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Disney World Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Disney World Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 4.3 
Spectators 4.0
Number of comments: 818 [displaying comments 291 to 301]
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H. F. from Mount Airy, MD
(2/10/2008)
"Great "Fun Run" Marathon" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Disney '08 was my second marathon. The first one I ran had 750 runners, and the course was very boring after the half marathon point. Disney is about entertainment. People have to remember that Disney is a for-profit company. We the runners pay for our shirts, medals, drinks, and post-race snacks. With all that said, the Disney Marathon is a fun race to run. Where else can you get a live band at 3 a.m., Mickey Mouse high-fiving you at the start, and four amusement parks? Logistically I do not know what can be done to improve the race. Transportation to the expo and race start was smooth. The dual starting line was fantastic. Entertainments through the parks was fine. The long stretches between the parks was satisfactory with music, bands, and DJ's. For all those who complained that there was not enough characters or entertainment, I, as I am sure most runners were, was very entertained as I watched the miles go by and crossed the finish line. The volunteer groups were fantastic, water stations were well stocked, and the fans were great (a little complaint about those only cheering for those wearing purple shirts. Most spectators were yelling for all runners!!). Overall, a FUN RUN. For serious marathoners, Disney is a race to enjoy. There are plenty of other races where the objective is to just run a marathon. | |
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m. m. from Tampa
(2/7/2008)
"My 6th Disney and best so far" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 6+ Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The race organization was great as always and the weather cooperated this year too. I really don't understand the negative comments that I am reading here. * There are start corrals, so if you were stuck behind walkers, you must have been pretty slow. * Some of the speakers could have been set farther back off the road but having music on the course was great. * I prefer the 6 a.m. start, especially when it can get hot and humid later in the day. * Besides the out-and-back (miles 20-22), this is a scenic course. You are running through the parks or by hotels or through wooded areas and there are minimal hills. If you are looking for a well run race with a course suited for setting a PR, then this one is for you. | |
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H. A. from Princeton, NJ
(2/6/2008)
"Great, but not as great..." (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran Disney 5 years ago as my first marathon and was just in awe. Every marathon is now compared with that experience. This year, I ran again and though it is still the best of all other marathons I've run, it has lost a bit of the *magic*. This year was unusually warm/humid and the 20+ water stations were wonderful! One thing which was very clear was that there were distinctly fewer characters and goings-on in the parks as compared to 5 years ago. I think that Disney, like some of the more famous marathons, is also beginning to get a little carried away with the entrance fees. And for those who did the Goofy Challenge, they paid full price for both the half and full marathon! The folks at Disney are the experts when it comes to organization, crowd control and moving mass numbers of people around, and once again they came through the entire weekend. I'll probably go back again in 5 years for the 20th anniversary running. | |
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J. G. from Greenville, SC
(2/6/2008)
"Great race, but the rat likes your money" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I ran Disney. My 4th marathon. I really enjoyed the course and the fans in Magic Kingdom. But I have one major complaint. Why isn't there a discount for race participants to any of the Disney Theme Parks, especially if you stay at a Disney hotel? You bring in thousands of people and millions of revenue to the Disney area, yet, no discount. We have begun referring Disney as "the rat that holds you by the ankles until all of your money falls out." At least at the Rock n Roll Marathon you get a free concert with an international-caliber performer. | |
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L. P. from Florida
(2/6/2008)
"I never thought a marathon would be so much fun" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and originally I thought it would also be my last. But i had so much fun that i'll be signing up for next year. I was occupied and entertained the entire way. Looking forward to next year. | |
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E. B. from Maryland
(1/31/2008)
"Can't wait to do it again!" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 WDW was my 1st marathon and it was everything I wanted and more. I was coming off an injury so I really took the time to have fun. I took photos with most of the characters and looking for the next photo op really kept me motivated. The heat and humidity threw me for a loop, so I was glad that I had been keeping an eye on the weather and had the right clothing. Yes, a lot of the course was out in sun on the roads, but then the goal became getting to the next park. Next hear I hope to beat my time by a good hour and I am already looking forward to training for it. | |
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S. S. from Naples, FL
(1/30/2008)
"Great marathon for just having fun!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 If you want to run a marathon and have fun, this is it. Running through the parks was awesome. I ran the Goofy Challenge, and the tech shirts and medals are first class. Other positives are the aid stations, volunteers (thank you!), transportation to/from the Disney hotels and the other runners. The only negative is the course is very narrow for the number of people running, so unless you are up front, expect to go slowly and zig zag around people. | |
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H. O. from Beaverton, Oregon
(1/27/2008)
"Do it for the medal!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I did the Goofy Challenge in 2007 (the year it was super hot and they ran out of water on the course). Yes, AB from Gastonbury, CT, I guess I am "shallow," but I loved the medals! After 26.2 + 13.1, what's wrong with big medals? Don't run Little Rock; its medal is even bigger - you'd really be insulted there! | |
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Debby Wehunt from Mesa, Arizona
(1/27/2008)
"We will be back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The total experience (from planning the trip to finishing the race) was great fun. My husband and I decided to scrap the PB plan, and just have fun... which means we had our picture taken with everybody (from the bus driver who transported us to the races to the volunteers handing out water, to the bands, to the choir, to the cleaning-up people and first aid people, to all of the characters - the list goes on and on). We even made a slide show with music: "Born to Run!!" Hint: Stay at a Disney Resort (New Orleans French Quarter)!! Follow the race instructions. Go visit the parks. Just enjoy being a kid again. Also, the 5K through the Animal Park was great too. Can't wait to return to do the Goofy Challenge!! | |
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S. S. from Cheeseland
(1/26/2008)
"Very Disappointed" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my 10th marathon. I have run very large (Chicago) and very small marathons, but this was by far the worst I've run. First, I do want to say that the "volunteers" (they were paid, which is weird) were very friendly, and the aid stations were well stocked. They did run out of gels on the course, but it was very nice to have BioFreeze to put on my legs throughout the race. Running through the parks was nice, too, but that accounted for only about 5 miles of the race. That left 21.2 miles of hot black asphalt highways surrounded by swamp. Simply horrible. Lastly, there were simply FAR TOO MANY WALKERS. MARATHONS ARE FOR RUNNING!!! If you are impeding the runners, you need to get off the course. It was absolutely ridiculous. My marathon PR is 3:12, and I ran a 4:40 because I COULD NOT GET AROUND THE GROUPS OF 15 OR 20 WALKERS. Disney really needs to do something about this, whether it's to accept fewer walkers or to control the starting corrals better. All in all, a terrible run that I will never do again. |
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