Marathon Part 3

Here is my personal opinion of this half marathon and full marathon.

The Disney race is always very popular and sells out very quickly after registration opens. I am pretty sure I know (great excuse for mom or dad to run a marathon and bring the family to Disney) why but it still amazes me that this race does so well.

Here are the things that I did not like:

The expo was small, crowded and not many options for merchandise. I assume this had something to do with the expo organizers putting limits on who could come be a vendor.

Race start time 6:00a - that would not be that bad - if you could show up and go to the start line. Instead you must show up about 4:00a in order to check you gear bag, get shoved to one holding area, before being herded another mile to the start corrals. These time frames certainly make nutrition a little more difficult.

Runners dressed in costume and starting in coral A - if you are not going to run get out of the way! Go to the back - have some fun - enjoy the scenery, This happens in every race but it sure did seem like there were a lot at Disney. There was on guy dressed as Minnie Mouse that was first on the start line - he ran 100 yards and then stopped in the middle of the road to take pictures.

Crowded course - you think the picture above looks crowded - some areas were worse than this.

Running through the parks - the parks are very crowded - lots of tight curves - and uneven pavement

Sewage Plant and Garbage Area, Out and Back at 20-21 - these are not on the official Disney Race explanation but they are there - as soon as you leave the magic kingdom you enter a back stage area that smelled so bad the volunteers working back there were complaining of being sick. The sewage plant it about 15-16 miles into the race - man is it lonely back in that area - and not always the best smell. The out and back is a lovely, super crowded area.

The exit and entrance ramps - the pavement is very slanted and hard on the body

Things I liked:

Fireworks at the start

Getting on TV

Runners dressed in costume - OK, they are funny to look at as long as they stay out of the way and keep moving.

Spectators - some of this course is packed with people and highly motivated - the start, the area around the monorail, magic kingdom, finish - are all packed with spectators.

Volunteers and Disney Employees- all very helpful and nice - Disney has some of the best trained workers and they go out of their way to help you. Disney also does an awesome job with the volunteers and has them acting just like Disney employees.

Support - there is an aid station almost every mile, they had food on the course, they had candy on the course, you could also stop in the park for a pretzel and a beer if you needed too.

Overall, I would rate the race a 5-6 and probably would not do it unless there was a special circumstance but if you want a Disney experience and want a Disney vacation I recommend this race.

Enjoy