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Ep 21 - All things runDisney expo
167 Plays2 days ago
Welcome back friends! This week, we’re diving deep into one of the overlooked parts of a runDisney race weekend — the Health & Fitness Expo. We walk through exactly what it feels like to be there, what you have to do, what you might want to do, and how to make the whole experience smoother, less overwhelming, and a lot more fun.
We share our personal routines, the order we like to do things, how to handle the runDisney merchandise rush, and the tips we wish we had known on our very first expo visit. If you’re gearing up for your first runDisney weekend or just looking to make your next one easier, we’ve got you covered.
We also talk about something brand new to us — the Hollerhype app and the Rise & Run community that helped us fall in love with it INSTANTLY. Spoiler: it surprised both of us in the best way.
If you’re training for an upcoming race, running your first runDisney event, or just love the energy of race weekends, we can’t wait to share this one with you.
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Goals
00:00:00
Speaker
The Run Disney Expo feels like the official kickoff to a race weekend. It's not just the place you have to go to pick up your race bib and your Run Disney merchandise. It's also the place where the excitement of race weekend really ramps up.
00:00:20
Speaker
hey everyone, welcome to episode number 21 of the One More Run podcast. My name is AJ. This is Erica. And, oh, Erica, say hi for audio. Hi. We are married. We run Disney. We've done 20 episodes of this podcast so far, and we're having a great time doing it.
00:00:36
Speaker
If you're new here, just know that our goal here is to encourage you and anybody really to do things they maybe didn't think they could do. yeah And in our scenario, that is run a marathon. That's right. remember a time when we thought there was no way we could run um marathon. Mm-hmm. And if you're there right now, okay, we're we understand. yeah But we're also trying to give you some tips, tricks, all the things um because you can do it.
00:00:58
Speaker
Yeah. Whatever that hard thing you're doing is. And if it's running, then we totally get it. Erica, this is episode 21. Yep. ye What's been your favorite part of like this whole process? We're 20 episodes, you know, we've already done 20. Yeah. What's been your favorite thing or things so far
00:01:15
Speaker
I think I just really enjoy doing this
Listener Feedback and Community Building
00:01:17
Speaker
together. It's a fun thing to look forward to um And I really love when our friends, whether like friends that we know already or new friends reach out and tell us you know, something that they heard that was encouraging to them or helpful.
00:01:30
Speaker
Cause that's really the goal of why we do this. And so to know that it's helpful is great. it's good yeah 100 it's it surprises me every time when someone makes a comment like oh this was so helpful thank you and that like is i don't know lifts me up a little bit that like hey know it's kind of silly podcast you and i joke around a lot but like this is helping somebody totally get to the start line yeah hopefully the finish line that's right it's been tons of fun you have something different besides for that No, I think that's it. I do enjoy doing this together.
00:02:00
Speaker
um dear I love that you said that. I like that um this is like ah a way that we can share helpful information, but do it it in a way that's natural to us. So like just having these conversations, disagreeing sometimes right is okay, in my opinion, like in this format.
00:02:16
Speaker
And I think that you're a different kind of runner than I am. I'm a different kind of runner than someone else. And we can just share yeah what's worked for us, what's not worked for us. And if someone can get something valuable out of it, like that's great.
00:02:28
Speaker
But I love that we can be us in this format. So I think that's probably been my favorite thing in the first 20 episodes. Yeah. We have some reviews that people have left us on Apple Podcasts. It's like my favorite thing ever yeah when new ones come in.
00:02:40
Speaker
And I thought maybe we could double dip this week. Okay, perfect. And read two because that we got two and you know two in a row that were they were shorter, right? Which is good because they're still awesome and helpful. But I thought let's just double dip and do two. So do you mind reading them? Totally.
00:02:55
Speaker
So the first one that we're going to read is from Ruth 1969. AJ and Erica have great energy and provide really helpful tips, especially for run Disney runners. That was very sweet. That goes in line with what we were just talking about. Yeah.
00:03:09
Speaker
You know, like it's it's helpful, which to me is the whole point. Yeah, exactly. Okay. And oh we got another one Yep. The next one. i love this. It's from somebody called I am a pumpkin donut.
00:03:20
Speaker
I would love to know the story behind that. I know. Where that came from. That made me smile when I saw that. um Question, have you ever had a pumpkin donut? Yes. I don't know that I ever have. I mean, it's been a few years, but super delicious. Okay. Yeah. um Hers is titled Experience from the Experienced.
00:03:36
Speaker
And it says, running my first Wren Disney event at Walt Disney World in April as I celebrate 60 years. That's awesome, by the way. Wow. Yes. Wow. ah Very informative podcast, not just about Run Disney events, but running in general.
00:03:49
Speaker
Thanks. That is so exciting that she is running for her birthday. I would love to be 60 and running marathon. That's amazing. Yep. Awesome. I am a pumpkin donut.
00:04:01
Speaker
Good luck. It makes me a little hungry right Awesome. Thanks for leaving us a review. If you leave us a review and send me an email at hello at ajanderica.com, send me an email, say, Hey, I sent you a review or whatever.
00:04:15
Speaker
I will send you some stickers. I'll mail them to you. Right. We've got some podcast stickers. I will need your mailing address. I promise not to do anything weird with it. Um, but if you're comfortable with that and you want some podcast stickers, I'll send them to you. Uh, just do us a solid, and leave us a review.
00:04:28
Speaker
Perfect. We'd appreciate that. Now, coming up, Erica, in the next couple of weeks, we have next week is we're going to talk
Upcoming Episodes and Topics
00:04:35
Speaker
transportation. ok So today we're talking about the expo and all the things around the expo. And yeah we get a little detailed on this stuff, right? Because we want people to feel confident going in. So some of this stuff isn't like on the website.
00:04:46
Speaker
Right. So we're going to do the same thing with transportation. Okay. That'll be next week. And then the week after, I'm actually pretty excited about, um hopefully you're on board with this, is we're going to break down like what a race weekend is like for us, like in detail, like timeline.
00:05:01
Speaker
Perfect. So like we always say stuff like, yeah, the day before your race, don't overdo it. You know, spend take some time off your feet. Well, what does that actually mean for AJ and Erica? Right?
00:05:11
Speaker
We go to the pool. How long do we do that? Do we go to the park at all? What time are we in the hotel room prepping our race stuff? What time do we go to bed? What time do we set our alarm for the next morning? Because we always say, oh, you got to get up so early. Well, what does that actually mean what time and you know can i go to the park after the race right and what time should i expect to be back at my hotel yeah right we'll tell you because we've done it 17 times yeah we're gonna cover all the nitty-gritty details right and if you're doing a chat like we'll talk about it in relation to a challenge weekend right like yeah depending on your race we've done them all yeah so we're gonna we're gonna break it down that way awesome that'll be fun i think it'll be fun yeah and hopefully helpful yeah it's gonna be awesome
00:05:51
Speaker
Before we get into today's topic, I want to introduce you to something that I just
Discovering and Using the Holler Hype App
00:05:56
Speaker
discovered. Yeah. I was listening to the Rise and Run podcast the other day, and they were talking about this app called Holler Hype.
00:06:03
Speaker
And they had talked about it like months ago. And when they first described, and they had like the fact the creator on whatever, when they first described it, I was like, okay, that's wonderful. And I like totally said, that's not for me.
00:06:16
Speaker
And then they talked about it again and they were talking about like the numbers of people that have like signed up to started using it. And I'm like, well, dang, like if that many people like it, maybe I should at least just download it. Yeah.
00:06:27
Speaker
See what it is and then then dismiss it. Yeah. Right. So I downloaded the Hollerhype app and I've had like the most fun 24 hours with this app. Yeah.
00:06:38
Speaker
That I had to tell you about it. Okay. And you haven't seen this yet, right? I not, no. Authentically, you don't know anything about it, right? No. So i I just want to take like three minutes of the podcast to tell you about it, show you how it works, and and then you can like, well, I guess if you don't like it, that's fine. I'll do it myself.
00:06:54
Speaker
But I think it's something you might like. Okay. Being the helper that you are. Yeah. Okay. Okay. So let me describe it. Okay. The app is basically, I mean it's very simple. You can see when someone's out like on a run and the the app's not just for runners, but like you join a group.
00:07:08
Speaker
So I've joined the rise and run group, right? And there's a bunch of people in there. So someone says I'm on a run and you can send them 30 second audio messages that immediately like goes in their headphones or whatever. They don't have to do anything.
00:07:22
Speaker
Right. right they're They don't have to like log in and like hit play or anything. Like it just plays. Right? This is totally my jam. Which you can imagine why it's not my jam.
00:07:33
Speaker
Yeah. So I tried it. Yeah. And I sent a few hypes. That's what they're called. I sent a few hypes on Friday night too, actually. And it's very awkward for me.
00:07:43
Speaker
You know, i'm like, oh, hey, ah like this is a j and i'm I hope you're having a good run. gosh. Like that is how it went, right? Yeah. That's how it went. Okay. So then the next day, Saturday, have a 14 mile run. i'm like, all right, if I'm going to give this app a try, now I have to be on the receiving end. Right. Right.
00:08:01
Speaker
So like when I sent those hypes, I get no response. Right. Right. Like you can't like, you can't subscribe, you can't anything. Yeah. It's just to this person that said they were on a run. Uh-huh. Right. Uh-huh. So this guy, Steve, was on a 12-mile run. He said he was going to get it done on Friday night so he didn't have to do it Saturday. So I said, hey, great job, Steve.
00:08:18
Speaker
Hope you had a good run. Yeah. That was it. Uh-huh. Right. So now I'm on my run. Yeah. And i ah go live and I'm like, okay, we'll see what happens. I'm running half a mile in. Uh-huh.
00:08:28
Speaker
All of a sudden, someone talks in my ear, right? My music dips automatically, and I don't remember what she said, but hey, great job, AJ, getting out there, doing your run this morning. Hope it goes well. Hope the weather's treating you good. Oh my gosh, this is awesome. Or something, right? Something to that effect. And I'm like, I'm only half a mile in. I'm like,
00:08:44
Speaker
wow that was awesome that was really great i really enjoyed that right so then i start running i forget about it yeah completely forget about it because i just start my music back you know and i just keep going and like a mile and a half in someone else chimes in and they say aj getting 14 miles done today huh whatever and i'm like having to hold back my like enthusiasm for running right because i'm like Wow, that was pretty awesome. Yeah. Right? And so I'll share a story about Steve in a minute.
00:09:13
Speaker
Okay. So I told you Steve. Yeah. I'll share that in a minute. But I wanted to show you the app. Okay. Because I thought you might like it in like conceptual whatever. But I just like, I want to show you briefly how it works. Okay. Okay. So bottom line, holler hype, got go live right here. okay So this is where you just literally hit get going. Okay. And you say your status, right? Like yesterday i said, 14 mile run, wish I was sleeping instead.
00:09:34
Speaker
Right. And that's how everybody knew I was doing 14 miles and they would send whatever. So then like that's if you're going on a run, if you're if you're at home right now. Yeah. Right. You see all the people that are out there doing their thing right now. Yeah. Right. So then you can literally tap on one like ah Morgan.
00:09:53
Speaker
Let's see. Morgan is 15 easy miles on the schedule today. Let's do it. So you click on Morgan and you can see that she's an hour and a half, hour and 20 minutes in seven miles. Right.
00:10:04
Speaker
So she is like halfway through. So going to send her a hype. Okay. Are you ready? Mm Hey Morgan, way to get out there and get that 15 miles done today. Good thing it's an easy one. Hopefully you're having a good time. Looks like the weather's pretty good for you too. You're about halfway, so just keep pushing. You got it. Okay. It gives you the option huh to replay or record. I did not like what I said. I was not very enthusiastic.
00:10:27
Speaker
So going to replay it, right? were wait and get Yeah, I stumbled. So I'm to rerecord it. Okay. And this one, I'm actually going send her. You ready? Okay. Hey, Morgan, this is AJ from Atlanta.
00:10:38
Speaker
Way to get out there and get that 15 miles done today. Glad it's an easy one. Of course, is 15 miles ever easy? I don't know. Looks like you're about halfway. Good job. Keep pushing. You got it.
00:10:49
Speaker
Much better. Then I hit send. Now Morgan's going to get that in a minute. That's awesome. Right? I love it. Erica, I don't know how to describe to you. Yeah. I've been addicted to this.
00:11:01
Speaker
For 24 hours. That's hilarious. Right? So we're in i'm I'm in the Rise and Run group, which we've always said. Like Rise and Run community is like a whole, mean, it's amazing. There's no, you can make your own groups, you can whatever.
00:11:13
Speaker
yeah No interest in that. For me, there's hundreds, thousands, I don't know, of runners in here that I know are most likely Disney runners. Right, yeah. And let me see how many I've sent so far.
00:11:24
Speaker
Hold on. I can see that. You're becoming a two. I can see that. 25 i've sent 25 oh my gosh can you imagine me sending 25 of these hikes all right so you want to hear one sure you know it saves all of your hypes yes so i'll play one from yesterday you want to hear or you're not interested yeah i know i want to hear it all right let's see here so these are the ones that i've sent and gotten so let me go back to my run yesterday let's see here this one's from debbie Ha ha, AJ, that is awesome. This is Debbie from North Carolina and your Rise and Run family. But today I'm coming at you live from South Carolina, where I'm with the family on vacation just outside of Charleston. You are out and missing your warm bed. But you know what?
00:12:01
Speaker
You're going to glad you got out there and did it. And I am so proud of you. So let's go, AJ. You got this. Happy Saturday. Happy you running. Let's go, let's go, let's go. That's awesome. Right? That's so cool. So here's what I love. I don't have to do anything to hear that, but I also have no obligation to to like, subscribe, comment. Yeah.
00:12:20
Speaker
Debbie did that for me because she wanted to motivate me. Right. I've done 25 of them for the people because I just want them to feel encouraged, right? Yeah. It's amazing. That's so cool.
00:12:32
Speaker
So I have a technical question. Yeah. After it plays in your ear, does your music start playing again or do you have to like restart it It's one of the quirks that I wish, and maybe they'll figure it out or whatever. You have to start your music back up, and right? So all I, because of my headphones have the, yours probably do too, right? Yeah. You tap it and it keeps going. yeah You just have to reach up and tap and Oh, okay. Cool. Does that make sense? Yeah. So it's not like hard. You don't have to pull the app out, right you know, and do all that, whatever.
00:12:56
Speaker
So somebody this morning had, they set their status with a question. And I thought that was awesome. It was like, what's your favorite run Disney memory or something like that. Oh, fun. That was their status. yeah So they said, I'm doing, they're like 20 miles. don't Don't be training today.
00:13:11
Speaker
You know, entertain me. What's your favorite, whatever memory. Yeah. And so I said, told her you only get 30 seconds. So you can't ramble on and on Right. But man, it was awesome. That's so cool. Isn't this awesome? That's awesome. I need to download this immediately.
00:13:24
Speaker
Yeah. So you, the two, the helper, I thought you might like it. Oh yeah. Okay. So I think I told you pretty much how to, how to do it. Bottom line is you hit this go live when you do it. It's really easy. Like you set your status. So you type whatever you're doing, you know, like, uh, 15 miles, uh, it's freezing.
00:13:43
Speaker
I want to go home. You know, whatever your status is. right And you can like choose a vibe or something like that. like yeah Then you hit set status. And then you have the choice at this point, like, do you want to show your mileage and all that stuff?
00:13:56
Speaker
But you select your groups, right? So rise and run. and You set your group and then you just say, do you want to show your distance and the weather and all that stuff? Yes or no Hit go live. Boom. That's it. Isn't that cool? Yep. So it's my new discovery. Can I tell you my story about Steve?
00:14:10
Speaker
Sure. Yes. Actually, i don't think Steve would mind. I'm going to play Steve's. Okay. Let's see if you can hear this this. This made my day, and this was not what I intended to do in any way, right? I just said, hey, it's AJ from Atlanta. Yeah. Right? like i just That was all I did.
00:14:24
Speaker
Anyway, this this is Steve. Hey, AJ, Steve from New York. Way to get out there in that 14-miler today. Hopefully you got good weather to get up early, get that run done. I appreciate the hype you sent yesterday while I was out in my 12-miler.
00:14:36
Speaker
And, yes, I was able to sleep in as a result of that. Funny story, as I got your hype, it didn't really click. I was actually running and listening to your podcast since I had already completed Rise and Run.
00:14:47
Speaker
Love the podcast. Good luck in your training session. Thanks for the hypes. That is awesome. I know. I have no idea who Steve That's so cool. He was listening to the podcast? He was listening to our podcast and my voice came in his ear.
00:15:02
Speaker
He's like, wait, wasn't I just listening to this dude? Right. He said it took him a minute to click. I'm sure that was super confusing. That is hilarious and awesome. I know. I know. That's so cool. But again, I keep saying this, but like what I love is that I like, I don't know Steve or whatever, yeah but like that was like a naturally occurring moment. He wasn't a subscriber. I can't even go thank him yeah for listening to the podcast. You know i mean?
00:15:26
Speaker
That's so crazy. But I am saying it now. So thanks, Steve, for listening to the podcast. That's cool. my gosh. Okay. All right. So now we actually have to get on to the podcast. But I had to show you that app because it's so awesome. The app is cool, but then obviously it's a rise and run thing, right? yeah Like what's making it so good?
00:15:44
Speaker
the The app is awesome and amazing. The technology is cool. It's the platform, though, that rise and run has brought. tons of people into you yeah and it's i mean i'm telling you i feel encouraged and it is encouraging so like when i do the atlanta half next week yeah during thanksgiving i'm turning that on oh yeah while i'm running the half marathon i don't think i'll do it at disney you know what i mean because there's enough going on and i don't want to be trying to hype and get you know whatever but like doing a hard race like the atlanta half marathon whatever like i'll turn it on here yeah Here's my bottom line.
00:16:12
Speaker
It feels like, you know, those spectators that are like next level at a Disney race and they say your name. Yes. That is what this feels like. That's so awesome. When you're at home.
00:16:23
Speaker
Yeah. And it's, I mean, there's, you know, it's encouraging to have your, you know, your mom text you and say, have a great race today or have a great run. right. But then people who don't know Random stranger, AJ, I'm so proud of you. Yeah.
00:16:34
Speaker
Right. That's awesome. I knew you would love it. all right, so we got to get down to today's topic, but that's the Holler Hype app. I am in love with it
The Run Disney Expo Experience
00:16:45
Speaker
it. So today we are going to talk about the Health and Fitness Expo. And the Expo is basically your pre-race day stop where going to pick up all the stuff you need, shop some of the vendors, get photos taken, buy around Disney merch, and get pumped for race day.
00:17:00
Speaker
That's right. All races, i think, have them. yeah Unless it's like a super small local race whatever. But even then, like they have some form of this. They might call it packet pickup. yeah You might hurt hear it called that thing.
00:17:11
Speaker
It really is an expo though. Like it's a big, big thing here. So let's describe what it's like. Right. Like we'll describe all the things that has and all that, but what is it like? Like you arrive, you get off the bus or you get out of your car and you walk up to this giant complex, right? What's it like in your opinion?
00:17:27
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Loud, high energy. Yes. Like the music's blaring when you get there. Yeah. Everybody's filing in the same entrance, right? There's only one way in and one way out. Yep.
00:17:38
Speaker
And people are stopping like every two seconds take photos. No doubt, because yeah anything that's got Run Disney or the theme of the race on it, like a banner or whatever, everyone's got to get their picture in front of it. right, right. right And there's tons of like sponsors and whatever around, and there's food vendors everywhere, and there's a million volunteers making sure you go the right way. Right. um And they're all smiling and happy, and they have like the clapper things, and they're waving, you know, and they're – And it's it's pretty hype. It is. um And I think what's cool about that in a good way is that like this is when you really get like your first real taste of like what the energy level of yeah the race weekend is going Because you might have gone through the airport and you're excited, but no one else is. you know, everyone else is traveling.
00:18:21
Speaker
You might get to your resort and there might be a bunch of people at your resort, but they might not all be runners. Like this is the first time where it's like, Oh, man. All runners, yeah. You know, we're yeah we're doing this now. Yeah, totally. yeah ah Perfect. So who has to go to the expo, Erica? Who is that? If you are running any race that weekend, you have to go to the expo. You got to check in. That's right. Even if you don't want to buy anything. Yeah.
00:18:43
Speaker
You've got to go to the packet pickup or the bib check-in, whatever, with your check-in pass. And if you haven't signed your waiver, you sign that, you get your pass and you get your bib. And you have to.
00:18:55
Speaker
Yeah. Like, it it's not really an option. tom I mean, I believe I've seen on Facebook, but we don't have any experience with this. We don't know anyone that's successfully done it. But I believe if your flight's like totally late and you get in at three in the morning or whatever, well, actually three get in three in the morning, the race has already started. Yeah, just right to the race, yeah. Let's say you get in at 11 o'clock at night, the expo is already closed. We have read on Facebook that people have successfully gotten their bib at the start line area.
00:19:20
Speaker
But I haven't seen that personally. So I don't want to like say, you know what, don't worry about it if you can't get to the expo, you can get there. Because Run Disney says over and over and over again yeah that the only way to get your bib is at the expo.
00:19:34
Speaker
I don't know. Can you get it at the start line? i don't know. I don't know. Well, I do not want to test it And I don't think you should either. Just make sure you get to the expo. yeah um Who can go to the expo? Yes.
00:19:46
Speaker
Anybody can go to the expo. That's right. Runners, non-runners, family members, friends, anyone can go. Yeah. You got your kids with you or whatever, and you can't leave them at the hotel. Bring them. That's no big deal. yeahp um You know who can go that I don't really... I'm not a fan of?
00:20:00
Speaker
Who is that? You know who it is, right? I do, yeah. ah You can go to the Run Disney Merch Expo or area or whatever, you know where they sell the merchandise and... not be a runner, not even be participating, you can buy some stuff and take it over to eBay or wherever you sell stuff online now and jack up the price. I know. Yeah. Don't do that. This is an opinion. This is an opinion, okay?
00:20:24
Speaker
I think that you should have a race bib yeah in order to buy Run Disney merchandise. at least maybe like the first two or three days of the expo totally and if there's something left over at the end yes then open it to the general public yeah i agree with that um and you know like if we've got family that's traveling with us or whatever like as long as there's a race bib to scan or something i feel like that would like super limit the whole like all the jackets are gone right you know what i mean especially for the first couple of days
00:20:55
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I think like the last day the expo, yeah like the last two hours or something, you you know, give everybody a chance to get there. Sure. But then after all the runners, then let the runners get the stuff because they're the ones that paid for the registration. They're doing the hard thing. Yeah. and that That's my opinion, but yeah probably not a very inclusive opinion, I guess. I don't know. It's just frustrating when people who are not running buy everything up and then and then try to jack up the price. so I know. Anyways.
00:21:23
Speaker
Well, that was a tangent. Yes. Let's talk about where the the run Disney expo is. It's held at least currently right now it's 2025 and it has been this way for quite a while. yeah It's held at the ESPN wide world of sports that is on Disney property.
00:21:39
Speaker
It's this sports complex. They got baseball fields and a basketball arena and all this stuff. And they take over, I think all the buildings yeah for this. I don't think there's anything else going on that at least not that I've seen while the expo is happening. There's no other like volleyball teams there or anything. Like they take over the whole thing. Um, so like just, we'll talk about this in a little bit about transportation, but like, you know, getting to and from it whatever, you got to take a run Disney bus or drive yourself. The Disney buses do not take you to this, this, whatever. It's not part of the normal rotation of buses, you know?
00:22:09
Speaker
So it's a little bit quote unquote out of the way. If you stay at art of animation or pop century or whatever, it's very close to those, those resorts. And most people have never been to the wide world of sports because why would you?
00:22:20
Speaker
I mean, unless your kid was playing in a sporting event or something like that, you may not have may not have been there. yeah um Just so you know, when you get there, there's three main buildings. There might be more buildings, but three big buildings. They're clearly labeled. The signs are clear, but you're going to have go to three different buildings on that campus. yeah So you're not just going into one building. If you went into one building and left, you missed two things. Yes. Do not do that. Yeah. So we'll talk about kind of what all those are in in what building, but you're going to go get your bib pickup in one building. You're going to go get your t-shirts and some third-party vendors in another building, and you're to Run Disney merchandise in another building. And the good part about that is it spreads us all out.
00:22:57
Speaker
Yep. The bad part about that is three different buildings. You've got to walk a lot. Yes. When is the expo Erica? Yes. So the expo is going to be the day before every race.
00:23:08
Speaker
So typically depending on the race weekend, this is going to be somewhere between Wednesday through Saturday. Um, so if you are running a race, you want to go to the expo at least one day before.
00:23:19
Speaker
Perfect. um if They do not have it um on, I'm laughing because we already practiced this. I told AJ he was going to have more to say and he said, I will not. I will not. I'll let you do it.
00:23:30
Speaker
ah But like for clarification um that is that there's no expo on Sunday because there's no race on Monday. Right. Which I just said. i know. i just feel the need to like repeat you, I guess. I don't know why I feel the need to say that.
00:23:46
Speaker
I literally said Wednesday through Saturday, the day before every race. Okay. Wednesday through Saturday is marathon weekend. But not Sunday. Because there's four races. Because there's no race on Monday. Because there's four races on marathon weekend, right the expo, because those races are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, the expo is well one day before each race, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
00:24:09
Speaker
Most race weekends, the expo is Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Oh my gosh. You can't help it, folks. Erica and I will be seeing a counselor after this.
00:24:21
Speaker
ah Let's talk about the hours of the expo. I'm going to say this and you can't clarify anything I say. How about that? The hours are listed in the digital events guide. They change per day.
00:24:34
Speaker
Typically, it's a 10 a.m. start time with like a dinner time stop. and They get shorter each day. So like the first day, which is like the busiest because everyone's arriving for the challenge, you know, challenge stuff and wherever and they want merchandise. and They know that that's the busiest day.
00:24:48
Speaker
It's open the longest. Check your digital event guide, but it's that first day, it's usually like 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. And then the next day, it'll be like 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Then the last day, they know that everyone's pretty much there by then. It's only open like noon to three or something way more limited.
00:25:05
Speaker
But check your digital event guide. you have any comments about that, Erica, or did I do a perfect job? I thought so. I thought so. Which day is it? That's the last day. ah Is that the day before the last race or the day of the race after the race? If somebody emails us and wants to ah clarify what days the expo is, I'm going to point to you and say, you can answer.
00:25:26
Speaker
I will. And clearly. And clearly. ah Okay. Erica, when do we like to go to the expo based off of everything we just said, right? Like, like we know that, you know, the hours and whatever, all this stuff.
00:25:39
Speaker
When do we like to go? Typically we like to go Thursday mid morning. I think that's a you like to go. Oh, you think so? It opens at 10 a.m. on Thursday, right? I will go at that time, but that's not my favorite. that's That's not my preferred time because it's busy as mess. Right. Well, that's also the busiest time, but everybody likes to go at that time.
00:26:01
Speaker
And why do they like to go at that time? There's a very clear reason. Well, there's two. There's two clear reasons why. yeah The first is because they want to know what corral they're in. That's right. And then also because they want to get the Ren Disney merch specific for that weekend. Before it sells out. Because sells out fast.
00:26:14
Speaker
Yeah. yeah That is the reason. If those two things are important to you, I say, hey, you got to fight the crowds and do it. There'll be a long line. There'll be switchbacks in a huge ballroom and you'll be switching back and forth and whatever. for You'll spend an hour in line if you go at that time.
00:26:28
Speaker
Right? If you don't want to deal with that and you don't care about the merchandise as much and you don't need to know your corral, whatever, would say- So if you're AJ. I would say wait three hours even. Yeah. You know, come after lunch. Yeah.
00:26:41
Speaker
And all of a sudden, oh, okay. You just walk right in. Totally. The switchbacks are gone. Yeah. You know. Yeah. If you don't care about merch and you're not worried about what corral you're in, then don't go first thing Thursday morning. Don't be worried about what corral in anyway, because you're going to find out soon.
00:26:55
Speaker
No, people will need to know. Okay. I see your nod. Erica, why do you need, want, or should? Like all those things. Yeah. What's the why behind the expo? So like the reason I put this question in here is because like if you've never done it before, or wherever you might be like, oh, I got to go to something. You know, yeah you might have like a, yeah you know, what's the why behind this? What's the positive spin?
00:27:17
Speaker
Yeah. So some of the things are definitely one, because you need to pick up your race bib. We talked about that. You can't race without your bib. Yep. um Two, you're going to want to get your free participant shirts. I almost laughed out loud when I said free. It's included in the price of your registration. Your $250 participant shirts.
00:27:33
Speaker
That is correct. Yes. You want to get that. um And we've talked about this before, but if it's the wrong size, you can switch that out when you're there. um The third is you might want to buy some run Disney merchandise. So they every year they have like that year's sort of general run Disney merch um that you can buy at any race weekend. And then also they have very specific race weekend themed. Yes, exactly.
00:27:55
Speaker
And now you won't see that again. yeah yeah It's that weekend and that's it. Well, you can see it again on eBay for six times the price, but yeah. Maybe the outlet store. Right. Yes. Sometimes the outlet store. Yep. Another reason you might want to go is if you need or want to buy anything from a third-party vendor. So if you forgot anything yeah um important that you need for your race, you can likely find it there. I've done Some people literally come and like ah find their costume there and buy it and then wear it that weekend. Yeah. Because there's a lot of girls selling stuff um like tutus and fun shirts and whatnot.
00:28:30
Speaker
um Some of those vendors, like it may not be a need or whatever, like we browse through like Fluffy Fizzies does the like that cream that feels really good. Yes, that's wonderful. you know, that like um helps with pain yeah stuff or whatever. yeah And so, you know, we're browsing through there, whatever. We didn't need need it, but we're like, oh my gosh, that's really great. How about those matching bathing suits we got for the Disney cruise? Those are my favorite. Random as could be, right? But there was a vendor selling these cute clothes, right? yeah So yeah whether you want to or need to, I bought a hat because I needed to. yeah i bought fuel one time because I needed to, but yeah, we bought bathing suits. That was yeah kind of random.
00:29:03
Speaker
um yeah and Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. you can buy buy buy stuff. Yeah. And you can also get free stuff. Oh, yeah. So our daughter, Taylor, who we've interviewed before on the podcast, she loves to go. KT Tape has a station. They will actually tape you up for free. Yeah. um And then there's other things like sometimes you can get free drinks like Celsius or snacks. She came walking up with a Celsius one yeah time and I'm like, where'd you get that? She's like, oh, they're handing them out over there.
00:29:28
Speaker
Yeah. And um what's the name? What's the name of that? Like um they make like the cookies and crackers and toast, you know, like. Yeah, i don't know how to say it. i don't know, badunkadoo or something like that. Badunkadoo.
00:29:40
Speaker
but It sounds like something that. Okay. Maybe I'm thinking Dunkaroos. Yeah, maybe. So they were handing they handed out like all kinds of whatever. You get stickers at some of the spots or whatever. Oh, yeah. You get your free tattoos, which you love to probably wear. Mickey Mouse. Yeah. Yeah, you get your tattoos.
00:29:55
Speaker
So there's a bunch of just, you know they'll all hand out free samples of stuff or whatever. So you can get some free stuff there too. Totally. Great. Any other reasons on why you would want to go to the expo before we move on to some practical tips?
00:30:06
Speaker
I mean, like you said, it's just fun. It gets you all pumped up for the weekend. Yes. I wouldn't go over to the expo to get pumped up, but it is what happens when you get there. You know, the other thing that you can get there, which we've never used before, is if you bring family or friends to cheer you on, yeah they have banners there that you can pick up and fill out with markers Oh, you decorate them or whatever? the cheer squad.
00:30:29
Speaker
You're right. Yeah. Yeah, so there's a bunch of stuff there. Yeah. Awesome. Ready for some practical tips? Some just, hey, we've experienced the expo so many times. that Here's some advice. Let's do it. Okay. Let's talk transportation first. In my opinion, there's three ways to get there. Easiest is taking a Disney, not a Disney bus, sorry.
00:30:48
Speaker
That was a bad, bad way to say that. A run Disney bus. Yeah. They're charter buses, right? Don't take a Disney bus there. the Disney buses do not go to the go to that expo. Take a run Disney charter bus from your resort.
00:31:01
Speaker
That's the easiest way. Yes. it You do have to wait a little bit getting out of there. I will say that. like Just know that when you're ready to leave, it always seems to be a 10, 15 minute wait to leave because they're trying to fill those buses yes and be efficient with it.
00:31:14
Speaker
But it's still, to me, the easiest. Yes. They drop you right off at the front. You can also drive your own car if you want to. Parking is free. No big deal. And you can take a ride share. We actually did that one time. Do remember that? We did, yes. don't know why we did that, but we did.
00:31:29
Speaker
Other advice. Yes. Definitely wear good shoes. You're going to think that you're going to be there for like an hour. No, this always happens to us. Like three, four hours later, we're still there. We've talked to friends who have not worn good shoes and then you pay for it later. So definitely wear some good, some good shoes. My best story about that so far was last week when we had Doug and Michelle on from Rope Drop.
00:31:51
Speaker
Yeah. Rope Drop. Oh yeah. And Doug said he wore flip-flops. said he wore flip-flops because he was going to Blizzard Beach and thought just stop by real quick. Yeah, no. Yeah. He was wearing flip flops. I like that story.
00:32:02
Speaker
Great. What else do we need to know for a successful or helpful? Yeah. Experience. There are going to be some photo pass, uh, photo ops there sometimes with characters, some without characters.
00:32:13
Speaker
Um, so if you want to, you know, look cute, I've seen people before show up in their race costume so that they can get their photo in their race costume without being all sweaty. Yeah. Which we sometimes take pictures before the race as well, but we do it at our, at our resort.
00:32:28
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. That's a really good idea if you're willing to wear your race outfit for a few hours, yeah whatever, on on expo day. i say I don't, no one was going to judge you for it, I don't think. We showed up one time like in sweats, like I don't know what what we were thinking.
00:32:40
Speaker
And the pictures, I don't think were our favorite. Do you remember that? Yeah. So now we're just just a aware of like, hey, you have the opportunity to get your picture with some characters, with some run Disney signage, whatever, if you choose to.
00:32:52
Speaker
And so, you know, maybe do your hair. yeah Yeah. It looks somewhat presentable. ah You can also buy some food, drinks, things like that. They have um these carts with like um like the cider that we like. The pineapple cider is good. They've got specialty beers and whatever and and all that.
00:33:11
Speaker
There's a Wetzel pretzel. Yeah. you know They got just snack food, real food. They got all kinds of stuff. ah yeah it's It's overpriced like ah you know it would be at a sporting complex. But if you know if you're going over lunchtime and you're worried about being hungry or anything, just know they have They have food and stuff there.
00:33:27
Speaker
Or just plan on that, right? Like if you're going at 11 a.m., just plan, hey, we're going to get all our stuff, yada, yada. We'll grab lunch while we're there and then move on. So just know that they do have stuff for sale if you choose to. Perfect.
Expo Logistics and Strategies
00:33:38
Speaker
um You are going to end up with a lot of stuff to carry by the time that you leave. So um you will get you know your bib yeah and they'll try to give you safety pins if you need those. so Try to give you safety pins? Well, we use bib boards, so we know we never take them. It is funny the way you said that because they're always like, here's your pins and we don't take them, right? I feel like 90% of the runners don't take them. And they're like, here's your pins.
00:34:01
Speaker
And you're like, I'm good. And they're like, and then then the one last time as you're walking away, they always like pick them up. You sure? And they're like, do are you sure you don't need any pins? And you're like, I don't need the pins. Right. Yes. Yes. um Your participant shirt is going to be in this clear Ren Disney bag, which you will use for gear check if you so desire the day of the race.
00:34:23
Speaker
I will say that it has like these really awkward drawstring, like very long. Yeah. It's supposed to be able to like go over your back or your shoulder, but it's just awkward and hangs down by your knee a lot of the time. Yeah, you put it like on like a backpack like a sling bag. right It's like slamming against your legs the whole time.
00:34:38
Speaker
So then I like put a knot in it to try and make it shorter. And now I can't get the knot undone when I actually need to get in the bag. right right It's weird. Yeah. And then if you pre-ordered merchandise, like that'll be in a bag. And then if you buy merchandise, that'll be in another bag. So maybe like bring, don't know. then you some Wetzel pretzel. Right. And then you get your hands full. you're trying to dip it in the cheese.
00:34:57
Speaker
So maybe bring like a backpack or just- you allowed to? Yeah. Yeah, totally. There's no like security. i mean, they have security checkpoints or like a- They have a little bag, you know, the stick and they check.
00:35:09
Speaker
They do? Yeah. As you're going into the expo building. Yes. um Normally we don't have bags. So that's why- That's why I didn't notice it. Okay. But yeah, ah you might you might just want to bring a more comfortable hands-free bag if you- I literally feel like when I leave, I'm like, I need a wagon.
00:35:24
Speaker
Yeah. and know yeah It's weird how that happens. ah What's the order in which we do things, Erica? Like we go on, we get off the bus, we start walking up the main aisle way, we see the big ESPN ball, you know, thing. And then the big banner that says the race and we walk under, what's the order that we do things?
00:35:43
Speaker
So I'm gonna say it probably depends on the weekend. okay The first two may be interchangeable depending on the race weekend. yeah But we're either going to get our bib first, mostly because I wanna know what corral I'm in. I know you don't really care because you always have a really great one, but that's something that's high on my priority list.
00:35:59
Speaker
And then the other thing is going to look at the run Disney March. So if it's marathon weekend, for sure. Or, you know, if if we've seen the artwork and we know that it's something that we really like, then I probably want to go look at that. But if it's ah weekend that we don't really care about, you know, the more, the more run Disney races we do, the less merchandise that we buy.
00:36:20
Speaker
When you say weekend, we don't care about We care about every weekend. Sometimes it might be a theme or something like that where we're going to participate in the race. We're not going because we fell in love with that theme and we lost more t-shirts. Right. That's what you're saying, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. you Like the first princess weekend that we did together, i i think I wanted to buy like 20 things. yeah Now I'm like, I'll just get this one thing like that. It's cool. You know, whatever. so Not because it's bad, but because you have so much of it sitting in the closet. Exactly. And you really realize, just a heads up, if you do this for a long period of time, you realize how much you don't wear it. Right, once you come home.
00:36:53
Speaker
You know, you think you're going to wear it a lot and you don't end up wearing it nearly as much as you thought you were Right. Now, this marathon weekend, if you're watching our video and you can see this, i was like obsessed with the theming of this marathon. It was so good. So like I have the lounge flight and the water bottle and the jacket.
00:37:08
Speaker
Like I wanted all the things. I use this water bottle every day. I wash it every three days or whatever. Like I use this water bottle yeah because I love the way it looks and feels right and whatever. Everything about it was just awesome. I love that theming. But so if the theming is really, really great,
00:37:22
Speaker
And we love the artwork. then then Then we're in a hurry to get there. yeah Let's talk virtual queue on that. right I didn't do the other one. Okay. I'm crossing my fingers because we have to talk about the virtual queue because that can determine whether or not you go to that building for second or third.
00:37:35
Speaker
Okay. Right. Yeah. So yes, you we do try and go get our bibs first. Almost always. Yeah. Run Disney merchandise. And then the third building is that vendor expo. Yeah. And that's where you get your shirts. The vendor vendors and and your shirts are in that building. That's right.
00:37:50
Speaker
um and I so almost said third billion. It's not the third billion. You can go in any order you really want. Right. So let me give some like, try not to get in the weeds too much. In order to pick up your shirts, you have to pick up your bib first. So you can't go, i mean, you can go to the vendor expo hall thing.
00:38:07
Speaker
It should be low on your priority list. for If you have a reason that you want to get in there and do that first, yes, but you can't pick up your shirts without your bib.
00:38:17
Speaker
There's a tag on the bottom of your bib. They rip it off. Yeah. And that's your ticket for your shirts. Right. So you you need to get your bib before your shirts in theory. Mm-hmm. the The Run Disney merchandise on the first day of the expo, it has a virtual queue.
00:38:32
Speaker
And that's because everyone's trying to get in right and everyone's doing whatever. So you have to sign in on the app at 8 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., I can't remember what time, and get a spot for the virtual queue. So the reason I bring that up is that we might pull up on on site and our virtual queue time hasn't been called yet. So we'll go do whatever we need to do, ah can and want to do while we wait for our virtual queue time yeah to arrive. right and so But other times we've literally gone on property and it was ready. yeah And we hadn't even been to the...
00:39:07
Speaker
race uh the bit pickup yet yeah yeah and so we we actually skipped the bit pickup and everything just and went to run disney merchandise first because our queue time was ready right so that's going to impact you if you go the first day if you go any other day even i think by the end of the first day they've kind of let go yeah of the virtual queue but they say first day it's virtual queue But you go, there's no virtual queue. You can choose to go to run Disney merch first if you want.
00:39:32
Speaker
That's no big deal. But just know that first day's got, it's pretty locked down. it is. Virtual queue wise. we've i've I've logged on every time at the exact time you're supposed to. you hit refresh, you hit how many people, whatever.
00:39:44
Speaker
Sometimes, and that one time we were like boarding group 10. Yeah. And that means that literally like 10.08 AM m we were in, you know? I've also did the same exact process. right And we got boarding group like 195. Right. You know? Yeah. And it was like 2.30 in the afternoon.
00:40:01
Speaker
Yeah. And so we didn't go fight the crowds because we knew we'd be sitting around for hours if we did that. Right. Yeah. So anyway, virtual queue is for the run Disney stuff. You like to get the bib pickup, then run Disney merch, then t-shirts and and expo.
00:40:16
Speaker
That was your order? Yeah. Preferred order? Yeah. Well, but the first two may change depending on the weekend, but yes. But if you could choose, that's my question. If you were in control. yeah There was no virtual queue. Ooh, no virtual queue. Or you had a guaranteed virtual queue, and right, for 10 a.m. or whatever. Like whatever day, whatever time you wanted to go, yeah you could go get the merchandise and not stress about it not being available, right? Like it was there.
00:40:40
Speaker
What's your preferred order of doing things? Bib first. Bib first? Bib first. Then Run Disney Merch. Okay. Then the last one. Okay. Yeah. I disagree with you slightly okay in that the order of walking, that's more steps.
00:40:54
Speaker
Okay. So i would rather go in a perfect circle yeah because the merchandise is the first building you see, but the last building you go to, like in like in my world.
00:41:07
Speaker
So you'd go to the left and get your bib, right go around to the right, get your shirt, come back to where you started, get your merch. yeah But I understand merch is important. Yeah.
00:41:19
Speaker
um I was gonna add a couple of things about the shirt pickup. yeah So for people that have never done this before, it's marked pretty well, but if if the expo is chaotic, you might um not realize. So just wanted to say that there are different shirt pickup locations. So if you are running the challenge Like there's a challenge shirt pickup area.
00:41:39
Speaker
There's a 5K, 10K, a half, whatever. yeah So just know, because I've seen people wait in really long lines before to get the shirts and realize when they get up to the front that they're in the wrong line. The banners are really clear, but it's the chaos of the room. That's what i'm saying, yeah. And there's so much signage that you can't, you're absolutely right. You could miss that.
00:41:58
Speaker
Yeah. um We should say too that when you go to get your bib, that your bib pickup is also same exact thing. yes There are different stations for each thing.
00:42:08
Speaker
There's a 5K, 10K, half, full, dopey challenge, goofy challenge. like It depends what you're doing and and you'll need your check-in pass and driver's license and all that stuff to pick your bib. Yes, yes.
00:42:20
Speaker
Great. Also, if there's any issues, runner relations is also there. So um usually that line's pretty long, but. Well, it depends when you go. Cause we've, I've remember I had yeah my bib re-tagged or whatever last year. because they had a tag, you know, an issue with the timing chips che yeah and there was no one in line.
00:42:36
Speaker
So yeah, it depends. Thursday morning. Crazy. Thursday morning iss crazy. If you don't want to deal with the crowds, you're not right overly concerned or you can just, you know, let it go that you can, you'll find out your bib time later, or your bib corral later, or merchandise is just not the highest priority for you.
00:42:53
Speaker
Then I would say, wait till the afternoon. Yeah. Don't, don't go fight the crowds. You're sit in a bunch of switchbacks for no reason. Yeah. um You know something that's in that expo vendor hall that I do always check out and I forgot to mention?
00:43:05
Speaker
You can see the medals for the upcoming races. Yeah. And that's super cool. So like, ah you know, the Disneyland races or princess races, wherever, they'll have them yeah on display, like on a wall. And I usually enjoy going to check those out.
00:43:19
Speaker
Yeah. ah You can also meet Jeff Galloway yeah and the Pacers. They're in that building too. They are, yep. It's the lowest priority building for us, but it's still worth doing. Yeah, totally, totally.
00:43:30
Speaker
Of course, the more you do it, the less need you have to. Yeah. Anyway. Okay, that's that's, I think, everything I could think of yeah related to the expo. Any other thoughts on the expo before we kind of talk maybe good and bad, you know, first experience, any other anything else on like what or how?
00:43:48
Speaker
No, I think that's good. Perfect. So let's talk about our first and maybe you know most recent experience. And it doesn't have to be your first experience, but kind of the, you know, hey, in the beginning, ah this was my experience. And now that I'm a little bit more of a seasoned pro, that was quotes, this is you know how I feel.
00:44:04
Speaker
You want to go first? You want me to go first? It doesn't matter. Okay. I remember my first time going, not really knowing. i honestly didn't even know I had to go to it. You had done a run, Disney. And you're like, all right, we got to go to the expo. And I'm like, what's the expo?
00:44:16
Speaker
And I was like, what do I need here? yeah And you're like, you need your bib. And i remember being such a newbie. i'm like, what's a bib? yeah know yeah So um when if you're already at that level of newness you know and you just haven't done your research, like you could listeners, you guys are already doing your research because you're listening to a podcast about Run Disney. yeah I did not do that.
00:44:36
Speaker
in any way i just showed up yeah so it was very overwhelming because of that it's loud like we said i'm looking around going oh i do not know what's happening here yeah and they were just handing me stuff here's your this here's your this here's you and i'm like oh my gosh and i was i remember being ready to get out of there yeah yeah I remember that being my my first experience. It's not like that anymore, of course. Now, you know like more recently, like i kind of you know we talked about you know whats what's our preferred timing to go? We know a window, avoid the crowds, that kind of thing.
00:45:05
Speaker
I mean, I just know, AJ, get yourself a Wetzel pretzel. You know, we'reloading make yourself happy. Yeah. You know, like, yeah, it costs $8, but you know what? I'm over there just dipping in the caramel cheese, whatever flavor I got, just dipping. And I'm like a little kid.
00:45:21
Speaker
You know what I mean? Like la la la la. No big deal. You know, oh, those lines really long. So what, where am I going to go? It doesn't matter. So now I've learned that as it just chill out. What about you? What was your first or most recent experiences? I would say very similar. I ah ran with a friend, Angela. She handled everything, yeah like our registration.
00:45:40
Speaker
I mean, I'm sure I got an email at some point about something related to the race, but legit, like I knew nothing. She handled all of it.
Personal Expo Stories and Highlights
00:45:47
Speaker
So I remember I was just thinking this as you were talking about the expo, that then we got there the night before the race, and she was like, hey, let's stop here and we can eat this pasta for dinner. yeah And I literally was like...
00:46:00
Speaker
Oh, right. We're eating pasta because we're running tomorrow. Like that's how like, that's like so much of like a new runner that I was like, I wasn't thinking about nutrition, carb loading, nothing.
00:46:10
Speaker
So I didn't know like what to expect. i you know, it was very overwhelming. There were so many people and it's such a huge space. And oh yeah. yeah So. What about recently? have you You obviously have your preferred way of doing things now and whatever, but any recent experiences you want to share, talk about, or is it just kind of normal part of the the the weekend for you now? like How would you describe it?
00:46:30
Speaker
Yeah, I would say that like the vendor hall, like we spend probably the least amount of time there. We've seen a lot of the vendors. We have a few that we really like that ah you know you mentioned the fluff Fluffy Fizzies. Yes, we love their recovery products.
00:46:45
Speaker
What is that called? Bounce back butter? Yes, bounce back butter. Yeah, that's great. We have i have several tubs of that. um Yeah, that's good. But anyway, so so yeah, we have our our few that we like to go to, but- um I don't go up and down the aisles anymore. No, not really. Like we used to. Yeah. And yeah kind of, bra if you're new, do it.
00:47:02
Speaker
Yeah. If you love people and just like talking to everybody, go ahead. Yes. You know, we've now kind of like, all right, I'm going to here, going go going to go here, and then I'm out. Yeah. I'm even that way now about the run Disney merchandise. Like yeah unless it's a theme that's like, oh my gosh, I need whatever. Like I kind of just do one lap around, yeah you know, I'm not going to hem and haw really over it. Cause I just know the jackets look amazing.
00:47:24
Speaker
They really do. And I've worn it like twice. Yeah. yeah Now I will say one of my best expo experiences was when we discovered, Taylor and I discovered the TheraBoot little station. So anybody who's been to Renda Zine before is going to know exactly what I'm talking about. But they have like these reclining lounger like camping chairs set out and you can go and sit with the TheraBoot's on your leg for like If you don't know, that is like a compression boot thing, right? So not boots like to your calf. Like they go all the way up your leg yet to your hip and they inflate. Yeah, it's like getting a massage. Yeah. So like if you're- get like a what? 10 or 15 minute session, right? Like 15 minutes at least. Yeah, I think so. I feel like, yeah. yeah
00:48:10
Speaker
um So if you're going into the race weekend with like an injury or you've done a race, you did like the 5K or the 10K and you're feeling sore, definitely go over to the expo and hit up the TheraBoot station. Yeah. There's a little bit of a line sometimes yeah depending on the time. It's worth the wait. But you know what? Everybody that's waiting there, i we've done it a few times.
00:48:28
Speaker
I've chatted in line with those people. And then you end up sitting next to those people like laid back in this recliner chair. yeah And you're like, oh, have you ever done a Disney cruise? And just like all of a sudden make like super deep friendship laying in this, right? Has that been your experience? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Chit-chatting with them. Yeah, for sure. I was just thinking about our friend that we've now cruised with and ran with several times.
00:48:49
Speaker
Who was that? Oh, you don't remember I'm talking about? I don't remember her name now, but remember saw her running and I was like, there's so-and-so one. We hadn't seen her in like six months. Did we meet her at the TheraBoot line?
00:49:00
Speaker
I feel like Taylor and I met her at the TheraBoot line. That's funny. one time Yeah, we saw this. i don't want to say her name in case she, whatever, but. Yeah. She was staying at our resort multiple weekends. We saw her at the pool. We saw her. She was on our cruise. We were going on the next day after the race. Yes. On that cruise.
00:49:16
Speaker
Then we came back for another race weekend. And it was like the day we arrived and she was like out on a like shakeout run. Right. The day before. She ran and I'm like, hey, there's so-and-so. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's pretty funny. It's weird how you can run into ah yeah like 30,000 people. Right.
00:49:30
Speaker
And you can see the same person in you. I mean, there's a reason why they call it the run Disney community because it becomes a little community. Absolutely. Yeah. um Okay. What were we talking about? ah The best and worst expo. Oh, yes.
00:49:43
Speaker
ah but Yeah. Best and worst expo experiences. My best experience. Oh, you're not going to like this one. Okay. I went by myself. care I went by myself. It was when I got my um timing chip retagged or whatever.
00:49:55
Speaker
And you know, it was so wonderful to just go do what I wanted to do without anyone else's like. I think if I remember correctly, it was the weekend we had both the girls with us.
00:50:07
Speaker
And so you had done the expo like with all three of us girls. Oh, is that what it was? So then you went back by yourself. That probably made it even sweeter. It just came. it it You know when you can go at your own speed? Yeah. You know, it's not that I had a better time right than doing it with you guys. Cause of course I'm not going get pictures taken by myself or anything, but like, it was just kind of nice to go through it at my speed. Yeah. I went through that vendor hall in 30 seconds and then i went and walked around the merchandise. you know what I mean? and It took all the time I wanted. So I know that sounds bad, but I did have a good time doing it by myself. i i end enjoy it for the opposite. So when I go look at the vendor stuff without you, then I'm like, oh, I can really look at every last little detail if I want to. You're not looking over there and I'm like eating my pretzels like, hey, are you done yet? Yeah, exactly.
00:50:50
Speaker
ah Do you have any bad experiences at the expo? I don't know that I do other than maybe – Some of those times when it's been like really busy, that's probably been my only ones where it's like, oh man, can we just get done with these lines? Yeah. But don't think I have like a specific bad experience, but we're talking, you know, we not be be fair. We've had good experiences. that You had any bad ones? Yeah.
00:51:11
Speaker
I had a really bad one. Yeah. So when we went to the expo for marathon, when we were doing the goofy challenge. Okay. I had come, well, I'm always coming off of an injury, but I had come off of a pretty significant injury and I had not been able to run for several weeks leading up to marathon. So I was not fully trained.
00:51:30
Speaker
I had not submitted a proof of time. And I found out that I was in Corral G. And I was really concerned about that for marathon um because to start in the back for the half was you know less of a big deal for me. But to start in the back for the 26.2 miles, yeah i was like a I was pretty emotional that day. I think I cried several times. Okay. So you had a bad expo experience because you got a bad corral placement. yeah So emotionally, that was difficult. The expo itself didn't do it to you. No, no. It wasn't the expo or run Disney. Well, run Disney put you in Corral G. Yeah. ah But so the the expo wasn't the bad thing. Right. It was just a bad experience the expo.
00:52:07
Speaker
Exactly. Yes. Yeah. I remember that one being a tough one. Yeah. Yeah. ah I kind of forgotten about it because cause I don't want to be sad. Just block it. Be sad. Block it from our mind. Just shove that emotion down.
00:52:21
Speaker
Let it resurface at another point. That's right. Yeah. Okay. Well, I'm sorry you had that experience. That's fine. But overall, it's been good experiences, right? Totally. um Okay. so the good and the bad, i think what's good about the expo in general is it it really does fire you up.
00:52:34
Speaker
Totally. Like you you just immediately know you're at a run Disney event. I've done yeah other expos for other races. They're fine. But really they're like, I need to get my bib. Right.
00:52:44
Speaker
Maybe I'll take a look at their merchandise. And then you just kind of want to go home. Yeah. You know, this, you could, if you're not really busy, you could just hang around. its and See some people. Hours. If you want to. Yeah.
00:52:57
Speaker
You know? Yeah. um For sure. I think um the bad for me would be that it's overstimulating. And I have had times where I didn't really want to do the expo anymore. Yeah. And I was kind of giving you the side look like, hey, I'm i'm good when you're good.
00:53:11
Speaker
Yeah. You know? And so it it just know that if you're a super introverted or ah loud noises you know loud music and all that, whatever, just nonstop, like that's what it is. Yeah. You know, it you just know that it is this kind of thing. Anything on the good and the bad, Erica, for you?
00:53:27
Speaker
No, I would say my answers are exactly the same. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know, what's interesting is like, it also depends on my mood. Cause like in the morning I'm generally in a better mood than I am later in the day. So like, it's funny that I would rather go later in the day, but like I'm a morning person. So like we go in the morning, I'm like, well, this is fun. You know, it would go later in the day. already kind of tired and all that, but I don't want to get overstimulated. You know what I mean? It's just balancing, just figuring that out.
00:53:53
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. Running it back is our section where we kind of talk about what you would do the same or different on whatever topic. So this is the expo. What would you do the same or different?
00:54:04
Speaker
You can go first on this one. Okay. So I would say that if it is um your first time going or you really love the artwork, On social media, they're going to post some of the things that are for sale um at the expo, the run Disney merch. And so the first time that you go, especially if it's like Thursday morning, it's going to be insane.
00:54:24
Speaker
um So I would maybe if I had to change anything, um I would maybe go with like maybe my top three things in mind that I want to look for. Yeah. Grab those things first. Yeah. if they still have them, and then look around at everything else.
00:54:37
Speaker
Because it can be really overwhelming. Stuff can go quickly. um So if I had to do it differently and I knew I wanted to buy stuff, yeah I would maybe go like, hey, I know I want to get the backpack. I want to get the water bottle.
00:54:49
Speaker
I'm going to look for those things first. When you go to get your merchandise, if you're going in that like opening window time, yeah you know, like when it's busy, right? 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or whatever on the first day. Very Hunger Games, very, you know, may the odds be ever in your favor, you know, kind of vibe. Just know that like a lot of people will grab everything they think they might possibly want. And then they step off to the side and they're like trying it all on, make sure they got the right size, you know. And I don't know, like they don't really put it back.
00:55:17
Speaker
Do they put it back? I mean- Be kind if you did. Yeah, some people are nice and put it back. yeah Other people leave it on the floor, which Disney hates. And then they also have like some go back racks and Disney is trying to like put stuff put back as quickly as they can.
00:55:30
Speaker
Just know that it and that that happens, right? Yeah. so like Someone will just go in, they have baskets and they go and they just grab a bunch of stuff. um ah My thing there is like, don't get caught up in that. Do your absolute best to breathe yeah and say, I came in here for these three things. right And don't get caught because that just happens. You're like, yeah oh my gosh. the only You just start overreacting. right And in there, it's overstimulating as well because it's a dark room, but they've got like all these purple and blue lights like moving around. Yes. Why do they do that? I don't know. Just turn the lights on.
00:56:02
Speaker
Yeah. know And yeah so, and then you're trying to find a mirror and then you have like two mirrors for all the million racks that are in there. Right. Anyway, ah my thing there, the reason I bring all that side tangent stuff up is like, just breathe for a second. Right.
00:56:14
Speaker
They have thousands of shirts, you know, like, and if they're already out, they're already out. Yes. Also, you always pre-order some merchandise for us. Some stuff is available for pre-order yeah on the Run Disney website, not everything. Right. um But some stuff. And so I will usually try and get some of those things, like especially if we love the theme, like the water bottle, the magnet, the shoe ornament, the jacket, if it's one that you know is really great.
00:56:41
Speaker
I would try and get that stuff. But stuff like the lounge fly or whatever might not be available. to pre-order and you're going to have to deal with the crowds to get that kind of stuff. I think, I don't know where you started that conversation. i was basically saying, you I think you said like, know your three things or something like that. Like if you've set a budget, if youve you know the items you're kind of after or the things you know you would use, yeah just breathe because it's going to take over. The adrenaline kicks in yes and everybody's gone crazy and you don't have to.
00:57:11
Speaker
That's right. Okay. I think we got way off. What are we even... we're talking about running it back. what would you do the same or different? That would be your thing. You would do it's a little bit different is maybe just take a breath. Well, is that just go with my top three things. Go with your top three things. Okay. That's that's good.
00:57:25
Speaker
My run it back is unless I'm after something specific that I saw where I just love the theme. Last year's vintage marathon theme was just Chef's kiss. So good. Right.
00:57:38
Speaker
But this year's princess, even though I loved it and it was nice, yeah there was no merchandise that I had to have. So I did not feel the need to go immediately. Right. I just didn't.
00:57:49
Speaker
Yeah. I don't think I did either. Nope. If you don't need the merchandise, Just wait a few hours. Right. Go later, go tomorrow. Yeah. Something I have done before too is I will go and we've done done the crazy day and then we've gone, we've run the 10K and we're trying to, you know, be chill, not going to theme parks. I've gone back to the expo. Yeah. When it was way calmer, I've already bought what I intended to buy. Yeah.
00:58:13
Speaker
And then I just slowly browse. Is there anything left? you know, whatever. Right, right, right. I've done that as well. Yeah. Do you have any other final thoughts on that? Nope. Great. Let's talk some Run Disney news okay and some personal training updates and all that stuff. Let's just knock the news thing out really fast. okay Run Disney released the medals for Disneyland.
00:58:34
Speaker
You've seen them? Yes. We are going to do the half marathon, which is It's a Small World. That's our only medal we'll be earning. Oh, no, coast to coast as well. So they we've seen those medals now.
00:58:45
Speaker
Thoughts, opinions, what do you what you got? They're awesome. How do you rate? All of them are awesome? Well, the two that we're involved in. Okay, so the half and the coast to coast. Coast to coast, yeah. You give it a what out of 10?
00:58:57
Speaker
Oh, gosh. Like a- 11? eleven Nine or a 10 out of 10, yeah. On a scale of one to 10, you- You are an 11. You know what movie that's from? No, I quote it all the time and I don't know what movie it's from. It's Aladdin.
00:59:09
Speaker
Oh, you're right. Iago says it to Jafar. Oh, well, then I was so wrong. You're definitely going to cut that out. People will come for me when I misquote Disney movies. Iago is quote is mimicking Jafar because he got the lamp.
00:59:24
Speaker
Right. And he's mimicking how Jafar is going to react. Yes. And says on a scale of 1 to 10, you are an 11. Okay. So you think there are 9 or 10? Yeah. Yeah. I think they're an 11. I really do. I think they're fantastic.
00:59:36
Speaker
They are really good. Like of, except for maybe last year's marathon medals, I'm pretty excited about this one Yeah, I mean, I was gonna say like, these would be like, I mean, I have probably like four medals out of all the ones that we've earned that I like really, really love. yeah And these would be right there with them.
00:59:51
Speaker
Good. If our house caught on fire and you could grab two medals, that's all you have time for. You can only take two that we've earned and they don't include the Disneyland one yet.
01:00:03
Speaker
What tour are you taking? Based on... ah oh Nope. Nope. You don't have time. The house is on fire. You just got to take two. not going for medals if the house is on fire. I am. Okay. That's good to know. um Where are the kids? I don't know, but I have my medals.
01:00:18
Speaker
Who cares? No, I would say... Oh, man. Definitely like our first marathon. Okay. For sure. Yep.
01:00:29
Speaker
I don't know. I mean, I have different, ants i've like for sentimental reasons, I would say the first marathon and the first coast to coast. Okay. But I really love the way that like the goofy challenge medal from last year looked. I really love this marathon. like So second marathon we did. Yeah. Yeah. yeah i'll tell you right now i'm taking the first marathon we did and i'm taking the goofy challenge yeah those are the two i'm taking like the sentimental value alone like they're both good looking metals yeah they are so that that's a win yeah but like the sentimental value when i look at them like makes me happy yeah i love some of the princess ones they're really great yeah you know what i mean but if the house is on fire and i can only take two those those hard-earned ones are the ones i'm taking
01:01:11
Speaker
I'm just having a visual of like me carrying out like all of our important documents and you coming down the stairs with like 90 medals. like Hey, do you have our will and passports? No, I got the medals though.
01:01:24
Speaker
yeah Okay. And this water bottle. And that water bottle. Okay. So you liked it as a line. I love it too. I love the incorporat and incorporation.
01:01:35
Speaker
Is that the right way to say that? I don't know what you're go to say Is that the right way to say incorporation? No, that doesn't sound right. I like the way they incorporated. oh Yeah, in incorporation. You can say that, right? Yeah. The incorporation of the 70.
01:01:46
Speaker
Yes. i so Now I know what you're trying to say. Yes. all that's correct. Is that the right word? Yes. That's good English? Yeah. So I like the 70th anniversary yeah acknowledgement on Disneyland right in there. Because Disneyland was the park we grew up with. Right. So we were there at 50.
01:02:00
Speaker
We stopped by 60. 65 during COVID. sixty five during covid Yes. Anyway, so like we've been around for some of the anniversary ones. So I love the 70 built into it. And I love that its it's a small world and the colors are amazing.
01:02:13
Speaker
And it's a small world because you worked on that attraction. That's right. Are you ready to sing the song the whole race? Nope. Okie dokie. How many times do you think we're going to hear that play that morning? oh yeah. Hopefully not a lot.
01:02:25
Speaker
It's to be Ty with Shakira. They play that Shakira song from Zootopia every five minutes. Yeah, they do. Goodness gracious. Oh, man. Okay. Anything else on the Disneyland medals? I like them. No, they're awesome.
01:02:39
Speaker
Yeah, they do look
Becoming a Runner and Personal Journeys
01:02:40
Speaker
good. um I said in an Instagram post, this is a hard left turn. I said in an Instagram post that was going to share a story because I was in San Francisco this week yeah that I was going to share the story related to the Golden Gate Bridge because um it has to do with me becoming a runner.
01:02:58
Speaker
Yeah. Right. So here's the story. Yeah. If you care, if you don't care, by the way, thanks for joining us for today's podcast. It was great having you. If you care about this story, then, then here's how it started. Yeah. And this was 2019, late in 2019.
01:03:09
Speaker
And,
01:03:12
Speaker
and um I was on a work trip in San Francisco. I'm looking out the window of my hotel and there's the Golden Gate Bridge, like right over there. And one of the the people I was there with, ah you know, co-worker, obviously I'm a contractor there.
01:03:25
Speaker
um She says, hey, we're going to go run in the morning and we're going to go run across the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a mile and a half or 1.7 miles to the other side. And then we're going to run back. Want to go And the achiever in me said, yeah, heck yeah, I do.
01:03:40
Speaker
Yeah. And I thought to myself, what? You have no business being out here? You know? So here's what i I did. I got up at 5 a.m. you know to go run with Haley. I was wearing like basketball shorts past my knees or close to it. yeah Basketball shoes.
01:03:57
Speaker
Basketball shoes. Yeah. And a full-on sweatshirt, like sweatshirt, sweatshirt. i Not like, you know, 100% cotton. Not like a zip up, you know, I'm talking about like the one with the big pocket in the front. Right, right. And it was raining.
01:04:11
Speaker
who And so, or or at least misting in San Francisco. And so we go and we're running and I'm keeping up with Haley. And you know, I was fit enough to make it a mile.
01:04:23
Speaker
Well, you could see the Golden Gate Bridge from our hotel. Turned out it was like three miles away. So we're running. And by the time we get to the bridge, I'm completely done.
01:04:35
Speaker
Totally toast. At that time, I'm like 30 pounds heavier than I am now. I was very out of shape. Anyway, we get to the beginning of the bridge. iss like, all right, let's go. Let's do this. you know And she starts running and I i can't.
01:04:47
Speaker
yeah And I'm like, um like go ahead. like I'm right behind you. I knew I was not right behind her. There's no way. you know So I did my absolute best to try and keep going. I mean, I'm talking shin splints, knees are going to fall off. Right.
01:05:03
Speaker
I mean, you're talking about a non-runner right who tried to run with a runner for three miles. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Not good. Yeah. And just out of shape. She comes back, you know, after going all the way across and coming. She touched the other side comes back and passing me on my back and I tried to act like I was good.
01:05:20
Speaker
You know what mean? Anyway... when i see I said, go go ahead and beg I'll meet you back at the hotel. and Anyway, ended up turning around. So and that I did like six and a half miles that day, the last half walking for the most part and thought I was going to die.
01:05:34
Speaker
You know, I came home, told you, and i by the way, i didn't cross the bridge. You know what mean? Like I never touched the other side. I still haven't to to to this day. I need to go do it. yeah And so i no training, no nothing, no fuel, no hydration, nothing. Basketball shorts, you know, basketball shoes.
01:05:49
Speaker
yeah So I come in and I'm telling you the story and you're like, you know what we should do? We should sign up for a half marathon. How you got to that from me saying i was so embarrassed and need to get in shape, I have no idea how you, how did you get to that resolution? I think probably because I knew like you love Disney and you said you wanted to get in shape. And so you would agree to do this. So you, you already had a a Disney race in mind when you said that? Oh yeah, I think so.
01:06:13
Speaker
Okay. yeah So we did sign up for a run Disney race. yeah It was the Star Wars race. it was supposed to be April of 2020. And as you can imagine, April of 2020 did not happen. Yeah, that got canceled.
01:06:26
Speaker
So we did do the training though. I ended up running it virtually at home yep and thought I was going to die on that one as well. Still didn't really ever do the the proper training until we did Princess a few years after that.
01:06:38
Speaker
So anyway, that's the story. My friend Haley, she's just like a ball of fire and you can't say no to Haley no about anything, but I also can't say no to a challenge, you know? So double whammy. Anyway, I do tell Haley every once in a while.
01:06:53
Speaker
i I now run marathons, goofy challenge even. yeah You know what mean? I can run a very fast half marathon and it all started because she asked me, yeah she said, do you want to go run to tomorrow? Right. Yeah. And so sometimes when I tell people stuff like, hey, you want to go run, whatever?
01:07:08
Speaker
Like, I think I'm being condescending or like I feel bad about whatever. Oh, I see. But you know what I'm saying? Like, sometimes I'm like, I know they're not a runner but going invite them anyway, whatever. You actually don't really know yeah what kind of impact that kind of an invite can have. And it doesn't have to be running. It can be anything, you know? yeah Invite a friend to church. invite you know You invite someone to do something and you assume the answer's no. Right.
01:07:29
Speaker
Right? But she invited me. Yeah. And the answer was yes. Right. I almost died, but now I'm training for really fast marathons. That's right. So thank you, Haley. I appreciate that. Appreciate the invite.
01:07:43
Speaker
Okay. Training update. Let's get that done and then wrap this episode up. Where are you with your training right now? Erica, do you have anything to share that you want to share that you don't want to share? Where where are you at? Yeah, basically my training is all messed up right now.
01:07:56
Speaker
But that's okay. That's okay. So anyone listens to this podcast knows that I was out for a month because of a kidney stone and a rib thing. So basically I didn't run for a month and then I ran the 15K. And then a week later we did the Silver Comet Half where I PR'd.
01:08:10
Speaker
And basically I just did too much too fast after having that month off of injury. um So for the last two and a half weeks now, I've been dealing with some serious hip pain and hip flexor pain.
01:08:23
Speaker
So I'm not running. I've been working on like strength training, um working with my physical therapist, working with my app, just trying to rebuild, restrengthen.
Injury Recovery and Training Adjustments
01:08:34
Speaker
And I'm now working with like a modified plan to get to marathon. So yeah.
01:08:39
Speaker
um If it was our first marathon, I might be a little bit worried, but it's not. It's our third and i know I can do it. And so I'm just going to do it very slowly. is Why are you doing it slowly?
01:08:50
Speaker
and Because I don't want to do too much too fast again and like continue to like make the injury worse or whatever. so So, yeah, um I'm really focusing on strength training, not stretching, strength training. Okay.
01:09:03
Speaker
That's helping a lot. um And then slowly rebuild those miles. so I'm totally off the Galloway plan, but it'll still work. Anything you've learned or advice you would give to someone who's in a similar situation?
01:09:14
Speaker
Yeah. So in previous years, when I injured myself, I would have like stretched and iced and stretched. And now I know that like maybe more important than the stretching is strength training, even, you know, strength training to try to prevent injuries. But then also when you have an injury, like continue to work on strengthening the area that that's messed up, that will help you recover quicker. Friendly reminder that we're like not medical professionals in any way or whatever. So what work is working for you or whatever is working for you. And that's awesome. And it's yeah it's really good advice. But if you've got somebody in your life, like a physical therapist or something or medical professional, yeah well so don't take our advice. on Everything that I'm saying to you is come through the clear direction of my physical therapist and coach and and whatnot. So yeah.
01:10:01
Speaker
Well, I hope things get better for you. I'm constantly impressed with your positive attitude. Thanks. It doesn't feel positive, but. and but But you carry yourself so well and then you overcome the challenge every time and I don't know how you do it.
01:10:14
Speaker
So. Thank you. Oh yeah, you're awesome. um This has been a great episode, Erica, talking all things Expo.
Expo Tips and Enhancing the Experience
01:10:21
Speaker
Hopefully you got some helpful tips out of that. Yeah. ah You know, the way we like to do the Expo.
01:10:26
Speaker
Don't, don't look at it as a have to look at as a get to. That's right. Kind of like the run even, you know what I mean? Yes. It's another step and you got to take the bus whatever, but you know what? You're going to get pretty pumped up. Yeah.
01:10:36
Speaker
And excited for your race after you go to the Expo. So view it as a get to, and far as you get to. Next week, we'll talk transportation and I'm excited for that. Thanks for joining us. We'll catch you next week for One More Run.
01:10:50
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 subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram.
01:11:02
Speaker
You can find links to all of that at ajanderica.com.