Sunday…
It’s marathon day!
I was very excited to run this marathon,
simply because I was running with Ashley!
Ashley, (a sweet, sweet friend from high school) picked the Disney Marathon to be her first and I honestly don’t remember how it was decided that I was going to run it with her. Did she ask? Did I ask? Did I just tell her I was going to run it with her? That’s it…I’m pretty sure that’s how it went.
I was so excited to share this with Ashely — her first marathon!
We met that morning…and of course I dressed up. I was Marie from the Aristocats — it wasn’t the easiest to tell — but my ears were cute!
We met up — took some pics — headed to the start!
And we were off!
Since this was Ashley’s first marathon and she did have a soft goal in mind, I wanted us to get 6-10 miles under our belt before stopping to take pictures.
Taking pictures IS-THE-BEST-PART-OF-RUNNING-DISNEY!!
However, when we ran past the crew of puppies, I couldn’t resist!
And the Villains — the best character stop!
We kept running — and running — and running…
In and out of Magic Kingdom. Along some back roads. Into Animal Kingdom…
And then…
LET’S RIDE EXPEDITION EVEREST!
I completely left this decision up to Ashely, even though I did say that it would be totally awesome if we did ride a roller coaster during our marathon!
The ride was so much fun! I had only been on it once before and I can now say that I rode a roller coaster while running a marathon!
Running with Ashley was an absolute blast. She was such a cheerleader and motivator. Often times, I was wondering if she was the one helping me get to that finish line!
There were times I had to tell the little firecracker to simmer down! She was uber excited and I knew she needed to keep some of that energy for the finish!
Disney has made some adjustments to the marathon course (same ones from last year), and took out quite a few overpasses. They did add more miles to the route through ESPN Wide World of Sports — and that was killer. Ashley was a huge help getting me thru this part of the race.
We headed into Hollywood Studios next — my other favorite park! Some of the amazing Disney employees were passing out water.
As you can see, we enjoyed! 🙂
We headed out of Hollywood Studios and made our way to the home stretch, Epcot!
Ashley would agree with me — but this was the hardest part of the race for her.
She most definitely did NOT hit the wall, which is a huge accomplishment in marathon world.
But she got quiet (which she had not done the entire race).
She started to hurt. Mentally she was tired.
We were nearing the six hour mark (her unspoken goal).
And this is when I stepped it up.
I kept talking.
Encouraging.
Taking her mind off of the pain.
Focusing on how little we had left to run.
Reminding her that she was a marathoner.
That last 1/2 mile…
This was why I ran the marathon with her…
…that last 1/2 mile.
And at 6:03:59, Ashley became a marathoner!
I could not have been more proud!
(wish I had a finisher pic of us!)
After finishing, we met up with Ashley’s husband.
And she even said she’d run another marathon!
I’m so happy I was able to experience this with Ashley!
It was by far the most fun marathon I have ever run — it really is more fun running with friends!
My outfit:
Do you dress up for races?
The rest of the weekend:
Hey, I’m glad you’re here! I’m Caitlyn, a Tampa native with a love for all things social media, travel & tattoos. It’s no secret that I have a passion for social media - I’ve been at it for 11+ years! When I am not too busy supporting local companies as an SMM, I love to share foodie spots in Tampa and tips for your next Disney trip.
