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Ep 31 - Travel planning and race registration
530 Plays23 days ago
In this episode we're talking with our friend Lexie from Wondermakers Travel about travel planning when it comes to raca-cations. And with runDisney race registrations right around the corner, we also dive in to some tips and tricks for securing a spot at an upcoming race. After all the helpful tips and insights, we had a chance to sit down with our longtime friends Zach and Jessie about their experience at the 2026 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend!
If you want help planning and booking an upcoming race-vacation (or vacation), you can reach Lexie Smith with Wondermakers Travel here:
lexie.smith@wondermakerstravel.com
https://www.instagram.com/wondermakers_travel_lexiesmith/
And for our step-by-step guide to registering for a runDisney race, check out this youtube video on our channel:
https://youtu.be/nv7Yrpg9snY?si=Qc2soTkES2S3Ggax
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Transcript
Introduction and Goals
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey there, friends. Believe it or not, Wren Disney registration season is already upon us, and we haven't even finished up this season's races. No, but you've got to plan ahead if you're going to Wren Disney, right? Absolutely. today we've got a guest on the podcast who's going to help us with some tips related to travel planning and race registration.
00:00:26
Speaker
Hey there, friends. Welcome to One More Run, the podcast. My name's AJ. This is Erica. And this is episode 31. 31. I know. Season two is rolling, rolling, rolling. The goal of our podcast, if you're new here, is to reduce stress related to run Disney. That's Or running, I guess, in general. Yeah. And today we're going to talk about that in the context of travel planning and race registration, which is, as I've said, the worst part of the whole run Disney experience. That is correct. Is the registration. Yes. So stick with us on this episode. It's really helpful whether you've never done registration, it's going to feel overwhelming. And if you have done registration, it might be like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. But we do have some tips and whatever. And if you can get something out of it to make registration a little easier, reduce stress on that day when it comes. Because we, Erica, I can't even believe it. Like literally race registrations for the upcoming season are already. I know it's crazy. Happening. Yeah.
00:01:19
Speaker
And we still have races to run yeah for this season. We also have a special guest unrelated to race registration. So you should stick around for that
Listener Engagement and Upcoming Topics
00:01:27
Speaker
if nothing else. At the end, yeah. Oh, yeah. That's totally where they're. That's about to be in the notes, and you jumped. Oh, sorry. jump Well, you said if you already know registration, you got it blah, blah, blah. You don't want them to leave. All right.
00:01:37
Speaker
Perfect. You want to read a review? I do. Absolutely. I love Apple podcast reviews. They're so fun and encouraging. yup This one comes from C. Dixon, 3814. It's titled, So Awesome. Dear AJ and Erica, thank you for creating this podcast. I stumbled upon your podcast and it has encouraged me to become a runner.
00:01:56
Speaker
Thank you for keeping it beginner friendly and for being practical and realistic teachers. I enjoy listening to you and learning from you. Please keep teaching me. If you do not say it, I will not know. No pressure. No pressure indeed. Holy cow.
00:02:10
Speaker
Awesome. Thank you for leaving that review. We really appreciate you listening and for taking the time to leave us a review. Yes. It means a lot to us. Upcoming topics for the podcast, Erica. Today, obviously, we're talking about registration and racecations, right? yes Next week, we're going to kind of recap our Disneyland half marathon experience. and It's the last Disneyland half for a while. Yeah. And so we're just kind of Talk about we're not running all the races that weekend. where This is actually like a fly in, do the thing and fly right back. Yes. It's a little bit crazy because of just life here. And yeah we so we squeezed it in because it's the last race. So we'll just talk about our experience. And we did the first Disneyland they had back a few years, two years yeah ago. yeah And this would be the last one they have for a while. So we can kind of say, well, here's how the first one went.
00:02:57
Speaker
yeah And here's how the last one went. Hopefully we see a ah marked improvement. I'm hoping it's better. Yeah. yeah Hopefully. Totally. After today's main topic, stick around because we had a chance to sit down with our friends, Zach and Jesse, to talk about their Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend experience. They are super close friends that we've known for over 20 years who we've spent the last couple of marathon weekends running with. um You are going to love them and their story, so don't miss it.
00:03:21
Speaker
Absolutely. Make sure you stick
Guest Introduction: Lexi Smith
00:03:23
Speaker
around for that. But first, let's get into today's topic. And today's topic includes a very special guest. We're going to be talking about racecations. Erica, do you know what to racecation Yes. Okay. How would you define it?
00:03:34
Speaker
Run and then vacation. Okay. I guess it could be vacation and run. Like yeah you can go the other way. But bottom line, you're combining two things into one. Yes. Okay. You're combining two things into one. But then as soon as we're done with that, with yeah and we have a special guest, we're also going to talk registration. Right. Because it is registration season, believe it or not. It's crazy. I feel like we've only run one of our races for this season, and now we're talking about registration already. Yes. And we've still got multiple races. So anyway, snuck up on us fast. We're going to talk about that. And we have a special guest to help us with both topics. You're going to recognize her voice from the Rise and Run podcast. We have Lexi on the podcast. Yes. Lexi, welcome to the podcast. You're from Wondermakers Travel, so you are like an expert in all things travel. Welcome to One More Run the Podcast. Yes.
00:04:17
Speaker
Thank you so much. It's good to see you guys again. i just saw you like a week ago. Yes. Look, look, your mile 20 post up at, ah you know, right outside of Coronado Springs on the marathon was like the jet fuel, you know, hot sauce I needed at that moment when you came by gave me high five. So thank you for that. Like it seeing and you, and it really helped. Good. I'm so glad. That's why I post myself there.
00:04:41
Speaker
Oh, yeah. It was it was awesome. So um we're going to just kind of dive into some of these topics, right? Erica, you want to get us started? So Lexi, tell us, what is your Run Disney slash Disney history? Yeah. So I have been doing Run Disney since 2016.
00:04:56
Speaker
Wasn't a runner. Didn't do track in high school. Like, nothing. And all of a sudden, I decided to do a half marathon. Hey, you and Erica both. She did it in 2016, too. What was your race? Oh, really? Wine and Dine. Okay, awesome. Mine was Princess. But 2016, same thing. Yeah.
00:05:11
Speaker
Yeah, and I like no history of even wanting to run nothing. And I was like, I'm going to do a Disney marathon. And then we've just pretty much been consistently doing it since then. um I've done every race weekend at least once, including Disneyland. That's awesome.
00:05:31
Speaker
What's your Disney background? Did you grow up a Disney kid? You know, were you watching Aladdin and oh yeah Beauty and the Beast and all that? that You know, and did you go to the parks as a kid? what What's your Disney background? So I only went to the parks once when I was nine and my sister was five.
00:05:45
Speaker
We didn't really have a lot of money growing up. So that was like the big family vacation. um And then I didn't go again until high school. We went um for a choir competition. Yeah. that's Awesome. um And then I did a college program.
00:06:00
Speaker
You did the DCP? I didn't. you Yeah. I did. I didn't know that part of your story. Oh, cool. Are you allowed to share what you did and what that experience was like? It's my favorite stories to tell. oh And I worked in the Bibbidi-Bobbidi Boutique in Magic Kingdom. seems perfect for it It was wonderful and magical and everything Disney should be. Yeah. That is so cool.
00:06:24
Speaker
I made little girls into princesses every day. yeah And like I could talk for hours about all the stories of the little girls and sometimes little boys. I mean, there's just something special about being able to go to the parks. Like with the boutique, we always closed at 8 p.m. So that's almost fireworks time. So I could literally leave work and watch the fireworks as I left work. And it was it was amazing. So I think that's really what started my Disney adult obsession. Yeah. um I like the word obsession there. That's perfect. So obviously parks experience, right? What about a cruise, Disney cruise line? Like, is that a thing in your life or not really? Oh, yes. I actually just got off a Disney cruise. Oh, awesome. And i got to do the maiden voyage of the Disney destiny a couple months
Travel Planning for Run Disney
00:07:13
Speaker
ago. cool. Wow. wow's cool
00:07:15
Speaker
The Cruella de Vil lounge is like my favorite place on earth. Cool. It sounds like it. It was so much fun. And this is my fourth Disney cruise. Awesome. So after the next one, I'll get gold castaway status. Yeah. Awesome. Nice. We're sitting at four as a well. We need one we need one more. We should just go on one together. i it Sounds good. We need to knock off the dream so we can have like the original like the you know the originals you know knocked off. you know We have not done the destiny or treasure yet, but we we what we want to. i kind of want to just get that dream knocked off there and and call the originals done. Yeah. So I don't want to spend too much, too much time because we're Disney people, but you are a travel agent. And I know there's other things outside of Disney world, Disney cruise line adventures by Disney. Apparently apparently there's other stuff. Are you, do you, do you go over to universal? Do you do any of that kind of stuff as, as, as like a, not just a travel agent, obviously you're a travel agent. You book this stuff, right? But do you enjoy those that, know, some of those things?
00:08:10
Speaker
As a travel agent, I do just a little bit of everything. yeah um But I do... i I really enjoy Universal. I've been an annual pass holder. Epic Universe is... I mean, not to be cliche, but it is epic. Yeah, cool. Yeah.
00:08:25
Speaker
As far as you know being a travel agent, I... I have been to Europe multiple times, run in different places around Europe. Awesome. Yeah.
00:08:36
Speaker
Pretty much anywhere you want to go. Yep. I got you. You got us. Okay. Good. Um, I want to ask you some, would you rather questions? This is how we kind of really get to know people. Cause we can get to know, Oh, you're a travel agent. Oh, you like Disney, but we kind of, we get to the heart of it right here. You know what I mean? And, and, uh, you've been on our podcast before, so, you know, we play this game, right? So, uh, we've got a couple more for you before that though. I asked Erica, how do you, we're we're talking, race cations, right? I realized I didn't ask you, how do you define it? Right. Like you just said you run in Europe or whatever. Like if you had to like give a clear definition of what a race cation is, what, how would you define it?
00:09:12
Speaker
It's the part of the travel that revolves around a race. Okay. You know, you got to get there. got to have a hotel. If you're traveling to any place, you want to see some of the place while you're there. Sure. So a racecation is the travel that circles around a race weekend. Perfect. Okay, cool. And most of those that you book probably I'm guessing are run Disney ones. Am I assuming that correctly or did I assume incorrectly? Honestly, it's about 50-50 with doing Disney and Run Disney and the World Majors. Really? Okay, cool. That's awesome. Yeah, I've booked this year for this coming season of the majors. I have three clients going to Sydney, two going to Berlin, and two going to Tokyo. That's awesome.
00:10:02
Speaker
That's so cool. Oh, and two going to Chicago, actually. Yeah, very cool. Awesome. Cool. We know you're an expert in it. I just kind of wanted to like understand if if it was like a run Disney thing or not. And it sounds like, shoot, you're at the the highest level doing this travel thing. So that's awesome. Yeah. And I mean, I guess I kind of view it as like a niche of yeah being a travel agent of that's just, that's what I do. yeah so that's what I specialize in. Cause I know it cause I've done it. Right. i know Yeah. yeah but Yeah. Yeah. And you have experience, like you are a runner. Like, yeah yeah, that that's awesome that, you know, not just the ins and outs of the travel, you know, the ins and outs of racing, which is really great. Right.
00:10:35
Speaker
That's awesome. Okay. Would you rathers? Erica, I've got four in here. Yes. Okay. I'll go first. Okay. We'll kind of alternate. We'll throw these at you. We already know where you said we stay. We ask everybody on the podcast. We ask everybody, would you rather have a finisher medal or run down Main Street? We had the opportunity to ask you that already. You gave the correct answer. i don't know about that.
00:10:54
Speaker
Would you like to change your answer, Lexi? Yeah. You you don't want need to amend your answer, right? Nope. stand by it. For the record, Lexi, she chose a finisher medal over over Main Street. So, uh, here, since we already know that one, would you rather, and this might be tough, would you rather go on a four night Disney cruise four days in the park or a four day run Disney race weekend? Which one do you choose?
00:11:18
Speaker
Oh, that's tough. I think I'm going to have to go with a four day Disney cruise. Yes. You and Erica. But I will also say because you can run when you're on Castaway Cay. Exactly what I said. Where did we hear this one before? yeah Exactly. you You can do both. Yeah. Yeah. That's Erica's justification too.
00:11:44
Speaker
And Kristen said it too. Kristen's like, why don't we just run while we're on the island? And so, yeah. that's me And it's also really fun to run on the ship like at your at sea day because Strava doesn't know what the heck is happening. yeah And so you you get all of these crazy lines. I run like a three minute mile when I'm on the ship. Yes. Oh my gosh.
00:12:05
Speaker
Okay. Lexi, would you rather do the Wine and Dine two course challenge or the Princess Fairy Tale challenge? And for those that don't know. Yeah. Perfect. Okay. Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off. No, no. AJ wanted me to say that they both are 10K and a half marathon. Yeah, i right. yeah But you already know. You immediately, you already have your selection.
00:12:23
Speaker
Okay. Why? Yeah. Well, you know, would you rather it's supposed to be like rapid fire. Right. like i was i was No, I need to know why. i need i need I need to know the heart behind it. I need know the heart behind it. Why that selection? I love wine and dine. And I think your first race weekend right that you is probably your favorite.
00:12:42
Speaker
And wine and dine is just, that's the first one I did. yeah i love the after party. Yeah. I love the food and wine festival just in general. I think that's my favorite Epcot festival. Yeah. yeah And so think it's the perfect time of year. That's good. Yeah. ah This though, this one can be rapid fire plastic cheese or sports beans. Which one do you choose?
00:13:02
Speaker
Plastic cheese. I don't know about that one, Lexi. You lost me there. I mean, it's just the saltiness. when the I mean, you can't go wrong with cheese. Yeah. I think you can. I think it comes in a little cup at the end of a run Disney race. I think that's exactly where you can go wrong with cheese. Oh, my word. You don't like it either, right?
00:13:20
Speaker
I don't love it, but I would choose it over sports beans. You would? Yeah, for sure. Okay. Yeah. Sometimes sports beans just have a weird flavor. Well, I don't like them. I don't like them. It's why it's on this Would You Rather. I don't like them. Yeah.
00:13:31
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I don't think so. Yeah. Okay. Last one. For the marathon, would you rather run with no phone or have no photo pass? The full marathon. No phone. Does that mean no music? Oh, that means no phone. I mean, how are you going to listen to music without? Yeah. No. Just whatever's on the course, guess. An iPod. No, no cheating like that. No devices. We got our little Walkman, you know. Your little Discman with the anti-skip.
00:13:54
Speaker
I think I'll probably have to go no photo pass. Okay. Just because I rely so much on music, you know, to get me through the hard. Yeah. If you're dying in a race, the promise of a photo in six miles is not going to get you through those six miles, right? Like the music is. nope What would you choose? And if I have my phone, I can take photos myself. Oh, there you go That's true. Yeah. That's a good point. I hadn't thought about that. Yeah. Yeah.
00:14:21
Speaker
But I do love, i mean, but the only way you're getting that, like, ah you know, coming down through the world showcase photo is the PhotoPass person. You know, that's the only way you're getting it. i don't I guess it depends on what marathon weekend we're talking about. Last year, I would have said, we need photo pass. This year, not so much. We didn't get great photos this year.
00:14:37
Speaker
yeah I know. It's a bummer. yeah That's okay. Okay. All right. That's the Would You Rathers. Thanks for playing our little game. It helps us get to know you a little better. We know you love the plastic cheese, which is a total miss for me, but you choose the- ah The medal. She chooses the medal. you're a great friend. I don't know what to do with all that information.
00:14:54
Speaker
all right, let's move on to today's topic. We're going to talk, um, we're going to talk race cations and registration, but we're going to separate them into two different things, right? Cause obviously you have to register it in order to go to the race, but we're going to separate the two. So, um, we're going to talk about booking travel for a run Disney race weekend. I know there's like a lot to know and unpack here, so I don't want to get too nitty gritty, but like what makes booking travel for a run Disney race unique or different than what, what we might call a normal trip. What what are your thoughts on that? What makes it unique?
00:15:23
Speaker
I think, I mean, it's what makes Disney unique. um Trying to juggle park time with running, I think, is the biggest challenge and ah unique aspect of a Run Disney weekend.
00:15:36
Speaker
And so you want to combine comfort and ease of getting to and from the parks and While also prioritizing the, the, like the logistics side of it as well, which I think is really important to have someone who has been to a race weekend before in order to like help navigat navigate that. Because it, Disney itself is a lot, yeah but trying to do Disney and run Disney at the same time is sometimes overwhelming.
00:16:06
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. You definitely, you know, especially if you're new to it, you kind of need someone in your corner to kind of help you like, Oh, before you do three park days before you run, like, let's talk about, you know, these kinds of things, whatever, anything on the travel booking side of it, like, like more than maybe just like the days that you're doing certain things. Like, is there anything we really want to factor in when we're, you know, considering a ah ah run and vacation? the The big thing, the more people that book a certain week, a certain day, the more expensive the price gets. So as inventory goes down, the price goes up. right We know now which weekends will be run Disney weekends. yeah
00:16:48
Speaker
So the faster you book, the better it is. Even if there's not, and i mean, that's also something that goes into play. For right now, when we're recording this in January, there's not really any promotions for October whenever race weekend happens. The only promotion that's available right now goes until October 4th.
00:17:10
Speaker
One of the things that I do and that a lot of other travel agents do is when the promos drop, We're already ready with your registration and saying, okay, let's see if this applies, if we can save any money, if we can get you, you know, whatever. it And sometimes it applies and sometimes it doesn't. true And there's no way to predict that because Disney does whatever they want to do. Right. yeah um Which, I mean, we know that with Run Disney. and They kind of just release it when they want to. Right. um You already have to worry about registration. You don't need to worry about, oh, well, let me try to, you know, click on all of these different promotions. Oh, this one doesn't apply. This one doesn't apply.
00:17:51
Speaker
And, you know, it kind of adds a little bit of stress. And as a travel agent, I know the system backwards backwards and forwards. So I can kind pre-look at which people I have going to a specific race weekend and say, oh, this one would apply. This one would not apply for this one.
00:18:08
Speaker
um And kind of weed it out that way as well.
Strategies for Run Disney Registration
00:18:11
Speaker
You kind of started to just touch on it, but when do we want to start the process of getting our travel booked? Yeah. As soon as you can. Yeah. um The really good thing about Disney is that it's only a $200 deposit and it's a refundable deposit. So you can go ahead and book your room now and then come race day. You didn't get in. Oh, that's that's I'm really sorry. I mean, race day. I mean, registration day is it's tough. Yeah.
00:18:37
Speaker
But you can get a refund for that $200, cancel it completely. You can move it to a different race weekend if you want to just push it back until next year. You know, it's kind of you're able to manipulate it so it's not just a wash of $200. Right, right, right,
00:18:52
Speaker
two hundred dollars right right right yeah Tell me if I'm understanding this right. You think you want to do princess weekend or whatever, but that registration isn't going open for a few months, but the hotel reservations are available. Go ahead and book it because you can always change it. Is that what I'm to urge or get your money back on the hotel? Is that right? Yes. So the only thing that kind of throws a wrench into it a little bit is 2027 dates have not opened for Disney yet. I see. Okay. if the pattern holds true of what happened last year, registration for Marathon Weekend happened and they still didn't release rooms for another month. Okay. Okay.
00:19:32
Speaker
So what we just talked about is true for Wine and Dine because October is already open. Yeah. Those are already already available. Yeah. But one of the things that I do um is I have what I call a priority booking list. Yeah.
00:19:46
Speaker
So come April, whatever date they decide to release, um I'm going to say April 15th, just to pull a number out of my head. um You have your marathon registration.
00:20:00
Speaker
You say send email and say, hey, Lexi, I want to do marathon weekend. i have my registration. I want January 4th through the 12th. So then on April 15th, whenever they drop, sometimes it's 5 a.m., sometimes 7.30 a.m.,
00:20:17
Speaker
Whenever Disney decides. I am on there. Okay, we got this one booked. We got this one booked. We got this one booked. sending And I'm putting them on hold so that I can send you the exact price of what it is if there are any promotions available. Mm-hmm.
00:20:36
Speaker
And then you can say, okay, Lexi, here's my deposit. Boom, you're booked. Just like that. It's easy. That's good. Yeah. right You don't have to wait on 6 a.m. over. Let me make sure I'm getting the best room and the best rate. And it does help having someone who knows all the ins and outs. Yes. Yeah. Whenever you go to make your reservation.
00:20:59
Speaker
Before we ah you know did run Disney or any of that, we just booked a you know Disney vacation through a travel agent. And it was very simple in terms of like, here's the budget for the hotel.
00:21:10
Speaker
Do not go over this amount. We are comfortable with any amount up to and whatever the best hotel you can get us that you would recommend because at the time, we weren't really familiar with everything. We didn't know what the Skyliner was at the time. And he said, oh no, don't stay here. You want to be on the Skyliner route. I'm like, whatever the Skyliner is, if you say so, well, of course we get there and we're like, oh, the Skyliner is the best thing we've ever experienced in our whole life. But we wouldn't have known it because we were a little new at that time. Right. They had built the Skyliner and upgraded some resorts. We would have never thought to stay at all of that. And a travel agent is the one that did that for us. Right. And so we totally, we totally understand. And, and, Love when you got someone you know and can trust and say, here's the budget. Absolutely. Yeah. And I mean, speaking of budgets, you know, it doesn't cost anything to use me as a travel agent. There's no fees and Disney already builds in travel agent commissions to the hotel prices. Even if you don't use a travel agent. Sure. Might as well take advantage of it, right? Exactly. I'm trying to save you money. I'm trying, and I'm also an accountant. So if you tell me the budget, I'm going to stick to the budget as much as I can. It's like ingrained into my brain. You keep everything in the black. I got it. You're like, I'd love to schedule this for your AJ, but that's over your budget. So I'm going to say no. Great.
00:22:31
Speaker
Uh, love all that. Do you have an itinerary or maybe a plan as a better word that just works really well for our run Disney racecation, right? Like, Hey, come in two days before do your race stay three days. Like, do you have like a, everybody's custom? I get that. And you'll do whatever for the, what everybody needs. Right. But is there like a, just a good, Hey, this is a really good place to start.
00:22:51
Speaker
You always want to come in a day before you want to go to the expo. Okay. If you get there the day before, you don't have to worry about, oh, well I'm not going to get my bib because I had, you know, this amount of time. It's like you get there, you get checked into your hotel. Okay. Next day, go to the expo. Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:10
Speaker
And then I am a big proponent of staying at least one day after your race. Because especially with the long distances, what better way to celebrate than to stay an extra day? That's right. Yes. Lexi, do you have any unique activities or celebrations that you recommend for a racecation?
00:23:30
Speaker
Well, for Disney, you got to get pictures right at the castle. Yeah. You got to. Totally. We mentioned a bunch already of just benefits of using a travel agent, right? Especially one that knows what they're doing, has experience in this, right? um Is there anything we missed in terms of like, hey, you know, if you've got a travel agent you can trust. Like this is the benefit of of letting them book your travel for you. I think it really just comes down to having someone who cares about your weekend and making it the the best for you. you know You got to have someone who who cares about you. you know yeah
00:24:04
Speaker
As a travel agent, i I try my best to give you the cheapest price I can find because I would want that. yeah if If you're trying to get all of the pennies,
00:24:18
Speaker
Tell me that and I will give you as cheap as I can make it. Sure. Yeah. Sure. I'm not going to put you anywhere that I wouldn't stay. Right. Yeah. Right. Like on the flip side, you're going to find if someone's not necessarily a pinch and pennies, right? Like they've got a big celebration weekend thing. It's their, their dopey, whatever. And they want to stay high, high level and have a great experience every day. Like, yeah, that's the other side of that, right? Is there maybe stuff that you know that we don't even know exists. Yeah.
00:24:45
Speaker
And Disney, there's so many hidden things that like you don't realize that it's only, you know, 50 bucks to make a mosaic at Corno Springs yeah or something like that. yeah right Just, you know, really cool experiences that you can say, oh, I did that at Disney World. right Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:25:05
Speaker
I think another thing that I've heard, and I think I hear it more in the cruise line side of things, but maybe it's parks and and stuff too. Tell me, tell me what your thoughts are. Is that like having a travel agent is like, like in your back pocket when something goes wrong is, is definitely a benefit. Is that true for parks type vacations too? Or is that more of a cruise line thing or where does that kick in?
00:25:24
Speaker
It's true for everything. Okay. So I'll tell you a story. I had a client who was going to London and Paris. This is huge two-week vacation. um It was not running related, but it just so happened to be they got there and London had a massive heat wave and their hotel didn't have any air conditioner. Oh. And she sent me a message and I saw it and within three hours I had her booked at a different hotel that had air conditioner and I had called and verified that they had air conditioner and they were moved by 3 p.m. into a new hotel and they were off sightseeing while was doing all of that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:26:02
Speaker
You know, so they didn't have to stay on the phone trying to call a hotel and, you know, get all the nitty gritty. They could go do what they wanted to in London that they'd never been to before. yeah And then I just text them, here's your new address. And they went and checked in. That's pretty good. That's awesome. Yeah. Lexi, is there anything else that we missed? I don't think so. um If anyone wants to use my services as a travel agent, you can reach me on social media or you can send me an email. I can send the details to you guys. Yeah, we'll put it in the show notes for sure. And on ah and our socials, I know it's Wondermakers Travel. We'll we'll definitely link to it for sure. And I think the big thing for me and why we loved having you on the show for this topic, Lexi, was that you know run Disney. So like like you know all the details and all the whatever. So for most of our listeners who are going to be either new to run Disney or run Disney experience, or maybe they've done it, you know like all the travel on their own in the past, and they're kind of tired of that, or they need a shake up or whatever. like I love that you are ah you know an available resource, which is great. Totally. Yeah. And um I will say just for you guys, if anyone ah mentions the podcast um in an email or anything, I'll throw in a gift card o to the reservation. Cool. So depending on where you go, if you want to go to Europe, it can be a Visa gift card. If want to go to Disney, it can be a Disney gift card. Oh, nice. Awesome. Thanks for doing that. As like a a special thing. Awesome. Thank you. That's right. So you just have to say that you were, you heard it on the, uh, one more run podcast and you would rather have a finisher medal than run down main street, right? You say those two things and your gift card is is locked and loaded. Is that right? That's what I heard. That's not what I heard. Awesome. Thanks Lexi for doing that. Um, I would love to talk about registration. So we need to kind of, you know, do a hard left or right turn. I don't know We can go either way, do a hard turn towards registration because registration for run Disney races going to start here pretty soon. Um, we'd love for you to be a part of this conversation with us. If you're cool to like chime in with tips and all that stuff as you have them because obviously you're an expert in this as well. You cool with that?
00:28:04
Speaker
Absolutely. Good. All right. Erica, you ready to dive into registration? I am. Yes. When was the last time you registered for a race? Cause I have taken the reins on this in the last few years. um There was that one time like a couple, like a year ago where we we were both at work and you were like in the field on the phone. oh yeah I was testing a patient. Hopefully my boss never listens to this podcast. I had like my computer screen facing me with like the countdown thing and my patients like talking me and I'm writing down what they're saying and I'm thinking if at any moment that says open, going to be like, i need to take a five minute break. Yeah. But yes, normally you do it for us. I remember that. It was when we tried to do the goofy challenge. Yes. I always say, block your whole, I'm about to say it even, yeah block your whole morning. Don't do anything else.
00:28:50
Speaker
Do it from your computer. Don't do it from your phone. Have good internet. Like all those things. And I had none of those on that day. I'm in the middle of a field filming with zero cell service. Right. Like the little one bar. And I'm trying my hardest. Yes. Knowing that you can't do it either. Yeah. And that was the worst. That was the worst registration. oh as yeah ah Okay. Well, let's dive into it. Run Disney races. You know, they're hard to get into. If you don't know that already, like the reality is they're hard to get into. I say like, imagine trying to get into a Taylor Swift era's tour, you know, concert, the back, whatever that was a year or two ago, yeah like on the day they came out, you know what mean? Like, it's like that intense. And so, uh, there's bottom line, there's a specific registration day for each race weekend. So all the race, all the, so we're going uh, let's say wine and dime. There's three races in there. Plus the challenge. They all go on sale on the same day. Right. Right. At the same time that happens four or five times a year. You know, we're basically get to do this fun process and they sell out. That's bottom line is I don't know how to say that any nicer is that within, i would say, what do you think? Lexi, an hour, hour and a half, all, all, all the races are sold out. Yeah, I think the fastest that one has sold out before was 23 minutes. Oh my goodness. word. Crazy. So, Run Disney registration typically happens nine months in advance of a race weekend.
00:30:09
Speaker
The registration dates have already been announced for the upcoming season and are on the Run Disney website. After that registration fills up, spots can open up in those months leading up to the race, but it doesn't come with any warning from Run Disney and it usually only opens up for a few minutes.
00:30:24
Speaker
Yeah. You're going to hear Telegram, Discord, ah you know these services you know these like ah alert services that Team Run does. Basically, they'll they've figured out some magic to alert you. Hey, it opened. And it it stays open for about a minute and a half because as soon as one person or two people or three people get registered, it closes immediately. Yeah. So we don't bank on it. We have gotten in. We have gotten in on that on that, but we don't bank on it. What you really want to put all your chips into is nine months or so in advance of the race weekend, right? In February, we're registering for October, yeah right? But you want to try and be online, during registration, right fighting for a spot. yeah And if you have to go another way, like a charity registration or something like that, that's your backup plan, yeah right? Or this the Discord or anything like that. um I'm going to post a video on our YouTube channel showing basically step-by-step how to register.
00:31:19
Speaker
i have a current video. I'm going to update it because you know some things have changed. Yeah. Um, but today right here on the podcast, we're going to talk basically high level overview kind of stuff. So, uh, some tips before we talk about some of those things, um, I say, have your registration info, um, available for everybody that you're going to register, right? You want that to have that ready that way when you're filling out the form, cause you're going under a time crunch, you can literally just copy and paste it almost, right? Like you don't want to be trained of like, Oh, wait a minute. Um, Uh, what, what was their phone number? You don't want to be looking for that or like, Oh, I need, but I need a credit card. Well, yes, of course you need a credit card. right yeah You know? So like yeah have it already. I'm going to put like the exact things you need in that video. So you don't have to remember it right now. Uh, big things you're going to need though, like you're going to need for every person name, age, you know birthday, you know, with the year, you know, because they need to know your, what age you are.
00:32:13
Speaker
Your t-shirt size, like surprisingly that trips me up every time I'm texting you right before registration. Wait a minute, what was your t-shirt size again? You know, and then you're going to want emergency contact information, which I think you can update later. You know, some of these things you can update later, but you're going to want to have that stuff on the ready.
00:32:28
Speaker
Yeah. Like we said, you're going to want to block off your entire morning to do this from 9 a.m. m to 12 p.m. Just clear your calendar. I pace the house from 7 to 9. Right. Yes. jo you know, 7 10. Just like nervous. Right. Yeah. And then the actual registration, you wait in this long queue for an hour and a half or whatever. and then you get the registration. And then I thought that I could go straight back to work. No. No. Now I'm so excited or so disappointed that I can't, like I can't focus. Lexi, has that happened to you? Oh, totally. Okay. um Yeah.
00:32:59
Speaker
I usually do it from work. Yeah. um Hope my boss is not listening. And um i I don't get anything done. Right. Right. No, because, ah but one of the things I was going to chime in whenever you were talking about all the things you need yeah for registration. Yeah, yeah. Pro tip, I always have it already typed out in a Word document. Yeah. It's like beside my screen. So you just copy and paste. Yes. So you don't have to waste time typing in your kind of card number. Yes. So, um, yeah, I just have a word document that I've saved on my computer because I've registered for so many races. right If your credit card information's in there, can you send me that document?
00:33:38
Speaker
Just get just gotten forward go Oh, gosh. That's the one that I erase. Yeah. I'm not like, I don't read it out online anything like Yeah, yeah, yeah. know, i think it's a Mac thing. Maybe PCs can do it too. I've got it now where my credit card information auto-filled or whatever, and I just use my finger. You know what mean? And that that saves time. Really, the reason you're doing that is you want to save every second you can right when you're doing this. Yeah.
00:34:02
Speaker
When you're doing this. It's a lot easier to register on a computer. That's my next tip or whatever is something about a full size keyboard where you can move windows around and stuff like that. You can do it on the phone. It totally works on the phone, but it's just like a fumbling thing. And that copy and paste from a Word document doesn't, that doesn't apply the same way on phone. No, not so much. Lexi, you have any other tips before we talk about how to register?
00:34:25
Speaker
I usually have multiple browsers. Controversial. Yeah. Okay. You want to tell it tell people who've never done this why that why that's a thing and why Disney says don't? Disney does say don't. um I...
00:34:40
Speaker
I've never listened to that advice. It's okay. We do it too. I actually have a work computer and my personal computer. yeah Usually I'll have ah one on Safari, one on Firefox, and then I'll have another up with Chrome. Yeah. As far as my experience, there's not one that works faster than the other. i agree.
00:35:01
Speaker
I usually log on two of them before, like as soon as the queue opens. Yep. And then I'll save, you know, another one or two right at 10-0-0-0-0 that I log into. Yep. um Again, no rhyme or reason for me. Yeah. as far as which one gets in first. yeah But, you know, just bettering my chances. Right. I think the most I've had at once is six. Oh my goodness. Okay. yeah I've seen some people online. It's command central. You know, they've got, it looks like they're trying to launch a um ah rocket into space. It's craziness.
00:35:35
Speaker
So you started to mention this, Lexi. Registration, basically, it opens at 10 a.m. I think it's 10 a.m. Eastern, I should say. It's 10 a.m. m every time, right? It's it's always a Tuesday at 10 a.m. And here's my suggestion. You get online on the Run Disney website, log into your account, all of that stuff at 9.45. I know registration doesn't open until 10. You can even be earlier if you want. But sometime between 9.45 and 10, you're basically going to see the registration button go from Registration is opening soon. And at some point in that window, it's going to change over to register now. And you want to click that. And here's the thing that trip tripped me up the first few times is it doesn't matter what race opens up first. Like let's say I'm going for the goofy challenge, but the 5k opens up. They don't all open at the same time for some reason. The 5K opens up, just click it. What you're doing is you're putting yourself in like this virtual queue before the, like the line. I'm doing quotes before the line. So no matter what race you want, just click on that, like whatever one you can get, you're going to select your race later.
00:36:39
Speaker
That's what I'm saying yes is you're just getting in like the massive queue of everybody. Uh, queue, uh, it's actually like a random virtual queue. Right. Yeah. um You'll be in that virtual queue for a while, sometimes before 10 a.m., sometimes right at 10 a.m. Anyone that joins this queue will be put into the official registration line at 10 a.m.
00:36:56
Speaker
in random order. um Anyone that joins after 10 a.m., m they're put in the back of the line. Yep. Lexi, any thoughts on this process? There's no, there's no rhyme or reason. no I've gotten on where I have 24 minutes until time and I've gotten on where I've had more than an hour and no one knows. so Yeah. Yeah. Honestly, I do both. Right. And I think you said this earlier is like, I have one device or two devices, like my laptop, whatever that I get in early. And then I save a device or two to get in a right after that 10 o'clock thing just to see, right? Like who's getting the better odds here, right? and And so, yeah, I'll do both. I would say I almost always get a better spot by joining the like, whatever virtual lottery queue thing before 10 a.m. m Because once that 10 a.m. m hits, now it's like an official line, like one person after the other is what I gather. And this is like getting a little nitty gritty. Whatever one I get the best time on, you know, like it starts counting down from wherever it starts, whatever one's the best one, I copy that you can copy the little URL ID thing. And I put that one on my laptop, like you can send it to yourself essentially. Mm-hmm. And that way, like if I get it on my phone and I don't want to do my registration on my phone, that's okay. You can send the queue, copy it however you want, you know, get it from one device to the other and it disables it on the device you were previously on. Does that make any sense? yeah Do you do that trick Lexi or no? Oh yeah. And, um, you know, I've had people send me queues as well. Oh yeah. Yes, exactly. Here, this one is faster than yours. Go ahead and register on this one because I'm already registered. So, um, Yeah, it just, you know, it just depends on how fast it goes. If luck is in my favor. Right. That's right.
00:38:37
Speaker
So you get in that queue and then you wait and you wait. Yes, you do. And it can and probably will say that you have more than an hour for a long time. Yes. And eventually it will start to count down to your turn. This is so stressful, but be patient. Yeah. And sometimes it's not counting down. Sometimes it starts counting up. Yes. And you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What happened here? But, and it'll jump. Sometimes it'll say 56 minutes. Okay. 32. And you're like, oh, well, that's great. Right. Sometimes it literally goes 54, 53, 52, 51. And you're like, oh my gosh. So it, you know, like Lexi said, Disney does what Disney wants to do. Right. right Once it says it's your turn, and um my best advice is breathe. I'm being honest about that. Uh, remember that slow is smooth and smooth is fast, right? Like the more shaky you are and whatever, you're just going to make mistakes and move slowly. So take that two seconds, breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. And that basically you want to start the registration process. The thing that I think people always forget to do, not always the thing that if someone gets stuck and they forgot ah one critical step is they start filling in their name and their address. Remember, and they forgot to select what race they want. And so you got to do that up at the top, like at the very top, select your race, then fill in your contact information and all the details for the first runner that you're signing up. So you'll go like, like if I'm registering the two of us, yeah I will do all of my stuff first.
00:40:03
Speaker
There are going to be a bunch of questions like, are you a cast member? Are you an annual pass holder, et cetera, that you'll have to answer as well. But the one that can trip you up, especially if it's your first run Disney race is what is your anticipated finish time? You can skip this for now and change it later in your run Disney account. And we recommend doing that because it saves time now when you need to save time. So if you select the option that says proof of time not required, even if you have a proof of time to submit, it will save time and you can enter it later. If you have no idea what proof of time even means, no worries. Select the not required option and never worry about it again. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Basically, you're just trying to save. like you You have to enter in the, if you have a proof of time, just know you have to enter in the hours and minutes and seconds and where the race was located and the date of the race and all this information that you're like,
00:40:54
Speaker
It just takes time. Yeah, you don't that time And you can totally do it in five minutes when you're done. After you've already gotten a confirmation email. That's right. That's what you're trying to get to. So at the bottom of the page, like when you're sweating and your hands are shaking, like you're trying figure out what to do. If you're done registering people, you hit next step.
00:41:10
Speaker
Or if I need to add you, Erica, or a friend or whatever, at the bottom, after all my information, I'm going to do it all over again by clicking add another registration. Right. If you're only registering yourself, click next, move on. if you're adding a friend, like you can't basically got to do it all over again. Yeah. Um, just be sure to select the race they want at the top of the page. This is trips me up too. I've done everything that I wanted. I said, yes, I want to do the goofy challenge. And now I'm assuming that the next registration in my head is still for the goofy challenge. They don't know that that's what you want to do. You know what I mean? You still have to select your race at the top. Um, I know that's all pretty straightforward stuff and kind of like a step-by-step Lexi, but any insights on any of that?
00:41:51
Speaker
I will also say um the next page of after you click next yeah is merch. Yes. You can do that later. yeah Yes. that's an That's another thing to skip. You're going to want to look at it. You're going to want to see what's there, but you can add that another time. And I'm sure this will probably be the next words yeah out of your mouth. You are not confirmed until you are confirmed. Correct. Yes.
00:42:16
Speaker
My script says pay for it and screenshot your confirmation page. like Like you're literally not done till you have a confirmation and you want to don't trust them to send the email. I mean, this sounds bad. Like I literally screenshot it so that I know I've got a confirmation number. i have had my races disappear out of my yeah Disney account before and you have too. yeah And it wasn't an issue, but I had a confirmation number to send them. So we love Disney, but it t is not their thing. You know what i mean?
Shift to Marathon Experiences
00:42:44
Speaker
So, you know, yeah. So that's the thing. We totally agree. If you're going to pre-purchase your, your merchandise or whatever, you totally can in five minutes or five days or whatever. Don't waste your time going, oh, well, look at this little charm bracelet. Isn't that cute? No, 15,000 people are behind you literally trying to push you out of the way. Right. now You know what I mean? Get, get, get yourself out of the way.
00:43:06
Speaker
Yeah. All right, let's do some pro tips for registration. Mine is ah use multiple devices. We talked about that already. I think that you should have, I don't think you need to go six or whatever. Like my my success rate has been having two or three. One seems dangerous, I guess is what definitely need more than one.
00:43:23
Speaker
Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Okay. Like we've been saying all along, nothing is official until you get that confirmation number and confirmation email. It can sell out while you're filling out the form. So stay calm, but you do want to get it done fast.
00:43:36
Speaker
How many times have you seen on Facebook someone's like, I was in, like I was- All the time. I got through the queue, yada, yada, yada. And then literally I went to hit pay and it said, I'm sorry, this event is sold out. Yep. Yeah. So I don't mean to say that to like add stress, but I do mean to say it to like, hey, have your stuff together and get it done. Right. You know, get out of the way. You do not want, this is, there's no lollygagging here. No, no. Um, my last one, and then Lexi, I'd love to know if you have any is, uh, just know that we're going have a step-by-step video on how to do this. I will show you, I've, I've captured the registration process, exactly the forms you can fill out and all that stuff. And, uh, we'll give you Lexi's credit card information when we, when we, uh, when fill that out too.
00:44:18
Speaker
Uh, no, I'm just kidding. Um, So no, I'll have a video that shows literally step-by-step. If you want to know what this looks like, unless they change something on me, you should be able to see that. Lexi, any other pro tips? I know we kind of blazed through registration pretty quick. I will say if you don't get a registration, don't panic. There are some amazing charities out there yeah that you can register with, or you can do like we talked about before with the telegram or getting notifications or what have you. yeah So don't panic. It's not like a, I'm never getting in. Right. Right. Right.
00:44:53
Speaker
Can you, we've never talked to charity, uh, bib, you know, uh, securing a charity bib on the podcast. Can you give us the 32nd version of that? And the reason we've not talked about is because we don't have experience it with it. Right. We have not, we have not done it yet. We intend to one day, but we just have not done that. So we don't want to speak on it because we've never done it. Yeah. So with a charity bib, I'll use Give Kids the World as an example. There are different charities. I don't know how many, yeah um but there's there's a bunch of different charities for different causes and everything. everything They will register with Run Disney and they will have a specific number of each race distance and challenges. that they will attach it to say an $1,000 fundraising. okay So usually it would be $1,000 plus the cost of whatever the race is. there's there's There's a lot of really good organizations out there. Yeah. So the benefit there is that you're going to do some fundraising right on their behalf and you're going to help that nonprofit or that charity by buying your bib through them. You're paying for the bib, but you're also going above and beyond that to raise money and awareness for that charity. Right. Like, and we've, you know,
00:46:00
Speaker
We've been fortunate to get in all our our registrations, but we've even had that conversation. like you know like Autism awareness is a big deal for us. right like Would we want to do a registration through a charity? right
Zach and Jesse's Running Journeys
00:46:10
Speaker
it might be Instead of a $242 registration, it might be $942 registration or you know what i mean thing, but we know that that extra money is going towards a cause we believe in. Yeah.
00:46:21
Speaker
so So those are available and a little, you know, I mean, you can, they're not, you don't have to like secure it on a specific day, right? Like you don't have to do this 10 a.m. thing. Some people just go straight for a charity. They want to support a big cause, you know what I mean? And and they they don't want the stress of registration and they just go right at it. So we haven't talked a lot about it because we haven't done it yet. Erica, if we ever do, we'll we'll deep dive on it. Yeah, totally. Well, Lexi, thank you so much for joining us and for helping us with travel and registration tips today. Tell our friends where can they find you and take advantage of your travel planning services. Absolutely. um You can find me on Facebook or Instagram at Wondermakers Travel Lexi Smith, or you can send me an email at lexi.smith at wondermakers travel.com.
00:47:06
Speaker
Perfect. And we will link, like we said earlier, we'll link to that stuff too. Don't forget to mention our podcast and there's a gift card in there if you book travel with Alexi. So thank you for being on the podcast and thank you for cheering us on at the marathon.
00:47:19
Speaker
It was so awesome to see you at mile 20. It was the best, best high five at the, at the the moment I needed it. So thank you. You're welcome. Awesome. Thanks for joining us. And when will we see you again? Will we see you at princess or anything? No, I'll be at springtime. Oh, we were, we're not. Shoot. Okay. Okay.
00:47:35
Speaker
ah But we live in the same city, so I guess maybe we could see you that way. Yeah. We should just we should have coffee sometime. Yes. Awesome. Thank you, Lexi. You are the best. We can't wait to see you soon.
00:47:46
Speaker
All right. Erica, that was fun, right? It was. It was pretty practical. Yeah. You know, like, and it wasn't necessarily running specific, but these are the things you have to deal with. Oh, so important. Right? Yeah. And having a, you know, a travel advisor or agent, whatever they call it, in your corner yeah can be helpful. Knowing exactly how registration works can be helpful. Right. So, yeah.
00:48:05
Speaker
you know, not as touchy feely as maybe, you know, some of the, ah you know, magical moments of running down Main Street, but you have to deal with these things. Totally. um Okay. So we had a chance to sit down and talk with our friends, Zach and Jesse. Zach and Jesse, um they ran that marathon weekend with us. And so we had just had a chance to sit down, debrief with them, find out about their experience. And we thought it'd be helpful for everyone else to kind of hear, hey, this is what it's like from, know, a different type of runner's perspective. So we'll listen to that interview right now.
00:48:35
Speaker
Today, we are so excited to have our friends Zach and Jesse on the podcast with us. We have known them for 20 years now. I know, a long time. We've been doing life with them for a very long time. Yes, absolutely. We spend every 4th of July with them. We've watched their kids grow up. So not only are Zach and Jesse super close friends of ours, and Jesse chaired us on last year for the marathon, but Zach's mom, Sandy, is actually the one who was like texting me during during the marathon last year. Like your biggest fan? Well, I mean, she was she was a huge support for me, especially on those later miles, you know, of the marathon. so I know.
00:49:06
Speaker
She's awesome. Super appreciative of the entire pool family. They're very dear friends, Wes. Yeah, absolutely. So very excited to have you guys. Hey, guys, welcome to the podcast. Hey, thanks for having us.
00:49:16
Speaker
Yeah, we are so excited. um you're You're here because you just ran this past you know Walt Disney World Marathon weekend. That's why we have you here to talk about that. Tell us what you learned, things like that. But can you give us like the background real quick on you know what's your run Disney kind of background history? I just said that you've run with us before. But Zach, you've even run before that, like a Disney one before we did. So can you give us the background real quick?
00:49:37
Speaker
Sure. Yeah. So I think, you know, back 2019, kind of got ah a wild hair to start running and being a little bit more active. It was right before, know, 40th birthday. And it just seemed like a fun thing to do to to get active and to have something to sign up for and look forward to.
00:49:55
Speaker
um i had i had seen some things online and seen some blog posts and about ah The Run Disney events. It just seemed like a lot of fun. um we'd We'd been to Disney before, um had a great time. And so mixing this in was a great, seemed like a great idea. And so I signed up for the marathon and ran that in January of 2020. And that was my my first experience with it. And Jess, you came down and and yeah cheered cheered on for that one.
00:50:22
Speaker
learned how to do the spectator side of marathon weekend. It's a lot of fun. Yeah. You've been a resource for us on that because we'd never spectated till this time. So we had lots of questions for you, Jesse. You're an athlete. I know that, right? Like, are you, have you always been a runner or when did the running kick in for you? So I ran cross country and track through high school and I ran all through high school. I'm very slow, but I do like the feeling of completing my run. So i would run, try to stay in shape through college just by running in the North Georgia mountains. Grad school, went back home. Mom and I would run together.
00:50:57
Speaker
And then, i you know, just run on and off over the years. I really missed running when Zach did the marathon in 2020. So when he wanted to go back and do the marathon in 2025, I was like, all right, it's time to do a half.
00:51:13
Speaker
I can do a half. So I signed up for that and trained and now I'm done too. And so that's kind of my background on running. That's awesome. yeah Zach, what's your like running background? Like, do you, have you always loved running? Is this like, not necessarily run Disney, like the running, is that new to you or no? No, that that's new to me. Like I will, it really has not been, especially distance running, like signing up for a marathon was kind of, uh, an out of the blue, uh, for me in 2019. It's, um, maybe my, my version of a ah midlife crisis, uh, turning forward.
00:51:48
Speaker
Um, but it, um, I'm certainly, it's become a part of my life now and and in the five years since. Awesome. Zach, tell us, why did you decide to sign up for the Goofy Challenge? um there's There's not really a great answer for that.
00:52:02
Speaker
I'm not sure there's ah really ever a great answer for running a half marathon and then a full marathon in the next eight. No. It's probably akin to of when you ask somebody about, you know, why did you climb the mountain is because it's there.
00:52:15
Speaker
And I think that because it's offered, um it seems like something that's a challenge and fun to do. um You go down, you will run one Disney event, you see other people participating in the challenges and it gets in your brain and you just kind of decide, let's know let's give it a shot. i mean The endurance part of it, I think, was what was really attractive and glad glad i did it.
00:52:38
Speaker
Jessie, tell us, um you just did your second half marathon. Like, do you love the half marathon distance? Do you think you'll ever do the marathon? I would like to say that I would do the marathon. i You know, the fear of missing out.
00:52:50
Speaker
When I see you three run it, I'm like, man, I really should have signed up for it. But no, i really don't see myself doing a marathon. It's just not...
00:53:02
Speaker
It's just not something, or at least at this point in my life, um we've got two kids. They're 15 and 12. They're extremely busy. I'm extremely busy with them.
00:53:14
Speaker
So it's more of just finding five hours. right No kidding. Five solid hours that I've got to go out and train in order to at least do the marathon the way I would like to do it.
00:53:27
Speaker
Do that sustained every three or four weeks. It's kind of a hard thing for me to do.
Running Partnerships and Dynamics
00:53:32
Speaker
I just, I really enjoy the half marathon distance. I enjoy that a lot. I would probably like to do maybe a three, 10 and a half, but I think I would like to do more of the Run Disney weekend, but stop at the half marathon. That's a, that's a comfortable,
00:53:49
Speaker
Yeah. Doable race for me. um Half marathon is kind of my, it's my happy spot. And when I finish it, I'm excited. i want to do it again. ah I'm looking forward to training for it again, but three, three hour run on any given Saturday or Sunday in the seasons that we have to train for it is, it's, that's a good spot for me.
00:54:13
Speaker
Yeah, we've done the marathon and I ah completely agree with you. The half is a really nice distance. Yeah, yeah. no and it's But it's still a challenge. Oh my gosh, no. Yeah, it takes a lot of work to be able to to comfortably do a half marathon. You know, and obviously you can improve your time and all stuff. So it's not like you said, it's nothing to sneeze at, right? Like it's still a hard challenge. But you know, and unfortunately it happens, right? Like a half marathoner sees a marathoner and they think, oh, I could never, I would, but you know, all that. But half marathon is still so impressive.
00:54:42
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. and i' ah I like a good dare. So if somebody is like, I think you can, I'm like, oh, watch me. But I have to really check myself to say, you know, 13.1 makes you happy.
00:54:54
Speaker
Yes. Well at it. Yes. Yes. Be content right there. Be a thousand percent. Yeah. That's a good message, Jesse. That really is. Yes. Zach, how would you compare the experience of one race versus two? Right. And we're not talking to like, you know, two little baby races. We're talking to significantly long distance endurance races. How would you compare the doing one versus two?
00:55:16
Speaker
yeah um If you're just doing the one, you can kind of max out at that at that you know one distance. But if you're going to do two, it it becomes um an exercise where you really have to kind of pace yourself in both. um And it it did elongate the weekend. So it it know running at two and being a part of two, I mean, it just made that part of the experience more enjoyable to know that you got to come back the next the next day. But pacing yourself, I think, is the big is the big thing.
00:55:46
Speaker
Yeah. Where'd you feel the positive impact? Right. So like, um, I've heard people say like you get more character opportunities, right? If you miss it the first day, you might see him the second, like that would be a positive. But then I've also heard the negative where like you get to the the half marathon mark on the marathon and you've already done a half marathon yesterday. All of a sudden your body falls apart. Right. Like any, anything where you're like, these were the key moments for me, positive or negative. Key moment in the half was being able to to meet up with Jesse. We started off in different corrals. And so yeah being able to meet up with Jesse and then us making it through the ah the Magic Kingdom. oh yeah that was a big That was a big point. And then the the point when it really hits you on the marathon is that after Animal Kingdom, There's a there's a little stretch there where you're you know you're in the sun, ah you're not in a park.
00:56:33
Speaker
ah You really kind of have to go into the um you know go into a happy place and and drive through that by part. And when you've done something the day before, that's that that's the most challenging part of that race.
00:56:45
Speaker
Yeah, no doubt. Yeah, yeah no totally. um Y'all ran together this year. You sort of just talked about that. How was that? Did you guys like running together? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we train together. Um, so most of our week we are able to train together. So I love, I love running with my best friend. Um, I'm not one who loves to go out and run.
00:57:08
Speaker
I love how I feel after the fact. And I love the fact that I just met and crushed a goal. yeah So being able to go out and spend time with, you know, the person who's my best friend and who I love is something that is cherished, you know, something that cherish, cherishable, if that's a word.
00:57:27
Speaker
um i have a question. yeah So um he said that you guys train together, which is awesome. We don't normally train together. We sometimes run it together. But do you guys typically run like the same pace? Or does one of y'all, How does that work?
00:57:40
Speaker
We are very different people, personality-wise. Really? I didn't know that. I didn't had not noticed. Zach is just really laid back and is just… Understatement of the year, I think, yeah by the way. He's just a very contented person. So he's like, you know, run your pace. No big deal. You know, he sets his goals and he meets his goals. But I am, I'm the type A neurotic person who's like, I want to beat my time and I want to get better. I want to get faster. I get mad when I fall off schedule or I don't, it doesn't work out just right. So I like to say Zach takes one for the team and runs with me. So I'm not alone running early mornings. Yeah. And he runs my pace or he runs ahead and circles back and catches me. And we run together a lot. And then I like to try to match his pace because he does make me faster, of course. yeah so that's really nice. And then we just use it kind of as at this point in our life and our the season of life, this is the time that we have to spend together. Right. It's like a date. Yeah. I'm chasing him and he's hanging back and waiting for me. And yeah it's just kind of how we've, it's just kind of the habit that we've fallen into. Yeah. And it just, we stay committed to our goal if we do it together and we have each other holding us accountable and pushing. And I know he's got to get it done in order for him to safely run these events. So I've got to get up and go with him.
00:59:10
Speaker
So it works out to benefit both of us very well. and And vice versa. If there's a morning when I'm like, I really don't want to get up and get going. But Jesse's like, all right, I'm up.
00:59:21
Speaker
We got to go. It pulls us both out there and and holds holds us accountable for doing the work. Yeah, where we've said it. And you guys, I assume, would agree based off what everything you just said. Like, we're blessed that we have two runners in the house. It's hard. I can imagine if you're the one of these a runner and they and they have to go out for a five hour run. You know what mean? and Like you don't have that same support. So I know it's a blessing to have a runner in the house. Yeah.
Humorous Marathon Anecdotes
00:59:45
Speaker
yeah um So I have a side side thing off of what Jesse, what you said before, like I actually asked the questions I was supposed to ask, is it's a story about Zach. So you said he's laid back, he just goes with the flow. And that is the Zach I've known 99.9% of the time. But it must've just been them the marathon heat or whatever. Like I, any time I've ever asked Zach a question, he gives me the, yeah, it doesn't matter to me, whatever you want to do. Right. And I asked him, I said, hey, and you might not even remember this. second I'm like, hey, look, Do you want to ride Everest? Like, I've never done it. You want it? And you just told me said, uh, And you just kept going. i was like, oh my gosh, the most confident answer I've ever gotten from Zach.
01:00:23
Speaker
He was like, no thanks. That's hilarious. I think I knew what was coming there on Western Way. And so was just trying to get in the pain gate and let's drive on here. I actually really loved it. I loved it because I was like, I've never heard you confidently answer something so just matter of fact. I'm like, no. It'll surprise you every now and then. Every now and then. That's good. That's good. Jesse, we talked recently on an episode about running with friends. Like it was a whole topic of this idea of running with friends. So obviously you ran with Zach this time, but last year you ran with Erica.
01:00:53
Speaker
different You guys did, you did like half of the half marathon, the back half of the half marathon. Tell me like, what was that experience like running? Because normally you run with Zach, right? Who's, to who's your pace, your everything, right? He's your person and you like Erica, but I'm sure that that's just, ah you know, it introduces a lot of things, right? When you're running with somebody who you don't normally run with. Can you talk about that? you remember as all I know as a year ago? Yeah, no, it was fun. um Of course, it makes you nervous because i I've always been the type of runner that I could run all day long.
01:01:21
Speaker
Just don't give me a timeline. So yeah i I was a little nervous um running with Erica because I know she's a little bit, her pace is a little bit faster than me. And of course, she has a lot more experience um with the course and run Disney. So I didn't feel as much pressure, but it was also a lot of relief. to be running with someone who knew the course. She knew where all the photographers first worked. She knew where all bathrooms worked. So it was just a lot of fun. And of course, we've known you guys for so long. And it's just, don't know, I'm a people person.
01:01:55
Speaker
ah love running with people that I know. i love running with my friends and having many experiences with my friends. So it was just, it was a ton of fun. And i hope she'll run another half with me at some point. Yes. Yes, totally. I, my, my point of view is that I was really nervous because I was in the way back. I don't remember. I don't think you were that far back, Jesse, you were ahead. She was. And I got so like crammed in, I could not get her. And I was like, I want to run this half marathon with Jess. And like, I couldn't catch her. And we, I did finally catch her and it was awesome. And it was so fun to run with somebody else because you were running, you know, you were PRing and, um, And then I just, you know how I am. I cried when she crossed the finish line because I was so excited for her. So it was really fun, but it is it is tricky. Like ah I'm discovering that we are very similar runners, Jessie. um I also am feeling like, oh gosh, I need to run faster for her like or faster for you. And so apparently we have the same mindset when we run.
01:02:52
Speaker
Zach, I have a question for you but I did want to, like, before I forget, it was a joy for us, by the way, to get to watch y'all do the half marathon this year together. I know that, like, our schedules just kept coming in and out and and all that, but just know, like, what a treat for us yeah to be on Main Street, to see you go by, to see you make that final turn into Epcot, like, and y'all doing it together, like,
01:03:12
Speaker
I'm sure Erica cried, but it really like it. It got in all the feels watching y'all run together. so Well, thanks. It's great to to be able to run with somebody, but then also to be down there with friends. i mean, you guys um add add to the experience and um it's it's great to see you down there. Yeah. And thanks for supporting us. Gosh, Jesse, there's two marathons in a row. I know. I've heard your name multiple times on the course where was like, i know that voice. Yes. Yes. Well, I just, I just think it it's a really neat experience. and And that might be one of my suggestions for people who are looking to plug into either running their first whatever. you can do it with a friend is really great. Especially these people that you do life with. And being able to do life, the hard stuff and the celebrations is what just adds so much good and so much blessing to our lives. In these unexpected moments, I never would have thought I would be living where I live, doing what I do and having the friends that I have.
01:04:13
Speaker
That's what I prayed for. And it's been above and beyond what I could have imagined. So something just as kind of silly as standing there at six o'clock in the morning yelling for your friends. It really does. Like AJ said, it really does get in all the feels it just makes me really grateful. I'm just so grateful to the Lord for giving us people that we can do every aspect of our life with. So it's bigger than just running a race. Yeah. um So, yeah. That's good.
01:04:45
Speaker
Well said. Well said,
The Joy of Shared Running Experiences
01:04:47
Speaker
Jesse. Yeah, we we've said before that, you know, we sign up for certain reasons, right? when you When you see Disney on the thing, you're signing up because you're hoping Mickey Mouse is going to be there. But then something else a lot bigger happens, right? You run with friends like you guys or you meet new people or you do something you never thought you could do. And it becomes way bigger than I hope I get my picture with Mickey. Right. Yeah. yeah um Zach, I caught up with you at one point on the race. and i wear Our paths crossed multiple times where I ran with you for a little while, but then I wanted a picture, you know, and so I went back, got my picture, and then I met you again and all that stuff. What was it like for you? i asked Jesse, but what was it like for you just running alongside someone you don't normally run with, right? Like you and I are not...
01:05:26
Speaker
the same, you know, pace. Remember, had different goals for this race. i think then you did, you you did two races this weekend. I only had to muster up their energy for one. What was it like just running next to someone who's not your normal person? It was it was good. I had um not, ah didn't really know what to expect there. Ordinarily, I don't run with anybody except Jess.
01:05:45
Speaker
Yeah. ah And so like we have our rhythm worked out. But the thing that was good about running with you is that you you brought conversation ah to it. Yeah. Probably too much conversation, right? Yeah. Especially at that point in the race where we were just were heading into the to Animal Kingdom section.
01:06:03
Speaker
To be able to have that break where you have a little bit of a conversation and it's not just, okay, ah you know there's my timer, there's ah you know one foot in front of the other trying to concentrate was was great. I mean, it felt like um that provided a a nice mental break in the middle of the race. so um We don't say talk when we run. Yeah.
01:06:23
Speaker
Erica doesn't really talk a whole lot either. And ah would you agree that statement? yeah. No, totally. And I'm like, la, la, la, la lot chatty Kathy. And she sometimes would just shoot me enough of a dart out of the side of her eye. No, no, no, no, Then I'm like, okay, all right, never mind. I'm fine with him talking. I just can't talk back. Don't talk back. I'm like, don't ask me questions. We have to have more than like a one or two word answer. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I'm usually trying to breathe.
01:06:45
Speaker
Right, exactly. Yeah. What's next for y'all? Are you in terms of like run Disney or running? Are you going to sign up for any other races? Like you have anything on like not official, but like anything coming up or are you calling it quits for now? What were at? Um, if, if the calendar works out, we might get brave and sign up at least for a 10 K or a half in March at the small school that I graduated from with my graduate degree might look into that, but we may do something. but it We'll do something.
01:07:12
Speaker
ah de You guys want to, you guys want to skip the golf cart parade and go do the ah peach tree road race with us this year? I'm good on the Peachtree, actually. I don't know. I don't know. We might. It was so much fun. It's fun. Crazy. I've never done it before. I can't even believe I'm saying that. It was so much fun. Like, I hate running in Atlanta, and it was really, really fun.
01:07:33
Speaker
you guys should – we should do it. Yeah. Maybe we try that. Run Disney, um marathon weekend. Yeah, like – as long as we can get signed up. Right. Yes. The minus of that. And then, you know, on my list of things that I want to do with Run Disney, I would definitely want to do Wine and Dine. That's on my bucket list. I would like to do Wine and Dine and hopefully do it with our kids.
01:07:57
Speaker
Yeah. I'm wondering when he's going to do Dopey. He's already done the hard part, so might as well just do the other two. We'll cheer you on, Zach. We're not we're not doing that. be on the sidelines of that one. Goofy was enough of a challenge. Thank you very much. For us, yes. yeah I feel it. I feel it coming at some point. Yeah, yeah.
01:08:16
Speaker
Anything else you wanted to share that we didn't ask you? yeah any stories, any insights, anything before we let you go? Definitely give it a shot. Do it. I'm so glad I did. I'd had it on my list to do for a good 20 years, like run a half marathon. At some point in your life, you need to run a half marathon.
01:08:34
Speaker
And you just, you got to start somewhere. And I think Disney is very low key. You're not going to have a lot of pressure to feel like you need to finish in all these awesome times or set these PRs. You can if you want to. It's a good flat course to do that. But it's just really, it's just a good time.
01:08:51
Speaker
So it would be a really good event to dip your toe into the water of, can I train for this? Can I do this? Yeah. Do it. If you're hesitating,
Encouragement for New Runners
01:09:01
Speaker
do it. Either find somebody or listen to you guys for encouragement or talk to you, get involved with a local running club, do something um to to get involved. And we just, we have a blast. I didn't think I would love it as much as I do. sign me up for every event. I'll go. It's a gateway. There's no doubt about that.
01:09:22
Speaker
No, I will say there are mornings that I'm like, curse you, Zach. It is 32 degrees I've got to go run 10 miles today. yeah um yeah that That is the drawback to a January race, at least for us in North Georgia, is you're going to have some chilly mornings that you've got to get up or some chilly afternoons. You've got to go out and get your race or your run done. Yeah. But you find out who you really are at that moment. You know what i mean? and And what you're really committed to. I mean, just like you do at mile 20, right? Like those early mornings, you find out what kind of strength you're willing to muster up, you know?
01:09:54
Speaker
Yeah. Great thing though, when you're down there after you, after you finish your run or or even before you've got licensed to eat all the snacks. All the things. All ah the things. Yep. Our friend, Sam says all the Mickey shaped carbs. That's awesome. That's right. of but Well, thank you guys so, so much for coming on Like we just had the best time running with you.
01:10:14
Speaker
are so thankful for y'all as friends. Um, just love y'all so much. Thank you so much. Thanks for supporting our little podcast too. It was great. This is just, this is a really special tradition. We started, we've done it twice now. So now in our family, after you do it one time, it's a tradition. It's a tradition. That's right. We're with you again next year. Sounds great. Thank you guys.
01:10:36
Speaker
Awesome. It was so much fun to have Zach and Jesse at the race weekend. Like obviously it was fun to talk to them, but like having them at the race weekend, this is now two years in a row that we've gotten to experience that weekend with them. And you obviously got to run with Jesse. I got to run with Zach for a little bit. yeah And it's just so cool when you have somebody that you've known for so long. Yeah, totally. And we have good communication with them, right? Right. Yeah. You know, on the course, you know, Jessica could tell you what she needed and I could tell Zach, you know, whatever. And so was just really fun to run with someone you know and trust. Totally. And it really takes the a whole race experience up a notch. Yeah. Okay. Let's wrap this episode up. Okay. It's getting a little long, but that's okay. Hopefully, if i don't know. Is anybody training for long runs right now? I guess so. We got Princess coming up. Princess, yeah. So hopefully this has been helpful for your long run. Let's talk Disney news.
Race Artwork Excitement
01:11:23
Speaker
The Wine and Dine artwork came out on day of recording. It was this morning. You guys are hearing this, unfortunately, a week later. yeah But the Wine and Dine artwork came out. I have seen it. Yes. And you have not.
01:11:35
Speaker
I have not. I have was working right until we started recording. phone I have the phone. Would you like to- would definitely like a live reveal. Oh, is this a video? I don't want a video. Hold on.
01:11:46
Speaker
You know who's going to have this? Once upon- Upon marathon. A marathon is going to have this. What would Amanda say? We need to get that printed on something right now. Okay. So you're going to see this. You scroll the 5K, 10K challenge. Okay. You know, it goes in order. So I'd love to know your thoughts on the wine and dine themes. Oh my gosh.
01:12:09
Speaker
I'm not even like a huge Aristocats person. And this is adorable. right Like I have never wanted to do a 5K because like, oh my gosh, it's so freaking cute. And I love, of course, I love Paris. And so i love Eiffel Tower. That's adorable. I love like the font that they used for the wine and dine. That's adorable. Oh my gosh. i love the 10K. This is awesome. I know. Oh, my word. The three caballeros. Yes. Oh, my gosh. the The costume, like, I'm just already thinking of, like, the fun variations of the costumes that people are going to come up with. This is awesome. Yes.
01:12:47
Speaker
Oh, my god there there's so We have to do Wine and Dine. Oh, my gosh. Okay, so now we've got the ah the Mary Poppins Penguins with Big Ben. And again, like the the font for Wine and Dine, it's very Mary Poppins-esque. It's so adorable. I love the colors.
01:13:05
Speaker
Oh, my gosh. This is so cute. And then we've got the Grumpy. It's my least favorite of the of the artwork. Like I like Grumpy as a character, but like in terms of like what I'm going to wear on a shirt or hang on a medal, Grumpy's not necessarily high on my list. He's not. But I do love how they've incorporated the the pretzel into like the cuckoo clock. Yes. That's hilarious. Yes. Oh, and then and then I just am now seeing Snow White in the background. I didn't see her before. do you see her there? No, but that's awesome. Do you see her? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I it now. yeah Yeah, yeah. That's super cute. I would say that my favorite two are going to be the, just for the artwork alone, yeah the half marathon with the penguins yes and then the Aristocats 5K.
01:13:44
Speaker
I don't even know what the merch is going to look like, but they've already sold me on it for those two
Future Race Plans
01:13:48
Speaker
races. So interestingly, we our priority order is princess, marathon, wine and dine, springtime. Right.
01:13:56
Speaker
But this really makes our next season's decisions really hard in my opinion. It does. I love everything. I love it too. And everything I read online is positive. Normally you get the mixed reviews and the, Oh, do we have to do this again? And I don't, I didn't see any of that. I mean, like as long as they don't do the giant plastic print on the front of the shirt, this, this could be like a total, like hit it out of the park. Like everything about this yeah is awesome. It's amazing. I totally agree. It's not even an option. We have to sign up for wine and dine. Really? What are you giving up?
01:14:28
Speaker
What am I giving up? Yeah. Well, I don't know. I almost just blurted up marathon weekend, but I have to wait and see what, I mean, you don't get to wait and see what their artwork is going to look like. but No, they get you by locking you into this and then they lock you in into the next one. I know.
01:14:42
Speaker
I know. You're giving up marathon if you had if you had to. Maybe. Yeah. I don't know. Okay. it's ah tough it's It's good stuff. It's good stuff. It is really good. All right. So That's Run Disney News. We love artwork. Yes, we do. It's perfect. I don't have any other Run Disney News stuff. Erica, we're about to head out to Disneyland. So yeahp um literally tomorrow we're heading out to Disneyland.
01:15:08
Speaker
Not in real life. I mean, in podcast life. In podcast in life. I don't know how to say that. Like when you're listening to this on the podcast, we're going to Disneyland tomorrow. That is correct. And so- yeah Have you trained at all since marathon or whatever to like get us ready for, you know, get yourself ready for Disneyland or where are you at?
01:15:24
Speaker
Yeah. So I had really good intentions of doing that. And then I think like me and everyone else that was at marathon weekend came home super sick. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if it was from marathon weekend or all my patients that I saw when I get back that were sick, but. Yeah.
01:15:38
Speaker
Regardless, I've been sick. So it's not been great for training, but I've been trying to do some weights and some strength stuff. We were super grateful not to be sick before marathon. Oh my gosh, yeah. We were fighting off everyone that said they had ever sneezed before in their life. You should have seen me. So I test patients at work and I had my sanitizer bottle like every five seconds. I'm like pump, pump, pump, like doing my hand sanitizer, spraying everything down with Lysol like crazy. You probably sanitized. sanitized yourself so well. Right. As soon as you were actually exposed to something. Yeah. And your immune system was like, okay. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
01:16:17
Speaker
Yeah. So yeah, i I went for my first run. So it's been a week since marathon. I went for my first run today. Awesome. On the dreadmill. Oh yeah. Sad. It is freezing outside. It is very cold. So yeah yeah, I'll get a few more, few more runs in before Disneyland half. Yes. And we'll see how it goes. My plan is to go tomorrow regardless of how I'm feeling. Oh, okay. Yeah.
01:16:40
Speaker
Throwing up on the sidewalk? No, I'm not sick like that. I just have a cold. oh I see. It's just kind of that stuffy, gross. Yeah. Yeah. Let's not talk about it with all of our podcast listeners. Okay. Can I have a kiss? No. no all right. That's it for training updates. We have Disneyland and then princesses just a few weeks after that. So yup craziness. And in the middle there somewhere, we have to register for wine and dine apparently. so We sure do. Goodness gracious.
01:17:07
Speaker
Okay. Awesome.
Closing and Social Media Engagement
01:17:08
Speaker
That's it for today. if you don't mind, leave a review, share the podcast. you know If you don't follow us on Instagram, follow us there. We'd love it if you did. Thank you so much for listening to our little show. We'll catch you next week for a brand new episode of One More Run.
01:17:26
Speaker
Thanks for joining us for this episode of One More Run, the podcast. If you like what we're up to, be sure to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and follow us on Instagram. You can find links to all of that AJandErica.com.