I’m too lazy to rewrite my weekend recap for this blog, so below is an article I wrote for my local running club’s newsletter. It’s long, but stick with it because lots of pictures are below.
Those of you who know me are aware of how much I love all things Disney. In fact, I share the same story told in previous newsletters by several other Macon Tracks members: one main reason that I started running almost three years ago was to run the 2009 Walt Disney World Marathon. Of course, I didn’t stop with that race. In fact, I’ll participate in my third Disney Marathon this January.
Disney is packaging their race series under a new “brand” called runDisney and Jeff Galloway has signed on as the official training consultant. When Disney announced that they were combining the Tower of Terror 13K with the Race for the Taste 10K to create the new Wine & Dine Half Marathon, and I knew I had to participate in the inaugural event!
A few days before leaving for Orlando, I saw a twitter post that said “Check the Disney Parks Blog at 11:00 for an opportunity to go on a training run with Jeff Galloway”. I checked the blog, quickly submitted my name, and waited. At 2:00, I got the confirmation that I was one of only 20 people chosen! Needless to say, I quickly modified my travel plans to be there.
On the morning of the training run (the day before the half-marathon), the other participants and I arrived at Epcot at 6:30am. We checked in and signed waivers allowing Disney to photograph and video the activities. We also received a nice moisture-wicking runDisney shirt, which is currently not available for purchase. Then, Jeff Galloway arrived.
Some of us chatted informally with him, while others jumped at the chance to take photographs of the beautiful sunrise over the closed theme park. After a little while, we were told to warm up for our training run.
The training run consisted of a run through Future World followed by two loops around the World Showcase, which was bustling with activity in the early morning hours in preparation for the first day of Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival. We had the option of running at our pace, staying with Jeff (and his run/walk/run method), or falling behind. Of course, I stayed within earshot of Jeff. It was amazing to be able to run in such a small group through such a beautiful place with an athlete like Jeff Galloway. Of course, you can’t run at Walt Disney World without Mickey Mouse. He was on hand too to welcome us back to Future World.
After the run, there were numerous photo opportunities. The photos of our group with Jeff Galloway will likely be used for future race publicity. It was surreal having my photo taken with the world’s most famous mouse and one of running’s best known athletes.
Jeff Galloway is a great guy. After even more photo opportunities, he took over an hour to answer all of our questions and share tips and strategies. The most popular topic by far was how to properly eat before a night race, because running in a long-distance night race is something that most runners have yet to do. As expected, stretching and injuries were discussed as well. Did you know that Jeff has not had a running-related injury in 31 years? That’s my entire life span! And as for stretching, Jeff doesn’t do it! He told us that current research shows that stretchers are more likely to get injuries than non-stretchers.
Other Disney Sports administrators were on-hand as well, including Disney’s well-known race director Jon Hughes. They told us that Disney is actually planning a fourth race for the 2012 series to complement the Wine & Dine Half Marathon, WDW Marathon Weekend, and the Princess Half Marathon. That’s great news, but not for my wallet!
After the Q&A session, Jeff gave us each an autographed photo. He even offered his email address in case we had any additional questions. Then, we all exited the park, which was about to open to regular guests. The training run with Jeff Galloway was, by far the highlight of my weekend.
Later that day, we were off to the expo. Although it was smaller than the expo held during the regular marathon weekend, it was still very good. That afternoon, my kids participated in the Disney Kid’s Races. I constantly tell people that the kids’ races are the best deal at Disney. For $10, each child gets a shirt, a nice finisher’s medal, snacks, a goody bag and lots of fun.
The next morning my wife Kimberlie, one of Macon Track’s newest members, participated in her first 5K ever: Mickey’s Halloween 5K. It is currently the only short race that goes through the Magic Kingdom.
The Wine & Dine Half Marathon was later that evening. With a starting temperature of 74 degrees at 10:00pm, it was the hottest long-distance race that I’ve participated in. During the run, I actually caught up with Jeff Galloway at mile 11! He was pacing someone using his run/walk/run method. I ran (and walked) and chatted with them for a while before they left me at mile 12. The race wasn’t my best half-marathon, but it wasn’t my worst either.
The course started at the newly rebranded ESPN Wide World of Sports, and followed Osceola Parkway to Animal Kingdom where we ran through the park. Animal Kingdom almost always closes to guests at 5:00, so it was extremely rare to be there at night. There was a “Jurassic Park” feel as we ran through the darkness, knowing that animals were nearby but unable to see them from the darkness. We then ran back down Osceola to Hollywood Studios and continued through the resort area to an Epcot finish. For those who have run the Disney Marathon, the last eight miles of this course nearly mirrored the marathon course.
The staging area and pre-race activities were surprisingly the best I’ve seen at Disney. At that point, I was impressed that an inaugural race was that well organized. However, the finish line area at Epcot was a logistical disaster. To retrieve a bag from baggage claim, the tired runners were funneled into a very long line down a relatively narrow hallway.
A post-race party was held in the world showcase and each runner was given vouchers for “one drink” and “one taste”. However, when you divide 15,000 runners (and the many others who purchased party tickets) among only 26 food stands, those lines were excessive as well. The lines were so long that I didn’t have the energy to stand in them.
Although overall I had a great time, I doubt I’ll continue participating in this race annually. It always takes a few years for a new race to work out all of the problems, even at Disney. Also, I typically do much better racing in cool mornings than warm, humid evenings. Next stops for me: Chickamauga Half Marathon in November and back to Disney for marathon weekend in January!
