1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,240 You're listening to episode 234 of the Marathon Running Podcast. 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:07,280 In this episode, we're going to talk about Disney running. 3 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:17,880 This is the Marathon Running Podcast by Letty and Ryan from 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,600 We Got the Runs. Join us in our running community 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:24,280 for weekly content that is motivational, educational, and 6 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:27,280 inspirational, and that the Marathon Running Podcast take 7 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,360 you from the starting line to the finish line and beyond. 8 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,160 Hey runners, and welcome to episode 234. 9 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:42,200 My name is Ryan. My name is Lady. 10 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,240 And welcome to our podcast if you're new and if you're not 11 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,120 new, welcome back. We try to provide you guys with 12 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,920 important information for running, helpful tips, etcetera. 13 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,200 And this episode I'm pretty excited about because, Ryan, we 14 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:59,360 have never done a Disney run and you haven't either, right? 15 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,160 Nope. But we did talk to a person that 16 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,680 does them very, very frequently, not just at Disney World but 17 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:09,600 also Disneyland. So it was an exciting episode to 18 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,640 prepare questions for. And after speaking with him, I'm 19 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:17,000 very intrigued and I think we should try one ourselves. 20 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,480 Yeah, You know, I had a friend in school training Brittany. 21 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:24,680 She probably is not listening but she used to always say how 22 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,600 fun they were and it kind of made me want to try it too. 23 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:29,560 What did she say about them? What was so fun about them? 24 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:31,760 I don't know. She she really enjoyed just 25 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:32,960 this. She was kind of a Disney type 26 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:35,840 person where she would go to Disney all the time, but I think 27 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,080 just being able to run through the whole area and and see it 28 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:43,360 again for her I think was fun. I like the thought of being able 29 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:46,640 to go there without any crowds of people and it would probably 30 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,520 change the whole feel and atmosphere as you're running 31 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,400 through there 'cause you get to see all what they've built, but 32 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,480 you don't actually have to like go through the crowds. 33 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:58,040 I I guess it's you do still have crowds that they're running, but 34 00:01:58,040 --> 00:01:59,280 at least it's a different type of crowd. 35 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,280 Like everyone's kind of going the same direction and not. 36 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,360 And I thought that was very interesting from coming from you 37 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,680 because you've in the past told me about Disney runs before. 38 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:09,680 And you are definitely not Disney person. 39 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:12,600 No, and I'm not a Disney person either, which is probably why I 40 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,480 haven't done one of these. I don't mind Disney, but I'm not 41 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:18,080 a person that, you know, our kids have to have these annual 42 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:19,640 passes because we live in Florida. 43 00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:22,320 We've been to Disney twice and it was, it was a great 44 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,880 experience being there. But I don't know, I think we 45 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:29,480 spent our money traveling to other places, you know, because 46 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,120 Disney is really expensive with your family of four. 47 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:38,080 Yeah, I think just it's like infectious the the love that 48 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:41,080 other people have for Disney and and doing that stuff. 49 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,760 So then you're like, hmm, maybe I'm missing something. 50 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:45,480 I need to go try it. I know. 51 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,920 And and I think because we have kids going and watching the 52 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:52,080 Disney movies for me kind of for the first time because I didn't 53 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,200 grow up here, it was kind of nice. 54 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,000 But yeah, so maybe Disney races will be in our future. 55 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,800 But of course, now we're going to talk to our guests and figure 56 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,960 out how difficult it is to sign up for these races because of 57 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:05,480 the world majors are selling out. 58 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:07,960 I bet you Disney's really hard to get into as well. 59 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,560 Yeah. And although we've not had as 60 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,040 much fun at the theme parks where you're waiting in line, 61 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,800 we've had enjoyed like Fort Wilderness and going camping 62 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,920 there and some other parts in Disney Springs and doing things 63 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,200 Disney that are other. So maybe the running will be fun 64 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:27,360 too. Exactly. 65 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:31,600 So who are we talking to today? So today we're talking to Rob, 66 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,680 who is on Instagram as the run Disney dad. 67 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:39,200 I was able to meet Robin person when I went to Orlando to run 68 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,120 with my friend who's also a running coach, Erica. 69 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,880 She was hosting one of these shake out runs and he was there. 70 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,760 We got into talking about Disney for about 30 minutes and I said, 71 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:52,240 sounds like you're going to be the perfect guest because he's 72 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:54,160 just, he's just done it so many times. 73 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,120 And like I said, not just Disney World, but also Los Angeles. 74 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:59,800 Yeah, sounds like it. Do you want to get into? 75 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:02,240 It yeah. So without any further ado, I'm 76 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,440 now going to play my conversation with Rob. 77 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,920 All right, so I'm on here with Rob, also known as the run 78 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,560 Disney dad on Instagram. Rob, thank you so much for 79 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:16,760 joining me today. Of course, absolutely. 80 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:19,279 Thank you for the opportunity. Of course, yeah. 81 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:23,480 And we met in Orlando, Shocker, really close to Disney and, and 82 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,320 we talked a little bit. And from our conversation, I 83 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:28,520 took away that you're quite the Disney expert. 84 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:34,880 So I wanted to kind of pick your brain for anyone that has the 85 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,680 desire to complete the Disney challenges. 86 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,040 But maybe before we hop into all of that, maybe tell us a little 87 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:45,800 bit about you briefly, how you became a runner, how you started 88 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:49,040 running Disney runs, and then we'll hop into what type of 89 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:50,800 challenges Disney even has. Sure. 90 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:59,360 Absolutely. So I, I went on a, I'll be, to 91 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:07,240 be brutally honest, I was 232 ish pounds four years ago and I 92 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:10,000 was not happy with how I looked, how I felt. 93 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:13,880 And also I have small children. So, you know, I wanted it, I 94 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:15,880 want to be around for them going forward. 95 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,400 So I decided that, you know, I was going to make some pretty 96 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:23,720 significant life changes and I did, starting with diet, kind of 97 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:25,800 conquered that part. And like everybody else, I hit a 98 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,480 plateau with just died alone. So I found other ways to become 99 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,640 more active. And running was one of those 100 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,440 things, you know, and it was not one of those things you can just 101 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:39,000 jump right into it. And I have done it slowly, you 102 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,400 know, over the years. I'm at a point now where, you 103 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:46,560 know, I can pretty successfully make it through most distances 104 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,080 and still feel good, you know, not feel like I want to pass out 105 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:51,640 at the end. But, you know, that's kind of 106 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:54,480 led me to this point. And then, you know, kind of 107 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,480 pursuant to the Disney races, a lot of those, getting into those 108 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:01,160 is relatively easy and you don't have like the pressure of like 109 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,920 your, you know, your big ones like the Boston Marathon and 110 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:04,840 stuff like that. So. 111 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,800 All right. So then I guess let's talk about 112 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,320 Disney races in general. And we're strictly talking about 113 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,600 Disney World in Orlando area. I know there's also Disneyland 114 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:20,520 and maybe we'll hop into that if we have more time, but how many 115 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:25,440 races are there and how does that work with signing up? 116 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:30,080 And then also, what's that big challenge that happens every 117 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,520 January? So every January, yes. 118 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:37,280 So there are. Let's see, there are, I believe 119 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,280 five race weekends that Walt Disney World does. 120 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:50,840 That is Princess race weekend. That is the Wine and Dine race 121 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:53,760 weekend. No, I'm sorry, there's 4 122 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,840 Princess weekend, one dine race weekend, and then you have the 123 00:06:56,840 --> 00:06:59,720 big one which is marathon weekend in January. 124 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,160 And that is that is the House of the Dopey Challenge, which we'll 125 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:05,960 get into. And then you have the season 126 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:11,120 finisher that is Springtime Surprise in April. 127 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:13,720 So those are kind of the four big ones. 128 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:23,800 And then each one of those has a 5KA10KA half marathon. 129 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,760 One of them, the Springtime Surprise, has a 10 Miller, and 130 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:33,400 then one of them, one in January, has a full marathon, 131 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,400 but the bulk of them have a 5K10K and 1/2 marathon. 132 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,840 OK, So I didn't realize that it was only the marathon one in 133 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:43,480 January, but that's good to know. 134 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,080 So four different weekends. We have the names, so I'll try 135 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:48,280 to link everything in the show notes that you're talking about, 136 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,400 of course. And let's talk about the sign up 137 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:56,640 process for Disney. As you know, other races have 138 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,640 they're signing up. Some of them are easier, some of 139 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:05,320 them are harder. I know from hearing that Disney 140 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:08,400 might be one of the ones that are harder to get into because 141 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:10,880 there's a lot of demand. Maybe you can talk about that a 142 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,800 little bit and then also what size of a field we're talking 143 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:16,880 about here. Sure. 144 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:22,080 So they are Disney because of their popularity, anything Run 145 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:24,600 Disney is, it is harder to sign up. 146 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:30,800 They have a window. So let me back up. 147 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:37,080 If you are a member of the Run Disney Club, a certain tier of 148 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:41,559 member, you can basically get a guaranteed entry into any one of 149 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:47,080 those events. If you're not, I am not, then 150 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:49,280 you basically it's somewhat of a lottery. 151 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:55,240 So on your day of registration, you sign in roughly between 9:30 152 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:59,520 to 9:45 in the morning and you get put in a queue just like, 153 00:08:59,560 --> 00:09:01,040 again, it's like complete lottery. 154 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:05,880 Once the registration opens, which is always 10:00 AM Eastern 155 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:10,400 Time on a Tuesday, you will then wait and you pray that when that 156 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,920 bar goes up that your and your number is called, that you're 157 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:16,200 able to get in and get into the race you want. 158 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:22,760 It's very, if you have anxiety, it is a super anxiety inducing 159 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,160 thing. And I do, so I completely get 160 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:28,000 it. But yeah. 161 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,040 And then there's also when you're in and you're signing up 162 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:33,400 for races, because you can't just sign up unless you're doing 163 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:36,040 a challenge. You can't just sign up for like 164 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:39,840 the 5K and then go back and do the 10K because the 10K might 165 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,120 sell out. So you might only get the 5K, 166 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:43,800 but at least you're into something. 167 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:48,880 But yeah, it is it it. It's a tough one, I know that. 168 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,040 Like the one marathon's the same way it's a lottery. 169 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,280 Yeah, and then the lotteries combined with time pressure, I 170 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,000 think the only reason I remember that from is New York, where 171 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:01,240 even if you had a time qualifier, there was a queue. 172 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:04,280 And if you weren't there on time, then even with a time 173 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:05,960 qualifier, you wouldn't make it now. 174 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:08,760 I mean, I'm sorry, now New York is completely out of your hands 175 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,480 because there's such a high demand for this race. 176 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:13,520 So I guess you're seeing the same thing for Disney. 177 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:17,640 Exactly. So you know, I, there's been 178 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:21,960 times where you know, my, my daughter, both my kids enjoy 179 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:23,240 because you're running through the parks. 180 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:25,600 So they enjoy being in these races with me. 181 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:27,920 My daughter enjoys a little more of the run aspect. 182 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:32,440 She's 12 like I do, but I, she doesn't do the challenges. 183 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:37,280 I will typically just bring her in the five KS with me, but I 184 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,080 will sign myself up obviously because I know like I'm doing 185 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:42,760 this to challenge myself and as part of a challenge. 186 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:45,600 So I'll sign her up for the 5K just to kind of be a fun run 187 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:46,920 with me. And there's times when I can't 188 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,960 get her in it because I'll go back in to sign her up and it's 189 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:52,840 already sold out. And it's a super bummer. 190 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:55,360 But you know, it's such is life at that point. 191 00:10:56,640 --> 00:11:00,000 And you said just to kind of backpedal a little bit, you said 192 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,480 that that's the method of signing up if you are a run 193 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:05,760 Disney member. What about for a general 194 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:09,040 population? So, so I am general population, 195 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:10,720 I don't, I am not a run Disney member. 196 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:13,640 So yeah, that's, that's how you sign up. 197 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:17,280 You basically log in at like I said, they usually open the 198 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:21,200 queues between 9:30 and 9:45 and then you can actually just wait. 199 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:22,800 They just put you in a virtual queue. 200 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,920 If you are a a club run Disney member, then you can actually, 201 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:33,000 depending on your level. So a silver member you're in 202 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,920 with general population as well. If you're a gold member or a 203 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:41,920 platinum member, you get a like preferential sign up process. 204 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:44,800 So they'll give you a link a couple days early and say here 205 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:46,320 you know, here's your link, go sign up. 206 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:49,080 If you're going to sign up or don't, it's completely up to 207 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,560 you. But the gold level and platinum 208 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:54,520 levels are guaranteed spots in certain races. 209 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,520 Wow. OK, it gets more complicated. 210 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:04,000 All right, So let's particularly talk about the January marathon 211 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,880 weekend. You and I were talking about it 212 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,200 being a challenge. Maybe just dive into that. 213 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:14,920 Sure I can. So January is Ron Disney's like 214 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:19,360 big kind of premier event that is marathon weekend and along 215 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,080 with that comes the Dopey Challenge, which you know 216 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:24,000 everybody that is the big one for everybody. 217 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:25,160 That's one everybody talks about. 218 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:33,240 The Dopey Challenge is a A5KA10KA half marathon and a 219 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,200 full marathon spread out over four days. 220 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:42,280 So it's a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday it's 48.6 221 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:44,640 miles. Once all is said and done of 222 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:47,920 just running. I have never actually measured 223 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:51,920 how far you're actually going because there's a lot of walking 224 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:54,320 to and from the bus to and from your resorts. 225 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:57,840 I'm sure it's way more than that. 48.6 No one's ever 226 00:12:57,840 --> 00:12:59,560 actually calculated it, myself included. 227 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:09,320 So, you know, I, the Dopey challenge was kind of one that I 228 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:11,960 guess when I get it, when I originally got into this fitness 229 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:15,280 challenge for myself, you know, and I and then starting to do 230 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,040 running and getting into run Disney races. 231 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,520 I'm like one day I'm going to do the Dopey challenge because 232 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:23,000 that's like the big one. And if I can do that, I know I 233 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:27,920 can probably accomplish most other races because it is a, a 234 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:31,320 mental challenge. It's a physical challenge. 235 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:33,800 So that that is their, their big boy. 236 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:38,800 And I, Disneyland has one as well that they do, which we can 237 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:41,120 talk about later on. They do like a coast to coast 238 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,880 challenge as well. But yeah, so it is the first 239 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:49,160 week of January as well. And what is the sign up process 240 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,320 for that? So is registration for 2025 long 241 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:54,840 gone or how does that work? Long gone. 242 00:13:54,840 --> 00:14:02,640 So registration for 2025 was in, it's actually I believe in March 243 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,160 of 2024. So it's like right after you 244 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:08,440 compete the race and you've kind of come back down to earth. 245 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:10,520 If you're, you know, your excitement, you've completed and 246 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:12,640 everything, and then you all of a sudden have to get right back 247 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:16,600 into preparing for it. Registration is before basically 248 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,080 the finale of the Run Disney season, which is in April. 249 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,000 OK. And what field size are we 250 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:23,640 talking about here for those races? 251 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:24,840 I forgot to mention that earlier. 252 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:33,640 So the I'm trying to remember from, because you, you can post 253 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:35,440 your time or you can look at your time results. 254 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:43,920 So I think in my just men, there was roughly 8000 men. 255 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,600 And I think overall there's probably close to, there's 256 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:52,000 generally more women than men that are competing this event. 257 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,480 So there was like 14 or 15,000 participant participants in 258 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,400 general. So it is a huge field of people, 259 00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:03,040 which is also one of the reasons I love doing it, because there's 260 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:05,760 a lot of people there that kind of share your energy and 261 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:11,480 enthusiasm. Yeah, I, I can't imagine it's, 262 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,400 it's a big commitment, right? Having all these four races on 263 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,920 your roster. What price point are we talking 264 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:19,560 about here? Because I know you know, 265 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,000 marathons, let's say Boston, Chicago, where we're talking 266 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,760 about about two to 300. So I can only imagine Disney, 267 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:27,360 right? There's a little extra price 268 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,400 tag. Yes, you would be correct. 269 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:35,760 So just for if we're just sticking with challenges, I mean 270 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:42,920 the Dopey challenge was probably between the six to seven $100 271 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:47,760 range, which again is for races. So it's it's pretty good. 272 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,480 I mean, if you incorporate it all in your, you know, you're 273 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:53,240 getting to run through some pretty cool places that does not 274 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:56,840 include any resort accommodations and it does not 275 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:01,520 include any park days. So when you complete your 5K or 276 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:03,880 10K and you want to spend some time in the park, that will be 277 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:06,560 an extra fee as well. OK. 278 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,920 And what about your family coming out and wanting to cheer 279 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:11,360 you on? Can they do that? 280 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:14,000 Is there like areas between the parks that they're allowed to go 281 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,400 spectate? Yes, there are. 282 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:20,400 So there's actually dedicated areas that don't cost, there's 283 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,560 no like spectator fee. So they can come out and there's 284 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:26,720 dedicated areas where spectators can go and cheer on their 285 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:28,640 families or just cheer on runners in general. 286 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:34,920 And they will, you know, they will kind of guide the 287 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:37,560 spectators to their designated locations and they can move 288 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:38,560 around. It's not like they're stuck in 289 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:40,560 that one spot, especially for a marathon, because then you're 290 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,200 there for three or four hours, You know that that's not the 291 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:44,880 case. You can move around and kind of 292 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:46,400 see them at different points if you want to. 293 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:49,040 OK, great. All right. 294 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:52,520 So another question before I start asking you about training 295 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:57,240 prep and tricks and hacks and all that is what about the race 296 00:16:57,240 --> 00:16:59,240 start? I heard that it starts 297 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:03,320 gruesomely early and the hardest part about that, I think is 298 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:05,200 having to do this four days in a row. 299 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,760 Like how is that managed? Also managed by you going to 300 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,800 sleep timely. So that is, that is the toughest 301 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:17,040 thing for me, the training part because it's very regimented and 302 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:21,880 you know exactly what to expect. The physical aspect of it is 303 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:23,960 tough, right? And training's tough and running 304 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:26,560 is tough, but it's the mental part of it for me. 305 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:34,480 So the starts, the corrals open up at 4:00 AM and for marathon 306 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:40,360 weekend, there is usually 5 corrals, A through E. 307 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:46,600 So in the first corral, corral A, the first group in the first 308 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:48,520 corral will get called at 5:00 AM. 309 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:55,680 So usually I wake up at the at the crack of dawn at 2 AMI can 310 00:17:55,680 --> 00:18:00,720 get myself ready, get on the bus to get over to Epcot. 311 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,480 Epcot is where all these races start for every single 312 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,240 challenge. It's basically the main parking 313 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,520 lot in Epcot and that's where all the corrals are placed. 314 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:11,840 That's where everything starts. So, and Disney provides 315 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,480 transportation to and from. So the busing's usually running 316 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:20,440 by 3:00 AM, sometimes earlier. So I wake up at 2:00, I hop on 317 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,560 the bus, I'm in my corral by 4 because I like to start at the 318 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:27,720 front of my corral. Not that that's just my personal 319 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:29,320 preference. I like to kind of be up there 320 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:32,560 and know like I can see the groups in front of me leaving 321 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,400 because it's so big that if you're towards the back of your 322 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,280 corral, you don't really know how close you are to the 323 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,840 starting line until you're only like a couple groups away. 324 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:43,840 And it can be a little, you know, a little nerve wracking. 325 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:49,800 But yeah, the, the mental part of that is kind of what, what 326 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:52,600 beats me up personally. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying 327 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:57,360 that because you're I have a goal of being in bed on these 328 00:18:57,360 --> 00:19:01,440 race nights at like 5:00 or 6:00, knowing full well I'm not 329 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:04,560 going to go to sleep, but knowing full well that I'm going 330 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,760 to be up at 2:00. And then you can get into this 331 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:11,320 like cycle of, OK, I'm relaxing, you know, I'm ready for 332 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:12,520 tomorrow. I can do this. 333 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:15,320 And then you get into, Oh, it's 8:30. 334 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,160 I'm going to close my eyes and just turn the TV off and see if 335 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:20,480 I can shut my brain off. And then like, you know, an hour 336 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:24,440 later I'm I'm not asleep yet. Let me see what time it is. 337 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:25,920 And you get in that horrible cycle. 338 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:28,080 All of a sudden it's 11:30 at night and you're like, Oh my 339 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:32,760 God, I have to be up at 2. AMI should be asleep and it just 340 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:36,920 doesn't happen. And even even on the last night, 341 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:40,280 you know, Saturday night into Sunday morning, your again, your 342 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,840 brain's going 1000 miles an hour because, you know, you have a 343 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:48,560 marathon trunk the next day and you're tired, but you're so 344 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,240 excited, your adrenaline's going that you're just trying to stay 345 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,800 as relaxed as you can. I find that what was easiest for 346 00:19:55,800 --> 00:20:00,320 me is I will do, you know, like one of the events because 347 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:02,320 they're early. I'll go right back to the room 348 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:04,920 and. Take an ice bath, get some good 349 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:06,880 recovery in. And then I was trying to fall 350 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:10,240 asleep for any length of time that I can because any amount of 351 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:14,080 rest is better than no rest. So that's, you know, that's the 352 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,160 biggest issue for me. But the the rest thing in the 353 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,600 early morning wake ups, that's a tough one to get over. 354 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,360 And if anybody has a better way to do it, please let me know. 355 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:25,320 I mean, I think your idea of having that nap afterwards, that 356 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:27,480 sounds good. You know, the problem is we all 357 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:29,880 have those nights before the marathon, but you're doing it 358 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,840 four days in a row. Yeah, exactly. 359 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:36,720 So you know, like after the 5K, you can probably knock that out 360 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,360 pretty quick and it's really no big deal. 361 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:41,920 And then you can kind of go back and relax. 362 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:44,440 Also, the other part is you're in Disney World. 363 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,800 So for for me, I live 20 minutes from the parks, so I can just 364 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:50,840 kind of turn that part off. Like I don't have to go to the 365 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,240 parks because we go quite frequently. 366 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:55,080 For a lot of these people, they're here, this is their 367 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,800 vacation as well. So they go and they do their 5K 368 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:01,840 or their 10K and then they go spend all day in the park and 369 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:04,360 then they have to go home and then try and turn all that off. 370 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:06,680 You know, their kids are having a great time and they're trying 371 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:08,680 to get the kids to go to sleep. And I completely get that. 372 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,360 But yeah, that had adds a whole another, you know, challenge to 373 00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:14,960 the challenge itself. Yeah, I was going to say that 374 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,520 because if people travel with their kids, the kids probably 375 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,800 won't even be awake by the time you come back and then they're 376 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:25,000 ready to get their days started. So that's pretty lucky that you 377 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:27,840 don't live, you know, that you live close enough that you can 378 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:30,520 just drive there. And your family's used to going 379 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,480 to Disney, so it's not like, you know, the the one vacation a 380 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:35,440 year. Exactly. 381 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:36,600 And that's, you know, that's right. 382 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:43,000 Am I on, on marathon weekend? Because my, my family will like, 383 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:44,680 we will stay in one of the resorts. 384 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:50,280 So that way, you know, like after they, after I pass them 385 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,400 and you know, we exchange high fives for lack of a better term, 386 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:55,400 they can kind of go back to the room and relax a little bit. 387 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:59,080 Because yeah, I, I wake up and I leave the room, You know, I 388 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:01,240 kissed them all goodbye, but I leave the room and they're still 389 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:04,440 asleep. And then when I come back, I'm 390 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:06,440 exhausted. So the first thing I do is fall 391 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:08,920 asleep. So, you know, they, they will 392 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:10,840 stay with me. But yeah, you're, you're 393 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:12,840 absolutely right. I, I wake up and I kiss them 394 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,080 goodbye. And sometimes I might get like a 395 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,280 quiet moan or they'll just smile at me and tell me to leave them 396 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:20,600 alone. Oh my God, that's funny. 397 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,280 All right, so we already talked about, you know, the training 398 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:27,960 and how that's really organized. And you know, I've I've over the 399 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,960 weekend found out that even how Higdon training plans have a 400 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:35,000 Disney Dopey Challenge 1. So so we've got that covered. 401 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:38,040 But let's talk about some of the tricks and hacks. 402 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,320 And I'm going to let you kind of lead where you want to go with 403 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:43,800 this because I'm not familiar with that race, but maybe you 404 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:47,280 can tell our listeners that are ready to hop into this part of 405 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,600 the conversation what is best to do. 406 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:57,160 So for like for for any tricks, I don't necessarily have time 407 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,240 saving for prep wise. Obviously you're up at 2:00 AM. 408 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:05,800 So I like to basically set out everything on the bed the night 409 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:09,800 before, make sure I have it laid out in the most easy way 410 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:14,120 possible so that I can just put my gear on and get out the door 411 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:15,800 with as little strife as possible. 412 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,040 Because the last thing you want to be doing when your brain is 413 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:22,440 completely not functioning that early in the morning and it's 414 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:25,480 dark is trying to find what clothes you're going to wear or 415 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:27,960 leave with, you know, like slippers on your feet and just 416 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,720 and then you all the you know, you get to the race start and 417 00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:33,160 something is not right because that will completely throw you 418 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:34,560 off. So I will lay everything out, 419 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,000 make sure I have it all set and ready to go and all I have to do 420 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,400 is put it on and leave. One of the biggest things to 421 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:47,520 remember is that for the people, because you can wear costumes, a 422 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:52,040 lot of people encourage the, the wearing of costumes and you can, 423 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,040 but just make sure that you are going to be running and you're 424 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:56,400 going to be, there could be rain. 425 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,200 So if it's something that comes apart, I guess, you know, make 426 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,880 sure that it's OK with your, your, you're OK with parting 427 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:03,640 with it. If it starts to come apart or if 428 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,640 it gets uncomfortable, you know, you're going to be sweating. 429 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:10,280 It's Florida and you could get wet and you could be a little 430 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:11,840 bit chilly. Like, you have to be OK with 431 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,760 whatever you're wearing basically being disposable. 432 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:20,440 One of the biggest things as well as far as like prepping for 433 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:23,400 the January run is while we are in Florida, it's cold in the 434 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:24,680 morning. It's probably going to be in the 435 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,760 40s that first week of January. So you want to make sure you 436 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:31,240 have disposable clothes. You can go to any old thrift 437 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,480 store, get yourself a set of, you know, cheap sweats. 438 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:36,600 Even if they're really oversized, it's OK because 439 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,880 they're easier to take off, sweatpants, sweatshirt, whatever 440 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,320 the case may be. And as you're running, you can 441 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:44,680 just kind of strip them off as you start to get warm and, you 442 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:46,160 know, your body comes up temperature. 443 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:51,320 The nice thing is all that stuff that gets discarded run Disney 444 00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:54,360 collects and they clean it up and they donate it to charitable 445 00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:56,120 organizations kind of around the area. 446 00:24:57,720 --> 00:24:59,880 So yeah, I, I will typically do that. 447 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:03,600 I just get like really baggy, you know, set of sweats that I 448 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:05,880 don't mind getting rid of because it's, it can be pretty 449 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,080 chilly if you're standing out there in just straight run gear. 450 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:16,720 As far as you know, like fueling is a nice thing because as 451 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:19,400 runners, one of the, one of our morning prep things along what 452 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:22,240 we're going to wear is like, are we going to bring gels with us 453 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,520 or what type of hydration are we going to have run? 454 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,280 Disney does a really, really good job of making sure that 455 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:33,960 their athletes are hydrated and fed. 456 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:38,840 So they have hydration stations throughout every course from 457 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:40,960 their 5K all the way up to their full marathon. 458 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:46,840 They provide water and Powerade. Then you can bring a hydration 459 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,800 pack if you would like to run, you know, if you have your own 460 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,400 hydration, you know, with whatever company you prefer. 461 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,560 But they do provide water and Powerade and they also provide 462 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:01,040 sport beans, which are a Jelly Belly product that make Jelly 463 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:03,160 beans. But they provide sport beans as 464 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:05,200 well as bananas on the longer run. 465 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,280 You know, the big joke is when you finish this long run, like 466 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:09,560 your prize is a banana and that's the best banana you'll 467 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:13,200 ever have. But during the, the marathon, 468 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:16,080 they'll actually give you spots where they you can get a banana 469 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:20,200 if that's what you want, Which is awesome because I've done 470 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,720 other runs outside of the run Disney realm and I find myself 471 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:26,240 missing it from time to time, even though, like I, I'll have a 472 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,120 water bottle or, you know, I have like a gel or something 473 00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:30,720 with me. It's just kind of nice to not 474 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:34,040 have to carry it and that, that it's all provided for you. 475 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,600 And then we kind of touched on it as like the mental aspect of 476 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:44,320 it, just trying to, you know, remember to breathe, keep 477 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,640 yourself as calm as you can. It's going to be a series of 478 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,120 very early mornings. It's, it's going to be a little 479 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:52,960 tough on you, but know that at the end of it, like you can say 480 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:56,760 that you had done this and you can probably accomplish way more 481 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,840 than you thought you could. It's just, you know, remembering 482 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:02,440 that you've made it through other things and you'll probably 483 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:04,480 make it through this as well. Nice. 484 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:07,400 Thank you. One follow up question though, 485 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:13,800 what about due to the size of the field and when we talk about 486 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,200 other races? I think Disney would probably be 487 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:18,120 more scenic. It's been described as one of 488 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:22,040 the most scenic marathons, and I'm assuming a lot of runners 489 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:26,800 want to stop and take pictures. What do you do when you're 490 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:28,440 running? Or do you have any tips for 491 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:31,960 runners that you know dodging other runners or how to start at 492 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:34,000 best? If you're either running for 493 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,960 fast time or if you're running for that experience where you 494 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,000 really want to stop and take pictures, what is the best 495 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,480 approach? So you can. 496 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:48,120 Yes, there are character stops specifically for the Dopey 497 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:51,280 Challenge or if you're just running the marathon on marathon 498 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:55,160 weekend because you go through all four parks and it's the only 499 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:56,840 race where you go through all four parks. 500 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:00,600 So you go through Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and 501 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:06,080 Animal Kingdom. The cool thing about when you're 502 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:08,880 going through Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom is the parks are 503 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:12,760 open typically by the time that the bulk of the field is going 504 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,400 through those parks. So if you would like to, you 505 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,120 know, if the ride that you're interested in riding is along 506 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:22,520 your racecourse, you can stop and ride that ride and then come 507 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:26,000 right back into the race. Absolutely. 508 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:29,000 Absolutely. I rode Expedition Everest last 509 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:33,240 year during the marathon because I was, like, way, way ahead of 510 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:35,800 where I thought it would be. And they actually had a separate 511 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:39,760 line open for runners so you didn't waste, you know, as much 512 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:43,200 time. And, yeah, you can do that if 513 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,840 you want. So our whole train during that 514 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:48,400 ride on Expedition Everest was runners. 515 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:50,680 And, like, the picture that we got was all of the runners. 516 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:52,520 It was really cool. It was a neat experience. 517 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:56,280 But they also have character stops, various, you know, Disney 518 00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:58,640 characters throughout the run and some of them that are kind 519 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:01,760 of rare that are only released during certain events. 520 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:04,720 When you're in Animal Kingdom, you can get pictures taken with 521 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,240 certain animals if you want, from a tortoise all the way up 522 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:12,640 to an emu. So, you know, if you're the bulk 523 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:16,040 of the runners, you can take the time to actually stop and get a 524 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:21,240 picture with them. My advice would be find out what 525 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,040 characters you would want to take a picture with because the 526 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:28,080 lines towards the latter half of the groups have a tendency to 527 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,080 get pretty long, like north of an hour. 528 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:33,880 So if you're making good time and you're feeling good and 529 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:36,000 you've like, you know, you're outpacing yourself a little bit 530 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,240 and you have a little bit of time and you see a character you 531 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:40,280 absolutely want to get that picture with, go for it. 532 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,640 You can do that. The nice thing is that the 533 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:46,240 pictures are also linked to your My Disney account. 534 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:48,920 So just like the ride that you would take on or the picture you 535 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:53,080 would take on any ride, the run picture coming off of your bid 536 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:54,360 is also linked to the same account. 537 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:57,200 So it's all in one spot. But yeah, you can stop and do 538 00:29:57,200 --> 00:29:59,280 those. Just know kind of who you want 539 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,520 to get a picture with first. That's nice, because then, you 540 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:06,160 know that's a huge perk. What are some other neat things 541 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:10,440 about Disney runs that sets it apart from other races? 542 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:14,720 So aside from being able to ride a ride right in the middle of a 543 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:19,200 race, you can see, I guess that with, with Animal Kingdom, you 544 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:23,360 can take a picture with animals. For me, I am a, I'm a huge 545 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:25,920 Disney nerd, theme park nerd in general, but specifically Disney 546 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:27,760 nerd. So you'll get to see parts of 547 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:30,720 the park that most people never ever get to see. 548 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:35,440 You're also running through some of these parks very, very early, 549 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:38,520 like before it's open. So it's just you and your, you 550 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,400 know, closest friends, your closest run friends running 551 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:44,160 through this park. And it's only you and the, the 552 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:47,280 cast members there and your family if they're cheering you 553 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,200 on and other families cheering you on. 554 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:53,840 And then other runs I've done there, yes, people cheer you on, 555 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:58,360 but they run Disney races. It's it's like it takes it to 556 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:01,040 another level. Like everybody is your family. 557 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:04,960 Like I have my wife and my kids there, but I will have you have 558 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:08,160 everybody else's, you know, families also cheering you on 559 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,320 equally. There's people out there that 560 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:12,720 you know, and they have signs and they like, you know, they 561 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,520 give you like a high 5 here for extra speed, you know, just 562 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:18,480 little stuff like that. People put a lot of thought into 563 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:20,360 cheering the runners on during these events. 564 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:24,240 And it brings a lot of positive energy, especially toward the 565 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,200 latter half of the race when you're just beat up and you want 566 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:30,560 to cross the finish line. But you see, you know, 200 567 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:33,360 people lining the the course and they're all just kind of 568 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:34,680 cheering you on. Some of you've never met in your 569 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:37,560 life, but they see your name on your BIM and they're cheering 570 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:39,240 you on. Like specifically, it just kind 571 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:41,400 of that brings you, you know, a little bit of joy, brings that 572 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:43,640 last little bit of energy to get you across the finish line. 573 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:46,720 Yeah, yeah, yeah. The vibes and especially, you 574 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:49,480 know, I'm, I'm sure the vibes are heightened when you see 575 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:52,200 people also running in these costumes. 576 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:56,600 Now for runners that have family members that buy theme park 577 00:31:56,600 --> 00:32:00,320 tickets for that day, will they be allowed to get into the theme 578 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:02,760 park parks earlier? Yes. 579 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:05,160 So the theme park ticket rules still apply. 580 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:08,880 So they could watch you start the race, you know, early in the 581 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,440 morning. And if you know you, you they 582 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,440 know roughly where you're going to be at by that, by a certain 583 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:16,160 spectator point. Like they could go do whatever 584 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,400 they want for a couple hours in the park and then you could meet 585 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:21,640 up with them again at the spectator point. 586 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:24,960 And you know, you can get your hugs and your love and you can 587 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:27,320 go back to the run and they can go back to enjoying the park 588 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:29,680 until you're finished. Or you go take a ride with them, 589 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:30,680 like you said. That's that's. 590 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:31,840 Or you could take a ride with them. 591 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:35,080 Absolutely, yeah. What's the kind of time limit? 592 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,240 Because we hear about Disney balloon ladies, right? 593 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:40,600 What's that? Yes, it's it's funny you say 594 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:42,800 that. So that is the balloon ladies. 595 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:45,960 Where the the the dreaded balloon ladies, I'll call them. 596 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:47,400 They're actually very sweet women. 597 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:54,160 They maintain all Disney races. I shouldn't say that the 10K, 598 00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:58,640 the half marathon, the 10 Miller as well as the full marathon, 599 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:03,320 you have to maintain a 16 minute pace, 60 minute per mile pace. 600 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:07,440 The balloon ladies are what maintain that pace. 601 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:12,440 They are called balloon ladies because they have physical 602 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,400 balloons tied to the waistbands of their shorts. 603 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:18,880 So that way you can see them in the, in the group. 604 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:24,040 A lot of people, you know, they, they have a stigma about them 605 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:26,520 where if the balloon ladies are coming, like you're going to get 606 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:28,960 swept off the course. That's not the case. 607 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:33,440 The balloon ladies are usually your last line of defense to try 608 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:37,320 and motivate you and make sure that you're OK because they're 609 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:40,280 approaching you. That means that you're either 610 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:42,960 struggling a little bit or you're tired or you're just not 611 00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:46,160 maintaining that pace. So they're kind of going to try 612 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:48,320 to motivate you a little bit to say like, can you pick it up? 613 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:49,920 Like do you need help? Are you OK? 614 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:51,200 Are you in pain? Stuff like that. 615 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:57,080 It's when they pass you. And if usually they pass you a 616 00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,680 couple minutes later is when the sweepers will come and get you. 617 00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:02,080 And they'll actually, the sweeper will come up, tap you on 618 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:05,160 the shoulder and say like, you know, sorry, you know, we have 619 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:07,920 to unfortunately take you off course and they bring you to one 620 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,520 of the many transport vehicles along the course to bring you 621 00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:13,719 back to the start line. OK, so it's not the balloon 622 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:15,199 ladies. The bad guys are the sweepers, 623 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:17,320 just like. Every yes, the bad guys are the 624 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:20,560 the bad guys are the sweepers, the balloon ladies. 625 00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:23,719 And also if when the if the balloon ladies pass you because 626 00:34:24,159 --> 00:34:27,000 my wife ran the 10 Miller with me last year, it will also be 627 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:28,800 the last 10 Miller she ever does. 628 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:34,080 She has told me repetitively she, she was passed by the 629 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:37,440 balloon ladies probably just over a mile before the end of 630 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:41,719 the of the race and she did not get swept because they're 631 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:44,239 usually a little bit ahead of that 16 minute mile and they'll 632 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:46,040 get stopped at the next mile marker. 633 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:49,120 So if they pass you again, it's not the end of the world as long 634 00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:50,840 as you're, if you can catch back up. 635 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:53,960 You usually see them at your next mile marker and then once 636 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,920 they get past or once they, you know, get to that 16 minute mile 637 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,560 again, they'll take back off and start the run again. 638 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:01,240 Oh, OK. OK. 639 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:02,680 I see how it is. All right. 640 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:05,720 So my last question or another question I have for you, I guess 641 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:10,080 is for somebody coming from out of town, would you recommend 642 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:12,680 staying at a Disney resort, staying off the property? 643 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,120 What's the best way of being most efficient with time and 644 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:19,440 preparation for that? I would, so yes, I, I would 645 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:22,200 recommend, if you can afford it, I would recommend staying on 646 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:28,600 property only because you don't have to worry about parking at 647 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:33,480 Epcot because parking is limited because again, the the corral 648 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:37,480 placement and start and stop takes up half of 1 of Epcot's 649 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,640 entire parking lot areas. So they're limited on parking to 650 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:42,800 begin with. But if you can stay on property, 651 00:35:43,240 --> 00:35:46,600 they have, you know, Disney transport that will bring you to 652 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:49,360 and from the venue. That way all you have to worry 653 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:53,520 about is basically waking up and then getting down to the bus at 654 00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:59,160 a specific time, which waking up sometimes a challenge, But you 655 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:04,120 know, I've every day during all these challenges I see when, you 656 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:06,280 know, there's like just line of cars trying to get into the 657 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:08,800 parking lot and I'm like, come in, Thank the Lord that I'm 658 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:10,680 staying on property. I just hop on the bus and be 659 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:14,200 here because I, I, there's no, I wouldn't stress out too much 660 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:17,400 about finding a parking spot and then running over to the start 661 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:18,720 line. And then even when you're 662 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:20,960 finished, like I don't want to drive home after running a 663 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:23,520 marathon. I, I want to go back to my, my 664 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:26,320 room or my bed and sleep. I don't want to get in a car and 665 00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:29,480 drive. Yeah, no, that makes the most 666 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:33,520 sense, especially given how God forsake and early everything 667 00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:36,000 starts for this race. Right. 668 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:40,280 And you know what the something I want to add to that is not 669 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:43,680 only does like the park participate in all this, like 670 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:46,600 fun stuff, but each resort also does the same thing. 671 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,000 So they have cast members out there that are cheering on 672 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,680 runners. And you know, when you come back 673 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:54,880 with that medal and you're whooped, but you're super proud, 674 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:57,440 like they're congratulating you. Every one of the cast members 675 00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:59,280 saying like, congratulations, good job. 676 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,920 And it's just it's a feel good thing to be kind of in that 677 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:07,880 moment. And it's like I said, if if you 678 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:10,320 can afford it, not that it's crazy expensive, but it 679 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:13,280 definitely it's it adds another level to the enjoyment of doing 680 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:16,040 a run Disney race. Yeah, no, absolutely. 681 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:18,760 Thank you for all this information, Rob. 682 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:22,280 We really appreciate it. And if anyone wants to find you 683 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:26,440 on Instagram, you are. I they can find me at the Run 684 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:28,600 Disney Dad on Instagram and Facebook. 685 00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:30,640 Perfect. Thank you so much. 686 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:37,720 Thank you lady, have a good day. Thank you, Rob, for speaking 687 00:37:37,720 --> 00:37:40,760 with me. I am super excited to, like I 688 00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:45,440 said, run Disney in the future and hopefully I'll see you again 689 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,480 there at one of these races. Maybe we'll become regulars, but 690 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:52,080 we have to try it once. Yes, definitely everything. 691 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:55,280 Try once, maybe twice, right? Because as you always say, when 692 00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:57,880 I do these adventurous things with you, don't just try it 693 00:37:57,880 --> 00:37:59,800 once, be open minded and try it twice. 694 00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:02,480 Like the sailboat that Ryan just got. 695 00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:04,840 But that's a whole new story. And if you wanna see that story, 696 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:07,880 go check out our Instagram. We're at running podcast. 697 00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:12,440 You put the sailboat on it. Of course, sharing my life with 698 00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:15,240 the audience anyway. So with that. 699 00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:22,240 Have a good weekend, Ryan. Thanks for tuning in. 700 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:25,400 For more information and marathon running news, please 701 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:29,240 head to www.marathonrunningpodcast.com 702 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:31,040 and we'll be back next week.