 |
| Welcome to my Top 10 Race Tips for New runDisney runners. |
I get asked the question over and over..."Do you have any tips for a new runDisney runner?"
I absolutely LOVE answering this question. It usually leads me offering advice, tips, things I like, things I don't like about runDisney. Hard to believe I know but there are actually things that I don't like about runDisney (things that I think other races do better). I won't list those here...I'll save that for another blog post!
So here goes. I've put together my top 10 tips and tidbits of Bamagirlruns runDisney knowledge. :)
1.) DON'T FREAK OUT.---I know. I know. This is your first
runDisney event or your first half-marathon. You are nervous as crap. What if you oversleep? What if you have NO idea where to go on race day?? What if you just simply fall apart?? Well. You might just fall apart and you might oversleep and you may have NO idea where to go on race day. I wish that I could give you a better answer but I can't. The nerves get the most of people and it can make for a disaster of a race day. However, the good news is that runDisney events run like a well-oiled machine. Chances are, there is a CastMember close by that can help you with any situation. Don't be afraid to ask!! If you feel lost or just uncertain about something, most likely you are not alone. Stay Calm and
runDisney. :)
 |
| Who can REALLY stay calm at Disney?!?! ;) |
2.) HAVE FUN.--- If there's anything that I know for sure, it's that while you are running at Disney, you need to have fun!! ....Be a kid, pose for silly pictures, Believe in the magic!! I know that sounds just a wee bit corny but come on. You can run any boring race at home with no fun along the way. Get involved in the race, go to the pre-race DJ party, meet the characters along the way, dress up!! It's one of the only race series where it's TOTALLY acceptable to run to infinity and beyond with Buzz or Woody, leave a pixie dusted trail through the parks or totally ROCK those Mouse Ears that you've been wanting to break out of the cabinet. You see where I'm going with this?!? I'm totally not a tiara-wearing type of girl but somehow my girlfriends talk me into wearing one during The Princess Half Marathon every single year and I do feel a little more Princess-y. Just sayin.'....You are at Disney. Now act like it!!
 |
REALLY glad that I brought my camera on the runDisney Disney Sports Festival FUN Run...
This is one of my favorite pictures from any runDisney event. Me and my kiddos having fun in World Showcase! |
 |
| It's always FUN to smooch on Mickey. <3 |
5.) CHECK A BAG.---Checking a bag is easy although that's one of the things that people get so stressed over. You literally have to walk right past the gear check area on the way to your corral so why not drop off your bag?!? This may sound elementary to experienced runners but I remember having NO idea how to get my bag ready. What if they lose it? How will they know it's mine? Again, there is a system in place. At the expo you will be given a sticker that matches your race bib. Simply attach that sticker to the outside of your bag and you're good to go! Once you arrive at gear check (go to the letter that corresponds to the first letter of your last name.) for example, my sticker might be 1234-L. Hand the volunteers your bag and you're all set. To pick up your bag after the race is over, go back to the same letter that you dropped it off at and then show the volunteer your bib number. It's that easy. It has never taken me more than a minute or so to drop it off or retrieve my bag. And knock on Disney wood, they've never lost my bag either.
 |
Gear check was a breeze after the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler.
We picked up our bags on the set of Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
I thought that was pretty Epic indeed!! |
What to pack in your gear check bag?? I'm sure that everyone will have different things than me but these are the things that I never leave "home" (aka my resort) without.
-My refillable resort mug. When I get back to my resort after a race, I want a hot cup of coffee. I don't want to walk to my room and then go back to the food court....kind of crazy after you've just run a zillion miles but it's true.
-Jacket or long sleeves. It's Florida or California right?? Right. However, I'm the person who freezes after I cool down. My bones can't take it. It can be 80 degrees out and I'll throw on sleeves.
-A Banana. I know that they give you snacks, bananas, etc. after the race is over but I get pretty psychotic about eating bananas. I cramp like a maniac and I hate that feeling so I'm always sure to eat an extra one after a long run. One of my many many post race quirks. I also don't eat things that I've never tried before after I run. I'm not playing around with new foods just because they gave them to me in a box. I go with what I know.
-Back up Phone Charger. By the end of the race, I'm usually floating on about 1% of battery life left so I bring my back up and cord and charge it up! I like to upload pics while I'm on the bus back to my resort too so that helps.
-Room Key. Whether you wear your Magic Band, bring a plastic hard copy card or whatever. You gotta get back into your room.
-My friends' junk. Like it or not, usually at least one of my other friends always says to me..."oh are you checking a bag? Do you mind if I throw in my _____ ?"(fill in the blank) I never mind doing that. I'm just the type that would rather have all of my stuff with me than to be without.
6.) IF YOU WANT IT, BUY IT. I cannot tell you how many times that I've gone to a race expo, saw a super cute event t-shirt, jacket, visor...whatever. I would either get back to the room or home and think...ugh. I wish I would have just bought that. Now it's sold out. Now there are none left in my size. Now I've got to walk around the parks all day seeing 20,000 other people wearing the shirt that I wanted. Just do it. Seriously, $20-$30 bucks is not worth stressing over. You may never run another race. Then again, you may run hundreds of other races and that "I Did It" shirt may become your new tradition. If you want it, then you want it. Buy it. Just don't go crazy and spend your mortgage money. I know of people that have done that too. ;)
 |
I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I bought both pair of the runDisney New Balance shoes..but not really.
I waited in line for four hours for them during Marathon Weekend.
I've gotten my money's worth out of them! |
 |
I almost talked myself out of this Coast to Coast shirt. However, I'm glad that I bought it...
I run in it all of the time now. Love it! |
7.) STAY ON PROPERTY. I cannot stress this enough. Stay on Disney property and take advantage of the event transportation. I have stayed off property before and plan to do so again very soon but I also feel like I'm kinda in the know now and don't stress too much about race days anymore. HOWEVER, when I first started running at Disney, I would never have EVER considered driving on race morning. The bus system is just so easy. The buses are plentiful. They are a no-brainer. They do the work for you. But do be on time....when they say that the last buses quit running at 4am, that doesn't mean 4:15am. 4:15am means that you've missed your bus. :(
 |
| Event Transportation signs are out to help you figure out which way to go. :) |
Another quick tip regarding the buses is that after the race is over, the lines start getting LONG to board the buses back to the resorts. The value resorts seem to be the longest so if you are in a hurry, you may want to keep that in mind. When standing around the Family Reunion area, reuniting with family might need to happen in the bus line.
8.) EAT RIGHT, EAT EARLY & HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE. It's so tempting to eat all of your favorite not-so-healthy snacks when you are on vacation. Please keep in mind that your body and race does not care that you are on vacation. Garbage in=Garbage out. I want you to have a good race so PLEASE save the giant cupcakes and the endless amounts of sugary sweets until after the race. Go for the Mickey Pretzel. Carbs and Salt on Main Street USA, yes please!!
 |
| My idea of the perfect runDisney snack. |
Make your dinner reservations well ahead of time and get early reservations. By the time you eat, take transportation back to your resort and get settled, it can be midnight before you know it. Trust me....I'm the worlds' WORST at going to bed early so I need to take my own advice on this one. I usually shut the parks down every night. So really, this is a good theory and I'm going to work on it. Maybe. ;)
The Florida/California heat and humidity is not a joke. Even when you don't think that you need to drink. Drink. And then drink more. There are PLENTY of water/Powerade stops on the course so race day is not the issue. The issue is being out in the sun all day in the days leading up to the race. Most people travel in from all over the country and are just not used to this kind of heat/humidity. It can break you down.
9.) MAKE NEW FRIENDS.---I cannot tell you how much my r
unDisney life has changed because of all of the new friends that I have made along the way. Some people I see at every
runDisney event, some people only have certain events that they attend. I absolutely LOVE running into friends all over the place. We meet up. We go to dinner. We play in the parks. We run together. You name it. It's FUNNNNNN. If you are feeling a little weird about this. Don't. There are TONS of Facebook groups, running groups, charities and other ways to meet people. And hey, don't forget about actually meeting people face to face. That's my favorite way. Striking up a conversation while you are running, in line to meet a character, or waiting in your corral. You never know where it will lead you. Maybe nowhere or you may become the best of friends. Think about it. You already have a few things in common. You obviously like Disney. You obviously like to run. Shake off the nerves and go for it! And then go follow each other on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter...you know you're gonna take a pic together and then post it. :)
 |
We are SO not the Princess types but we got the medals. Lol.
Jindy and I met years ago at a runDisney meetup and have remained friends ever since!
Love this girl! |
 |
Carrie and I met an ESPN WWOS event two summers ago
and have been running besties ever since! |
10.) CELEBRATE YOU.---Whether you schedule a massage, go eat an $80 steak at LeCellier (which is what I did after Dopey Challenge), have a full photo shoot in front of the Castle....It's YOUR day!!! Celebrate it however you want to. I get SO annoyed at the people who are not tolerant of this. I love nothing more than seeing people jumping in the air with the Photopass guy for 30 minutes in front of the Castle wearing their medals. Wear your medals proudly and do whatever YOU want to do. I know it's hard sometimes with a large group or with a group of different kinds of personalities. My advice?? If you want a picture with Goofy after completing Goofy Challenge. Then go find Goofy!!! Who cares what everyone else thinks!!! You will never get this day back and don't let anyone take it away from you either. Your accomplishments are just as important as anyone else's ideas of how they think the day should end. Sorry, but it's true...I've known too many people that have said "well I wanted to get my picture wearing my medal in front of the Castle but my friends or family wanted to go to Epcot. So we went to Epcot." Ummmm no. Meet your friends at Epcot. I've learned in my old 40+ year old age, that pleasing others is not celebrating YOU. YOU ran the race, YOU trained, and most likely YOU are bringing your family with YOU. Do not feel guilty. Do not make excuses. Do not please others. Go get that pic (or 50 if you want that many) in front of the Castle and flash that medal proudly. I CANNOT say this enough. And then go get that $80 steak because it was freaking delicious. ;)
 |
I wanted a pic of all five of my Princess Half Medals.
I wouldn't have brought all of them back to Walt Disney World if I didn't.
And to this day, I'm glad I have this. |
 |
I froze my butt OFF in 2010 after the WDW Half. I wanted this pic with Daisy,
so I waited in line with purple lips and got it. :) |
 |
PhotoShoot on Main Street USA with all 6 of my Dopey Challenge medals...
I will never apologize for this moment! |
 |
Took the Castle pic. Sported my bling and
even got the crane in the background....Perfection!! |
 |
After my first Goofy Challenge,
I wanted to strut around with mouse hands and ears on...So I did. Yo. |
A few more quick things that I just thought of.....in an ideal perfect world, I would tell you to read through the Race directions and the official event guide and that you would do that and remember everything. All of that goes out the window on the race day. Crowds are big. Things can be confusing. And for the love, THERE'S NO INTERNET SIGNAL!!!!! My solution? Screen-shot directions or times or anything else that you may think that you might need. As of now, there is no
runDisney app. (Please refer to some of the things that I don't like about
runDisney, not having an app is one of them). The event guide is available digitally now but...when that signal goes, so does the event guide. I can quickly refer to things that I need on my camera roll and that seems to work for me.
Another thing to remember (especially if you are a girl)...BRING BOBBY PINS, SAFETY PINS AND SCISSORS. I can't remember running a
runDisney event when someone in my room didn't need one of these items. When you have costumes and Mouse ears that have to stay in place, these things are a MUST.
I hope that these tips have helped....These are just all things that I've learned over the years. :)
Happy Running, Happy Training and See YOU at the Castle!!
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment