2011 Marathon weekend trip report - COMPLETE!! 4/5 - Page 7 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Beth, I love all your photos, but this one really tells the story. And what is amazing is that we know Rick was really not feeling well, but he looks like he just finished a stroll around WS. And you look like a woman who has run hard and earned that medal!!!
Yeah, what's up with that?!? He's Mr. Cool-as-a-Cucumber after what he put me through? Hmph!
Quote:
Originally Posted by disney_duke
Such hard work. I know all too well! The chronological photos are such a story in themselves. You did it - High Five!!!! Heck, High 20!!!
You DO know!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jillybean
I love that you two crossed the finish line hand-in-hand!
Jill
We talked about doing that early on in the race. I'm just glad I remembered!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Staci Schwarz
YAY! I loved seeing the pictures of you crossing the finish line. Awesome! I am also doing the full marathon next year. I did a half here in Des Moines last year and I totally fell in love with the race experience, but I can't imagine doing my first marathon anywhere but Disney! Hopefully as a seasoned pro you'll have all sorts of practical advise to offer a newbie like me. And I might finally get to meet you in person!
Staci, I'm so proud of you! I agree that WDW is the best place for your first full; in fact, for me, it's the ONLY place for a full! I honestly can't imagine being motivated to go that far anywhere else! We'll definitely need to meet up. Will your whole family be there, or just you?
Quote:
Originally Posted by I live with a 'Stitch'!
Great photos!
The one of you two crossing the finish line hand in hand brought tears to my eyes!
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I love that you two crossed the finish line hand-in-hand!
Just found this report today, Beth. Really enjoyed it! Just wish I had found it before. Seeing your medal in your sig pic kinda killed the suspense. Congratulations to both you & Rick on your HUGE accomplishment!
Wow! I just love the finish photo with the clock in it! How cool! And from the pics I could tell that you were still running with a lot of people when you got to DHS. I was worried that you could lose your way! LOL!
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Donning my Wellies to cut Peat in Scotland
Melissa
After the race, we went back to the race retreat to find the place almost empty! There was still some food left, so we had a nice little lunch. As I recall, there were chicken caesar salad wraps, potatos, eggs, Powerade, Coke products, and water. We were enjoying our lunch when my dad called from Hawaii to see how the race went. I started to cry a little bit when I answered the phone, because my dad was the one who really encouraged me to register for the race in 2010 when I really didn't think I would be ready by then. He was very supportive throughout my training and I was very happy to be able to tell him that we'd finished the race.
Before we left the tent, I was able to get my picture taken with some more Toy Story friends.
We drove back to POFQ, and must have showered and changed, but I really don't remember much of the post-race period. I had made an ADR for Raglan Road, because I wasn't sure if we'd want to do any parks after the race, and I've been wanting to get to that restaurant for about three trips. However, this was before the WDW Radio team announced their post-race meet at Epcot for about the same time as our ADR. We decided to skip DTD and hit the meet instead.
We didn't have to be at Epcot until 6:00, so we decided to go to the Studios. We'd been there our first day, mainly to try and get the Red Velvet Cupcake from Starring Rolls. Unfortunately, it was closed, so we didn't get to try the cupcake that I'd read about on the Disney Food Blog. We got to the park about 4:30 and had a couple of PP pictures taken.
We headed right to Starring Rolls, only to be foiled again. I looked around for a sign that would indicate the hours, and found that it closed at 4 p.m. Oh well, we'll catch it another time. The waits were too long for both ToT and RnRC, so we decided to take the animation class again. The first day, we drew Louis from Princess and the Frog, and today we got to draw Minnie! Did you know that her full name is Minerva?
It was time to head to Epcot, so we drove to the Beach Club, planning on eating at Beaches and Cream after the meet. As we passed Stormalong Bay, this couple stopped us to ask us about our medals. It was a very interesting conversation, with the two of them talking over each other. They seemed friendly, but a bit odd. We extricated ourselves from the conversation as quickly as we could so we could be on our way.
We walked to Epcot, and as we entered the International Gateway, we commented on the gate that we had used that morning during the race. I tell you, the marathon has completely changed the way I view Walt Disney World. We will forever make comments like, "Remember when we rode Everest during the race?" or "There's the gate we used to get into Magic Kingdom during the race!"
We headed directly to the United Kingdom, where our teammates were meeting outside the Rose and Crown. It was the first time we'd seen most of them since before the race, so there were hugs of congratulations all around. We were particularly proud of Deanna, Lou Mongello's wife, who had rocked her first full marathon with a time of a little over 5 hours!
I was trying to figure out what was down by my feet. I just remembered that I had given Lou my Wisconsin sweatshirt when we saw him on Main Street, and he had returned it to me. I think that's the sign of a true friend: someone who will hold onto your sweaty shirt for you!
I'd hoped that we could all eat together, but most of the group had eaten already, so after we chatted for a while, our stomachs told us it was time to go. Having given up our Raglan Road ADR, we had no place to go for dinner. We stopped at almost every TS place around the lagoon, including Via Napoli and the new Mexican restaurant, but there was no room at the Inn. Curse you, free dining! I felt like telling people, "I'm a planner, really! I'm not usually like this!"
We ended up at the counter service place in Mexico, and while it wasn't great food, it was filling. We also purchased margaritas, which were quite tasty. We'd thought about staying for Illuminations, but since we were so tired and had already seen it twice this week, we headed back to the Beach Club. The only regret I have is not staying for the American Adventure show. This is the first trip in a very long time that I didn't get a chance to see it. After Everest and it's a small world, AA is my favorite. My dad served in the military for 25 years, and my brother is currently serving. We are a very patriotic family, and I especially love the montage at the end.
Something funny happened as we started to leave through the IG. We were still carrying our margaritas, and we were told by the CM that we could not take them out of the park. I guess I usually finish my beverage much more quickly, but these things were huge! I regretfully dumped my FAB (fantastic adult beverage) in the trash and we took the boat back to the Beach Club. We must have been super tired, because we skipped Beaches and Cream. I don't normally say no to ice cream, but we were full from dinner and just wanted to get some sleep. We drove back to POFQ and were in bed by 9:30.
Here's a little bit about our time at POFQ.
It was our first time at a moderate, and I enjoyed it. Didn't miss POP at all. Not. at. all. Our TA requested Building 6 or 7, which I believe are the newly renovated rooms. We got Building 3. Not renovated, but still plenty nice. Quiet, hardly saw another person while we were there, except in the food court. We didn't get to use the pool, although the hot tub was very tempting. We mostly left in the morning and came back at night, although we did come back one day for an afternoon nap. We used the food court only to fill up our water bottles.
Up next: Marathon Monday and heading home...
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Last edited by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince; 03-30-2011 at 09:29 PM..
Great shot with Woody and friends in the Race Retreat! My friend and I did the Retreat in 2008 and found it very nice.
I wonder how close we were to seeing each other..... my (extended) family and I headed to Beaches and Cream for dinner as well, somewhere around 4 or so. (I only remember the time because the Packer game started at 4:30 and the boys in our group could NOT miss it!!) It was jam packed with a party of 20 people, so we ate at Hurricane Hannah's instead. Then the kids played in the sand for awhile and we headed through the IG into Epcot too!! We strolled the other direction though, slowly to Japan and then headed back to the Beach Club. We were so close!!!
I'm glad you enjoyed the French Quarter. It's one of my favorites. Actually, it's probably my favorite, but I'm forcing myself to try other moderates too.
__________________
Tanya
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I wonder how close we were to seeing each other..... my (extended) family and I headed to Beaches and Cream for dinner as well, somewhere around 4 or so. (I only remember the time because the Packer game started at 4:30 and the boys in our group could NOT miss it!!) It was jam packed with a party of 20 people, so we ate at Hurricane Hannah's instead. Then the kids played in the sand for awhile and we headed through the IG into Epcot too!! We strolled the other direction though, slowly to Japan and then headed back to the Beach Club. We were so close!!!
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the pics.
The chronological photos are such a story in themselves. You did it - High Five!!!! 
Heck, High 20!!!
I am also doing the full marathon next year. I did a half here in Des Moines last year and I totally fell in love with the race experience, but I can't imagine doing my first marathon anywhere but Disney! Hopefully as a seasoned pro you'll have all sorts of practical advise to offer a newbie like me. 
Susan
Claytrgtshooter (Minnie Lor's Hubbie)
There was still some food left, so we had a nice little lunch. As I recall, there were chicken caesar salad wraps, potatos, eggs, Powerade, Coke products, and water. We were enjoying our lunch when my dad called from Hawaii to see how the race went. I started to cry a little bit when I answered the phone, because my dad was the one who really encouraged me to register for the race in 2010 when I really didn't think I would be ready by then. He was very supportive throughout my training and I was very happy to be able to tell him that we'd finished the race.
Curse you, free dining! I felt like telling people, "I'm a planner, really! I'm not usually like this!"
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