- 2:20am wake up call to the hotel room, to catch the 3am shuttle with other Team in Training participants to get to runner's holding area. The kids are at Russ & Elisa's house for the night, having a sleepover.
- Arrived at the holding area around 4am, which had a two huge jumbo screens, a live band playing 80's music, and gathered with 22,000+ runners waiting to start the race. I have NEVER seen anything like this. Of course, I take a few photos with our Team in Training group.
- 5am headed to the starting line with a sea of other runners - most of the runners, including us, are wearing garbage bags to stay warm, gloves, eating breakfast along the way until the race begins. Disney will donate all the sweatshirts, gloves and hats that are dropped in donation bins along the race path during the first few miles.
- 5:50 am the race begins with fireworks, pyrotechnic flames bursting in the air, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, & Donald dancing on a stage as you cross the starting line. As far as you can see in front of us and behind us, runners and walkers are everywhere.
- Epcot was the first park we ran through - so cool - all the lights were on, as it was still dark out. Live music, cool vibe. The sun started to rise about 1 hour into the race.
- Magic Kingdom was next...we ran through the park, saw a few characters as we were running and I thought - no, I'm not that interested in stopping yet. Then we came up on Pooh & Piglet and decided - oh - we'll wait. I told Don, maybe one more photo, if we find Mickey. Right around the corner was Mickey, Donald, & Goofy. As we waited for a picture, I looked at Don and said - "You know, when are we going to do this again? Um, never. So, I think we'll stop for photos when we want to!"
- Around mile 10 we ran through Cinderella's castle, which included princesses & the evil step mother off to the side, along with Trumpeters on top of the castle doing their trumpet thing, soooo cool. Tons of spectators on Main Street as we run by, cheering, holding signs, high-fiving runners, and loud motivating music piping through the park. So motivating. Team in Training people everywhere - on the course, cheering spectators, signs, whistles, horns, you name it - encouragement was in abundance.
- Mile 15 - we're moving along fine - keeping a good pace, we had stopped along the way to take pictures whenever we felt like it. Surprisingly, no serious knee pains at this point. Just the need to keep the muscles moving. At this point, we've seen so many characters, taken several pictures, haven't cared about waiting to do this - this is a once in a lifetime experience for us.
- Mile 18 - we're running between parks, on the back roads, about to head into Hollywood Studios. Don has a fun little exchange with Captain Jack Sparrow as I stop to take a picture of him and several other pirates, aboard the Black Pearl. It's hot, it's around 11am - I'm not willing to wait in line for this one as we've been running, stopping for pictures, and bathroom breaks along the way. The lines for the bathrooms are long everywhere - serious time consuming exercise.
- Mile 20 - or somewhere around there, after a water stop, I run by the green army men from Toy Story. They are out on the course, cheering people on, with a megaphone. I start laughing when I see them. The guy with the megaphone says, "We have a lady here smiling. She is either having fun or NOT running fast enough. Young lady, MOVE IT, MOVE IT, MOVE IT!". This just made me laugh even more. Right after that, we ran through a building tunnel that had all the seamstress/costume designers with racks and racks of costumes, outfits, sewing machines, etc. That was a unique sight for me - love the creativity, sewing-thing.
- Mile 23 - it's getting harder, hotter, and we're tired. Doesn't matter what character is on the side lines, we're not stopping. The past two miles have had a few bathroom breaks for me, which means it takes extra effort to get moving again. Don kept running along as it was easier for him to keep moving, which means, I had a to do some sprinting to catch up when I was done with the bathroom.
At this point, we're in between Hollywood Studios & Epcot - it's seriously hot and I'm tired, trying to catch Don and I just want to walk. I look in front of me, and I see a 65+ year old man in front of me, running along. He's wearing a picture on his back, it says "Running in honor of my daughter", and there is a photo of his daughter wearing a Mickey Marathon Medal. I start to cry, thinking of what that man had endured to get there. I thought, "Okay - I can do this". I keep moving.
- The last mile - Don and I run together step for step through Epcot, in the heat, getting cheered on by spectators we don't know, feeling like we can't wait to finish. The last few minutes are euphoric, as we ran through a stadium-seated area that is loaded with spectators, music, cheering, encouragement, etc. Team in Training coaches from around the country are all along the last mile or so, making sure we all finish strong. We cross the finish line holding hands - so amazed at our experience, the journey to get here, and the knowledge that we did it! God watched over us and our knees :)
- Medals - we both received our Mickey Mouse Marathon Medals. We are so happy, proud, and glad to be done! We walk over to the medical area, along with just about everyone else finishing, and get ice packs for our knees. We marvel in the experience - feeling so very fortunate that we could do this together. About 5 minutes after the race was over, Don says "You know Mariss, I don't think I need to do a marathon again. I think a 1/2 marathon is the way to go!" We finished, are happy with the fun we had along the way with Team in Training and the marathon experience.
- The Day After - we are sore, but moving along fine. We head to Animal Kingdom with the kids for one last day of fun in Orlando. We are proud, tired, and inspired by all of the runners and Team in Training participants on the course. We see Team in Training people and share our stories and triumph of the 26.2 miles. I know this experience has been a long time coming, but we are so fortunate to have had the opportunity to do this - a special thanks to Russ & Elisa for watching the kids and making this such a memorable vacation week!
I'll leave you with this final thought - our current total fundraising for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is $10,136!! Thank you to everyone that has contributed to this amazing organization and our journey. Your prayers, contributions, and inspiration has made it all possible - God Bless.
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