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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 341 to 351]
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scot newport from Chesapeake, Va
(1/15/2008)
"Once again an awesome race!!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my eleventh Disney Marathon and I loved it. The volunteers were excellent - as usual - and the course rocks! The medal was worth it. I did the Goofy Challenge for the third time and they did a great job on the new Goofy medal. I encourage everyone to run this race; you will be hooked. | |
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S. G. from Delray Beach, FL
(1/15/2008)
"Fun first-time marathon" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and it was a great experience. First things first, I FINISHED!!! My game plan and time goal... well, that went out the window the second I crossed the start line. I started in the last corral with about 100 people behind me, so basically last. What a traffic jam. I spent the first 6 miles dodging and trying not to run into and over all of the walkers and people stopping in the middle of the course to take pictures. Once I started to get clear of them, we entered into Magic Kingdom, where the path really narrows. By the time I got to the halfway mark, I was 35 minutes behind my normal pace and pretty tired from having to run, stop, dodge and swerve around all of the walkers and picture takers. Very frustrating! As a result never got up to my race pace and into the groove. I spent too much time on the course and ended up 1 hour off my goal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining; this rookie runner just didn't realize what a real marathon was like and how much traffic there was starting from the rear. The course itself was awesome and beautiful. What can you say? It is Disney. The organizers and volunteers were outstanding. Tons of water, food and medical support on the course. The crowds were bigger than I expected and very supportive. I would definitely run this race again because it was fun, well organized and exciting! Lesson learned: don't start last. | |
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s. b. from vancouver,Canada
(1/15/2008)
"What a great experience!" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I just want to offer a huge "thank you" for making my first marathon such a wonderful experience. Everything was so well organized. I love the tech shirt. I was concerned about how many water stations there would be and if they would run out (since I was towards the back of the pack!). No worries there. There were more than enough. The medical tent staff were great too but the volunteers and spectators are what made it amazing.If there was only one small detail that would have made it even better, then I would have liked to have been inside the parks or around the resorts more; the out-and-back road after the AK seemed long and hot... other than that, I am inspired to do another marathon this year for sure. | |
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M. M. from Santa Fe, New Mexico
(1/15/2008)
"Best running experience" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the Goofy Challenge. It was my best racing experience. The only thing that could have been better is the weather (less humidity). Best medals too! I am coming back in 2009. | |
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Jim Zasowski from Centennial, CO
(1/15/2008)
"Great Experience" (about: 2008)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and glad I did it at Disney. Everything was well organized and you had the fun of Disney to go with it. Truly an experience I will never forget. | |
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A. S. from Chicago, IL
(1/15/2008)
"Good job, Disney - just a few tweaks" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 As always, Disney puts on a great show. Race mornings, even though they are early, were well organized and easy to navigate. Buses, bag check, and getting to the start are all easy. The finish line is easy to get through, and it is simple to find the people you are looking for. Now the improvements: 1. Some of the water stops need more volunteers. There were many volunteers along the course they should be re-stationed to the water stops so us runners do not have to get our own water. It will stop confusion. 2. The corrals need fixing. I am a 4-hour marathoner and a 1:50 1/2, but I was put with 5-hour runners. This is easy; put runners in corrals based on projected finishing time - and please put the walkers in the last corrals. I know they have a right to be there, but for some reason they decide to walk next to each other and not make it easy to pass. Putting them in the back will alleviate that problem. 3. Make more room on the road for runners. The cones made some of the areas very tight and hard to pass other runners. Give us the whole road! 4. This one is very minor: have better food at the end. Bagels, donuts, or just something else; we deserve it. That is it. Did the Goofy this year, did the Goofy last year, and sent in my application today for the Goofy next year. Congrats to all the finishers and good luck next year. See you at the start line. | |
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D. G. from KC Kansas
(1/15/2008)
"Good race but needs a few changes" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 First the negative stuff: One of the number one things that should be at all races is ICE! C'mon Disney... if nowhere else, at least at the finish - especially for the cost of the race.... No ice to be found for the 1/2 or the whole. The running lanes in the 1/2 were narrow at times for the number of people running. Please send out a memo to the walkers.... It's ok to walk, but get over to the right and don't walk 3-4 side-by-side. Now the positive: Porta-potty heaven! Almost everyone was nice and helpful/friendly. Organization at the finish was nice. The Goofy/Donald medals rocked... but the Mickey medal... ummm, not so much. Work on that neck-piece... lol. Nice to see a lot of the characters out early as we ran by, especially Alice (Wonderland)and Mary Poppins, looking hot. Kudos to the Gospel group and fans out there cheering.... That was a long race for some and the spirit helped. Overall.... Pretty decent race. Just get some ice throughout the race, get some cool beverages at the finish, and send a memo out to the walkers, and the race will be better. | |
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R. H. from Lawrenceville, GA
(1/15/2008)
"Good marathon for time, spectators, & vacation" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my worst race performance, but it had nothing to do with the course, organization, or spectators; I simply bonked. This would have been a nice race to run during a vacation, but I was only in town for the weekend. The course was as flat as one would expect for Florida. The crowd is positioned well around the course to provide support to those who need a little extra motivation. Running through the castle and seeing the characters along the way were nice touches. The sections of the course that had little or no spectators did have speakers set-up with various genres of music playing. The majority of the music seemed to be a mix that started with "Flashback 19xx" and then a 30-second or so segment of a song from the given year. The volunteers along the course were quite possibly the friendliest and most spirited of the four marathons I've completed. The fans were also nice and supportive, but this race was beyond saving for me as my body/mind fell apart. The weather was right around the average temperatures for Orlando this time of year, which is quite warm to me for January (60-70 degrees), but the water and PowerAde were readily available along the course to combat the heat and humidity. The 15th anniversary medal and long-sleeve, technical shirt were nice and the medal is bigger than I thought it would be. The only disappointments for me were that I was unable to get a smaller running shirt at the packet pick-up and the pasta dinner pricing is too high ($30). Granted, I did sign up for a large shirt, but I thought we were receiving t-shirts that would shrink. I did not attend the pasta dinner because of the price, but I can't imagine a pre-race meal for that price. I'm used to most pre-race dinners costing $5-15, so maybe it's just me. I think this is a good sign for future registrants that these are the only complaints I have. | |
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P. C. from Charlotte, NC
(1/15/2008)
"Unique Experience" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my 1st full marathon. It was perfect weather (overcast mostly, in the mid-upper 70s, with occasionally breeze). Definitely worth the pain I'm experiencing The pros: 1) Great starting ceremony. 2) Love the shirt - for once it's not cotton! 3) Plenty of water and PowerAde. 4) Plenty of medic stations with Bio-Freeze in the 2nd half; I wouldn't have finished without this green stuff. 5) Great spectators - even in the early hours when it's still dark, there were characters along the course. Big crowd at Magic Kingdom too. 6) Very cool running through the castle. 7) LOVE the medal. My reason for running in 2008 was the 15th anniversary special medal - totally worth 26.2 miles. 8) Free admission to Pleasure Island (I didn't stay at Disney, nor did I have a park ticket). The cons: 1)Expo was little disappointing - not many vendors, and not many freebies. 2) The course gets a little boring, at times running through the "not pretty" part of Disney, and there's a foul smell along the way that seems to not go away (I don't know what/where is the source). 3) Lack of official merchandise to buy - I collect pins and they ran out of pins for the marathon. I didn't pre-order because I thought I could buy them in person - BIG mistake! Ended up with a key chain. No shot glass either. 4) I'm slow, so maybe they had more options for the faster bunch. They only had bananas, I was hoping for apples or oranges or something juicy. 5) I swear some miles seem to be more than a mile. 6)I know it must be for good reason that it starts at 6 a.m., but boy, waking up at 3:15 a.m. to run was a first. Overall, lots of fun! But I think I will do the half next time, and actually take the time to stop and take pictures with the characters. And one day maybe I'll think about doing Goofy. Big respect to the Goofy folks! Congrats to everyone who finished Note: We didn't get to stay on Disney property, but at Holiday Inn Main Gate East instead. Very affordable and very easy to get to Disney. Alternative for the budget-minded. | |
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T. R. from kansas city
(1/14/2008)
"Should be on everyone's list" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Everything Disney does is top-notch. They handle a mega-scale event weekend like this with class and great organization. I won't rehash over other posts about the course and aid stations; just come to have a great experience running around four of the most popular theme parks in the world. However, I would like to comment on a couple of other features. The pre-race pasta dinners are spread over the course of two evenings - either Friday (for the half) or Saturday (for the marathon) - and give you the option of two separate times to choose from. The food was tasty and fresh, and there were several types of pasta and breads. However, for 30 bucks, you can do much better. In fact, the cafe at the Wide World of Sports was advertising a weekend special pasta meal for $10.49. My Disney hotel had a similar deal for even cheaper. So, unless you want unending plates of pasta, don't waste your money. Also, others have commented about the lack of food at the finish line. This was true for both the half and marathon this year. Not a big deal for me, as I don't feel like eating right afterwards, anyway. However, I had purchased the "Runner's Retreat" ticket for Sunday, which will give you several perks: a covered and climate-controlled environment, exclusive baggage check, a place to sit on a chair and not in a parking lot, as much pre- and post-race water or PowerAde as you want, access to exclusive potties with considerably less wait, access to Mickey and Donald for photos, and post-race food like bacon and eggs, sub sandwiches, fruit, mini-muffins, etc. In my opinion, very well worth the $50, especially if they have a rainy or cold morning. The medals they had this year, especially for the marathon, were absolutely the coolest, and is very close to Little Rock's in size. |
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