Recap: 2015 #runDisney #WineDineHalf Weekend: Splash & Dash

It's been a few weeks since Wine & Dine weekend, and at last I've got my recap complete.

Friday: Expo

Driving from Tallahassee that morning, we missed the mad rush that is the opening of the expo.  Upon our arrival, I quickly grabbed my bib, waited in line for my pin, and headed to the runDisney booth.  The only thing I purchased was my magnet.  

 Jeff is always willing to help with last minute advice.

[My filing cabinet at the office holds my race magnet collection. Side note: my colleagues are starting to think I have a running problem.]

Following the expo we headed to EPCOT and Magic Kingdom to enjoy some park time.

 Cheese!

 Carb loading is important!

Buzz wants to be just like me.

We stayed until the fireworks and then called it a night.  I had an early wakeup for the morning 5K.


Saturday: Jingle Jungle 5k

I've run this race twice. It was actually our first runDisney event, way back in 2011.  But this time, I decided to volunteer instead. I enjoy volunteering at the races almost as much as I enjoy running them.  My assignment: I spent my morning moving people from the finish line to the medal volunteers.  "Move along folks, nothing to see here."  Yeah - that was me!  I saw many of my runDisney friends cross the finish line.  Great job everyone!  Also, if you haven't volunteered for a race or the expo, I can't recommend it enough.  So much fun. Do it!

Saturday: Baptism (The Splash)

Now for the "splash" in the splash and dash.  My two little nephews were scheduled to be Baptized at midday, between the 5k and the half marathon.  So, following my volunteer shift,  I grabbed DisneyBride and headed for Tampa.  We dashed to the church, rejected Satan, splashed holy water, and enjoyed dessert with the nephews before heading back to Orlando to relax for a few minutes before the race.  

      

Saturday Night: Half of a Half (The Dash)

I decided to go with a costume that paid homage to my favorite chef. The Swedish Chef from the Muppets is legendary in the Running Happily Ever After household. The costume started off intact as you see here, but the humid evening quickly made a casualty of my mustache adhesive.  So I  ran 'sans mustache'.
 

I arrived at EPCOT before 7:00 to make a quick trip into park.  With a kiss from DisneyBride and some soda from the Cool Club, I headed for the buses to ESPN Wide World of Sports.  Boarding a bus a few minutes after 7:00 I assumed it would be smooth sailing. I was WRONG.  The traffic was horrendous and it took the better part of 35 minutes to get to our destination.  Upon arriving, the Wine and Dine atmosphere is very different from other runDisney events.  The promise of beer and wine at the finish makes it more adult themed than family-themed.  Not bad just different.  

I worked my way around the crowd, running into friends and making some new ones.  Eventually, I decided I needed some caffeine.  I headed to the vendors to buy a soda.  A few minutes later, the wind kicks up and then everyone is making a mad dash for the baseball stadium.  

I will skip the details of the weather delay and just say that I am a little disappointed that runDisney/Wide World of Sports didn't seem to have a better communication plan.  Depending on where the runner was pre-race, he or she may not have had any information.  The floor of the expo hall was the only place where I could hear announcements.  I assume that WWOS has more communication equipment, as I imagine that evacuation of the fields is a normal occurrence during the summer.  I do not fault the race organizers for the decision to shorten the race or to evacuate us (apparently due to lightning), please just do a better job with communication in the future.  Also note, that not all runners carry their phone during a race, so more frequent announcements to everyone would have been appreciated.

With the all-clear given, it was another mad dash to the start line.  It may have just been the quickest start of any runDisney race I have ever participated in.  Here is where I would like to give the volunteers a shout out.  They were evacuated as well, and still managed to get all their tasks done.  Everything from having the water stops setup and manned, to guiding runners back to the corrals. 

The course was shortened with the out and back to Animal Kingdom being removed.  The short course lead to pretty long waits at all the character stops.  My longest wait was almost 20 minutes for Buzz and Woody.  Everyone along the course seemed upbeat, despite confusion over the shortened course.  This is my third runDisney night race (after the final Tower of Terror 2014 and the final Expedition Everest 2015) and I really enjoyed them all. Looking forward to running the complete 13.1 course in a future year.  

 

This is the final year of the Osbourne Family Festival of Dancing Lights in Disney Hollywood Studios, so I was excited and nostalgic getting to run through there.

  

The Muppet Theater!

After Party

With the course being cut short, it appears EPCOT was unprepared for more people staying for the after party.  The lines for food, beer, and wine were crazy.  I would say that they were as bad as any weekend day I have spent at Food and Wine.  Again, the night races being accommodated by an after party is great.   The crowd never really seemed to thin, even when we left at 3:30. I was also impressed with the amount of characters, especially the ones you don't see too often, that were out meeting fans during the party.   

 

I just ran a Half Marathon of undetermined distance and all I got was LIGHT beer. 

 

Final Thoughts 

Even with the shortened course, I had a great time.  Sure, I'm disappointed that it wasn't a half marathon, but any run through Disney Parks is fun.  I also enjoyed the party-like atmosphere that the Wine and Dine Half race weekend is famous for.  The after party, while packed, was still fun.  I will do this race again, with the hopes of enjoying the full course and a less crowded after party.
  

 

And DisneyBride picked up my souvenir race banner above to add to the other collection in my office.  Now you see why my colleagues think I might be obsessed. 

Next up is the Space Coast Marathon. The theme for that race is PR or ER. Yep - you heard right, I'm going for a marathon PR this coming Sunday. See you on the course soon!

-DisneyGroom

Who is your favorite Muppet?

Do you enjoy running or racing at night?
  

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Recap: 2014 runDisney Tower of Terror 10 Miler

Let me start this recap with a couple of things you should never do just before a night race.

• Don't schedule a fundraiser the morning of the race.  
• Don't schedule that fundraiser 300 miles from the race. 
• Don't check into your hotel at 5:00pm. 
• Don't run without any rest at all. 

DO let your spouse/partner/BRF talk you into a last minute race. 

Ok, the weekend may not have had the most ideal beginning. But we had so much fun at the 2014 runDisney Tower of Terror 10Miler and Villains Bash, that all that was quickly forgotten.

Do get dressed up.  It should come as no surprise, I was dressed as Buzz.  DisneyBride tried to put together a Tron Legacy costume for me, but we had no idea finding reflective tape would be so difficult.  So my good ole stand-by just happened to be available for race day.  One day I will be an old man, and I will look back at all my race photos and not know which race was which - since I am dressed as Buzz in half of them.  ha ha.

I also strapped on my NoxGear Tracer 360 vest.  If you recall, DisneyBride wore the light up vest during her 5K and 10K events during Princess Half Marathon weekend this year.  With the Tower of Terror 10 Miler starting at 10pm and the after party continuing until 3:30am, it wouldn't be a bad idea to assist my visibility.  As it turns out, a lot of runners had the same idea, and I spotted several NoxGear vests on the course.

If it's not readily apparent, the ToT trip was a very last minute addition to the race calendar.  I didn't even get a chance to check out the road closures.  Thankfully, runDisney had plenty of traffic signs to detour us to WWoS.

After a quick bus trip from WWoS to Hollywood Studios we arrived at the race.  The starting area always has a really cool atmosphere.  The DJ got everyone pumped up, playing "What does the Fox Say?" --- perhaps one too many times for me  (DisneyBride still can't stop singing it three days later) and also they also did a good job making announcements to make sure all the runners get to their corrals in time.

The obligatory 'Portapotties in the Background' race pic. I take my DisneyBride to only the classiest places.

This starting area seemed far less crowded than previous runDisney events.  The official results show 9389 finishers - and the word is that there were 800+ runners swept.  So with less than 11,000 starting (half the size of the WDW Half and Princess Half) this felt much smaller to me.  

We've made so many 'runDisney' friends, we can never catch up with all of them.  And we are very sorry to have missed seeing some of our blogger friends, including Meranda, Pam & Christine, and Kimberly - to name just a few. However, we were fortunate to catch up with several of our running friends before the race and even to make a few of the pre-race photo meet-ups.  

Look! I found @DopeyRunr

There was a bit of a hike from the corral to the starting line, but soon enough we were off, and I was running my first ToT race.  The weather was great; not a drop of rain (it had been forecasted to pour cats and dogs all week) and the temperature was great (felt like high 60's).  Apparently, the temperature has been an issue in previous years.  RunDisney prepared for the heat this time. In addition to water and Powerade at the start and finish line, the course had 7, yes seven fluid stops, plus cool wet towels at the finish. 

The race was packed with pretty cool theming.  It seemed like at least every mile they had some sort of character, DJ, or creepy giant spider on the course. 

The lines were not bad at all - so I stopped for quite a few characters. 

I asked Jafar where his parrot was --- that didn't go over well...

Sure, you're powerful and come with your own army, but DisneyBride is the Queen of My Heart. Sorry, not sorry!

Hook told me a joke.  He isn't a bad guy really. Just cranky about losing a limb. Wouldn't you be?

A little ditty about Jack and Di...errr  SALLY!



ZOMBIES!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

My only complaint about the characters- no Zurg. 

Seriously though, WHERE IS ZURG???

I didn't see him on the course or at the "Villains Bash". 

I guess he is hiding, since this is what happened last time we met.

The offroad portion (or trail) into the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex has caused some runners issues in the past.  DisneyBride had warned me that it was pretty dark last year and she convinced me to wear a small headlamp (it was clipped to my visor). RunDisney actually provided plenty of lighting along the path this time, and never did I need the headlamp or any additional light.
 

I had hoped that they would have used the space in WWoS to have the Headless Horseman or perhaps some roaming zombies.  Just seems like the fields and the track could have been used for characters. 

This is past the halfway point of the course, and the Grave Diggers were on hand - ready and willing to bury any runners who couldn't finish the race. 

It's okay... I'm not really dead.  Don't collect the life insurance yet, DisneyBride!

Following the WWoS, you make your way back to Hollywood Studios.  The last mile or so of the course leads you through the very short portion that is actually in the park.  I enjoyed running through Hollywood Studios, and only wish there was a way to increase the portions that we do run.

It was nice seeing Lotso outside of Toy Story Mania! 

Do you hear banjos? (Let's see how many of you get this...)

I told Lotso to save me a spot in the queue.  But he didn't.  Don't trust a bad guy.

As pointed out by @dopeyrunr, Lotso did NOT smell like strawberries.

The backstage finish at the Tower of Terror is great.  You get a great view of the hotel and the ToT sign as you approach.  I wish I had stopped to take a finish area pic with my medal.  I guess I need to add that to the "to-do" list for my next ToT race.  The ToT medal with the moving elevator may just be the coolest in my collection.

 This guy gave me my medal. We just love our race volunteers!

And speaking of volunteers, after crossing the finish line, I bumped into a few running friends helping out at the event. Caitlin from the Magic Milers was working the finish area for Trackshack, and Elizabeth (pictured)  was handing out bananas.

After collecting my snack box (still waiting for Tonga Toast to be offered at the finish line by the way- ahem), I hiked my way over to the Villains Bash after party. 

DisneyBride will post a recap of the Villains Bash.  The highlight for me was I was able to ride Toy Story Mania (with only a 15 minute wait!!!) and I was champion of my car.  That's a win in my books. 

We hung out with our friend and fellow Seminole fanatic, Avery

I really enjoyed this night race - a lot more than I expected.  Count me in for 2015! 

Some takeaways

• Bring a REAL camera- the pics I took on an actual camera came out WAY better than my iPhone photos that you might have seen on my instagram feed.
• Pay attention when the course makes sharp turns.
• Make sure to stop for pictures.  The lines do move much faster than you expect.
• Enjoy the after party. A lot of runners just go back to their resorts and crash.  You missed HALF THE FUN!
• Unless you are an elite, this is not a race about finish times and PRs.  If you are in front of the Balloon Ladies - you are fine.  If you do get behind them, try your best to not to let them out of your sight.
• Don't eat a big meal immediately after the race.  Don't stuff your face with greasy fries for your post race meal.  The giant turkey leg was my first choice, but that quick serve place was closed. boo!  
• Do ride Toy Story Mania. 
• Do ride Tower of Terror (I did fight it at first, but I'm glad I did).  Did have some major regrets about the aforementioned greasy fries though.
• Nap a few hours before your night race. If you can't nap - then hydrate more than usual.  If you can drink caffeine, then have some right after the race, so you can enjoy the rides!
• Sleep in the following day.

Have you done a night race?

What are some of your takeaways?

-DisneyGroom 

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Day 5: DisneyGroom's #DopeyChallenge Weekend #WDWMarathon Recap

The morning of the long awaited Walt Disney World Marathon was finally here.  Somehow I flew out of bed. I'm not saying that I loved getting up, but I was really looking forward to the event. 

credit: Five Star Photos

 I'm sorry this post didn't make it up on the day of the event itself. As you can imagine, I was pretty spent once I made it back to the resort. 

 DisneyBride and I arrived for the race a little earlier than we had for the half marathon. I didn't want to be rushed during the long walk to the corrals. I think that this was a huge help for the full. Getting into the corral early allowed me to take a seat for about an hour. A great help for the legs. 

Jeff Galloway gets the honor of the first DisneyGroom selfie of the day.  Since it was his advice and coaching that got me here - this is only fitting.

The sendoff was fantastic. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Dopey (if there we others it's slipping my mind: a lack of sleep will do that) participated in the festivities. Mickey did the countdown and the fireworks were perfect. They even had fireworks near the back of the corrals. 

 The atmosphere was amazing, even for a runDisney event. It seemed like there were wall to wall spectators almost the entire course. People really brought their "A" game. 

 I did get to see my favorite spectator a couple of times: 

First at the Ticket and Transportation Center(about Mile 4)

Then at the Polynesian with super cheerleader Peggy Sue (about mile 7)

 and at the finish line. The beginning of the course seemed to be identical to the half marathon the day before. 

 A couple of bands on the way into the Magic Kingdom really added some energy to the event. 

 Arriving on Main Street, there were even more people than the day before. The cheering was loud enough to hurt your ears. I also managed to hold onto my phone this time. (I lost it running the half the day before - but thankfully a wonderful spectator found it and returned it to me. Miraculously it was fine.)

My next stop should come as no surprise. 

Then I moved quickly through the Castle area - a notorious bottleneck in the course.

BACK of  Castle

FRONT of Castle

I don't usually stop for this guy, but the line for Woody was only a couple of people deep.  

Again, the course from the Magic Kingdom to the Walt Disney Speedway was almost identical to the half the day before.  And again, the spectators were out in full force.  It might have been my imagination, but it really appeared that the number of people cheering us on may have actually outnumbered the runners.  

The speedway was pretty neat.  You get to run a lap around the track that is surrounded almost entirely with classic and custom automobiles.  The track was also the location of the only bad congestion of the day.  The entrance is only wide enough for about a truck, so you can imagine how it might back up.  It wasn't terrible, just noticeable.  

a #DGSELFIE!

Look who I ran into!  Running blogger, marathoner, and all around awesome individual, Kimberly Markey of Maker Mother Marathon Runner blog.

I had heard horror stories about the section of the course from the Speedway to Animal Kingdom.  Some came true, others didn't.  This section of the course features such great items as, the garbage transfer station, the recyclables transfer station, a water treatment facility, and the bus depot.

Only occasionally did an unpleasant smell rear its ugly head.  However, Disney seemed to provide plenty of distractions in the area.  My favorite was the traveling couple near their RV offering runners pickled herring.  

Arriving backstage at the Animal Kingdom, the staff had a few animals out for us.  The first accompanied a pretty funny sign.  The second made me really hungry.  

Bacon!

Side note, in all the backstage park areas, the staff was pretty amazing. They went all out with spectator signs, in addition to making themselves hoarse cheering for us.

Entering the park led to one of my favorite moments of the day.  The course runs right past Expedition Everest.  Staff and park guests move runners to the front of the Fastpass lane.  How many people get to ride a roller coaster in the middle of a marathon? This guy did!

Exiting the park, you finally hit the half way point.  You also start making your way to the Wide World of Sports.  This may have been the part of the course I felt needed some more entertainment.  The infamous Grave Diggers were on this section of the course, but their line was super long.  

The course through the Wide World of Sports is entertaining.  After arriving at the Wide World of Sports, you head to the track.  This was a little cruel.  Thanks for reminding us that there are running events shorter than 26.2 miles.  After weaving all over the complex, you end  with a run around the baseball field.  While there is not a lot of entertainment, the scenery changes constantly. 

Just outside the Wide World of Sports you finally hit the 20 mile mark.  Just beyond the 20 mile mark, some spectators were poking fun at last year's 'Mile 20 Spectacular'.  They had some of the most hilarious signs of the day.  Unfortunately, I didn't stop and take any pictures.   

Right before entering Hollywood Studios, you are provided with chocolate and/or gummy bears.  Before the race, I thought this was a terrible idea.  Arriving at the table, it was genius.  So tasty!

Just after the chocolate, I made another character stop.  Wreck It Ralph took it pretty easy on everyone.  He allowed us all to pass without destroying the road. 

 You are only in Hollywood Studios for a short period of time.  I made it to the front gate before remembering Toy Story's Midway Mania.  I was pretty tired and not thinking straight.  Not wanting to go back, I just kept running.  Next time-I will ride it.  (Yes, I think I just said - NEXT time...)

Leaving Hollywood Studios you quickly get to the part of the course with the most vocal spectators.  The Yacht and Beach Club is packed from end to end with people cheering themselves hoarse.  

Before entering EPCOT, I finally got the picture I waited for all weekend.  Dopey greeted runners just outside the International Gateway, and the line was short.  I think people just wanted to be done with the run and weren't stopping for anything. 

EPCOT was a lot of fun.  In Germany, I stopped for a beer.  A kind person at the front of the line turned and asked me how the marathon was- I responded that I would be happy to let him know in a few minutes.  Amazed that I wanted to stop for a beer to enjoy as I finished the race, he bought it for me and wished me a great race.  Thank you stranger.  FYI- The beer was amazing, cool, and refreshing.    

The Finish Line is NEAR!

Just before finishing, I came across a group of ladies that were crossing the finish line with margaritas.

Finally crossing the finish line was a great feeling.  It is quite a feat to complete the Dopey Challenge.  To all my fellow finishers- Congratulations! 

Quickly I worked my way to the medal volunteers to receive my marathon medal.  With the marathon medal around my neck, I was off to get my Dopey and Goofy medals.  

Since runDisney hasn't taken my suggestion to provide post race Tonga Toast, DisneyBride was kind enough to bring it to me.  There was even BACON! Much better than the box they gave us containing a tiny bag of chips and cheese dip.  

Finally, back at my resort, I had my own Pam Anderson "post-Marathon" moment.  Unlike Pam, I wasn't in any actual pain, except perhaps from reading her book! 

I rested for a few hours - took a little swim - and felt better than I expected.

We went to the Downtown Disney cool-down celebration for the runners for a little while - then went to Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner. Now that I could finally eat (after a week of peanut butter sandwiches), it tasted like the best dinner I've had in months!

Takeaways

• The weather was a huge help.  I imagine that favorable weather helped many cross the finish line.  Had it been hot and humid, I think that it would have been far more challenging.
• I think that following my training plan was the key to success.  I adapted a few Galloway plans to suit my desire to run Space Coast and the Running for the Bay Marathons.
• Having a spouse who supports your desire to be Dopey can't be underestimated. It is quite a time commitment.  Not only the training, but I was a complete bore at Disney during Marathon Weekend.
• Taking it easy and enjoying the event allowed me to finish feeling great.  No pain, no soreness, no blisters.  My times were not impressive, but it was the best race experience I have ever had.  

Did you go to Marathon Weekend?  What was your favorite part?

If you did Dopey, would you do it again?

If you didn't do Dopey, can you see yourself doing a similar multi-day race event? (I'm thinking Gasparilla in 2015!)

See ya soon!
~DisneyGroom


My 2014 Walt Disney World Weekend Recaps:
Day 5: DisneyGroom's #DopeyChallenge Weekend: Marathon
Day 4: DisneyGroom’s #DopeyChallenge Weekend: Half Marathon
Day 3: DisneyGroom’s #DopeyChallenge Weekend: Inaugural 10K
Day 2: DisneyGroom’s #Dopey Challenge Weekend: The Family Fun Run 5K
Day 1: DisneyGroom's #DopeyChallenge Weekend: Expo

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