Disney Marathon 2014 race report....

I entered this race more prepared than any other, training had gone well. Logistics at the start however made it the worst start to any race I've ever had. Race starts 5:35am. I stayed on Disney property for ease on race day. They want you to board a bus by 4am latest. 3:45am I'm at the bust stop, 4 buses simply pass by full already. 4:25am and people are frantically calling the hotel front desk. I finally board a bus at 4:27 and hit a huge line of traffic heading for the start line. I get off the bus at 5:13 am and estimate I am half a mile from bag check. From bag check to the start line is another full mile. I desperately need the bathroom (thankfully people let me jump the line). I check my bag, time check I have to cover this mile in 8.5 minutes or I will miss the start. I'm running around people, then somehow I drop half my gels and it's too dark to find them. They are now singing the national anthem. I get to corral A, show my bib and Mickey Mouse is already announcing "3-2-1 Go !" and the fireworks blaze. I rip off my garbage bag and I am already sweating and thirsty from running a mile and a half.
Here is how my race went :- 5 mile split 31:48 10 mile split 1:03:41 half split 1:23:58 and now the wheels start to fall off..... and I'm out of gels 20 mile split 2:09:47... around mile 22 in Disney's Hollywood studios you pass through a tunnel (costume dept.) my Garmin 610 crapped out, lost the satellite signal and never found it again. Enough is enough, I just ran with what I had left. Finish in 2:52:41 32 place overall and 4th in AG. Not the sub 2:50 I'd trained for but considering all, a new PR for me so I have to be happy with that.
After a week at Disney I go on a Bahamas cruise, then a Disney week long cruise and discover.....

Race report Disney's Castaway Key 5k.... Yep, RunDisney organise a 5k on their private island in the Bahamas. Probably about 400 participated. Very hot and humid. I placed myself at the start and just went for it. Never raced a 5k before, I treated it a "another treadmill tempo run".
I lead the race from the start, (never ever happened before) ran the 1st mile in 5:40 and the next 2 in around 5:58...... Yay, my first ever win in 17:38 !!!
I then boarded yet another cruise ship for a week and finished my vacation with another 2 weeks of nothing but beer, BBQ, sun, pool and running for a total of 5 weeks and 6 days of snow-dodging !!!
Yes I had a great time, yes I'm 10lbs heavier !!! Thanks for reading, RobA.

My wife and I did Disney last year and had a very similar experience getting to the start line only we stayed outside the park. It was a huge traffic mess until we got past the Epcot area entrance then we were flying. Really strange traffic management for sure. Anyway, congrats on the PR despite the logistics and the 5K win.

Tough dealing with that stress to get to the line. You got the PR and win in the 5K congrats. I'm sure many mentally bailed after dealing with that.

nice run.  i hate those pre-race logistics.  congrats on the pr.

Nice race, despite the problems! Awesome with the 5k!!!!

When I ran Disney, we left our offsite area at around 3:15 am and got to the bag check at around 4:15 am. It made for long days (we ran Goofy, so we did it two days in a row). I think it would be a hard race to go all out at, but I imagine it is easier for the A corral. Once in the back there are so many people that there are traffic jams at times. I remember having to walk through the castle at the half because of congestion. Like your experience, my Garmin got pissed at me in the full too when running through that costume tunnel.

I'm planning on doing Dopey in 2015 and staying onsite. I'll remember your problems and get a super early bus! 

Oh, and cruising after a marathon?    

Great jobs on the races!  I guess Disney didn't comp anything for winning the 5K?

Reading about the troubles sure makes me not want to do Disney.

Again, nice job.

Wow, that didn't quite sound like the Happiest Race Morning on Earth, did it? Considering the complications, you managed quite well. Congrats.

And winning your first 5K? Well, that's just fantastic. Congrats!   

Congratulations on a good race despite all the issues. Disney is definitely not a PR race. I did Goofy and while I didn't run them for fun, I knew it would not be an easy race logistically. They really make the runners bear the brunt of their desire to not have the marathon interfere with their park business by having you get up at 3:00 AM. So it's more of a fun run, I think.

Rob, So nice to still get a PR after all those difficulities. The 5k time is even more impressive with such quick recovery. The next marathon is going to be nothing but greater!

Rob,  you are a very talented runner and will nail some great times - this was one of them!  I know you wanted more, but that was an experience you will always remember I'm guessing haha!  You held it together remarkably well under the circumstances and a PB is nothing to shake a stick at - great crazy fast marathon and 5K - I'm, for one, impressed!!!!!

Cool!

Nice PR but I hate that the Disney logistics screwed you out of a better time.

I ran it 2 years ago and I'm planning to do Goofy (tee hee hee) this year.  If anybody is planning to ever do Disney, stay at the Port Orleans and walk to the starting line.  It's all of about a quarter of a mile.  They don't want you to do it, but there were scores of people walking to the starting line when I did.    I'm booking the port orleans as soon as possible again this year.

Congrats!!

I did Goofy in 2012 & stayed off-site. I timed getting there early enough so that I had no logistic issues. I plan on doing Dopey in 2015.