Disney Marathon Weekend: The 2019 Disney Marathon

When I got back to our hotel room the night of the Disney Half, I was pooped after the early morning race, and a busy park day. I started gathering up all of my race day needs, so I would be set to leave for the marathon the following morning without any thought.

RunDisney had issued a weather advisory, warning about high humidity levels, and warm weather the following day. I was nervous, as my asthma had been less than friendly, and I was used to training in New York winter. I knew I was trained for this distance though, and didn’t have any intent of running a PR the following day. So I pushed my worry to the back of my mind, and used my nebulizer before bed.

Mike and Jude got back to the room as I was getting ready to go to sleep, and Jennie shortly after. They all wished me luck, and I was happy that they were going to be out there cheering me on the following day - you know you have supportive friends when they are willing to get up at 4 am to chase you down while you run your way though all of Disney World!

The next morning was rare, in that my alarm actually startled me when it went off. I rolled out of bed and got ready in the bathroom area of our room, which had a big sliding door which closed off the sink area, and gave me plenty of space to have lights on without disturbing the others too much. I decided to go with a tank top from RawThreads that read “Will Run for Mickey Shaped Foods” and a pair of trusted New Balance 2-1 impact shorts. My fuel for the race would be a combination of Gu and Skratch energy chews.

I took the short walk from the hotel room to the bus, and climbed on in the usual order morning stupor. A quick ride over to the start area, then through security and into the race area. My first stop was the merchandise booth, as I always like to check out what they have left one last time while I have the chance. I didn’t pick up anything else, but they still had a variety of gear available.

After, I headed over towards the end of the family reunion area, where the Joyful Miles bloggers were having a pre-race photo meetup, and I plopped myself down to go though my race bag and sort out what I would be checking and keeping. I loaded up my SPI belt with fuel, and attached a pair of Goodr sunglasses in their case to the belt, knowing I would want them once the sun came up. Once Jackie and Laura arrived to the meetup location, we all stopped to pose for a quick photo before going our separate ways into our race corrals.

My one snafu of race morning? I didn’t manage to use the bathroom before starting, which made me a little more nervous for the miles ahead. But I reminded myself that I wasn’t running with a time goal, and I would just stop along the way if necessary.

My friends – Mike, Jennie and Jude, were planning to chase me around Disney as I ran the marathon course, so they were up not too long after me and on their way to the start line, to cheer me on from beginning to end. They were planning to spot me a total of 5 times – at the start, at the ticket and transportation center, at the Polynesian, in the animal kingdom parking lot, and at the finish line. In my opinion, it was a race day for them as much as it was one for me, as they would be fighting crowds and traffic to find me at each location…. Have I mentioned how much I love my friends?

It was about a mile walk to the corrals from the start area, and there were volunteers and security stationed at the entrance to make sure everyone heading to the corrals was wearing a race bib. Once I got into my race corral – I was placed in “C” for the goofy challenge, I found some space to stretch and just tried to take it all in, reminding myself it would all be over before I knew it. The multiple humidity warnings that had been issued made me nervous, but my plan was to set my watch to the screen that shows the time of day, not worry about the pace, and stop for whatever characters tickled my fancy along the way.

As 5:30 A.M. approached the announcers prepared for the start of the race, with the national anthem being sang out over the runners. I took a Gu, discarded my heat sheet, and shuffled towards the start line as I waited for my corral to be released, and at just before 5:40 it was our turn to get moving. Just after the start line, I hung to the left side of runners, with my phone’s flashlight on, looking for my cheer squad. Once again the light allowed us to spot each other and I could see them cheering me on as I began my 5th marathon. The first mile of highway was a bit crowded as everyone tried to settle in, but mile marker one featured sorcerer mickey, perhaps giving us all a little magic to get through the race ahead. I wanted to get through as many miles as possible before the sun was up, hoping that the air would stay breathable for as long as possible. Despite the dark sky, I could feel the humidity pressing down on my body already.

In the second mile I saw long character lines – first for captain hook with a pirate ship, and then for Darkwing Duck and Launchpad Mcquack with a plane. Both cool photo stops, but the long line deterred me, as I didn’t want to stand around for so long that early I the race. So onward I went, my 90s kid heart a little disappointed I didn’t stick around to meet Darkwing duck.

Mile marker two had Rapunzel and Flynn on it, and we continued along the highway. The monorail could be seen to our right, making resort rounds. As they zipped by, I wondered if one of them contained my friends. We once again ran under the magic kingdom sign, and I took a moment to stop for my traditional selfie – something I have done for every race that goes under it, since my first Princess Half. Mile three took us through the parking lot at the ticket and transportation center, and they had a few characters out along the way – first Gamora and and Skylord from guardians of the galaxy, then Nick and Judy from Zootopia. I was excited to get to the ticket and transportation center to find my cheer squad, so I once again ran by the characters.

We transitioned from the dark parking lot into the lit up ticket and transportation center, and I looked around, hoping to spot Mike, Jude and Jennie. Despite being alert, I managed to run right by them – but I turned around and ran right to them once I heard Mike shouting. I pulled Mike and Jennie each into big hugs, and Jude and I mimed an air hug as he was a little further back in the crowd. Just the encouragement I needed to keep me moving forward. I passed mile marker 4, and then ran under the bridge – where they had a light projecting the “RunDisney” logo, and then passed by the contemporary, went into the Magic Kingdom bus loop. Just before entering through the main gates to magic kingdom, mile marker 5 was standing tall – how was I already five miles into this race?!

They had big inflatable light up pillars lining the entrance into magic kingdom to ensure that there was enough light, and when I entered the park there were spectators lining main street, as always. The sun was not yet up, so the Kingdom was lit up with beautiful lights – one of my favorite sights to see. At the end of Main Street was the castle, in all its glory, still donning its holiday lights as we ran towards it. Before we were to run through it, we had to make our way around the park.

The first stop was tomorrow land, where Buzz Lightyear was out greeting the runners. We curved through Tomorrowland, passed the Tomorrowland speedway, and just outside of Alice’s teacups were tweedled-dee and tweedle-dum, where my love of wonderland got me to pull over for the first time that day, and pose for a picture. I mean, I wanted to spend as much time as possible in magic kingdom anyway.

I continued around the park, and saw Donald outside of the circus, in his snake charmer outfit, with a line of runners waiting to meet him. Then we went through new fantasy land, where we ran by Ariel and Belle’s castles, before heading to the big castle – Cinderella’s. Just before the carousel they had one of the “Thugs” from Rapunzel dressed up as a mime, who can usually be spotted in the festival of fantasy parade, out, and I pulled over and put on my best mime pose to grab a photo. Just before the castle the Fairy Godmother was out, but I ran straight through, and then pulled over for the obligatory castle photo. I only stopped at one photographer, but here is a tip that I heard after the race, in the podcast that Joyful Miles put out – if the castle photo is the BIG one for you, wait in line for each photographer that they have stationed there, to ensure you get a good one.

From there we were routed through liberty square and into frontier land. Jesse and Woody were out, and if memory serves correct, goofy was there as well. We passed mile 6 just before heading backstage. It was still dark as I made my way out of magic kingdom, and back on to the highway. As always, it was a bit crowded on that area of the course, but I wasn’t in a rush, so I didn’t try to weave through runners. Marker 7 was just before the grand Floridian, where the penguins from Mary Poppins were out, and then on the opposite side of the road was a gathering of grooms, equipped with headsets to talk to runners as they went by. The Disney wedding pavilion is at the grand Floridian, so it is typical for either Brides, grooms, or bridesmaids to be out during RunDisney events.

As I ran by the Polynesian I again spotted my cheer squad, and waved to them across the street – at this point, they were not letting spectators line the road right next to the runners, and they were instead stuck on the other side, at a slight distance.

The next few miles were all highway between Magic Kingdom and animal kingdom, and included a long out and back stretch that I didn’t particularly enjoy. Some of the props set up on the side of the road included retired ride vehicles, such as a nautilus and the ride car from snow white’s scary adventures, and a giant orange bird figure. Just after mile 8 they had a few members of the now closed adventurers club out, and putting on a little show to entertain us as we ran by. The sun was officially up as I passed mile marker 11, but at least it had offered a pretty sunrise along the way.

We ran through the backstage area of animal kingdom before entering the park, seeing greenhouses and topiaries. Clarabelle and Horace were posing near Mickey and Minnie topiaries, making for a cute photo op. Before entering the park we passed mile marker 12, and they had bananas at the next aid station. Just before entering the park they had a mini petting zoo, featuring a giant rabbit, a hawk, and a snake, and some of the animals even had race bibs on.

The cast of the lion king show were along the road, up on their stilts as well, and Rafikki was near by – a character that I did stop for, as I love the lion king. Just after entering the park another familiar face from the lion king was out – Timon! Again, I stopped for a photo, I just couldn’t resist. Since I was in the park and there were real bathrooms, I decided to make a pit stop just before mile 13. I can deal with porter potties, but when real bathrooms are an option, they win out.

Mile marker 13 featured characters from the jungle book, and just after a ballerina swan from fantasia was out with no line, so I popped in for a quick photo. It was a character I had never seen out before, and I always love seeing rare characters. The sun was shining over Everest, and even though the park was not quite open there was a queue of runners waiting to get on the ride mid-race. I thought about joining them, but since I sometimes wind up with motion sickness from that ride, I decided it was better to skip it this time. The course ran through dino-rama, and then we were headed into the parking lot. My friends were still on the bus waiting to arrive, so I crossed my fingers that I would get to see them. The parking lot contained mile marker 14, which meant I was officially more than half-way through this race.

The entrance area to animal kingdom was crowded, with a mix of spectators and people trying to get into the park for opening. I collected some candy from strangers as I ran by, and with a stroke of luck, spotted my people! They had just gotten off of the bus and made it to the spectator area in time for me to run by, yay!

There was a marching band in the parking lot playing as we went by, and at the parking lot exit the haunted mansion grave diggers were set up with tombstones and shovels, and I jumped in line to get a photo. I had taken the same photo the first time I ran the Disney marathon, and was excited to have the opportunity to continue the tradition.

At this point, my friends had to head back to the hotel to secure all of our stuff for check out – we were flying home that night! Checkout times at Disney are typically 11 am, and while I had requested a late check out, they had not been able to approve it, so they had to go and move all of our stuff into daily storage at the resort, and I would be stuck showering at the pool facilities post-race if I didn’t make it back before 11 – and I knew that it was going to be tight timing. Jennie decided to stop at the front desk and ask one more time if there was any way they could accommodate a late check out…. And by some miracle they were able to make it happen! I didn’t get this news until I was at about mile 21, but I sighed a deep sigh of relief when I found out I would have a bed until 1 pm.

The next few miles were all highway, and I was relieved that I had brought sunglasses with me. Now that the sun was up, it was bright out, and the humidity that they had warned us about was in full swing. I wasn’t pushing it too hard with my pace and had no idea what any of my mile splits were, but I felt good, and hoped that I would continue to feel good for the rest of the race.

We entered ESPN for some loops just before mile 18, and they handed us nice cool sponges. Mile marker 18 had Lilo and Stitch on it, and I stopped to take a selfie to send Mike, since they are his favorite characters – and you know, since I was trying to convince him to do Dopey with me in 2020. We weaved our way through ESPN, and there were lots of characters out. I stopped for a photo with Minnie before we ran around the track, spotted goofy while on the track, but kept going as he had a decent queue, and then after the track stopped for a photo with Donald and Mickey. They gave us bananas again just before mile 19, and Sadness and Joy were set up just before the baseball diamond. I debated stopping as I ran by them, and wound up being a little remorseful that I didn’t strike a sad pose with them, lamenting the fact that the race was coming to a close.

We left ESPN, and I could feel my right IT band tightening up. This was a huge issue for me during the wineglass marathon, but I was determined not to be discouraged by it. At the next first aid station I stopped and put some bio freeze on it, and it instantly felt so much better. Still tight, but not painful. Throughout the rest of the race, I stopped and reapplied bio freeze any time it was available. I passed by mile markers 20 and 21 on the highway, and they had Pluto out in a construction zone, digging up bones. We ran over the old entrance to Hollywood studios, and got a glimpse of the ‘Galaxy’s Edge’ construction in the distance.

Then we entered Hollywood Studios through a back entrance, near where fantasmic happens, and they had a candy station! In previous rundisney events they have one type of M&Ms, but this time there was a whole selection of all different varieties of candy. I grabbed a bag of caramel M&Ms and some skittles, and stowed them away in my race belt. Just before we ran by the tower of terror, I spotted Mr and Mrs Incredible, and hopped on line for a photo. Jennie texted me that they were in an uber on the way to the finish, and asked me how I was feeling. I posed for my photo, and sent it to her, unable to resist the caption of “I’m feeling INCREDIBLE!”

We ran through a small portion of Hollywood studios, passed the tower of terror, and then headed towards the main entrance. The park was open at that point, and they had the runners sectioned to one area of the sidewalk. We left through the main entrance, and ran next to the gondola construction, headed towards the boardwalk resort area, which would take us into the final stretch in epcot.

The heat and humidity hadn’t bothered me thus far into the race, but I felt it to an uncomfortable level in the last mile of the race. Combined with the fatigue I was feeling with the cumulative miles, I was ready to cross that finish line! We left the boardwalk and ran by the gondola construction near epcot, and then entered the world showcase. It would be one last quick trip around the world, and then the marathon would be complete.

I wound up stopping for two characters along the way, Alice and Belle, who were in England and France, respectively. Each country had cast members out and cheering, and as I made my way into Mexico, I saw crowds of people around the margarita stand – runners getting a finish line drink! I considered stopping, as I thought it would be a fun finish line photo, but I didn’t have a photo ID on me so decided not to wait on line and risk being turned down (I have had issues in the past with cast members telling me I am too young even when I do have my ID, and I just didn’t have the energy for it).

I texted my cheer squad, and it was going to be a close call on them making it to the finish line – their uber from the hotel had gotten caught in traffic on the way to Epcot. When I left world showcase and approached spaceship earth, I stopped for one last photo. Then it was just a matter of running past the gospel choir, seeing mile marker 26, and turning the corner towards the finish line.

I ran through the finish, and was simply overjoyed. I felt strong, I felt accomplished, and I loved the experience I had just had. I was handed a medal and an ear hat by a volunteer, collected my poweraide and water, then headed towards the challenge tent, where I was awarded my goofy challenge medal, for completing the half marathon and the full marathon in one weekend. I made my way towards the bag check, got my stuff, and plopped down in the epcot parking lot. A few minutes after I sat down Jude, Jennie and Mike arrived, and while they had missed the finish line, they were excited for me to have finished the race. We all headed for the busses, Jennie and I heading back to the hotel to pack up, and Mike and Jude heading into Disney springs to meet up with Jude’s sister.

Jennie and I would celebrate with a drink at the Wave – the seven seas lagoon fish bowl, and then all met at chef Mickey’s for brunch. It may have been my slowest marathon to date (5:03:02), but I wouldn’t trade a minute of that time in exchange for the race experience that I had. You may remember back in September that all I wanted out of the wineglass marathon was to find my love for marathons again…. well, the 2019 Disney Marathon helped me do just that.

Mardi Gras Run to the Great South Bay Brewery

Another week, another race recap, this time a local one: The Mardi Gras Run to the Great south bay brewery. This race is put on by the greater long island running club, and is marketed as a fast, flat race with an awesome after party.

Was the after party fun? Yes. Would I call the course flat? Not so much.

Mike, Sophie, Carson and I all decided to sign up for this race, and Emily agreed to come along to cheer us on, and drink my share of beer at the after party - a big perk of this race is that it includes a post race party that has plenty of beer to go around, all of which is brewed locally. Personally, I don’t like beer, but I do enjoy a good after party, and was happy to DD this one so that my friends could enjoy the party.

Emily, Sophie and I decided to pick up the race bibs the night before the race, so that we could sleep in a little later on race morning, and make sure we got our shirts in the sizes we wanted. We headed to the brewery in the afternoon to grab our bibs, and they were handing out a free drink ticket when you got your race supplies, so we stopped and had a drink as well. They had cider on tap that night in addition to all of their beers, so I was happy to get at least one drink out of this race! The bib pickup was located in a back room, which would serve as the VIP race area the following day, and the room was pretty empty when we got there. They allowed us to pick up Mike and Carson’s race supplies as well, which I always appreciate being allowed. As a bonus, there were GLIRC (Greater Long Island Running Club) calenders available, which list all of our local races, so I grabbed one of those to hang in my cube at work.

The brewery had a nice open room for its patrons, complete with ping pong, live music, and colorful artwork on the walls. We managed to find seating in what appeared to be old airline chairs, and enjoyed our drinks and chatted for awhile before heading home to prepare for the following day’s race. It turned out to be a good decision on our part to pick up the bibs early, as they ran out of shirts (and medals too!).

Come race morning I made the rounds to pick up my friends, other than Carson, who was meeting us at the Brewery, since she was coming in from Brooklyn. It was a quick ride over, and the race had people out directing traffic, so it was easy to find parking. We got there about 45 minutes before start time, and had no issue with parking.  

We got all of our race gear together, and headed into the brewery to wait until start time. It was a cold morning, so it was very nice to not have to wait outside. We walked out just before they sang the national anthem, and all crossed the start line together.  

The first mile of the race was crowded, so the four of us wound up weaving a little. We all run pretty close paces, and no one was looking to intensely race, so we figured we would stick together as much as possible. I was having a hard time getting into a groove, so I was glad to have company. 

The course was well manned, with volunteers stationed frequently to send runners in the right direction. Unfortunately there was some road kill in the middle of the course that we had to run by not once but twice, and I’m not really sure why an effort wasn’t made to remove it prior to race start.  

Around mile three we were all feeling the miles in our shins and quads, and while there weren’t any major climbs during the race, there were slight, consistent uphills that wore on our legs. I made a mental note to check the elevation profile on my garmin later that day.  

There were two official water stops, and a third unofficial one, where someone was hanging out water bottles to runners as they went by. There was also a porter potty at about the half way point, but other than that there were no restrooms on the course.  

We had consistently been running between 10-10:30 miles, but when we hit mile 6 and only one mile remained ahead of us, Carson decided to pick up the pace, and being the competitive individual I am, I of course obliged. We raced back and forth over the last mile, but as we approached the finish line we were loosing Mike and Sophie, and I really wanted to finish with them, and we called it a truce so we could try to get a nice finishers photo.... a truce that did not last, when Carson saw the finish line and started sprinting. I had taken the whole race easy, so for me it wasn’t worth sprinting at the end, as I valued finishing with my friends above a quick 0.1 mile sprint. 

We crossed the finish line and were handed our medals- a luxury that not all finishers got that day, as the race actually ran out before everyone had completed the run. They assured runners that they would be mailing out medals to anyone that did not receive one, and cited high “day of” race registration as being the cause of the shortage.  

We headed over to the car to change out of our sweaty clothes and into our race shirts, and then went into the brewery to enjoy the after party. They had a huge space set up, with several types of beer and lots of food to go around. They had subs, muffins, bagels, packaged waffles, and popcorn, as well as water and sodas. It was a bit crouded to get to the food, but once we had our spoils we all enjoyed our meal, and my friends enjoyed their drinks.  

We stayed until the party ended, dancing to the live band and relaxing post race.  

All in all, it was a fun event, and I would recommend checking it out if you’re local to Long Island, or if you’re really into after parties that have all you can drink beer.  

Disney Marathon Weekend: The Half Marathon

This post is part two of my recap of the 2019 Walt Disney World Marathon weekend, for which I headed to Florida with my friends Mike, Jennie, and Jude. To read part one of the recap, which is about our first day in the parks and the race expo, click here.

Like every RunDisney event, the 2019 Half Marathon started with an early morning. A 5:30 a.m. race start meant a 3 a.m. alarm, and as much as I love RunDisney, I certainly do not love the early mornings that they require. But they are a necessary evil, made worth it by the fun that is to be had. We planned to be on the bus by 3:30, when the race guide suggested runners be on their way by.

We had set our outfits and race bags up the night before, so it was thought free preparations in morning, that way we wouldn’t forget any race day essentials. We did the best we could to get ready quietly (and if you know me, you KNOW this is not a skill I possess), and were out the door about 15 minutes before the 3:30 cutoff. It was a little chilly the morning of the race, but nothing compared to the freezing temperatures that runners dealt with during the 2017 marathon weekend. Mike brought along an old sweatshirt as a throwaway later, and I had a heat sheet stored in the bag I was planning to check, for when I had to remove my jacket.

It was a quick walk to the bus stop, and lucky for us we were able to get right onto the bus without a wait. I dozed in my seat as the bus took us to the Epcot parking lot, where we would start our 13.1 mile journey.

As is standard at any RunDisney event, there was a sea of runners dressed up as various Disney characters as we stepped off the bus, and we joined the masses as they made their way towards the start area. Walking through the parking lot we got a quick peek at spaceship earth, illuminated in the pre-dawn hours, and a reminder of the sight we would see just before the finish line. Both Mike and I had bags that we were planning to check, so we had to wait to have them scanned by security before we could enter the area, but the very populated line moved along quickly. When we got into the race staging area, we headed towards the DJ setup, and found a spot behind the bleachers to plop ourselves while we ate our breakfast. We had picked up the runner boxes that all star movies was selling, so we had bagels to eat from there, and I had brought along a Kind Breakfast Bar as well. Once we were finished eating, I organized the stuff in my bag into two piles - the stuff that I would need during the race, and the stuff that I was going to check during the race. I threw my jacket into the check bag, and although it wasn’t too cold, opted to bring the heat sheet I had packed into the corral with me.

We headed towards the bag check, and the green army man was stationed in front of the bag check trucks to encourage the runners to start moving towards their corrals. In previous years, bag check was in large white tents, but this time they had Fed-Ex trucks in place to collect our belongings. Mike and I had to split up, since our last names were assigned to different trucks, but were quickly reunited on the other side. We decided to make a porter potty stop before we headed to the corrals, and it was very dark in those toilets! Since it was still dark out, there was no sun to illuminate into the porter potties, and the parking lot light poles weren’t quite illuminating things enough.

Next step was to make our way into the corrals, and it was about a mile walk to get there. They had a DJ along the way, and photo pass photographers to take photos for anyone that wanted to stop and pose. We still had some time before the race when we got to the corral, so we found a spot that wasn’t too close to the speakers, and started stretching while we waited. Mike found a highschool friend in the same corral to us, and had a quick reunion as we waited. We made sure to each take a Gu before we got going, and I took a precautionary inhaler puff. Soon enough the announcers had Donald on the stage, and the countdown was on to the start time. Since we were in corral D, we got to watch a few sets of fireworks go off as the corrals ahead of us got moving.

At last, it was our turn to start, and with a Disney amount of excitement and fanfare, we crossed the start line as fireworks went off. Jennie and Jude were our official cheer squad for the day, and shortly after we had left for the start area, they got up and made their way to the start line, which would be the first of their four planned cheer spots. We texted them as we started, and Mike had the bright idea to shine his cell phone flash towards the spectators, who were across the street from the runners, so they would be able to spot us, and when we saw two people jumping up and down with excitement, we knew they had spotted us. As we ran towards magic kingdom, they hopped on a monorail to head towards the ticket and transportation center.

For me, the highlight of the first leg of the run, which consists of the highway between the start and magic kingdom, is getting to run under the Magic Kingdom entrance sign. There is just something magical about getting up close and personal to a sign that normally you only get to drive under, especially in the dark, it just looks magical!

There were a few characters on the highway as we made our way towards Magic Kingdom, including Lightening McQueen and Mater, some leading villains - the Evil Queen, Maleficent, and the Queen of hearts, and Wreck it Ralph with Vanellope. They also had a DJ, and a few High School bands playing to keep us entertained along the way. Soon enough we had reached the ticket and transportation center, where Jennie and Jude were waiting to cheer us on. We managed to spot them quick enough, and ran in for quick hugs before we were on our way. They were planning to walk over to the Polynesian, while we made our way into the Magic Kingdom. The next time we saw them we would be more than half way through our journey!

The bus stops were all lit up as we ran through the station, and they had big blow up lights set up to lead us into the Magic Kingdom through the main entrance. We had managed to make it to the park before the sun came up, so when we got to main street we could see the castle beautifully lit up in the distance, still covered in its holiday lights. Mike played to the cheering spectators that lined the road, interacting with their signs and even hitting a power up boost that one held and zooming off.

We then entered tomorrow land, where they had Mike with Sully and a Buzz Lightyear character stop. We decided not to get photos, and kept moving instead. The white rabbit was out neat the tea cups, and the evil step sisters held their usual spot just before the castle. We ran through the castle, and then stopped to get our photo taken in front - and to our dismay, that castle photo never did make its way into our race photos.

From there the course took us though liberty square and into frontier land, where we made a pit stop to get a photo with Woody and Bullseye, since they are Jude’s favorite characters, and we wanted to get a photo taken to show him. Then as quickly as it had begun, our time in Magic Kingdom came to an end, as we left the park through a back stage exit, and got to run by some festival of fantasy parade floats on our way out.

The park exit lead us to cone alley, a stretch of highway known for squeezing runners into a more narrow than preferred run way. At one point Mike and I both got a chill as the air froze momentarily, a event that is still a mystery to both of us. We sang along to the disney and pop songs that they had playing, as the sun finally began to climb into the sky.

As we got to the resorts that are nearby, they had Chip and Dale out with Clarice, and a group of Grooms near the grand Floridian. Just after mile 7 we approached the Polynesian, and spotted our cheer squad once more. We couldn’t believe how fast the miles were slipping by. For our second strech of highway, we passed by Mr. Incredible, and then after passing mile marker 9, which featured a photo of Anna and Elsa and played let it go, Mike serenaded me with his own rendition of Let it Go.

Mile 10 had a highway ramp that the green army man was positioned on, and as we ran by he shouted to Mike - “Keep going Lilo, you have me in stitches!” and Mike was very happy that he had recognized his costume. In what felt like the blink of an eye, we were entering Epcot, and stopped for a photo with Doug, Carl, and Russell from “Up” as we headed in. There was a DJ playing as we entered the park near the imagination pavilion, running by Journey into the Imagination, then onto Space Ship earth. Just a few more turns, and less than a half mile, and our race would be finished.

They had a gospel choir out singing as we approached mile 13, which of course featured Donald Duck, and then we turned the corner and could see our destination: The finish line! We crossed it with joy, and collected our metals - Mike was officially a half marathoner. We walked through the finish line chute, collecting cooling towels, power-aide, and of course, the coveted runDisney snack box.

After getting our finishers photos and collecting our bags, we found Jude and Jennie in the parking lot - they had made it there in time to watch us cross the finish line, even though Mike and I had not successfully spotted them as we ran through.

After hanging out in the Epcot parking lot for a few minutes, we headed into the park to get on a few rides, since Epcot was just opening for the day, and the lines would be relatively short. We managed to get on the Frozen ride, and soarin, then grabbed breakfast before hitting a few more rides. We had fastpasses in Hollywood Studios in the afternoon, so eventually we boarded the bus that would take us back to the resort for showers and naps, and after resting up for a bit, made our way into Hollywood Studios for another day of fun, and to celebrate completing the race.

After we had finished off all of our fastpasses I decided to head back to the room before everyone else, as I was pooped from a busy day, and had a big day ahead of me - my 5th marathon, and day 2 of the Goofy Challenge!

2019 NYRR 9+1: The Gridiron 4 miler

As we begin 2019 I start, for the third time, the process of qualifying for the NYC marathon. While I qualified in 2017, I didn’t run the race in 2018 as I wound up getting married the week before, and in 2018 I completed my nine races, but ultimately decided not to fulfill my volunteer obligation, as I knew that my cousin Jen would be getting married race weekend for the 2019 marathon, and in Georgia, so there was no way I would get to NY in time to run it. But so far, things are looking good for 2020!

If you’re not from New York, you may be wondering what the heck I am talking about - let me give you the run down. If you’re a runner, you have probably heard of the NYC marathon, which happens the first weekend of November every fall. It is a tough race to get into, as you can’t register for it unless you have time qualified, won a race lotto, raised a lot of money for charity, or participated in the 9+1 program. The New York Road Runners, the race company that hosts the NYC Marathon, gives runners an option to earn guaranteed entry by running in 9 events, and volunteering at one event. The spot you earn is non-complimentary, so you still have to pay registration fees, but you are guaranteed the opportunity to register.

This year both Sophie and Mike have agreed to my marathon madness, and will be running the weekly races with me throughout the course of the year - Kasey, just think of all the blog posts that you won’t be in if you don’t run with us, are you sure marathon FOMO isn’t a thing?

I picked up Sophie, and her first question was “Are we running up the hill in central park? Your dad warned me about it.” I had maybe neglected mentioning the hills of central park to Sophie, who had never before run there. But lucky for her, today’s race excluded Harlem hill, so she got to avoid the worst of the hills this time.

For this week’s race, I linked up with Sami and Nicole from the tri team to carpool. I had offered to drive, but when Sophie and I got to Sami’s house Nicole was ready to take us as passengers, and I wasn’t about to complain about getting a ride into the city. It was an easy ride into Manhattan - you usually don’t hit too much traffic driving in from Long Island on Sunday mornings. We had to do a few laps of the area before we eventually found parking, but we prevailed in the battle against parking garages and found a spot on the street. It took us about 10 minutes to walk to race day central, where Sophie, Sami and I picked up our bibs, and then Sami and I checked bags before the race started.

We debated getting in some mileage before the run, but ultimately wound up getting in about a 1/4 mile before happening upon the football toss that they do for the superbowl, and Nicole to try a throw since the womens line was short. We then made our way to the corrals, which were set to collapse 10 minutes before the race started. It was only a 4 mile run, so we didn’t have to bother with gels today, so it was just a quick stretch and then we were on our way. Sophie and I stuck together, while Nicole and Sami zoomed off, as they had paces they wanted to hit during the run.

After a relatively flat start, we turned the second corner and faced the first of the three sisters - a hill formation consisting of three hills that are less than friendly, and which stayed with us as we ticked off the first and second mile. We did a drive by water stop in the second mile, and I had to peel off one of my layers - it was just too warm. As usual, I had seen a temperature in the 30s and panicked, putting on an underarmor cold gear shirt that I was regretting by the half way point.

This was a superbowl themed race, so during the second mile runners had to pick a lane - depending on which team they wanted to win. Sophie, being from New England, went for the patriots as the winner. I, not caring about football but lover of harry potter, went against the patriots, since Dan Radcliffe had spoken out as being against them in the week leading up to the race.

We had a short hill reprieve as we made our way around the south side of the park, but soon enough the steepest hill we would face that day was upon us - Cat Hill. By the time we were over it, we had about a mile left in the race, and I was able to truthfully tell Sophie that the hills were over, aside from the slight uphill at the finish. With no hills left I was able to relax my breathing, and sail right to the finish line. We completed the race in 37:39, an average pace of 9:18 min/mi.

We collected our bagel and apple, grabbed our checked bags, and changed out of our running clothes that were wet with sweat. As we were doing this, my friend Carson found us, and we all chatted as we stopped to grab our race shirts and made our way out of central park and to the car.

All in all it was a good day for a race, that went by quickly thanks to good company. My next NYRR race? The United Airlines NYC Half Marathon.

Video Recap: Wine and Dine Half Marathon

Race Recap: RunDisney Wine and Dine 10k

As is tradition for runDisney events, my alarm went off just a little too early on race morning, but at least I had managed to get a solid 5-ish hours of sleep. I had assembled my running supplies the night before, so my roctane powder was already all mixed up into some water and my outfit was folded up in the bathroom, that way I could get up and get dressed without waking up Dennis - we were staying in the beach club, and our hotel room was setup so that the bathroom was around the corner from the bed, so even with me scuttling about to get ready, he didn’t seem to wake up. And if you know me, you know this is nothing short of a miracle, because try as I might I am just not a quiet person when I get ready. 

My alarm went off at 3:25, and I was out the door by 3:40. I met another runner on my way down to the bus, who introduced himself as Jonathan, and we chatted as we walked to the bus and waited. He told me about his podcast, about a mouse, and it was nice to have someone to chat with as we rode the bus to the start area. 

I was flying solo when I got to the start area, and wandered around to check out the characters that were out for meet and greets (lumiere, chef Mickey and goofy), and listened to the DJ for a few before heading towards the corral. 

Weather was mild on race morning, but being a chicken I had pulled on my long sleeve race shirt and rain coat because I was cold when I woke up- but I didn’t intend to run in these things, so I had to give them up when I checked my bag. Luckily I had saved the heat sheet that they gave me at the wineglass marathon, so I pulled that on and headed to the corrals, armed with my muffin and other assorted pre-race fuels. I considered a porter potty stop on the way, but ultimately I just found a spot to sit in the corral, hoping I wouldn’t later regret that choice. 

As I sat in the corral I thought about what I wanted out of this 10k. In the back of my mind I thought about really racing it - if I managed to PR it was possible that I could place in my age group, but it would be a stretch, as I really wasn’t in shape to PR at this point- my workouts had been lacking in October because of the craziness that was getting married. So I left my long term goal of placing in my age group at a rundisney race in my back pocket, and figured I would just play it by ear, and aim to have a good time on course. A cop out, perhaps. But I was worried that I would pass up a fun RunDisney experience for a PR that may not come. 

Eventually I did decide to go pee before the race, and of course as I headed back into the corral I saw they had started collapsing the corral and sending runners towards the start line. Timing, not my strong point. 

As the race started I struggled to hit a good pace, as the start line was crowded with runners and walkers. I’m all for running your own race, but it was a little bit frustrating that there were walked mixed into the first wave of corral A, which, in theory, should consist mostly of people who are running. I’m not trying to pace shame anyone- it was just frustrating to have to weave so much just to be able to keep running. 

The first mile of the race was all highway, with the big attraction being a screen attached to a overpass, playing clips of monsters inc. I hit the first mile in 8:09, feeling strong now that the crowd was thinning out a bit. 

In mile two there were some character stops- first lightning McQueen and to-Mater and then captain jack sparrow with his pirate ship. I’m not a huge fan of either of these, so I opted to run by these stops. The first water station was also in mile two. Pace for mile 2 was 8:18, and I was still feeling good. 

There were more “hills” than I’m accustomed to in Florida races, and they slowed me down a bit in mile three, with highway ramps becoming a part of the race. During mile three a green army man cheered us up the on ramp, commending us for our pace and encouraging us to keep it up- I lost a little time on this mile regardless, which came in at an 8:26. 

At this point, I knew we were approaching Epcot, and I stowed my phone in my pocket. So forgive me if I mess up some of the location details as we go on, as I don’t have any photos to reference. 

Mile 4 brought us backstage, and into Epcot through future world. Just before entering the park chip and dale were hanging out with a DJ and there was no line for photos..... I couldn’t resist. I ran in and got a quick picture before heading onward. We got our first glimpse of spaceship earth just before entering the park, which was alive with music, as they had a mix of pump up and Disney music playing through out Epcot. From future world we headed into world showcase, and then around England we headed backstage and got an up-close look at the gondola construction. 8:31, not too shabby. 

We hit mile 5 right as we headed back into Epcot, and right around there Oswald was hanging out in front of a tiny barn, again with no line! So I hopped off course for another character photo, and then began my last lap around world showcase before the finish line. There were plenty of photographers around world showcase, which was all lit up with lights on the buildings. When I spotted Jimminy cricket in one of the countries, I stopped for another quick photo before beginning my descent to the finish line. With two character stops, mile 6 came in at 8:36, and dad texted me asking if I had finished the race yet just before the mile marker. 

The last 0.2 miles of the course took me through the end of future world, and I attempted a jump shot before leaving the parks- we will find out soon enough if I was successful! The photographer said something to me as I ran by, but honestly I have no idea what he said. (good news- he got the shot!)

Just before rounding the corner to the finish line we went by a drum line, and then things went downhill fast- I let my competitive nature get the best of me. Just as we went by the last fence and the finish line came into sight, a runner that had been on my tail for the last mile or so shouted to me - “come on, don’t let me beat you now!”

A phrase which is basically my kryptonite. 

As he ramped up his speed trying to pass me, I picked mine up as well. He goaded me more, rooting me on to push for the finish line - and for the record, I in no way see this as a bad thing! I love a little friendly competition, and have raced to more than one finish line in the past. 

As we pushed each other to go faster, he started to pass me, and called out for me to help going, to which I responded, “if I puke I’m blaming you!” More jokingly than anything else. The finish line was less than 200m away, what could go wrong in that distance? 

And I was fine.... until I wasn’t. Suddenly my stomach seized, and I had to ease off the pace as a sudden wave of nausea hit me, and I started gagging. The finish line grew closer, it was less than 100m to go.... but I had to pull to the side of the race to puke. So sorry to anyone whose finish line photos may have me puking in the background, my bad. It was not something that I thought was in the realm of possibility for this race. 

But after a minute or so I was able to compose myself, and get over the finish line, with a time of 54:18- about three minutes slower than my PR, but I was pretty pleased with it. 

I made my way through the finish like chute, collecting my medal, poweraide, water, and the famous rundisney snack boxes, then grabbed the bag I had checked earlier that morning. I always pack a drawstring backpack into my checked bag so that it is easier to carry everything after the race. 

Once I had all my stuff together, I got a few character photos- Sebastian, Lumiere, and chefs Donald and goofy- before heading to the bus which would take me back to the beach club resort. 

It was a good morning all in all, and after a quick shower I proceeded to sleep for another two hours before heading to magic kingdom for a day of fastpasses and making Dennis take pictures of me with my new medal. It was a great day in the parks, made even better by family! That night I met up with a bunch of my cousins for dinner, who happened to have an overlapping vacation. We grabbed food at the brewery that is on the boardwalk, and it was hard to resist the margaritas - but I somehow managed, knowing that I had another early morning ahead of me.

Race Recap: RunDisney Wine and Dine Expo

Did I manage to finagle our honeymoon being the same dates as a rundisney weekend? You know it! It truly wasn’t intentional as well, we just headed out for a week after our wedding, and the first weekend of November is the same weekend as Disney’s wine and dine half marathon weekend. 

Now, everyone on planet earth (basically) told me that I shouldn’t run a marathon the week after my wedding- which is why I didn’t register for the NYC marathon this year. But no one said a thing about half marathons! Or rundisney challenges for that matter.... so when registration opened up, I registered for the two course challenge- a 10k on Saturday morning, and a half marathon on Sunday morning. RunDisney races are always very early, so Den would even be able to sleep through the whole run. So, totally fair game in my book. 

I didn’t need to go to the race expo Thursday, but I was excited to check out all of the RunDisney excitement - so we planned to go Thursday afternoon, to avoid the opening crowds but get there before the locals got out of work that day.

We headed out to the bus stop at the beach club resort just after 2 pm, and after waiting for about 20 minutes, an expo bus pulled up..... and promptly left without stopping. Come on! After speaking with another runner who was waiting for the bus, who told us the last bus did the exact same thing 30 minutes before this bus, I headed into the resort and spoke to the front desk, who started to call the bus operators to see what was up. We had fastpasses that evening I’m Hollywood Studios that we didn’t want to miss, and she offered to call us a complimentary taxi to take us to the expo, so we wouldn’t loose any more time. 

So a few minutes later, we were in a cab and on our way. When we arrived at the ESPN wide world of sports, our first stop was the arena, where the official rundisney merchandise was housed, as well as the bibs. I headed into the merch area first, as I had read online that things were already selling out - apparently there was an extremely limited number of pins made for this weekend, and I wanted to make sure I got one for my backpack. By the time we arrived, all of the medal replica ones were already sold out, but I was at least able to grab the logo pin and an “I did it” pin for the challenge. 

I picked up an assortment of merch other than pins- a hat, a travel mug, a wineglass, a jacket, a magnet, a half marathon “I did it shirt,” and a shirt for den that reads “I support my wife’s runDisney obsession.” What can I say, I’m milking this newlywed thing. 

I don’t normally buy the “I did it” shirts that rundisney sells, but I have one from this weekend two years ago, and somehow managed to stain it recently, so I wanted a replacement. Plus, this year they were tech shirts, rather than cotton shirts, so it’s something I can actually run in. 

When we went to check out Den surprised me and took care of all my purchases for me, as my birthday is next week. We may be home by then, but at least I’ll have a little Disney Magic to look forward to. 

Once we were done with the merchandise, we headed into the bib pickup area, which was also in the arena this time around. There were no crowds, and I was able to walk right up to my designated pickup location. I missed the first corral by 30 (!!!!) bibs, but was kind of excited that my number fell into the first range of pickup line numbers. I’ll just have to work harder next time, corral A is so close!  As always, they were taking photos of runners who were signed up for the challenge, so that they can be verified at the finish line of the half.

Once we had checked all of the required boxes and snapped a few photos, I hopped in line to get a photo with chef Mickey before making my way over to the visa center, where I would be able to retrieve my race shirts. 

Again, there was no line to get into the visa center, so we walked right in and headed through the vendors to shirt pickup. I did buy one thing at the expo, but it’s a super secret surprise for Mike, so you’ll have to wait for the big reveal on that one. 

When I got my shirts I made sure to try all three on, and they were a good fit. I am a big fan of both the colors of the shirts and the art style that they used. I was hopeful that it would be cool enough in Florida to wear them around the parks after the races, as they’re all long sleeve shirts. 

Once we had all of the goods we left the expo, and had time to head to Disney springs to grab earl of sandwich, before making our way to Hollywood studios. We had fastpasses there to ride slinky dog dash for the first time, and the crowds were even light enough that we got onto toy story midway mania and alien swinging saucers. 

All in all a successful day, both in the parks and at the expo, and I was feeling excited for the race weekend ahead!

The 2018 Wineglass Marathon

Honestly, I am not sure where to start with this post. I feel like I should feel disappointed after a less-than-stellar marathon time at the Wineglass Marathon, but honestly, I’m not. I’m quite the opposite - I am elated, I am inspired, and I am ready to marathon again. And that is kind of exactly what I hoped I would get out of this weekend.

So, I suppose we will start at the beginning, heading to Corning on Saturday morning. We live on Long Island, so it was going to be about a 5 hour drive north to Corning. We had a hotel booked in Bath, near the start area of the marathon. Dennis and I set our alarms for 5:45, and were out the door by 6:15. The first stop was at Emily’s house, to grab the last member of the race support crew, and then after a quick starbucks to meet our morning caffeine needs, we were on the road. We drove through the sunrise, crossing bridges and counting clouds as we went. When we hit about the halfway mark, we made a pit stop at McDonalds to grab breakfast, and were quickly back on the road. We made good time, and before we knew it we were pulling into the Museum of Glass in Corning, NY, where the race expo was set up.

It was around 11 am when we pulled into the museum, and we headed right to the expo when we got there, following the signs along the way. There was so much to look at as we walked through the building, that I nearly missed the bathroom that I so desperately needed to visit - by the time Dennis pointed it out, I had one foot on the escalador about to follow Emily to a lower level, when I quickly bailed. She looked at me with betrayal in her eyes as she considered running backwards up the escalator to not move on without us, but ultimately she took a full cycle down and then back up, meeting me on the main level again. I mean, she knew she was going to be chasing me around when she agreed to come along this weekend! Right Em?

Anyway, once that was taken care of we made our way into the expo, and it was quick business to get my race gear. The swag for this race was great - a red, embroidered quarter zip, a stemless wine glass, a drawstring backpack, and a single serving bottle of champagne. The expo was on the tinier side, but we still took a lap around, checking out the various booths as we went. I picked up some new Gu flavors to try, and a spectator map for Emily and Dennis to follow the next day. I spent the most time in the “official race merchandise” area, deciding if I wanted to make any extra purchases. Ultimately I bought a travel mug, a normal mug, and a zip up performance jacket. I am a sucker for race jackets, and wanted one to commemorate the marathon. The marathon nerves settled in as I purchased the jacket, a superstitious part of me fearing that I wouldn’t earn it.

Once bib pick-up was complete, we decided to explore the museum of glass, as one of the race perks was reduced admission cost for runners and their guests - $10 a person for a two day pass, a great deal! We spent a few hours exploring the museum, seeing art made of glass, a live glass blowing demonstration, learning about the history of glass, and even saw a few optical illusions.

When our stomachs started to call for lunch, we decided to check out the food court, and they had a surprisingly large selection. I was able to get a baked potato and some pasta for lunch, and get a few last minute carbs in. We had to be at the museum at 4:40 for a glass blowing workshop that we were signed up for, but I needed to run to a thrift store that was closing at 5 to pick up a throw away morning for the following day - the forecasted temperature had dropped throughout the week, so now it was looking like a warm layer would be necessary.

So, after eating we made a quick run to goodwill, which luckily was less than 10 minutes from the museum. I was able to find a coat for $4, that would ultimately be donated again the following day, but would do the job with keeping me warm. Did I walk up and down the aisles for 20 minutes making this choice? Yes. In retrospect, this doesn’t make much sense, as I re-donated the coat, but at the time I really felt like I had to assess all of my choices.

The final activity that we had planned for the day was a glass blowing class back at the museum, so we completed our circle journey and were all excited to try our hand at it. The project that we would be working on was wine glass tumblers. Once we were all checked in, we were handed safety gear - an apron, goggles, gloves, and sleeves, and told to pick the color that we wanted our glasses to be. Then we got a walk through with the instructors of the process that we would be going through, before trying out hand at it. Realistically, the instructors were doing the more complicated parts, with us acting as helpers, but it was awesome to see the process up close, and help in little ways. We each got to help shape our glasses, and the three came out different shapes, colors, and sizes, and are a really great reminder of the weekend we had together.

Once that was done we finally made our way to Bath, and checked into our hotel - Vinehurst inn and suites, which was less than 10 minutes from the bus drop off spot for the following morning. We settled in, I set up all my gear for the next morning, I checked the weather for the hundredth time - low 40s at the start, cloudy day, high temp in the 50s.

Once we were all settled in, we turned our focus to dinner - our first choice was a local italian restaurant, that toted “make your own” pasta on the menu, but when we called to inquire about wait times, there was over a TWO HOUR wait. It’s like runners like carbs before a race, or something. So, we settled on a small restaurant called Timber Stone Grill. I had a corn and crab chowder, to help with my sore throat, and a chicken sandwich with mashed potatoes on the time. Did my nerves start to control my personality at this point? Yes. To a point where I was on edge, and I put Emily and Dennis on edge (sorry guys, my bad).

I tried to take some deep breaths, reminded myself that I had put in the mileage for this race, and decided before bed that tomorrow would be great.

My plan for race day was simple. I was going to start with the 4:20 pacer, who would have an average pace of 9:54, and just see how I felt as the race went on. A 4:20 would be a great finish time for me, but at the end of the day, I wanted to feel happy and accomplished at the end of this race, and I was really feeling like that wasn’t going to be a feeling that was tied to pace. It was either going to be a good day, or a bad one.

I managed to go to bed early enough, and woke up a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off. I was feeling congested, and checked my weather app as I laid in bed…. AND IT WAS RAINING.

Cool weather, cool. Thanks for the super accurate forecast, I appreciate it so much. But, it was only a 30% chance of rain, and it was only supposed to last until 8 am, so it should be done and over by the time the race started. So the hard part would be staying relatively dry until it was time to start running, but I was prepared, with a poncho loaded into my race day bag (thanks, Dad).

Once I was all dressed for the race Emily and Den were starting to get moving, so I slipped on my Vans and walked over to the hotel lobby, to grab tea for me and coffee for Em. I figured that I may as well try to keep my running shoes dry for as long as possible, and I had to go outside to get to the room that the hotel served breakfast in.

A short mile later we were all ready to go, and we loaded into my car and Den drove me to the bus drop off location, where I would hop on a bus and get a ride to the start area. They headed to get gas, and then find a spot between mile 2 and 3 to cheer at.

I was layered up with my coat and all, lugging along assorted gear in the bag I planned to check at the start area. There were some porter potties at the bus area, and I decided to use the bathroom before getting on the bus, as the bathrooms at the start area would likely have a longer line. Only had to wait a minute, and as I stepped into the bathroom I looked down, and REALIZED I HAD NEVER CHANGED INTO MY RUNNING SHOES.

Yup, you read that right. I was waiting at a bus area to be taken to the start area of a marathon that I was meant to run, and I was wearing slip on Vans. And, incase you were wondering, I did not have running shoes in my checked bag. This was entirely unintentional, and I went into a full blown panic spiral, picturing myself trying to run in these no support, slip on shoes.

I immediately began calling Em and Dennis, and both of their phones went to voicemail. AAH. Thankfully, Em picked up on the second call attempt, and I panic-explained that I needed them to stop what they were doing and double back to the hotel ASAP to grab my running shoes, and bring them back to the bus area. It was a little after 7, and buses ran until 7:30, so we had a little time, but I sat there waiting, playing through the worst case scenarios in my head, and checking their progress on find my friends almost every minute. I texted Dad, panicking, how could I be this stupid?!

But then I took a step back. I had told myself I was going to practice positive self talk. What would I say to my best friend in this situation? What would my best friends say to me? Well, that was an easy question to answer - when I told Emily that I was so stupid for this, she responded “You are not stupid. You are a graceful honey bee.” And you know what Jennie reminded me? That something was bound to go wrong, and it was better to get the bad thing out of the way. Dad told me not to sweat it - because he knows I always worry a little too much. By the time I finished considering all of these things, Emily and Dennis were pulling up to Putney square and coming to my rescue, running shoes in tow. With just five minutes to spare, I was climbing onto the school bus at 7:25, crisis averted, changing into my running shoes as I finally made my way to the actual start area.

On the short ride to the start line I pulled myself together. I changed into my running sneakers, Brooks ghost 10s, filled my SPI belt with Gu and my inhaler, stored my headphones in the pocket of my running jacket, and unfolded the poncho that I had in my race bag, and pulled it on.

The bus driver advised us that the tent right next to the start line was pretty full, so if we wanted to wait for the race start in a dry environment, we were better off heading to the bus shed that  was open, just a little further from the start line. I had to check my bag, so I headed in the direction of the crowded tent to get that out of the way. I managed to squeeze into the tent, which it turned out was heated too, and found that there were plenty of open chairs further away from the entrance. After 15 minutes or so of waiting around, I decided to try to squeeze in one more potty stop before race time, and headed over to the porter potties. The lines were quick moving, and I was in and out in no time.

I walked back towards the start line, and people were starting to gather, as the start time was less than 10 minutes away. I easily found the 4:20 pace group leader, Mike, and introduced myself. I chatted with a few other people who were planning to run in his group, as we waited for the race to begin.

Now we have gotten to the race, and I feel like even though it was only three days ago at this point, I am struggling to have a lot to say about the race itself. It is kind of just one big mush of positive emotions. I don’t know the area of Corning well, so it is hard for me to take you through the race step by step as I sometimes do. So once again, we will just have to start at the beginning.

The crowd started to shuffle ahead of me, and I quickly pulled off my throw away layer and made my way to the side of the crowd to drop it out of anyone’s way. The race was using the “raceJoy” app to track runners, so I crossed the start line holding my phone, and then spent the first few minutes of the race working on storing it away.

My legs were hesitant as the run first began, wanting to run faster to express their race day excitement. But I stuck to the plan, and stuck with the pacer. I spent the first few miles chatting with a runner who had also had an injury during her training cycle - she was doing box jumps and managed to rip her shin open, yikes! We commiserated about our marathon cycles not going exactly to plan, talked about why we started running, and were both just generally happy to have made it to the starting line. We lost each other at the first water stop around mile three, but it was nice to have someone to chat with for a bit. Emily and Dennis were waiting for me right around the third mile, and I smiled and waved, and threw them my jacket, which I was already too warm for. Down to a t-shirt, capris, gloves, a hat, and a buff after that, and I was ok for the most part.

The first ten miles or so just flew by, at a steady pace thanks to Mike. He occasionally chatted with the group, regaling us with stories of some of the 60+ marathons he has run. It was still raining, and it seemed like it was going to keep raining for the rest of the race at that point. The views were beautiful despite the overcast skies, and while I had heard that this course was “net downhill,” it had its fair share of little rolling hills throughout.

Around mile 11 the pace that had felt comfortable rapidly started to feel taxing, and I could feel my heart rate climbing. I made it a point to start taking a little more water at the aid stations, thinking I just was not doing a great job of fueling. I knew Dennis and Emily would be around the halfway point, and started focusing on getting to see them again. Right around this point I also managed to drop my inhaler, and in my haste to pick it up and put it back together, had snapped it together in the wrong direction, such that it was not functional.

Thinking I may be able to pass it off to Den so he could pull it apart and then hand it back to me later in the race, I ran with it in my hand for a bit, until spotting them in one of the spectator areas. But alas, they were behind several layers of police tape that had live road between me and them, so I wasn’t going to risk trying to throw it and losing my inhaler.

It was just after the 13.1 mile mark that I started to yo-yo with the 4:20 pace group. My IT band was starting to freak out a little, and I fell into a cycle of dropping back, and then surging to catch up to the group. But you know what? I didn’t beat myself up for it. My IT band hadn’t caused my any issues during my training cycle this time, but here it was being a nuisance. Over the course of the next two miles I eventually lost the group, so I pulled out my headphones and took my race day experience into my own hands, and just focusing on making it to the finish line, and feeling good about that.

So, I went onward and found my groove. It kept drizzling, but I wasn’t bothered by it. The hills kept rolling, and the views kept changing, and I was loving it. Don’t get me wrong - it wasn’t easy, and I was a little frustrated that my hip hurt, but I was moving forward, and closer to the finish line. Each mile got a little harder, but I moved with joy. I was going to finish my fourth marathon, and damn it, I was going to be happy.

The on-course fuel was Gu, which was good for me. It meant that I had to carry less fuel on my person. The aid stations were set up well, and they were all paired with a water station. I had a new flavor of Gu with me - Birthday Cake! I had wanted to try this flavor, but did not want to commit to a whole box of it. Lucky for me, I had been able to pick some up at the expo, and I am happy to report that it tasted surprisingly like frosting, and I am a fan! I started to do some intervals as the run progressed, walking when my IT band started to hurt too much. I hate to admit that, but it was what I needed to do to keep moving forward. By the time I got to mile 21, where Dennis and Emily were spectating again, I was in the pain cave, and Em could see it on my face, and shouted our favorite Kasey quote at me -

“I am LITERALLY dying right now!”  (march 2018, Run rock n’roll washington D.C. Half)

I have to admit, this picked me up more than I expected it to, and moved onward chuckling. We Headed into a more residential area of the race for the last few miles, with spectators sprinkling the streets here and there, despite the rainy weather. I was struggling, but I was still so happy, to my own surprise. I had kept telling myself that my goal of this race was to fall in love with the marathon again - I was heartbroken and defeated after NY, and I wanted my groove back, and it was somehow happening, despite losing my pace.

When there were five miles to go, Jennie started sending me mile-by-mile countdowns, which I loved. Jen was encouraging me from GA. Dad was texting and reminding me that I could do this, the end was in sight. Mom was using the race joy app to send “cheers,” and sent me the song that my brother and I were obsessed with after it appeared in the power rangers movie when we were kids - “Kung Fu Fighting.” That one may have made me happy cry a little. Before I knew it, I was right by the museum of glass again, and I recognized the town that we had visited the day before. One final climb up a small bridge, and then I turned the last corner, and could see the finish line in the distance, and felt an indescribable amount of joy. The emotion that I feel in marathons is like nothing else, and as Jen and I often discuss, something that occasionally moves me to tears even when I am not running. Just thinking about it or reading about marathons sometimes makes me a little teary eyed.

The finish line got closer, the announcer even called my name, and I crossed that finish line. Marathon 4, complete in 4:44:37. I got my medal, I got my heat sheet, and I progressed through the finished chute with a full on post marathon shuffle. Hands full, heart full, head spinning, I eventually managed to plop into one of the seats they had set up just before the exit, and Emily and Dennis managed to find me there. They took the million things I was holding, and tolerated my slug pace as we began our trek back to the car. Did I have to stop and squat several times over the course of the walk back to the car? Yes. Was I stinky and sweaty and ready to get out of my rain soaked running clothes? Yes.

But guys, I was so, so happy. So happy to have my people, cheering near and far. So happy that I made it through my 26.2 mile journey with joy. So happy with my brand new glass medal. And so happy that I reclaimed the marathon on my terms.

This time, I am ready to go again - and that’s a good thing, as I’ve got the Disney Marathon on my calendar, just a few months away. So, here we go again!