Notes
Race start was cold, about 20 degrees with the windchill. I had my nike under gear on and a thicker long sleeve shirt along with a sweatshirt on. I had my running shorts and some warm-ups on. I was okay temperature wise standing in my corral, but I only got there 5 mins before I took off. Corrals never closed, so I didn't have to get there early, it was just a long walk from the car to the starting area and then out to the corral, probably a few miles.
After about a mile into the race, I had to take my sweatshirt off so I didn't start sweating too much. I knew if I got sweaty and wet I'd be cold come later in the race. Running into the wind was cold and tough, so those first few miles were tough, but I took it easy and was just feeling how well I felt after being sick all week with congestion. I took some photos with characters along the race, not every one but a few here and there that didn't have too much of a line or no line. I was there just to have fun. I knew Hollywood Studios opened at 9AM and if I started the race at 5:30AM and ran a 9:00/mi pace that I would be getting there right when it open. But as soon as I left Magic Kingdom I was feeling good and I tossed my pants so I decided to cut my pace down to about an 8:00/mi until I get to Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom was the 1/2 way point, I felt pretty good and came in at about 1:53, so no where near a pace where I could PR, but I figured I should be able to get under 4 hours with ease. And at that point my avg pace 8:38/mi.
After we left Animal Kingdom it was back to the freeway running, it was a fairly boring course and the roads had a lot of crown to them along with it being pretty crowded. Needless to say, I decided to keep running a decent pace between parks. Next park was ESPN Wide World of Sports. As I entered that road I could see some lead runners out front and I kept running a decent pace, It was a comfortable pace, and I didn't want to push it at all, at least until after I go to mile 20 or so. The ESPN park was boring, sure we got to run around some fields, on the sports track, but it was nothing special, just a lot of turns and sidewalks. Mile 20 was on the warning track of the baseball field but it was nothing special. By mile 20 my avg pace was down to 8:29/mi. So at that point I knew it was only 3 miles to Hollywood studios and I felt good and was still passing a lot of people, so I said with only a 10K left and I got through 20 miles just under 2:50, I'd keep this pace up until I got out of the ESPN area back to the road which was another mile then maybe I'll see if I can pick it up at all. Once I got back to the road I was running right into the wind, there was no one running my pace so I couldn't really draft anyone. I was still doing a solid 8:15-8:20 and but my right hip was starting to get tighter, I felt it earlier but it wasn't bothering me at all. Then once I got to Hollywood studios just after mile marker 23, I checked my watch to see what time it was and it said 8:59. So as soon as I went into the park there was a candy station, I grabbed a few packs of M&M's and then got in line at the Tower of Terror which we ran by. There was no line, so I got right in, but just had to wait for a few more people before they started it. Then after that Ride, I took a detour and ran over to the Aerosmith ride, ran up to the fast pass person and asked if they had a single rider line and they let me right in. I went through the corrals as fast as I could and I was 2nd in line, but I got on the 3rd or 4th ride, and they put me in the first row which was awesome.
After that ride I took off running to get back on course, then left the park, I knew it was only a 5K left and I was at about 3:40, so I knew I'd have to run pretty hard to get to the finish line under 4 hours. I tried to run hard, but that next mile+ all I could do was an 8:00/mi, then once I got to Epcot I had to slow down a little because I was started to feel a little tired, but most of all my hip was getting really tight, I think riding those rides caused it to tighten up a little bit.
Overall I was happy with my time, since I had about a 20 minute detour. I was glad I warmed up as soon as the race started and the sun was warm but the wind was cold. The course was just okay, it was kinda cool to see a lot of the back lots at the parks and around the facility, but a lot of the run is on the Disney Freeway. It was also really dark out at 5:30AM, they had some mobile lights, but a lot of the course it was dark until the sun came up. I understand they need to get the race in before parks open. I'm not sure why it's rated one of the best marathons for first timers. Nothing is free at Disney, the race it expensive, expo was kinda lame, post race area was an asphalt parking lot, it cost $1/min for massage, there was no shelter/stretching area, you are 100% exposed to the elements after the race.
We stayed off-site and had not issues with getting to the race, except we should have tried to park at Epcot vs the parking lot the monorail services, but I just followed the sign on the freeway on I-4 and following traffic instead of following the instructions Disney has on their website.