Marathon Weekend January 8-14th, 2020: Day 5

Activity Forums Travel Trip Planning & Reports Marathon Weekend January 8-14th, 2020: Day 5

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  • #139869

    eeyorepoohfan
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    Sunday January 12th:
    3am alarm. On bus by 3:20am. The bus driver was impatient and flew past the onramp for the highway because it was backed up. I don’t know where he thought he was going to go. But he ended up flipping around at Coronado Springs and we ended up in a massive line of traffic to get back to the highway turnoff. It took us 40 minutes to backtrack! The marathon was supposed to start at 5am. We got dropped off at 5:03am. Teri was freaking out the entire time on the bus, as were so many runners. One guy and even bailed off the bus and decided to try to run for it. But we were still miles away from the start. I have no clue if he made it to the race or not. The traffic was so backed up because apparently so many runners bailed off their buses since traffic wasn’t moving, they were blocking traffic lanes by walking in them! So it made things even worse! Ryan took our bag and went to bag check line and Teri and I booked it to no bags so I could send her off. As soon as we hit security they announced to not panic because the race start has been delayed by at least 15 minutes! Teri fell into my arms and sobbed in relief! We met back with Ryan and we walked her to the path for her to take to the corrals. I had been texting our other runners to keep them updated. Thankfully they had all been dropped off earlier since their driver followed the correct path. The race ended up starting at 5:28am, which is the normal time for it to start. They bumped it up to 5am this year and had a new course. The problem was that the bus drop off area was part of the race course in the first few miles! So until that road cleared, they couldn’t let runners start. My guess is they are going to have to rethink the course for the next marathon because that just didn’t work out for them. We watched the race start on the jumbo screen. The race started under yellow flag warning for heat. It was already warm at 71* and humid. We grabbed caffeine at the Joffrey’s truck. Then caught the monorail to the TTC then to MK to cheer from Main Street. It was cool to be on the monorail and see the runners on the road! We saw the first couple of wheelchair/hand cycle participants fly through at the TTC! We picked a spot on Main Street near the Christmas tree and we could see the runners entering in on Main Street and taking the hard 90* turn to run towards the castle. It was the perfect spot because we had plenty of time to spot all of our runners before they passed us! We got there just after the first 2 wheelchair participants came through. Ryan and I cheered until the very last runner came through and the hard sweep. We watched them close the wall off where they entered Main Street. I think we were there for around 2 hours. It was around mile 10.2 on their 26.2 mile run. It was getting so hot already by that point in time and we could see so many runners already struggling. But I hollered and screamed for all the runners, especially the back of the packers. We saw all of our runners and they were looking good but hot. We then took the monorail back to Epcot. We beelined it to France to get bacon, egg and cheese croissants and some caffeine. We cross the race course and we had to weave our way there. But we cheered on runners as we walked. We hustled to the finish line because based on texts, Teri was going to be getting close to finishing. Teri finished in 5 hours and 12 minutes which is insanely fast, even more so in the extreme heat! They put the race at red flag warning already, which meant they were starting to shorten the race course in specific areas to try to get runners to the finish line sooner because people were dropping in the heat. The tracker map was no longer accurate because it shows you the map and the estimated location of your runner based up timing mat check ins. We got Teri her bag and saw her husband (Ryan) and daughter Kailey at the finish line. Teri was in rough shape with pacing so fast, being sick and the extreme heat. We had carried all of her medals so she could get finisher pics with all of them. We gave her tons of congratulations and hugs and sent her home. She really needed rest and fluids. We went back to the stands to watch for our other runners. It was getting so hot. We heard they were cutting out Blizzard Beach from the course and possibly a few other sections. We thought we missed Justin and Christy because their bubble on the map tracker showed they should have finished but we didn’t get the text. Not long later we got the text that Chloe finished, but she had been pacing behind Justin and Christy. We saw and cheered her so loudly! She did it! Not long later we got the text that Justin and Christy finished. Sure enough, we saw them crossing! Again, more really loud cheers for them! It turns out that Chloe had her course shortened so she finished ahead of Justin and Christy. Not long later I got the text that Deedee and Henry finished and sure enough, we saw them crossing, more loud cheers!!! We worked our way to the reunion area to check on our runners. It was around 85*, so stinking hot! Chloe had already gone back to Pop to shower and recover so we missed saying goodbye to her. We found Justin and Christy and helped get Christy cooled down and provided her with shade because she wasn’t feeling well. Justin was feeling pretty good! They did amazing and paced very well, even more so in those heat conditions! I then went and found Deedee and Henry to check on them because I knew she was struggling with the heat. I was so proud of them! They finished just ahead of the balloon ladies. Turns out they stopped for a bathroom break and the course got cut more behind them so the balloon ladies almost caught up to them! They had gone through all their water, electrolytes and nutrition before the end of the race. It was brutal. But all of our Dopey Challengers finished!! I met back over with Justin, Christy and Ryan and Christy was feeling better. We said our goodbyes to them. It was amazing to finally meet them! They were super sweet and gave us a gift card as a thank you for all of the advice and for cheering them on. But really, it was our pleasure to do so! Ryan and I got on the last bus back to Pop at 1:30. We had the same guy lining people up for the bus to Pop every single morning. He was always happy, cheerful and super helpful. He even stepped on our bus before we left and thanked everyone for participating this weekend and to thank everyone for listening to instructions every day to get those buses filled and out quickly. We got back to our room and Teri and Kailey were there. Teri showered in our room and had packed her things up. Her Ryan was waiting in the car to drive them home. We said our goodbyes for today and sent them home. Ryan and I showered and got ready for the rest of the day. On a bus to MK and dropped off at 4pm. Haunted FP at 4:15pm. Space was down so we couldn’t use our FP. Dinner of tacos and nachos as Pecos Bills. Castle pics with our medals. Space was back up so we used our FP it took about 15 min but standby was at 75 min. Mine Train FP at 6:30pm. I got a Mickey bar while Ryan got ice cream on Main Street. Ate them in the alley. Left MK by 7:30pm. Our bus had just closed their doors, but they waited for us so we could board. Home in 15 min. Filled our mug with Sprite. To our room and stretched out. Lights out at 9:30pm. We were beat!
    Miles logged 14.8

    #139889

    eeyorepoohfan
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    Marathon

    #139899

    eeyorepoohfan
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    Marathon

    #139909

    eeyorepoohfan
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    Marathon

    #139929

    eeyorepoohfan
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    Marathon

    #139950

    eeyorepoohfan
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    MK


    #140527

    Nascfan
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    What a long but awesome day! Man, that heat was just brutal! I will never forget texting Chloe, pulling her through those miles as it got hotter and hotter, letting her know she was still well ahead of the balloon ladies. You guys got just about the same spot we had in 2018, it’s a great spot for seeing and cheering! It was so neat seeing you guys when we found the guy on Youtube running the marathon! And it worked out great that he wasn’t too far ahead of Chloe so I could tell her what was coming up.
    Christy in her pictures….”where are they?” And then, “oh HI!” LOL Your poor hands from all that clapping! You really did great! I do love that purple tree!
    Again, what a day! Such fun and HOT!

    #140537

    eeyorepoohfan
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    It was such a hot day! I don’t know how the runners did it! You were awesome for texting her! It was the perfect spot to watch from! Oh too funny! We are YouTube famous! LOL I loved Christy! It really is hard to see a specific person when you’re running! My hands hurt so bad that day but it was completely worth it! It’s a beautiful tree!!! A fun and hot day for sure!

    #140555

    SEJ101
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    Wow, what a great bus driver. :goofy: That just sounds so awful! Between the bus and the runners ditching said buses, man oh man. Not good. AND bus lane on the course. No wonder it was delayed :goofy: But also, it’s good that it was delayed so you guys could make it!
    Seeing the runners from the monorail sounds so cool!!! Lowkey jealous LOL And I’m so glad you got to see everyone on the course and finish line!!! Everyone looks so proud!!! :heart:
    And great job cheering!!!! It sounds like with the amount of cheering you did, you were probably just as tired as the runners! LOL And you have the hands to prove it!
    What a bummer the course was cut a bit. I was very intrigued to hear about the part through BB. But it sounds like it was for the best. Florida temps are….I don’t even need to finish that :goofy:
    And a big congratulations to all the Dopey runners, you guys did fantastic under those conditions! Especially Teri, holy cow what a trooper. :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :dopey:
    You got some great shots of the Castle and :se: !!! And of course, all the runners on Main Street!!! I love that so much!!!! AND SANTA!!!!! LOL :santamickey: :heart:
    All those shots of Epcot construction from the Monorail…oh, that made me miss the Epcot monorail so much. I’m going to be first in line when that reopens :stitch: LOL
    How nice of Justin and Christy to give you that gift! Plus the note’s sidenote is too funny! LOL :up: :leota:
    Aaaaaand Ryan looks asleep on 7DMT. I shouldn’t be surprised considering all the early wake ups. I don’t blame him one bit. :dopey: LOL

    #140562

    warrsm
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    Wow such stress before even getting to start the race. Crazy they didn’t think traffic like that would happen and planned better. But how fun to do all that cheering!! And they Must all be so proud to have tackled all those miles! Love seeing all the a Christmas still up :)

    #140586

    eeyorepoohfan
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    @sej101 Right?! Such a GREAT bus driver! There was way too much stress that morning! We had a close call for our marathon morning during our Dopey challenge too! It was so cool to see the runners from the monorail!!! Everyone was so proud of their accomplishment! I’m so happy we could cheer everyone on!! And it really was cool to cheer everyone! I always appreciate cheering spectators so much during my races! I’m glad I could return the favor! It really was a bummer for the runners getting their course cut. But it really was for their safety. I need to go find YouTube videos people posted from the BB section! Apparently runners were jumping in to cool off! I am still so proud of all the Dopey runners!!! And Teri was a stubborn trooper. :) It was so cool to watch the sunrise on Main Street! I THINK Santa finished the race. I’m trying to remember if I saw him at the finish line. He was at the very back end of runners on Main Street just ahead of the balloon ladies! I bet you miss the monorail so very much!! I know you will be first in line! It was super sweet of Justin and Christy and I loved the note too! ;) We were SOOOOOOO TIRED! LOL

    @warrsm
    The traffic is always really bad for the full marathon morning. But this seemed exceptionally bad! I can guarantee they won’t use that course again because of the issues at the race start! They were all very proud to finish all those miles for sure! And I was so very happy to be able to cheer them on! They typically leave Christmas up until after the races! So it’s extra magical for the runners!

    #140601

    SEJ101
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    I vaguely remember that. Your Dopey was like…foreeeeeeever ago. :goofy: But yeah, WAY too much stress. Not good for racing…or cheering. :goofy: I’m glad that you love to cheer!!! I bet it really helps everyone get in a good mental state, which is just as important. :dopey: Safety first! But oh my gosh, that sounds insane!!! I’d love to see that!!! I’ll have to look for those too!!!! :surprised: LOL :snowman: Geez, I hope Santa made it! LOL Well a little bit. I think I miss the Epcot one more though because literally on Disney’s last day I expressed wanting to ride it. We didn’t, and at the time I thought it was no big deal. Boy was I wrong. I mostly miss just seeing over construction walls though, which Disney has in place for a reason. LOL

    #140612

    eeyorepoohfan
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    It was forever ago! January 2018!!! Way too much stress for sure! But at least it all turned out okay! It was one of their hottest marathons in history. We were roasting just cheering! I couldn’t imagine running in it! I really hope Santa made it! Aw man! I know how you feel! I did a quick wave goodbye to WDW at the end of January and said “see you in April!”. And look how that turned out. I didn’t say a full goodbye. Just a “see you real soon!” You just like peaking over the walls! LOL

    #140616

    SEJ101
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    Yeah, that was forever ago. It feels like 2018 was a lifetime ago! :goofy: Wow, no kidding! That’s insane!!! :surprised: I don’t think any of us got a proper goodbye. There was no way of knowing what was in store :( I really do!!!! I love watching construction! Don’t know any of the proper terminology or what anything does, but it looks cool! Fun to watch over time! LOL

    #140620

    eeyorepoohfan
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    It really does feel like forever ago!!! Yep! The temps were in the 90’s I think! Way too hot! You’re right! No one was prepared for a real goodbye, minus the people who were there the week before the closure since the announcement had been made. I love watching construction too! I grew up going around construction sites! I don’t know most of the technical terms either! But it still intrigues me!


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