How long do you wear your medals? About This Page:

[Tim Sullivan]

Hey fellow nutters.... err.. I mean, runners...

Planning on doing the Goofy challenge next year, read some great trip reports from the race this year, and just had a question.....how long do you guys typically wear your medals while touring around? Or do you even wear them while touring?

Planning for our vacation next year, I've gone crazy and decided to try the Goofy... my wife went crazy and OK'd two weeks at Disney :P Now to have her go totally nuts and convince her to run the half with me.....

Tim

[disney_duke]

Awesome!!! Congrats on committing to the Goofy. I just finished up my TR from running it this year: Any Idiot Can Run. It takes a Goofy kind of idiot to run a marathon and a half!

Yes, I wore my medal! Almost everybody wears it the day of the race, in the afternoon/evening. And most will wear it the following day as well. But that's usually about it. You will see some random folks wearing it all week, I'm sure.

So, you should wear it on Sunday and Monday for sure. (oh, and the Donald on Saturday too!) But it actually gets kind of annoying after awhile. It really is rather heavy, and sometimes the lanyard part can be itchy on the back of your neck. For the rest of the week, just wear the race shirts they give you instead. That way everyone will still acknowlege your efforts, but without the heavy medal around your neck.

[tinkerbell24601]

Just finished reading your TR, Tanya. Way to go! You are such an inspiration. The 2013 Princess will be my first half. A year ago I couldn't even do one mile, and now, just 2 weeks ago, I got my 14 mile training run in. It's amazing to accomplish something you used to think you could never do. After this half, maybe I will set my sights on training for the Disney World Marathon... and then maybe in a few years, the Goofy. You are a great encouragement to me and I appreciate you sharing your TR

[disney_duke]

awww, thanks! Hey, we all start somewhere. When I first started it took me 20 minutes to walk 1 mile. It is amazing how far we've all come! I know you will have a great time at the Princess Half!!

[tinkerbell24601]

Thanks Tanya

[Tim Sullivan]

Tanya, I read your trip report with much interest, as I've been going back and forth for several weeks on just how Goofy of an idea it is I'm stubborn though, and love a good challenge (especially one that doesn't seem like a good idea to most sane people...just ask my wife about the 5km portage I want to do on a canoe trip this year hehe). Was also interested to hear about your experiences just walking across the street to the start corrals...we are staying in POFQ, and I'm quite intrigued to try that to save me some hassle and crowds...busses, all that fun stuff.

Never thought I'd be a distance runner either, but I listened to a podcast last November with Anthony Daniels in it, and he was talking about his love of distance running, and made the training for a marathon seem a lot easier than I thought it was... or at least, took a lot of the mystery out of it (going for 3 and 4 hr runs... well, nothing "easy" about that for sure!!!)

I'm sure I'll be proud to wear the medals for a couple days, but as you said, it gets heavy after a while. Might pack them along, just in case I feel the need to get any photos in key spots, but I think I'd feel a bit odd wearing them for an entire two weeks Shirts will be a must, so that will definitely have to do.

Cheers, and thanks for the feedback!

Tim

[disney_duke]

If you don't need to bag check, walking to the corrals from POFQ is awesome. I'd do it again in a heartbeat! But you cannot do this if you need to check a bag. I'd say you don't need to leave your hotel room until close to 5am. Like 4:50-ish. It's literally that close.

You will be missing out on the pre-race party though. If you've never done this before, it's kind of just a motivator for folks with loud, dance-party type music. They also have a water table, and I think a place to purchase light snacks like bagels, and I don't know what else. Basically that's all you'd be missing. And bag- check!

When I take the bus to races, I usually get on the last possible bus (leaving the resort usually after 4am) and just head straight to the corrals. I don't bag check anyway, and don't need the pre-race hoopla. But that's just me.

Assuming you're coming to the corrals at 5am, you likely won't need a port-a-potty either. Most guys just go in the trees/bushes along the corrals anyway. PoP's are just a short walk away should you need one.

Excellent idea to bring your medals along in a bag. That's what I do too. Just in case you run into a short wait to meet Goofy or something, it's nice to get that photo opportunity!!

[kadterp]

When we did Wine and Dine, I didnt wear my medal around the next day, only the finishers shirt as the medal was heavy and honestly I didnt want to lose it! I worked too hard (and was in too much pain) to lose something as precious as that the next day!

We are planning to do the Goofy, but not until 2015. We figure that gives us enough time to really build up a strong base. This year we are doing three half marathons (local, Dumbo Double Dare, and Wine and Dine to get the Coast to Coast medal) and if we survive them, then we will be doing a full marathon next year! I will proudly wear my medal on race day...after that I will proudly wear my shirt and hang my medal!

[Tim Sullivan]

I'm not planning on doing bag check at all, if I need some warm stuff to keep warm I'll just wear some stuff I can ditch before taking off for the race, that way I don't need to have to worry about picking anything up. The only thing I might need is to find a place for my cane (as I'm blind and would probably use one to get myself to the start corral) but could also use an older one and just ditch it. My wife would probably take me over, but it would also be nice to let her sleep in

Sounds great that I'll be able to sleep a little while longer and just walk over much closer to the start time. While the party before sounds great, I think avoiding any possible crush of people slowly moving their way to the start corrals would be preferable.

Cheers for all the tips!!

Tim

[disney_duke]

I hope you don't mind my asking, Tim, but I'm very curious as to how you run with a cane? I'm assuming you must have a little vision, correct? A friend if mine is legally blind but still does small 5ks. She's afraid of any large races though. Sorry for asking, I'm just curious.

BTW, my DH just got back from Toronto. He went for "vacation." He's a huge Leafs fan, so every year we either travel to FL to see a game, or he goes to YYZ to see a game. I went once, but I don't like to go to more winter when it's already winter here!

[buckysmom]

I've run 7 Disney half marathons (tinkerbell, W&D, DL, princess) plus relays, tot...and the marathon in jan and have to say those things are too heavy for me to wear around my neck any longer than to my room from the finish! That's just personal preference...I've seen folks in the airport days later sporting them...
Good luck with Goofy- I'm planning on 2015!

[Tim Sullivan]

Tanya,

Totally cool question, I don't mind talking about it at all. I don't actually run with a cane, as that would be a huge pain I'd think Plus, most races don't allow the use of canes, poles or other types of added aids, so I'd use it to get to my corral, then ditch it once there. I have enough old, junky ones that it wouldn't be a big deal... or I have a rather small ultralight cane that I might figure out how to lash it to my fuel belt, so I could just take it with me

Vision wise I have about 5-10% vision, basically am tunnel blind and I am also night blind (so some slight concern for the start of the race...might pack along my headlamp, haven't decided that yet). I haven't actually run in any organized races yet, and I'm a bit concerned about running in (or rather into hehe) crowds at the race. I'm planning to use a "blind runner" bib to help identify me, but aside from that, I'm planning on just doing it.

If you have a friend that is disabled and a runner, is she a member of Achilles yet? I joined them in November, and they help facilitate running for persons with disabilities. The Canadian branch is amazing to deal with, they help organize discounts on race entries (nothing on RunDisney races though), help with guide runners (which I don't use as of yet, though might if I can find a partner that I get along with) and other benefits.

And funny about the "Vacation" to T.O. Had to laugh when was watching The Price is Right and saw one of the showcase "prizes" was a trip to Toronto Then again, I'm about 45 mins from Toronto, and used to work there, so spending a week wouldn't be my idea of a good time. Hope the husband enjoyed himself though, he did have to go to a Leafs game

Tim

[disney_duke]

Love that you're still into the long distances, Tim. That's awesome! I shouldn't say my "friend" as she's the daughter of my parents friends, but I see her from time to time anyway. I have no idea if she's involved with Achilles or not. Sounds like she should be! I believe she has tunnel vision too. She can't have a drivers license so her DH/friends/family get her around. She runs 5ks with her DH, so he just helps her. He runs Half's though but she just won't. Oh well!

Yeah, I'd recommend you bring your headlamp. It's rather dark for quite awhile. The corrals are lit enough, but once you cross that start line, it gets real dark real quick. Only streetlights. Every so often, Disney sets up some floodlights, but they're few and far between.

Another obstacle that most runners trip on are those raised reflectors on the road. You know, they help indicate the lanes for traffic? Those things. I trip on one every race, never fails.

It really is dark though. And if you're in corral A-D to start, it'll be dark for a good 4 miles. I say D cuz that's where I was this year. I'm guessing E is dark for 4 miles too. Years past I was in H- the last corral. Then it appeared to be dark for only 2-3 miles. Of course, if its cloudy it'll be darker for longer.

I think it's awesome you're considering Goofy! It's a lot of work. But it's one heck of a conversation starter.

[My2suns]

Wow Tim, good for you! I say wear your medals for as long as you want!

[Tim Sullivan]

I've actually been trying to contact RunDisney to see how they handle special needs runners, as it doesn't say anywhere on their website, which is odd, as the sites for Boston and New York for example have a couple pages dedicated to it. I'm sure eventually they will get back to me

Can't remember if I've seen this anywhere, but does Disney use "pace bunnies" to help set the pace/let you know just how you're pacing?

And the Goofy is happening, whether I like it or not The way I look at it the pace requirements are so much slower than I can run, even if I end up walking major portions, I should still be able to make it. Once I start in with the dual long runs this fall that will give me a much better idea how things are going. I MIGHT do a long run before I run the Toronto Marathon in the fall, just to see how things go All depends on long long my Soccer season goes this summer, as that can take me into October as well, and I won't want to be doing too much long-distance training during the season.

Thanks again for all the tidbits! You planning on any of the marathon weekend races next year at all?

Tim