170: Marathon Weekend Prep with RunFitFab

I hope so . Hope everything was great for you this week . All Things Marathon Weekend . You know we start talking about this thing back in June and July and it's like , oh my goodness , it's 95 degrees and we think it's never going to get here . And then , all of a sudden , it's just a couple weeks away . We're going to break down the event guide .

We know it's been out for a little while , but we think now's a good time to talk about it . It'll still be fresh on your mind when you get there . We're going to visit with our friends Kristen and Devin , and they're going to talk with us , among other things , about the Run Fit Fab pop-up that's going on Friday of Marathon Week .

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Well , friends , as we typically do , let's take a look at the training calendar . Marathon weekend is now just two weeks away . Two weeks from today , we will be running the 5K . This is training week 26 . We've officially been at it half of a year . We're into taper time .

But you can't quit . You got to keep going . You don't want to waste all that valuable training . So you got your Tuesday Thursday run and then six miles on the weekend . Disneyland Half Marathon is just a couple weeks later . Five weeks to go there . You're in training week 13 . Your long training event is four miles , which includes a magic mile .

We have eight weeks to go until the princess half marathon weekend . We're in training week 10 .

There You've got a double up if you're doing the challenge a two mile walk and a nine and a half mile run walk and for springtime surprise training and it always makes me just a little sad to talk about springtime surprise training because that's the end of the season , but we got 14 weeks to go till we get there .

We're in training week four and your distance is four miles . On that one . I'm going to skip over our training updates because we're all past our long training episodes . Plus , as I gave away at the top , we're in the wrong week anyway , so let's go right into talking about the event .

We're not getting in the vandalorian and figuring out what we , what we did during the holiday week wasn't that great , wasn't that great hearing about the vandalorian and all that last week .

If you get there at 10 am they will wrap around the building probably . This is and again , friends , I know many of you who are with us have done this before , but a bunch of you have not . This is the biggest race weekend of the race season in the Run Disney universe .

So expect bigger than normal crowds , maybe longer than normal wait lines to pick up your bib , etc . Pick up your shirt . Good crowds at the Expo , especially on day one . But the Expo opens on Wednesday at 10 , closes at 8 . So the Expo's open four days , of course , because four races . Thursday and Friday it opens at noon , closes at 7 .

The final day , friday , it opens at noon , closes at 7, . The final day , saturday , opens at 11 , and , as usual , closes at 3 . Now what to expect when you get there . We've already alluded to the fact expect big crowds . Gang , who's going to be there on Wednesday for the expo . I should be .

I'll be there , john will be there , alicia will be there , greg you get in later . Yes , I will not be getting to the expo until Saturday okay , now I'll probably there's no probably about I'll get to the expo after lunch .

I love meeting up with people at the expo , so if you see a tall old guy walking around who looks confused , come say hi and then maybe you can point me in the direction I should be going . But I would I love to see you there when you get to the expo . Before you get there , in fact , you can do this right now .

If you haven't already , and a lot of you probably have go to your run Disney account . Make sure that you have signed your digital waiver . Our international friends , I think , cannot do that . I think they have to sign the waiver that's correct in person when they get there .

But again , there's papers , there's tons tons of , as you come down the steps , nothing to worry about on that end no , there's not .

It's going to help you out a lot . It's going to give you your bib number . You're going to need that to know which line to get in for your bib . I usually don't need my bib number , I just know that it's the longest line because that's my luck , so expect that again .

January 6th is the day Run Disney is pretty good on getting them out the day that they say that they will . When you head into Wide World of Sports ESPN Center , you'll walk up the hill . The Athletic , the Advent Health Arena , is going to be on your right . That's where the official Run Disney merchandise is .

There is a virtual queue for that one on Wednesday . So if you're not a club run Disney person who is eligible for early entry into that , you're going to need to get into the virtual queue . If you want to go on Wednesday . You can join it on your my Disney Experience app . I think it opens up . I don't think it's right here in front of me .

It opens up at 8 30 am . The virtual queue does . You can do it on your way in , but I think you have to be within like 40 miles of Walt Disney World .

I was going to put a big sign up on Interstate 4 saying you're now inside 40 miles , but it doesn't work and you'd know it on Interstate 4 because you would be stuck in traffic with nothing else to do . So you could probably get into the virtual queue at that point .

Now that virtual queue is just to get into the official run Disney merch area and it's just for Wednesday . Rest of the week you can get in anytime that they're open . Let's see anything else we need to talk about . At the expo You're going to that's . That's on the right .

As you walk in you head up the hill to your front left at the top of the hill that is the state farm field house . That's where you go to pick up your bib . If you're there early , there'll be a long line . That serpentines outside Is it serpentine or serpentine ? Anyway , I think it's serpentpentine Outside and then circles the building and then goes downstairs .

You pick up your bib . Depending on what races you're doing , you may have more than one bib to pick up . If you're doing dopey or goofy , there's just one spot for it . Other than that , if you're doing multiple races , you'll have to move around a little bit , head out of there Head over to the Athletic Center . That's where that's what I call the expo .

That's where the vendors are . That's where that's where Jeff Galloway's booth will be . That's where Fluffy Fizzy's used to be . They won't be there for this one . I think they're going to be there for Springtime Surprise , though Fluffy Fizzy's will be back for Springtime Surprise , and a lot of other friends are there .

A lot of great booths , a lot of I don't know a lot of fun , a lot of time to see other friends over there or just in the ESPN area . All right , I think that's enough about the Expo . Let me talk quickly about the 5K Now . This will be true for all your races . Disney provides transportation from the resort to the Expo and to the races .

Resort to the expo and to the races . If you have any questions about where or when the buses leave your resort , check in the lobby . There will be a sign in the lobby and a cast member will be able to help you out . Now for the 5k buses start to leave at 3 am . The race begins at 5 am . No monorail transportation for the 5K .

The 5K corrals are A through F and they open , they stagger the opening , I believe , starting at 3.45 am . We learned something valuable at Wine and Dine which I expect will occur again this weekend , and that is they have subgroups within the corrals . Now , whether they'll do it for all four racers or not , I don't know .

But don't be surprised if you're , let's say , in Corral C and you get there and you find they have Corral C , pink and yellow and green and blue . That could happen .

If that is the case and you want to enter the corral with a group of people , make sure you're all together before you go in , because it is entirely possible that some of your group could get in and that subgroup could close and the others might have to go to the next subgroup . That's all fine .

Only spectating for the 5Ks at the start-finish line , it's no big deal . It is the standard , what has now become the standard-run Disney 5K route , which basically takes you around Epcot From the Epcot parking lot around Epcot , back to the Epcot parking lot , round Epcot , back to the Epcot parking lot . This year Rise and Run family .

The 5K is 101 Dalmatian time and if you're wondering how all that started , I've got a guest with us right now to tell us all about it . Hi , monica .

And while we were on the course we ran into I don't know , maybe a dozen or 20 or so other runners dressed as Dalmatians and we thought it was just hysterical to chase after them with our puppy napper nets and whatever . So we were talking about we do group costumes a lot and we always have a lot of fun .

And we were talking about it and thought how fun would it be to actually get 101 Dalmatians together or more ? So I thought what better group of people who enjoy running and run Disney and dressing up and just having fun at these races , what better group than the Rise and Run group ? So I messaged you and asked what you thought about it .

Here's the deal , We'll do it , but you have to be Cruella , oh Monica .

I can't wait to see everyone .

You look towards the stage and there are bleachers in front of the stage and we are at the left of the bleachers . Friends , I'm hoping that in relatively short order there'll be a whole bunch of people there with Dalmatian shirts on . So my plan is Corral's open at 345 . I would like us to take a group photo at 4 am .

So I'm hoping , if you're participating , you can be there at 4 am . I'm not 100% sure where we'll take the photo Probably right in there , but maybe if there's a better place I don't know We'll figure that out on the fly . When we're done , we can all walk together over to the corrals , and I would like us all to start in the last corral .

No matter what we have on our bib , I'd like to start in the last corral . If we head over there a little bit after four , we I think I'm not used to doing this , but I think we should be towards the front of that corral and then we can walk the whole thing together .

Only the dopies will have a 5K bib with a timing chip because you use the 5K and the 10K the same bib , so we can walk that thing . We can keep as many of the puppies together as possible . We finish in about an hour . If our friends want to break off and get photos , they can do that . We'll be walking . They can catch up with us .

I think it would be a blast . What do you think , monica ?

It doesn't have to be anything official or expensive or extravagant , just make yourself look like a puppy and join us .

I know you do that sometimes .

We call it the cousin group , but I'm only related to like half of them , but we're all cousins .

Groups A through F open at 345 am Spectating only at the start and finish lines but there is technically unofficial spectating at the Epcot resorts at the Epcot resorts . But I know last year when my wife and Jack spectated for the 10K they made him stay away from the resorts .

They went over that little bridge that's between the boardwalk and the Yacht Club over Crescent Lake , so you're away from the resort . So people weren't disturbing the people in the rooms .

The parking is open . They don't charge for parking . When you show up there and remember where you parked , it's going to be pitch dark when you do it and it's going to be very easy to forget where you park . So remember that .

I don't necessarily get on the first bus , but I go in pretty early grab a cup of coffee there's a spot where you can buy a cup of coffee there and I love hanging out with friends for that hour or so before the race . That's fun .

But if that's not what you want to do and you're driving , as John said , get in there early , then sleep in the car , set an alarm and go back to sleep in the car If you want , then then you can walk over to the start gate at a later time .

Uh , the other , then the other option and John , you alluded to it earlier is uh , take an Uber or a Lyft , they'll be running . It's definitely an option .

At mile 5.4 , Main Street USA is open . There's monorail transportation to Magic Kingdom from Epcot beginning at 430 , and you do not need a ticket to get into magic kingdom before 7 30 am . You can also spectate at mile 6.7 , at the contemporary 7.5 , at the ticket and transportation center and finally at the finish line it's .

We're going the opposite direction .

lit up and everything like that , the fact that I imagine we're coming in or I imagine everyone's going to be going , still underneath it , but you'll just like have to do like a selfie version as you're , like you know , going through , going down , world drive and everything like that . I will say , though , world drive .

Though big tip is for those of you who are middle to back of the Packers bring your sunglasses , because when you hit , after you get out of the TTC , by that time of day , the sun is going to be up and it's going to be right on you . Having sunglasses is vitally important for that part of the race . Absolutely All right .

And then we move to the big daddy , the marathon . A couple weeks ago we went into a whole deep dive because they gave us the new information and the new course . We're just going to quickly highlight those changes again here . The start time of this race is now at 4.30 in the morning . Yeah , yeah , 2.30 in the morning . Oh yeah , yeah .

So because of that , the bus transportation from the Disney resorts will begin at 2 am .

Event guide monorail service begins at 2 30 in the morning . Uh , same as the half marathon , we have start groups or corrals , or whatever they're calling it for this particular race weekend . We will have a through g and , because of the earlier start time , the start group corrals now open at 2 45 am .

In terms of spectating , uh , these are the the quote-unquote officially sanctioned spots . According to disney uh , first is at mile eight , which is outside of the grand floridian mile nine on main street , usa , and again , similar to half monorail , transportation to the Magic Kingdom will begin from Epcot beginning at 4 am .

Now , whether you're staying on a monorail loop resort and you want to go spectate , I'm not exactly sure how that works , but again , according to the event guide , it's saying that you need to start your journey at Epcot in order to get over to Magic Kingdom and , again , similar to the half marathon , as a spectator .

You do not need a park ticket for the Magic Kingdom before 7.30 in the morning . Another spot to cheer is at mile 10.6 , at the Contemporary mile 11.5 , at the TTC . Next spot is our next park , at mile 17 . Uh , you can cheer at animal kingdom . That begins at 8 AM and you would need valid park admission to cheer in that area .

Uh , the same goes for mile 23.4 , where you can cheer for the four seconds that we're in Hollywood Studios , and cheering there can begin at 9 am , and again , you do need valid park admission for that . Now , at this point I don't think it would be a quiet zone .

You can cheer at mile 24.4 , and that is the boardwalk , and then finally , starting at mile 25 , you can cheer inside of epcot . That will begin at 10 am and again you would need valid park admission . Now , just to quickly go over the uh slight changes to the course .

Uh , again , and these , you know we got these a couple of weeks ago , but just to highlight them real fast . So we actually will be starting this race , going through epcot and going through world showcase . I know that's a huge point of contention for a lot of us , but at this point it is what it is .

Oh yeah , so we'll do World Showcase , then we will exit Epcot , make our way over to World Drive and then , very similar to the half marathon course , we'll be heading up World Drive , but this time we will be entering from the grand floridian side as opposed to the contemporary side , so we'll be , as john mentioned before , we'll be able to have a nice stroll

along that new walkway , uh , that they built a couple years ago that connects the contemporary to magic kingdom . Again , you'll get the . You know , I , I think we figured it . I think , even though we're still coming in the opposite way , I still think we're gonna make a left . I don't know .

We're gonna be making a right , yeah , right hand turn onto onto main street yeah yeah , regardless of this change . But then we will be doing magic kingdom in reverse . But what's really cool is we will touch all the lands , yeah , of magic kingdom . Uh , you make your way past the contemporary , then to the ttc .

There's like two weird out and backs um that occur in the magic kingdom parking lot area and then we'll , and then from there , pretty much the course is the same as it has been in the past .

You know , you'll have that wonderful stretch , probably from like the half marathon point to animal kingdom , which can be a slog , but , don't worry , you get to pass by everybody's favorite backstage area , the sewage treatment plant of the walt disney world property . Again , everything looks the same in terms of animal kingdom .

Based on this map , everest is just past mile 17 , so depending on the time of day you're there , you'll have to be able to see if it is running and operating . Uh , you know as a possibility to ride that in the middle of the race .

Then from there you head over to Blizzard Beach , again the real quick jaunt through Hollywood Studios and then back to Epcot via the International Squeezeway and the Boardwalk and we'll be finishing up again going through Epcot , but this time on the Canada side of World Showcase .

So instead of getting your margarita , you can get a beer at Rosencrown and say hi to Benny , and then you finish off the race and that is the marathon .

Well , in this episode we have spent a lot of time going over the event guide for marathon weekend because you know , as we you know just talked about , but we've talked about in previous episodes before about , you know , how marathon day is going to be so different , with a new start time and a highly adjusted course and everything like that .

But there's , outside of the rise and run meetup that is , you know , happening on saturday afternoon at 3 pm , the food truck area at disney springs , there's another event that is very near and dear to us that is not part of the event guide I hope in future years it is part of the event guide and that is the Run Fit Fab pop-up that is occurring on Friday ,

january 10th at the Swan and Dolphin Complex and we want to be able to chat about that event a little bit more , since , as rise and run , we are going to be there doing a live podcast recording . But I think us to talk about it would not be very exciting . So I think we need to bring in the wonderfully talented adele dazeem I mean kristin and .

Devin of the Dopey Strong Facebook group and the Run Fit Fab mega products . I mean you've expanded so much over the last couple of years . It's amazing to see Welcome back to Rise and Run .

So so we're going to talk about nutrition and recovery just very briefly , as it relates to marathon weekend . But let's start with the , the big event , the , the first annual run fit fab pop-up , again january 10th at the swan . And Ladies . Give us other details of what our friends need to know , who have already purchased a ticket , about this wonderful event .

But if you want to bring your own that early , you can hang out with us and have some coffee before it starts . But if you want to bring your own yoga mat , you can , or a little hand towel , because we will be doing some core on the floor , as we've talked about before . But the event is basically we're going to do like a 20 ish .

We're going to try to keep it to 20 minutes I'm smiling at Devin because we know how this might go but we're going to do a mobility core workout . You guys , it's a brief five-hour core workout .

You guys are coming too . We're very excited . I don't know how many times we're going to barf and or cry , but it might be , we're anti-barfing .

You know run fit fab meetups at all the race weekends , whether it's getting you know pictures in front of you know the , the dj stand or the ball , the expo , or you know you all ride a ride together .

But I mean , I know through our experience with our meetups down at disney springs , like the fact how it grows and grows and grows every year , and you just see that level of camaraderie , you know it really does something to your , your spirit and and really just pushes forward this positive message .

And I think you all are going to be taking that to the absolute next level and we can't wait to witness that for you . And so we're , we're just , we're so proud to number one , know both of you , number two , be associated with this event and hopefully we'll have this beautiful partnership for uh and years to come . But one thing I just thought of devon .

I keep saying the swan and the dolphin , and the thing is , when you put those two resorts together , that's a massive area . Could you give us like the finer , finite details . Is it the swan ? Is it the dolphin ? Which hotel is it and it ? And then , which ballroom in the conference center is it going to be ?

So I have to have a tux yes , I mean yeah , you're the prom king as long as you can do planks and a tux , yes I don't see why not I would love to see that .

If you're staying in the crescent lake epcot resort area , it's an easy walk . If you're , I would imagine , on a on a skyliner resort , just take the skyline to the international gateway and take the boat . Yeah , just yeah , yeah , there you go , take the boat or walk what ?

yeah , walk , yeah , you know great recovery and you know the , you know flesh out the legs and I I want to say now , what do you think is boardwalk closer or is yacht club closer ? Because I'm wondering , like if you wanted to take like a Disney resort bus and then transfer over , which do we think is a closer distance ?

We'll definitely need to refuel a little bit and you'll have your goodie bags with you and , hopefully , some new friends , but it's a great idea . We'll definitely need to refuel a little bit and you'll have your goodie bags with you and , hopefully , some new friends . But it's a great area and we're just super lucky to have snagged this spot .

So let's say , if , like , a full out plank isn't your jam , you're going to see someone on stage with us who will do a modified plank and the volunteers will be wearing yellow t-shirts .

I would imagine a majority of us have our final long runs . We are in taper mode , you know we're we're dealing with the taper crazies , you know . Think at least we have the holidays to distract us , um , you know , from the taper crazies . You know , think at least we have the holidays to distract us , you know , from the taper crazies .

But the one thing that I thought about is and Kristen , I'll start with you first on this is I know , for marathon weekend , a lot of focus gets put on dopey and goofy in the marathon .

But regardless of whatever race you are doing for this particular weekend , when should our friends start hydrating and upping their carbs for again , whatever race they're tackling during January ?

But keep an eye on the weather too , because it seems like we're trending really cold and I don't know if I should even say that out loud because then Elsa might get mad and change it to hot but , um , but just keep an eye on the weather and make sure you're staying hydrated .

Now , anything for the 5k or 10k , I wouldn't necessarily say you need to carb load for days out , but I would do . Maybe on the plane you're doing some scratch , super high carb , you're doing a liquid IV , and then you're just upping the carbs just a little bit .

Let's say , if you're doing 10 K only two days out , I would just throw in an extra bagel , an extra handful of pretzels here and there throughout your day , Just to make sure that you're having enough food and hydration leading up to your race .

And then that morning of , make sure that you eat something in the hotel room before you leave , Because a lot of times we think and I hate the word just but oh , I'm just doing a 5K .

But if you're just doing a 5K but you're waking up three or four hours prior and then you're sitting around in a parking lot waiting for your race to start , that's a lot of time in between . So just make sure you have something like a bagel and a protein shake in your room before you leave and then that way you'll be nice and fueled up for your race .

So the quicker you can get that in , the better . If someone's giving you something , I mean and they're coming from their room and it could be something that's like Greek yogurt or cottage cheese , if you have that preference .

But honestly , protein shakes like you can have it in a blender bottle , shake it up and then just add your water that you're getting after the race , get that in as quickly as possible . But a good combination of protein to carb ratio is really essentially what you want to have right after the race If you can get that in .

So if you do have a very stressed out tummy and you're taking in so much different fuel and sugars and whatnot , just being kind and then gradually , like taper mode , gradually increasing your carbohydrates , your hydration , decreasing the volume of work , but after the race you want to make sure that you're increasing all that food again .

You're getting it back in your system because your glycogen stores have been depleted .

So , ladies , what do you think we have to do within the run disney community , because you know , hearing all this information is extremely vital , and I know , alicia , you've been championing this thought for a while as well is what do we got to do to get run disney to find a sponsor that will give us a protein shake ?

as we're coming through the final shoot .

One thing that I do for my gear check bag if I do something like a Fairlife shake , I'll throw it in my bag , but then I also bring with me the Tailwind or the goo recovery powder because that has carbohydrates and so just throw them both in a blender bottle and I do a little bit of that water they give you at the end and shake it up .

And I really think like the main goal of it should be after the half marathon . I mean , obviously all the days are important , but really that half marathon , get that shake in and then try to get a good meal like two to three hours later . It makes such a difference when your body is getting like refueled after the race .

Would it be OK , like I mean like yes , like the room temperature when we buy them if we like threw them in our like resort fridge and then put them into a gear check bag ? Do you think that's still OK , or do you or you know , if we decided to bring something like that , should it stay at room temperature the entire time ? What's your recommendation there ?

For a really long time can do some crazy things to the body . Ladies , what recommendations do you have in terms of air travel ? Should we be hydrating more ? Should we be taking an electrolyte on ? Instead of asking for my favorite order , which is a ginger ale and the Biscoff cookie , should I just be asking for water and then mixing in a liquid IV ?

Or , you know ? Should we be wearing compressions or anything special we should do on the airplane ?

Obviously paying attention to your urine color too is important and seeing where you're at with that , even after the flight , of course , but adding in those electrolytes is key . You can even get coconut water if you like . That , or using a supplement of any kind or a sports drink is great Things to avoid .

I would say avoiding caffeine on the flight and or alcohol is a good idea . Caffeine on the flight and or alcohol is a good idea . You can wear compression sleeves if okayed by your doctor , and that's something that you do regularly . And then , honestly , just staying hydrated , however you can .

Sometimes I'll do even like a face mask or hydrating cream , just something to keep me nice and stress-free as well . But stilling in on your nutrition having a fruit as a snack as opposed to what did you call it ? A biscoff ? The ? biscoff cookie yeah oh , I usually get devon have you never had the biscoff cookie oh , you know what that is .

What is it what ?

Everything you need is there , but definitely staying hydrated .

And then I love , like I said earlier , the scratch super high carb on a flight . It's an easy way to carb load without really noticing .

At the expo , I think Pro Compression has a nice little booth and they have people who are more than willing to help out . So if you are new to it , it is a great thing to add in .

But I would always ask your doctor first , just because blood clotting and things like that , and if you are pregnant as well , or if you do have swelling in your legs , just something to check over with your doctor prior . But I think , yeah , for me I always feel so much better wearing those for like an hour to two hours afterwards .

Ladies , one of my favorite pieces of information that you put out to not only just your community but the Run Disney community in general , is a fueling plan leading up to the day of the race , from the moment that alarm goes off way too early until we go to bed .

Kristen , could you give us a sample of how we should be tackling this on a day-to-day basis , especially for our dopey runners ?

So sometimes when you do this calculator , it'll give you some crazy amount of carbs , like not that that's crazy , but 600 grams of carbs , let's say .

And that's a lot to do for like three days and since Dopey is obviously four days , we've been telling our clients , like take that number , multiply it by three to get that total number , divide that by five so you can do a five day carb load .

So I thought I'd just recommend like a sample day if you guys wanted to know kind of like what that would look like . So for breakfast you could do something Now , remember , you still need to get your protein , but we're going to talk mostly about carbs with this one .

But so for your breakfast you could do a nice big bowl of oatmeal with banana , berries and honey . So that way you're getting you're really front-loading your day with a lot of carbs that way and you're getting some fruit in there which is good for antioxidants . You could do a snack like some pretzels , graham , crackers or fruit . We talked about this earlier .

Devin and I did Lunch . A very underrated meal is a nice big turkey sandwich and then on the side you could do like your favorite Gatorade , powerade , scratch , whatever you like to drink . Also , naked Juice has a great amount of carbohydrates in them as well , so you could snack on that as well .

For your afternoon snack , you could do some rice cakes with peanut butter , or you could do your favorite gummy candies , or you could do crackers . Dinner , you could do something super simple you could do rice and chicken , you can do fish , you could do pasta , just some sort of good carby side . So potatoes , rice , pasta , quinoa , something like that .

And then I saved the best for last your nice evening snack . While you're watching Netflix , you could get yourself like a big mug of your favorite cereal . So that way you're getting your carbs spread out throughout the day . But now you all have to tell me your favorite cereal .

I really don't remember the last time that I had cereal since all my allergies , I feel like cereal is not pushed as much as when we were all kids .

The thing that I've been seeing , and like it grosses me out to no end , though , is I'm starting to see more and more cereal brands get into the protein mix game , like I saw like a fruity pebbles one , like something tells me that like it kind of like defeats the purpose of you want good , clean protein in you , but here's the Fruity Pebbles flavor of it .

I will direct people , though if you're interested in hearing more content like this when it comes to you know how to prepare for these races from the nutritional side as well . Number one be sure to go check out the run fit fab podcast . It's an excellent listen . Uh , I know I listen to spotify . Where else can can our friends , uh , catch ?

that amazing apple now as well oh , very nice wherever finer podcasts are sold .

Listeners submit questions and I know , like we especially talked about like if you know you're not in a villa or you're not off property and you have to solely rely on Disney food , you know , to hit these goals , you know what are some of the best places and everything like that .

That episode , I know , has a ton of useful information in it , so definitely go back and listen to that one as well . But , kristen Devin , we are again so excited for the first annual RunFitFab pop-up at the Swan on the 10th . Thank you for joining us and we cannot wait to see you in a couple of weeks .

By the way , did you catch recently and if you listen to Tom's episode , you'll know what I'm talking about ? I saw the Cachow sweater finally made it onto Wheel of Fortune . I had a contestant wearing it on a Friday evening . Bob , were you ?

Let us start on Saturday . It's the weekend before Christmas . Start on Saturday it's the weekend before Christmas . So while we don't have a big report , we do have a few . And we start in Winter Garden , florida . A lot of the runs are down south now as the temps get too cold up north . An event called the 12Ks of Christmas 12K in Winter Garden .

Jessica did it . Good support and good water stops . She was in the last dozen doing the 12K , last 12 doing the 12K . That's impressive . Jessica Thought they did okay with the back of the Packers until they got to the finish line and most of the stuff was packed away . I'm always disappointed to hear that .

Other than that , she looks forward to doing the St Patty's Day race with this same company . She was hoping for under two hours in this 12K and she did it . Saw the clock from the top of the hill and ran a PR . Good job , jessica . Laura and Sam were there and did a 5K through the local neighborhoods where they got to see all the Christmas decorations .

Their favorites were the house with the Florida snow and the local steel drum band playing Dinosaur and spending the first two miles with our friend Roxanne . Once they hit mile three , though with a tenth of a mile to go , sam saw the finish line sprinting for it , leaving Laura or , as she's now referred , sam's mom in the dust .

His times , his pace per miles , in the last half were about half of what they were in the first half . Brandy was there . There was a seven swans , a swimming theme to this 12K , so she went as a swimming swan , a costume we've seen earlier . Good job with the costumes , brandy .

Speaking of themes , a lot of our friends used races as part of their training for the week . For instance , sarah had a 10-miler scheduled so she got up early , ran seven to the start of this 5k and then did the 5k and it was into the wind heading to the start and a neat looking ugly sweater tech shirt that they encouraged the racers to wear to the race .

It looked pretty cool . Now Shelby Allison did it , did an ugly sweater 5k also , and she didn't say where it was . I don't think it was in vegas , but sa did this when she had 12 miles total for this . She did pr in the 5k at the race she knocked off 14 minutes from last year's time in a 5k .

That's really impressive yeah , well , and the other thing is impressive and she's done very , very well , as a lot of our friends have . This race one year ago was the first 5K she completed and now , if I'm not mistaken , I think she's taking on Dopey Good for USA . That's quite a jump in a year .

Out in Seattle Washington , vanessa and Renee did the Magnuson Park Holiday Run Lots of fun . I think Vanessa has fun at all the races she runs . It was wet and muddy , but it's the Pacific Northwest , what do you expect ? That's what keeps the Pac Northwest so lush and beautiful and green . Oh , let's see .

They had a kids run , a 5K , a 10K and a 15K , and I'm not sure which one they did . Anyway , there was a hot chocolate bar at the end plus bananas Next up for Vanessa . She's going to do Dopey to Dumbo . So we'll see you in January , my friend Dumbo . So we'll see you in January , my friend . In Delray Beach , florida , the Delray Beach Jingle Bell Jog .

Jen had so much fun with so many Santas and festive costumes . She wore a Santa suit . I'm not sure if she was with Steven or not , but the Santa costume kept her warm . I know Jen's got a run on Sunday also . Angela was also at this race . Somewhere there was a humbug bustle 5K and Denise did it and I don't know where it was .

But Denise , I hope you had fun . Laurie was in Akron for the Selfless Elf 5K , cold and snowing at the start . I barely remember what that means . She's picked up her walking speed .

She placed first out of 13 in her age group , fourth out of 63 in females , fourth out of 63 in females , eighth out of 89 overall amongst competitive walkers at a 13 minute 30 second per mile pace . That's a really rock solid competitive walking pace Reminder Lori recently had a total knee replacement so she's walking only .

I'm pretty sure she's recently gotten permission to start running , but she's going to take it slow and easy as she gets started there . No medals , but for the age group win she got a cute little elf . Good job , lori . Cincinnati , ohio .

Carol did the Eggnog Jog , a beautiful and hilly race in the Mount Adams area with great views of downtown Cincinnati and northern Kentucky . I am led to believe that most of the races in the Cincinnati area are hilly . This one included part of the flying pig course through Eden Park , which I know that course , not from experience , but from listening to friends .

I know that course is hilly . At the end of the race you get eggnog and beer , I hope separately and not mixed together .

10-minute improvement over last year . Good job , Joseph . His son ran the 5K , got a sub 30 minute 5K again a milestone . I think that's fantastic . Joseph's son , Tristan . For him that is a PR . In Virginia Beach , Virginia , the Reindeer Rally 5K at Mount Trashmore Park . We've had races at Mount Trashmore Park before because I remember that name .

Samantha did it Perfect , fun little Christmas race with her running bestie , Hannah Marie , another rising runner , ending the 2024 season . It is , for a lot of folks , A little chilly , but a beautiful view around the lake with only a couple of small hills .

A big event in this area , just east of us , just around Walt Disney World the Mount Dora Half Marathon and 5K . It's a weekend long event and 5k it's a weekend long event . They have the dora double , which is a 5k and a half , and then they have the 5k on saturday and the half on sunday .

Let's kick off this part of the race report with our friend k hey guys , it's k here with my race report .

So on Saturday we did the 5K and I had the pleasure of running with Brooke , who was or I should say I was a recipient of one of her holiday card exchange cards and so I thought it was really cool when I saw her holiday card exchange cards .

And so I thought it was really cool when I saw her on the race report and I was trying to decide if I was going to go . So it was nice to run with her that day . The weather was perfect for a 5K .

For everyone that has talked about it , yes , there are hills like real ones in Mount Zora , but the 5K they went easy on you hill-wise We'll talk about that in a minute right for the half . But the crowd support is wonderful and the town is amazing . And so when I finished up my miles after the 5K to finish my simulation .

I had the pleasure of running through the town and at one point I ran on the I think it's Sunset Park boardwalk and there was a sign about don't feed the alligators .

And yeah , that got real interesting for me , just praying the entire time I was on that boardwalk that I did not see one , because I can promise you I was not going to be back the next day for my half .

But just moving on to the second day , the half marathon , once again , just on theme , here I had the pleasure of running with now Mary , who I was also a recipient of a card from her , so I just thought that that was just a theme for the weekend for me .

But I also got to meet up with Ellie and Tracy and , I think , ellie's friend , pat , and let me correct that , right , I didn't get to run with Mary , but Mary started out saying that she was going to take it easy and at some point on one of the loops , here goes Mary and I'm like the pace I'm doing .

She did not take it easy , so super proud of her for that . But this course again , the hills . They start off with the hills and so that can take you out . So anyone who is thinking of doing it , I would say it is a must-do . If you're in this area , just brace yourself to train for hills . Yeah , but I had a wonderful time .

There was a stretch of a street that reminded me of the stretch coming out of Animal Kingdom , near a marathon , so I tried to tap into that and there were some locals along the way . One was handing out hot cocoa I think it's like a Florida thing now that you get your fireball shot .

So there was someone with a fireball shot I also think I saw , and I don't know his name , so please forgive me , but it's the Puppet Runner . I'm pretty sure I saw him on the course , but definitely lots of hills .

And I just want to give a shout out to Stephanie , allie and Greg for checking on me , knowing that not only was I going to do the half but I was also going to finish out my 26 miles , and they kept me encouraged along the way .

And before I end the call , I just want to say Greg , get that bell ready for my and I guess I can be PG mother-loving two seconds , that's right . One , two , second PR . I'm taking all of it , and so I went out to this not going for a PR , but I thought it could be possible to see if I'd have a decade PR , comparing it to the Disney races .

And it turns out . When I looked at my very first marathon , I ran , which was rock and roll , which is a very similar course hill-wise . I beat it by two seconds , guys , and I ugly cried . And so , allie , thank you for sharing in that moment with me .

I'm not going to say I should be saying happy running , guys , but today I don't want to see another mile for a couple days . So we're almost there , guys . We are almost there .

Tracy had a Jack Skellington Santa hat and says she braved the low 40 degree temperatures for the two chilly morning starts . It was Florida chilly this weekend . Sub 30 in the 5K for Tracy that's outstanding . The half was her last live race of this year , making it race number 39 and half number 20 .

She PR'd that 5K but a late corral P stop cost her a PR in the half . In the half Running the 5k I'm sorry , running just the 5k Brooke busted out her run Disney face glitter and glitter lips for this one because her race pace was at least going to look . The party part Got to meet up with Kay before the race .

Kay stayed with Brooke for a bit on the course . Just a PR and fun , but still recommending this race Anybody with a little bit of holiday spirit who's out in the area and willing to brave interstate four unless you live there . I think that's not too bad . Shout out from brooke to all the folks running in full grinch and santa costumes .

Now , that was the 5k was on saturday , the half was on sunday . Ellie ran with pat , ran it as a catered training run , had a great time . Great morning for her to complete her personal goal of 50 half marathons prior to a milestone birthday in January . Ellie's not saying what that milestone birthday is and I'm going to leave it at that .

Ellie , I was going to say at least 21 .

We know there aren't mountains , but there can be a hilly course , and I believe this one is Lots of Florida hills . Jared , we were talking about fire fireball earlier , and I think k mentioned something about it being the state running beverage of choice in florida . So jared says fireball shots at mile eight were helpful .

He ran it with friends from the local running club . Mary was there , had fun running in her Christmas tree hat , which everyone got a chuckle at , and I saw a photo of it . I think it's pretty cool . She says she had to say Merry Christmas about 75 times on the course . So that's the Mount Doro weekend in Mount Doro , florida . In Wellington , florida .

Jen is back for the Wellington Jingle Bell Run 5K . It was a chilly start to the morning here . It was probably in the low 40s . I'm not sure where I was . It was in the low 40s with a wind chill down around 35 . Probably very similar in Wellington . Lots of fun , though . This race collected toys for tots .

Speaking of the one , I was at the Holiday Distance Classic in Seminole . They had a 5K , 10k and half marathon length . This race was in its third year .

It is typically a point to point race but there's still significant damage that hasn't been cleaned up or repaired at the southern point near madeira beach , florida , so it had to be reset very close by here in Seminole City Park and then run on the Pinellas Trail . I was a little concerned .

Pinellas Trail is not that wide I mean it's like 10 feet wide and I thought they get a couple hundred people at this race . I thought it would be crowded and it was a little bit at the beginning , but it thinned out pretty well , pretty fast , so it worked out okay Again . Chilly at the start but worked out fine .

They worked in the 5K and 10K without people bumping into one another .

What this course does is it starts down there and about six normally now about six miles into it , it comes to this park and then it goes north on the Pinellas Trail for the next half of the race . But this one just stayed on the trail . It kind of emulated Space Coast in that we had a southern out and back and then a northern out and back .

But again , it was okay . There is no crowd support , but the volunteers were there handing out the water and the Gatorade , which , by the way , was nice and cold . That's one of the beauties . The weather turned out to be okay . Once the sun came up , the weather quickly got well into the 40s and mid-50s and it was a good day for a race . I did okay .

I stuck with my 30 30s all the way through . I was happy . Things as I did my dopey simulation last week , I felt pretty decent and I'm finally going to call this one . I've waited all year to do this . I'm finally going to call this one . I've waited all year to do this , I'm finally going to call this one a decade's PR .

I had to wait until I ran a half faster than the one I walked for Jeff a couple years ago before I had the gumption to call it a decade's PR . So I did okay , so I'm happy with that .

He was just a little over three hours but he's like 20 , good 20 minutes , 20-plus minutes behind . I thought he did good . There was one 80-year-old woman who finished the course and I felt bad because they had the award ceremony done and packed up before she finished , because if you're 80 , you should get an award for crossing the finish line period .

All right , anyway , it's a fun one . I saw some friends there . I saw Trina there . Trina was doing as others have . She ran her seven miles to get 20 . After she finished the half , I missed her finishing . Ironically , I found out later she finished with Don , the 75-year-old guy . So she did fine , especially considering she had seven more to go .

In the beginning I saw krista and richard . They were doing the 10k . It's good to see them there . Also good event if you're in the area . It's a lot of fun . Hopefully next year it'll be back and we'll cross by the uh heidi memorial duncan Heidi Memorial , dunkin' Donuts . Hi Bob , let's move along to Dallas , texas , for the Texas Double .

Jason did this one as a fundraiser . Jason said he'd pace a friend on the 50 here if he met his goal for the Boston Marathon fundraising . So eight days after finishing the Daytona 50K he's back for another ultra Beautiful day Course was a nine-mile loop plus a short out and back around a lake at the end of the runway on Love Field .

The woman he was helping was very motivated , pushed the pace on him and he ended this 50K with and catch this a one-hour and 14-minute PR .

Beautiful course along the Seawall Boulevard , flat and fast , but the first half was faster because she had the wind at her back Makes a big difference . So second half a little more challenging . About 30 or 40 of them at the back of the pack didn't get their half marathon medals because they ran out . I hate that . I think that's unforgivable .

They know how many people are coming , I agree . What they did is gave them 5K medals and said they'd mail the half marathon medal in . Shonda says well , that works for her . She ran extra distance anyway , so she might as well get an extra medal .

I hope you've survived the feats of strength , aired your grievances , yeah , and maybe by now the aluminum pole is put away . Well , friends , I hope your long training runs went well . I hope you had a wonderful Christmas holiday . There is no Zoom this week . We've got one on the schedule for next week . That'd be the 2nd of January . I think that'll work .

But we're getting very , very close to seeing one another at Marathon Weekend . We're excited about it . We can't wait , friends , and if you run , you know you are our friend . We'll see you soon . Until then , happy running .