2019 WDW Marathon Weekend: Spectating the Half Marathon

For 2019, Matthew and I each chose one race to run during the weekend. I chose the full, he chose the half. So a few Saturdays ago, we woke up at o'dark thirty and headed to Epcot for the start of the 2019 WDW Half Marathon. 

Three Dopeys, a Donald, and a Mickey.

We met up at the usual spot with our ohana (Jeff, Katherine, and Nathan) who were all doing the Dopey Challenge- in fact, they are all PERFECT FREAKING DOPEYS! How amazing are they?

After we chatted for a while and planned where I would see everybody on the course, the runners headed back to the corrals and I headed for the monorail... with a quick pit stop for a coffee and a breakfast sandwich on the way. 😉

Thank you, runDisney, for having quick service meals available at the start. 👊

I walked towards the front of the park and got on the monorail for the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC). This way, I would be able to see Matthew at mile 3.9 and then jump on the monorail to the Grand Floridian and see him again at mile 7.2. 

When I got to the TTC, it was pretty empty and I was able to pick out my spot at the very end of the TTC, right as the runners are leaving and headed back onto the highway. I started chatting with a very nice young man [oh God, does that make me an old lady now?!] who is a sophomore at UCF. His mom and sister-in-law were running the half so we made casual conversation for about 30 minutes before the first runners came through. I didn't catch his name but I did catch a picture of his awesome sign:

Matthew was running with his phone so we had been communicating during the start and the first few miles. He texted me when he was at mile 3 so I knew when to start looking for him. While I waited for him, I got to see Nathan and Katharine and our friend, Justin.

Just a casual hello during a half marathon. Hey, Justin. 😉 

To answer your question, yes, I am available as a race photographer. 😜 Nathan and Katherine kicking ass.

I had a supply of clementines, beef jerky, and crackers available for Matthew and at mile 3.9, he was requesting clementines. So I peeled a baby orange and got it ready for him as he headed towards me with Jeff- they were running the half together. 

What some people will do for a free piece of fruit. Ha!

Can you tell how humid it was?!

After seeing my guys and making sure they were ok, I headed back to the monorail to get to the Grand Floridian. The race route goes right past the Grand Floridian Convention Center so it's very easy to get from where the monorail lets you out to the race course. 

While I rode the monorail, Jeff and Matthew stormed the castle.

Matthew texted me at mile 7 so I knew to when to start looking for him. I had more oranges ready for him as he was just about halfway to the finish.

Have cowbell, will spectate.

There they are!

My sweaty guys. 💜

After seeing them off, I headed back to the monorail to get to Epcot to meet them somewhere between miles 11 and 12. We didn't have a defined meeting spot because I wasn't sure exactly where I'd be able to get to by the time I got back to the park. 

On the monorail, it was very cool to see the sunrise over the Grand Floridian and then see the runners on the highways around Walt Disney World. Having never spectated the half before, it was a pretty awesome experience to watch the race from above. 

Pretty.

That sun is hotter than it looks.

Hi, runners! 👋

When I got to Epcot, I headed over to the park exit near where the buses park. I texted Matthew to let him know where I was. I had gotten there just in time to see him one last time before the finish.

Almost done!

After seeing him start his victory lap of the park, I headed over to the family reunion area near the finish. We had a predetermined meeting place right outside of bag check. When I got there Nathan and Katherine were already waiting and together we waited for Jeff and Matthew. 

Almost to Future World.

Close to mile 13!

Finishers!

Finally, we saw Matthew and Jeff come through bag check and got to congratulate our finishers! After sitting for a while, we headed into Epcot to enjoy a lap around World Showcase before going back to our resort to rest. 

This guy.

Happy finishers.

So proud of my finisher.

While we were in Epcot, the race was actually still going on, so we got to cheer on the last finishers. We also stopped at Starbucks and ran into these two guys, still running, who took a break to grab a frappuccino on their way to the finish. 😂

"I'm going to hang by the bar. Put out the vibe."

And in true Disney wall fashion, Matthew took a picture with the infamous bubblegum wall. 😏

So trendy.

All in all, it was a successful day of running and spectating. Watching other people run sounds like the most boring thing in the world, but it is actually really inspiring. Watching Matthew complete his half marathon made me so proud- he's a freaking rock star. 

So proud. 💙

With the half marathon complete, Matthew and I packed our bags for the marathon and tried to get some rest. We had another long day of running and spectating in front of us! 

Flat runner for the full marathon.

Have you ever spectated a Disney race? 

Race Recap & Review: 2018 Unofficial Castaway Cay Challenge

Last month, the day after the 2018 Walt Disney World Marathon, Matthew and I boarded the Disney Dream to complete the second half of our WDW Marathon Weekend trip: a four night cruise to Nassau and Castaway Cay.

As you may recall, Matthew and I decided to book the Castaway Cay Challenge cruise in late October so we'd already missed the registration for the official Castaway Cay Challenge race.

A little background (because this can be confusing, lol)- to run the Castaway Cay Challenge (a race that takes place at 7:30 am on Castaway Cay, Disney's private Bahamian island), you must register for and run at least one race during WDW Marathon Weekend, book your room on the Disney Dream for the cruise directly after the marathon, then register for the Castaway Cay Challenge race. This race was sold out by the time we booked our room on the cruise so we opted to do the "free" (included in the cost of your cruise) 5k at 9 am, directly following the official challenge race.

In essence, we were doing the challenge- one or more races at WDW Marathon Weekend + a 5k on the island- we just weren't doing the official race with the bling, the shirt, and the earlier start time. We did the official Castaway Cay Challenge last year and while we loved the race, we were ok skipping all the extras this year.

Ok, back to the recap!

Monday morning, our muscles still aching from the marathon the day before, Matthew and I started the most favorite part of our trip- cruising on the beautiful Disney Dream!

Hello, Donald!

Our first two days on the ship (embarkation day and Nassau day) were spent how we usually spend them- lounging around and enjoying all the Dream has to offer: we tried out the Rainforest in Senses Spa, had dinner at the adults-only restaurant Palo, swam in the Quiet Cove pool, did a Whiskey Tasting (which was super cool, by the way!), met lots of characters, and enjoyed coffee on our giant verandah each morning.

Somehow, we were put in an ADA (handicapped-accessible) room so the room itself and its verandah were absolutely enormous! We are absolutely spoiled for any future cruises :-)

This is maybe 1/3 of our verandah deck.

Oh hey, Punzie!

What a Goof!

The morning we docked at Castaway Cay, we were up and on our verandah by 7 am. We actually were able to hear music from the start line about three quarters of a mile from where the ship was docked.

Around 7:30, we heard the race begin and I can tell you will all honesty, I had absolutely zero FOMO (fear of missing out). Matthew and I chatted, sipped coffee, and then went down to Evolution (the biggest bar/club on the ship) to get ready for our race which would begin at 9 am.

Just chilling on our deck with a private island behind me, NBD.

Matthew and I at the start of the "regular" Castaway Cay 5k.

Because the challenge runners used a different course than the regular 5k route, our race followed the challenge course because there wasn't enough time to switch over the courses in between the races. Basically, we followed the same route as the official challengers, we just didn't have the character stops during our race.

I was happy to see that the mile markers and inflatable start/finish line was still up- it made our race feel a little more special.

Matthew and I ran this race using the same intervals we'd used all weekend; 30 seconds of running followed by 30 seconds of walking. About a quarter of a mile into the race, one of our table mates from dinner, Dameon, came up beside us. He'd just run the challenge race and was running the regular 5k as a bonus race!

Dameon had never done intervals before and while he was just curious at first, after hanging with us for the whole race, I think we might have converted him to a Galloway runner :-)

Mile one.

Mile two.

Finishers!

I lead us the majority of this race and I tried to push the pace during the run intervals. We ended the race with negative splits and an overall pace of 11:39- how's that for tired legs that just ran 39.3 miles in two days?!

After the race, Matthew and I grabbed drinks at our favorite island spot, the Heads-Up Bar, and then took a ton of medal pics with the ship in the background. By then it had started pouring rain so we headed back to the ship earlier than we'd wanted to.

Before the rain...

All the creative points to Matthew for this shot.

I will never tire of looking at this bling. Or this ship.

Overall, did we miss not doing the official challenge race? Not one bit. We had just as much fun doing the regular 5k and then enjoying the island.

Rainy days on the island are better than sunny days anywhere else :-)

Will we do this race/cruise again? Stay tuned- I've got another recap coming with my overall thoughts on the whole WDW Marathon Weekend.


Have a great week, friends!

WDW Marathon Weekend Cigna's Blogger and Social Media Meet-up Recap

During the 2017 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, I was invited to attend the Cigna Blogger and Social Media Meet-up on the day of the 10k- Friday. With instructions to meet at the Grand Floridian Resort, I boarded a bus with some of my favorite bloggers- Justin, Gelcys, Emelia, Sharpie- and headed to Sunset Showcase at Hollywood Studios.

All the cool kids sit in the back of the bus. Photo: Justin.

We arrived at Sunset Showcase (a huge building tucked into the back of the park) and were treated to a healthy lunch as we learned what "Cigna's Great Race" was all about. Basically, we were split into teams of 7-8 people and given a bag of supplies, clues, and other random things we'd need for the race. Each team had a Cigna guide that would take pictures for our group. The goal of the game was to solve all the riddles, collect various items around the park, and get pictures or video doing various tasks in different places in the park in just under 90 minutes. 

Check out this room! Photo copyright: Phelan Ebenhack

I loved the Villans theme of this area. Photo copyright: Phelan Ebenhack

Yes, I am piling my plate full of dessert- 80/20, y'all, 80/20 😁 Photo copyright: Phelan Ebenhack

I was on Team Mickey with several other fitness/Disney enthusiast bloggers and we set off right away into Hollywood Studios, clues in hand. Some of the clues involved finding another team to participate- for example, we had to grab another team, go to a certain location in the park, and play a childhood game with them. We found Team Minnie and played "Red Rover." I have to admit, it was pretty fun! It's probably been 25 years since I played a school yard game with friends. 

Seriously, this was a blast! Photo copyright: Phelan Ebenhack

I think we won? Photo copyright: Phelan Ebenhack

Team Mickey, ready to dominate!

There were at least 10 riddles we needed to solve for clues and some of them really stumped us! In addition to the clues, we also were charged with completing physical challenges: hold tree pose for 20 seconds as a group; collecting various items: condiments, gum, a healthy snack, etc.; and finding people to take a picture with: someone celebrating their birthday. After literally running through the park to get back to Sunset Showcase on-time, I was exhausted and sweaty- it was pretty warm that day! Luckily there was more dessert, a fun visit from Mickey and Donald, and the announcement of the winners in the cool, air-conditioned Sunset Showcase. 

Spelling a healthy word.... looks like... run?

Don't remember the clue but the answer is FISH!

Princess towels FTW.

Trying to gather those damn clues. 

So intense.

Two of my faves. Photo copyright: Phelan Ebenhack

Team Mickey ended up in third place, only missing a few of the clues. They gave the answers to all the riddles so we were able to figure out the ones we missed. After some group photos, they bused us back to Grand Floridian Resort where a few of us shared some adult beverages and relaxed for a bit before parting ways and preparing for the last two days of races. 

"1, 2, 3, MICKEY!" Photo copyright: Phelan Ebenhack

These people ❤ Photo credit: Gelcys

This was such a well-organized and fun event. I loved getting to spend time with friends and meet some new bloggers. And it really was a blast running through the park collecting clues and solving riddles- even when we couldn't figure out what the heck some of them were. HUGE thanks to Cigna for sponsoring Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and for hosting this awesome meet-up! 

Thanks, Cigna! Photo copyright: Phelan Ebenhack