Great WDW race recaps! I'm glad I had the chance to meet both of you and have some time to chat. I hope we can participate in an event together again sometime.

In the full marathon on Sunday, I ran with Scott through the food stop near mile 14, but couldn't keep up with him beyond that. I was able to fall in with the 5 hour pace group (who started in an earlier wave) for a few miles, but couldn't maintain their pace either as we left the Hollywood Studios. Seeing a few friends (who were working the event) in the last few miles helped me struggle through the end and I set a new PR with a 4:59 finish. After finishing, I was too tired to drive home so I found a spot at the finish line and had a wonderful time watching the back of the pack finish the race. One couple got engaged as they ran through the castle together (he stopped and proposed at the castle exit). The final finisher of the marathon was an 82-year old man who has finished every WDW marathon event, but needed a little help from a coach to get to the finish. Mickey and Minnie ran over to join them and finish the last few yards together.

My next race is a half marathon on Feb 13 in San Diego, so I'll call in a race report at the finish.

Hi Allan and Stevie! I'm excited to say that I've completed my first triathlon. It was a sprint distance event with a .25 mile swim, 7 mile bike, and 1.5 mile run. The swim portion was an out and back in a lake starting from the beach, but the water level was unusually low so we were never in water deeper than 5 feet. Most of us were doing more water running than swimming. Transition 1 went relatively well, and I took off on my $100 bike. The hills were more challenging than I had trained for, but I was able to complete the bike segment with reasonable satisfaction. There were only 4 competitors behind me when I entered transition 2. In the run segment I felt pretty good, so I was able to pass a few people. I finished 78 out of 88 with a time of just under 53 minutes.
I enjoyed the experience and hope to compete in another sprint distance event soon.

Jim

Just listened to a science podcast discussing how parasites can be transferred via bare feet, but they spent a bit of time covering barefoot running and even talked about the Vibrams. Podcast: Stuff From the Science Lab, Episode: Running with Parasites, Date: March 4, 2010.

On a separate note, I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon today in support of a co-worker trying to set a new PR for herself. 10,000 women, 400 men. Men are welcome, but only women can earn prizes, and there are no male age groupings. The overall top three finishers were male (no prize for them), but finished less than a minute in front of the top female. It was a relaxing run for me as I enjoyed the sites and spent time taking pictures with the disposable camera that is part of the goody bag. And yes, my co-worker set a new PR for herself at 2:44. I beat her by 3 seconds, but only because I dashed ahead at the line to turn around and take a photo of her as she finished.

Day 2 for the Goofy Challenge was FRIGID (at least for us Floridians), with wind chills in the teens. We all expected the day to warm up, but the wind kept it consistently cold. I was able to toss one long-sleeved shirt at mile 14, but everytime I tried removing my jacket I ended up having to put it back on.
I had only a bit of soreness this morning left over from yesterday's Half, and I felt pretty good through mile 19. My group used a Galloway strategy, 2 min. run / 1 min. walk, and we were able to get through in around 5:30.
I'm very sore now, but still no ice bath for me - I'm not brave enough to try it. I do plan on signing up for the 2011 Goofy Challenge as soon as registration opens at noon tomorrow. I think I'll also put my name into the New York lottery...

- Jim

As Helen indicated, the weather was odd for us locals, but all went well. Thanks to Allan's recommendation of wearing a garbage bag to protect my body and old socks on my hands, I was able to stay warm until the race was finished. I stayed with my strategy of running a slow race (12+ minute pace) to still be in good condition for the full marathon tomorrow. I have some minor soreness, but I think I will be ready to go. Big crowds today with 22,000-23,000 registered and over 17,000 finished. Approximately 24,000 are registered for the full tomorrow.

- Jim

Hi Allan and Stevie! I have some answers for your Goofy Challenge questions from the New Year's Day podcast.

Registration for the 2011 Disney Marathon, Half-Marathon, and Goofy Challenge opens on Monday January 11 @ www.DisneyWorldMarathon.com

The 2011 Goofy Challenge dates are Saturday January 8, 2011 (Half-Marathon), and Sunday January 9, 2011 (Marathon).

If you want more information on the 2010 event (which should be similar to 2011), you can view videos of the course and the course maps @ http://disneyworldsports.disney.go.com/dwws/en_US...

The on-line version of the Marathon Weekend program is @
http://adisneyworldsports.disney.go.com/media/dww...

I'll post reports Saturday following the Half-Marathon, and Sunday following the Marathon to let you know how it went. I'm very excited!

- Jim

Glad to hear the plans to run the Goofy Challenge in 2011. Provided I survive the 2010 event (in less than three weeks), I plan to run it again in 2011 and I hope to see some of the podcast group there.

As a point of clarification on the sign-up process for the Disney races, the Goofy Challenge is listed as a separate event on the registration page. Signing up for the full marathon and the half marathon separately does not enter you in the Goofy Challenge. You are correct that the half marathon fills quickly, but the Goofy Challenge has its own allocation of entrants that fills very quickly.

Sorry to see Jeff go, but glad to have Stevie added to the podcast.

Jim O. - Orlando, FL