Marathoner...Yes I am!

I am officially a marathoner!

I braved the extremely cold weather in central Florida and successfully completed the WDW Marathon this past Sunday.

This was an extremely difficult task and the weather made it that much tougher.  The alarm went off at 2:30 am to get prepared. Checked the weather to determine how many layers to wear. The temp was around 30 and the wind chill was in the 20's. It was definitely going to be a cold one.

I met up with friends in the lobby at Pop Century and we got on the bus to head to Epcot at 3:45 am. Once we arrived it was time to head to the corrals for the start. I was in corral E and part of wave 1. Everyone was ready to get started so they could get a little warmer instead of standing around.

The start was truly magical...would you expect anything less from Disney! Seeing the fireworks was great...even for 5:40 am. So we were off....

I took the time to take in all of the sights and sounds throughout the race. Great atmosphere and I cannot say enough for the awesome spectator support. You would never have known with the temperatures like they were, it was freezing out because there was tons of support. They helped push not only me, but all of the runners to the finish line.

With the freezing temps, who would have thought you would have to deal with black ice. Well, at the majority of the water stops there were plenty of slick spots. You had to be careful and the volunteers were great in warning all of the runners about the ice.

For the race I wore a Team 413 shirt. On the back on the shirt is Phillipians 4:13. This shirt provided to be an inspiration for many during the race. I had some many people that came by me during the race thanking me for the message. One person told me she was struggling in the race and when she saw the verse on my shirt, it lifted her spirit and gave her the strength to move on. God's grace and mercy was with all of us during the race.

Special shout out and congratulations to the following:

Anthony, Melissa, Steve, Nick and Kjirstin.  Congrats on those completing the Goofy Challenge and successful first marathons.  Great time getting to meet, know and hang out with you guys over the weekend.

To all of the ROTE group, you guys are awesome! What a great group! Thanks Jeff, Chris and Tracy for hanging out some on the weekend. I look forward to the next encounter.

Overall this was a great experience. It is a great feeling to know the I am a marathoner.