Run Eat Drink Podcast
Welcome to the Run Eat Drink Podcast! This is the podcast where we embark on exciting adventures, combining our love for running, delicious food, and tasty beverages. Whether you’re an elite runner aiming for victory or just starting your “Couch to 5K” journey, we’ve got something for you. Let’s dive into the three pillars of our show:
Accomplish (Run): Accomplishment is deeply personal. Are you eyeing a race series win, planning your next “run-cation,” or hoping to set a personal record in your next half-marathon? Each week, we feature fantastic destination races from around the country. Discover scenic courses, learn about the charities they support, and get inspired to lace up those running shoes. And when we’re not on the road, we share interviews, training tips, and insights from our own running journey.
Explore (Eat): Running and traveling go hand in hand. As we explore new places, we also explore local cuisine. We seek out hidden gems—the eateries that locals rave about. Bold flavors, interesting dishes, and passion for food—that’s what we’re after. After each race, join us as we wander the city streets, discovering post-race refueling spots. Whether it’s a gastropub, a food truck, or a cozy café, we’ve got dining options to satisfy your cravings.
Indulge (Drink): When the running is done, it’s time to unwind. We raise our glasses to celebrate our accomplishments. Local breweries, coffee shops, speakeasies, and watering holes—these are our destinations. From craft beers to artisanal cocktails, we explore the beverage scene. Cheers to a well-deserved drink after crossing the finish line!
Join us on this journey of accomplishment, exploration, and indulgence. Whether you’re a seasoned runner or a curious foodie, there’s a place for you at the Run Eat Drink Podcast.
Run Eat Drink Podcast
RED Episode 287 Exploring London: Mike’s Marathon Experience Part 1
SHOUT OUTS
If you want a shoutout on the show for you or someone you love, email us at info@runeatdrink.net or call us at 941-677-2733 and leave a message.
Thanks to all our patrons and everyone in the Runcation Nation for your support and encouragement. Because of you, we have kept the show going over the last two years, so thank you!
And a hearty welcome to our newest patron, Michael Leslie! He is now a Founder of our show, and has his name in lights with all our Founders at https://www.runeatdrink.net/patron-wall.
Thank you to Dean Gerber, Associate Producer of our show, and Josh Ozbirn, Executive Producer of the podcast, too! We couldn’t do it without you.
RED Episode 287 Runcation Recap with Michael: The London Marathon
Patrons, we will have a bonus episode on Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee as Michael chatted with us after we wrapped up our recap!
https://www.patreon.com/Runeatdrinkpodcast
https://buymeacoffee.com/runeatdrinkpod
What happens when passion for running transforms lives? Join us as we sit down with Mike, also known as @rundisnerd, to uncover his journey from Salem, Massachusetts, to Orlando, Florida. Discover how Mike's love for running began with the Walt Disney World 5K back in 2016 and helped him quit smoking. Now, he's embracing a new role in guest services with the Walt Disney Company and aiming to complete all the world majors. His story is a testament to the transformative power of running and the motivation it brings.
Ever wondered what it takes to secure a spot in the London Marathon? We dive into the lottery system, charity entries, and international tour packages that can make this dream a reality. Mike shares his insights on the perks of using travel agencies for a hassle-free experience. Learn about the intricate planning and the thrill of participating in one of the world's most prestigious races.
Experience the charm of a boutique hotel in London with unique amenities like a hidden speakeasy and a Michelin-star chef restaurant. Mike recounts his stay and the convenience of the location near Old Scotland Yard. We explore the efficient bib pickup process at the London ExCel Center, the camaraderie of group travel, and the inspiration before and during the pre-race carb-loading dinner. Tune in next week when Mike returns to share his race day at the London Marathon including where he explored and indulged to celebrate his accomplishment.
Connect with Michael
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001164287701
https://www.instagram.com/rundisnerd/
Links from our conversation
Notch Brewing
(Michael was drinking Notch Pils during the episode)
THAT’S A WRAP!
Thank you for listening! Because of your support, we are in our eighth year of the podcast! Don’t forget to follow us and tell us where to find you next on our website, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Also, check out our store on the website and get some swag, thanks to Pure Creative Apparel. Thanks to www.PodcastMusic.com for providing the music for this episode, too!
Hey, this is Mike aka Run Dissert aka. Who Is that Guy? You are listening to the Runcation Nation. Get ready, run Eat Drink podcast coming at you live. It's amazing Listen.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Run Eat Drink podcast. We feature destination races from across the country and after the race, we take you on a tour of the best local food and beverage to celebrate. So, whether you are an elite runner or a back of the packer like us, you'll know the best places to accomplish, explore and indulge on your next Runcation. It's time for another Runcation recap.
Speaker 3:So we started this conversation. We're basically going to have to like we're going to join this conversation with Mike Leslie, already in progress, but for everybody out there in the Runcation nation, do us a favor and introduce yourself. Tell us who you are, where you're from, of course, what you're drinking.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, Please review that.
Speaker 3:Tell us a little are where you're from, of course, what you're drinking.
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, Please review that Tell us a little bit about yourself. Hi, I am Mike. I am from Orlando by way of Salem, massachusetts. I've been living in Central Florida now for going on almost five years. This year I'm currently drinking my favorite Notch Pilsner from my favorite brewery back in Massachusetts who now, as of this year, you can actually mail order their beer. Nice, oh yeah, I'm getting a little taste of home shipped to me every once in a while.
Speaker 2:We'll put the link in the show notes, don't worry.
Speaker 1:It's delicious. Actually, they make it fantastic. It's called the Salem Lager and we used to have these T-shirts that said Lager is life. That's awesome, very refreshing. Currently, at time of this recording, I have accepted a role and I'm actually going to be going back to work for the Walt Disney Company in a backstage role, so I'll be starting there next week.
Speaker 2:Super cool. Can you tell us the name of the position or what it entails, or anything?
Speaker 1:like that. I will be in guest services, but not the team that you see in the parks. I'm actually going to be backstage.
Speaker 2:So your guest services for the people who make guest services possible.
Speaker 1:I'm the guy whenever there's a problem and you call on the phone, it's, that's yeah.
Speaker 2:That's good. Oh, you solve problems, problems you are the problem solver.
Speaker 1:You're the dream maker yes, I, hopefully I'll be making a lot of magic, hopefully you are the wish granter, dream.
Speaker 2:Maker. That is a hard job, my friend. I cheers yes, and that is a high bar of customer service. At disney, I mean for as many things as people can say, oh, disney should do this, or disney should do that, disney does so much right. Oh, yeah, for sure, and I love it. And that is where I got my first taste of the running bug. Same.
Speaker 1:My first 5K was the 2016 Walt Disney World 5K and Marathon Weekend.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So why did you decide to do it?
Speaker 1:At the time, I was in a relationship and I was trying to impress this person, so I picked up running. Before I signed up, I went to our local running store and I got fitted for shoes and I downloaded Couch to 5K and I'm going to be a runner. Keep in mind, I was also extremely overweight and smoking at the time. I actually quit smoking thanks to running. Yeah, yeah, going on Good for you.
Speaker 1:So I quit in 2016. Late 2016. 2017 is when I quit smoking. So, yeah, thanks for running. Whoa, yeah, decided to download couch to 5k and I'm gonna. I'm gonna be a runner and I'm gonna run. At disney I had no clue what I was doing. I was wearing like these under armor shorts and I had a cotton nike t-shirt on and like a really I I had a really bad headband. If I can find a photo from that race, I will send it to you. Oh, please, it's awful. It is awful. I think I had. Do you remember the forearm, the Nike forearm bands that you would hide your phone in? Yeah, oh, yeah, I think I had one of those too, with the earbud, like the cord coming out of it for my headphones.
Speaker 3:Oh yes, Back when you could plug a headphone into your phone.
Speaker 2:Yeah, before. Yeah, oh, is it across cell phones now? Oh, I'm sorry, everybody's all Bluetooth. Exactly what technology? Yes, but okay. So you started running to impress somebody, but you kept running why.
Speaker 1:So I think I run because I have a chip on my shoulder. I was told years and years back that oh, you can't run a mile. And I'm the kind of person if you tell me something like that, not only am I going to do it, I'm going to do it again, I'm going to take the photos and I'll just continue to prove you wrong. So I think I still kind of run with the chip on my shoulder. I don't know if it's ever going to go away, but maybe that's what's pushing me to do all the world majors. But who knows?
Speaker 2:People react differently to stresses or pressures or people who tell you you can't do something.
Speaker 1:Right, it was something stupid Like one of those like tough motor events like, oh, you can't run it, you can't run a mile.
Speaker 2:I'm like, oh, I'll show you tough motor events like oh, you can't run a mile, I'm like oh, I'll show you.
Speaker 3:Look here, Hold my beer Exactly.
Speaker 2:Yes, hold my notch, I can't. We're going to have to order some of that.
Speaker 3:Mike, you've alluded to it, You're one of our Runcation Nation citizens, denizens and patron of the show who have run world majors and patron of the show who have run world majors and what race weekend is the one that you've selected to recap for us today?
Speaker 2:He might have been. What do you call it? Persuaded, cajoled, pressured? Yeah, but go ahead.
Speaker 1:He loved the 2024 London Marathon. Jolly old England yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to get all the world marathon majors.
Speaker 3:You see where it's going at the rate that he's going, we can just have him back on the show, back on the show, back on the show.
Speaker 2:I hope so. I hope he likes being on the show rinse and repeat rinse exactly yeah, so it's the first time you ever went for it. I'm you talked to us before the show about it being a lottery. Yes, so is it the first time that you entered the lottery, or did it take some time?
Speaker 1:This is my first London lottery, not my first world majors. I'm like. Up until this year I was like 0 for 5 for New York and 0 for 4 for Chicago, but this is my first time at London.
Speaker 3:Yeah, not everybody can Shut up for Chicago, but this is my first time at London. Yeah, not everybody can. Amy got into the Chicago Marathon lottery the first time she tried.
Speaker 2:I was telling him to shut up.
Speaker 1:Did you play a lottery ticket after that one?
Speaker 2:I should have, but listen now, I haven't run Chicago, you're in. This year I got in and then 2020 happened. Yeah, oh yeah. I got in, we had decided I was going to do it. 2020 happened and then they deferred us to all the way to 2023. And they have allowed me to defer one last time. So this is it I either do it or I try again later. Yeah, tough call. Yeah, I know.
Speaker 1:Right now, it's probably going to be a no.
Speaker 2:Maybe not the whole thing, but I think you can also as a back of the packer, I think for a world major. There is something in the experience of it Absolutely.
Speaker 1:I'm not a fast runner by any stretch. I will joke around and say that I may not be fast, but I'm strong.
Speaker 3:I love your hat, by the way, which is not non-elite.
Speaker 1:Non-elite. I'm a non-elite runner. Shout out to Kifusi for the hat.
Speaker 3:I am so non-elite, non-elite. I'm a non-elite runner. Shout out to Kafuzi for the hat. I am so non-elite, it's ridiculous yeah.
Speaker 2:Shout out to who for the hat that says non-elite.
Speaker 1:There's a gentleman on YouTube that reviews running shoes and his name is Kafuzi and this is a hat he did with Path Projects. I actually wore this in London when I ran. He is really spot on when it comes to do shoe reviews and it's not just like carbon plated shoes. He'll do a bunch of stuff across the board like daily trainers. Recovery shoes are really fun stuff. He, excuse me, he also runs too. He ran London, he ran Boston, run Chicago. He's really cool.
Speaker 3:I met him at the Olympic trials.
Speaker 1:He did a podcast live from track shack so I got to meet him there oh, neat, super cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the the same weekend of the Donna marathon weekend, they had the Olympic trials in Orlando and we had a lot of people that were coming up the night before the marathon, after the trials. That were like volunteering or doing that Super cool. What an event to have in Orlando, the place where I graduated from college. Go UCF, whatever. I mean, I digress. This is not about me, this is about him. This is your Runcation recap. I mean, I cajoled you to recap London, but it's because I have FOMO, severe FOMO, and I want to get back to running. This, all of this and all these runcation recaps especially world majors like yours and like Anna's and so many others I just it just makes me want to get back to running, get healed and get back to running. Just makes me want to get back to running, get healed and get back to running. So when you did the lottery for London, what was that process like?
Speaker 1:It was pretty stress-free. It's your typical go online. You have a window, x amount of time and the good thing is it's not a first come, first serve type of process. So everyone's name goes in the pot. They just start pulling names. You're in, you're out. You're in, you're out okay I guess the only stressful part is like when you know that announcements are coming out and you sit there and you stare at your phone. You stare at your phone to make it in and when you see everyone posted on I forget what date it was.
Speaker 1:You'll see it on social media because everyone does either the I got in post or the better luck next year post.
Speaker 2:Wait, the race proper. What time of year is it? It's in March.
Speaker 1:April.
Speaker 2:April.
Speaker 1:Yep, so it's. It's the week after Boston, so there's literally.
Speaker 2:Patriots Day, which is Boston, and then it's the week after, the weekend after.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and there were people that actually ran Boston, that were in my travel group, that ran London as well.
Speaker 3:Oh.
Speaker 1:Wow Okay. Yeah, that was insane, yeah, oh.
Speaker 2:That's rough.
Speaker 3:To me that sounds like a short turnaround time.
Speaker 2:You have to be very fit, yeah, and your training has to be on point.
Speaker 1:I think I would think I would think and I don't know how you would train for that. Honestly, like when you think about it's a like a six to seven day tournament, right. Different story when you're banging out something like disney, where it's four races in a row and you're done yeah could you imagine if you had to do like week to week to week?
Speaker 2:the people who do seven marathons and seven continents in seven days, hello I'm just envisioning.
Speaker 3:I know how I feel after a long run, like a big race. So day two after that is when the delayed onset muscle soreness really kicks in, you know. So about that time you're now double checking all your packing, you're getting ready to go. It's then if you're from the States depending on where in the States your time change. There are a lot of variables here which I'm going to be picking your brain about here shortly.
Speaker 2:So it's a six-hour time change. So before we leave this topic, I just Okay. So you get in, you get out. The lottery is usually what a year in advance yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a little less than a year.
Speaker 2:A little less than a year, so you have time to train. Speak of training, and do you have to? Was it because I only have one experience with lottery, which is Chicago, and I had to give a credit card up front and then, in addition to getting the yes you made it, no, you didn't you also see the credit card charge? Does it work that way for London?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, okay, okay, does it work that way for?
Speaker 2:London. Yeah, yeah, okay, okay. And there's no secret way I'll tell you this, like Anna was telling us about New York and all these different ways like you could actually run a virtual marathon and qualify for New York or become a part of a run club and volunteer for so many events to get into New York. There are different ways. Is London like that?
Speaker 1:So from my experience, there's three ways for London. There's the straight lottery. There is the fundraising, charity aspect, like you get with Boston, and New York has it as well. And then you have international. So if you're an international, like you're coming from the US, canada, outside of London, there are tour companies that are allocated bibs and you can get the whole package. So you would basically get you don't get your airfare, but you get your hotel, you get your food, you get your race bib.
Speaker 2:It's part of your package.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think Disney was doing those for a while I want to say pre-COVID. Disney was doing that for internationals as well.
Speaker 3:Apparently they're not anymore. We just did an interview with someone who's a travel agent and she informed us they are no longer doing that I believe.
Speaker 2:the direct quote is I miss the charity bibs. No, I miss the travel agent bibs, or I miss the travel agent bibs yeah, and we were like, oh, they're still charity bibs, but it's not the travel agent, yeah, and we've got a package, I think. Yeah, yeah, I don't know. It's all Greek to us in terms of like travel agent bibs, because we never do that.
Speaker 3:We don't use a travel agent. So yeah, we're direct. Get your bib people.
Speaker 1:So I use the travel company for my accommodations and food and stuff like that and it made it seamless.
Speaker 2:Really so. How much was the race itself, if you?
Speaker 1:don't mind saying I want to say $265. I'd have to double check. It's along the same lines of the other majors $200 to $300 registration fee. Yes, okay.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Yes, okay, okay. And then the travel agency we'll get to talking about and I said you said you wanted to pick his brain bit about the travel getting there and things that you learned or nuggets you could maybe pass on to the rest of the Runcation Nation Any particular tips for flights, hotel lodging, and then, once you're there, I want to ask about some travel once you're in country.
Speaker 1:We flew Virgin and it was my first time flying international virgin on virgin airways and I couldn't have been happier with my whole experience front to back with that company. We did the, we booked and then we decided we had the optional. We're going to upgrade to the premium seating. So you have the the race the regular basic seating, premium and business class. Business class is like the food she like. You have your own little bed and pods, oh that whole thing. But premium, you get advanced boarding. You have dedicated space for your stuff. When you sit down you get a glass of champagne. You have oh yeah. And you have like real meals too, like I have this bomb mac and cheese with truffles did you take photos of that no, I should have, honestly.
Speaker 1:But they feed you. You get on the plane, you get settled in, they give you your blanket, a nice pillow, and then I want to say, 90 minutes into the flight, boom, they're feeding you and it's like all included, as in like beer, wine, champagne, champagne, all included. They feed you and then they tell you if you're still wanting another beverage. They call it the wander wall. You can wander to the galley and then you can actually pick some stuff from the galley. If you want, like another beer or another Prosecco or something like that, you can actually get that during the flight. And then, 45 minutes before you land, since we were doing an overnight flight, we got full english breakfast like the whole nine yards wow yeah, and then on the way home we got they called it mile high tea, so it was like tea crumpets sandwiches it was.
Speaker 1:I was shocked at the level of service with virgin it was.
Speaker 2:Can I ask about how much you did an overnight flight to London?
Speaker 1:Yeah, we left. We left at 7 pm, I believe it was, and then got there the next morning, which made it was much better, because we actually got to sleep on the flight and then just stay up for the rest of the day. So the time change really didn't catch up to us as much. That's a good tip.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:That's a really good tip.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it wasn't cheap. I want to say it was like $1,600 a person for the flights, but that was the premium, that was the upgraded experience. The good thing is, too, with Virgin, they have a thing on their app. So when you book before your flight, you're able to bid on upgrades, and it could go from denominations of 250 to a thousand dollars. You can bid for an upgrade. So let's just say you want to try to get into business class on the way back. You can bid for it if there's openings and get it, which I wish more airlines would do, because it was because I wanted to lay down on the way back, because I was like well, my legs are tired. Of course we didn't win the bid, but I was like, oh, I'll bid 300 bucks a person and see if I get it. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:You're not out of anything, unless you get it right.
Speaker 1:Correct. Yeah, they don't charge you unless you get it.
Speaker 3:That's actually really smart.
Speaker 2:That is too Okay. So you fly over there at night and then and the flight you book separately from the travel group.
Speaker 1:Yes, correct, yep. So all the with the travel group, the flights and your transfers, are separate. Okay, so we booked a flight and then we booked a car service to pick us up, because it's a pretty decent, at least to our hotel, because we were staying right in Trafalgar Square in the middle of London. It was 35 minutes, 40 minutes from the airport, I think, so it's a decent haul.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you booked like a, what kind of train? A car service? Like a car service, I think what is it?
Speaker 1:The Tour Viator, I think that's the company. Okay, you can book and you can share it with other people too, which is cool. So it's the company. Okay, you can book and you can share it with other people too, which is cool. So we've got like one of those sprinter vans, the ones that have like little passengers, so we had another family with us, so we basically split the cost with them. So it was really basically we paid half of what it was. I think it was for round trip was 400 both ways.
Speaker 2:Oh, and if you split it then it's just a couple.
Speaker 3:That's not bad at all.
Speaker 2:That is a good little nugget right there. Okay, and you said you were staying in the middle of Trafalgar Square. I just hijacked your question. I'm sorry, that's okay, because were you going to ask about in-town travel?
Speaker 3:That was going to lead into that. So you've got your transportation from the airport to the hotel while you were there. What did you do in terms of transportation? Did you rent a car? Did you rely on taxis? Just hoof it?
Speaker 1:we walked where we were staying. So we're lucky we were staying 0.2 miles from the finish line. Oh wow, and that was why we wanted to stay. It was a boutique hotel, super small, super swanky I'll go more into detail on that. Sure, yeah, but it was walking distance from everything. The only thing we had to take a bus to was the expo, because it's just over on the other side of town. You have to You're not going to walk to it. You have to either Uber, take a bus or I don't know if the tube goes over there. We didn't check for the two, but it was basically one of the other. It's a. If you're going to walk, you're walking a long time.
Speaker 2:And you need to save the legs for when you.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's a big building. The expo is huge. I can imagine it would be overwhelming.
Speaker 3:Switch leads us into the next question about the expo.
Speaker 2:Okay, do you want to? What was the name of the hotel? Before we leave that topic, oh, great, scotland Yard, great.
Speaker 1:I believe they are under the. I'm going to double check because I think they're now under the. Do the hilton of the marriott umbrella hilton, or? Marriott yeah, one of the two. I'm going to double check because I don't want to let me see here. I actually have it still on my phone. Literally it is. I'm sorry, it's the unbound collection by the hyatt. So it's Hyatt, and no joke, you are across from Old Scotland Yard, oh my god, where they have the horses coming and going.
Speaker 1:He would love that it's really small. But for a race weekend, if you don't want a lot of distractions and it's quiet like the rooms are super nice, really quiet, stocked, and it's quiet like the rooms are super nice, really quiet, stocked, distractions. If it's quiet like the rooms are super nice, really quiet, well stocked, like there's water, there's a, a kettle, there's anything you really need in, you know, in the room. So if you want to do your own thing and not go out and about like you get room service, oh yeah, it's a really nice spot. I'm I'm glad that it was one of the options. The other one was the hilton down the road and I'm glad I stuck with this one because, one, after the race it was really close and two, I could walk to everything. There's food and nearby yeah all.
Speaker 1:And also the hotel had, uh, a really nice restaurant with the company that we booked with. Our breakfast was included, oh, so that was another perk okay, it had a fantastic bar and then it had a speakeasy. Yeah, yeah, like you, you pushed a button on the bookshelf and the door opened up and it was only open on the weekends and it was like, yeah, it was like a whiskey speakeasy and they had jazz playing in there on the weekends.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm having a moment I'm having oh my God, it's so awesome.
Speaker 1:They need places like this in the US, like they need to do like these kind of hotels. Give me all the boutique hotels yes, I'll take those over the Polynesian or the contemporary.
Speaker 2:Give me these boutique hotels, and I imagine that the customer experience that you had at that hotel was just like second to none.
Speaker 1:Oh, when we get back to the expo, I'll talk more about it Sorry yeah, oh no, it's okay. I had to have something shipped to the hotel. I know right, he's taking over.
Speaker 2:Dana, what was the name of the travel group that you booked through?
Speaker 1:Fitness Dana, what was the name of the travel group that you booked through Fitness International Travel, fit, fitness, fit International. Yeah, fitness International Travel.
Speaker 2:Okay, dana, I just have to catch you up a little bit, because what is it that you brought us?
Speaker 3:I brought you some beer.
Speaker 2:I'm excited. Tell Mike what it is. Tell Mike what it is.
Speaker 3:This is a raspberry ale from Fort Myers Brewing brewing.
Speaker 2:We're part of their monthly beer club oh nice I like it, yeah, cheers cheers listen fitness international travel gave a hyatt option and gave a hilton option. Okay, okay, the hyatt option is the one you want to go for, because it's like the boutique experience.
Speaker 3:So it's like their signature collection.
Speaker 2:It's called Unbound Collection. I took notes while you were away and it is. There's a speakeasy. Oh nice, there's room service. Is there a tub in the room?
Speaker 1:No, but however it's Europe. They have heated toilet seats.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God.
Speaker 1:So, yes, so it's a heated toilet and bidet in one. Uh-huh and like Shower. I'm not too bougie when it comes to stuff like in the bathroom, but like a heated toilet seat it's unusual. That's like some X-level bougie.
Speaker 3:And after the race.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it can't be very good right, it wouldn't be so bad.
Speaker 1:No, it's a little weird to get used to because you know it's a toilet and you're used to okay, at least from my experiences living up north, it's always stone cold and from my experience is living up north, it's always stone cold. And then you're like wait, it's heated, like you can hear it heating up, like it turns itself, like when you come into the bathroom it's motion detected and like it starts itself up and it's weird. So like you hear the toilet, like starting up yeah, interesting, I wasn't necessarily at.
Speaker 2:That was a little nugget. Yeah, I was I. There are pre-race rituals. I know we have to get back to the expo and everything I'm picking your brain about so much. I take a pre-race ice bath.
Speaker 1:Oh okay, yeah, they don't. It's like a shower, yeah, but it's a really nice shower. But yeah, only the shower.
Speaker 2:That's okay, you can adapt. In London there's got to be a place where you can just like those. Who was it Mark that went down to Naples and had there's like a cryotherapy type. They've got to have something like that. I would bet the expo does, but I thought it's the speakeasy he was talking about at that place. Oh yeah, how do you get in?
Speaker 1:So there's a button on the bookshelf that you press and the door opens up. That's awesome.
Speaker 2:And they have a great restaurant, he said, and the speakeasy is like bourbon.
Speaker 1:Yes, or whiskey, whiskey and bourbon, and they play jazz. I'm on board.
Speaker 2:There's no way. 2026.
Speaker 1:And the restaurant has a giant wood fire oven so they don't use an electric grill, they use all wood when they're cooking so everything has like a nice smoky wooden flavor. I guess the guy that designed it I never caught the chef's name, but he was a Michelin star chef from a different restaurant that came in and designed it. It's super rustic. It almost reminds me of like an English courtyard, like you're sitting in like a courtyard. It's got all this stuff on the walls and like really nature forward.
Speaker 2:Very cool oh, my goodness, and I'm now, how long did you? Okay, so you flew over night and got there in the morning, so how long did was your stay in total?
Speaker 1:so we got there. So we left Orlando Wednesday night, got there Thursday morning and then we flew back on Monday morning. So it was a real quick turnaround for us.
Speaker 2:Sounds like Alaska for us.
Speaker 3:The first time? Yeah, it's been.
Speaker 2:yeah, Do you wish you had stayed longer?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I could have easily done another four or five days. There's so much more of London we didn't see because you got to save your legs. You have an itinerary, obviously with the expo, and you want to make sure you're not eating out of your norm. That was the tough part is sticking to what I consider to be like my normal. I'm pretty standard with what I eat for a race.
Speaker 1:So you're looking for your bagels, your pasta and whatnot Carb loading beforehand yeah, so like eating out of your norm is, you can definitely with the pubs and with the really rich food, you can definitely fall into a trap.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure that's actually a good advice. So you have to plan ahead a little bit, and I for sure that's actually a good advice.
Speaker 2:So you have to plan ahead a little bit and I'm sure I would think that the agency or the group, the travel group, if you do the travel group experience and then we'll get back to the expo and whatnot, but they probably have tips, or you become acquainted with the people you're going to travel with and you share things that make it easier, or better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we all had a big old dinner the night before the race at an italian restaurant down the road. Dave mcgilvery from the boston marathon actually was with our group, so we know that guy dave we we've had him on the show.
Speaker 1:so he was at the, she was at the dinner and he actually had a little motivational speaking engagement with us. So right, right before we had dinner, we all went to the other hotel and had a little conference room and he did a 35-minute presentation. A little motivational speaking got everyone in the right mindset and then we all walked over to dinner, had a big old pasta dinner with tons of garlic bread and, yeah, it was cool.
Speaker 3:There you go.
Speaker 2:Oh I bet Lots of.
Speaker 1:Pellegrino.
Speaker 2:I bet Smart, smart, very smart.
Speaker 3:You save the red wine for after.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh yeah, it's run, eat drink and drink.
Speaker 3:Don't do it the other way.
Speaker 2:Accomplish, explore and then indulge All the way around is a disaster. We might have made mistakes.
Speaker 3:I've done that before Go ahead, talk to us a little bit about. You mentioned, you know, having to take a bus. I mean, when you took a bus across town to the expo, did you do a double-decker, did you?
Speaker 1:No, excuse me, the travel company actually booked us a bus, so they picked us up. The travel company actually booked us a bus, so they picked us up. They all of us around town was out of the way. Little extra two hour sightseeing, I guess you want to call it. So we had a local on the bus telling really dry jokes and pointing out stuff, and then we stopped for tea and coffee and then went over to the. Of course you're going to have your afternoon tea, so stopped over for some tea and then went to the expo. So they took care of us. As far as that transportation, that's great, fantastic. You definitely would need to take a double-decker or a Uber to get over there.
Speaker 1:It sounds like if you are involved with a group, then you don't feel alone and you have structure, which can be so important in a race experience like that to me, and you also have people that we all have the same goal in mind, so you're a large group of people that we all want to do the same thing. Obviously, people's motivations are different and their paces are different, but in the end we all want to finish. So you have your own little weird built-in support group already that you're traveling with, and we're all strangers. Ironically, one person from our group was actually from orlando. I don't know, I can't remember her name, but she was from orlando. So what are the odds?
Speaker 3:really yeah so you go with the group, you go over to the expo. Talk a little bit about the expo experience, packet pickup and all that. What was that? Like you to the expo. Talk a little bit about the expo experience, packet pickup and all that. What was that? Like you said, the expo was huge. Now, when you say huge, I know you've been to Disney expos and the Disney expo to me is on par with Gasparilla, it's enormous. So how did this compare?
Speaker 1:So it's at the XL, the London XL center, which is a very large building and there's multiple different halls inside of the building. Once you get in there and the portion where the marathon pickup was, it was bigger, definitely bigger than Disney. I would say Wow, but it was all the vendors and everything in one spot. So you want to talk about efficient, the easiest bib pickup I've ever had in my entire life. You walk up, show them your QR code from your phone that they send you, show them your license. They then turn around to a printer and the printer fires out your number so they're not fishing through like stacks of numbers. So they just put the bib in blank with the tab on it and then it prints and then they just hand it to you and you're done that's actually very cool you didn't have to show any kind of passport or just your photo id and your qr.
Speaker 1:That's it.
Speaker 3:So just the two things the brits are known for moving people through lines.
Speaker 2:That is like a superpower that they are known to have you've said that before about disney, but this seems like to the next level.
Speaker 1:Because you know how sometimes at Disney, if you get up to where, like if you're in the wrong numbers let's say you like you, for some reason you were 400 and you ended up in 600. And then it's a whole kerfuffle getting back and forth, they're fiddling through looking for bibs. Literally just they scan your code, they show you the information on the screen Is this your name? Is this your number? Is this your age? Show me your photo ID. They turn around, zoop out the printer. Here's your bib, here's your pins. And then they take your tag. You'll get your shirt around the corner and that's that. That's the bib. That's ridiculously fast.
Speaker 1:And the lines are super long. So you, when you walk into the Disney bid pickup and you've got that one long wall. I don't remember what race it is, but you know what I mean. How they have the very long with all the different booths.
Speaker 2:With all the different number sections.
Speaker 1:It's like that size, but different numbers. Like you don't walk up by number, you just walk up, show them.
Speaker 2:To whoever is available.
Speaker 3:Yeah, see, that makes so much sense because you're basically every single person is going to be able to move through that. That's sharp.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so good oh my God, I was shocked how efficient it was. I was like wait, this is it. Like, yeah, they're like you can go off to. You can go off to, off to your right.
Speaker 2:Do you hear our dog snoring?
Speaker 3:No, okay, I'm sorry, he's snoring and dreaming at the moment. He seems to be in a full tilt sprint in his dream.
Speaker 2:He's probably chasing a cat or something, but I didn't know if the mic had picked it up. Okay, so that is the bib pickup experience. So you go around the corner and you pick up your shirt and do you have an opportunity to try it on or see if it fits or anything?
Speaker 1:Well, it's funny, they give you two options for shirts, which is definitely different than most US races. So you have your sizes extra small to XXL but then you have an option of either fitted or I forget what the term is, but basically fitted or loose. You actually have two choices, oh nice. So if you're someone that likes more of a v-neck kind of form-fitting shirt, you can choose that, or I chose the regular, loose-fitting, regular shirt.
Speaker 2:And when do you choose that?
Speaker 1:Sorry. When you're signing up, oh okay, so everything's already yeah, so you just select it and then you're when you're signing up. So everything's already yeah. So you, just you select it and then you're good to go. Good, but you have to go through some of the retail to get to the shirts. So it's kind of like if you've been to boston, you have to go through the to get to the other side of the xo. You have to go to the giant adidas area. So for this one, you have to go through the new balance area to get to the other side where all the other vendors are yeah, okay, that was insane, like it's, like a maze it's, but you don't realize how much merchandise they go through.
Speaker 1:So we didn't go on the first day, we went on the second day of the expo and even on the second day a lot of the extended sizes were gone and they're like we're not getting anymore. Oh, wow. So for me that's where I was when I was talking about the hotel the jacket I wanted. They didn't have the finisher's jacket, they didn't have my size, but it was still available on the New Balance website. So while I'm waiting in line, I ordered the jacket and then I had it sent to my hotel.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's so smart.
Speaker 1:But here's the kicker. This is why we're talking about how great the hotel was. So there was a delay in shipping. My jacket got to the hotel after I left. They shipped it to me to my house in Florida.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's pretty awesome.
Speaker 2:This is different from Anna's experience at New York. She was talking about how they offer all of the merch beforehand and there's like you order what you want beforehand and of course they have things at the expo. But it sounds like London has it where if sizes become unavailable, then you can get it and have it waiting for you after you finish and arrive home.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if they still have it, because there were things that went quick, like they had a really cool hooded sweatshirt that was gone at the expo and gone online.
Speaker 3:Oh, there comes a point where they just run out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the tip is early, it's not early.
Speaker 1:Run Disney early. Where it's like you have to get there, give it what your first and get into a sword fight with somebody. Yes. You want to get there on the first day.
Speaker 2:Okay, if you want, especially if you have interest in larger sizes, if you need a specific custom kind of size, large or small.
Speaker 1:If you're a medium or large, you're okay. There are tons of that stuff.
Speaker 3:If you're in the middle of the bell curve where they're going to have most of those. Yeah, that makes total sense. I think it's probably a safe bet for any of the majors that the earlier you get to the expo, the better your chances of finding what you're looking for in terms of the merch. Yeah, I agree to that. Yeah, yeah but that's so nice to hear about the hotel so did you find that the expo itself had everything that you might want from an expo?
Speaker 3:I always think in terms of I arrive, my luggage is lost, I'm screwed, I need to get, I need to outfit myself for a race in an emergency. Could you have done that there?
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely, they had four or five different shoe companies. I know Polka was very well represented. Obviously, you have New Balance there. Oh, absolutely, they had four or five different shoe companies. I know Polka was very well represented. Nice, obviously, you have New Balance. Topo was there. I'm trying to think who else was there. Saucony was there as well. Asics had a stand, but they didn't have sneakers. I think it was mostly gear, really.
Speaker 3:Interesting.
Speaker 1:It's funny, the two biggest ones that I noticed. Hoka had a really big presence. They have a two-floor experience. The bottom was shoes and upstairs was merch. Sockney had a London-specific kit which was really cool. Their singlet was actually I have one. It was white. And then the bottom half was the Union Jack with red on red. Oh cool, they were selling those. But yeah, no, they had fuel fuel socks. You, you need it, you got it. And then they had just a smaller british companies on the other side, individual booths with the charities. So if you wanted to buy something, maybe that was from a smaller retailer. They had other things that you could get to bib belts or hats, stuff like that. But you could easily fit yourself top to bottom no worries was brooks there, I didn't see brooks.
Speaker 3:No, it's funny, that's the second race I haven't seen brooks really represented brooks, we're reaching out to you I know that for some companies, when you start talking about these big expos like you're talking about that two-story experience that was probably a million bucks to set that up and you're having to carry insurance, you're staffing it. Those are huge expenses to to do so. Not every company is going to do that, that's true.
Speaker 1:But you're also competing against the main sponsors. Bingo, yeah like new balance and you've got adidas. In Boston, you've got New Balance. I think it's New York and London for New Balance.
Speaker 2:Is it?
Speaker 1:Nike got Chicago.
Speaker 2:Oh, nike, yeah, Get the larger sizes of shoes because they're narrow.
Speaker 1:I can't wear them. I can't, we can't either, I can't.
Speaker 2:No, we tried. Oh my God.
Speaker 3:The most motion control they have is not enough for me.
Speaker 1:I recently actually switched shoes after London, so I was running in Brooks, now I'm running in Saucony now. Really.
Speaker 2:It's a good brand. I'm going to tell you like when I got fitted at Fidipides in Atlanta with Jeff Galloway's team shout out to Jeff and his team, yeah, and Greg, who I think retired, but he was awesome. He spent four hours with me.
Speaker 3:Greg was incredible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I ended up back in Brooks, but he sent me home with Asics and a choice from Saucony yeah. So I felt like, no matter what I was going to find back home, I could. I could get what I needed to train and to run. Well, they're incredible. So it's so Saucony Nice.
Speaker 1:Nice. Yeah, the guide 22 is the one I'm running it now and it's like running on marshmallows as my recovery runs and they're like the softest shoe I've ever run in. And they're like the softest shoe I've ever run in.
Speaker 2:Ah, cloudy Nice and cloudy so you alluded to it when you talked about the hotel. You got into the pre-race chat with Dave McGilvery and the carb loading, the carb loading meal and the hydration Lots of San Pellegrino. Was it a specific pasta place that you remember going to? Was it part of a hotel?
Speaker 1:It was a standalone kind of out in the middle of nowhere. Honestly, it was like the closest thing was a Starbucks, like a block away. I don't remember the name of the restaurant. I apologize, but it was such a quick experience there. We all just ate and bounced because we were like, okay, time to go to bed.
Speaker 2:Because it was the night before. It's not like you were carb loading two nights before and you're like, oh yeah, let's party.
Speaker 1:Let's stay out till one in the morning. Oh yeah, what could possibly go wrong? What?
Speaker 2:could go wrong. We've never done that before. Yeah, so you had a quick meal and then you were off to sleep. Mike will be back for part two of his recap next week, so stay tuned, because on the next episode it's race day at the London Marathon.
