2015 Team Wil-Sun Awards ... and Race Review Roundup

why, yes, I *do* enjoy earning medals... why do you ask? (2015 medal collection)

Look, it's February 16. And I've been trying to make myself sit down and write this up since, oh, December 16th. But life gets messy sometimes... Messy good, or messy bad... mainly messy good in my case. So blogging pretty much dropped off the radar.  Hey, the fact that I didn't publish my race report from the Seattle Half Marathon until January 8 ... almost six weeks after the fact ... should have been a clue. And, really, we're now in the seventh full week of 2016 (gulp!)... so I've only just barely slipped a little more... 

ANYWAY. We ran a bunch of races in 2015. And had a bunch of adventures. How many? I ran:

3 FULL marathons

21 half marathons

3 10Ks

1 8K

3 5Ks

and STILL didn't hit my mileage goals! (More on that in a later post...)

All of those races left a big impression on me ... but it's award season and of course that means it's time for the second annual WIL-SUN awards!!!

Best Bucket List Race: Beat the Bridge

This race is a Seattle classic ... and one I've been wanting to run for years. The idea is simple: set several thousand people loose on a course, and raise a drawbridge 2 miles down the road 20 minutes after the start. Your goal? To Beat the Bridge... Of course, nowadays to make people happy they don't raise the bridge until 20 minutes after the last group starts, which means that most people have more than 20 minutes... but, hey, it's run AND raises a lot of money for the JDRF. And, finally, we ran it in 2015.

Best Costumes: Tigger and Winnie the Pooh, Tinker Bell Half Marathon

First and foremost, I loved the costumes. Sure, it was great to run in them.... we got lots of love on the course from our fellow runners, volunteers, and spectators. Heck, strangers posted pictures of us on social media. But, seriously, this was the reason to make and wear these costumes:

Best Mid-Race Food: Center of the Nation Series

Seriously, this race offers things like hard-boiled eggs, rice krispie treats, veggie chili, breakfast burritos, hot noodle dishes, and more things than I can remember ... Norm's Kitchen always seemed to be turning out some new and amazing thing to restock the food table. Every time we passed through, I would pick up half an egg, some potato chips, and a little slurp of Coke... and then sometimes I'd pick up some real food as well. Not having to eat gels the entire trip was pretty awesome for me.

Best Post-Race Food: Ghost of Seattle Marathon

With sponsorship from Field Roast and Odin Brewing, this race provided a great array of hot and delicious post-race food for omnivores and vegetarians. And they even had food left for the slowpokes (aka US)! The on-course food was also varied and interesting ... clearly this is a race put on by people who know what a great race should offer.

Toughest Race Course: Run Like the Wind Half Marathon

I have never been so tired at the end of a race, nor so happy to be finished as I was during this hilly, rocky, windy half marathon. I seriously think this was harder than hiking Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon in one day. For days after I was sore ... but not in my running muscles, mind you -- in my stabilizing muscles. I have NEVER had sore obliques after running. Until after this race. A big challenge and a cool little race in a weird spot: on a wind farm. (The race slogan is "Uphill, Into the Wind, Both Ways", and they mean it.

Biggest Dumbest Challenge: Achieving Kilimanjaro level in the Double Agents

I own this. This is my fault. But running three half marathons AND three full marathons in 9 days ... running the three fulls in three consecutive days ... well, that was big and dumb and tough. Lots of limping and whining. But, hey, my obliques were never sore! I also want to point out that a bunch of people did 4 and 4 in 9 days ... so they're WAAAAAY crazier than we are...

Best Medal of 2015:

This category is super hard this year, as I managed to score some amazing medals. Hey, it's an honor just to be nominated. So here are the runners up, in chronological order:

Star Wars Half Marathon

Okay, this gets bonus points for being the Yavin medal ... you know, the one Chewie DIDN'T get at the end of Star Wars: A New Hope? It took years, but runDisney made up for it by designing the inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon medal as a replica ... AND making the ribbon look like Chewie's fur and bandolier. Nice work, Disney! (And, umm, yes, I might have written a fangirl post about this medal months before I earned my own...

Run Like the Wind Half Marathon

This is flat-out gorgeous -- a laser cut wooden medal like I've never seen before. It's big, delicate, and so amazingly pretty. I have a pretty big collection of bling at this point, and this one definitely stands out.

Wineglass Half Marathon

I seriously can't do this justice in a picture ... I tried and white background and a black background ... no luck. But let me tell you about this medal... It's a pressed glass medallion, each one hand made by an artist at the Corning Museum of Glass. The design changes every year, but each one follows this style. It's unspeakably pretty -- possibly the best part about an above-average race. And that's saying something.

Hartford Half Marathon

This race got SO MUCH right ... including this decidedly different medal that's shaped like the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch. It's heavy cast metal in three dimensions -- not flattened on one side. And the marathon medal. while similar, is larger and a different color. This medal isn't the biggest or the blingiest medal of the year, but it sure is handsome. 

And the WIL-SUN (surely we can't call it the WILLY or the SUNNY...) goes to...

Center of the Nation Series

Maybe this is cheating ... but just look at this monster! I loved that we received the top piece and the "year" piece when we picked up our bibs the first day, and then every day when we completed a race, we received a new state medal to attach. Each of the individual medals are heavy and handsome ... so all together they are simply amazing. I really hope to earn some more of these medals in 2016.

Top five running moments of 2015:

I can't really rank these ... they are all super special in different ways. But here they are, in chronological order of occurrence...

1. The "Sunday Night Lights" Deck Run on the Caribbean Running Cruise. Glow sticks? Check. Glow necklaces? Check. Crazy high winds that caught the undersides of your feet as you turned a corner? Check. And we ran circles around a group of folks who had taken over the pool deck to watch Princess Bride so that the rest of the boat couldn't watch the Super Bowl. Amusing. 

2. The "Haiti Relays" day on the Caribbean Running Cruise ... notably getting to run with some of the boys from the Street Hearts charity. We brought shoes and clothes and toiletries and, later, raised several thousand dollars to buy another house so that the charity can expand. I am getting weepy even now, a year later, remember how great it was to meet some of the boys and see the pleasure they took in the day. 

3. The Maniac / Fanatic cheering area at the Tacoma City Marathon. My love / meh relationship with the race continues. I hate having to go down to the expo. But boy did I love the finish-line cheering section filled with my fellow Fanatics ... both hearing a huge cheer go up as Wil and I approached the finish, and having the opportunity to pass the cheering along as others finished. It's almost -- ALMOST -- enough to make me run this race again. Almost.

4. Seafair Pirate Run 5K ... this was pretty much fueled by my community at Brooks ... but I think I will always look back on this day as one of my perfect, golden running moments. From the pre-func at T.S. McHugh's, to the pre-race chatter with old friends, to the view from my beloved Viaduct, to the random meetings on the course, to the post-race Super Soaker assault, to the post-post race celebration at T.S. McHugh's ("You're back already??:), this was a perfect running event. 

5. The entire Center of the Nation Series ... 6 half marathons in 6 states in 6 days... Seriously, this was the most ambitious running project we've yet done, and also one of the most amazing and fun. I loved feeling like we were all in it together ... and it gave us an excuse to do a big road trip for our 10th anniversary. 

Best Overall Race: Hartford Half Marathon

This was the obvious winner ... a race that got almost everything right. Useful and thorough pre-race communication, offering to ship packets (for a fee, but that's cool), a great race shirt, an amazing ports-potty set up (revolutionary!), a nice course with plenty of water stops, a CANDY stop, a spectacular finish line, super efficient post-race water (seriously, a filled custom water bottle and a bag of snacks?!?), runner-only food including vegan chili, and a city that was super thrilled to be hosting an event. I LOVED this race, even if I personally struggled in it.


Now it's your turn ... what awards would you give to races you ran in 2015?

The Ghost of Seattle Marathon race report.... Finally

I can't believe it's been OVER A MONTH since this race... and since the craziness of the Quadzilla.  But a race is a race ... and especially when it's a freakin' marathon... well, it deserves at least a brief writeup. And -- SPOILER ALERT!! -- this is a great little race that I can highly recommend. 

Dragged our poor little, aching bodies out of bed early ... again ... to make the early start at 6am. SIX.A.M. That said, I do love when a race offers an early start. 

We wore our "bear hats" from the Wattle Waddle again, smiled and nodded at our fellow maniacs, and shuffled around in the dark and the cold. Nice pluses: the organizers had heaters and a tent set up ... but we didn't actually have all that much time to kill. 

We had a little course talk, but this was my third time running the event, so I wasn't worried. Then, in the dark dark dark, our little band set out. 

First we ran toward Seward Park, making a loop of the outside edge. It was... DARK. I should be clear from the outset that we really didn't RUN this race ... it was a swift hobble, no more than that. We had a few fellow travelers with us, including our friend Clint from Mainly Marathons, but we were pretty much on our own. So it was quiet and atmospheric. As we made our way around the park, the sky started to brighten and turn pink. 

We made it back to the start (about 3 miles) as the regular marathon starters were getting ready to go. It made things a little rough through the start village, but wasn't a big deal. I grabbed some candy (because, candy) and then we continued on to the out-and-back. 

I do love this course, following the lake shore, then going up and over the rise to Leschi. I'm always a teensy bit sad when I remember just how far AFTER the BEST AID STATION IN SEATTLE the turnaround is, but clearly I manage to block that out after each race. 

It goes without saying, we were caught well before aid station by the fastest marathoners. We were good race citizens and stayed off to the side ... hopefully earning some karma for future races!

Let me just highlight the aid station that they set up in Leschi. Running this race (the half marathon version) back in 2010 was my first experience with "ultra kibble": pretzels, potato chips, gummi bears, jelly beans, soda pop. I mean, if you're running 50K or 50 miles, EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT. It's such a thrill to have a handful of Ruffles, a cup of Coke, and some Red Vines before I head back out. 

Then out to the turnaround which, as I said earlier, seemed SO FAR AWAY. 

turnaround bright eyes

Then back back back, past the Leschi aid station again (more chips! more candy! more soda!), and back to the start/finish. Of course, this was just the first lap! That does feel a little cruel, I'm not gonna lie.

So we set off, again, for the loop of Seward Park (thank heavens, no big hill!), back through the start/finish (more candy? sure!), and then out to Leschi. Then to the turnaround, where we really felt we were in the home stretch ... despite having around 4 miles left.

But the weather was really nice, and, well, we do like to hang out with each other!

Wil just after the turnaround, heading in

As we got closer and closer to the finish, our moods brightened along with the day. Pretty!!!

I'm not gonna lie, this was one of the hardest race days I've ever had. Maybe not as hard as the Run Like the Wind Half Marathon, but this day was very, very long. How long? Well, it was my longest run ever ... just under 7 hours.

Yeah, that's right. SEVEN HOURS. It took us seven hours. Painful.

We received our very handsome medal and went up to the food tent, where we feasted on, seriously, some of the best post-race food ever. Did I mention that Field Roast was a sponsor? We had Field Roast hot dogs slathered with vegetarian chili, and a pint of beer from Odin (another sponsor). We chatted, a little shyly, with some of the other runners. Being day three, we finally introduced ourselves to people who we had had nodding acquaintance with for three long days... and, in some cases, for years.

I don't think I'm really going to run the marathon distance of this race again, but as I've said before, this is a great choice for a fall race in Seattle. It's reasonably priced, is charmingly small, has a nice course, fantastic food both during and after the event, offers handsome medals, raises money for local charities, holds a blanket drive, and even offers a nice cozy sweatshirt as the event shirt.

Heading home from the race we were both a little giddy ... I mean, the worst was over ... only one half marathon left ... which is a little absurd to feel "relief", but there you go.

2015 Seattle Ghost Marathon medal

Grandpa's Wishbone Marathon race report

It was day two, for heaven's sake. From the get-go, Wil was determined that we should at least get our 2 marathons in ... so it wasn't too rough getting ourselves out there. Besides, the race didn't start until 7:30, so we didn't have to get up too early...

This race used to be held in a forest near Gig Harbor. When we ran it, back in 2012, it was very, very wet... ankle deep mud, knee deep puddles... and c-c-c-cold. Because of logging in the forest, this year the race shifted to Tukwila and ran along the Green River Trail. I'll admit it -- running a marathon on a smooth, paved, essentially flat trail sounded a LOT better to me than running 27 miles in 4 loops in a muddy forest...

Still, running our second marathon in as many days... well..

But it was nice to see our compatriots, chat with some new folks, and so on. Also, I love that this race costs a simple $20 donation to the food bank. We had a brief course talk -- though, since we were standing near a generator, we couldn't really hear much. We were told that the turnaround would be pretty obvious, and that we should stay on the Green River Trail. 

We did remember to take a pre-race photo... and I think these smiles might be genuine?

why, yes, that *IS* my Wattle Waddle hat!

But in truth, we were already a little beaten up. Wil had some painful blisters on his feet, and I had that weird painful strain up the front of my right shin. And it was clear that we wouldn't be running today. Possibly at all. But we set off, determined.

The Green River Trail is surprisingly pretty, despite spending a lot of time meandering behind apartment buildings, office blocks, and industrial complexes. And the fact that it was a gorgeous autumn day, well, that didn't hurt either.

Somewhere along the way we bumped into Clint from Mainly Marathons and chatted with him off and on. Wil kept us going with a rapid walking pace -- 13:30/mile -- which was about as fast as a bunch of folks were run/walking. So we kept leapfrogging a few people. Nice to see Clint and chat about when we might run another one or two (or three...) of his races.

But for the most part, we were alone. The out and back course, which we would complete twice, meant we saw people a few times, which made it more fun. Even on this "day 2" we had a lot of "friends" on the course.

And, yes, the turnaround was well marked!

As we headed in to the start/finish area, we passed some friends who said, "Huckleberry pancakes!" So we made a beeline to the food table to pick one up... only to find a half marathoner essentially blocking the table while she asked questions about whether the boiled potato tongs had touched the sandwich bread because she doesn't eat gluten. Luckily for us, the volunteer turned to focus on us and handed us lovely hot pancakes AND a potato for the road. We then quickly headed out for lap two.

Lap two was extra lonely -- though we did see several half marathoners coming in. I did try to break the course into memorable segments, but boy, it felt longer the second time around.

Not long after we reached the turnaround for the second time we saw an older gentleman, highly recognizable in his wide-brimmed hat, coming toward us. Now, we hadn't seen him for a while, and assumed that he was waaaaaay ahead of us. So I said, "Sir, just how far are you running today?" (I believe there was also a 50K, so maybe he was doing that?)

He told us that he had gotten lost along the way somewhere where the trail split... and spent nearly two hours trying to get back ON the trail. I'm not gonna lie, I would probably have called it good. But this noble warrior wanted to make sure he completed the course. Awesome!

Again, even with few other folks out on the course, we did get the chance to say a lot of "see you tomorrow!"s, which always brings me joy.

As we approached the finish ... FINALLY ... we waved goodbyes to some previous finishers, and then limped our way in. We weren't the last folks out there... but there weren't all that many left. But the food table was still serving up hot pancakes, so we indulged in another before hitting the road. 

This is what relief and exhaustion looks like:

I do love the medals for this race -- also nice to get a "full" medal rather than the "half"!

This race is actually 27 miles long... which means, I suppose, that we have actually done an ultra! Okay, so not really, but.

After the race we stopped at the Seattle Marathon Expo to pick up our bibs and swag for Sunday's race. Even though we weren't sure we'd be able to run it. But better to get pickup done!

Wattle Waddle Marathon race report

We had a plan. Sort of.

That plan was to run/walk to about the 10-mile point (the turnaround on the first leg), and then walk the rest to save our legs. In my mind, these multi-day events are about survival first and foremost. Just getting to the start line ... and then the finish line ... every day is challenge enough for me.

The morning was gorgeous -- cold... c-c-c-cold... but the day was clear and we were feeling pretty good. We met up ... in the dark ... at Gas Works Park, saying hello to our Mainly Marathons friends (who had already run four straight half marathons!) and getting our bibs and lovely souvenir hats.

For the record, we also received hats when we did the Waddle three years ago -- and it remains one of Wil's favorite running hats. How favorite? Well, he wore it again this year!

Wattle Waddle 2012 hat on left; Wattle Waddle 2015 hat (layered over my Run Happy hat) on right

When it was time to start the race, "Giblet" (aka Matt, the RD), explained the course layout: essentially, follow the Burke Gilman Trail all the way out to a well-marked turnaround in Lake Forest Park, then come back, do a little loop up and around Kite Hill, then run along the trail out to the well-marked turnaround (and manned aid station) at the Fred Meyer. Then back to Gas Works, another loop up and around Kite Hill, and done. (Did that description seem long? It felt waaaaaaay longer...)

This would have been a super easy course, wayfinding-wise, had it not been for the detour through campus due to the light rail construction. But again, Giblet had done an amazing job of marking the course with chalk -- simple arrows with a W. Easy peasy. 

We started a a group across the street from the park, and just set off. Wil and I -- and a good percentage of the quad runners -- had chosen the "early start" option to give ourselves a little more time. So it was still darkish as we set off at 7, though the sun rose pretty quickly.

See: it was a very pretty morning. Less blurry in real life, though...

Once we twisted and turned our way through the campus detour, it was smooth sailing. The say the sun filtered through these autumn leaves as glorious!

There was an well-stocked aid station at the 6ish mile mark -- staffed by the same family from the Balanced Athlete Half. That day they had asked us what we like at an aid station; I had mentioned Red Vines and -- lo and behold! -- they had added them in the mix. Nice!

On on on we went. It was interesting running along the Burke Gilman -- far beyond where I had ever traveled on it. In a few places the houses along the trail look like old houses in the country -- more something you'd see on the Natchez Trace, maybe, than in Seattle. And, of course, it's pretty flat, so we just kept plodding along.

We reached the turnaround, with its small (but obvious) aid station and turnaround. When we reached there a "standard time" runner caught up with us ... that's right, he had made up almost 10 miles in 60 minutes. Wowsers.

Having reached the turnaround, it was time to go into "leg saving" mode. So e just walked back, albeit briskly. And, yes, the front of my shin did hurt the next day. Of course.

The cruelest part was that when we got back to the start/finish area, WE STILL HAD MILES TO RUN. And we had to run up and over and around the darn hill. Sigh.

But we did the first little hill loop and then headed out to the Fred Meyer -- a VERY familiar stretch of the trail. Got a few snacks at the turnaround by the big sign, then trudged back... to the park, then up and over the hill AGAIN. Amusingly, we suddenly found ourselves almost directly behind another  runner... who saw us and TOOK OFF PELL MELL UP THE HILL. Oh!

When we finished, there were high fives, hot boiled sweet potatoes, adorable napkin-ring medals, and an awesome double photo bomb in our post-race photo!

Seriously, how cute are these medals?

The nicest part of this race, of course, was seeing our fellow crazies, chatting about how the day went, and cheering each other on. I LOVE saying "See you tomorrow!" when we're running. I do know how ridiculous that sounds, but it was one of my favorite things from the Center of the Nation Series, too.

Today a colleague at work who knows that we run a lot of races asked me what makes me do it -- what gets me out there to run so many events. I told her that I love the actual events -- the camaraderie before, during, and after the races. Cheering for the leaders and the back-of-the-packers. Feeling like we're a part of something bigger. Seeing people achieve things they didn't know was possible. Hell, achieving things ourselves we didn't know were possible! And, even on a bad day, having a couple (or a bunch) of hours to spend together doing something we love.

Thus ended the first marathon of the weekend, and marathon 1 of the Sweet Quadzukilla! (Read about the other races here.)

Wattle Waddle Course Map

Mutant Quadzilla / Sweet Quadzukilla ... Say what???

We did something stupid. It was my fault. I still feel a bit weird thinking about it, a week later.

I am going to write up brief report of the individual races, but I suppose I should explain what drove us to attempt three marathons in three days, plus three half marathons in the days around them.

In short, this was part of it...

Having been Half Fanatics for a while now, we had come to envy our Maniac friends... and their Double Agent status. And, let's be honest, part of it is for THE GEAR. Oooh, I wanted a Double Agent jacket. Why? Because proper Fanatics team colors are blue and yellow. Proper Maniacs team colors are yellow, red, and black. (Why do I say "proper"? Because both clubs sell alternate color ways in their singlets and tops, but I'm a purist...) But the Double Agents main color is black. And, well, you know me...

When the Double Agents started out, I don't think there were levels... it was just a way for people who were both Fanatics and Maniacs signify that they were members of both clubs. If you were a Fanatic and a Maniac, you were a Double Agent. Simple. 

But, you know, these clubs are based on counting and levels and challenges. So of course there had to be levels of Double Agenthood!

When I heard that a local RD was going to add on to the traditional Quadzilla / Quadzuki held here in Seattle over Thanksgiving weekend ... by holding 4 additional half marathons on the weekend and days before.... well, gosh. 

I toyed with the idea of doing 4 and 4. But that would be insane for us, who hadn't run a marathon in more than 3 years. But -- being the luckiest people on earth -- symbolism saved us!

Three marathons + three half marathons within 9 days would put us at the Kilimanjaro level... a fine place to be. So we decided to aim for that. 

As an added bonus, by running the two half on the first weekend, I would move up a level in the Half Fanatics: moving to the Venus level for running 13 half marathons in 79 days. (Really? That's so weird...)

So our sights were set ... but would our bodies hold up?

Spoiler alert: YES. Barely.

To recap, the races:

Click on a race logo to read our race report!

Cupcake II: Electric Boogaloo Half Marathon, 11/21

Balanced Athlete Half Marathon, 11/22

Wattle Waddle Marathon, 11/26

Grandpa's Wishbone Run Marathon, 11/27

Ghost of Seattle Marathon, 11/28

Seattle Half Marathon, 11/29

After our second marathon in two days I didn't think we'd get through a third. But we did. And that made the half marathon feel easy on the last day. And, no, I wouldn't do this again. Ever.

Boston Marathon 2015, or why I love my job

Des Linden running the Boston Marathon in 2014, photo courtesy of Brooks.

Today was Marathon Monday -- so we had a viewing party in our Beastro. The Boston Marathon on the big screen, boxes of donuts, and 60 cheering Brooksies watching every step of the way. We were there, of course, to cheer on our athletes, including Amy (Hastings) Cragg and Des (Davila) Linden.

One of my previous favorite Brooks memories was my first Boston working there, when the race wasn't televised or streamed for free, but I paid for the stream and live tweeted the action on behalf of Brooks. I remember a little pod of people gathered around my monitor as we chanted GO DES! GO DES! GOOOOOOOO!

(I also remember an announcer saying that the lead pack stopped at a "refreshment stand" … which made me laugh and tweet about it … what were they picking up, hot dogs and cotton candy?)

This year Desi ran an amazing race, leading for a huge chunk of it, while both Shalane and Amy also running in the lead pack for a long time. The Brooksies gasped when the Ethiopians surged, dropping the rest of the pack. Shalane and Amy never closed the gap, but Des did, showing her toughness. (Which isn't to say that those ladies lack toughness!!!!) Amy ended up dropping out at mile 22, but Shalane ran on alone, and Des ran with the pack. But with a mile or so to go, the Ethiopians surged again, and dropped Des for good. Still, she was there in the back of the frame, running smoothly and looking like a total boss. She ended up with a strong 4th place finish, a time of 2:25 (gulp), and was the first American by far. So yay Des!

It was thrilling to be in a group of people all cheering on marathoners -- and I was thrilled that Rotich (Kenya) ended up winning the women's race. But of course the biggest cheer for was for Des, and they way she waved and smiled while she crossed the finish.

In other news, the awesome Tatyana Mcfadden won her third straight Boston Marathon in the women's push-rim wheelchair division. Again, she wore "Martin Richard" and 8 on her kit. I was gushing to Heather about Tatyana's achievements and how badass she is, and Heather said, "Oh my god, she's your girl crush." Fair. Totally fair.

How great is it to be able to watch the Boston Marathon at work? Seriously, great.

I'm already excited about watching the replay of London next weekend -- watching Paula run her final London Marathon, watching sweet Emma Stepto run at home, and watching the most amazing men's elite field ever. (Really, I need to run London at some point. Possibly the last full marathon I ever run.)

Mars Rover Marathon

Opportunity leaves the other rovers in the dust. Image by NASA.

Amused to learn that the Mars rover, Opportunity, completed a marathon this week. Sure, it took Opportunity 11 years and 2 months to complete 26.2 miles, but it's still a new course record. Heck, it's a new planetary record. And it's probably a record which will stand for some time...

I don't have an elevation chart, but here's the course map:

 I mean, there's probably not much course support out there... looks pretty desolate... and we know there aren't any water stations anymore.

I conclude these random thoughts with the video that always pops into my mind when I think of the Mars Rover... "Girl look at that Rover....."

Registration for the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend events opens today!

I love the Walt Disney World Marathon. Finishing that first marathon, way back in 2009, remains one of the happiest and proudest moments of my life. I mean, I am LEAPING IN THE AIR!!!!

2009 Walt Disney World Marathon - our first!

Barring something extremely bizarre, Team Wil-Sun won't be running this event in 2015, but I can wholeheartedly recommend these races, having run the 2009 marathon, a very cold half and full marathon in the 2010 Goofy Challenge, and another Goofy in 2013.

Being the 10th anniversary of the Goofy Challenge, you know registration will fill up quickly, so get your fingers ready at 9am Pacific on Tuesday, April 22!

Spirit of the Marathon 2

Did I cry? Yes. Did I laugh? Yes. Did I cheer? Yes. Was I inspired? Yes.

Was I still slightly underwhelmed? Yeah, unfortunately. 

Maybe I had built it up in my mind too much. I LOVED the first one. And there was a lot to love about this one. The grief-stricken father, the elite runner scarred by her Rwandan childhood, the cute pizzeria owner and his elderly cousin, the independent running/triathlon store owner (rocking her Brooks gear!!!) struggling to keep her business going... And, of course, beautiful Rome. 

Maybe it was the fact that the theatre was less than half full. (Why? More screens? No idea.) Or, yeah, maybe my expectations were too high. 

Still, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. And I will see #3 if they make one. 

Walt Disney World Marathon Race Report

Felt surprisingly good on Sunday morning -- even if 3 a.m. came too early! Another bagel and cheese, then on the bus. This morning everything went much more smoothly - no crush in the holding pen, and very short lines for the porta potties. They also had volunteers handing out water - which they *might* have had on Saturday, but the crush was such that we couldn't see any.

Also, this time they had entertainment on the walk to the corrals -- a DJ playing music, plus a miked-up Fairy Godmother chatting with runners and posing for pictures. It also seemed like there were even more porta potties on the offramp? Anyway, very smooth.

nice big corral markers!

The same running VIPs were briefly interviewed, along with Joey Fatone, who was running the Goofy in the place of his injured wife -- for his first marathon. He seemed happy after the half; not sure how things went for him in the full.

Corral C seemed weirdly crowded -- but then again, this time we had settled down at the back of the corral rather than partway in. We recognized a few people from the day before -- also noticing some costume changes.... which reminds me that I had changed "costumes" as well: for the full I wore a blue running skirt, orange "run happy" EZ T (with the sleeves cut off -- too hot!), and a black vest made from an old tech tee. Oh, and Wil and I both wore a pair of mini Goofy ears on top of our regular running hats. Not quite as cute as the Daisy costume, but still cute. It was nice, toward the end of the race when there were more spectators, to hear "looking good, Goofies!"

C is for Completely Awesome

Race Face!

Again, it seemed like we didn't spend all that much time in the corral. I guess that's the 5:30 start, rather than 6:00. But I was still antsy and just wanted to start running!!!

When it was our turn to start, we slowly moved to the line... and I realized I had forgotten to start my watch. Oops. Luckliy I managed to connect to a satellite pretty quickly and only "missed" the first tenth of a mile or so. We had decided to go out at our usual 4:1 intervals, stopping at every water stop to hydrate, and then reassessing things at the halfway point. I felt really relaxed and good, and ran comfortably next to Wil.

The new course was a little odd. My favorite part of the previous course was running into Epcot in the dark, sweeping past Spaceship Earth and seeing the lights in the pavement. But now it seemed we just followed the standard highway route to the Ticket and Transportation Center, meaning there wasn't much to see. It also meant that we reached the Magic Kingdom really early in the race, rather than a third of the way through. Still, I had the same happy rush when I noticed the castle and Space Mountain for the first time, and was positively giddy when we turned on to Main Street. We took another castle pic before turning off into Tomorrowland. Because we were running, we were surrounded by far fewer people -- we *might* have even managed to be caught in one ot "those pics" -- or maybe not. But I didn't feel like I was trapped behind anyone as we came out of the castle.

Castle Pic, Day 2

Then the quick spin through Frontierland, across the train tracks, and backstage -- where they had a few characters standing on a parade float. Then, sigh, back to the bland roads. But this year there was a little treat -- we ran over to the Richard Petty racetrack, down and then up a very narrow and steep tunnel that runs under the track, and then onto the track. Dozens of vintage cars were lined up around the track, with their proud owners sitting next to them. It was pretty cool to see all the cars. Of course, the most popular cars were Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater... It was surprising to see how big the racetrack was -- I think it was a mile around the oval. Much smaller than Indy, of course, but still pretty big. It was a neat way to burn up some miles.

We left the track at road level -- much easier! -- and then crossed a grassy median, which made Wil say, "trail run!" which made me laugh. We then ran on some backroad for a few miles. I thought that maybe we would be able to skip the wastewater plant... Nope. But it really didn't smell this year. The had actually made little signs that were posted near the plant about the amount of water processed, the number of miles of Disney highways, and other facilities info.

Somewhere along this stretch we passed Mary Poppins and Bert, but I didn't need to stop. We also passed the accordion players -- whom I LOvE -- and I think a collection of villains. Not really sure. And then I saw the sheep and knew we were close to Animal Kingdom.

Now, in previous years this was cause fort great celebration -- it meant we were at mile 19 or something like that, and well on our way. This year, however, we hadn't even hit the halfway point. This was slightly depressing. But I always like the African drumming and dancing, and it still meant we were checking off another park.

As we left the park, we crossed the half-way point. Wil and I stopped for a moment -- half marathon # 36 complete! -- but then kept on going.

I had had this idea that we could walk the second half of the race. After all, it was crazy hot and I was starting to feel tired. And did I mention that I haven't run a step over 14 miles since, oh, the NYC Marathon in 2010?!? But we had made decent time, still felt okay, and decided to keep running for a while longer.

After leaving the backstage area we ran across the entrance to the park -- just starting to collect visitors, and also featuring lots of spectators. Nice little energy boost there! We passed the Jammin Jungle Parade floats and puppets, and all too quickly returned to the highway.

A few nice surprises awaited -- a group of gravediggers staggered menacingly along in a Haunted Mansion graveyard scene, for example -- but it was mainly just boring highway for a couple of miles. The day was getting hotter and hotter -- but plenty of water stops meant we kept pretty hydrated.

Finally we got to the turnoff for Wide World of Sports. I had been dreading this a little -- it seemed like we would be twisting and turning through too many narrow paths. But in the end it was nice -- and a nice way to "explore" the area. We ran past soccer fields and baseball diamonds, on to and around a very nice running track (which made everyone go "ahhhh" because it was lovely and cushiony), past fields marked for sports I didn't recognize, past another field with a huge Mickey Mouse hot air balloon -- proper balloon, with a basket and everything -- and finally onto the main baseball diamond where the Atlanta Braves play spring training. We ran down the first-base line, past home plate and out along third, then out to the warning track where we ran most of the way around. I'm pretty sure we were on the jumbotron at some point, but it was so bright and so hot that we just kept running and didn't see.

A few more twists and turns and we were on our way out of the park. At the last corner, we could see the special 20th anniversary section -- a bunch of giant puppets (probably from some parade?) lined up along the road, a stage with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy where one could run up and have pictures taken. We also ran under a big archway decorated with images of all the race medals -- very nice.

After the archway, we met up with the people just heading in to the WWoS. It was pretty astounding to see how many people were behind us -- but then again, we had been running at a decent pace. Oh, and the best part of the WWoS loop? On our way in we heard an announcer say "less than 6 miles left" -- yep, we burned up three miles in there! Nice.

We passed the SportsCenter guys when we got back to Osceola Parkway, and then quickly turned off toward Hollywood Studios. This was where I hurt my knee during the first marathon, so I took it pretty easy. The green army men from Toy Story were on the ramp, exhorting people to keep running -- telling people that they had better be running or power walking up that ramp or they would be required to drop and give him 20. It was hot, hot, hot at this point. I had been dumping water over my head and neck at every stop -- my shirt was soaked, but I'm not sure if it was water or sweat. (Ew.) But we kept going and eventually made it to the backstage entrance to the park.

Somewhere along here -- ah, before the Studios -- I heard the unmistakeable sound of the start of "Sweet Caroline". I started singing... but no one else did. Not even the "bomp bomp bomp"s. Weird. I think it was just too hot and people were saving energy. Here's what's funny. At the end of the song, it just started up again. Yes, that's right, it was a "Sweet Caroline" station. Funny, that.

THEN into the Studios, where they had several of the funny improv actors -- Hollywood Boulevard denizens, I guess -- chatting with each other and runners. It added a nice touch that I don't remember seeing before. Another highlight -- chocolate! I thought it wouldn't be very nice in the heat, but oh boy does a Krackle mini candy bar taste nice!

We ran into the costume shop, where I was surprised to see people working. I spotted a shelf holding a dozen or so Donald Duck hats -- very cute. We passed several characters from Pixar films in the backlot -- and possibly even a glimpse of Phineas and Ferb? I think regular guests were in the park at this point, but not many -- so I didn't have any collisions.

As we came around a corner near the giant Sorcerer's Hat, a "Run Disney" photographer grabbed us for closeups -- I think he liked the little Goofy ears -- but so far we haven't spotted the picture anywhere. :)

Then out of the park, past lines of tired and grumpy guests. (Which makes me laugh to think about -- I bet we looked pretty tired and grumpy ourselves!!) We ran along the path next to the river, then up onto the bridge by the Swan and Dolphin. I always think that Epcot is right there -- but first you have to run around the Boardwalk.

I think if I could stay anywhere, I'd stay at one of the Boardwalk resorts. They just seem cool -- and I like the entertainment district that's right there. Maybe someday!

The boardwalk is, um, boarded with narrow wooden planks in a chevron pattern. Something about the wood and the lines (and the heat and the sun) made us feel woozy, so we had to drop to a walk. While we had always known we would finish the races by hook or by crook... and had realized that we were going to finish well around mile 20.... we were actually, weirdly, on a big PR pace up till then. Oh well. Doesn't make sense to try and PR in that heat!

After the Boardwalk area, we arrived backstage at Epcot. I love, love, love popping out into the World Showcase right by the United Kingdom. A large crowd stood at the turn, cheering... many of them holding pints of beer. Why does no one ever offer us drinks? Then up the tiny hill to the bridge to France ("it's literally all downhill from here!) and the rest of the way around the circle. It was still early enough in the day that there weren't too many other guests and we didn't crash into anyone as we ran toward Spaceship Earth.

I love the end of races when you see people really digging deep -- if they have been walking, they try to run a few steps; if they have slowed, they try to pick up a little speed. It's my favorite part -- and not just because I know I'm almost done as well!

We passed the gospel choir, I got my usual wave of endorphins which made me feel weepy, and we entered the home stretch. We held hands and ran across the line. Perfect!

Random race memories: car-themed music playing as we ran around the racetrack; the soccer players standing at the edge of their field at Wide World of Sports, clapping for what must have been hours; the two men in sparkly-silver shorts and matching tuxedo shirts who we ran with near the Magic Kingdom parking gates, lost for a few hours, and then caught up with just before the finish line; the woman running in a full-length Belle ballgown; the "course liar" around mile 20, saying things like "there's free beer and barbecue at the finish!" and "you're almost there" and "you smell great!".

We picked up our marathon medal, were given our Goofy medal (how did they know we completed yesterday?!?), and our drinks, bananas, and snackbox. Nice. Oh, and today they gave us "Great and Powerful Oz" lunchbags, which made it really easy to carry the stuff.

ah, yes, "PROOF" what we finished!

It was really hot, we were really spent, so we didn't linger at the finish and just headed for the buses. A huge family pushed in front of us, meaning we had to wait for a third bus -- and while we were in line, a runner just keeled over. Fainted. It was a little scary, but a couple of medical folk on bikes arrived really quickly and helped cool him down. Afterward we thought that perhaps the same might have happened to us if we hadn't slowed down on the Boardwalk.

We went back to the hotel and walked immediately to the pool. We stripped off our tech, our race belts, our hats, and our shoes and socks and jumped in the water. So cold, so nice!

While we had a surprisingly easy time of it (no soreness after the races, no real struggles), and it was fun to be part of the Goofy again, I'm not sure that we need to rush back and do it again soon. Of course, 2015 will be the 10th anniversary of the Goofy... and 2018 will be the 25th anniversary of the marathon...

Next up: Tinker Bell Half Marathon!