2018 runDisney Marathon Weekend Expo

Our Marathon Weekend began right after we landed at the airport. We took Magical Express to the resort, then headed straight for Disney's Wide World of Sports where the Expo was being held. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the Expo until around 5 p.m., so it was super chaotic and lots of Dopey merchandise was sold out. Sad times.

Race weekend Expo's are seriously my favorite! I've said it before, but I love the excitement in the air and the feeling of a new beginning...a new race...a new possibility...anything can happen!

For a full recap of our WDW Marathon Weekend experience, check out these links below:

• Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Expo & Vlog
• Walt Disney World 5K & Vlog
• Walt Disney World 10K & Vlog
• Kids Races (100 m Dash) & Vlog
• Walt Disney World Half Marathon & Vlog
• Walt Disney World Full Marathon & Vlog

The sun was beginning to set as we arrived and it made for a beautiful evening. Orlando was way colder than we expected, but it didn't phase us...we had some shopping to do! Well, and a few bibs to pick up. But mostly shopping.

 
First, we stopped by Champion Stadium to pick up Brayden's bib for the Kids Races.

I was shocked to see bib pick up for the kids races as well as several vendors in the alcove of Champion Stadium which meant they were OUTSIDE! I seriously felt bad for the ladies of Sparkle Athletic and Endure Jewelry but they were holding it up like champs!

The next stop was in the HP Field house for my Dopey Challenge bib!

This process was SUPER easy and smooth with zero lines which I was really happy about! In all, we had all of our bibs and shirts collected in under 15 minutes!

Up next was the runDisney merchandise floor. When we stepped out of the upper level of the Field House, I was VERY shocked to see the insanely long line just to enter the runDisney merchandise area! I honestly did not like the fact that the runDisney merchandise was split from the rest of the expo. Yes, it gave them plenty of room but I still didn't like it.

The line to get in here was about 30 minutes long, so we waited....

Once we arrived inside, we discovered that 90% of the Dopey merchandise was sold out. The next day, I went online to see what was available on Ebay and sure enough, I found the car magnet I wanted as well as a Dopey jacket for about a 50-75% markup. No thank you.

Despite the lack of Dopey merchandise, I was still able to purchase the Marathon Weekend Dooney I'd been eyeing as well as a Dopey Challenge "I Did It" shirt and a Marathon Weekend coffee mug. Thankfully, the Expo wasn't all a bust. Also, after the races were all said and done, shopDisney offered all of the marathon weekend jackets on their website with the word "Finisher" added to the bottom! You bet I jumped right on ordering a Dopey Finisher jacket! I was so excited to see these available as a Dopey jacket was one of the items on my "must have" list!

By the time we finished shopping and going through yet another long line to check out, it was really late and we needed to get back to Brayden and our friends.

On Friday morning after Brayden's kids race, I managed to wander into the Josten's Center to view the remainder of the Expo. Sadly, I only had about 5 minutes there, so I snapped these pictures then headed out.

Had I remembered the magnitude of this Expo, I would have scheduled our flight to arrive earlier in the day on Wednesday. Oh well. 

 

Another fun thing to note is the weather advisory we were greeted with for this marathon weekend!  You know what's funny? The last time I ran Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World (5 years ago for the 20th Anniversary of the Marathon), we also had a weather advisory but it was definitely on the far opposite end of the spectrum! That weekend (2013) was so beyond hot, it's not even funny!

After snagging a quick picture with the Dopey Challenge medal banner, it was time to say goodbye to the Expo!

We had a lot of fun but again, I wish we'd had more time to wander around and explore! Definitely next time!

Here's a look at the items I was able to purchase at the Expo....

The Disney Marathon Dooney was high on my list as well as a Marathon Weekend mug! I love this mug as it has all of the races listed on the back of it as well as each race distance!

A Dopey Challenge "I Did It" shirt was another item that was high on my list so I was happy to see these available and in a decent range of sizes, too!
 

Here's all of the race shirts from the weekend. I ordered "Ladies Large" and I love how all of the shirts fit except the 5K. Sadly, the 5K shirt is a generic unisex cotton t-shirt which I usually wear a medium. Had I realized while I was still at the Expo, I would have attempted to trade it out. Oh well! I'm still happy with them overall and I love how Mickey was on each medal/shirt this year because of the 25th Anniversary! So fun!!

Stay tuned for continued recaps and vlogs of our fun times at the 2018 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend!

Fitness Friday - Dopey Challenge Style

We have returned from another fabulous runDisney event weekend and I know I say this all the time, but I cannot believe it's over already! On the morning of the 10K, I never thought the full marathon would get here and now that it's all said and done, I'm kind of sad.

Many MANY hours were spent walking and running throughout the parks over the past week, so I'm going to recap them here along with my step count.

As a disclaimer, I was not a good girl as far as the first time Dopey participant went. I actually didn't stay in bed or relax at the hotel every day. Instead, I spent time at the parks with my family and friends. Whoops. However, I did make sure I was in bed by at least 8 or 8:30 p.m. every night so I could have an adequate night's rest.

 
Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA

Dopey Challenge Week:
Thursday, January 4 - 5K (daily step total 29,600)
Friday, January 5 - 10K (daily step total 34,400)
Saturday, January 6 - Half Marathon (daily step total 45,700)
Sunday, January 7 - Full Marathon (daily step total 69,300)

Monday, January 8 - Animal Kingdom - 14,000 steps
Tuesday, January 9 - Magic Kingdom - 16,800 steps
Wednesday, January 10 - Travel Day - 6300 steps
Thursday, January 11 - REST DAY!
Friday, January 12 - Afternoon walk with Jason/Brayden

What a week! My fitbit hit its highest mileage ever on the day of the full marathon which was quite exciting! (And maybe cheating since I used it while I was running a race but oh well..steps are steps, right?)

Also, I want to put this out there - no, it's not a grand idea to venture all over the parks while doing a race of this magnitude. However, I do not live a sedentary lifestyle on a regular basis and I work at a job that has me on my feet all day (as a nurse), so I knew my body's limits and when it was time to return to the room to sleep or take a rest on a bench, I did just that.

Honestly, I felt that walking so much helped my body not become stiff or terribly sore. I did hobble around a little bit the evening after the full but by Monday morning, I felt great and was ready to go! I also wore a lot of compression (CW-X compression pants were worn nightly for sleep and Legend Compression socks or leg sleeves were worn daily for most of the races and around the parks) which helped TREMENDOUSLY!

Would I run Dopey all over again? Probably not.
Would I run another Full Marathon? Maybe...still on the fence about this one. (This full was my 6th so far.) 
Did I have an AMAZING time? YES!
Could I have used more sleep? YES.
Was the training hard? YES!
Was it worth each and every mile? DEFINITELY!!

I am so happy I had the opportunity to run this challenge and having my friend Melissa to run it with me made it that much more exciting! We had a BLAST stopping for character photos and I had the chance to do something I wish I'd done on the last Disney Marathon I ran - I had the chance to ride Expedition Everest around mile 14 in Animal Kingdom! I know it's crazy, but my main reason for wanting to re-run the full is because I didn't ride Everest the previous two times I ran this race - it  was totally my "cherry on top" for this race weekend!

Now for the opposite side of the coin (I'm not being negative, just giving my honest opinion)....

Traveling with my husband/son and friends was hard because I felt as if I was missing out on times with them while having to leave the parks at 7 to catch a bus and be in bed on time. During the morning of the full marathon and about half way through the full, I texted several people and said "I'm NEVER doing this again, EVER!" Am I still holding true to that? Yes, more than likely for Dopey at least (I'm still on the fence about running another full).

Here's the thing - it all depends on the mindset you go to Marathon weekend with. Is it to run a race and have a Disney vacation (our style - sun up to sun down) all at the same time? Or are you there strictly for runDisney? If you're just there for a fun running weekend and don't mind a ton of downtime at the resort, then Dopey is a great idea! My personal favorite are the shorter race weekends like Princess or Wine & Dine because I feel as if I can have that runDisney experience by participating in a challenge (10K and half) or a half alone and still have time to enjoy the parks with my family. Again, not being negative as I had an AMAZING time, I'm just sharing my thoughts! :)

There will be recaps to come as well as several vlogs for those of you who asked, so stay tuned! Again, this past weekend was an incredible one and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to run and complete my first Dopey Challenge!

Did you run any races over the past weekend? Have you ever run Dopey? If so, what are you thoughts and would you run it again?