Race Report: 2018 Walt Disney World Marathon
This year was the 25th Anniversary edition of the Walt Disney World Marathon. Tracing its roots back to 1994, this race has grown from the announced 5,400 runners to over 25,000. This edition featured 25 waves that took over an hour for all to start. Needless to say, this is a big race.
I made my decision to "retire" from the marathon distance earlier this year. I'd try my best to get as low a PR as possible and then no more marathons. This is not to say that I will never, ever run another marathon but for the foreseeable future, I do not plan on running any more marathons. I have discovered I like speed. So to the track I will go.
This was my fourth running of this race. The only race with more appearances by yours truly is Space Coast with six. I know this course and the area very well. So this would be a fun run. The goal here was to stop for every picture and run with some friends.
Race Week
Hello, Florida winter. Race week came with the longest and deepest cold snap Florida had seen since 2010. Five to seven days of low temperatures hovering in the 30s with some days having high temperatures at (or, gasp, below) 50. Now, to the rest of the country enduring truly cold temps below 0 with wind chills at -20 to -40, this is balmy. However, it snowed in Tallahassee earlier in the week for the first time since 1989 and there were freeze warnings for Orlando and Tampa. This was NOT normal for Florida. That being said, even northerners were surprised by how cold it felt, simply because to go along with the cold, Florida still had dew points up in the high 20s and 30s. So it was a "wet cold". Of note, last year the race temp was 37 degrees with high wind and felt like 28. Two years in a row of very non-Florida conditions for this race, after a string of years with starting temps in the 60s.
My wife decided not to do the half marathon on Saturday. She wasn't really trained for it and the temps were calling for 32 with a feel of 25 or lower. It just was not worth the discomfort for a race that didn't matter. For me, the weather looked a bit better with a low of 41. And since this was a fun run, I could bundle up and just go with the flow. I brought every piece of throw away clothing that I owned, not knowing exactly how to dress. This made for a very fill MINI Cooper.
Race Day
Wake up, in typical Disney fashion, came at 2:30am. I decided to drive to the EPCOT parking lot and got there ahead of most of the traffic. I spent some time sitting in the warmth of my car and then waltzed over to the start. We headed to the corrals. I met Bob and Jay, my running partners for the day, at our designated place and we waited to begin. The corrals were not too bad given there were 25,000 people to block the wind.
The race started and we were off. About less than a mile into the race, I was drenched in sweat. And it was time to start shedding the layers. Last year, I kept most of them for a lot longer but it was colder and much windier. So I started to take off my layers. This is where my stellar transition skills from triathlon come into play. I was able to maintain pace around 8:30/mile and still take off most of my layers. I keep saying transition is my best sport.
We had many picture stops around the way. The rest of the race was just a fun run so there isn't much to report. I'll just leave you with some pictures along the way.
Overall (4:12)
In the end, we came in just around 4:12. This was a fun run for me but it actually is my fourth fastest marathon. Not too shabby. Post race, I made sure to continue to walk around EPCOT, cheering for everyone else so that I didn't lock up. Even a "fun run" marathon is still a marathon and you need to respect the distance. Otherwise, there is a world of hurt from a blown recovery.
I made my decision to "retire" from the marathon distance earlier this year. I'd try my best to get as low a PR as possible and then no more marathons. This is not to say that I will never, ever run another marathon but for the foreseeable future, I do not plan on running any more marathons. I have discovered I like speed. So to the track I will go.
This was my fourth running of this race. The only race with more appearances by yours truly is Space Coast with six. I know this course and the area very well. So this would be a fun run. The goal here was to stop for every picture and run with some friends.
Race Week
Hello, Florida winter. Race week came with the longest and deepest cold snap Florida had seen since 2010. Five to seven days of low temperatures hovering in the 30s with some days having high temperatures at (or, gasp, below) 50. Now, to the rest of the country enduring truly cold temps below 0 with wind chills at -20 to -40, this is balmy. However, it snowed in Tallahassee earlier in the week for the first time since 1989 and there were freeze warnings for Orlando and Tampa. This was NOT normal for Florida. That being said, even northerners were surprised by how cold it felt, simply because to go along with the cold, Florida still had dew points up in the high 20s and 30s. So it was a "wet cold". Of note, last year the race temp was 37 degrees with high wind and felt like 28. Two years in a row of very non-Florida conditions for this race, after a string of years with starting temps in the 60s.
My wife decided not to do the half marathon on Saturday. She wasn't really trained for it and the temps were calling for 32 with a feel of 25 or lower. It just was not worth the discomfort for a race that didn't matter. For me, the weather looked a bit better with a low of 41. And since this was a fun run, I could bundle up and just go with the flow. I brought every piece of throw away clothing that I owned, not knowing exactly how to dress. This made for a very fill MINI Cooper.
Race Day
Wake up, in typical Disney fashion, came at 2:30am. I decided to drive to the EPCOT parking lot and got there ahead of most of the traffic. I spent some time sitting in the warmth of my car and then waltzed over to the start. We headed to the corrals. I met Bob and Jay, my running partners for the day, at our designated place and we waited to begin. The corrals were not too bad given there were 25,000 people to block the wind.
The race started and we were off. About less than a mile into the race, I was drenched in sweat. And it was time to start shedding the layers. Last year, I kept most of them for a lot longer but it was colder and much windier. So I started to take off my layers. This is where my stellar transition skills from triathlon come into play. I was able to maintain pace around 8:30/mile and still take off most of my layers. I keep saying transition is my best sport.
We had many picture stops around the way. The rest of the race was just a fun run so there isn't much to report. I'll just leave you with some pictures along the way.
Off with their heads! And my jacket, apparently.
Maleficent(and I've lost my sweatshirt)
Under the Sea! Crabby Pose.
Through the castle.
One of the perks of an early start. Gorgeous castle photos.
Hey, the sun finally came up.
Rare sighting of Oswald the rabbit.
I like track. And I've shed my shirt and pants.
I'm in character with Sadness here. Almost mile 20.
Told you it's a fun run.
Around the World Showcase. We all stayed together!
And crossing the line
Overall (4:12)
In the end, we came in just around 4:12. This was a fun run for me but it actually is my fourth fastest marathon. Not too shabby. Post race, I made sure to continue to walk around EPCOT, cheering for everyone else so that I didn't lock up. Even a "fun run" marathon is still a marathon and you need to respect the distance. Otherwise, there is a world of hurt from a blown recovery.
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