Running - Maria Runs

WDW marathon weekend Dopey challenge part 1- Expo and 5k

To recap, the Dopey challenge is all 4 races over the WDW marathon weekend- 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, half marathon on Saturday and marathon on Sunday. (Andy was also doing this challenge, but apart from the 5k we ran seperately) We’ve both completed Run Disney events before- we did the inaurgural DLP half marathon in 2016, and in WDW a 10k in 2018 and a 5k in 2019. As with all Run Disney races, you need to collect your bibs (number) in person from the expo the day before the race. As this was a multi race event and the expo only started on the Wednesday, we had to go on that day (along with anyone else running Dopey or the 5k). The expo runs until the Saturday so if you were doing a single race you could go later on when it was less busy. However, not an option for us. We had planned to not go to a park that day, and that worked out very well as it took ages- hours and hours!

Expo day (the Wednesday)

The expo is at the WDW Wide World of Sports, which is a huge sports complex that hosts loads of competitions, and is so many buildings and sports pitches and inside basketball courts etc. We had to do several things, all of which were in different buildings:

Collect our numbers (with ID, with our Run Disney app confirmation code and with a waiver that you sign in person).

Collect our shirts- with Run Disney races you get your shirt before the race- lots of people seem to run with their shirts (which was madness seeing as these shirts were long sleeved and it was hot).

Look at the Disney merch- Brooks had released special Run Disney themed shoes (I did very well to resist them) and there are also loads of additional race shirts, jackets, hats, bags, pins, magnets etc that Disney release.

Look at the other merch- there are loads of stands with sparkly tutus, various “nutrition” products, medal display options, even Jeff from Jeff Galloway was there.

There are also loads of photo ops with characters, a large castle, various props linked to the different race and challenge distances…

The expo at the sports complex- we waited outside a while for our virtual queue to open up. Even the paintings on the walls in the corridors were themed to the races.

Because we were going on the first day, we had to join a virtual queue to look at the Disney merch, so as soon as it allowed (I think 9am but possibly 8am) we did that via the app and had an approximate time of 10:30. We took our time driving over and parking, and hung around in the sunshine waiting for our group to be pinged. We were probably waiting for a good 45 mins and with hindsight could have collected our numbers first but you never know how long anything will take. Even after being called, we joined one queue along a corridor, then a giant queue inside (next to the Brooks trainers) before finally getting into the main merch hall. This hall is quite mad with people grabbing armfuls of stuff (I think there’s a lot of reselling going on) and by the time we got there some things had already totally sold out. Here there was an additional queue if you wanted to buy Dopey challenge merch, but the design of the jumper wasn’t my favourite (he’s not the cutest character imo) so we didn’t bother. We got a nice marathon weekend mug, a jacket each and a few other bits.

Top left shows the queue through one large room to get to the merch- this followed on from the virtual queue and a queue in a corridor. Then Jeff, a giant Brooks shoe box, and the field we had to walk around to get to the next building.

Then it was onto get our numbers- this was another walk to another building (in fact we were directed in a large loop to just go around one building and back to where we started before we got inside the actual number building)- we then joined another queue, signed our waivers and got our numbers. Here is where the paranoia began for me because we got two numbers each, one for the 5k and 10k, and then a second number for the other two races. They properly check your bibs as you go into the corrals so I was really worried about using the wrong one!

All the shirts! They had big maps of the routes (plus the medals but I didn’t want to look too closely before), then the two numbers. On the green gem below the C is where it said 5/10k or half/full.

Anyway, once that was done we went to another building, this time walking around a sports pitch first, to then collect our shirts. As you get one per race, and one per challenge, we got 6 shirts each in total. (As well as Dopey there is a Goofy challenge which is the half and the full, so as our challenge encompassed that we also got those items).

A few photo ops- the Dopey queue was too long for us to join! The 39.3 is the Goofy which is the half and the full.

I was keen to take a few photos, so we queued up for a few, but by this time it was about 2:30 in the afternoon and we didn’t want a late night ahead of our 3:20am alarm, so it was time to head off. I had seen on social media that the following days were fairly quiet, and in fact on the Saturday afternoon we popped back as I wanted to see if they still had a t-shirt that I quite liked (they did), so if you didn’t need to go the first day I would recommend waiting and going later.

The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent getting ready. We had a bit of doubting about what to wear, as lots of the media was talking about keeping warm, but for us it wasn’t that cold, and I’d run parkrun on the Saturday and been fine in shorts and t-shirts. But there was loads of stuff about the dew point, about how it was really cold because it was so humid and damp before the sun came up- we second guessed a bit but in the end I stuck to shorts and t-shirt and that was definitely correct. We had been sensible with the alarm, getting up at 5am on the day of the expo, 6am the day before, and 7am the day before that, so by around 8pm we were pretty tired and ready to sleep. We got our numbers and running clothes ready, and that was it- the challenge was about to begin!

Thursday- 5k day

We were staying at Bonnet Creek which is within WDW but not a Disney resort. This was ideal as it was a less than 10 min drive with no road closures at the time we were going there. The race began at 5am and Disney suggested getting there by 4. We drove into the gates at 4am, parked and sat in the car for a bit, as this morning was a little chilly. However it’s about a mile walk through the car park, through security and through the race village to get to the starting corrals, so in the end we headed off at about 4:10am.

You are given a starting corral based on time, and we had submitted our Brighton Half marathon times- I was in C and Andy was in B (it went to G I think). He was allowed to drop back, so for the 5k decided he’d run with me. There were detailed lists of when the corrals closed, and when this happens the light turns off and you have to join a later one. I think my one closed at 5, as each corral goes off in waves and so the estimated start time was something like 5:13. I think we timed it pretty well as we were not waiting around for too long, but there is a stage with a very enthusiastic presenter chatting to various people and hyping everyone up so you could listen to that while you waited.

The EPCOT parking in the dark, the large balloons marking the corrals, directions and Spaceship Earth lit up along with the Run Disney signs.

It wasn’t long before we were off! They set of the wheelchair athletes first, and then within each corral they had perhaps 3 waves- each one had a countdown and fireworks, so even once you started running you could hear the countdown and fireworks behind.

The 5k start gantry, the fireworks going off, World Showcase looking beautiful, and Spaceship Earth lit up as we ran

The route took you around the back of the car park, into Epcot, around World Showcase and then back out the front, into the car park. The car park was unrecognisable though, as there were loads of things set up there- the mile markers were themed, there were character meets, and various bands/ local high school cheerleading groups etc. The race weekend was themed around “What’s your story?”, so each race was linked to a character and genre- this one was Pluto looking at space themed books, so the characters were space themed (Buzz Lightyear, various characters from Stitch). The music was also space themed, so there was lots of Star Wars playing as we ran.

The aim of the game we decided was to run gently for the first two races- I didn’t want to walk because it would be a lot more time on feet. The 5k isn’t timed although you do get a time for Dopey as I think they check you are doing them all- we ran it in 36 mins so it was nice and gentle.

As you finish you get given a medal, bottle of water, bottle of powerade, banana and snack box. You need extra hands!

There was a large area in the race village for meeting back up- we didn’t use the baggage storage until later on in the week but on this day we saw where they were (right by the finish line) and they had bleachers set up as well as trucks selling beer, hot drinks and various food items. We had agreed to meet by the benches after the other three races, and as someone who gets anxious ahead of races because of wondering about the parking/ start area/ finish line etc, it was really good to know that the next few mornings would be the same in that regard.

Happy running by Spaceship Earth! And with my medal at the end in the race village.

After finishing we looked at some of the characters but were both a bit chilly so after taking a few photos ourselves we headed back to the car (one mile walk!). The snack box is pretty grim if you choose to read the ingredients (shelf stable cheese flavour dip?) as is powerade (high fructose corn syrup) so we made porridge back in our room and ended up giving all the boxes to the donation box in the lobby (they had a box to put in unopened and un-used food/drinks if you have anything left when you check out).

The content of the box- crisps, crackers, cheese flavour dip, fruit flakes (that when I googled contained no fruit at all), waffle, plus banana, powerade. Our porridge (we used the bananas for that) and the Pluto space medal!

After breakfast and a shower, we headed back to Epcot for a bit- I took my medal so I could have a few photos of course. We saw so many people wearing their medals or the race shirts, as well as the merch we’d seen at the expo. Cast members would say “congratulations” to you as well which was lovely.

My medal by the Japan and Canada pavilions, plus some of the Run Disney signs up that we saw as we went through the car park in the day.

The aim was to not do too many steps though I ended up doing 31,000 steps- not ideal! The evening was again a repeat- an early dinner (around 5pm), heading back to the hotel around 6pm, getting our race numbers, clothes and bag drop bag ready, and then getting to sleep around 8. 10k coming next!

Have you ever taken part in a multi day event before?

Welwyn 10k 2025

I’ve joined in with this race for a few years now. The first time I attended it started in Welwyn village, and was a crazy hilly course starting close to midday. Last year it moved to Panshanger park, and it stayed there this year, albeit with a slightly different route.

As my dad has been keen to do a 10k every now and then, I got him race entry for his birthday, so we travelled there together. It’s a lovely low key event where you park close to the start, pick up your number from a tent in the morning, and then head off to enjoy the race. I was very happy to hear that Planted Coffee co would be there too- looking forward to one of their iced drinks is a highlight of the final mile!

Before the start, and then a few mid race views.

It was a hot day, and although the race started at 9:30 it was already baking, so we stood in the shade before the start as much as possible. I’d just had my shoulder injection, and Dad had been cycling around Scotland so we both needed to take it easy. I had explained to him that this was not like a road race- we would enjoy the scenery and walk the hills and water stations, and not worry about the finish time.

This worked well, and we both managed to chat all the way around. At one point someone commented that they were amazed that we still had the energy to talk, but the run/walk really helps, as did stopping at water stations and drinking an entire cup.

*A mid race photo of us, the lovely medal with the cow on it, a lovely wooden carving seen on the route and my hilarious tan lines that were actually dust stuck to sun cream!*

I worked out on the way around that it was the same route as last year, only in the opposite direction and starting and finishing in a different place (it started where the parkrun starts now, whereas last year it started in the middle near the lakes)- I think this worked really well as you still get the hills out of the way in the first half and have a relatively flat and downhill second half. The marshals were all so encouraging, and the atmosphere was great- we finished in around 1 hour 15 with lots of people walk/running around us too.

After finishing and picking up our bags from the bag drop area (tarpaulin of trust) we queued up at Planted- I had an iced matcha and Dad had an iced chocolate. We sat in the sun on the grass and just relaxed after the race before heading home a bit later- such a perfect morning.

It’s been hot when I’ve done this before, but the end of June is pretty much going to be guaranteed heat, but the pretty views and relaxed atmosphere make this on my “must do” list.

Do you have any races that you like to do each year?

Brighton Half Marathon 2025

I’ve completed this race so many times now, I really do enjoy it. Any excuse for a reason for a weekend in Brighton is good by me, but the course is always good (running by the sea) and the support is always fantastic from the locals.

This time the weather was pretty amazing- sunny with a gentle breeze. It had been frosty on the Saturday morning, but it was not frosty on Sunday. Andy was running this year too, which meant I took a jacket to tie around my waist so I had something to wear at the end, as usually he would meet me at the finish with another layer to put on. I get cold very quickly when I stop so I knew I’d need something and didn’t want to use the bag drop. After not wearing sunglasses to parkrun the previous morning, I knew I would wear them for this run, and at the last minute decided on a visor too- I was glad of both of these as it was so sunny the entire time.

The race had a new start/finish area on Hove Lawns this year, which worked so much better than the previous start area of Madeira Drive- there is a lot of work going on restoring the arches at Madeira Drive so I think that was why, but the Hove Lawns area was so much wider. Often it is so congested and it’s hard to get past the queues of people at the port-a-loos, and it can take a good 30 mins to get out of the finish area. This year was a lot better so I hope they keep it in the future.

Back to the morning- our hotel was less than a mile walk along the seafront to the start, so we left the hotel at around 8:45 with the race starting at 9:30. We were not using the bag drop or anything, so just had to get into our start pens before it began. On the walk we saw some people riding penny farthings- I remembered seeing them last year out on the route while I was running it, so this must be some sort of tradition!

*The penny farthings, before the start, heading to Hove Lawns*

Andy is a quicker runner than I am, but we started in the same pen so we could chat up until the start. I decided to let the runners go so I stood to one side (I was in the sub 2 hour pen, which was not a time I would be running! I have done that once but it’s probably a never again!)- I didn’t fancy being swept up by all the faster runners.

The route covered pretty much the same ground, but in a different order. Previously you head east along the coast first, then do the out and back in the city centre, and finish by heading out to Hove and back.

*A few pictures from the route, and Joe Wilkinson starting off the race (before joining at the back- I saw him at one of the out and back sections too)*

This year, we ran into the town first, then headed east along the coast (this is the trickiest bit as it’s uphill and the road has quite a camber), back to the centre, then you had a small out and back along Madeira Drive, you then ran along west towards Hove, and then looped around to head to the finish. Usually when you turn at Hove you have a parkrun to go, but this time it was around 1.5 miles so I quite liked that we were closer to the finish at this point.

I’d looked at my time from last year and decided to aim for a similar time- between 2:10 and 2:15 would be realistic. This meant I needed to hover around 10 minute miles, so every now and then I would glance at my watch and I was always below that pace. I think starting in the faster pen meant I got a bit swept along with all the speedier runners.

I enjoyed the out and back sections- if you know someone running it’s always fun to look out for them. Andy saw me as I was heading up the coast, and I saw him at Madeira Drive, so that was nice. I enjoyed seeing the various supporter signs, running club vests and of course just looking out to sea and enjoying the views.

I usually get a drink at the turn around point, but realised after not having anything at the penultimate one that because the start and finish had moved, the water stations were in different places. I was struggling a bit by the time I got into Hove, and made myself stop and walk and drink the whole cup of water- this was at the 11 mile mark. Around this point we were all held back for a few moments while bin lorries drove across the course- it was a bit confusing as marshals were stopping us but other people were shouting “keep going”- I think they were supporters just being encouraging, but after running 11 miles and being tired it wasn’t easy to register what was going on!

Anyway, after the water I felt a bit better (I had a very dry throat, which I put down to being thirsty, but in fact this week I lost my voice and am now getting a bit of a cold, so I think that was actually what was happening with my throat there) and as we turned it was around 1.5 miles to go. I enjoyed this bit, looking at the beach huts, thinking about the parts of Hove Prom parkrun that we were running on, and soon we were being directed into the finish chute. This was actually quite a long chute so I was very relieved when we finally got under the finish arch. My official time was 2:11:06 so I am very pleased with that (last year was 2:13:59). Looking at my splits only miles 11 and 12 were in the tens- where I walked to have some water and then took a while to get going again, the rest were sub 10 min miles.

*Medal, pancakes with tofu scramble and blueberries (we shared this as we knew we’d have an early dinner) and the sea*

I should have put my jacket on right away, but instead I got my medal, can of water and banana, and then wandered about trying to find a good place to take a photo (as it was so crowded). Andy had messaged to say he was back at the hotel, and I had decided to head into Bird and Blend to get a tea for the walk back. After taking a photo I was just soooooo cold. I put my jacket on but that was probably too late, and then in B&B there was a bit queue so I had to wait ages for them to make my drink.

I made sure I stretched while I was standing and waiting at least!

*Pavilion seen during our post half marathon walk, Nowhere Man mirror (for the best pancakes), B&B tea and marmite fries.*

After a shower in the hotel we headed out to get some pancakes (for who knows what- brunch/ lunch?), and then a bit later on we had the star of the weekend, marmite waffle fries from Oowee! We stayed until the Monday, so we had a nice seafront walk in the morning before heading home- very nice not to have to rush back on the same day.

All in all, a great weekend. I’ve not signed up to 2026 just yet, but I am sure it won’t be long before I do!

Oaklands College parkrun- marshalling then running

In January, a new parkrun launched in St Albans. I know one of the RD’s so had offered to marshal on their first event, as the date had been leaked online (this seems to happen to lots of parkruns now) and the team were worried about the event being swamped. However, the first event was cancelled due to ice, and as they emailed to ask if volunteers could be there the following week instead, I was happy to help.

Dad came back and even took the selfie- his skills are improving too! My view of the start (I guessed 18- runners, it was just under 250 in the end), views from my spot, and of course a pic with the pop up

Do you think the course looks like a dog?

The course looks very confusing on paper- it’s two laps but one lap has an out and back section, and you pass various points from different directions so I would not know how to run it on my own without signs and marshals. Luckily they walked us to our marshal points on the first event as I would have had no idea!

I was at a marshal point with another member of OH ladies (hi Mel)- we had a bit of a complicated cross over point with runners approaching from two directions and needing to be sent in different ways too, but we worked it out. Once the event is established and most people know where they are going it will be easier too.

Lots of familiar faces were at the first event, including my dad and brother, and I always enjoy marshalling and cheering people on as they pass. It was a bit of an overcast day and sooooo cold- I had wrapped up warmly but my feet were freezing when we finished.

The following week I decided to run at Oaklands College, as Dad wanted to stay local so I thought I’d give it a go and see the whole course as I’d only seen the section that I’d been marshalling on.

A few OH ladies at the start, some of the mid run views, and the finish funnel

Parking is available on site, and when I’d volunteered I had been directed to a small car park right by the start, but this week I went to the normal car park (still only a minute away from the start)- it had signs up with ways to pay, but I could not get the QR code to scan or the website to work, and then someone told me it was free until February. So be aware! (Not that I mind paying but there were no machines so it was app or website only…)

The start/finish is right by the old mansion house, so it’s a nice backdrop to the purple pop up. The week I ran it was cold but glorious sunshine. People were pouring in from the car park- the first week there were around 240 participants and I guessed there were 450 this week- so many tourists with the cow buffs and hats from far flung running clubs. I spoke to one person in the car park who had some from Harlow (not too far) but basically told me he was ticking it off as quickly as possible and didn’t seem that interested in the event at all. There was a big queue for the purple pop up and it felt like a weird atmosphere with lots of people who were not going to be coming here regularly, but then once I saw people I knew (lots of OH ladies and other local runners) it felt more like a normal parkrun morning.

I have to say that I loved the “beware of the swamp” sign!

I had been warned to wear trail shoes when marshalling, so of course I wore them for running, but according to my dad it was way muddier this week! The course is varied- you run around a rugby pitch (despite them saying in the run brief to keep off the rugby pitches the poor marshals were having to shout at so many people who were ignoring this request), on some hard paths, through a little wooded area and over a little hump (the reverse of a ditch if you can picture that), then you had a long out and back section on a stony path, before repeating the rugby pitches and woods again. For the finish funnel you run past the funnel, around some trees and then loop back into a hard path so it was quite nice to have a strong finish. You end up right by the mansion house again, and the scanners were right in front- all very easy to find.

After finishing we stayed around and chatted to people as they finished- one of my friends had nearly lost a shoe in the deep mud, and I had seen that happen to someone as we ran too. It was a proper quagmire in places!

Muddy legs and shoes at the finish!

Dad had cycled so he headed off once he started getting cold, and I hung around a bit longer, enjoying chatting to people as they finished. As I was stood by the purple pop up I ended taking lots of photos for various people so I asked for one in return- I was a bit miffed that they could not manage to frame the photo properly- I made sure that in all the photos I took the mansion house was in the background with the blue sky- it’s not that hard people!

How to take it with the sky vs how the photo was taken for me!

I was doubting my estimate of 450, but it was getting closer and closer. Apparently they only had 448 tokens (must be to do with how many are on each sheet?) so they had some paper tokens, and they needed one as the final total was 449! It’s crazy that event 2 was so busy.

I do think it will be lovely in the summer as it’s lots of grass, it’s varied, fairly flat and there is some shade- it reminded me a bit of Great Dunmow but slightly less wild. Anyway, I was glad to have given the course a go, and very glad I had on my trail shoes!

A new hole appeared in my map but it was quickly filled!

That was location 122 for me, my first new location in 2025, and my run number 388.

Up next? Hopefully a bit more touring!

Festive Five 2024

This is one of my favourite races of the year, and somehow I didn’t even do a post about it!

The Garden City Joggers put this event on each year- it’s a five mile race consisting of two laps around the centre of town- all on pavements but with marshals at all the road crossing points. It’s the type of low key event I love, where you collect your number on the day, and it just had friendly vibes. Loads of people dress in festive gear, lots of the marshals do as well, and it’s just good fun.

The weekend that it took place on in 2024 had big storms everywhere, with lots of parkruns called off the day before, so rather than running there and getting drenched, I took up my friends offer of a lift (she lives around the corner from me and we often share lifts for parkruns or club runs). Thankfully it didn’t rain before the start, although it did rain a bit while we were running.

I absolutely love seeing people run in inflatable outfits- no idea why it amuses me so much but seeing the inflatable Santa run past us in the road just really tickled me.

Before, during and after

I ran with Nicola and we just had a great time- no worrying about times, just enjoying all the festive outfits and wishing all the marshals a happy Christmas. Thankfully it didn’t rain too hard, but there were some huge puddles that I didn’t expect and that you couldn’t avoid so I got very cold wet feet. The rest of me warmed up, as you can see I ended up taking my jacket off.

I tried to get some photos and selfies with the inflatable guys!

At the finish we were given a little selection box- in previous years there has been a vegan option but sadly not this year (so that was donated to the food bank collection at the parkrun the following Saturday), however we had our OH ladies Christmas brunch so post-race treats would soon be coming.

As we had a bit of time in between the race ending and the brunch booking, Nicola kindly offered for a group of us to pop back to her office (in the town centre) so we could get changed in the warm and dry, and even made us cups of tea. I had packed a complete change of clothes, but had forgotten about shoes, so I had to put on my soggy cold trainers as we headed out for brunch.

OH ladies having brunch (I am very hidden on the left in that photo), oat matcha latte, pancakes and my With Me Now Christmas jumper (which is always fun to try and explain- “Maria I didn’t know you liked cats?” ” No, I don’t like cats, but there is this podcast…”)

Brunch was fab- so nice to catch up with everyone, enjoy some food (I had vegan pancakes, tea and then a matcha latte) and chat about our Christmas plans. I really love this tradition.

Do you have any running club Christmas traditions? I always love festive parkruns too.