Stepping It Up
Disney hosts another great—but cold—Marathon weekend
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
by Lani Teshima, staff writer
WDW hosted its 2004 Health and Fitness Expo earlier this month,
welcoming tens of thousands to the resort for its very popular marathon event.
Photo by Alex Stroup.
The Walt Disney World [WDW] resort held its 11th annual WDW Marathon on Sunday, Jan.
11 in extremely cold weather. Those wishing to run a shorter distance ran in
the Half-Marathon on the same day, while those looking for a taste of the excitement
participated in the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) FamilyFun Run.
The Milk House, so named because it was presented to Disney by the American's
Dairy Farmers and Milk Processors organization, is the site of the 2004 Health
and Fitness Expo. Photo by Alex Stroup.
Participants for all three events were required to go to the Milk House at
Disney's Wide World of Sports to pick up their running numbers for their events.
Once inside the Milk House, signs directed visitors to the registration area.
Photo by Alex Stroup.
The main floor in the Milk House turned into a large exhibit area for the Expo.
Numerous vendors sold running-related merchandise, and many representatives
from marathon events around the world promoted their events from their booths.
The Expo floor is crowded with vendors and shoppers. Photo by Alex Stroup.
After registrants picked up their running numbers for race day, they were directed
to one wall along the main exhibit floor, where they picked up their T-shirts.
Like most running events, WDW provides a souvenir T-shirt for every participant
commemorating the race. Unlike some events, however, Disney does not require
its participants to complete the event before they can pick up their shirts.
For this reason, WDW Marathon shirts are not technically "finisher' shirts."
The T-shirt pick-up tables for those who registered for the full- and half-marathon
events. Photo by Alex Stroup.
In addition to T-shirt pick-up and vendor exhibits, the Expo also offers special
guest speakers to give presentations, lectures and offer question-and-answer
sessions with the audience.
Noted author and running specialist Jeff Galloway is one of many speakers who
shares tips and answers questions during the Expo. Photo by Alex Stroup.
Disney offered official merchandise for the weekend, including T-shirts, jackets,
pins, hats, visors, plush and jogging outfits.
This reversible fleece jacket (left) and an "I survived" T-shirt are
just two of a number of items available for purchase during the Expo. After
the Expo weekend, remaining stock was available at various stores throughout
the resort. Photo by Alex Stroup.
Since Saturday's FamilyFun Run 5K is such a short event, it starts at a leasurely
time of 7:30 a.m. Because this means the event starts after dawn, officials
use large quantities of confetti instead of fireworks to mark the start of the
event.
Saturday's 5K FamilyFun Run starts with a bang of confetti. Photo by Lani Teshima.
The Fun Run begins in the Epcot parking lot, winds its way around World Showcase
and returns to the parking lot. The Fun Run uses the same finish line as the
Marathon does the next day, although the signage is changed to mark the appropriate
events.
MousePad discussion board moderator Stephanie Wein and MousePlanet staff writer
Lisa Perkis are just two of more than 1,000 participants in the Saturday's Fun
Run. Photo by Lani Teshima.
After the Fun Run for the older set, it was time for the children to give it
their all. Children were divided into appropriate age groups, and each group
ran different distances, all crossing the same finish line. The first group
consisted of 7- and 8-year-olds who ran 1,000 yards, while the final group of
participants were the babies, who did a short "diaper crawl."
In addition to the regular Fun Run, Disney holds a special, shorter series of
dashes for children, categorized by age. In the first of the dashes, 7- and
8-year-olds sprint 400 yards. Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Mickey greet finishers
just before they cross the finish line. Photo by Lani Teshima.
The weather in early January can vary considerably in Orlando. Although the
temperature hovered around 50°F earlier in the week, a cold front moved in just
before the weekend, turning the 2004 events into a particularly cold one: The
temperature at the start of the marathon and half-marathon was a chilly 37°F degrees.
While the temperature slowly goes up once the marathon and half-marathon events
start, participants had to weather the near-freezing temperatures for two hours
(from 4-6 a.m.) while they walked and waited in the starting area.
Mickey and Minnie stand on a special elevating lift to officially start the
marathon event for the runners in the full marathon. Donald and Daisy Duck do
the same for the half-marathon. Photo by Lani Teshima.
Several miles into the race, the route travels through a section that cloverleafs,
giving participants a unique view of being able to see runners both on the overpass,
as well as road below. Photo by Lani Teshima.
One of the unique experiences of the WDW event is the opportunity to meet and
greet Disney characters during the route. For this reason, partipants are encouraged
to bring single-use cameras. And since people rarely linger with the characters,
the waits are short, and there is no jostling for poses.
Frans and Silvia Vos pose with three of the Country Bears in front of the Country
Bear Jamboree in the Magic Kingdom. The Voses traveled from the Netherlands
to participate in the marathon. Photo by Lani Teshima.
Both the Marathon and Half-Marathon start near Epcot, and wind their way to
the Magic Kingdom. The Half-Marathon finishes in the parking lot of the Magic
Kingdom, while the Marathon continues on to Animal Kingdom and Disney-MGM Studios,
then past the Boardwalk and, finally, through Epcot's World Showcase, passing
Spaceship Earth to finish right outside in the parking lot.
A throng of people wait and watch for their friends at the marathon finish line.
The finish line is in the background. Photo by Lani Teshima.
On Monday, a day after the marathon events, participants who returned to the
Milk House could see how they did by checking the full print-outs posted on
the boards. The men's first-place finisher for the Half-Marathon was Clinton
Verran (28) with a time of 1:05:42. The women's first-place finisher with a
time of 1:19:44 was Kim Pawelek (29). The men's first-place finisher for the
Marathon was Matthew Dobson (34) with a time of 2:27:58, while the women's first-place
finisher was Kim Donaldson (42) with a time of 3:00:36. This was the first time
in many years that both finishers in the Marathon were American, and, in
fact, both are from Florida.
Participants check their final stats. Photo by Lani Teshima.
Unlike in years past when registration for the next year's event started in
March, Disney opened registration for the 2005 Marathon, Half-Marathon and Fun
Run on the day after the marathon. For those persons who were still visiting
WDW and could not easily register online from home, Expo officials provided
computers in the Milk House to register for next year's events. This was particularly
important for those wishing to sign up for the Half-Marathon, since the 2004
event sold out within days of its registration period opening.
A line quickly begins to form to register for the 2005 events a day after the
Marathon and Half-Marathon are over for 2004. Photo by Lani Teshima.
…Yours truly did much better than could be anticipated. Serious disruptions
during November and December curtailed the extensive training necessary to complete
the full marathon, so I concentrated on running hard for just 13.1 miles instead
of trying to survive all 26.2. My finish time was 20 minutes faster than the
last official half-marathon event I did in October of last year; a tremendous
improvement. I so enjoy the half-marathon distance, that I have already registered
for the 2005 event. If you are considering participating in the WDW Marathon
or Half-Marathon, why not join me and the rest of the registrants for some training,
and give it a shot for next year? You will have a great time!
The author, posing with Donald after she completes the Half-Marathon. The shiny
wrapping is a space blanket, provided to participants to keep warm. Photo courtesy
of Lani Teshima.
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