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Today’s weather at Disney provided deja vu to the weather we experienced on October 19. When we boarded the bus before 4am, the temperature hovered around 34. While we waited for the start, ice pellets and tiny flakes of snow fell. An inauspicious start to our day – the first time it has snowed at Disney Marathon Weekend.

We expected the hardest part of the day to be staying warm before the start of the race. Bags had to be checked by 4:30, but our wave didn’t start until 5:50, leaving a long time to try to stay warm before we started running. Brian’s sister Leslie and her running buddy Melinda opted to dress in layers of disposable sweats and jackets, which they shed at the start line or shortly thereafter. Brian and I decided to wear what we expected to run in. We figured we could vent using gloves and hats and shed a layer if needed, so pre-race we huddled low, and I ended up borrowing a disposable poncho from the gals. Bryan, Melinda’s husband, used a hybrid approach, wearing his running gear and a coat that lasted until mile 5. We all survived, and after a short hiccup where the latter 3 of us got stuck in a long line at the porta-potties and missed our starting corral, we hopped into the next corral and started the race just before 6am.

The course map had us starting near Epcot, running around the Magic Kingdom, then back to the Epcot parking lot. There was definitely some congestion at the start, not surprising given the 17,000 participants, but not nearly as bad as we feared from stories we’d heard. We started with a 10:30 mile with lots of weaving, and got to cheer Melinda and Leslie as we passed at the start. The second miles was a 9:46, still in heavy traffic. By the third mile we decided to make a move and pick up the pace, managing an 8:43, before settling into a more moderate 9:14 for the 4th mile. We approached the Magic Kingdom at mile 5 with a 9:12, then wove our way through the park in tight quarters with a 9:25 and zipping out with a 9:07 7th mile, just over halfway. Bryan stuck with us through the surges and weaving until this point when Brian and I decided to pick it up for the second half. We nailed an 8:33, 8:26 and 8:34 for the next three miles, taking us to the 10 mile point, with only a 5K to go. We ran together for one more mile at 8:44 before deciding to finish up at our own paces.

As I was cruising around the turn in mile 11, a fellow runner slid and fell down near me. No one else seemed to be checking on him, so I stopped when I saw that he wasn’t getting up. I helped him up and discovered his face was bleeding; just then another couple of runners stopped to help, fortunately. We tried to get a volunteer and a police officer to provide assistance and direct us to the nearest first aid station, but they were of no help. By then the injured runner was walking and started to jog with us, and the couple who stopped were escorting him, so I was satisfied that he would be ok, and took off again. It was a strange situation where I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but I felt much better checking on him and knowing that he was at least able to continue.

Despite my detour I ran an 8:45 for my 12th mile, kicked out a 7:50 final mile with a 51.26 second last tenth of a mile to finish in 1:57:38. Brian was close behind, also finishing under 2 hours, in 1:59:46. We both met our goals of running negative splits and finishing in under 2 hours. The novices put in a good showing as well. Bryan finished in 2:08, while Melinda and Leslie finished their first half marathon in 2:43.

While we thought the pre-race waiting would be the hard part, it turned out that the post-race waiting was even worse. We found a 6×6 tent where a few runners had ducked in to escape the wind and rain, so we joined them while waiting for the rest of our group to finish. There was really no other designated area to wait that was protected from the elements. The race organizers gave us plenty of food and drink, and we all got mylar blankets, but that only staved off the chill so long when wet and tired. By the time we all met up in the tent, we were all more than ready to get on the bus and get back to the room to get dry and warm. Brian and I fared slightly better, since we hadn’t shed all our warm clothing along the course, but our bodies were all locking up and shivering. Unfortunately many other runners were trying to get to our hotel at the same time, so we had another 30+ minutes of waiting in line for the bus.

We wasted no time hurrying from the hotel lobby to our room where we shed our wet clothes. I lucked out and got the first shower while Leslie crawled into bed to keep warm. About a half hour later, our room was 80 degrees and we were all starting to feel more normal. After a nap and a pizza lunch, we almost felt normal.

I can’t say that I would choose a cold rainy day for a race, but after today I believe I’ve got the right gear and preparation to run well even in poor conditions. We still had a fun day with Leslie and her friends, and it’s always gratifying to step up to a challenge and keep a good attitude despite less than ideal circumstances.

Next up, the Hampton Beach race , which I understand will provide a warm dry site for warm up and post-race cool down. I’ll be very happy to be a 10 minute drive away from home instead of at the mercy of mass transit. Who knows, maybe New Hampshire on February 21 will be a nicer day than today proved to be in Central Florida!