241: Rise and Run Mailbag: Questions that Go the Distance!

You can learn a lot about a running community by the questions they ask, and this week our listeners showed up with everything from serious marathon nerves to wildly fun runDisney hypotheticals. We dig into smart offseason training so you do not drift between race weekends: setting a local goal race, building an aerobic base, adding strength and mobility, and respecting summer heat. We also get specific on proof of time strategy, including why certain distances help, what counts for different runDisney weekends, and how planning ahead can change your corral placement and your whole race-day experience.

Then we jump into listener questions that are pure runDisney joy. We design dream Disney race courses with more time inside the parks, more Animal Kingdom and Pandora, a better Hollywood Studios stretch, and the return of that iconic World Showcase finish that feels like a true victory lap. We talk bucket list races outside of runDisney, bucket list moments inside Disney, and whether you should chase Dopey, Goofy, or “just the marathon” based on what you actually want your weekend to feel like.

The mindset talk gets real when we answer how to calm first-time Dopey and first-time marathon anxiety. We lean on trust-the-process training, run-walk pacing, and practical mental tricks for hard miles and lonely long runs, including music, podcasts, community messages, and finding a group that supports interval runners. Plus, we debate the most important question of all: if you could replace gels with Disney snacks as on-course fuel, what would you pick?

If you love runDisney, marathon training, and a community that celebrates every PR, every proof of time, and every finish, hit play. Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more runners can find the Rise and Run family.

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Transcript

Welcome And Housekeeping

SPEAKER_05 0:17

We belong in this rhythm.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Well, ladies and gentlemen, for the uh second time in four weeks, please do not adjust your uh radio sets. I'm not Bob. Bob's not here this week. I'm Greg, but I'm here this week with John. Hey, how you doing? And with Alicia.

SPEAKER_08 1:01

Hello.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

And we're here to bring you another epic episode of the Rise Run Podcast. Folks, welcome to episode number 241. And this week, because Bob and Jack and Lexi couldn't join us, we were trying to think of something where you know we could impart our wisdom to the listening audience, but yet save some really good fun stories and anecdotes until we had the whole gang back together. So for this week, we put out the call, and boy, did you answer. It's another rise and run listener question episode. I think this is probably the most responses that we have ever gone to one of these posts. Now, I will fully admit that I think a third of those uh Facebook comments uh were about how I care for chafing nipples. Uh, and if you didn't listen to last week's episode, if you know, you know. Uh but I'll save I'll save those those care tips for for another day. But we have a wide array of questions, whether it's about logistics or training or just Run Disney in general or or hypotheticals. I think we have a pretty good mix that we're gonna tackle this week, uh, and we're really looking forward to that. No race report spotlight this week, because let me tell you, this week's race report is a marathon in itself. I only thought that there were two major uh events taking place uh this past weekend, but uh believe it or not, there were four. So uh we had an amazing community response as well to all the race reports. So that's going to take us a little bit uh to get through. So that's why we will try to get back to the spotlight in the very, very near future.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

If you enjoy the Rise and Run Podcast, please share us with your friends and introduce them to the Rise and Run family. We want to share in their Run Disney journey. Please remember to follow us on Facebook at Rise and Run Podcast, on Instagram at Rise and Run Pod, check out our YouTube channel, and visit our webpage, Rise and RunPodcast.com. If you have a question, comment, race report, or want to introduce an upcoming episode, call us at 727-266-2344 and leave us a recorded message.

SPEAKER_02 3:20

We also want to thank our patrons whose support helps keep the Rise Run Podcast rising and running. If you'd like to join the Patreon team, please check out patreon.com slash rise around podcast. We do have a new Patreon that joined a few weeks ago. Um, but with all the hustle and bustle, we are now saying thank you to Gina who joined the Hey, how you doing level.

Sponsors Trips And Summer Teasers

Offseason Training And Base Building

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Yes, thank you so much, Gina. We do apologize. It took us a uh a couple of weeks for us to acknowledge that because believe it or not, this is like, what is this gang? I think it was the first time in the history of the podcast we had like a quote unquote like two-week break that we weren't sitting down, you know, in front of our typical computer screens in our own homes, um, you know, doing an episode. So we do apologize about that, but we wanted to make sure uh that that was brought to everyone's attention again. Gina, thank you so much to all of our Patreons. Thank you so much for all of your support. The Rise Your Run podcast is sponsored by our wonderful friends over at Magic Bound Travel. We are just a few weeks away from the unofficial start of the summer season. Memorial Day weekend will be here before you know it. And that weekend's a pretty big weekend in Walt Disney World. You uh you have, well, actually, just this past week, we had Big Thunder Mountain Railroad uh finally open back up. Uh, and as long as they're not using the fire extinguisher uh in the loading and unloading area, uh, that will be able for you to enjoy. But lots of great things coming. You have the soaring across America over in Epcot to commemorate the uh 250th birthday of the USA, the one I'm really excited for, and that is the Muppets taking over Rock and Roller Coaster. That's opening up that weekend, and actually, probably the thing I'm equally as excited about is Bluey coming to Animal Kingdom. Again, all that is occurring Memorial Day weekend. So if you are looking to get an early jump on that summer vacation, be sure to visit magicboundtravel.com, fill out your no obligation quote form, and one of their agents will get back to you in a jiffy to provide you with all the information that you need moving forward to have a magical, magical time. So once again, magicboundtravel.com. Before we you know dive into these listener questions and you know, a few things that we wanted to chat about, uh, we do have an apology and an alibi. And uh, and this is on me. Uh, this happened a few weeks ago. This was I think the episode where we talked to Dr. Allie. Uh, and this was that episode that led right into Springtime Surprise. And I remember when we were talking with Allie, or let me rephrase that, Dr. Allie. Uh, I had made mention about uh a special birthday of our former co-host Allie, who was celebrating the birthday that day. And then I didn't realize it until after we got done recording that night, that just a few days later, it was our current co-host, Jack's birthday, and I didn't mention it, no one else mentioned it, but in typical fashion, Jack herself didn't even mention it. So we just wanted to take the time, even though it's now a couple of weeks belated. Happy birthday to the Mandalorian herself, Jack. We hope you had a wonderful day. We love you so much, and we can't wait to have you back on the mic next week. All right, let's look at the train schedule. And once again, there is nothing. But have no fear, my good buddy John over here uh brought something to my attention that I wanted to pass along to everyone, and that is for another year, we have a tremendous amount of friends who are going to be coming out for the bird in hand half marathon weekend. As of right now, that race is 127 days away. But if you are a Galloway runner and you would like to follow the Galloway Half Marathon training plan, your training for that starts next Tuesday. So, you know, if you're looking to create a training plan for yourself, just you know, go to the Run Disney website, look at that PDF. You can make your own custom calendar, it will work out just fine. So, again, if you're running that race and you want to follow that plan, your training starts next Tuesday. And here's my recommendation on one of those weekday runs, maybe try to include some hills because let me tell you, it will definitely pay off for you at the end.

SPEAKER_03 8:08

Caution runners, change of topic ahead.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

But you know, speaking of training and speaking of bird in hand and you know, and other races that are are coming up this fall, we're in we're in the the doldrums of uh of the calendar in terms of the Run Disney season. We don't have anything until this upcoming October when Wine and Dine returns, because you know, the seasons I'll get pushed a little bit later because we don't have the Disneyland races anymore. So you know, no Halloween there. So in theory, uh, if I look at our trusty little spreadsheet that we have here, training for Wine and Dine does not begin until June 23rd. And then the week after that, if you're doing the marathon, goofy, or dopey, training begins for marathon weekend. So obviously, we have a couple of months even before the training begins. And I know sometimes or from time to time we get questions of well, what do I do now? So even though it's not an official segment, hey Alicia, what would you do?

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Um, so what would I do in this downtime is I would look at um I would use trusty Google and I would look at some races that are locally to me and find one to um kind of pick a goal for the season just to have something to look forward to. I know, like you said, there's bird in hand, there's a bunch of races coming up. So having a goal always helps. Um that's what helps me to keep me going while we're on the off season from Run Disney.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Same thing with Alicia said. Uh, look at get a get up a couple races. My my next big race would be bird in hand, followed by why and I I have a couple uh local races like 5K's and five milers that in my area that I'm gonna you know train for. Uh but that's basically it. And I think also I'm gonna try to uh take it a little easy if I can, because I have my knees aren't as young as they used to be. So I want to make sure they're they're fine and ready, not overdo it and go out there and try to run every race because I think my knees do need some time to re heal and feel better after uh all these runnings.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

No, it's really smart, John. And and I I agree with what both of you had to say on the matter. Find that motivation until the next big thing. Now, the caveat that I would make to that recommendation is obviously unless you live in like Alaska, it's gonna be hot this summer, and obviously your choices in races might be more limited compared to, say, you know, the spring, fall, or winter. So if you're in the market for a race, you know, maybe try to find that 10K because I I always love that distance in the sense that you can get a really good workout in. It's something that you can train for. You know, you could do speed workouts for it and such to help improve your time. But at the same time, it's also not going to be a distance that's gonna have you out there in the heat, in the elements for an extended period of time that could, you know, potentially cause damage to yourself down the road. Now, in terms of training, you know, whether whatever your next big race is, is obviously I think establishing some type of base is I think a really smart tactic. And that is like, for example, like I look at my training schedule with Coach Twiggs, and up until for me, I this summer I have loopy looper, and then obviously like John, I'll have bird in hand as well. Too, is every couple of weeks, not great. I don't think it's in every other week, you know, maybe like every third week or something like that. Coach has me just going out long run, slow pace of up to 10 miles. So that way the fact that you have that base distance on your legs that you know, maybe last minute in the half marathon does pop up in your area. And that's something you want to give a try. If you have a base along those lines, that will have your body prepared to tackle that race, whether again it comes last minute or you're preparing for it a little bit later on in the calendar.

SPEAKER_02 12:37

I do want to say too, if if wine and dine is going to be your first race weekend ever, first big race, and you're not ready to pick a local race to you yet, um, and you want Run Disney to be your first, and training hasn't officially started, you can still do things. You can do some cross-training, some strength training during this time. That's going to be super beneficial in helping you when you actually do start those miles on your feet. Um, so doing some walks, some strength, some mobility, balance work, that type of stuff is always beneficial.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah, there is no shame in walking because I mean, look, let's think about that Galloway rule of you know slowing down 30 seconds per mile for every five degrees over 60, depending on where you live in the country, as Bob I know likes to make the joke from time to time, sometimes you're running backwards at that point. So, you know, getting time on your feet just as a walk is going to be beneficial to you. Trust me, you know, if you live in Florida or Texas or Louisiana, going out for that walk, you're still gonna be sweating uh, you know, a a pretty good amount. So just know that while you know the exertion might not be super high, you know, you will still be getting that endurance benefit, which is really, really helpful.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

I want to circle back on that 10K thing you said before because the 10K distance, I know people always talk about a proof of time. The 10K is a good proof of time for the half. And for some people, you know, they teeter out after mile six, seven, and their their half marathon pace just goes down the tubes. But for a 10K, you can get a good you can get a good time on your 10K. You're you could you could probably get a good proof of time. So that's something else to look at. I mean, m for marathon, you gotta put the half in, but for if you just want a half proof of time, that's a good race to start with, too.

Proof Of Time Deadlines Explained

SPEAKER_00 14:36

Well, John, I'm gonna fact check you there real quick. If for a POT for Marathon weekend, you actually can do a 10 miler as well, too, because as we'll talk about in the race report, that's exactly what I was gunning for uh the this past weekend. But yeah, for any of those race weekends that so in in theory, with based on what we currently have, if for princess or for wine and dine or springtime surprise, you could do a 10k as the shortest distance to get a POT. But if you are gunning for something for Marathon Weekend, that has to be um again the base distance of a 10 miler. And actually, someone was just asking me this the other day. So if you want to chase that illustrious POT, just here are some deadlines for you to keep in mind. If you're gunning for one for Wine and Dine, your deadline to submit that is June 1st of this year. So you have just a couple of weeks. So, you know, real last minute, but but you can probably still pull it off. And then if you are looking to get one for Marathon weekend, that deadline is August 3rd. So you do have a little bit more time on that one. Now, obviously, princess information should be coming out relatively soon, probably within the next couple of weeks. So, obviously, we'll learn um you know the deadline for that as well, too. But again, maybe you know, training for these POT goals, you know, is something that can definitely keep you motivated throughout the summer.

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Caution runners, the topic is about to change right now.

Listener Questions Kick Off

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Obviously, that could have answered some you know questions for you in terms of talking about those POTs and you know what to do over the summer. But I think that segues nicely into the uh the main crux of this week's episode, and that is answering your listener questions. And you know, the thing that we appreciate about our wonderful community is that you know, no holds bar, whatever you want to know about, whether that's stuff about us, the host specifically, or our training plans, or our training advice, even you know, two other three of us here on this call aren't coaches. Um, we're here to be able to you know provide you that insight. And like I said, we have a real nice array of questions to um to answer this week. And if uh John and Alicia, if you don't mind, I would you mind if I I started off uh with the the first question here? Go ahead, Greg. All right, and and this You are my favorite host.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

Oh thanks, John.

Design A Dream Disney Race Course

SPEAKER_00 17:10

Oh let me go put I'm gonna go put the my boots on the crap the crab scan pretty high here over in uh over in Pennsylvania. Uh but this was um one of those hypothetical questions uh that I really love. And we got very similar questions from both our friend Mandy and our friend Natalie of the uh the Stride Sisters podcast. And essentially they go on to say and ask us design your dream Disney race course. Now, you can't do anything outside the bounds of gravity, like you know, teleport to the castle in Disneyland Paris that has the you know the dragon you know underneath the castle and then like flashback to Pandora and Animal Kingdom. But uh you don't have to go within the current Run Disney logistics of having to start and finish everything at Epcot. So, Alicia, ladies first here, what would be your idea of the ultimate Run Disney course?

SPEAKER_02 18:09

This is a really good question. So I guess it really depends on the distance that we're talking about, but I'm gonna go with a marathon distance just because it will give us the most ground. Um I do like how we get to go through all of the parks for the marathon. So I would still definitely have key points of going down Main Street and hitting the castle because I think that's just an iconic piece of it. Um I would love the course to go through more of Animal Kingdom, so hitting more of like that Pandora land, getting to see um more of Animal Kingdom. I really do like roads. So honestly, I we've never gotten to go over around by Disney Springs. So I think that would be kind of cool to come around and go by Disney Springs and come that direction. Um but honestly, I love, love, love ending the race for the marathon in Apcot. Well, all of them in Apcot, um, coming around the countries, it's it's my favorite park. So I think I would still end in Apcot. Um, but hitting hitting those key pieces where you get to see those iconic like the tree of life, um, the castle, the ball. And then for me, the thing that I think of when I think of Hollywood Studios, I mean, we don't have the sorcerer hat in the same place anymore now. They brought it back. Um, but seeing Hollywood Tower of Terror is is pretty iconic. So pretty similar to what what we do already. Um, but I would I would like to see more of the grounds, but I I like the road road miles too.

unknown 19:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

How dare you. So John, outside of doing a loop through Galaxy's Edge about 40 times, what what would be your ideal course?

SPEAKER_01 20:07

So I'm with Alicia. I like the the current course structure for the marathon is pretty pretty good. Uh I would think more time, you know, in the parks. Uh I like the old way we went into Magic Kingdom. I I don't like the new way. Uh it gets I think it's too congested. Uh but that's why uh same thing. What more time in Animal Kingdom. Uh and I do wish they would go back to the old way of finishing the marathon, is where you come in by Canada, by England, the uh United Kingdom, sorry, and go around the world at the end of the race when everyone's there cheering and hanging out and watching you instead of that little jog through at the end they do we do now. But yeah, I think more more part-time I would say, and I don't really mind Blizzard Peach as much as people say. I mean, it's it's a it's a point that you gotta say, hey, I made it this far. There's no stopping me now.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

I'm gonna take this in a little bit different of a direction. And I would like now, granted, I know it's impossible to do, but again, I'm gonna answer the question. And I want to get the resorts involved. I want I want to get them more involved. And the reason why I say that is there there are some Disney resorts that offer some space and really, really immersive theming to them. You know, I I would love the fact that you know, if you could figure out a way with you know, say you even had to start the race in Epcot, you know, we're super. Super close to both Port Orleans, French Quarter, and Riverside. Those would be two lovely, lovely resorts to run through. If you could find a way, you know, shout out to our buddy Joe Graham, who did this during the the canceled you know marathon weekend of 2021 when he did Dopey around Hourglass Lake, uh at both Art of Animation and Pop Century. Be able to include that loop, you know, maybe you know, dip into some of the building so you could, you know, imagine just having a photo pass photographer like perched up at like the big crush in front of the pool in art of animation or that awesome like landscape that you have in the whether it be the car section or the animal king or the uh the line king section. I I think from the mer immersion standpoint, I think that would be really, really fun. But in terms of the the parks themselves, Alicia, I'm right there with you. We need more time in Animal Kingdom. You know, start, you know, now Grant, they haven't done this since what wine and dine 2016, the race where you know you and I, you know, both started our Run Disney journeys. We started at ESPN. Go there, run to Animal Kingdom. You could do that in the dark, you could see Pandora lit up at night. I mean, they used to do that during Wine and Dine, uh, when when we started at the the TTC in those couple of years. So you could you could figure out something, get the sewage treatment plant out of the way early, you know, if you went from like or that too, but then you get rid of the Star Wars mile, and then John gets really, really upset. So, like the fact that you could, you know, if you started an ESPN, you could hit Animal Kingdom early, you can include more of the park, then you could get up to Magic Kingdom relatively early on in the course. Because I mean, think about it, there was a time where Magic Kingdom was, or or it's still even the case now, like you know, mile nine and and and mile ten. Like, you know, so it's you know, I remember like in the past of the you know, the quote unquote old course, you know, we'd have to get up to Magic Kingdom by like mile five so that you know you could have everyone out before the park opening. And I know this all hinges on on like guest flow and stuff like that, but you know, to be able to offer those different parks in terms of different you know times of day, I think would be really fantastic. And I do miss the fact that like I I'm tired of being in Hollywood studios for 30 seconds, right? Like, like the fact that we get to see the side of Tower of Terror and like you know, the or in theory, the backside of Tower of Terror. And then before you even finish a run interval, you're already making your way out to to the front of the park. I mean, I can remember watching videos years ago of um there was a member of the Walt Disney community, he worked for Attractions magazine, and he attached a GoPro to his camera, and he just did a POV video of the entire course. And the amount of Hollywood studios that you would touch during that course was awesome. Uh, so I would love for them to bring that back, and then I'm right there with both of you. Bring back the world showcase finish. I again, I don't care that it ends in Epcot, but again, it's the figurative and literal victory lap, and I miss it so much. So Run Disney, if you are listening, please bring it back.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

Greg, I really like what you just said about the the the layout of the course because I wish Bob was here because he was the only one that was there with me. But years ago, him, myself, my mom, and Becky all did a 5K and it was early in the morning and it was at Animal Kingdom, and the birds flew over us, which I mean, just was happenstance, like it wasn't something that was supposed to happen for the race. But I do think there's something special about being in Animal Kingdom when it's still that dusk time. And so if we did that first and then still made our way to Magic Kingdom and then come came back rather than doing it the other way, that would be really kind of a cool experience.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

That was true. When we did that once that five, well, that shortened 5k at Animal Kingdom for spring the first spring time. Running through Pandora at night was a pretty cool.

Bucket List Races Outside Disney

SPEAKER_02 26:50

All right, guys. So speaking of our ideal race, what is your bucket list race that's non-Run Disney?

SPEAKER_01 26:59

I would probably say since I'm so close, and I say it's only over the river, New York City. But the lottery is never in my favor, I would think.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

Well, maybe someday.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

See, John, for this one, I thought you were gonna say the bucket list is Run Disney bringing back Star Wars. It's non non run non-Disney.

SPEAKER_01 27:20

Oh, okay, touche, touche, touche. It's non-Disney. Well, if I could run an Endor, maybe I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

Would that be a trail race technically, though?

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Uh yeah, probably. Okay. It's an ultra.

SPEAKER_02 27:35

I don't know about your knees would love that, John.

SPEAKER_00 27:38

Well, I know. By the way, before I forget, uh, happy belated Star Wars Day, John.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Today's Red Today's Revenge of the Fifth.

SPEAKER_00 27:45

Oh, yeah, that's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 27:46

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 27:47

Thank you very much. You're welcome. Uh, for me, non-Disney bucket list. Uh, I will be able to cross off one of those this November. Uh, I'm right there with you, John. New York City is something that I have been circling for a while, and I'm so glad that uh I get to uh help guide Rachel through that this November. So I am beyond thrilled for that one. But a few others that uh I would always have my eye on. Uh, another it actually would be another world major. And even though people say that of the world majors, it's not their favorite for me would be the Tokyo Marathon. Uh obviously, you know, as I've talked on the podcast before, I was an exchange student in Japan when I was in high school, and I love the experience over there. Uh, my host sister has gotten into running uh probably in the last half decade or so. And uh to be able to run that with her would be awesome and be able to see my host family, um, not to mention get over the Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney C. Right. Uh, you know, doesn't hurt either. Uh, but then also I would say coming back stateside, uh, probably a bucket list one for me. And and I can't believe I'm saying this one because apparently the elevation is really, really tough. I want to do big sir. I just anytime I see photos of uh that course, it just looks immaculate. And I would I would just want to run that one for the vibes.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

Very cool. I am again right there with you guys. I would love to do New York, but honestly, when I saw this question, the first two races that came to my mind were Grandma's Marathon and Twin Cities, which seems stupid since I live in Minnesota. But to be able to run a marathon in my home state is sounds so cool to me. And to get to see different parts, like I mean, Minnesota's a big state, so I haven't seen everything. Um, and so I would love to be able to see that. And knowing how Minnesotans are, I just think that the race experience itself would be an amazing thing. So those are truly on my bucket list, and one of these days I will get to them.

SPEAKER_01 30:08

This is from Mikey. How would you calm the nerves of a first-time Dopey and first-time ever marathon runner?

SPEAKER_00 30:15

Ooh.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

We were all there once.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

We were, but at the same time, I think what makes his situation unique is that he's doing his first marathon as part of Dopey, which I know there are very different camps in terms of people that are like, oh, you should respect the distance, and then there are other people like, well, if you're gonna do it, just do it with Dopey, you know. So so there's no there's no right or wrong answer there. In terms of calming the nerves, the best advice that I can give to you, Mikey, is that the training for Dopey is going to be long and strenuous, but I would say, in terms of the running aspect of it, put a majority of your focus on the marathon itself. You know, as we have told you on this podcast, as Jeff Galloway would have told you, the more you can walk those first three races is going to make your marathon experience eons better. I would say if you were like getting like a little bit of an itch to you know, want to be able to run something else, probably the 10k in my mind would be one that you could I don't want to use the word race, but at least do more running than walking in that one. And then the the last part of advice I'll impart here as you gear up your training for Dopey and for the marathon, is and and I I love talking about this theory. Our buddy Kevin Gwynn came up with the concept of Gwinning, and that was the interval of a light, light run for 30 seconds and then walking for two minutes. I think that will help. And and grant, you could even employ that for your marathon training as well, too, especially during those simulation weekends in the sense that you're getting the time on your feet, but at the same time, it will help speed up the time a little bit so that you don't feel like you're out there forever, but you'll still be getting that endurance benefit as well, too. And you know, if you can incorporate that into those simulations for you know 10K, especially the half marathon, um, I think that will give you a lot of confidence for your marathon training and the marathon itself. And then in theory, by gaining that confidence, I'm hoping that that would calm your nerves.

SPEAKER_02 32:54

So, Mikey, I have two ways that I'm gonna go about answering this question. The first way is gonna be from Coach Alicia, which is that training for a marathon is not easy. But if you trust the training process and you put in the effort, it will be good. Keep keep working through it. But in turn with that, think of it each week, sometimes each day at a time, rather than looking at it big picture. A lot of my my clients will come to me and they'll be like, How am I ever gonna do a marathon? How am I ever gonna get to dopey at the end of this? And we don't want to jump ahead to the finish line. Trust the process, enjoy the process, because you really only get one experience at your first time. So take the time to enjoy it. My second piece of advice to calm your nerves is on race day, the best thing I can tell you is to go into it with a positive mindset. So if you are feeling nervous, think it's gonna go perfectly. I'm gonna have all my my ducks in a row, all my feelings are gonna go great. And if you're tired, think nope, I got this. I'm gonna wake up and I'm gonna go. And that can definitely help. The mindset is a very key piece of marathon training. So trying to keep that positive mindset throughout um will definitely help.

SPEAKER_01 34:23

I might be the outlier here. I did my first marathon with dopey. So I was I knew I was ready for it. That was the big thing. Uh I trusted the training, I trained, and everything did not go as planned. I did, I that's when I first tore my meniscus before the dopey. That was in that was in June. I tore my meniscus right before training started. But I got the plan, everything worked well. Like everyone else said, walk everything. I walk the 5K, the 10K, pretty much most of the half, you know, still kept I was a 16-minute mile uh on most of those things because walking does help. Like every we said before, walking will help you. And I did the marathon. I was, you know, almost 100% positive that I was going to finish this because I did the training, I did everything well, and uh met somebody at mile 10. We we ran most of the marathon together after that. Got the grinning and we did grinning from uh Animal Kingdom out, right, Greg? Absolutely. And everything went well and and had a great time. That that's what's gonna help you stay calm. Just like Alicia said, your mindset's gotta be that I can do this, I'm gonna do this, everything's gonna go right. If something goes wrong, you like just try to shift gears and find something positive to look for, like the next mile marker.

SPEAKER_02 35:58

Absolutely.

Talking Yourself Down From Dopey

SPEAKER_00 35:59

Yeah, definitely run the mile that you're in, and you know, and try not to get too far ahead of yourself. Yeah, that that that's really beneficial. Well, I think this next question uh will blend in really nicely to what we were just talking about, and this comes from our friend Brandy, and I'm sure uh the reason why she asked this question is my fault. And uh that is Brandy wants to know how do you talk yourself down from dopey to goofy, or God forbid, just the full. How do I stop the my must-do everything race affliction? Someone, please stop me.

SPEAKER_02 36:42

I laugh because I know Brandy, and I feel like regardless of how we answer this, she's gonna still want to do all of them.

SPEAKER_00 36:51

Um, I thought you could still say it would still be my fault.

SPEAKER_02 36:55

Everything's your fault, Greg. I'm just kidding. But I as somebody who has done dopey and goofy and then now transition to just the marathon, I think it's coming to terms with what is the priority for you. Um for me, it was more important to me to have the marathon be the best that it could be. And so that helped me make the decision to move away from the challenges. I also have the privilege to be able to do some other race weekends that have challenges, and so I was okay doing challenges during that and then only doing the marathon. So, Brandy, I encourage you to look at it in that sense because I do know that you are able to do some other race weekends um that maybe maybe move down. Um I also feel like there's probably something that's telling you that you don't necessarily want to do dopey anymore if you're asking the question. Um and so kind of doing some self-reflection.

SPEAKER_01 38:11

My first three marathon weekend races were dopey. I was gonna do the fourth weekend. I'm like, then I'm like, no, let me just just do the marathon. But then I'm I'm the registration day, I'm in that panic. Do I press the dopey button or do I just oh sorry, just do the marathon in the 5K? And I'm like, I just did the marathon in the 5K. And I said to myself, so as a buffer, so I could still be involved and not felt like I was getting FOMO or anything like that, I was going to cheer the half on Main Street, which I think was a great filler because you still get that thrill of being running down Main Street because seeing everybody run down Main Street is a great thing. So I've done that for the last two years. Will I do Dopey again? There probably will be a chance. But uh just doing the marathon or just doing other race weekends, like this past weekend, uh springtime surprise. I didn't do the challenge. I just came down, did the 10 miler. I mean, that's all I wanted to do. I said I don't need to do a challenge every weekend. I mean, and it it broke the stop it stop doing dopey kind of broke me saying, I need to do every race weekend that I'm every race on the weekend that I'm down there. And it gives you time to do other stuff. I mean, you're down there too, you could spend some time, cheer, hang out, not have to go to bed at eight o'clock at night, seven o'clock at night. It's something you could do. Just you gotta make that decision. And then when it's wrong, you just blame Greg. Exactly.

Beating Loneliness And Hard Miles

SPEAKER_00 39:53

Brandy, there are a lot of Run Disney Hills that I will die on. But the one that will always be the top priority for me in terms of my my thought processes when it comes to this product. And I know I'm in the minority when I say this, but Goofy is a better event than Dopey. And for me, that thought process is what helps me come down off of that quote unquote need for wanting to do Dopey. You know, a lot of people will say, well, no, just do Dopey. It's only 9.3 more miles. That is technically correct. But the part that kicks your butt, and and you know this because you've done Dopey yourself, is those two extra wakeups are the absolute killers that will get you by Saturday or Sunday morning. So the fact that you can eliminate two of those weekends, still get the majority of the miles that Dopey um provides, you still get two trips down Main Street USA, or I guess technically up Main Street USA. And when you cross the finish line of the marathon, you're still getting a challenge medal, and you're still getting the coveted Mickey ears. That for me is enough to be like, no, goofy is the way to go as opposed to dopey. Now, going back to what John and Alicia were saying, though, in those times where I don't feel like doing goofy or I don't want to pay the funds for goofy or something like that, again, there is there is nothing wrong with doing just the marathon. You know, depending on, you know, say work schedules or something like that, you know, it allows you to come into the weekend uh, you know, a little bit later. So there, you know, you're potentially saving money on hotel and park tickets and food and all that jazz. But even if you wanted to come in for you know the pomp and circumstance that is the first day of the expo, even though if you're doing just the marathon, I think that's still a great plan, too, because then that could allow yourself to maybe get in a day or two of park time, then start to get your body rested up. Again, you're still doing an amazing event that will generate lots of memories for you, and you still feel accomplished enough to be able to go out and celebrate however you want to, you know, throughout Walt Disney World. So, again, this is a super, super easy answer for me in terms of how to justify doing those bump downs again, whether it's down to goofy or or just the the marathon. And you know, I'll be honest, I think this idea of, and you're and I know this goes beyond dopey, but and and maybe I'm wrong here, but a trend that I am seeing now in the Run Disney community is I think there are more and more people that are moving away from that idea of the perfect season. Now, I don't know if that has something to do with with Disneyland going away or the fact that, you know, again, you know, we start and finish all the races in Epcot, you know, we're we're finding more consistency in terms of them recycling the same courses over and over. So maybe that's leading into it as well, too. But you know, to your point, John, you know, I'm hearing from a lot of people that are talking more and more about cheering and having a grand and glorious time doing that. And that is filling their cup just as much as running the races themselves. So hopefully, Brandy, this is uh this is a good therapy session for you. You know, even though you know maybe you're talking back to us in real time, you'll have you'll you'll have to let us know. But uh know that whatever decision that you do decide to make is going to be the right one. For you and FOMA will not be that bad.

SPEAKER_02 44:03

So our friend Michelle would like to know on long runs, how do you keep from getting lonely?

SPEAKER_00 44:10

Listening to the Rise and Run podcast.

SPEAKER_02 44:14

So that's a great one, Greg. I also love Holler Hype. Um, I think if you're not part of the Holler Hype community, um, I believe that there's stuff in the show notes below where you're listening to this and also on our Facebook page. Otherwise, reach out to one of us if you need help finding it because the holler hype um community for the Rise and Run podcast is absolutely amazing. Um, especially even on my short runs, there's always at least one person, usually Troy. Thanks, Troy, um, that will shout out and say, Hey, good morning. Like, I hope you're having a great day. Um, and it just kind of helps to know that you're not out there alone. Um, so that's that's a big piece. Or even finding people in the community that you can either text or maybe meet up with for a run. I saw some of our friends got together this last weekend and ran together for their long run. So there's there's a number of things that you can do.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

I will say one thing that you could look into now, if you're a Galloway runner, which I think Michelle is, there are Galloway groups spread all throughout the country in terms of, you know, if there's one nearby, sure, you might all have different races that you're training for, but at least there's a physical sense of community that you can uh participate in. You know, I know there are run clubs, you know, in communities across the country, but the sense that I get is that a lot of these run clubs are not conducive to you know the interval runner. Um, you know, so that kind of make things a little bit different and and I I guess in a way awkward because you know you're doing one style versus another. But if that's something that will help detract from that loneliness, you know, maybe go that route as well. But no, Alicia, you hit the nail right on the head in terms of the holler hypes. I mean, it's again, it's virtual company, but it's still company and it's hearing someone else's thoughts as opposed to the thoughts inside your head, which we all know on the long run can really get to us and negatively impact us at times. So yeah, definitely get on holler hype.

SPEAKER_01 46:36

I agree, agree with Greg. Uh, try to find a run group that's around, maybe to to to to to to run with. I know some some of these areas, especially when like Chicago or New Yorkers coming up, they have group runs for I think a lot of the uh shoe stores, uh like our local fleet feet will have like group runs for like they call them catered, they're not catered training runs, uh supported runs. So long runs, so you can go out there and run with other people, and it's actually supported uh with uh you know sponsors giving out like water and uh like uh fuel on the course. But for me, I just put my headset on and get immersed in music, and I just uh I just go. I mean, that's puts me in a different place, music.

SPEAKER_02 47:25

So me too.

SPEAKER_01 47:26

That's my that's my uh way. A little follow-up for that question is from our friend Jenny. What keeps you going in the moments when training or the race gets really hard?

SPEAKER_02 47:38

So honestly, what you just said for the last question, John, about music, that is my thing. That if the race is getting really hard, I will put on my headphones and kind of put my head down and sometimes just sing out loud, to be honest. Um, and that's what kind of gets me through those moments. Um I know Jeff used to talk about the monkey brain and like what we can do of like counting steps and all the different things. Um, and there's a bunch of tools out there. It's kind of the same thing for me. So saying those words, a lot of times it's a song that I find that really is resonating, and I'll listen to it on repeat over and over and over again for a good mile or two, and that kind of brings me back out of those rough patches.

SPEAKER_00 48:25

For me, I think what what is helpful is even though we're running for sometimes hours on end, um, the idea of change definitely helps, you know, as you were saying, Alicia, the monkey brain a little bit. You know, I won't always be listening to music, or I won't always be listening to podcasts. Like, I'll like, okay, maybe I'll listen to a podcast and then once that podcast is over, then switch over to my music playlist and then maybe go back to a podcast, or if I feel like I just need to break, you know, like you said, Jeff with counting steps. Um, the other thing I like, and and I I really need to do this more often, is the tip that we got from Britney Charbonne is no, you could be like her and focus on trying to find change on the ground so you can make some, you know, some money along the route. But you know, I also love the fact that you know, she told us the one time that like for a mile, look around and see how many things you can find of the same color. And then for the next mile, change that color and see how many things you can find, just so that you're not solely focused on one type of sound or one type of medium for a really long time, that that will, in theory, then you know, at least mentally help you along the lines. But I'll also go back to holler hype as well, too. You know, sometimes when the hype will come in, that you know, if I'm in the pain cave or something like that, that could, you know, that inspiring message could, you know, turn that frown upside down and put a pep in my step and keep going. And then that, you know, renews my spirits and allows me to keep uh keep trucking forward.

SPEAKER_02 50:10

I've definitely played the color game before. I usually do it a little bit different. Um, I'll just go through the rainbow. Um, and it it does make the miles fly. In terms of doing the color game or listening to the music or whatever you're doing, just remember to be safe. Um, it is easy if you're trying to trick your mind and think about other things to not be as aware of your surroundings. So just remember to be aware um of where you are. Don't want anybody misstepping, tripping, or anything bad happening.

SPEAKER_01 50:41

So I'll go again with music. Like I said, get a song. There's a couple, there's a couple go-to songs that I have that you know I can put on and you know kind of puts you in the uh the mood or the uh inspirational mood that it says, hey, I can I can do this, we we can get get along with this. Sometimes it's just telling yourself, you know, your body thinks it's ready to die, but you know, your mind thinks you're ready to die, but your body can keep going. And you just say, you know, I can go, I could do another mile, I could do another mile, let me see how I feel in a mile, let me see how I feel in a mile. Then 10 miles later, you're done with your long run and you're like, wow, or your race, and I'm like, I'm done, I did this. I mean, it's a it's a lot of ways you gotta tra like you said, you gotta train your brain to say, I'm not done yet. And I think that's one of the things that it helps when the race gets hard, that I can do this, I got I got another mile, I got another mile. Let's see how far I can go before I quit, or give up, or call for the set the sag wagon to come pick you up at a park or some street in the middle of nowhere.

Swap Race Fuel For Park Snacks

SPEAKER_00 51:51

All right, I think we're gonna go around the horn here one more time and uh answer a few more questions here. And uh next up, um, we got very similar questions from Diana and um the the founder of the Chaos Crew, our our friend Monica. They both ask similar questions along this line, and that is if you could swap out the normal on-course fuel, so in terms of Run Disney, that at least right now is the honey stinger choose, or you know, we've gone the um the sports beans as well. If you could swap that out for a Disney parks slash resort snack, what would you choose and why? And they want us to keep in mind this is race fuel to keep you moving, not a celebratory snack. So, what would you pick for on course? That's a great question.

SPEAKER_01 52:50

Because not everything is good for your stomach while you're running in the parks.

SPEAKER_02 52:55

So, my first thought was a jumbo pickle. I don't even know if you can get them at Disney World, but I know you can get them at Disneyland.

SPEAKER_00 53:04

Which can't you get them? Isn't there that snack cart right next to where um by Columbia Harbor House and like the Hall of President? Can't you still get the really big pickle there?

SPEAKER_02 53:17

But that's the first thing that came to my mind. Side note, I tried Grillo's pickles for the first time this week, and they were amazing.

SPEAKER_01 53:27

We are not sponsored by Grillo's pickles.

SPEAKER_00 53:29

But Gryos, if you do want to sponsor us, then we're we're we're all for it. Wait, now hold on. You you tried the pickle, or or wasn't there because everyone thought it was an April Fool's joke, the Grillo's dill pickle flavor liquid IV.

SPEAKER_02 53:46

So was it an April Fool's this year? So they had April Fool's in the past, but it was actually a product that they put out and they sold out pretty quickly. Okay, I was like, ew, I feel like that would be disgusting. And now I'm like, I should have got one.

SPEAKER_00 54:02

No, I I'm I'm incredibly intrigued to try it because I know um it's really popular. Our friends over at the Dopey Strong uh Facebook group with uh headed up by by Kristen and Devin, they talk all the time about getting like you know how there's those little like five-hour energy shots.

SPEAKER_02 54:20

Yep, they have them for a pickle juice.

SPEAKER_00 54:21

Yeah, they have pickle juice, and I know Kristen talks all the time about grab one of those and like a packet of mustard or something like that from like your quick service. And yeah, and and they and they love that. Okay, so so again, you you've tried the actual pickle, not the the pickle flavor liquid IV. Just a couple of correct. Okay, all right. That is something we need to try and and report back on it if it does come in stock, right?

SPEAKER_02 54:48

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 54:49

Okay, excellent. John, what are you thinking here in terms of a Disney snack?

SPEAKER_01 54:55

That's a I'm I'm really like besides the pickle or any fruit at one of the fruit stands, I would say fries.

SPEAKER_02 55:04

Oh, that's that's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 55:05

Yeah, get a little salty, get a little carbs and salt in you. I don't know how it'll do in your stomach, but it's gonna get you at least get you some salt in your system, hopefully.

SPEAKER_00 55:16

Nothing hits better than a Disney World French fry. I don't know what they do to them, but my lord. I don't know.

SPEAKER_08 55:23

They are good.

SPEAKER_00 55:24

For me, this is a pretty easy one, and um that is the dole whip because I I go back to all of my experiences at Burden Hand, and John, what is the one thing we always look forward to at about the 15k mark? That Rita's the Rita's water slash Italian ice, depending on your regionality. It's Italian ice to me. I mean, obviously, that is a little bit more liquefied, I guess. I you know, but but by the time we we get the Rita's there, so even though it would be more of like an ice cream consistency, you know, if they just you know, can you imagine just being out in the course and you know them pulling down the lever on the door machine and just passing that out? But I feel like it, especially at a hot race, it would, you know, from a taste bud sensation, it would hit the spot, it would cool you down. And for our friends like Alicia, who have dietary restrictions, it's vegan. Yeah, so everybody could enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02 56:35

That's very true.

SPEAKER_01 56:37

The only problem you do get with the uh readers at bird in hand sometimes is you suck it down too quick and you get that brain freeze. And you're like, Yeah, how am I gonna finish this race now? My head's gonna explode.

SPEAKER_02 56:51

I did think of a dole whip when thinking about this question, but I was like, Oh, that's gonna that's gonna melt right away. How would they ever get that to us? But then when you just said have the machine right there, you could just run under it and they could put it in your mouth, right?

SPEAKER_00 57:06

Well, I like that. Or based on how the course is currently laid out, I mean, we do run through Adventureland. So, you know, they could just set up a table there and just you know start pulling out samples like you know as quickly as possible. I'm trying to think, do we run by any other Dole Whip stands on any of the other courses? No. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 57:31

There's not a Dole Whip, but there is a soft surfs uh spot.

SPEAKER_00 57:35

Oh, that one in Epcot by the new bathrooms that they built, right?

SPEAKER_01 57:38

There's one there, and there's also a soft surf spot in uh Animal Kingdom between uh right before you get to uh Everest. Everest. There's a soft surf place there, too.

SPEAKER_00 57:48

Okay. You know, just like how people are now building out those maps of the physical bathrooms that you can go into when you're at the parks. Uh I I love those. I know our friend Amanda once upon a marathon, and I know Ryan Teets is doing them and such. That's what we need next. Course maps that feature Dole Whip andor some type of soft serve ice cream, and that would just change the lives of Run Disney runners across the globe. That would be glorious.

Disney Race Bucket List Moments

SPEAKER_02 58:20

All right. So the next question, our friend Kaylee wants to know what's your bucket list accomplishment for a Disney race? Is it a certain time, chorale placement, celebrity or influencer meeting on course, doing an attraction, character stop, food, etc.

SPEAKER_00 58:36

I mean, me, my bucket list is to be able to run with John from the Rise and Run podcast. I I don't know about you guys.

SPEAKER_02 58:42

That's pretty epic, yes. It is.

SPEAKER_01 58:44

I've I've ran with Greg many a times.

SPEAKER_02 58:48

I think for me, I mean, I always am trying to get uh PR at the marathon. I mean, I've been trying to do that since 2023 when I did Adobe last um and I got a PR. But overall, honestly, I think that my bucket list would just kind of be able to see as many people on the course as I can. Um, I always love seeing people that I know. And so um John can attest to this when we just ran springtime. There was quite a few people that I was like, hey, hey, hey. Um, so that's always a bucket list for me.

SPEAKER_01 59:31

Bucket list accomplishment for a Disney race. Uh I did accomplish that bucket list uh three years ago. I did get a margarita and in Mexico and crossed the finish line with a margarita. That was something I wanted to do, and I did accomplish that. And unfortunately, after that race, they moved the course, so you don't finish past Mexico.

SPEAKER_00 59:55

So it's your fault, John. It's your fault we can't get margaritas anymore.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:00

Well, I I well I didn't go to the uh the stand on the by by the by uh Mexico. The Mexico pavilion. I went to the fast food place which had no line. Oh, good call.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:12

Yeah, so John, I know that you're really excited about oh gosh, I don't know a Star Wars characters, the one that we saw during springtime.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:22

Boba Fett.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:23

Yes. Is there anybody else left that you're like, I really want to see this person?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:30

There would be one I would have loved to do is they had the I guess if you don't know Star Wars, they had the Hoth scene where uh in Empire Strikes Back, Luke is upside down and the you know, hanging. And they have a they have a photo stop during the Star Wars races that it it whole things upside down and they take the picture and it looks like you're upside down. That's cool. That would be one I would like to do. Of course, you know, bring back a Star Wars race is a bucket list accomplishment, but who knows what that's ever gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:04

You know, hearing you guys talk is generating a lot of ideas for me, and I think you know, using some of the examples that um you know that that Kaylee put in her question here, I think for me it would be the the best corral uh placement possible, uh specifically for the marathon, and and the reason why I say that is to me being able to start as early on marathon Sunday for me is not necessarily about the characters, for me, it's about being able to get as many miles before the sun comes up as possible that will physically save me for the second half of the race once you know the sun does come up. So for me, that's huge. But in terms of then being able to check off other bucket list items um throughout the course, again, and I'm just gonna base this off of the course that we've been running the last couple of years. Uh, for me, it would be being able to run up Main Street USA in the pitch dark. I mean, obviously, any run up Main Street is magical to begin with, but the fact that if the you know all the the twinkling lights are still going on, and hey, regular Disney World, not just Disney run Disney. I'm I'm talking to the whole Walt Disney company and Jeff Vale, the the president of Walt Disney World, bring back the damn dream lights because there is nothing better than Marathon Weekend and running up Main Street. You get the Christmas tree and then you turn the corner. Not only are you seeing the castle, but you're seeing the dream lights. It's freaking magical. Uh, there's gonna be a new hashtag that that we can use here on the podcast. Um, so bring that back. That would be a bucket list item. Uh, but then a few other things again by having that better corral placement. Um to throw one over to my homeboy uh Johnny over here, being able to experience the Star Wars mile in the dark. Uh, you know, I again we talked about this uh on the cruise in terms of springtime surprise. I'm really liking the direction that Run Disney is going in right now with the added theming elements, whether it was again the gazelle dancers or the honeypots or the core memory balls that were leading up to Bing Bong. Obviously, I think that all started with the Star Wars mile, and even that one time, I didn't run it, but I think it was like that first Tower of Terror 10 Mile where they try to were like kind of you getting you into the story of the Twilight Zone. Um, you know, so the being able to experience those theatrical elements early on in the race is um would be really nice. And then the other one that I have not been able to do, and that is right Everest. Um, you know, to be able to be in the position that one, it would be open, accessible, and knowing that I could get on it without having a fear of the park being open to regular day guest or the the balloon ladies. So again, just having that corral or that better corral placement would open the door to a lot of other bucket list opportunities as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:19

So, John, you had mentioned that you had hit one of your bucket list things, and that reminded me of um, I don't remember which marathon it was, but one of my bucket lists was to be able to see and take a picture with Kevin, and we had the opportunity during one of the marathons that I was able to hit. But if somehow, some way they brought back you were talking about the lights on the castle, Greg. It reminded me of um the Osborne lights, which I know are not gonna come back, but that would be pretty epic if we could run through something like that. Um, but I I too would love to be able to make it to the castle when it's still dark out, or at least I'm always like right there to see um with the how the new courses to see the um water light show, what is it called?

SPEAKER_00 1:05:15

Oh my gosh, why am I blanking on this? The um yeah, the the the water pageant, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:19

Yeah, to see the water pageant actually lit up. I always have been getting there like right when the sun is coming up, and so you really can't see the lights anymore. Um, so at least being able to get to see that um would be fantastic. But if if I was in that place, then I would probably be going to be able to hit my PR. So it all kind of goes together.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:44

So to kind of wrap things up today, Katrina asks, what is your go to celebrate restaurant for a race weekend?

SPEAKER_00 1:05:53

This is a toughie.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:54

Yeah, and I think it to me, uh my I'll get to my point was I think it changes per race week.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:01

Mine doesn't. And if Bob was here, I think that he may agree with me because it's one of his favorite restaurants. Um, and that's Marimoto. I love um going to Marimoto after. I also don't drink when I have a race or race weekend um until after the races have completed. And so I like to go there um and have the sake sangria.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:27

Ooh, I never had that. That sounds good.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:30

It's good.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:31

All right, John. Well, well, give us the breakdown of your post uh celebration meals per race weekend.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:37

So I really like Germany for after uh wine and dine. Wine and dine, yep.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:46

That's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:46

That's a good place to celebrate. You get a bunch of people at your table and have a great time. Um for marathon weekend, I really like uh the boathouse. Okay. That was a good place to eat, you know. I mean, I've been to others, but I think the boathouse is the place I like to celebrate at.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:08

Do you change up what you get at the boathouse or you get the same?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:12

I I've changed it up a couple times.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:15

John's got me thinking about different places per weekend. I I I I definitely agree with you on beer garden. That's a great one. You know, nothing better than to celebrate the the weekend with a big Stein of uh Schoenhofer, or if I'm sure I'm butchering that, but you know, the the the grapefruit beer that's what three three percent alcohol or or something like that. Uh for me on my short list, uh even though I haven't been there in a little bit, and I know the reviews right now is that it's very hit or miss. I'm a Polynesian girly at heart, so I I love my Ohana. You know, you just throw down a platter of noodles and pot stickers and wings and the shrimp, and Greg's a happy, happy boy.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:02

But Greg just said so many things that are gonna be hashtag now.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:08

Hashtag polygirly and yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:13

I'm sorry for interrupting. No, no, it's talking about hashtags earlier, and I'm like Polynesian girly, and then you said um about the shrimp and being a happy boy, and yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:28

But uh a new one has entered the chat for me, and that was thanks to a new place that I tried during springtime surprise just a couple of weeks ago. And I know it got slandered right before it opened, but I had a fantastic meal at the cake bake shop at the boardwalk, and the best thing that was on the table that night, and it was so large that I probably would order it next time as my entree. And that was, and again, this goes to a uh big shout out to my friend Amanda over at Once Upon a Marathon. The um the New Orleans style poutine. So it was or it was like a uh or it was like a gumbo poutine essentially, so it had like you know that roux and the vegetables and the sausage, but it but then it had the cheese curds with it too over the bed of no, I'm sure they're not Disney French fries, but they they mimicked Disney French fries and it was delicious, and I'm still thinking about that meal. So I I think that I think cake bake has to enter the lexicon in terms of uh celebration meals for me.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:45

I do have to say that I that is one thing that I miss is poutine since I can't eat it anymore. So I I totally can understand where you're coming from.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:55

I so to me is poutine's like upscale disco fries.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:00

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:01

Yeah, that's fair.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:03

Yeah. That's a that that's a two o'clock in the morning diner staple.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:11

Oh man. And now I'm really hungry because now I want gumbo poutine, I want a dole whip, and I want uh a liter of of beer from uh beer garden. This is this is not the this is not the way to end this uh this particular segment because now I'm very hungry and very thirsty. But so I I know we've been at this for a bit now, but thank you so much for all of the questions. Um, you know, in the event, and you know, because we're in the summertime in the off season of training, I'm sure there will be opportunities for us to be able to answer more of these questions. So if we did not get to your question on this week's episode, we will try and uh answer a few more of those in the future. So again, thank you so much for all the great questions. And uh and yeah, we'll do this really soon.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:02

Caution runners, change of topic ahead.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:07

All right, just a few quick announcements here before we get into what is going to be a very lengthy race report. So this will not be a Zoom Thursday. Our next Zoom will most likely be taking place on Thursday, May 14th. Uh, but we will get that confirmed with Bob as quickly as possible, and I'm sure that he will make a post about that. But again, so no Zoom this upcoming week. Now, as for next week, our episode is uh, you know, we keep getting questions about this both virtually and in person. A lot of people have been asking myself and John and Bob and Alicia, hey guys, how was the cruise? Well, we're gonna tell you about it from it was okay. It was okay. I can't I can't wait for Bob to start his recap like that. But yeah, so many wonderful memories that occurred on that trip, both you know, planned and organically that happened. And again, you know, just you know, a little teaser preview here. I think it was a smashing success, and everyone that we have talked to just has been raving about how good of a time that they had, and and we and we can't wait to get feedback from you know our cruisers, so because that's the other question everyone keeps asking us when's the next one gonna be. And obviously, we need to plan it out internally and also talk um you know with our friends over at Magic Bound about that. But if you're curious about what happened on the Utopia of the Seas following springtime surprise, you're gonna get that full recap in next week's episode once Bob has rejoined us.

Race Report Marathon Begins

SPEAKER_03 1:12:52

And now, please stand clear of the door. It's time for a race report.

Flying Pig And Big Weekend Events

SPEAKER_00 1:13:06

The race report is sponsored by our friend Thomas Stokes over at Stoked Metabolic Training. If you are interested in any of Thomas' programs, be sure to visit Stokes.fit slash rise and run coaching. So, folks, I mentioned this at the top of the episode, and that is we have a very, very lengthy race report. Uh again, I initially thought that there was only two big events that was uh occurring this past weekend, and needless to say, there was a lot more than that. Uh, so obviously, you know, you guys take such great time to give us so much detail about these races and post wonderful photos. And but unfortunately, if we were to read all of those verbatim, we would be here until next Tuesday evening, uh, and we'd have to go right into the cruise recap. So obviously, we don't want it to be that long uh, you know, for everyone. So we are gonna do our best here to give abridged versions of that. But also the other thing is because of how long this race report is, um, we're not gonna be able to go into big detail because you know, I know on last week's episode we did our best to highlight the races that had occurred the past two weekends because again, schedule has been a funky ever since springtime surprise because we had the Jeff Tribute episode, and then that went into the cruise recording episode and such. So I know we went through at least a list of all of those races, but we do apologize that we can't go into full reports. But if you earned a PR during one of your races in the past two weeks, uh so not this past weekend, but those previous two weekends, this PR bell is for you. And just so you know, we read those reports, we see them on Facebook, and we are so incredibly proud of you, and you should be commended on your efforts. So that's why we wanted to go ahead and just make note of that and give you that PR bell if you did earn it. Now, all of that being said, our friends who ran the Boston Marathon and the London Marathon, once Bob has returned from his epic adventure of springtime surprise and then the Galloway uh Memorial Tribute and Flying Pig and the cruise and everything, once he has returned from all of that, he will be in contact with folks uh to schedule those extended race report spotlights because again, with the world majors, we don't want those to go by the wayside. So Bob will be in touch. But now let's get into this past weekend's race report, and we're gonna start with the weekend long events. And the first one I just mentioned did because Bob was there this past weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio, was the flying pig marathon weekend. Congratulations to our friend Emmy Hartman, who works for Pig Works. Uh, you know, I know she puts a lot of hard work uh being part of that team to put on these races, and it looks like everyone that attended from the Rise Run community had a wonderful time. So we just want to offer up our congratulations to the Pig Works team. But let's just go through uh who was all there. So, what's unique about Flying Pig is that they have all of these various race distances and challenges, and it's all themed to skyline chili and such. Uh, but on Saturday was the 5k, and Rob ran that. Saturday also has the 10K. Rob again ran that one, and then Kayla also ran, and she said uh the beginning of the course was not her favorite, but she greatly enjoyed the three-quarter mile tunnel and going across the bridges into Kentucky. So there you go. Uh, in one particular race, you can cross off two states and one because, and actually, now that I think about it, I believe the Cincinnati airport, and and someone could fact check me. Yes, okay. Their airport is at the Cincinnati Airport, is actually located in Kentucky. Correct. Yeah. So there you go.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:11

I think it's Covington, Kentucky, I think.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:13

Yeah.

More Races Across The Map

SPEAKER_00 1:17:14

So there you go. So again, that was the 10K. Then moving to Sunday of Flying Pig, uh, that's when the half marathon and the marathon occur. Uh, running the half. Uh, Bob ran that along with Alan and his lovely wife, Grace. Denise ran that. Uh, Ileana also participated with her dad, Nelson. And as a native West Virginian, uh, Ileana says that she knows hills, but these were hills. And as always, she had a great time running with her dad. And let me tell you, I got a chance to meet Nelson uh during Jack's wedding cruise, and he is just the most adorable man I've ever met. So, congratulations, Ileana and Nelson. Uh, Melody and Pam also ran the half marathon, as well as Amy. And she said Cincy hosts a great race with awesome core support and had plenty of not only dogs, but pigs to pet as well. Uh, Tiffany ran, she said that she traded her uh ponytail for pigtails in hopes of a sub-two-hour half marathon. Uh, she went out way too fast and paid for it, uh, but she learned that bourbon is great for sore legs. Uh, I'm not sure what mile she got that at, but uh she uh learned towards the end of the race that maybe she could still hit that goal, and she did so. She came in at 158.46. Way to go, Tiffany. Lori also ran the half marathon. She notes that the new course had a ton of uphills, but she's glad it had her knee held up. Uh, and as doing the half marathon, she completed the three-way challenge with extra cheese. And then running the marathon, which again also occurred on Sunday. Again, Rob was out for the second day in the row. He ran that. And Nurse also ran this, and she completed her 34th marathon. That's awesome. Uh and she did this as part of the four-way challenge with extra cheese. And uh, I guess the uh the four-way challenge consists of doing the one mile race that I believe occurs on Friday evening. Then she did the 5K and 10K on Saturday, and then the marathon on Sunday. So, to all of our flying pig runners, congratulations. The uh next weekend event that we had in Des Moines, Iowa was the Des Moines Women's Half Marathon weekend. Uh, Angela participated in both the 5K and the half marathon. This was her first non-run Disney half marathon. Uh, she was dealing with neurovirus leading up to the race, so she uh, but she was able to complete the 5K, and she got an 11-minute PR in the half. Way to go, Angela. Also, our friend Alex was there and ran the 5K and the 10K. Moving over to the Keystone State, our next weekend event was the Pittsburgh Marathon weekend. Again, lots of different events occurred here. We'll start with Andrew, who ran the Steel Challenge, and um the Steel Challenge is the 5K and the half marathon. He had a goal at the beginning of the year to PR all his distances this year, and he uh set out to do just that this weekend. He PR'd the 5K by 16 seconds and also PR'd the half marathon by 27 seconds. Andrew goes on to say that he does love the energy of this weekend. Congratulations. Carol also participated this weekend and said that uh this course gives her flying pig vibe. So there you go. Uh, and she also wants to thank Beth, who was cheering runners at mile six. I'm going to assume this is of the uh half marathon, but she was out there wearing a rise and run shirt. That's awesome to see. Uh, next up, Patrick ran the half marathon. Lisa also ran the half marathon. She says that um this race owes her feeling back into her fingers because it was so cold at the start. Uh, she warmed up fast though, thanks to the hills and the bridges. Uh, she sprained her ankle about two weeks ago, so her POT hopes were uh kind of out the door, but she enjoyed the awesome crowd support. Rich also ran the half. Uh he said after straining his knee in January, he was a little nervous that it wouldn't hold up for the race, but uh he was passing people during the back half of the uh race, and that leaves him optimistic for the future. Alicia was also running the half marathon. Uh, she got stuck in a really long corral P line. So she decided to party pace this one. Uh, and she felt amazing. She came in at 2 47 on the halfway to go. So just like Andrew, Julia ran the Steel Challenge, and this race capped off an epic trip that she had. You know, we were talking about Margaret's epic trip between springtime, Boston, and Dollywood. Uh, this one I think is equally as amazing. Uh, her trip uh consisted of completing both the Manchester and London marathons and then came back over to Pittsburgh. And even though she had some jet lag, she negative split the 5k and she got her second fastest finish uh on this course by going sub two. Way to go. What I also find unique about this event is that they do have a marathon relay, and Chrissy participated in that. They had issues with their team timing chips, so they won't get an official time, but according to her watch, uh she got a three-minute PR based on running the same segment that she ran of this race last year. She feels these hills are definitely getting her ready for Burden Hand coming up in September. Now we did have a few friends uh that ran the marathon as part of this event. Uh, first up is our buddy Chad. Haven't heard from Chad in a while. But you know, only Chad uses a big race like this as a catered training run because, you know, Chad, I feel like can run a marathon, you know, on a random weekday based on all the crazy events that he participates in. But but this is what I found so wild. And he gave details about this during the customized training call this morning. Even though he took his time because he didn't want to go out too fast, because I forget again what insane challenge he's training for right now. He finished under his goal time, and that even included stopping for like three to four minutes to have a conversation with someone on the course. After he finished, got all of his stuff, and got back uh to his car, he still went out running for 22 minutes so that he could get the elapsed time that he was looking for um for the day, which is insane. So way to go, Chad. And then uh finishing up our participants in Pittsburgh, uh Jackie ran the marathon as well. Uh, she said that this was her third year in a row in pacing the seven-hour group, and they've really been working with the race and the last couple of years to make it more inclusive for the back of the Packers. And she says that their hard work is paying off. So to everyone who was out in Pittsburgh Penguin Country, congratulations on an excellent race weekend. Moving west, our next big event occurred in Indianapolis, Indiana. And that event is the Delta Dental 500 Festival 5K and IU Health Mini Marathon. Again, lots of uh different events that people can participate in here. Uh, Elizabeth uh participated in the Mega Mini Challenge, which is the 5K and the half marathon. Kelly did the half and said it wasn't her day for wanting to PR, but she did come away with a P.O.T. And her husband Dave also set a PR. She was on the cruise with us. Our friend Riley was at this event and she finished the 5K and then lined up for the half marathon. Around mile four, her knee was giving her issues, so she changed her plans and incorporated more walking. And uh one of her favorite moments during uh the race weekend is that she was able to grab a selfie with a race announcer that we all know and love, Carissa Galloway. Tara ran the half as well as Tom. Lisa and her mom, Rosemary, ran the half as well as Kathy. Uh, can't remember what uh event Brooke participated in, but uh she just goes on to say 10 out of 10 recommends this race weekend. Actually, I think this is Lisa's mom, Rosemary. Rosemary reports that this was a great race with lots of runners and huge crowd support. And the highlights include getting to run on the speedway and hearing Carissa Galloway at the start. Amanda also participated in this event. She got to kiss the bricks of the speedway as she was able to check off Indiana as part of her goal to hit 50 halves and 50 states. And in rounding out the indie mini marathon weekend, Sarah said that this was an emotional race for her as her dad would always uh drive her to this race, but uh he has since passed a couple of years ago. Uh, but it was a beautiful day for a run, and she got a course PR and a POT. So, again, to all of our mini indie marathon participants, congratulations. All right, that finishes off our big weekend event. So now we will hop back in our Mandalorian and go to Saturday. And in Wallace, North Carolina was the Carolina Strawberry Festival 5K. Jennifer and her sons Jace and Jude participated in that one. The Door County Half Marathon in Door County, Wisconsin, Donna and Trevor ran that half. Uh, not exactly sure where this race took place, but we had the Coca-Cola 10K, uh, which is the race two of the trilogy challenge, and Whitney ran that one. Down to Tampa, Florida was the run with Meb 5K, and our friend Laura Ann was there. Uh, she said, even though it was hot, uh, she did not miss one single interval. And she really appreciated being able to see both Meb and former NFL coach Tony Dungey uh at this race. Moving up to New York, specifically flushing New York, was the New York Run Runners Mindful 5K. We had a couple of runners there. Grace Brennan and Nikhil participated. Uh, not too far away in. Manhattan, New York, was the great saunter. Megan and Caitlin participated. Didn't get race reports from them, but this is such a unique event because this is where you walk the perimeter of the island of Manhattan and it's over a marathon long. I know our friend Tom from the World Run for podcast uh did this a couple of years ago. So if you're ever looking for something to do in New York City, that's definitely one to try out. We'll move to Durham, North Carolina for the Garmin Marathon. At the Garmin Marathon, Morgan participated. Our, you know, I'm calling her the queen of Holler Hype. Uh Debbie uh participated, and she was very thankful that the rain stayed away for this race, and she was able to get a new Run Disney POT. And she wants to thank Mary for a bracelet that honored our uh our friend Lauren Bullis that that we uh had to add in that little intro uh before the springtime episode. Uh, but again, you know, I I think uh Debbie is uh the queen of Holler Hype, and um why she thought that bracelet was so special is that she always appreciated the number of times that Lauren hyped her uh in return. So uh a very loving tribute there. And then um Debbie's son Kirby also participated in the 5k uh event of the Garmin Marathon. Now, do you think if this is the same Garmin as like the race Garmin, do you think that like at the finish line they tell all their runners that they're unproductive as they like cross the finish line and get their medal? What do you guys think? It says it says move, I think.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:39

Yeah, all right.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:40

So we'll have to get updates uh uh what kind of uh feedback Garmin gives you as you cross the finish line there.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:45

Maybe they give you a Garmin.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:47

Now that would be a heck of a race prize. You got that right.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:50

Yeah, yeah. For$600 for the race entry, you'll get a you'll get a Garmin.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:55

All right, next up on Saturday in Winchester, Virginia, we had the Apple Blossom 10K, and our buddy Taylor did that one. Uh, she loves how this town goes out all out for uh this weekend festival. Uh, she was a couple of minutes shy of her PR, but she's fine with it because she had been so busy lately. And and let's talk about why Taylor has been so busy. Because, you know, kind of like how Bob has been busy this last month, Taylor had a really busy um April. Right before Springtime Surprise, she got to go on the Disney Destiny, got off the Destiny, came right to Springtime Surprise, and then after Springtime Surprise, got on the Rise and Run cruise with us. So um, if you feel bad that Taylor didn't get her uh her PR, don't feel too bad because she's had an epic month. Uh, but I'm glad to see that uh a little bit of normalcy has returned for Taylor, but I know you will uh you'll get that that PR. And um, but Taylor also did go on to say that this was her last road race of the year until she starts training for her next event, which for some reason she's keeping secret from us. So I can't wait for that announcement. We'll head down to Shreveport, Louisiana for the Noche Del Taco 5K. Naomi was there, and she had a very simple race report. They PR'd in tacos. That's a great PR. Move to about, yeah, about two and a half hours north of me in Scranton, Pennsylvania. There was the Office 5K. And yes, and when I mean the office, I mean the television show. Emily uh drove all the way from Buffalo to run this race. Uh, and she dressed as Angela and uh her partner dressed as Dwight. They loved it so much that they're coming back next year. Staying in the in the Northeast in Bedford. Uh hopefully, uh Allie, I did that justice for you. In Bedford, New Hampshire was the and I not granted, I'm gonna butcher this. The uh Kemamine Financial Cinco de Miles 5K. Mary was uh in this race uh wearing her lucky shirt. Uh, she went out on a fun run with her two kids, uh Stroller in tow. Uh she got a stroller PR. I don't know if we have stroller PRs, but we're gonna give you one anyway. And Mary did say that she enjoyed all the unlimited snacks after the race, highlighted by the dill-flavored pretzels. And of course, just for you, Alicia, a margarita. Speaking of Alicia, one of her clients, Jimmy. Jimmy ran the Bigfoot 5K in Townsend, Tennessee. He shaved four minutes off of his time last year. And folks, you gotta go look at the photos. This is one of the most comically sized metals I have ever seen before in my life. It like it looks like one of those like gaudy, like big ring gold chains. And you know, like something like flavor flav would wear, and then just this big, big foot on the bottom of it. Again, you got you gotta go check out the photos on this one. Down in Houston, Texas, our friend Ashley participated in the Astro Race to the Pennant 5K. Uh, she never did any bridge training, which made trying to roll up them difficult, but at least the downhills were fun. And uh, if you were on social media this weekend, uh you should know this race because this is the one that kind of went viral for the epic log jam uh at the finish line. Did either of you see videos of this?

SPEAKER_01 1:33:35

No, I gotta check this out. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:33:37

Yeah, so essentially it happened inside of uh the stadium where the Houston Astros played, and they just had and like you went into the stadium, but however, they had it designed in like this little like baseball balloon archway that they had for um the finish line, there was a backup of hundreds of people, like literally a standstill. It was it was comical to to watch on social media. So hopefully, uh Ashley, you got through that um with your wheels uh before things got backed up too crazily.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:13

Were they bagging garbage cans at the finish line? Ooh.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:17

I'm sorry. That's a deep cut, John. And I like I like where your head's at. If you're a Yankees fan, you'll understand that reference.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:25

So and a Dodger fan, I think, too, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:34:27

They they oh I I guess so. But I mean to me, I always associate it with the Yankees.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:32

They lost they lost the World Series that year to Houston.

Broad Street PRs And POT Wins

SPEAKER_00 1:34:35

We'll uh move over to Orlando, Florida for the Milk Run 5K, and we're gonna keep things here in the Roll Disney family. Our buddy Heather um rolled as a Scottish cowgirl, and uh she just decided to roll this race on vibes, and she loved the milk and ice cream that they had at the end. And Erica was also there. She goes on to say that this was a flat and fast course with some bricks, which were not her favorite, uh, but she enjoyed hanging out with Heather and also the post-race treats. Martine ran the Escape the Bell Island 5K in Richmond, Virginia. And uh Martine says that the uh hills were wild, but getting up the Reflections Hill at the top of the Virginia War Memorial was worth it to see all the flags of the Armed Service branches. In Greensboro, North Carolina was the May the Course be with you. Uh Mary ran this. Mary's goal was to PR in fun, which she did, but she also got a PR in time as well. So congratulations, Mary. We now head to Fort Smith, Arkansas. I say this all the time. If we're in Fort Smith, it's only one man we're talking about, and that's our buddy Joe. He participated in the Be the Light 5K. Uh, no amigos uh for this erase, but both him and his friend Mary Joe both got first place in their age group. So way to go, Mary Joe and Joe. Regina ran the Jovia Long Island Marathon weekend. Um, both Regina and her friend Michelle uh ran the 10K as part of this event in honor and remembrance again of our friend Lawrence, so that New York could get crossed off her list of races. Um the ladies go on to say that this was a great event, and they may even consider the half marathon that is part of this event next year. Back down to Florida, specifically Orange Park, Florida, where we had the Hula Hustle 5K. Carrie Ann was there, no PR, but she enjoyed the tropical theme. And then rounding out Saturday, and one of my favorite places to visit, Charlottesville, Virginia, was the band on the run 5K. And David ran that. He enjoyed this hilly course that had a local band playing at every turn. He finished third overall and first in his age group. Way to go, David. We now move to Sunday, and we're gonna start in Pennsville, New Jersey for the inaugural shipyard 10 miler and 5k. Our friend Yvette was there, and she said that this was a beautiful course along the Delaware River, but the wind was not her friend. Uh, her goal was to finish this 10 miler in two hours and 40 minutes, and she came in at 2.31. Way to go, Yavett. Uh, Virginia was also there, as well as Danielle, uh, the newest member of the Will Run for podcast. Brianna was also there. Uh, she said that after spending way too much time watching the Sixers and the Flyers, uh, eating the cheesesteak and having way too many beers the night before, she was still able to knock out a two-minute PR. And Brianna uh goes on to say that she recommends this race as an alternative to the Broad Street run in Philadelphia, which we'll be talking about in just a second. Also, my future teammate, uh, as part of my relay team for Loopy Looper, Beth, was also there. She loved this inaugural event, even though uh the three miles of facing the water were really, really windy and not that fun. Uh, but she got a six-minute PR and a Run Disney POT. And her wife and my other teammate, Diane, also got a nine-minute PR. Ladies, congratulations. And like I said, cannot wait to see you in August at Loopy Looper. We are gonna crush that loop. All right, Brianna mentioned it as the alternative. The fourth and final big event of the weekend is the Independence Blue Cross Broad Street run in the city of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. This is the largest 10-miler in the country. Um, I ran this, but I'll give my race report in a second. I want to go through all of our other friends first running this race. We had Brandon, uh, Brenna running for the second time this weekend. And believe it or not, Brenna uh actually caught me at uh probably 45 seconds into the race, but she didn't find me. Uh, she found the other person uh that ran with me during this race, and that's our buddy Kay, because you know, Kay does not like, you know, even though she spent many years in the greater Philadelphia area uh as a proud fan of the Washington Commanders, she hates the Philadelphia Eagles. So even though we love to say go birds in this area, she decided to dress as a different bird, and she kind of looked like the peacock for this race, which is very, very on brand for Kay. So because she was wearing that peacock outfit, Brennan found her very, very quickly. Uh, so got to run with Brennan for a couple of miles. That was fun. Uh, but Chrissy was also there. Jenny ran as well as Kelly, Megan, Melissa. Uh, Pete was there. He dressed as uh the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Uh, it wasn't the PR for him today, but he was totally okay with that. Rachel was there. My buddy Lizzie also ran this race. After dealing with the stress of uh using Scepta to get to the race start, uh, she set out on a goal for a new PR. Now, this is one of my favorite stories that uh that Lizzie told me about the finish line. She had to use Corral P really, really bad, and the lines for um the porta potties on the course were really long. Thankfully, for Lizzie, though, she actually lives on Broad Street. Uh, her apartment is literally right there. I think it was like just past mile five. So she was able to scan into her apartment building and use a flushable toilet. And even after doing all of that, she got her goal, her a goal of a sub-two-hour 10 miler and got a 25-minute PR. Lizzie, congratulations. I'm extremely proud of you. And I should note for Lizzie, her and I also ran the gift of life uh 10K last weekend as well, and she got back-to-back PR. So, just uh for safety's sake, here's two more PR bells for you, Lizzie. Our customized uh friend and proud member of the Pelkie Running Club, Sarah, also ran, and she got a PR in this course as well. Our buddy Sean also ran the Broad Street 10 miler. He loved seeing so many Run Disney shirts on the course. And uh, oh yeah, he got a PR too. And uh and Donald was there, and uh he said that this was the perfect weather conditions. No PR for him this time, but he did get a uh Run Disney POT. Now, like I said, I was at this race as well too, and uh I had uh two goals in mind. One was to get a PR, and the other was to get a POT specifically for Marathon weekend, because I had I ran, like I said with Lizzie before, I ran the gift of life 10K the week previous, and um I was very, very happy that I even surprised myself. I ran my first sub-60 10K. Uh so based on that average pace, I'm able to use that as a POT for any of the race weekends that aren't marathon weekends so but I knew I needed to focus if I wanted something for Goofy this past year. So uh you know, I got a little nervous because again, this is the largest 10 mile in the country. It takes a little while for this to spread out, and I I wanted to learn from my mistakes. So two years ago, when I ran this with Michael uh from Will Run 4, it was so congested we couldn't start our intervals until mile one. And I think that was a huge detriment to me in terms of losing gas at you know towards the end of the race. So I I wanted to make sure that that did not happen. So I it probably only took me about three minutes this time to be able to find a pocket. Um, I was able to hold my intervals the entire time. Uh, I got really excited because for some reason the city of Philadelphia, because they actually own this race as well as the Philly Marathon weekend, which I feel like it's something you don't see very often with, you know, like city governments owning um the races, but they had a partnership with Noon as their hydration, and it's never been my favorite. So I got really excited when I found out that the hydration sponsor this time around was Gatorade. So I'm like, okay, something I actually drink. But obviously, they were doing like the big batch mixing, and I got one that was not mixed very, very well, and that hit my stomach around mile eight, and I was like, I didn't feel good for a little bit, but I was able to push past it and such. But I will say, speaking of hydration stops, had a little bit of PTSD. I think it was mile four or mile five hydration stop was sponsored by the Rocky Run. And we all know from my race report back in November talking about Drago, and all the people that were passing out uh the water and the Gatorade at that station were wearing Drago shirts. And I was like, oh great, this race is now trolling me as I'm trying to get that POT and that PR. And but now thankfully, they weren't playing the Drago theme music, they were just playing typical Rocky music, which was nice. But I I I I had a good chuckle as I was making my way through uh through through that gauntlet a little bit. Because you know, when you run in the big city, obviously, you know, your GPS can definitely be off because you know your signal is like you know, bouncing between all the you know the high-rise buildings and such like that. So, John, you'll be proud of me. I was doing runner's math in my head, and I was able to like not throw myself off at any point. But it's like, okay, if I hit this mile marker before this time, I'm on pace for a goal and stuff like that. So I think you know, we were talking earlier about you know mental things in terms of running. So that was really helpful. And but yeah, I'm happy to report I got an almost eight-minute PR in this race, and I got under um the that McMillan conversion. So I will have a POT for Goofy. I'm thrilled about that. I don't know what Corral associates with, but the fact that I have one, I finally have that monkey off my back. I'm so excited. I can use this now for at least the next two years. Maybe if I get faster, we'll we'll try again in the future. But based on all the race reports, though, I might try this shipyard race that uh Brianna and Yvette and everybody else was talking about. Because let me tell you, just like Lizzie had issues with SEPTA, I had a little bit of anxiety trying to get from the sports stadiums using the subway to get up there because once again we were jammed in like sardines um on the SEPTA train, but uh we got it done. But yeah, so to everyone that ran Broad Street, congratulations. Very proud and you know, so happy to hear so many people get PRs and POTs this weekend.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:25

So, two questions about this race weekend. How hard is the lottery for this one? Is it becoming harder and harder each year?

SPEAKER_00 1:46:32

Uh, it's funny you say that, John, because up until last year, I had never heard of anyone that uh did not get accepted into this lottery. Actually, you know, I was talking about it earlier. Lizzie last year was the first person that I found out that didn't get selected. And then for the second year in a row, she didn't get selected this year. And the only reason why she was able to get in is thankfully, Broadstreet does have a very generous bib transfer policy. So she was able to get one that way. But yeah, I was starting to hear more and more people are are getting rejected. And I think what probably makes it a little bit tougher is I believe Broadstreet has a rule where I think if you it doesn't, I don't think it has to be consecutive, but if you run the race at for at least 10 years, then you get automatic um entry into it. So maybe there's more and more people that are getting it that way and it's making uh the spots fill up. But yeah, I mean it's 40,000 spots, and the fact that people are getting rejected is kind of wild to me.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:37

So what's the deal with Costco after a race now?

SPEAKER_00 1:47:40

Okay, so Costco that occurred after my 10k last week uh that Lizzie and I ran. Um we were both hungry because you know they had like a few snacks or whatever, but like nothing substantial. And uh I found out a couple of uh months ago that Lizzie has a very unhealthy obsession with Costco, and she doesn't have a car anymore with living in the city. So the one time I offered to take her to my local Costco, and it was just a sight to behold of the amount of stuff that she put into her um or put into my cart, I should say, and then trying to figure out how we were gonna get this all back to her apartment. So I was like, I could really go for a hot dog after this race. Do you want a hot dog? And she's like, Yes. So we drove across the bridge into New Jersey because that was the closest one. And then actually, as we were driving, we went by the loopy loop. So if you're a Costco fan and you're running loopy looper this summer, there isn't there is a Costco about five minutes away from the start-finish line. So uh so get excited and putting your Costco hot dog and pizza orders now, and we'll have to have runners go get them or something.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:53

I thought you were doing like a bird in hand thing and getting rotisserie chicken after the race.

SPEAKER_00 1:48:57

Well, so that's the thing. I didn't get the I didn't get a rotisserie chicken, but Lizzie did, and she was getting very excited because they were pulling fresh ones out of the rotisserie uh as we walked by. So she had her fresh now, she didn't eat it right there on the spot, she took it home. But now, the more and more I think about it, I think that would be a very appropriate thing to do after any uh race is just you know, whether it's you know, Costco, Sam's Club, you know, I know grocery stores have them. You know, just go grab your rotisserie chicken and uh chow down. Nothing better.

SPEAKER_01 1:49:28

It still still won't match uh burden hands chicken.

SPEAKER_00 1:49:31

No, no, it won't.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:33

Congrats again, Greg. Thank you on your PR and your POT.

International Finishes And Final Congrats

SPEAKER_00 1:49:37

Great job. I really appreciate that. All right, let's finish up this race report. Move to our neighbors in the north in Georgina, Ontario, Canada, the Georgino Spring Fling Marathon weekend. Um, and Rachel participated in the 5K uh event of this weekend, and uh this was Celebrating year one since she started running, and uh she went out to uh we didn't get the full report, but she was hoping to uh go out and beat her uh fall 5k time from last year. So please keep us updated on that, Rachel. We keep things international. We're gonna head across the pond to the Gateshead half marathon in Newcastle, United Kingdom. Our buddy Andy. He uh he woke up to the sound of rain bouncing off his windows and he wanted to go back to bed. But per his latest YouTube video, which if you want to go follow Andy's channel, he is the roller coaster of running. Uh he needed the countability to get out the door because he's got a goal of trying to go for a sub two-hour half marathon. Uh, and he made great progress in this race as he came in at 206.53, and that shaved a couple of minutes off of his half marathon that he did in March. So, Andy, you're well on your way. I know you're gonna get this. Keep going. We'll keep you accountable. And again, like I said, if you want to follow along on Andy's journey or any of his, he does great rate race recaps, especially the Run Disney races. Go check out the roller coaster of running. Back to the States in Syracuse, New York was the 48th annual mountain goat run. We had a couple of runners there. Uh, Zach did the 10 miler that featured lots of hills. Uh, but he finished faster than expected in 137. Way to go, Zach. And uh Kayla was also there. Now she did the 10-mile relay as to not put too much pressure on her body as she is currently pregnant. Uh, she pushed her pace anyway, and uh her legs paid for it. Um, but she's super glad that she did this race. And uh Kayla, we can't wait to uh welcome another young rise and runner to the family. We're gonna go back international to Drug Header or Drug Headda, Ireland, for the Drug Headda 10K. Jennifer was there. She achieved a 10K PR by improving their time by nearly two minutes. This was a scenic race uh near Dublin during uh, I guess this was a bank holiday weekend. So uh there was actually a lot of international events. Uh, this event featured an enthusiastic crowd and Star Wars themed gear. And um, Jennifer highly recommends this course uh to anyone who lives along the Bayonne River, and um not to mention it comes with traditional Irish post-race themed refreshments. Way to go, Jennifer.

SPEAKER_02 1:52:43

I feel like we should get one of those maps and like check off or like scratch off every time there's a new country. I feel like we've had at least four or five different countries represented in this roast report.

Community Wrap Up And Sign Off

SPEAKER_00 1:52:56

Yeah, just yeah, just this one alone. And guess what? We're not done with international races. But we're gonna go back to the United States in Williamsburg, Virginia for the Bush Gardens Food and Wine Festival 5K. Samantha ran this race. This was her third race postpartum, and she's making progress one mile at a time. And what she appreciated is that the medal also doubles as a wine cork. That's very innovative. In Binghamton, New York was the bridge run half marathon, and our buddy Steve was there. His A goal was to finish, but his B goal was to try and PR. And while he did not get that, he did get a Run Disney POT. He loved the medal that actually featured a working bell in honor of America's 250th birthday. Way to go, Steve. Frank participated in the Toronto Marathon Weekend. So here we go, Alicia, back international. Uh, this race ran down Young Street. Uh, I'm not sure if that's the correct pronunciation, but apparently this is the longest street in the world. Uh, and but also got to run past the CN Tower and the Rogers Center, home of the Toronto Blue Jays. And uh he wants to go out and thank everyone for all of the holler hypes that he received during this race. Staying in the Great North in Canada, but this time in Vancouver was the BMO Vancouver Marathon. Lauren ran this. This was her fourth time running the race, but unless they change the time of year that this race occurs, this may be her last time doing it. Um, with a big shift in weather that they had, it got very warm, which uh resulted in one of her slowest marathon times. But listen, whether it's warm or cold, Lauren, you did 26.2 miles. You should be very proud of your effort. So congratulations. Caitlin ran the Great Western 10K in St. Charles, Illinois, and she finished fifth female overall and got first place in her age group. Someone whose name we're gonna see a couple of times here on the race report, our buddy Ravi, uh ran the Cinco de Drinko 5K in Davy, Florida. Uh, he says that the thunderstorms delayed the start by 30 minutes, but his reward was tacos and beer at the finish line. Nothing wrong with that. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin was the sweet home Milwaukee 5K. Lauren was there. Uh, she ran this for the vibes of Lake Michigan and enjoyed all the runners encouraging each other, including a random kind stranger who run into run the finish line together with her. Wonderful to hear that. And then rounding out Sunday, uh, she probably signed up for this race because it was my fault. Brandy was at the Cinco Cinco 5K in 10K in Houston, Texas. Uh, just like myself and Lizzie. Brandy can also join the party of back-to-back weekend PRs that she got during this 10K. Now I love this. Brandy is known for a great costume, and she wore a pinata shirt that said, I always get hit on. Very classic there. Uh, but and she does say that she loved the stained glass metal death received. Again, congratulations, Brandy. And now, because uh it was Star Wars Day the other day, uh, May the 4th, we had a couple of races uh that occurred on Monday. And I you know, I said that he was gonna be in it multiple times. Our buddy Ravi's back, uh, but this time in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He ran the May the 4th Be With You for Miler. Uh Ravi said that the run took place in the neighborhood behind a brewery. Um, when they finished, they got a lightsaber and a themed cup at the finish line. And uh Chelsea was also at that race. Gonna head back across the pond to Milton Keenan's United Kingdom for the MK Half Marathon. Haven't heard from our buddy Amy in the while, uh, but after not having a race for over eight months, she set out for a sub two-hour half marathon. She got really, really close though. She came in at 203. Uh, but she recommends this race for all of our UK Rise and runners. And she says the Star Wars themed medals were an added bonus this year. And to finish off this marathon of a race report, we head back to Texas. This time, San Antonio for the San Antonio May the 4th for Miler. Joseph was there and finished with a fourth place age group win and a great Star Wars themed medal. And that, my friends, concludes the race report for episode 241 of the Rise and Run Podcast. All right, my friends, and if you run, you are our friend. Thank you for joining us for another episode. Where I'm really glad that we were able to incorporate the listening audience into this one. Yep. We had the uh springtime recap that we recorded on the cruise, and we were able to get the live studio audience uh in that as well. Um, also, maybe we should start a Facebook thread on this one. Uh, if anyone participated virtually in the Rise and Run trivia contest, we want to know how many points you got. So let us know if you thought the the difficulty of the questions was easy or hard. We would we would love to know. But again, you know, again, getting the community incorporated in this listener question episode. Like I said, we got so many that trust me, we have plenty in the can to do more of these episodes, especially over the course of this summer as well. Because, you know, if there's one thing, you know, outside of you know generating a positive community here at Rise and Run, it's you know, we want to be able to help you in any way possible. So, you know, being able to answer these listener questions, we do find a lot of joy in it. But we will catch you next week where we'll give you all the epic details of the Rise and Run cruise. Obviously, we had a lot of races these past couple of weekends. Again, congratulations to everybody if you got that PR, that POT, or you were just trying a new race distance. We are so incredibly proud of you. Keep up the hard work, continue on with your strong training efforts. I know it's getting warmer, so make sure you're staying safe out there. Be kind to one another, both in person and in and virtually. Continue to prop up this community. And until we chat with you again next week, happy running. The Rise and Run podcast discusses general information about Run Disney and is in no way affiliated with Run Disney or the Walt Disney Company. Any information or advice discussed on this podcast cannot be considered medical advice and should always consult with your healthcare provider or an organism.