A Magical Race

This was my second time running the Walt Disney World Marathon.
I ran this marathon in 2008 as my very first marathon and I
have painful yet fond memories of the experience. The course
is mostly flat and at sea level so my goal was to try and set
a new personal best for a marathon and to possibly complete it
in under 4 hours. Since I was trying for a personal
best I did not stop for pictures at landmarks or with characters.
I wouldhighly encourage anyone else to stop for pictures since it
is a unique setting.

Training for this marathon had gone well since Denver
experienced a mild winter. I had a strong base after training for
triathlons and half marathons during the fall. NPR got me through
a lot of long miles.

We arrived in Orlando on Thursday before the race and visited
the Expo to get our packets and purchase race swag. The Expo was
crowded but I have to say that the Rock and Roll Denver Expo was
better. I did not find a running store there that could compare to
Runners Roost.

On the night before the race I found that I had left my water
bottle and Hammer gels at home. My wife Julie was running the Goofy
Challenge which means she had already run a half marathon that
morning and she would run a marathon the next day. She gave me a
get and I had sport beans. I figured that I would get gels, sports
drink and fruit along the course.

We sent multiple, redundant alarms and they went off all too soon.
I never sleep well before a race but adrenalin and caffeine make up the
difference. We had to dress warm since it was 40 degrees out.
We took two buses to the start. The start area had a jumbo tron and
everyone could see the commentary and characters.
Mickey Mouse gave us the start countdown and we were off.

I looked and saw that I was behind the 4:15 pacer so I needed
to make upsome time to catch the 4:00 pacer. I ran at a good pace
and I had to zig and zag around other runners to maintain my pace.
The course starts in the Epcot parking lot and returns to the park
after a 4 mile loop. We ran through the entrance and under the
Spaceship Earth globe. The park was lit up and there was great
crowd support even at 6 AM. We ran through the World Showcase
and exited between Mexico and Norway. We are now on our way to
the Magic Kingdom.

I covered the next 6 miles at my goal pace and I still felt
great. We entered the Magic Kingdom and I turned a corner on to
Main Street and the sight took my breath away. There was the
iconic castle and Main Street was surrounded by cheering cast
members, characters and spectators. I start running faster.
The course runs through Tomorrow Land and then through the castle.
We run through Frontier Land and out of the park. Outside of the
gates Jack Sparrow and his crew.

Half way done in less than 2 hours. I am still on pace as we
pass the Grand Floridian Resort on our way to the Animal Kingdom.
So far the Powerade and Sports Beans have sustained me and I feel
good until about mile 16. My feet are starting to hurt from the
pounding and I am starting to feel fatigue. My pace starts to slow.

After 18 miles I am through the Animal Kingdom. It's time to
take off the jacket and switch to the Marathon mix on my iPod. The
next 3 miles are tough since there is not much to see between the
Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. After 20 miles I am still
barely on pace to finish under 4 hours. There is a hill as you run
up the exit ramp before the entrance to Hollywood Studios and it
takes a toll at this stage of the race. I struggle to maintain my
sub 4 hour pace.

Cast members hand out chocolate. This is always the best tasting chocolate no matter where it comes from. I exchange greetings with some other runners from Colorado. The course goes through a tunnel that has windows that allow you to see where some costumes are made for various Disney productions. The crowd support in Hollywood Studios is great.

After Hollywood Studios I am 3 miles from the finish. My feet hurt and I am very tired. I can feel a blister starting to form. My pace slows more and a sub 4 hour time does not look possible today but a new PR is still within reach. I just have to hang on until Epcot and try and push the last mile.

At last I reach Epcot again with 1 mile to go. I change to my Finish mix and try to run faster. I note the countries I pass and struggle to keep pace. I run out of the World Showcase, through Future World and under Spaceship Earth again. Finally there is the finish line. My chip time is 4:09:03 which is my new personal best by 10 minutes. This is also an hour faster than my first WDW marathon.

After I finished I watch other finishers and wait for Julie. I cheer her to the finish. I am so proud of her for completing the Goofy Challenge. 39.3 miles in 2 days is an amazing
accomplishment.