon is the Wonder parking lot of Epcot, and like the half marathon, you are going to want to get there quite early for the 5:35 AM start. My wife had left for the bus at 3:30 AM the day before and barely made it to her corral before they started advancing the corrals into place. So I woke up at 2:30 AM and boarded a bus by 3:00 AM. When I arrived there were already plenty of runners arriving and it was a continuous stream of runners coming into the staging area. It was set up similar to the half marathon so after arriving, I didn't hurry to check my bag as I had brought some more to eat and a couple of water bottles. I made the mistake of eating my breakfast in the room and not brining it with me. With the race still being an hour and a half away, I should have waited to eat until I was on site. I think I lost some of my endurance for that reason alone. At 4:15 they began making the announcements that they were opening the corrals and for runners to proceed through bag check, into the holding area. This was very premature since they didn't actually open the holding area for another half hour. Had I known, I would not have passed through into the holding area.
As I've said before, get hydrated but remember you've got some waiting to do so don't forget to give yourself ample time to use the portalets, because you will have to wait. The corrals are lively and being over zealous when I registered I was placed in corral C offering a great view of the start and the festivities. The start procedures were the same as the half marathon so within a few minutes I was up to the front and ready for my fireworks. Mickey counted it down, the sparks hit the sky and I was off.
The Marathon course, although similar to the half, does have a much better view of the theme parks, starting with Epcot. Instead of shooting right off towards World Drive, we loop back through Epcot and run right down the center of the parking lot where we encountered our first water stop and then entered Epcot through the front gates. The course splits around Spaceship Earth and heads right down the center of Future World towards World Showcase where we ran around Mexico and exited between the Norway and China pavilions. Backstage we passed the waste treatment area (lovely) and headed back out towards Epcot Center Drive to retrace our steps from the start. By the time I made it there (about 4 miles) all the runners had been started and workers were busy packing everything up. The next part of the course was similar to the half marathon with just subtle differences through Magic Kingdom (see my previous post about the half marathon course for details). Most all of the same bits of eye candy were available along the way.
On our way back from Magic Kingdom, and back towards the parking lot at the TTA, the course split so that those running the relay could meet up with their partners and reenter the course. The course however instead of running back along World Drive headed into the deep dark recesses of the Disney World property's back-backstage areas. Although this was a long run towards Animal Kingdom, there were still theme stops along the way including this Villains stop that I checked out for some fun!
We were treated to the waste management and composting facility which had erected dozens of motivational and interesting signs along the road. Yet, overall, getting to Animal Kingdom seemed to take forever, and although I am avoiding talking about my personal adventure during the course, I think I speak for many of the runners when I ask that Disney consider something more along this part of the course.
Entering the backstage area of Animal Kingdom we were treated to animal handlers with OMG Ponies! and goats and owls and all sorts of creatures. We came into the park around Africa and turned towards Asia. The park was open to guests and you could see them in the park, but since we were running along the main path between Africa and Asia, they must have had much of the park closed off. The course was slightly different than our trek through the park during the Wine and Dine, but we ran through Asia, past Everest, next to Dinotopia and exited the park just past Dinosaur. Once out we ran around a very pleasant lake with the sun climbing past the horizon. It was quite tranquil. We turned and made our way back around the outside edge of the park to trace a path through the parking lot that had us come right to the park's gates and then back out near the bus ramps. Throughout this entire area spectators had assembled to cheer on the runners. One surprise was finding Mickey in his Explorer costume waiting to great us next to a parade float as we left the parking lot and headed out to the the Osceola Parkway.
At this point we are approaching the 19th mile and still had quite a bit to go, but the Osceola Parkway is a challenging part of the run. It is very sparse with only a few themed areas, including a quite entertaining "Rest Stop" cemetary haunted by the grave diggers from Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. If I had thought I could get up, I would have laid down for a great picture with the headstones. Still, this part of the course was tough. There were several overpasses, including running over World Drive where traffic was backed up as far as the eye could see, yikes! We continued past World Drive only to loop back and turn north on one of the side portions of World Drive up to Buena Vista Drive.
Here the day was starting to produce more and more street traffic as we approached the backstage enterance to Hollywood Studios, which by now was in full operation and we were running through the middle of the park. Our path through the park brought us in behind the Tower of Terror and we then ran through a portion of the Backlot Tour including the textile mill which was all dark and not in operation. We ran down the Streets of America and left past the SciFi through Commisary Lane. Passing the Sorcerer's Hat, right down Hollywood Blvd we ran until we reached the gates and passed around a cast memeber area to exit the park by taking the path connecting Hollywood Stuios to Epcot through the resorts.
This was the home stretch with only 2 miles left to go. At this point I'll pause to let you know that like the half marathon, there were ample water and poweraide stations. In fact, I found in some places they were so close together I really could have had something to drink at every other station, but I wanted to stay hydrated and needed an excuse to walk again so I always got something to drink. Also, starting around mile 14, the course began to offer food as well. There were two Cliff stations providing gels and two stations providing bananas. There was also a cold sponge station which had I been smart I would have taken one and shoved it under my hat for later. The volunteers were always cheerful, helpful and encouraging. In fact, I was so appreciative for their service they have inspired me to make sure I work a race or two each season. Again, there are no aid stations in any park so make sure you get something before entering a park. You can always hit a bathroom or waterfoutain in a park.
As we made our way towards the resorts along the Hollywood Studios parking lot, the crowds had gathered along this part of the route and would continue all the way to Epcot. Here runners were having some trouble. The course was narrowing as we all were slowing, and like me many people were doing some walking and some running. However, during this time I also saw some trips and almost falls. With some quick ramp descents and ascents, the course could be tricky. And since the course was narrow, a spill left other runners very little room to move or recover.
We went backstage just ahead of the International Gateway and traveled through an aid station to enter the park at the UK paviolion. Here we turned to make a tour of the entire World Showcase. Although it was beautifully lit up in the morning, by the time I made it here the sun was fully in the sky. The torches were still lit (I think, I was getting tired at this point) and there were many princesses and princes, perhaps a beast as well, lurking throught he park. It didn't appear that anyone was getting pictures taken. I think we all had a shared desire to just be done, and any stop might mean you wouldn't get started again. Although Epcot was open, the World Showcase doesn't open until later in the day so there were no guests or spectators. We exited to backstage just past Spaceship Earth at the same place the half marathon exited the day before to be greated by the choir, Alleluia! The finish line was close and soon I would be across and getting my medal. If you were competing in the Goofy Challenge a tent was set up to collect your medal, or to collect your Coast-to-Coast medal.
Seventeen thousand finishers completed the marathon and as I got my picture taken and ambled back towards the food and bag pickup, throngs of people surrounded me. I found a nice quite place on the tarmac with my aluminum foil blanket providing me some cusion with the ground. I tore into some food and massaged my sore cramped muscles while toweling off waiting for my family to join me.
Like the half marathon, there was music and entertainment, lots still to see and do, but it seemed that fewer people were hanging out as I'd imagined most were leaving that day to board planes and head back home. My family and I left shortly thereafter on a bus, still the fastest way out of the mess of the staging area.
I don't have the same gripes about not seeing the parks, as I did with the half. The marathon provides a real opportunity to tour the parks, but be aware its only 4 of the 26 miles. There are definitely long stretches of little to see. The cool weather in the morining made many people wear more layers that they shed as they ran. Disney collects the clothes and donates them, so anything left on the course is a give away. Many runners hit a second hand clothing store for some casting off during the run. I didn't run with goves, but should have. Although not cold, some of the course is in wooded areas where the combination of morning fog and mist kept the temperature artificially low and the condensation and sweat on my body froze and swelled my hands.
This is not a flat and fast course. The overpasses and loop backs, especially since they were concentrated at the end, are treacherous. Although I don't have another marathon upon which to compare my experience, this excursion provided an enourmous challenge. After hearing about the horror stories of the San Antonio Marathon where lack of aid stations and hotter than normal temperatures lead to several trajedies, or the Las Vegas Rock n Roll Marathon where aid stations ran out of water and resorted to fire hydrants that caused illnesses, the Disney World Marathon presents a well organized and safe course with ample protections afforded by overwhelming numbers of cast members, volunteers, aid workers, and medical staff who are all ready to help and assist in any way. I always knew if I got into trouble, help would be within a mile. Even during the longer, less populated tracks, medical and aid stations were plentiful. You pay for it, but compared to New York or Chicago, I believe you get an excellent experience. I know I did!
Next: Odds and Ends!
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