The Walt Disney World Marathon took place on January 8, 2006.  After a year of preparation I was in corral G for the 06:00 AM start, along with about 10,000 other marathon hopefuls.  We stood and shivered in the cold until the countdown went to zero, a shower of fireworks went up, and at

05:58:46 we were off on our adventure.

    As many of you know, I started preparing for this race over a year ago, when I could barely run six miles, let alone 26.2.  An advertisement for this race caught my eye in Runner's World magazine while I was contemplating what I should do to motivate myself to run in 2005.  I have always loved Disney World, so a long race in that location instantly became my new dream.

I told my mom about it, and we agreed that if I was successful in preparing myself to run it, that would be my Christmas present in 2005.

    We left Columbus on Friday, Jan 6, and journeyed to Orlando.  The plan had been to check out the Expo when we arrived, then go to the hotel.

However, when we saw the line of cars going into the Wide World of Sports complex we made the decision to go to the hotel, and catch the bus from the hotel to the Expo.  We checked into the Boardwalk Resort at about 4:00 in the afternoon, dropped our stuff off in the room and headed to the Expo.

    The Expo was very crowded, as the half marathon was scheduled for Saturday, and all of the runners were required to check in on Friday evening.  This was the first year that Disney held the Half Marathon and the Marathon on separate days, so in addition to the Saturday runners there were 3000 runners who hoped to run both races, and in the process complete the inaugural Goofy Race and a Half Challenge.  However, the long line moved quickly, and it was no more than 20 - 30 minutes before I had checked in and we were roaming about the floor and examining the displays.  I got my goody bag, checked in with the Cliff Pace team and Mom and I went looking for something to eat. 

    On Saturday we went to MGM Studios and EPCOT, saw some of the new attractions and some old favorites, then turned in early, as the last bus for the start of the race left the resort at 04:00 AM.

    The temperature bottomed out the day of the race at 33 F.  I had an old sweatshirt that I could wear as a throwaway, but I had planned on running in shorts.  The tights I brought were new, and I had not run over ten miles in them, but I wore them anyway, breaking the rule about never doing anything new on race day.  Fortunately, this decision did not come back to haunt me.

I woke up at about 2:00 AM, and lay in bed fretting until my wake-up call came at 3:00.  I then dressed, ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a banana, and drank a liter of water, and went to catch the bus at 3:30.

    We arrived at the starting area at about 03:50.  This was arranged in a large parking lot near the EPCOT Center.  I did not linger in the reception area as I did not have any family or friends with me, and I was not checking a bag.  I went on through the bag check tents and walked the half-mile or so the starting corrals.  Disney set up a split start this year, with half of the corrals being designated Blue, and the other half Red.  These ran different courses through EPCOT and rejoined  at the three mile mark.  From there the courses were the same.  I arrived in starting corral G at around 4:30 and settled in to wait until the start.  This time was made more bearable by the giant television and the stereos alternating between music and Disney celebrities interviewing runners and talking about the race.

    The race officially started at 05:58:49.  We were sent on our way with a countdown and a shower of fireworks.  Since my corral was the last one, I crossed the starting line about 5 minutes after the official start of the race. 

    We ran through Disney World, starting with EPCOT at mile three, Magic Kingdom at 10 1/2, Animal Kingdom at 17, MGM Studios at about 22, and EPCOT again at just before mile 25.  The race finished in the same EPCOT parking lot where it started.  This was my first marathon, but to my inexperienced eye the crowds of spectators seemed quite large and enthusiastic.  Since our names were printed on our numbers, the spectators were able to cheer us by name, once it got light enough to read our bibs.  It actually took me a while to realize that people were cheering for ME.  This helped a good bit toward the end of the race.  In addition, we had the enjoyment of running through the parks themselves, and Disney went out of their way this year to provide plenty of distractions in the ³boring² parts between the parks.

There were local high school bands, Disney characters, military units, and amusing signs along the way to keep your spirits up.  I was not aware of any long stretch during the race that did not some sort of distraction.

    Once we crossed the finish we were given Mylar blankets and our medals, and had our Championchips removed.  Then it was on to the refreshment area where we got bananas, oranges, Twinkies, Powerade, and water.  I have to say, the food was better at the Alpharetta Half Marathon in October.  Since Cliff Bar was a prominent sponsor of this race, I was surprised that their products were not available at the finish line.  Still, the refreshments were adequate. 

    For my first marathon, this race was everything I had hoped it would be, and I hope to do this one again.  Maybe even go for the Goofy challenge...?