This is the fourth part of my Goofy Challenge Recap! Check out parts one, two and three!
Almost right after the half marathon, runDisney issued a heat advisory for the marathon the next day. This wasn’t going to be a race to speed through.
After my experience with half marathon pre-race, I decided to wake up an hour earlier so I could meet up with my friends before the race. I was ready to go by 3am this time.
I made it to the race around 4ish, and was (finally!) able to meet up with Team #runDisney!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people this excited at 4am!
A few minutes later, we began hearing the call to start heading to our corrals. I was DETERMINED to make it to my corral this time! My blogger friends Matt and Joe were in the same corral and had the same game plan of taking the race easy, so we decided to run the marathon together.
We made it to our corral on time (hooray!), and anxiously awaited the start of the race. Luckily, it wasn’t too long and before we knew it fireworks were going off and we were running (this time I also made sure the GPS was on!).
The starting line! (photo: runDisney)
Our original race plan was to mix up the running and walking, however we were really excited to be there we ran at a faster pace for the first 8 miles. Around mile 8 or 9, it was starting to really heat up. I normally don’t stop at every water stop, however I quickly realized this would be key to not dehydrating with the heat. Disney did a great job of providing water and Powerade stops; it seemed like there were stops almost every mile to 1 1/2 miles.
The rest of the race we mixed it up with longer walking breaks and then eventually switched over to running intervals: 4 minute running, 1 minute walking. We also (a first for me!) stopped for a few character photos.
The race was a lot of fun, and completely flew by! We quickly passed through the big Mile 20 surprise (a big display with all the medals from the marathon for the past 20 years), and before I knew it we were back in Epcot getting our medals!
My first marathon was complete! Not only that, but I had run my first marathon completely pain free. My knee/IT band issues didn’t come up once!
Much needed drink after Goofy weekend!
This race weekend was one of the best racing weekends I’ve ever had. I didn’t really know what to expect going into the Goofy Challenge, however I’m really glad I did it! It was such an amazing experience, and I learned a lot about running and myself.
And now I have some times to go after for Goofy 2014!
Disney Marathon Results
Time: 4:41:11
Division Place: 153/835
Female Place: 1,645/10,619
Overall Place: 4,756/20,680
Goofy Challenge Results
Time: 6:38:06
Division Place: 16/156
Female Place: 292/3,056
Overall Place: 1,083/6,328
Nice recap Ali…looks like you had a really fun race. Can you tell me where you found the results for Goofy that showed your division place etc? The only results I found on the runDisney site did not include that. Thanks!
Pam recently posted…RunDisney Marathon Weekend MeetUp in Pictures
Leah from Twins Run in Our Family put this together an excel file, just have to sort to calculate ranks: http://t.co/T8hfuIH4
Ali recently posted…2013 Disney Marathon
Great re-cap!!! I so badly want to RUN DISNEY!!! It’s on my bucket list for sure…… Thank You for the inspiration!!
I love your skirt!!! It looks like so much fun. Hopefully I’ll be seeing you at disney 2014
Sarah recently posted…It’s only four months…
Wow – what a weekend! Looks like you had a fun time and were smart with your pace. Someday I’ll do the Goofy challenge… until I’ll just have to live vicariously through great racers like you!
Lauren recently posted…Princess Half Marathon Fuel Plan
Wow – Goofy weekend for your first marathon – talk about going big!! Smart girl slowing down and taking it easy in the heat, and you ended up with a great first marathon time! Congrats!
Heather recently posted…This Week In Training
Great recap. It sounds like you ran a really smart race. Congratulations!
It sounds like a fun race! I really want to run the disneyland half marathon this september
Brittany recently posted…Friday Faves: Hair Edition
Hey! I found your blog on the 13 in 13 group and wanted to say hi! I’m originally from the Twin Cities but live in CO now. And I am obsessed with Disney, so I’m loving this recap
I’m going for the Coast to Coast challenge in 2014! Happy Running 
Jeff Parker recently posted…How Depression Pushed Me Away From And Brought Me Closer To God
Congratulations on your first marathon – and while doing Goofy as well! Good call on making lots of water/ powerade stops…I did the same and those sponges they gave out at Mile 17 were amazing!
Danielle recently posted…Walt Disney World Full Marathon Recap
I love your race tracker board! I can’t believe you ran your first full in the goofy, awesome!!
Kat recently posted…2013 – The Year of the Run-cation
Congratulations on your first marathon! It certainly sounds like you had a strong race even with the heat. Love all the bling you got from doing Goofy!
Suzanne recently posted…Biggest Loser & MyFitspiration
Awesome job! Looks like a ton of fun!!