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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 471 to 481]
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P. G. from Ft Lauderdale, Florida
(1/9/2007)
"Disney disappointment" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This is Disney. One of the largest companies in the world. I have run the marathon before. I decided to try Goofy this time. I have several points I would like to make on each race: Half-marathon: Very warm temps and high humidity are not a good combination. Having run the race before, I expected the very early morning and long walk to the start line. My only point for this race was not having medals for all finishers!! I received my medals but co-workers did not. Disney's excuse - medals were misplaced and found later. Marathon: No water!!! I believe Disney should pay a forecaster to tell them how hot it will be. As runners, we review the temps prior to the race; maybe Disney should do the same. It was important for Disney to allow traffic on the surface streets to get to the parks, but they were unable to put vehicles on the road to replenish the water stops!! Unacceptable!! It got so bad that the medical tents were handing out their supplies to runners to prevent later medical problems. What happened when the medical tents ran out? How did they treat runners at that point? As for the volunteers, our hearts go out to you. We appreciated your help and encouragement. You can not understand what it means to the runners. None of the runners I spoke with will ever register for Disney again. My heart goes out to the TNT runners that raised a tremendous amount of money for cancer research, and travel from all over the country only to have their dreams dashed by poor planning. Seeing them on the roadside receiving medical attention crying is not a pleasant image. If you love Disney, then try your luck at the marathon. If not, then try many other races. | |
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A. S. from Chicago, IL
(1/9/2007)
"Amazing: Lives up to the hype" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Recently I have run a rash of poorly planned marathons and was expecting nothing but the worst from this one. To my surprise, the WDW Marathon lived up to the hype and is a world-class event!!! If you are going to do a marathon, either your first or your 50th, you have to plan on doing this one. I ran the Goofy and both the 1/2 and the full were so well planned that it amazed me. The volunteers were more than happy to assist in anyway they could. The water stops were filled with friendly cheers and enough for everyone. The course is a great combination of the insanity of the parks and the serenity of the open road. I wish I could say more about this event; it was just great. The weather was hot and humid, but there is nothing the race directors can do about that. The only things I would change are: 1) A couple of more water stops would help, as there were points when it felt like 2 or 3 miles between them. 2) Have bagels at the end. Other than that, thanks, Disney, for an amazing experience. I will be back in 3 years. | |
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christi shineflew from savannah, ga
(1/9/2007)
"This was the most awesome event of my life!" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 As a first-time half marathon, this was the perfect place to start. Not only were the crowds encouraging to me, but my fellow runners were truly great. It was a little too hot for my liking, but everything else made up for it. I will not miss this one again! | |
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c. l. from usa
(1/9/2007)
"hot but still a great experience" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran the half and I have to say I thought there were plenty of water stops and potties. Little disapponted in the expo - the lines were awful. Overall, it was a great experience and I thought it was very well managed. | |
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J. H. from Huntsville, Alabama
(1/9/2007)
"Walt Disney World Marathon Sucks" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 In my experience, overall the Walt Disney World Marathon sucks. It's just not a race I would recommend to people. But, before I go into those reasons, I want everyone to know: 1) Most importantly, I want to thank the volunteers because they were great!!! I thought they were prepared at the water breaks and very encouraging. Also, there was great entertainment along the route and there were several high school bands and teams of cheerleaders who got up early to encourage the runners. There were several "happy" points along the run where scores of fans were waiting, waving and calling out. Many people took the time to notice the name on the number and actually call out your name. Thanks to all those people! Now, for my thoughts about why the Walt Disney World Marathon sucks: 1) It's a pricey race. 2) The shirts were awful. There should be separate shirts for the men and the women. At that price, women deserve a good shirt that fits a woman's body!!! In addition, Disney gave out a long-sleeved shirt, which I didn't wear due to the high humidity and high temperature. 3)The EXPO was nothing to hang around for (and it was too loud but everything is too loud at Disney). 4) We started and finished the race not actually in EPCOT but in the parking lot. And, like everything Disney, you thought you had reached the end but then you realized you had several more turns before the finish line. The fans were not all that friendly at the end of the race and there was very few clapping while crossing the line (everywhere else, the fans were really great, so it was surprising at the end to note the difference). 5) Very little information was provided about how to get your family and friends to see your progress around the route (FYI, I was not running for a team). 6) It would be better to give a choice to the runners - a pre-marathon ticket or post-marathon for Pleasure Island celebration. I didn't meet anyone who went to the post-celebration. 7) It was a hard race due to the high humidity and high temperature and number of people. 8) For some reason, there was no water until about mile 4 and lots of runners were surprised and angry. I heard some sniping between runners early in the morning (it was crowded, it was hot, it was humid, it was hard to see in the dark with the haze of the humidity, and the runners were cranky and thirsty). After that, the water stops were every 1 to 2 miles. 9) Due to the large number of people, there is not a lot of separation in the runners until after mile 7 or so. But, really, for the entire race, there are waves of people in front of you and waves of people in back of you. 10) Gels needed to be handed out prior to mile 17.5. I didn't see any for sale at the expo. Since Disney is an isolated community, if you don't have your own transportation, you can't get around easily to just go out and buy some. 11) Running in the parks is really fun!!! 12) Running on Disney roads and back paths is not fun. There are "hills" because you climb up the bridges. You spend most of your time on the roads rather than running in the parks. 13) Taking the buses to the "start" and then walking to the corral sucks. Taking the buses back to the hotel after the race sucks. There's a lot of walking and waiting involved from the last 4 a.m. bus until the 6 a.m. start time. There's some walking and some waiting involved after finishing the race and getting on the bus back to the hotel. | |
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L. B. from Alabama
(1/8/2007)
"Hot Race" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Well, I think I would have enjoyed the course a little more if I weren't so miserable. The heat and humidity were killers, enough to put me 10 min. over my Boston qualifying time. By the time I finished the race it was 75 degrees. I've never seen so many people walking in a marathon. Of course that's not Disney's fault. I thought it was a very well run marathon, very organized, and the course made things interesting. The Mickey medal is one of a kind and the t-shirt is awesome. I probably won't do this marathon again. I CAN'T AFFORD IT!!!!!! | |
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M. S. from Connecticut
(1/8/2007)
"A Lot of Fun - Disney Style" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Personally, this was the most "entertaining" course I have seen. Every time you enter a park there are various characters to cheer you on. The complaints that I see have to do with the stretches between the parks (which make up most of the race). But, in my view, those stretches are no different from the 26.2 miles you get at most semi-suburban or rural marathons. Yes, there are miles where the spectators dry up. Then again, they have done so at the other two races I have run. If you need cheering people all the way through, then this is not your race. Those Disney parks, though, are unique. If you think running through them with people dressed up as characters to cheer you on would be fun, well, then this course is terrific fun! Also within the parks and near the hotels there are spectators galore to offer encouragement. About the race organization, or rather lack thereof: Getting reliable information from any Disney employee who is not directly involved with the race is dicey at best. I found out the hard way that they will just make up information - or worse, go to check what they claim to be a reliable source that has inaccurate information! The course itself is generally flat and the water stops well staffed. Fortunately (given the post below) it appears I hit them before they ran out of supplies. Running out of water the day this race took place is simply inexcusable. The weather was brutal! Hot and humid. While this is not Disney's fault, their lack of a response was. I have run any number of half marathons - all with minuscule resources compared to Disney - in very hot, humid weather. Those races somehow managed to post periodic spots with hoses spraying water you could run under to cool off. Disney provided no similar relief, other than to douse yourself with water from the water stations. I have no idea how anybody could have made it through without water to drink (let alone shower yourself with) every mile or so. | |
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k. m. from Cumming, Georgia
(1/8/2007)
"Narrow start; well supported; 85 degrees was tough" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Very well organized. The first 5 miles were very narrow. Hard to set a pace. A lot of crowd support, especially from 20 - 26. My only negative was the 85-degree heat, which obviously cannot be helped. | |
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K. L. from New York
(1/8/2007)
"Fun, exciting race" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The Disney Marathon was a thrill and the Goofy Challenge lived up to its name, especially in this year's heat wave. It started in the dark, which I loved, and the sun came up about a third of the way through the race. The parking lots and back roads were boring to run through, but the theme parks were a blast! I took my time and got lots of pictures with my favorite characters, in front of the castle and with a llama and a parrot in the Animal Kingdom. The course was relatively flat and the pace was pretty slow, as many people were just out there to have fun. My main suggestion to anyone considering this race is stay on the Disney premises or rent a car because it is hard to get around Orlando without one. Otherwise this is a must-do marathon. The shirts and the medals are unique and I was happy to receive them. Thanks to Mickey, Donald and Goofy. | |
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m. s. from Chicago IL
(1/8/2007)
"Overall, a fun race." (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 It was hard to get going. There were too many walkers in wave group B. |
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