The Start of Something Big
With so many new members joining our group, it may be time for a quick
preview/review of what to expect at the start of the Disney Marathon and
Half Marathon.
For runners who have not experienced a "big race" start, the Disney
start can appear to be confusing and intimidating. Just keep reminding
yourself where you are: Disney World, where they are experts at moving
tens of thousands of people every day. There is a high level of
organization behind the scenes that is designed to get you to the
starting line and through the race safely and securely.
Here are some step by step tips drawn on my experience and gleaned from
conversations from others. As usual, YMMV (Your mileage may vary).
The night before:
With such an early start to the race, final pre-race preparations really
start the night before. Lay out your race day uniform, and pin your
race number on ahead of time. This is a safety issue nobody wants to
stick a safety pin in their finger at 3 am!
Take the time to lace your ChampionChip device into your shoe laces. No
need to fumble around in the dark with a small, black piece of plastic
while you are trying to rush out the door.
If the weather is typical this year, you will want to put on an extra
layer or two over your racing kit. You will be standing around for an
hour or more before the start, and it can be quite chilly in the dark.
Just make sure you can easily lift up an outer layer to expose your race
number, as you will have to show it several times before the start in
order to gain access to the race corrals.
The array of clothing on display at the start is quite amusing. Many,
many runners wear a plastic trash bag as a windbreaker. Others are
garbed in surgical scrubs or painter's coveralls. Still others look like
they just stepped off the pages of a Runners World photo shoot, with the
latest styles of high-end running suits.
I usually wear an old pair of sweat that have seen better days. Why?
Because I am going to throw them away! Just before the starting gun I
strip off my outer layers and toss them to the side of the starting
corral along with about half of the 23,000 runners around me. So I
ignore the fashion police and dress like a running bum!
When you picked up your race number at the Expo, you also received a
plastic bag. This is your personal bag that can be used to transport
stuff from the race start to the finish line. This is particularly
important for half marathon runners, as the finish is about 13.1 miles
away. You can stuff the bag with a dry shirt, fresh socks, extra food,
etc. However, don't put valuables like your wallet, purse or Rolex watch
into the bag. Your race number has a slip you can tear off and attach to
the bag with a plastic tie. This corresponds with your race number,
which you will be required to show in order to claim your bag after the
race.
I also layout a bottle of PowerAde and an energy bar the night before.
These are my pre-race breakfast, all set to eat on the run as I head for
the bus.
Finally, get to bed early, but don't expect to sleep soundly. Every year
I call the hotel desk to reserve a wake up call for 3:30 am. And every
year I wake up at 3:23 am and wait for the phone to ring.
Getting to the start:
With such an early start to the races (6 am), Disney wants us in place
and gathered together by 5 am. If that seems horribly early, think about
what time you would arrive if the race started at noon. Probably around
11 am, right? So the 5 am arrival is only different because it is dark
and cold.
If you are staying at a Disney hotel, you will quickly realize that
there are probably hundreds of other marathoners at the same hotel.
Disney provides comfortable tour buses (not the standard city buses
from Disney transportation) to take runners and spectators from the
hotels to the start in the Epcot parking lot. The buses start running as
early as 3:30 am and generally run until about 4:30 am.
DON'T wait and try to catch the very last bus, hoping to catch some
extra sleep or another cup of coffee. Everybody else has the same idea,
and the lines waiting to get on the last bus can be longer than those
for Splash Mountain. You are going to be too excited to sleep anyway, so
get up and catch an earlier bus.
If you are staying at a monorail resort (Contemporary, Polynesian or
Grand Floridian), you can hop on the monorail to Epcot, as they start
running extra early on race day.
If you are staying off-site and driving to Epcot, start early. Traffic
jams can be extraordinary leading into Epcot. Even the Disney resort
buses are delayed by the thousands of cars streaming toward the parking
lots.
I have driven in Boston for more than 30 years and have seldom seen a
traffic jam the likes of that going into Epcot on race morning. I would
allow about 45 minutes to 1 hour for the LAST MILE into the Epcot
parking area. Seriously, get out the door and on the road early.
At least they don't charge you for parking!
Before the start:
Okay, so now you have arrived at Epcot. You have parked your car, hopped
off the monorail or been dropped off by the bus. The scene before you is
absolutely surreal.
Bright sodium lights turn the Epcot parking lot into an island of light
in the early morning darkness. There are tents of various sizes and
color everywhere, separated by barriers and fences for no apparent
reason. Thousands and thousands of people are converging from different
directions. A powerful PA system is continually blaring instructions and
encouragement.
Looming behind all of this is the glowing silver golf ball of
Spaceship Earth and Mickey's disembodied arm wielding a magic wand. Sort
of spooky at 5 am.
All in all, a scene that alternates between chaos and fascination. It
will certainly raise your resting heart rate by a few beats.
Don't worry. It is all designed to separate the runners from the
spectators, then to funnel the runners toward the start on Epcot Drive.
As always, there is a method to Disney's madness.
First, ignore the smaller, outlying tents marked with letters of the
alphabet. My first year at Disney I had the Disney commando mentality
and rigidly searched for the tent with the "M" representing my last
name. I stood there all alone waiting to be told what to do, while
runners streamed past me.
Silly me. Those outlying tents are the family reunion area set up for
runners to find their families and supporters AFTER the marathon.
Instead, move with the crowd toward the "circus tents" and line of
school buses positioned toward the back of the parking lot. The school
buses are there to transport your personal bag to the finish line. At
this time you can stuff your extra clothing into the bag so you will
have something dry and warm to wear at the finish.
After the school buses, you will pass through narrow openings in a
temporary storm fence where you will have to show your race number to a
volunteer. Spectators are not allowed beyond this point: only
registered runners.
If your family and friends, God bless them!, have risen, bleary-eyed,
to accompany you to the start, this is where you must say good-bye.
Those poor, supportive souls must now wait for an hour or more in the
dark and cold in order to try and catch a glimpse of their running hero
(that's you) among the 23,000 or so bobbing heads at the start.
Once you pass through the fence, an amazing transformation takes place.
Although you are only a few steps removed from the "outside world", it
seems as if time slows down and the tumult subsides. Now you are among
nothing but other runners, all preparing to face the same grueling test
as you.
If you have arrived by 5 am, you still have some time to kill. Many
runners bring along a plastic bag or poncho to spread on the ground and
sit or lie down. (I find the asphalt a little too hard to be
comfortable.) Many others spend the entire time nervously stretching,
shifting from foot to foot, sipping bottled water or standing in line
for a porta potty.
Oh, yes, the porta potties. There are hundreds of them! It seems almost
every runner has to empty his or her bladder before the start: too much
water, coffee or simply nerves. There are enough porta potties for
everybody.
One of my favorite ways to pass the time while waiting is to look at
what other runners are wearing. I like to pick out singlets and uniforms
from running clubs I have heard about. And there are dozens and dozens
of very entertaining costumes, most of which are Disney themed. I
mentally assign them a rating based on originality and execution.
(The all time winner was the women who ran the race dressed as Cruella
DeVille, surrounded by about 20 guys dressed as dalmations. She
continually ordered them around and they barked back at her.)
This is also a good time to play, Spot the Disney Dead. I have never,
ever been able to meet up with any member of the Disney Deads in the
starting area. I mean, how hard can it be to find somebody among 23,000
people? Still, I will keep looking.
About 15-20 minutes before the start, the PA announcer will ask the
runners to start heading for the far end of the holding pen, and onto
a service road that leads to the starting area. Yes, there is a walk of
about a half mile or so just to get to the start.
Some people liken this to the Bataan Death March. Nonsense! I find this
to be among the most enjoyable parts of the Disney marathon experience.
Here you are among 23,000 like-minded friends, all facing the same
imminent challenge. (Don't let the "greyhounds" who start up at the
front fool you, they are just as nervous and apprehensive as the
walkers at the back of the pack.) Now we are all moving slowly toward
the moment of truth. People are cracking bad jokes, offering support,
sharing stories from previous marathons, or simply turned inward to
gather the mental strength necessary for the hours ahead.
Into the corrals:
At the end of the service road the huge group of runners will be split
and directed to their respective corrals. Those running the full
marathon go one way, half marathon runners go another. (From a quick
look at this year's course map, the half marathoners will probably go
off to the left, full marathoners will continue straight to the other
side of Epcot Drive.)
The corrals are arranged by anticipated finish time and correspond to
your race number. The lower race numbers are assigned to the faster
runners, who will enter the corrals closest to the starting line. I
think each corral holds about two-thousand runners. There are plenty of
race volunteers in place to help you locate the corral that matches your
race number.
You will have to show your race number to get into the corral. The
corrals are separated by a bright orange plastic storm fence. The
dividers between corrals will come down just a few minutes before the
race start.
Once you get into the corral, there is more waiting to be done. Now is
the time for last minute stretching, checking that your laces are tied,
straightening your race number, all the little details that suddenly
will seem so important. I have actually seen a woman putting on makeup
while waiting for the start.
In recent years, it seems like every other runner in the corral is on a
cell phone chatting with somebody who must love them very much. Who else
would take a phone call at 5 on a Sunday morning?
If the weather is warm enough to discard your outer layer, do it now and
pass your clothing over to the side of the corral to be tossed onto the
median strip. Race volunteers will pick up discarded clothing and donate
it to a local charity: you will NOT get it back! On colder race days,
many runners keep on those outer layers for the first few miles and only
discard them once they have warmed up.
Just before 6 am, the big celebrities arrive. Mickey and Minnie, Donald
and Daisy show up riding atop a double decker bus. The mice are here to
start the marathon, the ducks handle the starting job for the half
marathon. When you see the characters, you know the start is very near.
The corral dividers come down and the groups surge forward to fill in
behind the faster runners ahead.
Some second tier celebrity will sing the National Anthem, and perhaps
"God Bless America" Everybody sings along.
The anticipation and excitement really climbs sky high at this point. I,
for one, can't help but have a big grin plastered across my face the
entire time leading up to the start. I know that, despite the physical
challenge we are facing, we are all in for the time of our running
lives.
Finally, the countdown begins and, at zero, fireworks shoot up from
the gridwork over the starting line. The entire field surges forward and
stops. You simply can't force that many people through a small opening
at one time. Plan on walking for a few minutes in order to reach the
actual starting line. Don't worry, the computer chip on your shoe will
record your actual (net) time. As you approach the starting line you
will hear a cacophony of beeps: the ChampionChips recording thousands
of feet crossing the starting line.
Now you are off on a great adventure! Enjoy every minute.
Bill McDonough
