So … this is my fourth time heading down to WDW marathon weekend in January. Over the past three years I (and several of my friends) have come up with a series of tips to help you survive marathon weekend.

Thou shall drive yourself to the race – What? You mean when Disney suggests using Disney transportation if you are staying on property you ignore it? Damn skippy. This last year was the first year I drove to the race. I got up and left at the same time that I would normally take the bus. No traffic at all. I had a great parking spot and I could sit in my car until it was time to head to my corral. After the race I had fresh food (of my choosing) in the car along with a clean shirt and sandals waiting for me. Also, I didn’t need to worry about bag check. Thou shall take an ice baths – Yep it’s cold. Who cares? Wear a shirt, socks, three pairs of underwear (for men especially) and a hat and it’s not that bad. Start that tub with lukewarm water and then add ice from the ice machine to the water. Try and stay for at least 10 minutes. This will help reduce swelling and improve recovery time. Remember, ice is free at the hotels. Just don’t let your wife get all giddy adding more ice than you can stand. I speak from experience. Thou shall consider staying at Port Orleans French Quarter – “Why?” you ask. First, it is small and intimate. Lots of fellow runners stay here. There are not a lot of kids running around so it is easier to get to sleep. Most importantly, if you miss your alarm and wake up at 5:00 am, you can walk the 1/2 mile to your corral. I wouldn’t normally suggest walking over, but in a pinch it is nice to have the option if you wake up late. Thou shall have your wife/family meet you on course – You think I’m saying this for the moral support. Nope. It’s so they can meet you at mile 13 of the marathon with a full change of clothes, food, coke, beer, whatever you need to get you through the second half of the race. For myself my wife met me at mile 13 with a towel, dry socks, shirt, fresh hat and any sort of food I might desire at that point in the race. I spent the entire mile 12 figuring out exactly what order I was going to ask my wife for each item. You don’t know how good a dry shirt can feel in the middle of a marathon until you try it. Thou can buy or sell a Disney race bib – So you forgot to sign up for a race or you signed up and hurt yourself. Disney looks the other way on buying and selling bibs. Facebook has several groups that are a good resource or you can go to: http://www.marathonguide.com/bulletinboards/index.cfm?step=1&Type=runner&Topic=2. Thou shall not go alone to race weekend (bring a support team) but avoid drama – If you can swing it, the race weekend is about you. Bring someone that can help you logistically and emotionally but also understands your schedule. Try not to bring someone that will add stress/drama to your weekend. That whiny friend who wants to stay out late and see all of the fireworks shows, leave him or her at home. Be a bit selfish here if possible. Thou shall train – Seriously. So many people go to this race under trained. Take the time and train for the race. You will enjoy the experience more if you do so. Thou shall run the tangents – Remember, shortest distance between two places is a straight line. Try not to bob and weave if you can help it. Look ahead on the course. Think about what the shortest distance is on those big straightaways. Thou shall do whatever it takes to get to sleep – Earplugs, white noise generator, lights out. Just try and get to sleep early. If you are sharing a room with a non-runner, ply them with lots of alcohol so they pass out early as well. Thou shall fully prep the night before – Lay out all your gear. Make sure that you have any food/beverages ready to go (like coffee, bananas, etc). That way there is no stress about it the morning of the race. I put my gear in the bathroom so I don’t wake up my wife, and I lay it out top to bottom so what I need first to dress myself is on top. Yes, I’m that anal. Thou shall poop before you HAVE to go – At the Wine and Dine last year I got into the port-o-potty line about 45 minutes before the start of my corral. I had no idea that it would move so slowly. I almost missed my start. Hit up the port-o-potties before you think might need to. At mile 19 of the marathon you will thank me. Thou shall use the super secret bathrooms behind the teacups – Sorry Christine, I had to let the cat out of the bag. Seriously they are nice. Much better than port-o-potties. They are nice. (If a caffeine drinker) Thou shall use caffeine correctly – I’m a huge coffee drinker. What I do is three weeks before the race weekend I start to ween myself off caffeine. First I do a week of 1/2 decaf, 1/2 regular. Then I do a week of just decaf. Then the week before the race I don’t do any caffeine at all. By then it is completely out of your system and on race morning of the marathon when I suck down those caffeinated GUs I feel like I’m flying. One of my best kept secrets. Thou shall celebrate in Epcot – If you are doing the marathon and you can stomach it (lord knows I can’t) have someone meet you with a beer or margarita in Epcot and really “enjoy” your last two miles. If you can have that margarita with Joey Fatone, even better. Thou shall pack sunglasses – It will be dark when you start, but for most of us the sun will come up as we run. Look at the sunrise time and which way you will be facing. So many people running the Disneyland 1/2 last year came over this overpass just to stare at the sun and get blinded as it came up. Then, you had to run the next five to six miles facing east into the sun. Not cool. Thou shall pack the heaven and the earth – Seriously. Just bring it with you even if you aren’t sure if you will need it. While you can run out and buy stuff there (at the expo or a running store) why add that worry. Heck, if you are flying Southwest, 2 checked bags are free. Fill them up yo! Thou shall use the massage tent – It’s a $1 a minute, 20 minutes max. Just bring a $20 (plus something for tips) and have them rub your legs after you are done. It speeds up recovery and feels SO good. It’s much cheaper than race retreat and I think it helps even more. Also they are totally used to working on sweaty legs but if you are worried about that, then bag check a towel to wipe down before you go in. Thou shall celebrate after the race but not before – This is controversial but don’t wear your race shirt before the race, nor during the race. First of all, you are going to look like everyone else. Secondly, it is most likely a long sleeve shirt. Why would you want to wear that in Florida during a race? Lastly, it’s like wearing the shirt of a band you are about to see at their concert. Once you finish, put that shirt and medal and celebrate. Have fun. You just ran for fun, not to outrun a zombie or a mugger.

Thanks to my home girls Christine, Erinn and Julie as well as Jamison for helping me come up with this list.