I recently had the opportunity to join AJ and Erika from the One More Run podcast on their show. It was in connection with my new book, The runDisney Companion, but because I’ve talked about the book itself at length elsewhere they had the idea to play a game instead. We each submitted our own list of the Top Ten Ways to Ruin Your runDisney Race Weekend, with No. 10 representing the smallest potatoes and No. 1 the worst offense. Then our lists were tallied along with submissions from their community, and we came up with a definitive ranking.

What follows is my own list…and I stand by it. 😉 That said, if you want to hear where we landed after everyone’s lists were taken into consideration, you can listen to our full One More Run conversation here. 

So, without further ado, and in my always-humble opinion—the top ten ways to ruin your runDisney race weekend:

10. Planning for a PR.

I often joke that if you plan to PR (i.e., set a personal record for pace) at a runDisney race, you’re wasting your money. And while rules are made to be broken, which is in part why this is all the way up at #10, and the courses really can have great conditions for PRs, as they’re fairly flat and temperatures can be quite chilly, especially over marathon weekend, there is so much to enjoy on a runDisney course that it really is a shame not to slow down and enjoy it. Moreover, I also often joke that if you do happen to PR at a runDisney race, it’s likely just a sign that you should run another race well-rested and on fresh legs to see what your actual PR is. Because between the early wakeup times, the potentially long park days, the occasional heat, and the fact that they are often a part of multi-race challenges, these races aren’t exactly setting you up to see what you could do in ideal conditions. 

So if you’re feeling it, go for it, but I wouldn’t go out of the gate planning for a PR over a little fun. Set your speed goals for smaller local races. PR in fun at runDisney. 

9. Forgetting Where You Parked. (Yes, really.)

We’ll keep these a little light-hearted at the outset, and yes I have been that girl at Expo or at the races walking up and down the rows of cars, holding her key in the air and clicking the lock button again and again in hopes of hearing a distant beep. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment when you’re hopping out of your car, but the parking lots at ESPN Wide World of Sports and at EPCOT are massive and if you don’t make at least a mental note of where you parked things can get ugly fast. When you get out of your car, take a picture of your row number on your phone or use the Disney app to record your parking place. Your post-race tired legs will thank you.

8. Not being a joiner. 

As an introverted and admittedly not usually the silliest person, I get it. We aren’t all walking into the races looking to be the center of attention or even fawn over characters. Still. Do not spend thousands of dollars on a runDisney race weekend to turn it into the same race you could have run at home. You don’t have to dress up in a crazy costume if that’s not your thing or lose your mind over the characters on the course…but go in open to it. Stop and have a little fun. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Let yourself be a little bit of a joiner.

7. Planning around perfect conditions.

The funny thing about running is that you can show up like clockwork for every training run, be in the best shape of your life, and the day of the big race a storm can roll in and get your whole race shortened or canceled. Or the heat can spike. Or you can get a nagging stomach cramp that can’t help but slow you down. If you’ve heard me wax philosophical about running, you know that I think that learning to show up anyway, to do all of the preparation even though the day can come and break your heart, is one of the most powerful lessons that running teaches us…and that it’s the only way that you actually will end up being ready the day that the universe does choose to serve up PR conditions to you. But we don’t need to get that deep here. We can just focus on the weather. 

The weather in Central Florida is an ongoing joke. As they say, if you don’t like it, wait 15 minutes and it will change. Weather over marathon weekend can be bitter cold or sweltering hot—and it can go from one to the other from the time that you’re waiting to start to the time that you’re crossing the finish line. The other races can be very comfortable or bring high heat. And it can always rain. Whether they called for it or not, rain can roll through and soak you before the race even starts or on the course and then roll right back out again. 

Plan accordingly. There are always inexpensive drawstring hood ponchos and Mylar blankets in my bottom drawer and in my pockets walking into races. If the weather looks like it might be especially chilly, swing by a thrift store or other inexpensive shop and pick up blankets or cold-weather clothing that you can wear before the race and drop as you warm up on the course. Disney will pick them up, launder them, and donate them.

6. Not preparing your travelmates for what to expect.

A runDisney trip is not a normal Disney vacation, and everybody along for the ride needs to understand that before the trip begins. When that conversation does not happen beforehand, your family ends up thinking you’re abandoning the vacation, while you end up feeling guilty for protecting the race you trained for months to run. Sit them down beforehand. Let them know you’re going to be waking up at 2 a.m. and so probably heading to bed long before them. Tell them that you might think spending all day in the parks is a great idea when the day comes, but that you plan to listen to your body and might end up opting out. Communicate to a fault beforehand so you aren’t upsetting anyone or doing things you don’t want to be doing when the trip comes. Also plan something that is genuinely just for them. Encourage them to get a good meal or shut down the parks if they want to after you’re tucked into bed. They shouldn’t end up feeling like unpaid race support for the entire trip. 

There’s a whole chapter dedicated to travel companions and spectators in The runDisney Companion for this very reason. Know that we see and appreciate you!!

5. Underestimating the logistics.

You can train perfectly for nine months and still ruin the race by mishandling the twenty-four hours before it. Spend time with the race guide that runDisney puts out before the event and then with the guide I put out here shortly afterward. Arrive at Walt Disney World or wherever you’re staying in plenty of time to make it to Expo to pick up your bib(s) and shirt(s) at least one day before your race. Figure out your transportation options in advance. If you’re driving, look at the road closures. None of this is overly complicated but it is important! If you’re new to it all, I break it all down pretty thoroughly in The runDisney Companion—from registration and trip planning to costumes, race week, race morning, the race itself, and beyond. In short, though, don’t train for months and then miss bib pickup because your plane landed too late.

4. Not running your own race.

Listen to your body on race morning and run the race you planned to run…and also the race you feel up to running. The race you planned on paper may not be the race your body needs that morning. Start at the pace you trained for and can maintain, not the pace of the excited stranger beside you taking off at the start line. If you and your friends are feeling differently, you aren’t glued at the hip. Everyone will still love you if you decide to peel off and move ahead or drop behind. If they’re stopping for every character and you aren’t into it, keep moving. If you want to stop for every character and they’re getting impatient, tell them to feel free to move ahead. This is your race. Make your own choices out there.

3. Not prioritizing sleep.

Any of these top three could be number one. And the one piece of advice I often give runners is this. Sleep. Sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep. You cannot out-gel four nights of inadequate rest rolling up to the marathon on the fourth morning of Dopey. Sleep deprivation is easily the most underestimated challenge of runDisney, especially for multi-day challenges. Waking up between 1:30 and 3:00 a.m. over multiple mornings will catch up with you, especially if you aren’t getting to bed early enough each night. And once it starts, it snowballs. Poor sleep hurts recovery and pain tolerance, and affects the body’s ability to regulate temperature and emotions… So protect your bedtime. That’s not wasting your vacation. It is protecting the reason you came. 

2. Trying anything new on race day.

If your tutu starts riding up at mile three or a new gel lands you in a porta-potty at mile seven, you have only yourself to blame. Use your training to find out what works for you, then stick with it when your plane lands. Go for it and buy the shoes at Expo. Just don’t make tomorrow’s half marathon their test run.

1. Not training for it like a real race.

I started out saying that planning for a PR was a mistake and now I’m finishing telling you to train hard. So what gives, right? 

Listen, runDisney races are fun and inclusive and inviting. They have castles and characters and all sorts of other fun surrounding them. But they are also real races and, like anything else, the bits that you see on Instagram are the highlight reel. Don’t get me wrong, I love road miles, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are a lot of them between those character photos on social media. These races are real athletic events, and if the distances are new or challenging to you, then you owe it to yourself to prepare for them like they’re real athletic events. The training is where all of the good stuff happens anyway, so do yourself the very cool favor of getting out there and doing it. 

And then when race day comes, and you feel confident that you’re ready, just relax and have fun!!

Prep seriously. And then, when you cross that start line, enjoy every mile.

 

---