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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 681 to 691]
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B. B. from Lebanon, NJ
(10/10/2003)
"Disney is a great first marathon" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Three reasons to do this marathon as your first marathon: 1) A lot of very supportive fans. Tape your name on your shirt and they will cheer you all the way through. 2) An interesting course. Running to & through the parks is a lot of fun. They have characters, bands, animals, etc. I wasn't bored for more than a mile. 3) Camaraderie. Walking around the parks that night or the next day with your t-shirts and medals is great. People are always congratulating you making you feel good about your first marathon. For a first marathon, I can't imagine a better experience. My wife & I both beat our goal times and finishing close to 4 hours. Our whole family did either the half or full and everyone enjoyed the whole experience. The two bad parts were the cost involved and the waiting before the start. | |
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J. P. from Texas
(8/31/2003)
"My First Marathon - It was all I expected it to be" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I wanted my very first marathon to be the most friendly, positive experience I could have. Disney made it happen. Very organized. I have run one other marathon since, and the organization was just not there. Disney really took care of all of our needs. Way to go!!! | |
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Nancy Peck - Capozzoli from New Hampshire
(7/14/2003)
"This is a marathon I would do every year!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Picture Donald and Daisy, Mickey and Minnie kicking it off beneath the fireworks early in the morning... the bright lights of Epcot showing the way over the bridge, and characters in every park you pass through! This was my 15th marathon, and I would say that this is the top! Fans were all very encouraging, smiling, clapping, and dressed in costumes all along the way. There were some spots in between that were a little slanted to run on, and a few 'inclines' my running partner stated that were not in the brochure... but once in a park, you forgot you were doing a marathon once again.... I had a blast! The Mickey-shaped medal I will treasure forever. I am already signed up for next year! Great expo and speaker's panel on the day before, too. | |
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J. C. from North Texas
(7/14/2003)
"Only worth running once - not twice" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 It was great running through the parks, and the aid stations were well run. However, with 26,000 people cramming into two-lane roads, it took several miles before I even approached a sustainable speed. Additionally, the registration price was crazy and didn?t offer any real benefits (perhaps race runners should have received a park pass for that same day - it?s not like 75% of the people could still walk afterwards, and it wouldn?t have flooded the parks with extra guests). The bathrooms at the start were non-existent, and pretty sparse at the end as well. This was my third marathon, and I doubt I?ll run this one again. | |
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Jen S. from Indiana, USA
(6/13/2003)
"First Marathon - Go TNT!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon, and I am not sure how to judge it since I had the flu (still managed to be under 5 hours!). After all the training and TNT fundraising, no way was I going to do anything besides RUN, no matter how sick I was! It was fun running through the parks. There was lots to see, especially the Disney characters. It was kind of chilly, and we got rained on for the last 12 1/2 miles, so there may not have been as many supporters as usual. Some of the course was out on the roads between parks, and was rather boring because no spectators were there, but when we hit the main areas, it was more than worth it. My teammate/running buddy and I even found a REAL bathroom around mile 9 that wasn't busy! I vividly remember a toy soldier yelling at us as we went up a small hill about mile 23, and running through the Magic Castle was a highlight. It was a good choice for a first marathon: no hills bigger than a highway on ramp, lots of people and cheering, and some really unique stuff to see. Try it... | |
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Rob Reader from Atlanta, GA
(5/3/2003)
"Fantastic experience" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my fourth marathon and by far my best experience. Running through the parks at Disney World makes for an entertaining and fun race. Spectator support was great, and in parts where crowds were thin, Disney had Disney characters set up dancing to music from boom boxes, giving high fives and cheering you on. The band playing the Rocky theme around mile 17 was a fun boost. The course is as flat as they come and the race was very well organized. Run this one! | |
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Karen Thornton from United States
(4/23/2003)
"This race was spectacular!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first full marathon and I loved it! I've run many half marathons in the past and Disney was my first in 1998. I had a great race then. Since then, I've had some injuries. I ran the marathon, just after recovering from a groin injury and plantar facitis. So I took the Jeff Galloway approach and had a great race! I plan on having a better time in this marathon. This course is a fast, flat course and I love it! Running through the different parks really kept my energy level up. The last few miles really went by quickly. At the end of my race, once I had that Mickey medal, I felt like I was on top of the world! I then met my boyfriend John, he also ran the marathon, and he presented me with a diamond necklace!! So the 2002 marathon is by far my best race so far! | |
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L. L. from Missouri
(4/14/2003)
"First Class Marathon Experience" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my 13th marathon and I thought it was a first class event! With the exception of the 3 a.m. bus ride every thing about this race was great. The course was fun and easy, the few spectators were enthusiatic, the volunteers were helpful, the medal took my breath away, and the race administration was top notch. The expo was terrific too. It was easy to get around, had a nice variety of vendors, and an All Star line-up of speakers. If it wasn't for the early start I'd go back for a Donald. | |
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M. P. from Houston Tx
(3/4/2003)
"My First Marathon" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Everything was first class. I started training in September. I followed a beginners schdule which I got off the internet. I ran in the disney 10k in October and the 1/2marathon in Orlando in December. I thought I was in great shape for the Marathon and then saw how many people were there it was great I wanted to run 4H 10 minutes but it seamed like I was boxed in for the first 8 miles. At mile 18 I just wanted to see a 20mile sign. The last mile was the hardest but when I turned into the finish and could here the loud music and the crowd cheering you on it was great. I will definatelty run another marathon even though I could not walk for 3 days after. I was just happy to finish in 4hr 28min may be next year I will beat it. Thanks disney | |
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Joe Del Sole from Staten Island, New York
(2/28/2003)
"My First" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I've been running for a dozen years now and did some cross-country in high school (I always preferred distance to sprints). I always admired people who ran marathons because of the dedication it takes so after my good friend and Godfather, Matt, had done it in 1999 and 2000, I decided to give it a shot. What a journey was to follow. My original plan was to follow Dave Kuehls regimen in 4 Months to a 4 Hour Marathon, then life got in the way and I was thrown off schedule. I wasn't going to even try it then with 3 months left, but my father urged me on, especially after I had ranked 2nd in my age group (under 19) at the Staten Island Half Marathon. I finally agreed and Matt then gave me some hints by telling me to run 4-6 during the week, and accumulate to about 18 on Sundays which I did. Then my left foot got injured and again I thought I wasn't going to do it. However, my friend Ernie who is also a running guru told me just to ice it a little and that worked so I was back about only a few days later. A week before the marathon, I visited Matt, he gave me some last minute tips, showed me his medal, souvenir bag and pictures then gave me the same shirt he wore in 2000 (his last marathon to date and highest place ever). I was very motivated as a result because it reminded me of Apollo Creed when he gave his trunks to Rocky Balboa before fighting Clubber Lang in Rocky 3 (corny as it sounds lol). Me and my father then arrived in Florida, went straight to the Expo where I met one of my running idols, Bill Rodgers. We spoke to him and I told him how I think he's the best American runner ever in which he responded with a smile, saying playfully ''You think?''. He was a great guy just as I had expected and gave me great advice on my running. I then heard my father speaking to my mother on the cell phone about her showing up at the race which spoiled what would have been a great surprise but was still great to hear none-the-less. Race day came and I was focused. I warmed up at the corral for about an hour, ditched my warm-up gear at the start and started running exactly when I got to the starting line. The first few miles were easy and I think I hurt myself a bit by passing through a lot of people in the beginning. I came across some vaseline (which I needed because it was 40 degrees out), thought it was Gu but when I tried to grab it the girl was like ''I'm sorry you can't take the whole thing'' so I realized was it was and swiped some on my armpits (I had put some on my problem areas before the race but probably not enough). I started fading at about mile 18 (I had previously only did 15 miles) but I kept telling myself ''I can't quit, not with my mother here to see me'' and also the phrase by Tom Hanks ''It's supposed to be hard, it's the hard that makes it great''. It worked for me lol. At mile 22 I had full confidence of at least surviving but there was a spectator saying ''These last 4 miles are gonna be the worst, believe me.'' Boy, was he right! Those last 4 felt like they could have been all 26.2 but I kept running, drinking Gatorade (I planned on alternating between that and water but by then water wasn't enough) and by then even things as simple as the characters high-fiving me I felt was giving me extra energy (I liked that a lot better than simply the staff saying things like ''You're almost there''. They were nice but I felt like saying back ''Yeah right, you try it!'' lol). I finished with an official time of 4:20:52 and net time of 4:10:36, which ranked 59th in my age group (18-24) and second in my age (18). The first person I saw at the finish line was my father in the spectators area and he asked ''How do you feel?''. My response was simply ''This is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life''. You know what? I was right, but it was also the most rewarding. I couldn't walk the rest of the day but I was very proud to wear my medal and I thought the staff took great care of us throughout our stay. This is a great marathon for first-timers and I think is just right below the Grand Slams. |
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