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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 121 to 131]
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J. D. from Lakeland, FL
(4/19/2011)
 "Love Disney and Love this Race!" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run several Disney races, but this was my first marathon. I LOVED the experience and commend all the Disney employees for all the extra effort that goes into hosting such an amazing event. Miles 18-21 are extremely boring, which is a bummer because it is perhaps the most mentally challenging part of any marathon. Otherwise, this and all of their other races are perfect! | |
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M. C. from Connecticut
(4/19/2011)
 "Great Race! Great Place!" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the Princess 1/2 last year and wanted Disney to be where I ran my first full marathon. I loved it, and although I had read previously not to expect to qualify for Boston at this race, I did, and it can be done! Great race support, lots of aid stations, and my family was able to see me multiple times (with re-filled water bottle). If only every event could be as great as this one... | |
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p. w. from Virginia, USA
(4/7/2011)
"A consistently enjoyable marathon experience" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've run this 6 years in a row (Perfectly Goofy) and this is the most consistently fun marathon every year. At the end of the day, you've gotta love The Mouse to get the most from this race. If you aren't into Disney, this probably isn't the race for you. Pros - tour all 4 kingdoms - see Disney's costumed characters - solid organization, with entertainment throughout the race - always something new every year - gobs of spectators; sometimes there are too many, crowding the course - Disney-ana everywhere Cons - registration is expensive - 5:45 start time is really early - finish line food not quite so good in 2011 - miles 19/20/21 are still a drag, though they get credit for keeping on trying new things - Disney-ana everywhere | |
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B. C. from Connecticut
(4/6/2011)
"Fantastic Race, Frustrating Packet-Pickup" (about: 2011)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is my favorite marathon! Top-notch in terms of race-day organization. Water and fuel were plentiful (even for a mid- to back-of-the-packer like me). Entertainment around each corner. One memorable moment was a woman with a sign that said, "I don't know you, but I'm proud of you" - and she had chocolate chip cookies! Cons: I hope RunDisney reads this. Packet pickup split between 2 venues was very difficult when you have a heavy baby and no strollers allowed. We had to trek from one building to another, stand in lines twice, and wait out in the cold to get inside Jostens Center, carrying our screaming child. This dual-pick-up process took a long time. I understand the business aspect of getting everyone to go through the expo, but, it was an unpleasant and frustrating situation for families. We cannot run this race again until our baby is older and can walk because of this. :( | |
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C. S. from SF, CA
(4/4/2011)
 "Nobody does it better than Disney" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Disney is so organized. It is a model for other marathons. Transportation to the start line and from the finish line were easy. Refreshments, entertainment, and Disney characters were plentiful all along the course. Corrals were organized. And running through the parks was great fun. This year, Disney offered Marathon Monday to marathon finishers to have a FREE day at any Disney park. On the downside, most of the course was on the highways and backroads (which is unavoidable because of the distances between the parks), so this is not the most scenic race. All in all, a race that all marathoners should experience at least once. | |
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Brent Carter from Knoxville, TN
(4/4/2011)
"Terrific first marathon." (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon ever and it was a terrific start. A lifelong athlete and a self-professed running "hater," I was having trouble coming back from ACL surgery. We were heading down to Disney anyway where my aunt was running the marathon. During late July I found out that my uncle, cousin and his fiancee were running the race too. So I decided to start training. What a wonderful place. All of the characters and scenery were terrific. The organization was first-class. I plan to come back for this one. | |
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M. R. from Orlando, Florida
(2/19/2011)
"Marathon Keeps Improving" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is my 6th Marathon and 4th Goofy Challenge, and this was the best yet. There have been improvements each year. The race organizers need to be thanked and praised for listening to the issues. Pros 1. Expo in the new pavilion allows for more space for vendors and there was more there showing their products. I may not buy anything but as a runner I find the expos interesting and it's enjoyable to be with others who enjoy the sport. 2. Course entertainment and music - on the back roads there was music or entertainment every half mile - made the these miles move faster. 3. Course volunteers at the water stations were great and having every water station set up the same way with water and PowerAde allowed me to plan my stops. 4. Mickey Medal for the marathon was changed and updated. Now it is time to change the Donald Half Medal and the Goofy Medal. 5. Long-sleeve tech shirts. 6. Start with fireworks both days. 7. New wave start allowed me to get into a running pace quicker than prior years. Yes, the start is crowded, but all major marathons suffer from this issue. 8. I like the early start as it allows for miles completed before the sun comes up. Cons 1. Parking before the races takes patience. Backed up for a mile but still got to the start with plenty of time. 2. Finish line food could be improved but I understand the issue that all food must be wrapped so it limits the options. I will be back as I still enjoy the Disney Marathon. | |
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R. C. from Columbia, MD
(2/19/2011)
 "Better than I expected" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 We prefer smaller marathons, but have always wanted to try this one. We stayed at the New Orleans hotel, which is about 1/4 mile from the start! We totally avoided the hassles of the start area, although we did have to duck under the fences and got considerable stink-eyes from the volunteers. Oh well! The course was way better than we thought it would be. We knew there would be stretches of service/entrance roads, but as soon as we were beginning to get bored, we would enter another park. A bit flat for our tastes, but still a good course. Expo was adequate, typical mega-marathon cattle call, but with a bit more of those funky vendors than typical, which is nice. A lot of the larger marathons have only big vendors like Nike and little of the "Bob's Shoe World" types (*cough* Rock'n'Roll). Maybe I enjoyed it so much because we ran it as a "training run" and not a race, so I could cruise at 8 minutes/mile and enjoy myself. I finished in 3:26, about 20 minutes off my PR, but well rested! We did take advantage of the Marathon Monday ticket to a park, but that was it for our Disney experience. If we heard someone say, "Have a magical day" one more time, I would have gagged. Manufactured "fun" is OK in small doses, but too much sweetness is cloying. However, overall, we had a great time and will do it again. | |
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DAngelo John from Denver, Colorado
(1/31/2011)
"Race Retreat Worth Every Penny" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I had no idea what to expect from the Race Retreat, but it was definitely worth it! Short lines for the porta-potties toward crunch time, private bag check, and a buffet afterward. GREAT! A big "thank you" to all of the NON-RUNNERS who took all of the comfy chairs in the center after the race. It must have been exhausting waiting around all morning. I ran my PR of 2:56:50 and had the changing tent to myself at the end. This marathon is top-notch and worth the price for the experience alone. I will run again one day.... | |
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N. D. from United Kingdom
(1/26/2011)
"Excellent" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 We came all the way from England to do this, and I had such a great time. I did the Goofy Challenge and 5K at Epcot on the Friday. I did not stay in Disney; I stayed in Universal Drive and despite the distance never had any trouble getting there on time. At the end of the day, if you get up early enough you will be ok. We got there for 3:15 with no problems (ok, we kept ourselves on UK time to make things easier so it was actually 8:15 by our body clocks!) I have done large marathons (London twice) and small, and Disney was really well organized, one of the best I have done. I thought the expo was good and we got good quality goody bags and t-shirts. The events themselves seemed to have plenty of signage, helpers, and praise the lord, more porta-loos than I have ever seen. No queue! Come on - the walk to the start wasn't that long! We got put in decent start pens, I was in A for the half and C for the marathon. Perfect - people were running at the same pace as me and had loads of room to move. I think Disney had made a good effort to have :something" every 1/2 mile to distract the runners, and all my events just flew by. Perhaps it is because I am from the UK but I liked the bits in between the parks - different scenery and Disney property is so well kept. The bits in the parks were fantastic. The finish in Epcot was great; in all 3 races I did the crowd were going ballistic - such a great atmosphere. I thought the food at the end was quite good: muffins, bananas, bagels, Clif Bars, PowerAde, Coke and Diet Coke... everything I needed. All of my club-mates are jealous of the medals and t-shirts. This is all much better than you get most UK races, even some of the big ones. From what I have read about previous years, Disney has made an effort to do things better. I think they have - and from my point of view I have only got praise for them. Yes, it is expensive, but I would recommend it to anyone - and I'm not even a big Disney fan. It was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! |
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