Marathon Weekend 2023

[Disney316]

Is winter weather a factor where you’re flying from?

Yes, it certainly can be. I would either be flying from Boston or Manchester, NH.

 

[GollyGadget]

Looking at SW flights and debating whether to fly in Thursday or Friday (only running the full). Of course I’d rather be there Thursday for a longer vacation, but Friday would work better for work and childcare logistics. Any thoughts/recommendations on which to do? If it helps, my flight would land about 5:30pm either day and cost isn’t too much of a factor.

Friday should be fine but Thursday gives you more flexibility if there's weather or other airline delays. Keep in mind that even if the weather is fine where you are, there could still be a storm somewhere else that delays your plane from arriving to your departure airport on time. I recently got delayed 4 hours on a flight from DFW to STL because of storms in Portland, OR.

Another thing to consider is if your flight gets cancelled, when is the next flight? If you're on the last flight of the day, you're obviously not going anywhere until the next day. Not a big deal if the switch is from Thursday to Friday but being delayed until Saturday could make it difficult to get to the expo for bib pickup before it closes at 3pm. If the expo were open until the evening, it wouldn't be as big of a deal but with the shorter hours on Saturday, I definitely wouldn't chance a Saturday arrival if there weren't plentiful options to get me in before noon.

 

[Ariel484]

If anyone is thinking about race costumes/outfits, just an FYI that Sparkle Athletic is having a "Christmas in July sale" going on until midnight on Monday. Code HAPPYJULY for buy one/get one half off.

I was waiting for a Black Friday sale to buy two skirts I was looking at, but took advantage of this sale instead. Hopefully I got the right sizes, I've never tried their stuff before but I know a lot of people love them (I'm looking at Facebook posts that are making me think maybe I should have sized down? )! What I have tried are their visors that they make with Headsweats, and I do like those.

 

[Bree]

Chicago marathon veterans - how big a deal are corral placements? At Disney, I am usually a corral C girl (although the SG thing has changed things), but for Chicago they put in me corral H. Is this really bad? Am I going to be standing around forever waiting to start, and then be stuck in a huge crowd?

I was in J last year and put there again this year. I requested a bump up to H according to their current corral paces (4:00-4:15). Corrals will be finalized 8/16.



Starting in J wasn’t bad. 4:10 and 4:20 pacers were in that corral and we started around 8:15. Porta potty lines are AWFUL so plan accordingly.

 

[BigEeyore]

Thank you all! Corral H is exactly where I should be based on the shared data and my current abilities. When you are used to being in corral C by Disney standards, corral H seemed like a big step down but that chart lines up with my current abilities. Planning to just enjoy the experience as much as I can!

 

[ColoradoLime]

Are there special runDisney MagicBands typically available at the Expo? Would be really nice to have a special MagicBand+. Wishful thinking?

 

[GuinnessRunner]

Are there special runDisney MagicBands typically available at the Expo? Would be really nice to have a special MagicBand+. Wishful thinking?

They've had them in the past (I think I got mine in 2020?), but I can't say I have seen them recently. Then again maybe I just wasn't looking since I didn't need one.

 

[camaker]

Are there special runDisney MagicBands typically available at the Expo? Would be really nice to have a special MagicBand+. Wishful thinking?

They've had them in the past (I think I got mine in 2020?), but I can't say I have seen them recently. Then again maybe I just wasn't looking since I didn't need one.

In addition to the limited edition MagicBand that they've had at the Expo the last few race weekends, I'm pretty sure they've had a RunDisney MagicBand option available at the On Demand D-Tech kiosks. So if you should miss out on the Expo bands, all may not be lost.

 

[1lilspark]

Are there special runDisney MagicBands typically available at the Expo? Would be really nice to have a special MagicBand+. Wishful thinking?

In the past they had a weekend one at the expo (idk if it was a passholder merch item or for anyone) plus items at dtec on demand at springs….

 

[Barca33Runner]

Are there special runDisney MagicBands typically available at the Expo? Would be really nice to have a special MagicBand+. Wishful thinking?

Will be interesting to see with the rollout of MagicBand+ coming soon. As others have said, there have always been options at D-Tech on Demand. They seem to have preferred that over having a selection at the Expo in the past. Not sure how the MB+ sales model will compare to MB; I’d guess it’ll be relatively the same but wouldn’t be shocking if they didn’t have as many options.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Good Morning runDIsley All-Stars! Time for this week’s Sundays are for Disney. Question - How do you stay motivated during a really tough run? Share your tricks!

My Answer: I do a couple things I use a mantra of “the further I go the stronger I get”. I just repeat this to myself over and over and I will say it out loud at times. I find this really reinforces that I can keep going. When that is not enough, I put on a particular playlist I have with music that always gives me a push and turn it up. And when all else is failing, I set markers, I look ahead and identify a particular point and just focus on getting to that point. Like - get to that tree. When I reach that tree I set a new point and just keep doing that. It sort of pulls me along.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD: I also use a mantra. Varies on what pops into my head, but most frequently it's "Won't quit; don't quit." As silly as it sounds, for something like intervals or other short bits of timed running, I count to myself. For some reason, focusing on counting helps pass that 1 or 2 minutes that I might have on the interval and helps calm my brain to know that I am getting closer to the end of it without constantly staring at my watch.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

Good Morning runDIsley All-Stars! Time for this week’s Sundays are for Disney. Question - How do you stay motivated during a really tough run? Share your tricks!

My Answer: I do a couple things I use a mantra of “the further I go the stronger I get”. I just repeat this to myself over and over and I will say it out loud at times. I find this really reinforces that I can keep going. When that is not enough, I put on a particular playlist I have with music that always gives me a push and turn it up. And when all else is failing, I set markers, I look ahead and identify a particular point and just focus on getting to that point. Like - get to that tree. When I reach that tree I set a new point and just keep doing that. It sort of pulls me along.

I always run with music and new playlists are fun to put together and test out. When I was struggling during a run earlier in the year I put on my new shoes and felt more spring in my step.

I also need to do cross training, strength training and yoga and enjoy all of it. Mixing things up keeps it all fresh.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

SAFD: I like using mantras too. My favorite is: "Define yourself". Thinking about the runner I want to be helps give me mental strength.

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD: I try to visualize race day to remind myself what I am suffering for. When I'm training for Disney, I will often think about the course - like "OK so you would be entering AK right about now!".
I also like to divide my long run into parts, and then focus on just one part at a time - breaking it up into sections seems to help my mental state more than focusing on ticking off the miles.

 

[bryana]

SAFD: lately I've honestly just been like "you have to get home and yeah, you can walk the rest of the way but it's going to take longer so you might as well just keep running so it's over faster". My recent bad runs have almost all been related to how hot it is so that's been enough to get me to keep going because the thought of being out in the heat longer than I have to be is motivating enough to keep going. I've also been strongly motivating the hot runs with a klondike bar when I get done because you know... it'll cool me down from the inside out... or whatever.

 

[MissLiss279]

SAFD: lately I've honestly just been like "you have to get home and yeah, you can walk the rest of the way but it's going to take longer so you might as well just keep running so it's over faster". My recent bad runs have almost all been related to how hot it is so that's been enough to get me to keep going because the thought of being out in the heat longer than I have to be is motivating enough to keep going. I've also been strongly motivating the hot runs with a klondike bar when I get done because you know... it'll cool me down from the inside out... or whatever.

I tell myself the same thing!

 

[Herding_Cats]

I like to chop up the long runs into chunks as well (using landmarks, etc that I know are approximate mile marks.)

I sometimes have to [frequently] remind myself that “My legs are strong” when I don’t want to take another step.

I also looked at the last 6.2mi of my first marathon as “that’s only 2 Monday runs” to get through until I could see the finish and have the adrenaline rush from that.

 

[_shiny_side_up_]

SAFD: Music. I've got a "last mile" playlist that I put really energetic / fast / inspirational songs in and when I need the extra motivation I put that on.

 

[accm]

SAFD: This is probably weird, but I do math lol I figure out how far I have to go and then figure out how long that'll take given my current pace. My out and back also isn't generally even (I prefer to have the out be longer than the back), so I spend some time doing math to figure out when to turn around. On the way back, I also like to say "only" when thinking of the distance left. Somehow adding the word only in front of the number makes it seem not as far?
I've also picked up some mantra's from Peloton. My favourites while running are "I can do hard things" and "I don't have to, I get to".