The Marathon Report

Now that I've had a few days to recover and reflect, I thought it would be a good time to sit down and make a full report of my marathon experience. I can definitely say that I consider it one of the great accomplishments of my life, and I am glad that I picked a marathon as fun as the Disney Marathon to run for my first one.

The day started at about 2:30 AM. Yeah...you read that right...2:30 AM. I had gone to bed pretty early the night before and was surprised that I woke up rather easily. I did have a backup alarm just in case, but ended up not needing it. Why so early? Well...Joy and I were staying off site, so I had to go over and meet Steve and Jamey at their hotel to catch the bus over to the marathon. They tell you to be on the buses by 4:00 in order to get to the staging area on time due to the number of people involved. So, I had a cup of coffee and a banana to start the day and drank a bottle of water. Got my clothes on and headed out the door.

I met Steve and Jamey over at the Disney Pop Century (I had driven Steve's car back to our hotel Saturday night so that Joy didn't have to get up with me to take me to their hotel) and we got on a bus at a little before 4:00. We got to the staging area in the Epcot parking lot around 4:15, and found a place to sit down and relax. Around 5:00 we headed to the Port-O-Lets, and then headed out to the starting area which is actually on Epcot Drive. Here were the starting corrals, the big start sign and a stage where some folks were showing videos and interviewing different runners. We stood around for a little while, made one last bathroom run into the trees beside the road (like several hundered other people) and then headed to our respective corrals. Just before 6:00, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto came on stage to welcome everyone and start the countdown. And then...

We were off! The start was a mad rush, but I didn't have too much trouble navigating slower runners and walkers. I was pretty close to the front, anyway. The hardest thing early on in the race was keeping myself from going too fast. I knew that if I started too fast that I would crash-and-burn in the end, but with so many people around and the adrenaline flowing, it was very hard not to open up and run hard.

The first couple of miles are on the entry drive into the park on the north side. It was funny to see a lot of people run off the side of the road into the trees to use the bathroom this early in the race, but I guess you gotta go when ya gotta go. Then we entered the park, running underneath Spaceship Earth.

Obviously, the park wasn't open this early but there were a ton of workers and cast members out along the course, cheering us on. The course was still pretty crowded at this point, and I even saw a couple of people duck off into the restrooms inside the park.

We headed out a cast entrance on the east side of the park, running underneath the Test Track ride. Unfortunately it wasn't running at the time, so we didn't get to see any cars going. Then we were back on Epcot drive headed back north around the park and then towards the Magic Kingdom.

The run through and around Epcot comprised the first 4 miles of the course. The next 4 miles were on the main road between Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. At the 5-mile marker my time was 47:25. Not bad, but slower than my goal pace. I knew I had plenty of time to make up the pace, but I still didn't want to run too hard this early. I passed the 6-mile marker thinking about how, until this fall, the longest race I'd ever been in was a 10k (6.2 miles), and that if this were a 10k I'd pretty much be done by now! Not too long after that, the sun finally started to come up.

Between miles 8 and 9 we ran through the Ticket and Transportation Center. This was one of the first big crowds of the race, and it really gets you going hearing people cheering for you. Just as I started thinking about how I hadn't heard anyone actually say my name (our names were printed above our numbers on the bibs), I heard someone yelling, "SCOTT! SCOTT!" I turned to the right and there she was...Joy! I hadn't expected to see her this early in race, so you can only imagine how my adrenaline got pumping then. I waved as best I could and kept on going.

We entered the Magic Kingdom around the 10-mile mark. My split here was 1:29:34. I had definitely picked up the pace some after seeing Joy, and was now just ahead of my 4-hour goal pace. The only real problem with this is that it ended up getting me to the next viewing spot where Joy planned on seeing me before she could there, having to wait on Disney transportation. We entered the park through a cast entrance at the start of Main Street USA and then ran into and up Main Street. There must have been thousands of people here cheering even though the park wasn't open, yet. It was an awesome feeling.

We ran through Tomorrow Land, next to Space Mountain and around the back side of the park. Then we came through Cinderella's castle and headed towards Splash Mountain and then out a cast entrance and a back-of-house area where a lot of the floats from the parades are stored. It was a different kind of look at the world of Disney! Of all four parks we ran through, we probably spent the most time in the Magic Kingdom. However, I can still safely say that it was the fastest trip through the Magic Kingdom I've ever had! We left the park around mile 11 and headed into a long stretch of back road between MK and Animal Kingdom.

Around mile 12 is where Joy had hoped to see me, outside the Grand Floridian, but I got there too fast. I hit the halfway point at 1:55:53. Just two minutes slower than I had run the Atlanta Half Marathon back at Thanksgiving, and on pace to easily break my 4-hour goal. I had my iPod with me, and though I might use it between the parks, but there was so much entertainment along the sides of the roads that I never really needed it.

I started the morning with four bags of Sport Beans...two in each pocket. My strategy was to eat a bag every five miles and then eat some candy at the 23-mile hydration station. And at this point in the race, I'd only walked through a couple of hydration stations to get water or Powerade.

We entered the Animal Kingdom somewhere between mile 16 and 17. Still no tourists in the park, as we ran through, but when got out the front, people were starting to head for the entrance. This would have been around 8:30 or so, so the park must have opened at 9:00 AM that day. After the long run between MK and AK, and the quiet run through the park, it was good to see and hear the large crowds out front.

Leaving Animal Kingdom around mile 17 began the longest and worst stretch of the race out on the highway. It was about five miles between Animal Kingdom and MGM Studios, and there wasn't much between them except for two large overpasses. Now, for the most part, this is a pretty flat course, but these two overpasses made for pretty big hills...especially getting this late in the race. Somewhere between miles 18 and 20, my legs started really barking at me. No cramps or anything, but they were getting tired. I hit the 20-mile split at 2:55:29. Well ahead of my 4-hour goal with only a 10K left to go!

At mile 21 I was crossing the threshold of my longest training run. About this time I started thinking about how a couple of more 20+ mile runs would have been beneficial, because my endurance was running low. I knew that I should be able to run that last 10K in 50-55 minutes, so I also knew that I had a little breathing room in beating my goal. This was great, because my pace was really starting to slow down.

We entered MGM through a cast entrance at about the 23-mile mark. I had heard that this station usually had candy, like Sprees, to hand out, and I was craving something with some flavor to suck on for a little while. As I turned the corner to enter the park, all they were handing out were Hershey Bars and Butterfingers. Ugh. I couldn't think of too many things I would like less to put in my mouth at that moment that chocolate, so I passed on by. You can't tell in the picture, but MGM was open at this point and people were all around the park. Our route was marked by those little yellow cones, and it was pretty funny to see the looks on the faces of some of the people wondering what in the heck was going on. But there were also a lot of people who would stand near the cones and shout something encouraging, and boy, did I need it.

With a little over three miles to go, my pace had slowed to a jog. I was starting to worry that I might not make that 4-hour goal, after all. I'd walked through each of the hydration stations since the 21-mile marker, knowing that I needed electrolytes to keep running. I was determined not to walk any part of the race course.

We ran through Disney's Boardwalk and Beach Club resorts and then re-entered Epcot on the west side of the World Showcase. I could look across the lagoon and see Spaceship Earth, but it looked SO far away. I passed the 25-mile marker thinking, "One more mile!" About 100 yards past the 25-mile mark was a well-intentioned spectator who yelled, "Only half a mile to go!" Uhh...not so much, pal, but thanks.

Back under Spaceship Earth, headed for the parking lot I rounded a corner behind an administrative building to see a full-on gospel choir belting out something great. I don't have any idea what they might have been singing, but that music gave me a burst of adrenaline knowing the finish line was less than a quarter mile away. I came through some trees and could see the finish line ahead, and then...


It was finished! The official time was 3:54:15, as you can see in the photo above. My chip time, which is the actual time it took me to get from the start to the finish, was 3:53:03. Almost a full seven minutes ahead of my goal! I was thrilled. I scanned the crowd as best I could for Joy, but there were so many people there I couldn't find her. I walked on through and was handed my medal which felt like it weighed 10 pounds. Picked up several bottles of Powerade, a banana and and an orange and tried to make my way to the Family Reunion Area. As I came through the tent, Joy was waiting for me on the other side, and I'm not sure which one of us was more happy at that moment. I was totally exhausted, but crossing that finish line was an incredible feeling.

Final thoughts (if you are even still reading)...This was a great experience. The Disney experience was great, and they put on a great race. Its really more of an "event" than a race. It is amazing to think that 4-1/2 months ago, the longest I'd ever run was about 7 miles, and I just finished a marathon. Everyone keeps asking me if I'd do it again, and that would be a definite "Yes." Now I know what I can do different/better in training next time, and we'll see if I can't move that goal down to 3:45. I really appreciate all the support and encouragement I've gotten both through the blog and in person.

Check out ASI Sports Photography for some more photos of the race.

Until the next one, I'll be seeking my inner-Kenyan...