NessaMcTastic wrote:Are the Disney Half and Full marathons that bad? I'm a runner and I was considering signing up for one and making a vacation out of it. I've heard mixed reviews about it from other runners but I want to get a CM's point of view.
I was in Florida for marathon weekend '04, and I didn't run the big one (I'm not that awesome) but I did participate in the 5K the day before at Epcot which was really fun. The biggest gripe you usually hear about the WDW marathon from runners is that, aside from the theme park segments, the course is pretty boring -- lots of long, straight roads and slowly curving interchanges. And it's Florida, so the course is virtually flat. Definitely not the challenge of Boston or LA, but that might make it perfect for a first-timer/theme park geek.
Looking over the Anaheim course... it's a bit front-loaded, the theme park segments make up the first 3 miles then it's basically out to Angel Stadium and back. So the last 10 miles aren't terribly interesting -- and like Florida, it's a virtually flat course -- but I guess it's a nice tour of the Anaheim that out-of-towners don't generally get to see. (It does go by the legendary Ganahl Lumber sign on Ball Road!)
Shorty82 wrote:Annoying for CMs though as they create havoc with traffic and getting to work. When they held the marathon here a few months back I was damn glad my commute didn't include any of the roads used by the marathon. With DL being right there in the city and there being less alternate routes one can take to avoid the marathon the traffic being even worse.
Really? CMs get so much advance warning, plus these races start so early in the morning that the inconvenience is fairly minimal. Besides, if you've got the seniority to pull opening shifts, you should know the shortcuts & ways around it anyhow!
Adam
