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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 151 to 161]
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S. A. from Florida
(1/11/2011)
 "Where's my finish time???" (about: 2011)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Enjoyed the marathon this past weekend. I'm really frustrated/concerned, though, because when I went to see where I placed in the field, neither my name nor bib number showed up. According to my Garmin 305, I ran the course in 3:59 (which is a personal best) so I want the official credit for it. | |
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R. D. from Madison, CT
(1/10/2011)
 "Fantastic race!!" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 What a fun race! Yes, you should love Disney. Despite the early start, it is worth it! The most organized race I have run - Disney knows how to move folks. They have great music, entertainment, and loads of characters on the course (bring a camera!). You do run through the parks - which is fabulous, especially seeing Epcot all lit up - but you do a fair amount of running outside of the parks. Even there they had music, high school bands and entertainment galore. Plenty of water stations, medical tents and volunteers. All of the volunteers I came across had smiles on their faces! The other runners were all friendly and laid back. Alot of folks do the Goofy Challenge (half marathon on Saturday, and marathon on Sunday) so the race has a much more laid back, fun vibe. Great camaraderie among the runners! This is not a race for type A personalities looking to set a personal record. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the and you'll be fine! We drove in from off-property and arrived in plenty of time, with no problems. I was concerned about the price going in, but it was worth every penny. We have done several large marathons and this was my favorite by far!! Very fun! | |
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R. G. from Texas
(1/9/2011)
 "Not worth time or money" (about: 2011)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 These comments are for the half-marathon! The course was on boring highways, backlots, and narrow pathways. The brief run through the Magic Kingdom was the only interesting part of the course and several parts were too narrow to allow competitive running. There was NO traffic control getting to the parking area. It took me 2 hours to drive the last 1.5 miles into the park, and then I had to sprint the 1-plus mile from the farthest parking lot to the get to the A corral in time for the start. The expo was pretty typical. The goodies in the goody bag weren't very good. The tech shirt was poorly made and way too large, even though I got an XS. The high points: the staff were "Disney" friendly, the green army man with the microphone was very entertaining, the photo ops with characters offered something special, and the results were posted very promptly. | |
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D. B. from Chicago
(11/18/2010)
"Not worth it. Overhyped." (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Don't bother with the chaos of Disney trying to hold a marathon. Course is a joke, as there are some spots with eight feet of width, running through service areas, back roads, etc. Very few spectator viewing areas. Jon Hughes should be ashamed at how many people didn't have official times. | |
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M. C. from Midwest, USA
(9/21/2010)
 "Disney, you have my money." (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 Yes, Disney, you have my cash. I ran Goofy in 2010 and Disneyland 1/2 and 5K in 2010. That's a lot of moolah. And memories... January 9th, 2010. Dinsey World 1/2. Dark. Sleet. Why exactly am I here at 3 a.m.? Oh, the mouse said to come, freeze and walk a mile to the start. Hint to spectators - you will not be able to see much at the start of most marathons, and it will be impossible to see anything at this one. Dark... and the spectator areas are set back from the street. January 10, 2010. Disney World Full Marathon. Still dark at 3AM. No sleet, but colder. I think I only had to walk 3/4 mile to start. Frozen bananas. Ice on the road. Hint to Floridians... fine sand on ice makes for a good shuffleboard, but does not improve traction. I just hope the poor guy in front of me at a water stop who slipped and did the splits is healed by now. Ouch. September 4, 2010. Disneyland Family 5K. Ran with my 7-year-old. At the end of this race that had sold out months earlier, no medals. Disappointed kids. Went to expo later (like their piece of paper said to) and still no medals - RunDisney appologized and said they would call back. They never did. Multiple emails and phone calls in later weeks looking for medals. RunDisney folks do not return calls. Finally got medals with an arrogant apology letter. September 5, 2010. Disneyland 1/2. There were 4 miles of great scenery and 9.1 miles of, uh, un-Disney like sights? Nice Coast-to-Coast medal. At least for me. For some of the folks behind me, you were out of luck I hear. All this being said, I still have some great memories running Disney this past year. But even with the Disney markup, I don't feel I got a great value. RunDisney seems like an organization that cares only about money, and as long as people keep going (and they will), RunDisney will be happy with their product. | |
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David Wolfe from Orlando
(7/28/2010)
 "Top-notch; just what you expect from Disney" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon, and it lived up to every expectation. Top-notch all the way - so much fun. I was pretty dedicated to hitting a certain time, so I did not take the time to take pictures with characters along the course with the disposable camera that the race gives participants. The camaraderie was great between runners. My family was not able to come, but I found people calling me by name along the course, cheering me on, which really confused me until I realized they were volunteers looking at my name on my bib. What a great touch, and the jester really lifted me up and motivated me. Crossing that line with Minnie Mouse waiting to high-five me... well, let's just say that crossing the line still gives me chills when I think about it. The experience will always be one of the greatest moments in my life. | |
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Brian Luckey from Boise, Idaho, USA
(6/7/2010)
"Great marathon for my first!" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I came all the way from the 20-degree weather of Boise, Idaho to run in... 20-degree weather in Florida! At least my body was acclimated. There was nothing anyone could do about it, but I guess the extreme cold proves that you can't be ready for EVERYTHING. The most difficult part was having to stand around for an hour before the start. This was a great first marathon for me, because there really aren't a lot of elite marathoners, so being one of the first 300 runners by helped me avoid the long lines at the porta-potties, the ice at the water stations, and the slow runners. If you are a 3:00 to 3:30 marathoner, this is a good race for you because it's a fast Boston Qualifying course that isn't loaded with sub 3-hour runners. I missed qualifying for Boston (by 2 seconds!) mostly because it was my first marathon and I bonked at mile 23, but I have two pieces of advice for those trying to qualify for Boston on this course: 1. If you run with a pace group, keep in mind that the pacer is someone who can pretty much JOG your pace. For example, my pacer decided to run the third mile 30 seconds faster than our race pace and we had to scramble to keep up. Finally, someone nudged him and said, "Aren't we going a little fast?" Then he slowed down. Boy, did I feel that extra 30 seconds later on in the race! I'm not saying that a pacer isn't a good idea, but keep in mind that they are only human (and are probably used to running much faster). 2. Your Garmin/Nike+/pedometer/satellite gizmo is going to measure the race LONGER than the actual course, unless you can figure out how to run an arrow-straight course without swerving to get your water/PowerAde/gel/banana/candy or to pass or to avoid the slick spot on the road. I sure wish someone would have told me that before the race! My mistake was letting my Garmin give me mile splits automatically instead of manually hitting the "lap" button at every official mile marker. I learned that I ran at least an extra quarter-mile from all of the back-and-forth on the course. All in all, it was a great time. My kids loved the kids' races, and I got a great picture of me high-fiving the duck at the end. What a great experience. It will take me a few years to save the pennies up to do it again, but I will do it again! | |
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T. J. from Canada
(6/6/2010)
"Amazing" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I loved this race. I didn't even need my iPod because the course was so fun. I will be back. | |
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F. C. from Midwest, USA
(4/24/2010)
"Post-Race Transportation Horribly Disorganized" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I am a Disney fan and have participated in several Disney races - including 2 marathon weekends. You really are paying for the Disney experience (boy do you pay!). For fans, being able to run behind the scenes and through the parks is the biggest benefit. For pure competitive runners, this is probably not the best experience, as it does draw many first-timers (for obvious reasons) and is very crowded. I wish there were more instructions for first-timers on how to seed themselves in a corral. Many still work on the assumption that being in the front is always best. This is what leads to lines of walkers creating traffic jams (by the way, I am certainly not against walkers). This is one race where being at the back of the pack has advantages. Neglecting the obvious issue of weather this year, I'd say this is a fun race. The one issue that upset me terribly was the ridiculously long wait for transportation back to the resort hotels. This was not organized well at all. Considering the conditions (which I don't believe were totally unexpected), Disney should have made arrangements to move people more effectively. Transportation TO the start was fine. They should also extend the possibility of later checkouts (even at a small extra cost) for those who must depart Sunday after the race. Another plus is that the parks were not quite as crowded as you might expect. I will return because I am interested more in the Disney experience rather than qualifying for big races or setting PR's. Ultimately, this race is what you make of it. | |
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J. B. from Connecticut
(3/30/2010)
 "I'm a Disney fan regardless" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 It was my first marathon. I love Disney. Unfortunately I ended up with horrible bronchitis and was sick the whole vacation and for a few weeks afterward. It was icy at the water stations, both on the ground and in the drinks. The bananas were frozen too. They ran out of candy by the time the candy stop came (but I am slow, so I was at the back). All of this I can ignore. It was, after all, 26.2 degrees at the start (no joke, really it was). What I am irritated with was the Runner's Retreat. We paid extra for this because it was supposed to have its own changing area and bathrooms, and it was supposed to be heated. It was NOT heated. We may have had shelter from the wind, but we did NOT have heat. I believe I found the changing area, but that was not heated either. With the amount we paid for it ($100 each), it should have been more. That being said, after reading what others wrote who did not have it, I'm glad I had what little I did. One thing that was supposed to be good was the support for family. My in-laws had a hard time and there was lack of direction. They finally gave up and just went to the Runner's Retreat until our expected finish time. I will do it again, but that has NOTHING to do with the race. I love Disney and will use any excuse to go more. The discount we get from the race was worse than the discount I switched to for the public. Spectators and staff were really encouraging on the course. Seeing the characters was AWESOME!!!! Running through the parks was way cool. Wish we looped through them more. Oh well. |
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