The clock read “02:44 A.M.” My nerves kept me up all night. A slow minute later the alarm went off and it was the start of the big day. I had been preparing—physically, mentally, and logistically—for this day for almost a year. It was the morning of the Walt Disney World Marathon and the big test was almost here. Did I do what I needed in order to go the distance? Wiping the sleep from my eyes, and grabbing my gear, I began my way to the runDisney bus. Walking down the long hallway of Animal Kingdom’s Kidani Village I began to think about it all, from the beginning.

“Marathon.” 26.2 miles…one after the other. When I decided to run a marathon, it certainly seemed daunting, intimidating, challenging. Yet, oddly enough, it seemed achievable. “Perhaps, just perhaps,” I thought, “with a little hard-work, dedication, and discipline I, too, could do it.” Even though I decided that my first marathon should be at Walt Disney World—the most magical place on Earth—I knew no amount of pixie dust would help me cross that finish line. I knew the marathon was still to be revered and respected. So I began to train accordingly.

Although I had originally registered to run the 2015 WDW Marathon I needed to defer my Marathon experience for a year. The folks at runDisney were extremely accommodating and my deferral process was as smooth as could be. A few months after deferring my race, it was time to start hitting the pavement in order to be prepared for 2016.

I have always enjoyed time spent running but I had never seriously trained for a long distance race before. Sure, I trained for a 5k and a 10k, but the longest run I had ever done prior to signing up for the marathon was 9 miles (and that was only because I had gotten lost on the trails!). I was quite relieved to find that the runDisney website includes training plans for all of the runDisney races, with plans ranging from “Beginner” to “Experienced.” In fact, I was actually quite shocked to see that the runDisney training program, organized by Jeff Galloway, involved only 3 weekly training days—2 shorter runs followed by a longer weekend run. For my specific training goals, I embraced a slightly more rigorous training schedule but for the most part followed runDisney’s training calendar. And, much to my delight, it got me across the finish line, all without injury! Sure, there were some training days where I was more like Grumpy from Snow White but for the most part I enjoyed the training.







After 28 weeks of training, it was time to head down to Orlando for the start of the WDW Marathon Weekend. After enjoying our ride on the Magical Express to our resort, I found the runDisney bus that would take me to the ESPN Wide World of Sports and the runDisney Expo Center to pick up my race number, shirt, and “gEAR bag.” As with everything that Disney does, the process was extremely well organized and orchestrated. Of course, they navigate you past every possible merchandise section but that’s to be expected. Anyway, arriving early was great as the crowd at the Expo was manageable. (One thing to keep in mind is that the Expo is only open during specific hours and can get very crowded so (as with all things Disney) planning is important.) With my race number in hand, I was now officially ready to run and free to enjoy my time in the parks!

Finally, race day arrived. Waking up at 2:45 a.m. to catch the bus to the starting line may have been almost as difficult as actually running the race. In truth, the runDisney bus transportation (available to those staying on WDW property) was great as it allowed my family to sleep in and also freed them from having to navigate the race-related detours in order to get me to the starting zone. So, I joined the other sleepy race participants and spectators and quietly enjoyed the ride to the starting area.

The start zone, located in the Wonder Parking Lot of Epcot was full of life and I was quickly awakened. I took the opportunity to engage in some group stretching and enjoyed the music of the DJ while waiting for a picture with Pluto. Around 4:45 a.m. I began making the ½ mile walk to my start line corral. Once there, I joined my fellow runners in waiting for the start of the race. As 5:30 a.m. neared, the excitement within the crowd began to grow and shortly after 5:30 a.m. Mickey Mouse himself kicked-off the 2016 WDW Marathon. From there, it was about every two minutes between the start of each corral, each with its own countdown and set of fireworks and fanfare. The excitement was contagious as all of the 20,000+ runners cheered and watched the start of each corral on the big screens along the road.







Around 6:15 a.m., my corral officially started and I was off. It was time to finally see if I could go the distance.

It was around mile 5 or so that I happened to overhear a conversation between two runners that captured exactly what I was thinking. “You know,” one runner said to his friend, “once you do a Disney cruise, you never want to go on another cruise line and once you do a Disney marathon, you never want to do any other marathon.” I looked at them and in between breaths said, “I completely agree!”

From start to finish, everything about the WDW Marathon was incredible. The race itself was so well-organized and managed that it left me wondering, “How do they do this?” To me, it seemed everything had been thought of so that the runners could have the best experience possible. As an example, I had prepared an extensive playlist on my iPhone to get me through the miles; however, I never even listened to it. The course was so exciting to be on that there was no need to. Besides having the parks to run through and spectators offering such tremendous encouragement, there was so much additional entertainment, from high school marching bands, to DJs, to characters, that I didn’t want to miss out on any of the excitement. Originally I had thought that I might get bored around mile 15 or so but I never had the opportunity! For those that want to see some rare characters and even some “behind the scenes” parts of Walt Disney World, the WDW Marathon is the way to do it! It’s ironic that out of all the places visited while on the run, I actually found the Wide World of Sports to be the most drawn out and lacking in excitement (though this could be that this was where I started to hit the famous marathon “wall”).

Along the way I met some truly great people from the world over. I was so impressed with the quality of the many volunteers who helped to make the race a great experience. From those directing traffic to handing out water to the thousands of tired and sometimes cranky runners for many hours, all were happy, encouraging, and smiling. In fact, they often made me feel as if I was the only runner on the course. Then, there were the thousands of spectators who lined the route offering encouragement and praise to thousands of runners, 99.99% of those they had never met. Some showed up with clever signs (my personal favorite was, “You could be at work…”), others with words of encouragement, and some had just a simple smile. I truly believe that the volunteers and spectators are part of what makes the “magic” of a runDisney event because for that time, for that moment, all is right in the world and anything seems possible. It certainly is amazing what a little friendly encouragement can do. Of course, my favorite spectators were my family who happened to meet me right when I was starting to run on empty.

Perhaps what was most magical about the WDW Marathon was the other runners. Truly, I don’t believe I have ever met a nicer, more inspiring group of people in my life. The runners of the WDW Marathon ranged from those who had goals of making the Olympics, such as the winner, to those who just wanted to have fun and enjoy the race, such as the gentleman I saw cross the line with a beer and tacos in hand (hats off to you, sir!). But, nowhere along that spectrum did I pick up on any judgement. Rather, I picked up that most people were running for a specific reason or purpose. Some were running for themselves, some were running for others. I chose to run the WDW Marathon for my own personal reasons but I never assumed that others would be doing the same. Perhaps the person who stuck out most in my mind was the young lady whose shirt said, “My Bucketlist: Defeat breast cancer – check; Earn my Ph.D.—check; Run the WDW Marathon.” With each passing mile, I met and saw more and more inspiring people and stories and it was such an encouragement. To some it may sound corny, but to use runDisney’s motto, every mile was magic to me because I realized we all have our stories, we all have our challenges, and we all have our goals that we want to achieve.







At mile 5, as I approached the Magic Kingdom, I was filled with energy and excitement. Around mile 15 I recall thinking that I’d never do this again. My legs were sore, my knees ached, and though I knew I needed to keep drinking, I couldn’t stomach the thought of water. Around mile 18 I felt like I wanted to give up. At mile 20 I witnessed a serious medical incident that was very disheartening (NOTE: runDisney took the safety of participants VERY seriously and responded almost instantaneously) and reminded me how serious a toll a marathon takes on the human body. As I entered EPCOT and approached mile 25, with the epic soundtrack in the background, I realized how much I had actually enjoyed the experience and I allowed myself to soak up the music, the people, and the atmosphere.

As I crossed the finish line, I felt such a tremendous feeling of accomplishment. Every muscle and bone ached, but I had done it. I had gone the distance. No pixie dust was involved. It was just me and my body working through each mile. But, I do like to think that it was the spirit of Walt Disney and his belief that we should never limit ourselves or our dreams that inspired me to keep one foot moving in front of the other. My hope is that someday you’ll get to experience that same feeling.

After finishing the race, I made plans with my family to enjoy the rest of the afternoon in EPCOT. While there, I got to experience the enjoyment of passing on the encouragement to those finishing the race that so many had passed on to me. In fact, being a spectator and cheering on others was almost as fun and exciting as being cheered for, especially now having a true appreciation for all that goes into completing a marathon.

I know I’ll be back running again. Though next time I’m going for the Dopey Challenge.







Walt Disney World Marathon Logo courtesy of runDisney.

Photo credits: Nathaniel Nelson