Happy last day of 2017!  It’s 4:04 am, December 31st.  2018 arrives at midnight.  I’m running a marathon in 2018.  Holy crap, I’m running a marathon in one week!

T-2 days until I leave for Disney!  *squee*

This Dopey thing is gettin’ real!  Oh. My. God.

I’ve been focused packing for the next week of touring the parks and running all the races.  Dopey is no joke! To train for or to pack for!

Packing for a racecation, especially a runDisney one, and even more so for Marathon Weekend and the 4 race Dopey Challenge, can be a huge challenge, and is much more time consuming than you think it would be.  It requires a high level of planning and a LOT of stuff.

Being prepared on multiple levels, and well-organized in your packing, will make your entire experience more enjoyable. I’ve learned that the hard way, so I thought I’d share my last minute tips and packing plan of attack in the hopes it might help you.

But first, some important things you should be doing in these last few days before you arrive at the World.

Important Training and Preparation tips for the week before the races

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!  I live in New England and it’s been unusually bitterly cold the past week.  It’s so freaking DRY, inside and out, that the air is literally sucking the moisture out of me, I swear.  It has been really difficult to stay hydrated, but it’s so important.  Keep water with you and drink often!  Pre-hydrating is important so you can keep ahead of it before you are walking the parks and running the races.  Since it’s so cold, I’m drinking a lot of herbal hot tea as my hydration of choice.
• EAT!  LOTS! This one is hard for me.  I’m not racking up miles while tapering, so I’m not as hungry, and I tend to graze anyway, but focused eating, in particular carbs and protein to build and repair muscles and store that glycogen is key, especially if you are running multiple races or the half and /or full.  Now is not the time to try new foods or start a new diet!  Tried and true is the way to go.  The last time I did a 3 race challenge, I did not account for the calories I’d burn and the muscle fatigue that I’d accumulate pre-races walking the parks, nor the fatigue of not sleeping enough, and by the end of the half, I was toast.  I was so tired and felt crappy, because I was dehydrated and under-fueled.  I wasn’t able to enjoy the park or the celebration plans the way I wanted to as a result.  Don’t make that mistake! You need to keep a full tank of fuel.
• Plan your meals when at WDW.  I made ADR’s this time to make sure I stop to eat, and have a suitcase that is significantly full of snacks!  I’m lucky in that my parents live in Florida and will be bringing a case of water, some yogurt, milk, and a few other perishable foods for me.  Garden Grocer delivers to the resorts at WDW, you can Amazon Prime yourself food to your resort, or you can drive or Uber to a store to fetch snacks to have if you want to.  I am gluten free, and while Disney does offer some GF choices at most of their dining places, having tried and true snacks are important for me, so I’m bringing my own.  It’s also less expensive that way.
• Boost your immune system!  Drink vitamin C.  Take some echinacea.  I’m a fan of Elderberry tea and Sambucus Elderberry Immune syrup.  I swear it helps!
• WASH YOUR HANDS!  Hand sanitizer (or wipes) is your best friend, especially as you travel.  The flu and cold viruses are rampant.  Washy, Washy, Washy!  ALL.  THE.  TIME. I’m considering a mask for the plane if someone near me is coughing or sneezing a lot!
• Read the event guide and know what time you need to be where for the Expo and for the races.  Remember everything at Disney takes longer than you think it will, especially transportation.  Don’t think you can roll out of bed at 3:30 and make the start line for a race in a leisurely fashion. The first bus is the best way to have a stress free experience.
• Educate your spectators on where to be and what time they need to be there.  Keep in mind Marathon Weekend brings about 100,000 people to WDW between runners and their families/spectators. Plus, it’s still a big vacation week since the New Year Holiday is the beginning of the race week.  Crowd levels will be a 10/10 through Friday at the parks.  There will be road closures on race days that will add to how long it takes to get around, too.  Here is a link to some of the logistical information like road closures and time frames to be aware of.
• Have your spectators track you and understand the intervals of when they will get updates and how that relates to where they are on the course.  The instructions are in the event guide.  It helps if they have a sign that is unique and large, and they are dressed in a way that makes it easy for YOU to spot them.  It’s much harder for them to pick you out of a crowd.  If you know exactly where they will be and what they are wearing, and they know what you are wearing and about when to expect you to pass by their location, you have a MUCH better chance of connecting with them.  Spectators/support can also hand you items you may need and take items you don’t need anymore.  Make a plan ahead of time!

The last phase of training:  Wake up training!

Why am I up at 4 am and coherent enough to blog?  Well, because while the running has been tapering, the last phase of training for the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend and the Dopey Challenge is in full force.  Training for O’dark thirty wake up times!

I’m a morning person by nature, but even for me, there is a big difference between getting up at 5:30 am and getting up at 2:30 am multiple days in a row!  I am pretty functional on about 5 hours of sleep, but when you factor in 10+ miles of walking and/or distance running multiple days in a row, your body needs more recovery time and rest.  So getting up early means having to go to bed early.  Like super early.

For the past few days, I’ve been setting my alarm for a half-hour earlier each day.  Today it was 3:30 am.  Tomorrow it will be 3 am.  Tuesday it will be 2:30, which is legit, because I need to leave for the airport at 3 am Tuesday.  Yes, this means I will be in bed tonight, New Year’s Eve, by 9.

Packing and Florida Weather in January

So, if you are heading to Marathon weekend, no doubt you’ve been watching the forecast for this week.  If you are on Facebook, people are freaking out about how cold it’s predicted to be.

Here’s the thing.  Disney doesn’t control the weather.  Weather is, especially in central Florida, quite changeable on any given day. In the course of a 4 day race weekend, it could literally snow one day and be 75 the next.  So keep an eye on the forecast, but realize it will likely change, right up until the morning of the race.

The bottom line:  Pack all the things!  Seriously.  Pack for 30 degrees (standing in a corral for 2 hours) and pack for the 70’s.  Pack for blazing sun, cold wind, or rain.  Heck, even snow flurries!  For the marathon, it’s not unusual for it to be cold at the start but 60’s by the finish, especially if you are in a latter corral and planning on a 5 hour or longer marathon.  And there is not much in the way of shade anywhere on these courses, so sunscreen is needed if skin is exposed!

Layers will be key!

I’ve found that packing for a multi-day racecation works best if you pack by the day, and organize your clothes and gear that way.  Make a list of what you need for each day, including clothing/costumes, fuel/nutrition, and accessories.  Lay everything out for each race day, then, once you have it all, pack it into a jumbo zip-lock bag (labeled) or a packing cube dedicated to that race distance only.

This makes it much easier to unpack, and on those crazy early wake up days, to roll out of bed, get dressed, and get out the door with peace of mind you haven’t forgotten anything. It also makes laying out your gear for the next morning’s race the night before faster and easier.  You’ll be much less likely to forget something, too!

For example, for any given race, in the jumbo Ziploc (labeled with the race distance) I have:

• My entire outfit for running
  • running bra/tank
  • top (including short and long sleeve layers)
  • sparkle skirt/leggings
  • socks
  • Hair ties/headband/visor
  • costume related accessories
• Fuel I plan to use that race (tailwind, honey stinger waffle cookie, etc.)
• I also put an index card in each bag with a list of what I need that day, especially the items that don’t fit in the bag, or that I use multiple days
  • headphones
  • phone
  • portable charger
  • magic band
  • ID and a credit card for the lockers at the park and just in case
  • sneakers
  • fuel/hydration belt
  • breakfast reminder (hot tea, too!)
  • sunglasses because it’s dark at race start but not at the finish
  • a list of items I want to bring with me or bag check
  • a reminder to attach my bib to my outfit the night before
• I also put in each bag just in case items.  This includes
  • safety pins
  • hair ties
  • a mylar heat sheet
  • a poncho
  • hand warmers
  • throw away gloves, hat or ear warmer
  • throw away warm up clothing (these will be key this year)
  • anything else I might need

If you are checking a bag at the race itself, you have to use the clear plastic bags runDisney provides at the Expo.  Make sure you’ve followed the directions on how to label it! In the past, you have been able to put another bag inside of it, like a backpack or string bag. Double check though, before you do that in case it’s changed.

I will include a change of clothes, socks, and shoes, especially if I plan to go right to a park or ADR after a race, a body wash wipe like shower pill, deodorant, a granola or Clif bar, a portable phone charger, and anything else I might need for the day after the race.

I will stash my running shoes/gear I don’t need in a locker when I get to the park so I don’t have to carry it all day.  You need a credit card, I believe, to pay for lockers though, so make sure you bring one just in case!  I’m not sure if magic bands work for lockers.

It’s about saving time on race day!

Yes, it is time consuming to prepare to this level of detail and organization, but it will save you a ton of time when it counts, at 3 am on a race morning!  It’s better to have everything you *might* need rather than realize you are dressed for 60’s and it’s 30 degrees with a wind chill in the 20’s, which is exactly what happened to so many marathoners last year when the forecast changed drastically just a day or two before the race, and people were caught unprepared.

Oh, and if you are running multiple races, bring at least two pair of running shoes!  If one gets wet, you will be miserable because they may not dry in time for the next day!

Prepare for the standing around and the corral crawl!

Also remember, you will be hanging out in the start area and corrals for close to 2 hours most race mornings, and it is coldest just before the sun rises.  Having layers you can wear then, but toss once you start to run and warm up, can make for a much more pleasant experience.  Mylar heat blankets, trash bags, and ponchos are cheap, lightweight, easy to pack, and can keep you warm and dry.  You can buy them in bulk at Amazon pre-race, or find them at Wal-mart and other box stores.  I picked up a multi pack of body and hand warmers yesterday after seeing forecast temps in the 30’s for at least 2 of the race mornings.

Disney also picks up all discarded clothing and donates it to local shelters and people in need.

Other important items to pack

Oh, and then pack for the rest of the time, too!  For this, it’s easy!  Based on the current forecast, and knowing how warm I need it to be to wear shorts/T shirts, I used packing cubes and I pretty much packed leggings and both short/long sleeve tops, one pair of jeans, one pair of shorts/skort, a fleece jacket, a lighter jacket, gloves/ear warmer, socks, underwear, and a bathing suit (mostly for hot tub use).  I plan to dress in layers.

Don’t forget to print and sign your race waiver and bring it to the expo! You can print them there, but it will take longer.

It’s not a bad idea to pack a travel foam roller or some other form of self-massage device, a first aid kit, and don’t forget your vitamins or medications (meds always in your carry on!).

For a first aid kit I recommend the following:

• Tylenol (Ibuprofen is not recommended pre/immediately post race but I’m bringing some anyway, just in case)
• blister band aids
• cold remedies/cough drops
• topical pain relief like Biofreeze or Arnica gel or icy hot
• benadryl
• antibiotic cream and regular band aids
• I bring Hyland’s foot cramp remedy because I get killer foot cramps!
• Tums and bowel remedies like anti-diarrhea pills
• salt tabs if you use them for distance races
• immune booster like airborne or emergen-C or a tea like echinacea/elderberry
• melatonin if falling asleep is hard for you (try it before you travel though!)

Don’t forget your toiletries and sunscreen!

I recommend you also pack a small hand sanitizer and carry it with you everywhere!  Disinfecting wipes in a travel pack are also useful for the plane and the hotel room surfaces.  A string bag or backpack for touring the parks is a good idea, especially since this time of year, as it warms up, you shed layers, but then need them again later in the day, especially standing around waiting for nighttime spectaculars. It’s also a good idea to carry a poncho anytime you visit Disney, no matter the season!

Don’t put all your eggs (gear) in one suitcase!

I strongly recommend you wear your favorite running shoes or put them in your carry on bag along with at least the first day’s running gear.  Luggage gets lost or delayed and may take days to reunite with you.  Don’t tempt fate or chance it.

Double check that your suitcase has appropriate identification on it, that the bag tag from the airport has the correct destination on it, and if you are using Magical Express, that you’ve attached your bag tags before leaving for the airport.

I tried, but was unable to get everything I need into one suitcase.  So I will have to manage two on my own, since I’m travelling solo.  This is why I luv Southwest Airlines.  I don’t have to pay for a second bag!

If I were not bringing so much in the way of snacks and was not running 4 races and needing to pack for 4 seasons in 4 days, I’d not need nearly so much stuff.  The smaller suitcase is mostly food and accessory type stuff like throw away clothes.  It will come back significantly less full (and lighter), but then I have more room for souvenirs and race swag, right?!

The good news is, I just need to haul all my stuff from the car to the shuttle and the shuttle to the check in counter at the airport, and then I’ll see it in my room at the hotel!

I have two carry on bags as well.  One is just a backpack with my running shoes and my 5K running gear. It will get stashed in the overhead bin. The other will have my usual carry on items.  When I get to the resort, I’ll leave my carry bags with the concierge and head to the park!

Don’t pack your magic bands in your luggage!

If you have a split stay, the concierge will transport your luggage to the resort (on property, of course) you are moving to, just let them know.  By the time you get to your room that day, your luggage should be waiting for you.

And now, I just need to put everything in the suitcases, attach my magical express tags, and print my boarding pass.

Do you have any other packing tips for a Disney racecation?

I’m getting really excited for this experience and the energy of the 25th anniversary of the Marathon and the 5th anniversary of the Dopey Challenge.  It’s also very likely my last runDisney racecation, so I want to savor it all.

See ya real soon!