Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Ep 30 - Doing a runDisney race with friends (with special guest, Once Upon a Marathon)
525 Plays30 days ago
Welcome to Season 2!!!! We’re kicking off with a very special guest: Amanda from Once Upon a Marathon. We consider her the "expert of all experts" when it comes to runDisney stuff and we're so excited she's joining us us to share her wealth of knowledge on how to navigate a race weekend with friends. It may not seem like there's much to figure out when it comes to running with friends, but there are some pretty key conversations you need to have before you show up to the start line together!
We dive into the practical (and sometimes awkward) conversations you need to have with your running buddies before you even arrive at Disney. From roommate compatibility (are you a white noise or total silence sleeper?) to aligning your priorities between park time and race performance, we cover the logistics that can make or break your experience.
Whether you’re a seasoned Dopey finisher or planning your very first 5K with your best friend, this episode is packed with tips to help you arrive confident and ready to run those miles!
Be sure to follow Aamanda on Instagram for amazing content: @OnceUponAMarathon
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Run Disney Race Weekend
00:00:00
Speaker
Today we're talking about doing Run Disney Race Weekend with friends. And here to help guide us through all the things we need to consider before we arrive with our entourage of friends is the Run Disney expert of all experts, Amanda, from Once Upon Marathon.
Season Two Launch and Highlights
00:00:13
Speaker
Music
00:00:21
Speaker
Hey there, friends. Welcome to One More Run the Podcast. This is episode 30, and you are here for the kickoff of season two. Erica, we wrapped up season one. yeah you know We said we were going to do up to marathon, yeahp right? And we did that. We did our recap of that. And this officially is the launch of season two. Exciting. It is. And we've got big time guests to help kick us
Amanda: The Run Disney Expert
00:00:45
Speaker
off, right? So Amanda, she runs an Instagram account and a website and whatever called Once Upon a Marathon. And it's like the resource of all resources, right? If you need training plans or helpful info that's like not on the Disney website, like where are the bathrooms on the marathon course, things like that. Like she's a researcher, you know, she knows all the things and and you're really going to love this conversation. Like it's going to be awesome.
00:01:09
Speaker
Yep. If you're new here or even if you're not new here, just so you're kind of reminded what our show is about, what we do here, ah we'd like to share practical tips, right? The things that help you arrive for your next race, whether it's run Disney or not, arrive confident, ready, and hopefully not caught off guard by anything. And we believe that training for and running a run Disney race should be fun.
00:01:29
Speaker
Totally. It shouldn't be stressful. And Amanda is going to help us today with that, right? Like running with friends. I mean, just imagine you arrive with your friends, like you expect it to be fun, but there are a couple of things. If you haven't thought through or talked through some things, absolutely it could add some stress and you get caught off guard by that. So having this conversation today is exactly like fits in with what we try to do in in every episode. Totally.
Listener Feedback and Show Impact
00:01:52
Speaker
Erica, we like to read reviews on the podcast. yeah Would you mind reading a recent Apple podcast review?
00:01:58
Speaker
Absolutely. This one is titled Totally Bingeable, and it is from This Run is for Jimmy. I was so happy to have found this podcast after listening to AJ and Erica on the Rise and Run podcast. I'm currently training for my first marathon, non-Disney sadly, and need all of the podcast content I can get for those long hours of running.
00:02:18
Speaker
I've been listening to AJ and Erica nonstop through episode 11 and I'm hooked. Disney reference. I ran my first race ever last year after my cousin passed away and my first two Disney races earlier this year in Disneyland. Even though I've been there, i love hearing their view and the reminders of what race day is like. It helps me stay on track and I get to daydream about Disney while I run. What can be better? Thank you, Agent Erica, and I look forward to more episodes.
00:02:43
Speaker
Awesome. That was awesome. Yeah, yeah. Can you believe? i mean, that was getting they were getting through episode 11, right? Yes. And now we're... in season two 30 yes so uh thanks for that feedback i'm glad you find it bingeable and fun and and helpful and all that stuff so and glad you're out there getting those miles in totally okay so let's get into today's topic which is running with friends and um kind of like a heads up anytime we bring on anybody on in the podcast the the goal there is that that they would be helpful right like We always try to bring on people who are going to help you with whatever the topic is. That's right. And we are so excited to have Amanda from Once Upon a Marathon with us today. Absolutely.
Amanda's Journey to Disney Racing
00:03:24
Speaker
We've been following her Instagram account for years. Her website is so you know full of resources. I know we already said that, but she's awesome. yeah Sometimes Run Disney announce something, and like as soon as they announce it, I go to her Instagram account to see what her take on it is. And one of the things that I love about her her content is that she's got this like non-sponsored approach to it. And she even says that on her website, like she has no sponsors, affiliate, yada, yada, yada. And I actually really like that. I think it's clear in the way she talks. it She'll shoot you straight. yeah She'll tell you exactly what she thinks and you don't have to agree with her. totally like it's like I love that. And I think you and I kind of do that on the podcast too. We'll say like, okay, so Disneyland races are not our favorite. That doesn't mean don't do the Disneyland race. Here are the reasons we don't like it. Here's the reason... princess is our favorite. right This is the reason we like to come in a day early, but that doesn't mean it's- That way. Yeah. You do it your way. Right. But she does that kind of same model where it's like she provides all the information in the inside.
00:04:20
Speaker
And I really love that she does- Yeah. If you want to hear Amanda's full Wren Disney history and thoughts on a bunch of Wren Disney topics, go listen to episode 96 of the Rise and Run podcast. It's so good. So Amanda, thank you so much for joining us today. We are so glad that you're here with us. This is like the best day ever.
00:04:39
Speaker
I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for asking me to join. so yeah. Yeah. We are so excited to have you. We bring on guests. We said this before in a previous episode. If we bring on a guest, it's because they have something helpful to provide, right? We don't just want to bring on random people for the sake of it. So like, and and i I'm being genuine. Like you are so helpful to us and have been for years. Like, the bathroom. Right. right You know what I mean? I'm like, i have that screenshot on my phone. And like, you know, if you want to ride Everest, right, you know right, right. And all these things, like, they're so good. And then I have to tell you this, like, when when something comes out, I look to see how I'm going to feel about it by what you say first. Oh,
00:05:18
Speaker
The speculating spirals of it. Yeah. When they announce new shoes or whatever, I'm like, okay, before I formulate my opinion, what did Amanda say about this? Yes. I'm not kidding about that. It's totally true. Yes. Thanks to thanks again for for joining us on the podcast. Amanda, why do you do Ren Disney?
00:05:34
Speaker
I just fell in love with it. I'm not someone who grew up a Disney kid. i am someone who found it like in adulthood. i was in grad school. I was getting my master's. I needed something very not that. Yes. To kind of like, you know, focus on and have something outside of that that world. And i was like, I'm going to run a half marathon. I'm not athletic. I've never been athletic. And i did It was not a run Disney race. And I was like,
00:06:02
Speaker
This finish line thing is really cool. Everything else, we're going to work on that. Not so much. I saw an ad in Runner's World magazine and it was like Tinkerbell. And I was like, running through Disney would be really cool. yes um I think it'd be fun. So I signed up to do the princess challenge, made my husband run with a glass slipper on his hand like he was Prince Charming. And it was kind of...
00:06:27
Speaker
the The Kool-Aid came quick on it. Within a year, I was an annual pass holder. dang. That's awesome. me Like, yeah. So zero 100 very fast. I love it. So why do you continue running, right? Like, obviously, like, it's super fun when you dive in and you've like fully bought in, obviously. Why do you continue to do it year after year?
00:06:46
Speaker
I think that one thing that Disney does really well is community. And you you have the park community, but there's also embedded in that this running community with Run Disney, more so than I think other race events or race weekends elsewhere, because there's a lot of there's a lot of races in the United States. You also have chasing the majors and all of that.
00:07:08
Speaker
But I think there's something very accessible and fun around the community. and even even outside of all of the personal gratification you get from accomplishing those goals and going after the finish lines, there's all of the memories and the bonding and the relationships that you form in that community. um And I think that's something I'm always going to want.
00:07:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, 100%. When I was toying around with names or whatever for this podcast um you know a year ago or whatever, like one of the ones that almost went with and kind of stuck with me, but like it was this idea, I was trying to come up with a wordplay, but I'd never really landed on It was this idea of memories over miles. You know what mean? like That's why we keep coming back. is It's the memories that we have. We look at our pictures and and all that, whatever. And it's not really the the the name ended up being better, right? But it just really lands with me that like it's how I feel at a run Disney event, right? And with the people and all that stuff. So i totally resonate with what you're talking about.
00:08:02
Speaker
100%. um they do a lot, too, to facilitate that. Like, just sounds silly, but, like, nobody does race photos the way Disney does race photos. We say that. Not in a character line. Like, you're getting these pictures where you're just, like, grinning ear to ear and there's costumes and there's people around you. And it's just, like, the memories, you know, they capture them. They they know what they're doing. so Yeah, they certainly do, for sure. You know, I've stopped complaining about anything related to PhotoPass, like on-course photos, because if you do any other racing, you get your photos of you running. They're awful. it's just They're from like 100 miles away. They're blurry. They're fuzzy. Like there's no editing Somehow there's definitely some Disney magic when they take the the photos. and
00:08:46
Speaker
I swear, like those PhotoPass, they know the shot. Like they line up. they Like they're they're going to get it. Yeah, yes it's so good. Can we talk about before we get into some would you rathers and get to know you and then today's topic? Like, can I ask you, why did you start creating, I guess I'll call it content, right? Like, why did you start posting on Instagram? Why did you start doing the stuff that you have on the website, right? Like some training plans, things like that. you're creating stuff for us to use helpful stuff. Why'd you start doing that?
Creating Run Disney Resources
00:09:12
Speaker
It was very, so I'm a researcher both by nature and profession. Like this is how my brain works. This is what I do all day. Like I'm very analytical. And i started Run Disney as somebody who was not a runner at all. So I had a lot to learn.
00:09:26
Speaker
And then I had a lot to learn about Disney because I wasn't a Disney person either. So all of that was just like being absorbed and I'm i'm figuring out. I then decided I wanted to do Dopey, go after that first marathon. While training for the first Dopey, I broke my hip. Oh.
00:09:41
Speaker
And and it took it took a long time, a little over a year to recover from the hip break, get back into running, come back to Disney. I had set a goal to do dopey like it was very important to me now that I had been denied the ability to do it. So i go for round two and again, like halfway into training, it gets canceled because of the COVID pandemic. So 0 for 2. And so by the time that the third time came around, I knew a lot about registration. knew a lot about training. I knew a lot about equipment. I had figured out like the vests. I had like understood the balloon lady situation because there was a point where. I was approved, like I was cleared by a doctor to go back to the races, but not run. I could like walk the 5k, 10k. So like the bloom ladies are on my mind. I need to know how this works. Right. And there's a part of me that's like, if I'm generating all of this just for me, how much more is it to just like host it, like put it out there for people to have and to use because this community has been so good to me and I've gotten so much out of this community. and Like one of those things where I'm doing it anyway and I'm doing it for me and I'm already sharing it with, you know, like,
00:10:49
Speaker
My friend Casey runs a lot of races with me. My husband runs with me. So I'm i'm keeping us locked in. And I'm like, I might as well just post it and share um because it's not easy to find the information. There's so much to know. And it's not like easily Google. It's not something on the run Disney website. It's you just kind of have to know.
00:11:07
Speaker
And there's a lot of lore. And I'm like, I i can handle that. i I that's something I think I can do. And I'm I have the skill set to make that happen. So no we love it. We appreciate it so much. can I ask really fast what's what's up for you? And I know the answer cause I watched your Instagram or whatever, but what's up for you kind of coming up this year, right? Do you want to share any of that or is that too, too deep to to talk about? No, it's fine. So for the first time ever, I don't have a run Disney race on the books. yeah It feels weird. but Um, yeah, But we are hoping to do our first a Adventures by Disney trip. And that is kind of what we are focused in on. I have i have goals. One of my goals is I want to go to all seven continents. um
00:11:47
Speaker
And I'm hoping to check off the next continent. I say that and I just know Disney is going to like pop up with the Star Wars race or something I can't say no to. And I'm going to be like, all right, babe, like let's go figure this one out.
00:11:59
Speaker
Oh, yeah.
Run Disney vs. Other Disney Experiences
00:12:00
Speaker
Yes. yeah Yeah. That's how we ended up at Disneyland coming up here in by the time this episode comes out here and in a week or so is that we we weren't going to need it to do it again. And then they said they were going away. So we're like, great. So might as well do it. Have you done and a Disneyland race? he's the first No, we did the first one back in which were you there?
00:12:19
Speaker
I didn't do the first one back, um but I went this past Halloween. That's right. ok Because I needed to get coast to coast. yeah Clearly. yeah clearly um Loved it. It was my first time ever at Disneyland. Oh, cool. We did the first one. a lot the We just were like checking all the... Yes.
00:12:35
Speaker
Dang. Yeah, you did go deep. yeah Annual pass holder. Yeah. DVC. Now you're Lonnie. Drank the delete fast. Yeah. Dang. Yeah, we did the first Disneyland back and you know like a lot of people, it wasn't the world's best experience because they you know kind of gotten out of their rhythm. You know what I mean? So we'd written it off, but now we're excited that maybe they've smoothed some stuff out.
00:12:56
Speaker
I am very curious if they ever bring back Disneyland Paris. Do you go to the first one back knowing that there's going to be a lot of logistical stuff? yeah Or do you you know, intentionally wait for like round two? right yeah Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If they bring Paris, oh man, that's going to be a tough, that's going tough on us. Sorry, kids. You can't go to college. yeah We have to go run in Paris.
00:13:24
Speaker
like then I also have a goal to check off all of the castles. So I mean, you know, in my mind, I can justify just about anything. Right. Oh, yeah. that For sure. For sure. Awesome. Okay, cool. I've got some would you rathers. We usually do this, Amanda, to kind of get to know folks because Erica and I usually, not usually, we disagree on some of these. So like you can kind of, know, you kind of end up on one team or the other. And we kind of, you know, we can learn a lot about you for some would from some would you rathers. So you you okay if we ask you a few?
00:13:50
Speaker
Let's do it. all right. So the one we ask everyone on the podcast is this one. Erica and I are on two different teams here. Her team is currently in the lead, but but i'm I'm trying to gather some folks. Okay. So the question is, would you rather for a half marathon at Disney, would you rather run down main street or get a finisher medal for that half, but you can only have one of those? You can't have both. Which one would you choose?
00:14:13
Speaker
I think I really liked the finish line and the whole finish line vibes. So I think I'd go with the medal. Oh, you have three people. Yes. Amanda. See, i told you, I told you I've been not watching Instagram forever. Cheating on Main Street is a ton of fun. So like, I feel like I could still get the Main Street experience okay by cheating. So like, you know. Yes. Okay. There we go. Finally. Most people side with Erica on that one. They love the little tear going down Main Street. and You know, they they like that sappy stuff. I want that metal, you know?
00:14:44
Speaker
You'd have to think about it because Main Street's pretty special. But I also run the haves that don't even do Main Street. So, I mean, if you do Wine and Yine or Springtime, you've kind of already made that call. That's right. That's right. For sure. Okay, here's another one. We've never asked this. Would you rather? um a Marathon, right? Full marathon. Disney full marathon. Would you rather go no phone or no PhotoPass photos?
00:15:06
Speaker
No phone. No phone. Okay, you need those first. Not even hard. the um Well, first of all, I don't listen to music. I think a lot of people are streaming music off their phone, yeah and i I don't. So PhotoPass cannot live without. like There needs to be not just well-documented evidence, but like me looking cute. Well-documented evidence. Yes.
00:15:26
Speaker
All right. I did not train for six months. Right. Put on a costume and run 26.2 miles to look rough in a photo. Right. I can't, you know, post for anyone. So i need at least some of these pictures to come out. Whereas the phone, you can always get somebody else's phone for like a character photo if you really need to. Sure. But it's not, I'm not really using it. Yeah.
00:15:48
Speaker
Yeah. All right. Here's the next would you rather marathon weekend guaranteed race entry, right? You don't have to fight the the online system or whatever, or guaranteed merchandise. You get the exact merchandise you want. Which one are you choosing? Guaranteed race entry entry every time. oh yeah. Is that because you're not a merchandise person or because you just hate the registration?
00:16:08
Speaker
ah So first all, I'm not a big merch person. I have a couple of things that are must buys, like the shoe ornament. i has to like I have a shoe ornament for every single race. We have every single all ours. Yeah. It's one of my greatest frustrations that the year I did Dopey was the only year there was no shoe ornament. Oh, my gosh. That's terrible. Oh, man. but Supply chain issues, and they weren't able to get a shoe ornament. So, like, heart crushed on that one. um I still have it, but still.
00:16:35
Speaker
I had to have the shoe ornament. And then outside of that, I'm kind of, if anything's cute, I'll grab it. So I'm not as big on official race merch, but the registration, like, I don't, less of that stress in my life is great. There's a reason why I have, like, a 20-page guide of how to, like, do this. Because it's stressful. Yeah, totally. Totally. Yeah. It's the worst part of the whole experience, unfortunately. It is. Especially the first And it's hard you were like trying to coordinate it with other people because you have to make decisions around like, do we all go for the bibs individually? Do we do it together? Right. If you're trying to do multiple races, like the way i am on speakerphone with a coordinated like everybody that's running together. Okay. Who got in? what Where are you at? Who's doing what? Right. feel mission control. like
00:17:23
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. We yeah we know all about it. Okay. I'm going to ask this one. Yeah, go for it. Okay, good. Thank you. Sorry.
Planning Disney Adventures
00:17:30
Speaker
So, Amanda, would you rather do a run Disney race weekend, four-night Disney cruise, or four nights at Alani?
00:17:38
Speaker
You know what the funny part is? I've done all three. I i was going to say. I think you've done it here. Yes. um That's so hard. I think i I really liked Alani. yeah I liked Hawaii more than I kind of thought I would. I'm going to go with Alani. I just think it's special and it's so hard to get out of there. So if somebody were offering free trips and they said you can have one of these three, like make your wish, I'm going to say Alani.
00:18:02
Speaker
Nice. we have not We have not done it yet. and we've I think we've decided Disney Cruise would be. Well, I would take a run Disney weekend. You would take the cruise. You like that the most. But maybe Alani would be the tiebreaker. yeah know Maybe we'd like that the most.
00:18:15
Speaker
yeah And you're like halfway to Tokyo. So like you could just, yeah you know, your Disney map is a whole nother thing. You know what i mean? Like I'm noticing a trend here. you that i got so into it so quickly. That's awesome. Awesome. You want to do the last one? Sure. Last one. Would you rather on the half marathon do dead last start with your bestie or corral a, but solo?
00:18:38
Speaker
I have many times chosen to start in the last corral with friends because that happened to be the bid they pulled. And so I would drop back to run with them. yeah That is actually a lot of fun. There's a party in the back that definitely exists and is enjoyable to have. Certainly. So um I would rather be with friends in the back than front solo. yeah ok Those two options for sure. Yeah, totally.
00:18:58
Speaker
What about you, Erica? I've never asked you this question. Would you rather start in the back and have to fight for your life? Yeah. Well, I don't know. The balloon ladies are right there. We have started behind the balloon ladies and been fine. Yeah, we were in California. The balloon ladies were in front of us by the time we got to the corral. yeah We had to fight our way past them before the start line. It was crazy. What's your favorite race weekend, by the way? Erica's is Princess. Mine's Marathon. What's your favorite race weekend? Ooh. Oh.
00:19:22
Speaker
It's between Marathon Weekend and Princess because I i do like the Magic Kingdom course yeah more. yeah um Princess was my first one, so I think there's always going to be, like, an emotional attachment to it. But Marathon Weekend is my husband's birthday every year, so I usually am pretty successful at being like, so, for your birthday, you want to do a cruise after... We run all the miles or how about we splurge after we run the marathon and we do like a birthday dinner. Right. I'm going to go with marathon weekend. Perfect. Nice. That's awesome. I like Amanda's math because she's like on a bohemian cruise and she's like, well, we're already in the direction of Paris. Why don't we just keep going? You know? I want to keep going. Oh my gosh.
00:20:02
Speaker
Okay. All right. um Let's dive into today's topic. Thanks for you know doing some Would you Rather. is great to get to know you. Today's topic is running with friends. And we haven't really talked about this. We've talked you know briefly a couple times, Erica, about like how you and I do stuff together. But you and I are married, so like we have a different dynamic you know yeah you know in a good way and a bad way sometimes. Right. But you know we haven't talked about necessarily like how to like conversations to have like things to think about. yeah And so Amanda, thanks for bringing this topic. Like this is spot on. Perfect. So let's dive right into it. Who do you believe run Disney is a good fit for, right? Like ah as you talk about like friend groups and things like that, like who, who should consider doing this, you know, with their friends. yeah so I think the thing about Run Disney that makes it special is its accessibility. Like it's so open to runners of all paces, runners of all levels of interest. I think a lot of times when you go outside of the Run Disney bubble, for lack of a better word, you end up in like a hyper competitive space. Mm hmm. And is great. And there is a whole running community that that is that's their their vibe. Right. And they love it. But I think there's so much more that you can enjoy about running. You can be the lifelong runner that just wants to do it to stay healthy. You can be the person going for the PR. You can be the person that just wants you know time with their friends. um And I think Disney kind of makes sure that everybody has something in that running world. And that accessibility and approachability to it goes a long way. and then once you get into it, you're like, oh, well, there's this whole community and there's these parks and there's a vacation. And, know, it becomes an addiction, for lack of a better word. It sure does. Amanda, what are some considerations people need to think through before they run together
Race Weekend Coordination with Friends
00:21:46
Speaker
with a friend, right? or before they even ask a friend, maybe. You know, like what's something we need to think through?
00:21:50
Speaker
I think just there's so much that goes into training and running for a race. And if you've never done it before, then in your mind, it's like, oh, I want to go after this great big goal. I want to run my first half marathon. We'll make a vacation out of it. And you have this friendship. So you're not like really thinking too much about it. But there's so much that goes into the logistics that's worth having a conversation about. Yeah.
00:22:15
Speaker
Kind of just starting with general trip planning stuff that you would do sharing the room, stuff like that. And then on course racing training, stuff of that nature. Yeah. Go for it. I'd love to dive into into just a list of those things you think we should be talking about, right? yeah totally. Totally.
00:22:30
Speaker
yeah So number one, sharing the room. You know, you're training for sometimes six months or longer to do these races. A lot of times you go in and you want to do your best and that's the priority, right? Like this is a race vacation. But just as easily it can be a, hey, I want to do the vacation first. I want to hit the parks. I want to close it down. I want to see the fireworks. And the races are kind of like the afterthought. And there's not a right or wrong answer to how you want to have that race vacation, but you do need to be on the same page with what that's going to look like. When I was doing Dopey, my husband was with me, but also a friend was, um we had a one bedroom at the Riviera's. She was in the living room. My husband and I were, um had the master and we were all doing Dopey. And I was like, listen, listen.
00:23:15
Speaker
In room by six o'clock, lights out by seven. is That is the rule. Like I, this is very important to me. I need to have the sleep. I know I'm going to be battling sleep deprivation over the next four days. Right. and I need to be in the room by six, lights out at seven. Yeah.
00:23:30
Speaker
Also, just general, like I have a friend who does all of these run Disney races as well, but she goes to sleep with like a noise machine. Yeah. And I am somebody that I have to have like complete darkness and complete silence. And I can do an eye mask, but I've never found like earplugs that work. So like I would never be able to room with her.
00:23:48
Speaker
like I like her. She's great. But like we we would never be able to do a shared room for a race vacation because I would never be able to fall asleep. Right. yeah that sounds so silly but like that's that's a real thing he and it can change too what you want out of that race weekend i think a lot of people sign up for the race with best intentions and sometimes some people are training and sometimes some people kind of fall off a little bit and life happens or they're not as motivated as they thought they would be and as that training falls off they pivot from wanting to do the race more to wanting to do the vacation more and that
00:24:22
Speaker
doesn't have conversation between you and your running buddy. Otherwise, you're just going to be frustrated like and on either side of the coin, yeah you know, or you're the one that's been running and training really well, or you're the one that's kind of like this. It didn't work out, you know?
00:24:35
Speaker
So what do you think? What do you think? let's We're 10 weeks into training or something, right? And someone, one person is like totally on track. The other person, maybe not, right? Like, do we need to have checkpoint conversations? What what what do you suggest? You know, I think if you're training together, you know, um even if it's long distance, because when I'm training for a race, if Casey's training with me, we'll text like, hey, how was the long run? you know, what was it like? Stuff like that back and forth. So like I, we you know, if you have a running buddy that you're training with, either in person where you're doing the runs together or even like long distance, you know if you're doing the runs or not. um And I just think at some point you have to have that conversation of listen, no judgment zone here. Right. but
00:25:13
Speaker
Yeah. still locked in on this race or vice versa hey this training is not going the way that i had wanted it to go i'm going to want to do more park stuff how how can i get what i want out of this expensive trip yeah yeah like those park tickets are expensive so if you're paying to go all the way down there and you're paying 150 into a park you're going to want to be there longer than an hour whereas is the other person like listen it's five o'clock it's time to get back to the room that 6 p.m head off yeah yeah and yeah and what that looks like so there's so much that has to be figured out around how long are you going to be in the parks what is your time on feet when is lights out in the bedroom how do you like to sleep are we going to be able to sleep together you know like yeah together as in the um like the sound machine right right right yes
00:26:00
Speaker
Yeah, there's just so much of that that I think is important to talk about that you don't think of in the excitement of registering for the race or the excitement of going after these these race goals. Totally. What about running on the course together? What kinds of things are important to talk about?
00:26:16
Speaker
yeah So I think that when you're, I think it sounds beautiful to run on the course together. Yes. You have this beautiful dream of you're run and we're going to be together going to have these photos and it's going to, you have coordinated costumes. right now There's a lot of thought that goes into it.
00:26:32
Speaker
But again, i think you just have to be very transparent about what you want out of the race experience. yeah My husband is a much faster runner than I am.
00:26:42
Speaker
He does not care about his pace, his times. Like that's his, the thing he loves about running is running with other people. He's always going to drop to whatever crawl I'm in and he's always going to run with me.
00:26:53
Speaker
Whatever pace I'm doing, he's doing. And that's how he likes it. And that's very easy because, know, I can lock in and focus on the run. And if we get to a point on the course where it's like congested, I don't have to worry about him. I can like take the gap if it's there. i can we can get separated. He will find me. I don't have to try and slow down or match him. he He's going to want to be the one to figure it out.
Running Strategies and Challenges
00:27:15
Speaker
Um, when I run with Casey, she's also a stronger runner than I am. She's better when she's training. She hits paces I can't hit. it's It's just she's a better runner. and there are times where we'll be lining up and it's like, OK, you go for it. I go for it. We're running our races. We'll see you at the finish line.
00:27:33
Speaker
That's how we're doing it. And there's times where we're like, hey, we want to get photos and hang out and stuff like that. So you need to have a plan for all of those contingencies. And I'm going to this is going to be like a deep dive, but like there's one. Are we running together?
00:27:47
Speaker
The next one is if we're running together and we're doing intervals, what are those intervals? Yeah, for sure. Because if you've been training at one interval and the other person's been training at a different interval, that can be complicated. And you don't want to find out that you struggle to find a groove or get into a rhythm with a brand new to you interval on race day. I'm going to figure that out. yeah then if you're running together, the intervals are great.
00:28:12
Speaker
Are you stopping for photos? Mm-hmm. And that seems like an easy question, but like, am I stopping for photos if the character line is short? Am I stopping for photos if the character line is long, but it's a character I have to have, like Dopey or somebody that matches my costume? yeah Am i not stopping for any characters? I just want to wave at them as I run past. Yes. You you need to have a plan ah for those character stops or no characters, but the castle is a must. Right. You know, that castle photo. Erica and I have rules around characters, by the way. we have Before every race, we have that exact conversation you're talking about where it's who is the like ride or die. Non-negotiable. It does not matter. We're stopping, right? and Yeah. And we list the one or two or maybe three people that might fall into that category, you know? And everyone else is like, ah i could or not or whatever. Or ah if if you can't see the the character from the end of the line, we're not stopping. You know I mean? like We have kind of like we've set the rules, you know? That's a good rule. If you can't see them, ours is, we'll have like fixed characters or like that castle icon. I really love the castle shot. That line moves pretty fast. you like make well They're ready to to rock through those. So I usually like the castle photo.
00:29:24
Speaker
um If we're in a specific costume, I'm, So if Nick and I are dressed up as Rapunzel and Flynn and Rapunzel and Flynn are on the course, yeah oh yeah do we do this kind of conversation? And then we also kind of have a rule where if it's less than two people, like it's you can just jump in. That pretty much never happens. But, you know, we like to keep the the thought out. I was going to say you've seen a line of less than two people. Holy cow.
00:29:50
Speaker
Listen, it should miracles happen, yeah right we meant that we'll take advantage. like we'll pop over and we'll get a photo with this character that apparently nobody else wants a photo with. Can I tell you my two nightmares that have happened to me with character or whatever? was going to this has happened to you. I shared one of them on the podcast. One of them is, um so I did PR a race. i I was fortunate to get to go out of Corral A, right? So I i he did that. So I was way ahead, which was really great. Anyway, I pass Mr. Fredrickson and Doug.
00:30:20
Speaker
And I say this all the time on the show, so everybody knows I regret this. And they looked so good. There was no one in line. Like legitimately no one in line. Like I finished like 295th in the race, right? Like there was no one on the course yet. And I just, I was going for a PR, so I didn't stop. Yeah.
00:30:36
Speaker
And it haunts me to this day. No one, it would take me longer to like pull my phone out and check a text message than it would have been to just get the photo. It it was it was awful. And then I have another one, but but you have a comment, go. No, I was gonna say that it should haunt you. It does. That an appropriate haunting experience. They've not been on the course in the last few years either.
00:30:55
Speaker
And I also, I saw Doug and Russell, but not Mr. Fredrickson and Doug. Like it's it's painful. I mean, it hurt it hurts every every time. That's hard too. And it's like a rare character. yep Yeah. My other nightmare character stop one is in the same spot. It's like mile 10 of the wine and dine course in the same spot that Mr. Fredrickson and Doug were there. I came up two years later and it was the haunted, i the haunted mansion.
00:31:20
Speaker
ghosts or whatever not like haunted manchic characters but just like the four ghosts and it was all foggy and super cool again no one in line so i said hey i'm not making this mistake twice so i jump in there and i'm standing there and it's so foggy the cast member doesn't know i'm there and i'm literally standing there and i'm looking around at everybody like like the everyone passed the handlers and the people on the course and i'm like looking around like I finally just yelled at him. I was like, Hey, and the, the, the photo pass guy, he's like, just like in his own world. He like looks up and, and, you know, like it looks around like, Oh my gosh, there's a guy here and snaps the photo. But the photo is of me like yelling, still mad at him. Like I have this anger. Look, I'll, I'll send you the photo. It's, it's yeah. It's perfect. I just can't get that photo spot. Right. Apparently.
00:32:04
Speaker
you think good point though about rare characters because there's some stuff you just can't anticipate right it's easy to say hey if i see the character i'm dressed as let's do that but the rarest character i've ever seen and i don't know if they've done it again but it was the tower of terror 10 miler when they brought it back for the very first spring 10 surprise they had the family from the tower of terror oh and the elements cool and i'm like this is like I have to. We stood in line for that one. We stood in line for a while for that one. And I was like, I didn't even know like i' even know that was a character. I didn't know it was an option. And we made the call to to jump in line for that one.
00:32:41
Speaker
But there's some characters you just can't anticipate. And it is a in-the-moment decision. And you should have a contingency plan. Like, what happens if we decide to part ways? yeah Yep. butp I have to have this character. yeahp Tower of Terror is my favorite. You press on. yep Like there needs to have an agreed upon break point of just, we're not going to fight it out. We're not going to try and have this deep conversation in the middle of mile seven. like we're just having an agreement. I say the word, we break, I'll beat you at the finish line. Like yeah no hard feelings. Yeah. hundred percent. What if it's not related to a character stop or something like that? Like what if it's just someone just falls behind, right? Or someone struggling, whatever. Like, like what do you suggest in that scenario? Yeah. and So that's, I think, in some cases even more likely because you have people at different paces.
00:33:26
Speaker
As someone who's been on the slower side, there's nothing more frustrating if you are struggling in a race, whether you didn't train or an injury is cropping up or just don't have it in you that day. There's a certain amount of mental pressure that comes with that where you're frustrated with yourself. You've trained for this. You want to do this. And it's hard. Right. I understand the desire of a friend to be there for you. I'd be like, we're going to do this together, and yeah all of that.
00:33:50
Speaker
But there can be a subtle pressure to where your friend's feeling good and you're they're pushing the pace without meaning to. Right. Like they're falling into their natural cadence and then you are already mentally struggling and you you have this person and you feel like you're you're struggling on the course and you're struggling to like match pace with this person. Right. And all really want to do is just be left alone. Yeah. Yes. Yes. And it can turn into a thing where you go on, no, I'm staying. No, you go on. No, really, I want to stay. Like, like that's not the place to be having that conversation. right
00:34:21
Speaker
Nobody wants to be having conversations at mile seven. Like, yeah you know? Yeah. When should we be having that conversation, in in your opinion? I think beforehand you should have a listen. The plan is to run together.
00:34:32
Speaker
Create a code word if you want or just say, like, if I tell you, it's because I i want to break. And we we agree that we're just going to go our separate ways. yeah i think it's easy in the beginning to just say, hey, this is the plan.
00:34:44
Speaker
If I tell you I'm not feeling it, I want you to go and I stay. Because when it happens in the moment, there's a lot of emotional, personal, this is my friend, I can't leave him behind. What kind of friend I? If I do leave him behind, they're telling me to go on, but I think they're just in a hard place right now.
00:34:58
Speaker
I need to stay with them, right? Like it it goes from, hey, let's just have a simple conversation. If we split, we split. to, hey, I need to figure out how I'm going to be, you know, this emotional thing when everybody's kind of exhausted and tired. And it's just like, have it up front.
00:35:13
Speaker
Just decide what you're doing beforehand. Yeah. And those emotions will last as you keep running. Right. So two miles later, you're still thinking about it, whatever end of that conversation or that that situation. If you didn't have a good, clear conversation, yeah you're still worried about the person you left or the person that left you. Like, I agree with you. Have the upfront conversation. Yeah. And when you have it up front, the emotions aren't there. Right.
00:35:33
Speaker
It's just, hey, if I'm not feeling it, I'm going to want to be left alone. And that's what I want. And I'm telling you with clear mind, not exhausted, not like I just this is how I want to handle it. right Or it can be vice versa. Listen, if I'm having a tough race, I need you I need somebody with me. I want the moral support.
00:35:49
Speaker
Are you willing to drop pace for that? Are you willing to stick with me for that? Or do you have your own race goals that you need to go for? and And that's conversation too, you know? Nick, like I said, Nick's always matching my pace, which is very, like, sweet of him to do.
00:36:04
Speaker
ah But there's also, like, a certain amount of skill to, like... practice and drop down in pace and match pace without pushing me. Because like when we first started training together, i had to be like, your gait is just too fast. Like you have to slow down. Like I'm in this, but I have to do it it at my pace and in my way. And he caught on. He's an excellent, excellent pacer. But I think that's another thing people don't realize. Like if you're feeling good, if you've not trained at slower paces, you might be unintentionally making it harder for somebody, unintentionally pushing them to go faster um just because of your natural gait and like what you train at.
00:36:39
Speaker
So. We've had that dynamic between the two of us where Erica feels the need to go faster than she is. And I'm totally a lot like Nick. I'm like, i'm I'm cool to go at this pace. I'm totally fine. But she's reading my body language, not my my heart and my mind, right? Like she's reading that my body is like,
00:36:57
Speaker
full breaks, you know to mean? in Like, like trying to hold back. I don't know the solution for it other than the open communication, right? Like we've just ah clearly, I'm not, i'm unless you tell me to leave, I'm not leaving. You know what i mean? Like this, I want to go at this pace. um Has Nick, I don't know if he's ever said this, has, does it have any impact on your body to go slower or faster on either way than you're normal, than you're used to, right?
Family Dynamics in Disney Races
00:37:20
Speaker
I guess here's a better way to ask it. Everybody knows it would take more effort for someone like you, right, to go at Nick's pace. But I think a misconception is that it could be hard on somebody who's faster to try and put the brakes on for 13 miles or 26 miles. Like any insight on that? So I have the advantage of Nick trains with me. Yeah.
00:37:40
Speaker
But I would think for anybody, if you are used to running a sub two half marathon, so you're you doing 145 at a half, and then all of a sudden that half is going to take you three hours. Yeah.
00:37:51
Speaker
Huge, massive time on feet difference. And even though you're not pushing yourself pace wise, you are pushing yourself in terms of like just time on feet. You're still moving. You're beating up your body. um And that that fatigue sets in that endurance is a real thing, you know? Yeah. um Again, Nick trains with me, so it's easier for us on race day to match pace because we do it together. But if you were had a friend who wasn't training with you or if it was a long distance situation and you're different paces and you're just like, oh, well, I'll train at my pace, but on race day I'm going to drop.
00:38:24
Speaker
that That might catch up with you. right It's also in the same way that like you know walking works different muscles than running. So doing a different gait would also work different muscles than you would expect it to.
00:38:37
Speaker
And again, there's it's not wrong. It's not like it's impossible. Anybody who's a fast runner can run slower. You just might need to train or practice with it so that you can get your body into the right mode for it. you know Just like you would train to go faster.
00:38:50
Speaker
Right. Totally. Side tangent before you ask the next question, Erica, they say, you know, walk, if you're doing dopey, right. They say, walk the 5k, walk the 10k, take the half easy and then do whatever, you know, to survive on the the full, like based off everything you just said, do you agree with that? Kind of like average, like that's the average advice, right?
00:39:09
Speaker
I'm like nothing new on race day. Why would you train running the five, the 10, the half, the full and then on race day be like, I'm going to go from running a 40 minute 5K to two and a half hours plus the two hours in the corral. So you've just turned a 45 minute race into a four hour experience and think that that's not going to catch up with you.
00:39:31
Speaker
And then it's going to get in your head because then you're going to be You're going to work muscles you hadn't thought. You were time on feet way longer. You're going to go in ten k and be like, wow, i I feel way worse than I thought I was going to feel going into the 10K. Right. Yeah. Like, and you've still got to do a half and a full marathon. yeah So i I think that you run the races the way you train them.
00:39:50
Speaker
Yeah. That's if you train walking those distance, fine. But I think you run the races the way you train. I love that. and Let's get back on track, Erica. We're talking about running with friends. Go for it. Okay. So Amanda, let's talk about the finish line. If somebody finishes first out of the group, should they wait around? um Obviously, is something mean you should probably talk about, but what do you think?
00:40:10
Speaker
I think it depends on, one, the actual conditions of race day. If it's raining and cold, not at all. wants to stick around in the rain and the gold right if it's a beautiful day and you just finished like go get one of the the run disney specially brewed beers or a water whatever is your preference gatorade sit in the lot and you can wait for your friend yeah um pace differences can matter you know is it going to be an hour two hour wait in that case maybe one of you gets on the bus and you meet back at the hotel
00:40:43
Speaker
You know, but have a plan for it is the big thing. All of this is just have a plan for it. These are the things you should probably have a plan for. Like plan on what time you're going to go to bed and what the room conditions are going to be. Plan on how you you're going run together. Plan on how you're crossing the finish line. If you don't cross together, are you going to meet at, you know, a certain tent? Are you going to meet at a certain location at the DJ stage? Are you going to one person go back together? And you meet all at the hotel.
00:41:11
Speaker
My favorite thing at the ten k is to just meet at the finish line and go to brunch. And I've got after, like, yeah whatever it is, you know, we're going to go grab a snack on the way home. you know So there's nothing in in what I'm hearing. And i would I would say none of these are right or wrong. Like, you can do it whatever way you want to do it as long as you and you're recommending have that conversation. yeah talking Right. Because the thing is, the one place you shouldn't be having this conversation is on the race course. ah Yeah. It's different because we're married and you and Nick are probably the same way. But there are times I look at Erica, I'm like, she's not saying what she's really whatever. Or I'll be like, look, I have no idea what's going on. like I'm looking around. like I don't i don't know where I am. You know what I mean? I'm like, I'm hot. you know And so, yes, I agree with you. like Totally don't have that conversation at mile 20. Yeah, I know.
00:41:57
Speaker
Oh, no. The brain fog is just like the fatigue, the brain fog. Nobody's making good decisions. yeah Right. yeah My only one. Nobody. Nope. um Okay. So anything on like the, like that was all friend stuff. Did you have anything else on the friends? I want to ask just about like running with your spouse too. So like anything else on friends before, before we move on to running with your spouse?
00:42:17
Speaker
No, I'm ready. Let's talk about the the running with your spouse. Okay. So it's it's unique, right? Like, I mean, it's you it's the person you know best. It's the person you love the best. Anything beyond the kind of the stuff we've already talked about that you just need to be talking about with your spouse or be on the same page about or anything, like anything anything you can think of. yeah Well, it's interesting because I feel like I'm I feel like I'm very lucky with Nick because he doesn't necessarily have these PR goals, which I would support. I'd be like, you go for it. I'll cheer. I i would love to see him cross the finish lines. Always enjoy that. But he really his favorite thing to do is just run with me.
00:42:51
Speaker
um Oh, it's kind of like I get to pick the the pick the races, pick what I want to do um We do you have rules of the road. I control the interval timer. I can't handle Because he's such a fast runner and he's so comfortable. He's like, I just run until it beeps. I'm like, no, I need to see the five seconds and count down. Like, I need to know how long the cycling walk. I have to control. Like, I just don't feel like he takes it seriously enough. I'm like, this is an important job.
00:43:19
Speaker
That's really funny. um So I managed the timer. um i I feel like I drag him into a lot because the first dopey that I wanted to do, I broke my hip, but obviously he didn't break his hip. So he still had to do dopey. And again, it was on his birthday. So he ran dopey by himself on his birthday. Oh, gosh, that's funny. That's his first experience. um And then I obviously wanted to do it. And so he did it a second time with me. And then we just ran off the full, this past marathon weekend. um But yeah, it works out really well. But to his credit, I think, one, he's figured out how to pace.
00:43:52
Speaker
And he can pace all different pace groups and all different paces. like amounts but he's done I think some concentrated work and training to make sure that he can be in pace with me without pushing me unintentionally because he his natural gait is just it's a different gait than mine um fundamentally He's also the dynamics of being on the course. I just focus on me. i don't focus on trying to be the two of us together. So if I get squeezed out or we're in a pinch point, I just I don't have to try and also be keep an awareness of him. I just let us get separated because I know that he has the ability to turn on the rocket boots and he will come find me. yeah You know what mean? So like I don't don't have to stress about that. Yeah. Sometimes we have things where if we're coming up on a water stop and there's clearance, he'll run ahead because he can get there faster and he'll go ahead and get the water and then have it ready for us.
00:44:50
Speaker
He's the designated pack mule, so he always has the vest on him and then all of our fuel is in the vest. Yes. There are a lot of advantages to running with Nick. I like Nick. I'd like to have a Nick in my running party.
00:45:03
Speaker
He's very much on-course support. like He carries all the food. He has extra water. he has the electrolytes. That's amazing. He's fighting things. Yeah, yeah, yeah. so yeah So if you're not married to an amazing Nick like that, like what's, what's, what's something that we just need to be aware of, right? like Like any conversations you need to have as married people or whatever, like if, if, you know, maybe it's your first time, like you don't, you don't have all these wonderful things that Nick does for you, right? Like you're going into your first half marathon together. Thought, any thoughts?
00:45:30
Speaker
I've always wondered or not wondered, but like I feel like it has to be difficult if you're married with kids because there's that added element of who's going to watch the kids get them to spectate if one of the spouses is running. Like how is the other one handling all of that and how are they wrangling the kids and making sure mom or dad gets enough sleep like that dynamic, I think, is probably requires a lot of communication and a lot of coordination to figure out what that's going to look like. um And i don't think it's uncommon to have a whole family there when you're running the race. You know, you're going to Disney. Why wouldn't you bring the kids? Right.
00:46:06
Speaker
I know a lot of families do. um If you're running together and it's just the spouses, I think there's a lot a lot of the same stuff. Like, how are we going to handle the sleeping situation? Obviously, you have when you sleep at home.
00:46:20
Speaker
so presumably, you know, if you all sleep at the sound machine or you do whatever you do. But like, is there differences in the lights out time? Are there certain parts things that one spouse wants to do and the others don't? Because you don't want to be like fighting with your spouse when the other person's like, I'm ready to go bed. And the other one's like, we haven't gotten to Mexico yet. Like, why are we in the house? You know, um just again, you don't want to realize that like, oh, we are not on the same page the night before the race, you know. yeah I think it's mostly just having an agreement of what that vacation is going to look like. Yeah. um
00:46:53
Speaker
Also, what's the purpose of the race? Are you wanting to see characters? Are you wanting to PR? Like, what is it? Because if one spouse is faster, especially like when I go for PRs, I'm like, Nick, no matter how much I complain, no matter how much I want to slow down, no matter how much I tell you, like, I'm not worried about the PR today. like, this isn't it's fine. You're setting the pace. Don't let me slow down. You're you're in like speed mode. okay yeah Yes.
00:47:19
Speaker
<unk> I'm not the best at like pushing myself. I'm very good at walking in and I will walk in at that pace, yeah but I'm not great at like pushing beyond that. That's where he's really good. And that's something that like only he could do. If somebody else tried to tell me to go faster at like L20 on a marathon, we'd be thrown down. So like there's doesn't need a person for that. Yeah, totally. Erica and I have good, clear communication, but it's a little bit of the opposite of that where Erica would just tell me exactly what it is that she does or does not want. She would literally be like, stop talking to me. And I'm like, that's great. Like, just tell me. Yeah. There's been times where be like, you know, we'll get to like the choir whatever. And I'm like, do not tell me we're almost there. We are not almost there. Like do not try to make me run faster. Yeah. What we've done, what we do which works pretty well because AJ runs faster than I do, is that we'll do for every race, we usually do a challenge. And so like, we'll, we'll run together for one and then he'll PR for the other ones. Like we'll run together for one race and separate for the other. So that is such a real thing about not just spouses, friends, too. But so I did the solo marathon and it's the first time I've done only one race at Disney because it's such a Disney
Solo vs. Multiple Races
00:48:32
Speaker
thing. Right. And I was like, everything was harder outside of the race itself. Like, yes, I wasn't running as many races, but I was like, well, what's the costume going to be? Because it's not like you can just, oh, well, we'll do this for the 5K and this for the 10. You get one, one costume. What's going to be? Yeah. You know.
00:48:46
Speaker
You get one race. Are you going to do the characters or the PR? Are you going ride Everest? It's you. I feel like when you're doing multiple races, you can kind of spread out in tensions. So it's easier to say with a friend, OK, we'll run together and we'll do the 10K and we'll have photos. And then on the half, I'm doing my own thing and I'm off to the races. Right. Yeah. And there's something about the challenge that makes those conversations easier that ah solo race doesn't. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We're, um, we're recording this early. So this week is marathon, right? So this will be our first only one race in a weekend for been a very long time. yeah And I, I didn't, i hadn't been able to verbalize it like you just did, but I do, I have like all these things I want out of one race. yeah And it's hard, too, because a lot of times they'll do similar characters across the multiple races. yeah So say, hey, if we see such and such character, I want to stop for it. Great. You saw it on 10K. You don't have to stop for it on the half. right It allows you to get everything you want out of the race weekend, which is an unintended bonus to...
00:49:45
Speaker
doing all the challenges. See, I can justify everything with front Disney. Look, she's like, might not might as well just stay at the Polynesian. Might as well. saying, like, when we plan, like, our next big anniversary trip, I'm going to call Amanda, have her, like, be a part of the Zoom call, like, and she's going to convince you that we should do some massive, amazing Disney trip. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:50:03
Speaker
One of my favorite things is like the splurges. What is the reward, the Disney reward for Dopey? Because we've done every add-on. like We've done every tour. We've done every dinner. I have a um totally unscripted, but I'm dying to ask you Dopey question because we've never done Dopey.
00:50:18
Speaker
So the most we've ever done is like springtime surprise and like getting up three mornings in a row. That was terrible. And I'm like, I don't want to do that anymore. So to me, the worst thing about doing dopey would be getting up four mornings in a row. Is that harder or is it like the distance? Because it clearly, i mean, you're running so many miles, but what's harder?
00:50:37
Speaker
The sleep de deprivation. i It's real. Yeah. and Four days in a row is significant. Yeah. Because it's because you train for the mileage. You don't train for no sleep. Right. Right. You know what I mean? Yes. Right.
00:50:49
Speaker
I have so many strong feelings. So my first marathon was dopey and it felt like a controversial decision because so many people are like your first marathon needs to be a standalone marathon.
00:50:59
Speaker
And now that I've done both, I i think that you should go for dopey in most cases. You get the whole magic of the weekend. You have multiple races to spread out all your different race goals. I think the biggest reasons for not doing dopey are what you just said. You don't want to get up four days in a row. yeah and And that sleep is going to impact your ability for the marathon 100%.
00:51:25
Speaker
Or taking that much time off from work. yeah Yeah. Like those are all very, very valid reasons. Those are the reasons I did the solo marathon, past marathon weekend. I really wanted to see what I could do at the marathon distance. I wanted to focus on it. I wanted to take the money and go on a cruise afterwards. Yes.
00:51:42
Speaker
There was a lot there. Yes. I'd say it's like half. Half of the difficulty with Dopey is the the four morning wake up. Yeah. Yeah. We liked Goofy, you know, because it was two, you know, and and and it felt like a challenge without being like brutal on us. But maybe Dopey one day. Erica? No? We'll see. Okay. Amanda may talk me into it. It sounds like she could talk you into anything. I feel like Goofy doesn't get enough love because, you know what I mean, the dopey is the big challenge. But it's so much fun. You you show up. The whole weekend's about you. Everyone's excited. The five-take costumes are, like, utterly insane. Right. They've had six months of training, and this is the costume they're going all out for because they have to have the boring costume and the marathon, right? Right. So, yeah, it's it's a lot of fun. It's worth doing at least once.
Pre-Race Activities and Focus
00:52:30
Speaker
But the four wake-ups, that's lot. Train for that, too. Yeah. Um, let's wrap this up, uh, in terms of just our topic was running with friends, anything else like for the, imagine the new runner that's never done run Disney that her and her best friend said, Oh my gosh, we should totally do a half marathon. You know what i mean? And then we're going to stay in the same hotel room and we're going to go to Disney together. Like any last minute advice for that first timer. This is going to be so controversial. Don't do the parks.
00:52:55
Speaker
Ooh. Don't do the parks or limit your park time. I think that if you're a brand new runner and you're genuinely new to run Disney or you're new to Disney in general, you pay but like a thousand dollars, depending on how many days you're doing between the two of you. Yeah. you know Yeah. I feel like you have to get your money out of it. And that's that's fair. Like, you know, when you're saying I want to do this race and I've done it. And then you have a friend and you've both put so much money into this to see the parks. Yeah. You're in the park and then you have this stress of I want to be here and enjoy it, but I want to get back into the room. And because I want to get back into the room for this race, I can't enjoy the park that I'm in right now. Yeah.
00:53:32
Speaker
It can kind of put more of a damper on it than you thought would think it would. And the resorts in Disney Spring are great. Like, it's not like if you don't do the parks, you're not going to have fun. Plan resort days and you can go to Disney Springs during like the 5 and 10K. Have a great time. Like thinking of Princess Weekend, if you were to do all three, right?
00:53:52
Speaker
You could do resort days 5, Enjoy the pool, the hot tubs, do a spa and then run the race and do the parks afterwards and kind of put the vacation portion of this to the back end. Right. Where you're on the high, you're having fun, you have your medals, you're taking the photos, and you can enjoy the parks without worrying about how much time you have on feet, what time you need to get back to the hotel room, yeah all of that.
00:54:16
Speaker
I totally, totally agree. I'm going agree with you 95% of the way. I knew this was coming. Because our podcast listeners know that Erica and I hate Disney Springs more than anything else. And so I see your face, but we they know we just do not like it. we There's nothing about Disney Springs except for Gideon's cookies that we like. And so I'm going to... There's like a couple of things that I like about Disney Springs. like Some of the stores. it's For me, it's just that there's a lot of people and I feel very overwhelmed and like, I don't know, sensory overload or something. Sensory overload, that's for sure. So like Wine Bar George, little balcony. It's right over the open music. Yes. And like have some of the best food, best wine, cocktails, whatever it is. Okay.
00:54:59
Speaker
Non-alcohol if you're running. Yeah. I think you have the live music and you're above all the people. You're not peopled out. Like you're you're in your little bubble. Maybe we need to do that. We've never been to a wine bar, George. we Maybe we need to do that. And then Boathouse, if you're outside, yeah those peoples are usually spread out and they're out on the water and you can see everything. And then the Cirque du Soleil show, if you're trying to stay off your feet, need like air conditioning and yeah out of the weather, that one's good.
00:55:21
Speaker
Gideon's Cookies is also pretty good. Yeah. If you're willing to wait in line, yeah. Well, the key is you go, you put your name on the list, you eat brunch at Weimar George, and by the time brunch is over, you pick your cookies up on the way out. Look, there's a reason that i that I follow everything you say on Instagram. right There's literally a reason. That's so smart. yes That's so smart.
00:55:40
Speaker
Oh, man. Okay. So Amanda, thanks for giving us some tips on running with friends. We really appreciate that. Erica and I wrap up the episode. We always talk like run Disney news or whatever. Do you want to stick around as we talk through a couple things or or or we can let you go? It's up to you.
00:55:54
Speaker
I'm to stick around if you'll have me. Yep. Five five minutes where you got a couple of things on our list. This is, again, we're recording the week before Marathon Weekend. Everyone will hear this couple weeks later. So everyone has their Brooks shoes already. If they bought them, they have them. But in terms of recording with you, what are your impressions or thoughts on the shoes that got announced for Marathon Weekend? Any thoughts?
00:56:13
Speaker
I am shocked there's not a Dobie shoe. OK. Yeah. Like, Dobie is such a, it's the big challenge. It's the marquee event. People already put stupid money in. Yeah. yeah Unlikely to do it again. Most people, I think, go into Dobie thinking, like, this is my one big hurrah. um I know people do multiple dopies, but like and once you do dopey, you are entitled to dopey merch for the rest of your life. That is what you get for doing dopey. So I cannot believe they did not do dopey show.
00:56:44
Speaker
That really, really surprised me. um Do you think it has anything to do with run Disney, like whatever, holding back the dopey merchandise for only dopey runners? You know what i mean? On the first day, like that's new. Like, do you think that has anything to do with it No, I think not because it's Brooks. um okay yeah And it's not even like the run Disney thing.
00:57:04
Speaker
I'm glad they're holding back the merch for Dopey Runners. i think it's frustrating when you train so much and you're doing all the races and you don't get a shot to buy the merch. So I'm glad to see that policy change. I think that was much needed and definitely came from them listening to feedback. Totally. In terms of the shoes, I, so Chip and Dale are my favorite.
00:57:23
Speaker
So I love that there's Chip and Dale shoes. I think Mickey shoe this time around is actually cuter than the last Mickey shoe. Okay. Yeah. So I like the new Mickey shoe. I'm just really surprised there's not a dopey shoe. And I wonder if they're going to cycle through, like if there are weekends, they're going to kind of run like, we'll see a Donald shoe and we'll see a goofy shoe and they're going to kind of like get to it eventually kind of um thing. Yeah. If you could buy one pair right now and have it shipped to your house, which one are you choosing?
00:57:48
Speaker
Oh, I'm already trying to figure out how to get Chip and Dale. Oh, got it. You guys spies on the inside trying to get you hooked up. I fly to Miami tomorrow to take a Disney cruise. Yeah.
00:58:00
Speaker
So we're doing a Disney cruise instead of marathon weekend. yeah And I'm like, how far is Miami from Orlando? Like, could I get- Hey, that bright line, that's ah like a three-hour trip. Right line all the way there. Grab the shoes. yeah Make the turn around. That's so funny. Oh, man. Okay. So um in other news, do you have any thoughts on Disneyland taking a break again?
00:58:19
Speaker
my goodness. So i obviously it's the Disney Forward Project, I think, is what's pushing it, right? All of the construction that's out there. I was surprised they brought Disneyland back just to take it off the table again so soon.
Future of Disneyland Races
00:58:31
Speaker
Right. Yeah.
00:58:32
Speaker
It was like a hot second. I don't know if they were kind of just like testing interest or where that came from. um Or maybe the just the Disneyland Ford was a, maybe it wasn't as certain as they thought it was until it came through.
00:58:44
Speaker
who This is, again, controversial opinions. I hope Disneyland comes back, obviously. It'll have to come back, I think, after a lot of the construction is done for Disneyland Ford. I question if they should keep the half marathon distance or if they shouldn't cut it down and have unique race distances out to Disneyland that don't spend so much time in Anaheim.
00:59:05
Speaker
Yes. we would agree. A thousand percent. I support that. And I think the 5K is like incredible. You start on Main Street and it picks our pier, but could yeah have a better route. 10K mostly in parks, also incredible. I think you could probably inch up to a 10 miler potentially. Have some outside areas, especially what it expands with Disneyland Ford. Yeah. But I feel like trying to enforce that half distance becomes difficult because the only time, like people do that half. And I hear it from like the people in the community all the time. They do the half for the coast to coast and then they never have any interest in doing that. Totally. Totally. i was us yeah And then it becomes difficult to sell what's your largest capacity race. So you're, you have these two small capacity races, a large one that doesn't sell. yeah yes
00:59:52
Speaker
So I think that they need to, to make up their own thing. And I don't think they need to figure out or, Or I don't think they need to follow the East Coast Walt Disney World model. Like they can make own distances. They can do their own challenge. Like they could do a three race challenge like springtime surprise. They could have a completely different theme. Like I don't i don't think they have to follow the 5K, 10K half challenge model. Right.
01:00:16
Speaker
Yeah. It, you know, it's a, it's
Amanda's Online Presence
01:00:17
Speaker
a local, more of a locals park, right? Like just as an, as a theme park. So it could be more of a locals race because you know, chances we're in Atlanta, right? So like the chances of us flying out there for a five k or 10k is pretty low, but the half also wasn't great. So yeah I don't know, maybe yeah less races or small, shorter. I don't know. I don't know. All right. I'm with you though. Yeah. Cool. Awesome. Those are only kind of things that are coming up news wise or whatever. Thanks for being on the podcast. We really, really, really appreciate you coming on.
01:00:44
Speaker
For friends that that that aren't already following Once Upon a Marathon on on Instagram, or it's mostly Instagram. That's where you're mostly active. That's where I see it anyway. Is there anything else that we're missing? No, right now it's just Instagram. I'm thinking about doing TikTok in 2026, but we'll see. Okay. But if nothing else, follow Amanda Once Upon a Marathon on Instagram. I know you've got training plans and things on the website too. Those are super awesome. So make sure that you're following all those things. I mean, it's just so valuable. If nothing else, just get the bathroom maps. you know i mean I feel like even if people don't think they're already following you, Amanda, probably they've already seen all of your information. I know. It's shared like a thousand levels deep. It's like the Kevin Bacon thing. Right. Yes. You know what I mean?
01:01:22
Speaker
It's funny because I see all the metrics on the post and people like them, but then I see like the sit, but the number of people who have sent the Yes. Yes. Yes. Be sure to follow Amanda on all those things. Awesome. Thanks
Episode Conclusion and Gratitude
01:01:35
Speaker
so much, Amanda, for joining us today. Friends, thanks for joining us on this week's episode of the podcast. We're so excited that you've decided to join us on this adventure. This is season two, so we'll figure out what season two involves. But thanks so much for joining us, and we'll catch you next week for another episode of One More Run.
01:01:55
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 at AJandErica.com.