Marathon Weekend 2018

[Anisum]

How many miles do those of you doing the marathon plan to have on your shoes when you run it? I have a pair that's just about end of life and two pairs that are fairly new (low 100s/450 for mileage). I'm just wondering if that's a good amount broken in without being too far broken in or if I should start working on another pair to have fresh shoes for the marathon.

 

[camaker]

On the topic of gels has anyone else tried Huma gels? They are chia seed based energy gels with fruit puree and some with caffiene. I was skeptical at first as they didn't sound that good, I was also worried about those darn chia seeds getting stuck in my teeth like they do when I've eaten them in bars but in these gels they are powdered. Some of the flavors are actually pretty good (Lemonade, Strawberry, Raspberry) as they taste a little more like preserves. After trying GU and Cliff gels and chews I was having trouble with the consistancy of them but as mentioned they need to be taken with water which helps. I tried the Huma gels and found them to be a smoother/looser consistancy that was pretty easy to get down. Still need to take them with water but for me it was a nice change. Running fuel is a personal thing we all have our go-to energy source, I just wanted to bring this up to see if anyone else had tried them.

Huma gels are my preferred fueling option at this point. I have tried a number of different gel options and found out that while they were fine in training they upset my stomach when taken in quantity for a marathon. Huma gels do not upset my stomach and I've found the flavors to be really good, especially Apples & Cinnamon, Blueberry and Lemonade. I'll be hitting the WDW marathon course with pockets full of Huma.

 

[camaker]

How many miles do those of you doing the marathon plan to have on your shoes when you run it? I have a pair that's just about end of life and two pairs that are fairly new (low 100s/450 for mileage). I'm just wondering if that's a good amount broken in without being too far broken in or if I should start working on another pair to have fresh shoes for the marathon.

If you're running in good shoes that are well suited for your feet you shouldn't have to break them in. I would worry far more about trying to squeeze the last bit of life out of an old pair of shoes in a race setting. When my shoes get near end of life my feet, ankles and knees start to get aches and pains that bloom into injury if I push them too far. I definitely wouldn't want to have that type of worry on my mind during a race. As a real example, I ran a 1 mi warm up at home prior to my last half marathon in shoes that were nearing the end of their life cycle. When I got done with the warm up, I had a minor ache in my knee that concerned me. So I pulled the next pair of new shoes right out of the box and ran the half in them with absolutely no issues. The "new" shoes were the same make and model year of the shoes I'd been training in, so I don't really consider that "something new on race day".

 

[croach]

Good evening fellow marathoners! As a first time WDW marathoner, I just joined this board yesterday in hopes to have some of the many questions I have about how this event unfolds, answered. I'm not easily overwhelmed by anything, but it seems to me that a lot of things have to happen before you even take your first step in the race. I'm running for Autism Speaks, and as part of the event, I purchased race retreat admissions for my wife (a spectator) and I. Not sure if that's a waste of money or not, but I thought it would be a good idea to try at least for my first Disney event. One very basic question I have is where exactly do the runners go once they arrive at Epcot around 3:30 or so? Seems like a lot of time to kill before the race starts? Also, are there announcements telling the runners to head to the corrales? I'm not worried about the race itself, but for some reason I am worried about the time leading up to the start. I apologize ahead of time for my ignorance where all this is concerned!

Obviously everyone does what works best for them but don't feel like you have to be there right at 3:30. You'll have the benefit of race retreat but it's still a lot of time to kill waiting around that long.

 

[Anisum]

If you're running in good shoes that are well suited for your feet you shouldn't have to break them in. I would worry far more about trying to squeeze the last bit of life out of an old pair of shoes in a race setting. When my shoes get near end of life my feet, ankles and knees start to get aches and pains that bloom into injury if I push them too far. I definitely wouldn't want to have that type of worry on my mind during a race. As a real example, I ran a 1 mi warm up at home prior to my last half marathon in shoes that were nearing the end of their life cycle. When I got done with the warm up, I had a minor ache in my knee that concerned me. So I pulled the next pair of new shoes right out of the box and ran the half in them with absolutely no issues. The "new" shoes were the same make and model year of the shoes I'd been training in, so I don't really consider that "something new on race day".

I usually don't have problems with new shoes but I'd rather break them in then try and run a race never having raced in them before. With regards to the shoes at the end of their cycle, I plan to use them for training for the next month. I never had an intention of using them marathon weekend, I just was trying to figure out if I should start working on a new pair of shoes or if the two I have that are sitting in the low 100s/450 for mileage will do.

 

[MissLiss279]

Was the 2017 gift a towel too? Is that their thing for race retreat?

The last two years I think it has been towels at the race retreat, and I think you usually get them back by gear check.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Another reason to always carry your own race nutrition. When I started running 10 years ago, I tried to use sportbeans. But I quickly found that the idea/fact/mechanics/zen of chewing while running was not gonna work for me. Nor was drinking vast quantities of sports drink. Gels work,but I have to say, I am not a fan of either Gu or Clif (too thick), so unless Disney decides to do PowerGels, I'll bring my own!

Oh yeah, I agree. I think going soley race dependent is a bad idea for a multitude of reasons.

I carry my own, always do and plan to here as well. But, from time to time things happen. You drop a gel and don't realize it. Give one to someone who's bonking in a bad way. End up taking longer than expected for one reason or another, etc. I like the consistency of powergels as well, super easy to get down. I like the taste of Boom but the packaging makes them kind of a PIA. I usually try to carry a little variety but I'll do my best to avoid Clif gels at all cost. But, if given the choice to force down a clif shot or eat a small bag of jelly beans, at mile 21 while struggling to hang on, I'll take the gel an day of the week.

 

[DVCFan1994]

Between injury and a whole lotta life insanity I haven't been able to check in here in a few weeks. This change to sport beans has made my day! I needed some good news Small but when its all been bad mojo for over a week a little thing like one of my preferred fuels being on course feels good to hear!

 

[cavepig]

How many miles do those of you doing the marathon plan to have on your shoes when you run it? I have a pair that's just about end of life and two pairs that are fairly new (low 100s/450 for mileage). I'm just wondering if that's a good amount broken in without being too far broken in or if I should start working on another pair to have fresh shoes for the marathon.

The shoes I'll wear have about 56 miles on them. I ran in them for some runs then put them aside & started another new pair for the bulk of my training back in October. I didn't want to have to break in a new pair too close in case it was snowy/icy right before. I put a couple more runs on my marathon shoes last week to compare something with the other pair I had been using as well, so broken in just enough but still feel plenty fresh I guess.

I do have to break my shoes in, they feel stiffish at first & I like to get my lacing just right (my feet are picky). Plus, I've found shoes that may be the exact same model may actually have slight differences. I just got down with a pair that were perfect and the newer ones (same model) I'm in rub the top of one toe & if you feel inside the fabric is cut slightly shorter over my toes. So, I could never just run a race in a brand new out of box pair.

 

[DopeyBadger]

How many miles do those of you doing the marathon plan to have on your shoes when you run it? I have a pair that's just about end of life and two pairs that are fairly new (low 100s/450 for mileage). I'm just wondering if that's a good amount broken in without being too far broken in or if I should start working on another pair to have fresh shoes for the marathon.

It's varied over the years dependent on the type of shoe, etc. Right now I'm wearing Kinvara 8 as my racers and have found their peak performance starts relatively soon for me. So, I asked Santa for two pairs for Christmas and plan to have about 5-10 miles on each pair in prep for Dopey. I'll bring with another pair of Kinvara 8s that has about 90-100 miles on them in case of emergency. But before the Kinvara 8s, it used to be 25-40 miles, before that it used to be 50-75 miles, and back when I first started it was 100-150 miles. It's always changed for me based on the shoe. I only get about 180-200 miles out of Kinvaras, but I'm hopeful that these 8s will be different because they're easily my favorite shoe of all time.

 

[ZellyB]

Huma gels are my preferred fueling option at this point. I have tried a number of different gel options and found out that while they were fine in training they upset my stomach when taken in quantity for a marathon. Huma gels do not upset my stomach and I've found the flavors to be really good, especially Apples & Cinnamon, Blueberry and Lemonade. I'll be hitting the WDW marathon course with pockets full of Huma.

I've thought about trying these just to have a change from my normal fuel, but wondered about the fruit. Has that ever caused you any GI issues while running (if you know what I mean)?

I usually don't have problems with new shoes but I'd rather break them in then try and run a race never having raced in them before. With regards to the shoes at the end of their cycle, I plan to use them for training for the next month. I never had an intention of using them marathon weekend, I just was trying to figure out if I should start working on a new pair of shoes or if the two I have that are sitting in the low 100s/450 for mileage will do.

I usually don't have problems with new shoes either if they are the same brand/style/model that I've been running in. I'm planning on two pairs of shoes for Dopey and the pair I have for the 5K/10K are still relatively low mileage, but my pair for the half and full are getting long in the tooth, so I think I'm going to go ahead and get another pair of those in the next week or so and wear them at least a few times before the trip. While I don't worry about the shoe model itself causing me problems, I wouldn't want the race to be the first time I run in it in case of some sort of manufacturing defect that went undetected on visual inspection.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

How many miles do those of you doing the marathon plan to have on your shoes when you run it?

I purposely timed my shoe rotation to have a relatively new pair (about 75 miles) for Rocket City. That means they'll have 150 miles or so for Dopey.

My backup Dopey shoes are a pair I retired early at 300 miles, so they have about 50 miles left on them.

I plan on using the new ones for the marathon and the old pair for the half.

The are my 6th and 7th pair of Ghost 9s, so I am very familiar with them. I would be hesitant to switch to a new model right before a marathon.

 

[camaker]

I've thought about trying these just to have a change from my normal fuel, but wondered about the fruit. Has that ever caused you any GI issues while running (if you know what I mean)?

I definitely know what you mean!

They do not cause any GI issues for me. That is what drew me to them. When I ran the City of Oaks Marathon in Nov 2016 I used a combination of Honey Stinger and Clif Shot gels. By mile 17 or 18 my stomach was in full revolt and I had to stop taking them at that point to avoid any unfortunate consequences. Unfortunately, I think the lack of fueling impacted my final time. Shortly thereafter I tried out Huma and ended up using them for the 2017 WDW Marathon. I was able to take all my planned gels on time with no GI discomfort whatsoever. That sold me on them and they are all I use for fueling now.

 

[ZellyB]

I definitely know what you mean!

They do not cause any GI issues for me. That is what drew me to them. When I ran the City of Oaks Marathon in Nov 2016 I used a combination of Honey Stinger and Clif Shot gels. By mile 17 or 18 my stomach was in full revolt and I had to stop taking them at that point to avoid any unfortunate consequences. Unfortunately, I think the lack of fueling impacted my final time. Shortly thereafter I tried out Huma and ended up using them for the 2017 WDW Marathon. I was able to take all my planned gels on time with no GI discomfort whatsoever. That sold me on them and they are all I use for fueling now.

Good to know. I may try them on a mid-distance training run (one that has bathrooms on the route ) and see how I like them.

 

[Dis5150]

More on the shoe talk - Do you guys wear your shoes two days in a row (for Dopey)? @ZellyB you said you use the same pair for the 5k and 10k? For some reason I was thinking I needed to take 2 pairs and use them every other day? I just got a new pair of Nike Zoom Structure's which I like ok. They will be my marathon shoe. My Brooks Transcends still have enough life in them for a half if needed but it would be much better if I could use them for the 5k &10k and save my Nikes for the half and full. Thoughts on this? I didn't know if using them on the two long back to back races would be ok? I don't have the money to get another pair of Nikes before Dopey so the Brooks are my only other option...

 

[Nole95]

I just started working in two pairs of shoes for Dopey. Both will probably have about 100 miles each on them by the time we get there next month.

 

[rteetz]

More on the shoe talk - Do you guys wear your shoes two days in a row (for Dopey)? @ZellyB you said you use the same pair for the 5k and 10k? For some reason I was thinking I needed to take 2 pairs and use them every other day? I just got a new pair of Nike Zoom Structure's which I like ok. They will be my marathon shoe. My Brooks Transcends still have enough life in them for a half if needed but it would be much better if I could use them for the 5k &10k and save my Nikes for the half and full. Thoughts on this? I didn't know if using them on the two long back to back races would be ok? I don't have the money to get another pair of Nikes before Dopey so the Brooks are my only other option...

I rotated. Same pair for 5K and Half. Then the other pair for 10K and Full.

 

[Dis5150]

I rotated. Same pair for 5K and Half. Then the other pair for 10K and Full.

This is my current plan. Thanks!

 

[ZellyB]

More on the shoe talk - Do you guys wear your shoes two days in a row (for Dopey)? @ZellyB you said you use the same pair for the 5k and 10k? For some reason I was thinking I needed to take 2 pairs and use them every other day? I just got a new pair of Nike Zoom Structure's which I like ok. They will be my marathon shoe. My Brooks Transcends still have enough life in them for a half if needed but it would be much better if I could use them for the 5k &10k and save my Nikes for the half and full. Thoughts on this? I didn't know if using them on the two long back to back races would be ok? I don't have the money to get another pair of Nikes before Dopey so the Brooks are my only other option...

Well, it's my first time doing Dopey, so take what I say with a huge grain of salt, but I have one pair of shoes I got that I like for short distances and a different model for longer races. I've never had a problem in running in the same pair of shoes back-to-back though. The only concern might be rain or something where they get soaked and don't have time to dry out before the next day. Is there some reason it's a bad idea to run in the same shoes on consecutive days I just don't know about?

 

[Sailormoon2]

I'm sure that all of this moves like clockwork, else there would be a lot of confused people wandering around

They are one of the MOST well organized, and easily navigated races, I have ever attended, even when you consider they are potentially also, the largest races I have ever been too.