222: Rise and Run Rewind: 2024 WDW Marathon Winner Stephanie Muscat

A little Christmas magic meets marathon grit. We open with holiday cheer, community thanks, and a few playful ideas—from telethons to extra-big meetup cookies—before diving into a rewind that still gives us goosebumps: the Walt Disney World Marathon story of first-time marathoner and champion, Stephanie Muscat.

Stephanie’s path started in the pool. Years of swimming turned into tentative laps on an indoor track, then into local 5Ks and half marathons that built confidence. She explains why runDisney hooked her—the DJs at 3 a.m., the pre-start electricity, and the promise of sprinting past Spaceship Earth—and why Disney was the perfect stage for a marathon debut. On race day she kept the goal simple: a smart run around three hours. The early lead surprised her, Main Street USA brought tears, and a bike lead quietly guided the way. At mile 19, rain poured at Blizzard Beach, second place loomed a few minutes behind, and Stephanie turned the weather into fuel. By the time she entered EPCOT, the possibility became a pulse, then a certainty: tape up, arms high, a finish line she won’t forget.

We also share practical updates for runners prepping for Marathon Weekend, Princess, and Springtime Surprise—training checkpoints, ADR reminders, and big news from runDisney: Dopey Challenge merchandise access limited to registered Dopey runners on day one, with verification and item limits. Our Disney Springs meetup is set, free, and cookie-powered, with a flag raffle and a group photo at 3:30 p.m. The race report packs in festive wins from across the country: PRs and age-group podiums, costumes and community, and a subzero grind that ended in hot chocolate.

Whether you’re chasing a BQ, jumping into your first 5K, or just here for the Main Street chills, you’ll leave fired up with clear tips, real talk, and a reminder that if you make it to the start, you’re already winning. If this story moved you, follow the show, share it with a runner friend, and leave a quick review—what’s your next starting line?

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Chapters

• 0:00 Holiday Hello & Festive Banter
• 3:36 Yearly Winners & Paralympic Chat
• 6:45 Community Updates, Intros, And Telethon Idea
• 9:40 Patreon Thanks And Meetup Cookies
• 12:55 Training Checkpoints And Upcoming Races
• 18:05 New Merch Rules For Dopey Challenge
• 20:30 Card Exchange Growth And Meetup Details
• 24:05 Flag Raffle And Group Photo Plan
• 26:32 Rewind Intro: Welcoming Stephanie Muscat
• 28:30 Stephanie’s Path From Pool To Pavement
• 32:40 Discovering runDisney And Choosing Disney
• 36:20 Goals, Elite Corral, And Race Morning
• 41:20 Main Street USA And Castle Emotions
• 45:30 Strategy, Training, And The Bike Lead
• 49:20 Blizzard Beach, Rain, And The Chase
• 53:10 When Winning Became Real
• 56:20 Finish Line Feelings And Afterglow
• 1:00:10 What’s Next: Boston, New York, Dopey?
• 1:04:00 Advice For First-Time Marathoners
• 1:06:15 Race Report Sponsor & Setup
• 1:07:40 Weekend Race Highlights Nationwide
• 1:15:10 Mount Dora Weekend And PRs

Transcript

SPEAKER_04: 0:45

Hey friends. Merry Christmas. It's Christmas Day. And we've got a little bit of a different rise and run episode for you on this holiday. It is I and I am here with Greg.

SPEAKER_09: 1:04

Hey, hey, hey, and ho ho ho, and Bob, happy belated birthday.

SPEAKER_04: 1:09

Well, thank you. Thank you, Greg. I appreciate it. That was yesterday. Thank you very much. It went very well. Oh, friends, you all know we don't record in order, so we're uh we're two days away from that. Oh, happy festivist, by the way. That's tomorrow. We should have recorded tomorrow, Greg. We could have done the airing of grievances.

SPEAKER_10: 1:32

Yeah. I mean, I I know we always like to keep things upbeat here on the podcast, but you know, maybe maybe maybe one day we should we should do a Run Disney airing of grievances. That'd be that'd be a good episode.

SPEAKER_04: 1:44

Gee whiz. We'll have to think about that. That could be fun, I suppose. Uh, most of the episode friends, we're going to do a rise and run rewind. We're going to go back to episode 123 when we talked to Stephanie Muscat, who was the winner of the 2024 Walt Disney World Marathon. We've been very fortunate for this young podcast to have had the winner of at least one of the major events uh uh from Marathon Weekend every year since we've been on. We had, and I don't ask me to name them all. Maybe you can, Greg.

SPEAKER_10: 2:24

We had we all know we had Britney at first we had Britney, then the second year was Katie Cargillo, then Oh, there's one I forgot. Then the third year was Stephanie. Unfortunately, this past year we did not, we were not able to lock down either of the winners, either on well, actually, I take that back. We did have a winner. We had uh the the uh chair athlete winner, uh Brian. We did.

SPEAKER_04: 2:47

Yeah, I think so. Yeah, and that was a great interview. I enjoyed talking with him. I learned a lot, and when we get to the Paralympics in 26, because I believe they follow like two weeks after the Olympics.

SPEAKER_11: 3:02

That's correct.

unknown: 3:02

Yep.

SPEAKER_04: 3:03

Uh I I would love to well, I'd love to take a look. Now I I don't know if he's still qualifying or not. You know, athletes get old, no matter what the sport, almost no matter what the sport. There are folks like in shotgun shooting and things like that. Uh not I'm knocking, but you can uh you can hang on a little longer. But a sprint type athlete or a distance type athlete like Brian was, uh it gets to a point where you can't compete at the world class level. Regardless whether he's competing or not, I'd like to talk with him again. We'll see if we can't do that. We had fun sh speaking with him. There'll be no race report spotlight tonight. We will do a race report based on the activities from last weekend. But we just wanted to be here to say Merry Christmas. Now I need to ask you, please. We could use some intros if you'd like to send us an intro. Sit down, grab some eggnog, talk with your family, unwrap your presents. Maybe you can do an intro while you're unwrapping presents, that'd be cool. And give us a call at 727-266-2344. That's a recorded line, so you don't have to talk to anybody. One of these, I think I joked about this one time. One of these days I'm going to turn the DN do not disturb off and just answer it.

SPEAKER_10: 4:19

And the fact that it would be recorded, we get the raw reaction, and that would just be wonderful.

SPEAKER_04: 4:24

Yeah. It'd be fun. The problem is it gets called so infrequently, I'd have to sit around for hours, if not days, waiting for somebody to dial up. But that if I ever notice that, I might I might just pick up.

SPEAKER_10: 4:38

Maybe that'll be a good idea for a future rise and run telethon. I I think that I think that that would be a great idea. Like we just find like some really big charitable cause. And you know, we just do one of those old school telethons. We we you know record for like, I don't know, six hours straight, which you know, well, we call like you know, Tuesday. But um very true. But no, I I think that could be a lot of fun in the future. But you know, this is a really special day, and obviously a day that is spent with family and extended family and friends, and there's an extended part of the Rise and Run family that we're just incredibly fortunate uh to have, and that is our Patreon family. Who if it's not for your generosity, you know, we might not be able to do as many things on this podcast as we're if we were once able to do. So, you know, this hol not only just this holiday season, but just each and every single day. We are incredibly grateful for the entire Rise and Run community. But you know, just want to you know make the special mention of our Patreon family as well. And actually, we have a brand new Patreon. We want to welcome Rachel to the family, and she joined at the happy running level. So, Rachel, welcome to the gang.

SPEAKER_04: 5:55

Thank you, Rachel. Yeah, if it wasn't for the Patreons, the cookies would be smaller at the meetup. That's true.

SPEAKER_10: 6:01

Shrinkflation is a thing this holiday season.

SPEAKER_04: 6:03

Um I'm looking through the window. I see Rebecca's got two arms again, and she's actually in there making cookies for Christmas right now. But yes, she'll she'll have the ovens fired up for our meetup. Uh golly, I I guess she'll be doing that next week. I mean, we're getting there. We're looking, I'm gonna look at the schedule here. We're only two weeks away.

SPEAKER_10: 6:25

That's wild to think.

SPEAKER_04: 6:27

From Christmas, two weeks from Christmas Day is the 5k. So there's still training miles on there if you're going out this weekend. And I honest I've mentioned this. Let me see. This is the fifth year we've been. I've mentioned this at least five times. We know the big ones are over, we know the hay's in the barn. We know you're ready. We know you've gone through the hardest part. The hardest part of the whole dopey challenge. Or whatever you're doing. Exactly. And you know, uh, Greg, again, we good we're out of order. You and I know we've already recorded the roll call, which we will play in two weeks. Yes.

SPEAKER_10: 7:09

Man, we have been putting that that Mandalorian really to the test these past couple of weeks. Yeah, it's gonna run out of gas sooner. Or or uh we'll have to add some more banana. Well, Doc added banana peels to it at the end of the first one. So we'll need we'll need more banana peels.

SPEAKER_04: 7:25

Yeah, amongst other things he did. Yes. But I we remarked at the time about how many people are doing first dopey, first marathon, first 5k. First 5K. That's fantastic. That's wonderful. It's something you're never going to forget. We we want you to have a great time with it. We're all excited about it. So however, you have some training left for marathon weekend, and you do want to do it, even if you go out and do it easy. You got if you're doing the challenge, dopey or goofy, four to six miles. If you're doing the marathon, get out there and do six miles. Yeah, you had a long weekend, but keep those legs turning. If you're heading out to Disneyland, first of all, I'll see you there in about five weeks.

SPEAKER_10: 8:19

I'm so jealous.

SPEAKER_04: 8:21

Yeah. Well, you're young enough, Greg. You'll still be running when they get back to Disneyland. We'll see.

SPEAKER_10: 8:29

I I I I keep making jokes to friends because uh I am confirmed and granted, I get the violins out, folks. I know. I am going back to Hawaii for work. Uh, and I'll actually be flying over Disneyland on my way back uh to the mainland during that weekend. So I always keep joking that I'm gonna divert my flight to LAX so that I can uh join everybody for uh for Disneyland.

SPEAKER_04: 8:54

I'm looking forward to seeing our friends out on the West Coast. Uh it's what did I say? It's six weeks or five weeks away. Uh training week 13, four mile, four miles with a magic mile this week. Um yeah, I'm excited about it. I'm sorry I missed Honolulu, and I'm sorry for my friends that I missed Honolulu. I'm not sorry I missed the rain, but uh, but I am sorry I missed it. But it was the right call. I mean, I had to make that decision, and it was the right one for a number of reasons. Uh I I I couldn't have done it. I could not have done it that week. Things have improved since then. My optimism for finishing the Walt Disney World Marathon is better than it was. That's something we'll talk to Jeff about next week. So let's uh let's slide on by that. There's a I'm name dropping. Mr. Galloway will be with us next week to ring in the to ring in 2026. And I've already got question number one. We need to let John ask question number one. Jeff, how you doing? Because that's what I really want to know. Um I I mentioned I'd heard from him, but he is uh he's Mr. Optimism and he's always upbeat. So I just hope I really truly hope he's doing better. And that injury he's recovering from that uh well fractured kneecap as far as I know. And that's that's that's kinda hurt. Yeah, I'm not sure what they can what the medical people can do to help you with that. But we'll find out from Jeff next week. Hey, princess weekend, nine weeks away, training week nine, three miles with a magic mile, and if you are getting to the park on expo day, December 28th is your advanced dining reservations day. So you can take that's I'm assuming then you're getting to the resorts on Thursday, then 1228 is your ADR day. If you're getting there earlier, you can back it up. You know how to do that. But don't forget that nail down some of those dining experiences that you're looking for. And for the last race weekend of the year, springtime surprise is 16 weeks away. Training week two, four miles is the distance for the long run.

SPEAKER_10: 11:25

Hey, Bob, speaking of Springtime Surprise, you know, one thing we forgot to mention this more relaxed, casual Christmas episode of Rise Around Podcasts, there's someone else we need to thank. And that's our wonderful friends over at Magic Bound Travel for sponsoring this podcast. Thank you, Greg. And you know, I I know it's Christmas morning, but if you need a last minute gift, and you know, you know, maybe you know, maybe you're going to somebody's house later this afternoon or or you know tonight or or this weekend, and and you need a last minute gift, give the gift of travel. And you know who can help you with that gift of travel? Our wonderful friends at Magic Bound Travel. Magicboundtravel.com is the website. Go over there. They will give you free, no obligation quotes for Disney, Universal, Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, various all-inclusives down in the Bahamas and such. They handle it all. It's wonderful. Go visit them, they'll be able to help you out, and they'll help you tie a bow onto that last-minute holiday package.

SPEAKER_04: 12:28

Yeah, what a hero you would be if you walk into your friend's house and go, Hey, here's your confirmation number for the inaugural Rise and Run crew.

unknown: 12:37

Wow, wow.

SPEAKER_04: 12:39

Wouldn't that be speaking of that?

SPEAKER_10: 12:41

I just saw Maggie uh post it in our Facebook group here, Dave Recording, that uh apparently they still have one more of those discounted interior state rooms available. So again, if you're you're itching to get on that sailing, uh, you know, get give them a ring.

SPEAKER_04: 12:55

I think that's good news for two reasons. Number one, there is still one available. Number two, there's only one available. That means the rest of them have sold. That's great. That's great. Something to look forward to uh at the end of the race season. Hey, something I found out today, something to look forward to at race weekend. If you've been following on Facebook, you've heard or read the story about Myra and what's going on, that she's not going to be at Pop Century. Uh, some of us have written emails, which is fine. I do hope if you did it that you were respectful and cordial and said, hey, we love her, and you may not realize how much we're going to miss her. That was really the message intended. She's going to be doing the 5K week. Excellent. How cool is that? That's awesome. And and I found out later on today she's going to be doing the 10K also.

SPEAKER_10: 13:45

It's a bummer that the deadline has passed because we could have gotten her an alien shirt from uh Kawaian Pizza Apparel.

SPEAKER_04: 13:52

Oh country. Oh, not so fast. Not so fast, my friend. Not so fast. Melissa, our friend from Melissa in Canada, got on the phone, called KPA, and they said, Well, if you order it today, we can get it out.

SPEAKER_10: 14:07

No way. Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_04: 14:09

No way. So, yeah, there were several people involved in getting Myra a bib. Melissa, Andrea. Andrea was very helpful. Uh Jake out in, I think Jake's out in Pittsburgh, and he's out in western Pennsylvania. Jacob was very helpful. And we got we got Myra in there. So what an amazing community that we have.

SPEAKER_10: 14:33

Something a little bit. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_04: 14:37

You know what we usually do? Well, usually we did this one time in a row, okay? Uh when we have the big group that are all dressed together, I offer, and I'll do it again this time, to go out of the last corral. And we can all go out of the last corral together. That way we can all be together. We don't have to worry about anybody. And some folks wanted to take advantage of earlier corrals, and that's just fine. But a lot of us went out of the last corral together. I'll ask Myra to organize that for us.

SPEAKER_10: 15:08

You know, I I can picture it already. I I feel like you know, you know, you know her. She's gonna want to suck up every single moment of that race. Like I just see her doing like walking the runway poses in front of like every single photo pass photographer that's gonna be out there. So that that that's gonna be incredible to see uh afterwards. And and for those of you that you know get to experience it, you know, live in person.

SPEAKER_04: 15:31

Yeah. I thought we could stop by and see our friend Riley on the way out, and I'm sure he'd chat with us. And the 40 people or so who are still in line waiting could enjoy that also.

SPEAKER_10: 15:43

Speaking of the marathon weekend, you know, one other quick you know, little news bit before we uh you know get into the uh the the rewind of of Stephanie's interview is some really interesting and I think exciting logistical news came out of uh of Run Disney. Uh our friends who are running the Dopey Challenge received an email from Run Disney saying that, and and I'll I'll read it for verbatim here for from the email. It says Dopey Challenge merchandise will be limited to Dopey Challenge participants on day one of the Run Disney Health and Fitness Expo. Please be prepared to verify your registration by presenting your check-in pass or bib along with a valid photo ID. Item limits apply, one item per item type per participant. So bravo to Run Disney for I think taking feedback that people have been chatting about for years upon years. I'm gonna be very interested to see how this is enforced, um, you know, and how it's policed because you know, we even always hear stories in the past of how, you know, there's a good chunk of of dopey merchandise that's gone even after the the Club Run Disney folks are finished, you know, with their like pre-sale merch shopping and such like that. So um, you know, again, you know, I'm gonna give my flowers to Run Disney for you know attempting to um you know try to curtail the frustrations that a lot of uh runners have, and and I really hope this works out for people and and see how they uh they implement it moving forward. But I gotta say this though it's a gutsy move on their part to test fed this on the biggest weekend with the most popular race merchandise. So, but but good on them.

SPEAKER_04: 17:34

Yeah, good for them. I laugh when I hear about it. I've run Dopey five times, and I'm not running it this year. So they changed it this year. Imagine how much money they've saved me. That's why I'm not doing it until now. Uh yeah. Uh yeah, it will be interesting to see, and I I do agree that I think it's a good idea. I think we have friends who would like to see it extend further to only race participants on the first day. I I doubt that that will happen, but it's not a bad idea. Let's see what happens.

SPEAKER_11: 18:10

Caution runners, change of topic ahead.

SPEAKER_04: 18:15

Hey, since it is Christmas, I want to once again thank Card Exchange Jenny. I've enjoyed the daylights out of getting the Christmas cards from all over the place and thank those of you who sent them, of course. And thanks Jenny for organizing that. Got she gave me some numbers, I don't have them in front of me. I think it I don't think it quite doubled in size from last year, but went up quite a bit. And I I think it's one of those deals that those people who did participate are going to want to continue. It'll probably get bigger even next year. Neat idea that she had, and she followed through and the execution was outstanding. Hey, before we before we s slide into the uh the replay part, we want to talk about the meetup real quick. Oh absolutely.

SPEAKER_10: 19:08

So as you know, there are so many events associated with marathon weekend, but or any race weekend in general that just get us incredibly excited. But I think one that we look forward to as the Rise Around Podcast is our meetup. And yeah, I know we we bring it up almost every single week, but just you know, another reminder, you know, if you want to be able to participate in this event, number one, it's absolutely free. There is no cost associated with this whatsoever. We just want you to show up on Saturday, January 10th, 3 p.m. in the food truck area of Disney Springs. And if you've never been to Disney Springs before, it's to the left of the big hot air balloon, to the left of Starbucks on the on the west side of Disney Springs. It's to the right of Summer house on the lake, and it's across the path from salt and straw ice cream. So that if that that should give you enough wave points there, but uh yeah, three o'clock, that's where we gather. Becky will have her cookies. Well um, I'm sure Becky will also establish her famous beachhead so that we could have at least as many tables and and umbrellas and and seats as possible. And it's just gonna be just a wonderful time of community and friendship and just being able to chat with one another. And the most important part that we want to impress on everyone is that around 3 30 p.m., that's when we aim to take our big group photo. So try to get there now. We also do understand that you know some of you are here on vacation with family members, and it may be difficult to get down there. We completely understand, but in the event that you are there, make sure you're there by 3.30 so we can get that awesome group photo.

SPEAKER_04: 20:59

Yeah, we're gonna bribe you this year too to come. Our friend Matt Bowen, who runs every race with the American flag, raffles the flags off for charity, or you can buy 'em out. Just buy all the raffle entries and Rise and Run has done that this year, so we'll be getting the flag from the 5k. And we'll be distributing raffle tickets for free at the meetup, one per person. Don't have to be a runner. You don't you can be a brother, sister, mother, father, husband, wife. You get a ticket and if you want one. And then we'll raffle the American flag off. It's it's a high quality flag. It comes from I think it's uh Collegiant. Is that the flag company? That's the airline. Anyway, it comes from that it comes from that American-owned uh flag company. Made in the USA. I have one, they're very nice flags. So we'll raffle that one off. Probably right after the photo. And let Matt present it to the winner. Alright, friends, let's uh let's step into the Mandalorian and do a Rise and Run replay.

SPEAKER_11: 22:12

Caution runners, the topic is about to change right now.

SPEAKER_04: 22:18

Friends, we are very excited. For the third year in a row, the Walt Disney World Marathon Champion is visiting us on the Rise and Run podcast. Stephanie Muscat, welcome to the episode.

SPEAKER_01: 22:32

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

SPEAKER_04: 22:35

We are delighted to have you join us. Now, a little background, if we could, Stephanie. You grew up not so much as a runner as an athlete, but as a swimmer. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_01: 22:49

That is correct. I started swimming when I was around five or six years old, I want to say. And um, I basically lived in the water up until I was 22. And yeah, that was that was all I did. I we would do dry land practice during the summer times, and we would all hate running. Hate it.

SPEAKER_04: 23:14

Of course, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 23:16

Struggling to run even a quarter of a mile. So from that to now a marathon is nuts.

SPEAKER_04: 23:23

But you did swim for Grand Valley State up in Michigan, right?

SPEAKER_01: 23:26

Yes. Yep. I swam um up until my junior year of college and um realized I kind of needed a social life uh and wanted to enjoy college a little bit more. So stopped my junior year, and that's when I took up running.

SPEAKER_05: 23:41

Oh.

SPEAKER_04: 23:41

All right. Now, one more from me here. You are up in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_01: 23:48

Yep, on the west coast, yeah, of Michigan.

SPEAKER_04: 23:51

I haven't been in Michigan for a while. That doesn't sound like a Michigan accent that I'm hearing.

SPEAKER_01: 23:57

Doesn't? Born and bred.

SPEAKER_05: 24:00

My talented ear, huh? I picked, yeah, I picked right up on that, didn't I?

SPEAKER_01: 24:04

No, I moved um from the Manchester, England area, uh, December of 2003.

SPEAKER_05: 24:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 24:12

Moved to Detroit and then went to Grand Valley and stuck around on that side of the store on this side of the state after after college.

SPEAKER_06: 24:19

Going back to the swimming thing, I was a competitive swimmer in high school too. Um, have you ever thought about doing like triathlons, or have you just stuck to either solely swimming or solely running?

SPEAKER_01: 24:31

I've only ever done like one or the other. And the reason I I do like swimming, and I feel like I can ride a bike. I'm pretty good at riding a bike. So I'm like, I could be a pretty good triathloner. Triathlon. Um, the one thing though is I hate swimming in open water.

SPEAKER_06: 24:50

Me too.

SPEAKER_01: 24:51

I would not much rather do a ladder. Yes.

SPEAKER_04: 24:56

Triathloner is a British term, Stephanie. We triathlete.

SPEAKER_01: 25:01

I didn't just drink make my own void up or anything. That was a British term. Also, another reason why I can't do it.

SPEAKER_06: 25:10

I totally understand because I've looked for triathlons specifically that had the swimming in the lap pole. Yeah. Like that's that's the the qualifier. That's what I want.

SPEAKER_10: 25:22

Stephanie, before we get into the crux of your experience from three weeks ago down in Walt Disney World, uh, you know, keeping off of this theme of you know going from one sport to the other, what was it that made you make the transition from swimming to running?

SPEAKER_01: 25:43

Yeah, um, that's a good question. And I honestly can't pinpoint what exactly happened. Um, but during the off season from swimming, there was a local rec center by us, and get this the indoor track that we had, it was 11 or 12 laps to make one mile. So if I was running on that track, I would run two or three laps and be like, all right, that's that's pretty good. And that wasn't even close to being a mile. So um going from that and then suddenly, I don't know if I just kept pushing myself a little bit more and like just kept doing another lap and another lap, and then it slowly got to that mile. And I feel like something clicked during maybe as I was training to do one mile or 11 laps around this track. Something clicked and I was like, I actually enjoy this, I enjoy this sport. Also, the fact that it is free in a way, like you don't need anything. It's a pair of running shoes. You can go run outside. It's not like you need membership or anything. Um, it's just you, yourself, and a pair of shoes.

SPEAKER_10: 26:49

I'm insanely jealous though that your indoor track is only 11 laps for a mile when I I've been training for plenty of races at in an indoor track at my uh old local YMCA. It was 16 laps for a mile, and that is just that that's just mind torture. It's absolute terrible.

SPEAKER_03: 27:08

Brutal.

SPEAKER_10: 27:10

But you know, the fact that you go down and you run this race, does Disney have a special place in your heart? Have you gone previously before Marathon Weekend? And if so, what are some of your favorite Disney memories?

SPEAKER_01: 27:21

Yeah, so I went on my first ever Disney trip from England when I was five years old, and I've been going every single year. Um, when we lived in England, we would come over every year for about two, two and a half weeks at a time. Um, and we would live at Disney World for that whole time. And um it's so special. Um, I wish you could see my room. Like I have lit, it's like surrounded by Disney stuff in here. It's absolutely crazy. I'm obsessed with Disney, obsessed with Disney World. Um, and now I go, I take my two boys. Um, I don't think they're as excited as I am to go. I'm always going. But they love, they they love it. They love it. Um it's just a special place. It's like my second home. Um, and I try and go as much as I as much as I possibly can.

SPEAKER_08: 28:11

Okay, so let's get into the Run Disney and Run Disney part of this episode. Uh prior to this event, and this was your marathon event here. Have you run any Run Disney events? Or do you hear how do you hear about Run Disney?

SPEAKER_01: 28:28

Yeah, so I did the wine and dine um in 2022. Um, and that was my first ever Run Disney event. And I can't even explain like the feeling that I had like when I signed up, when I got to the expo and seeing all of the excitement and um just the whole event that they put on, even leading up to the race, was absolutely incredible. Showing up at you know 3 a.m. to Epcot and you have the DJs going and all of that, they really got me hooked after that first um half marathon that I did, that wine and dine one. And then obviously they rent out Epcot to all of the um runners at the end to do the after party. And I just thought that was the greatest thing in the world. Um, so they definitely got me hooked, and I was like, okay, what's next? Um I knew I at some point wanted to do a marathon. I wasn't totally sold on the idea, but I I've I like pushing myself, I like doing what I can to my body, like the next level. Um, and I've done the most I'd done was a 25k, which is about 15 miles, 15 and a half miles. And I remember calling my sister. This was probably a week before uh registration for the for the Disney weekend. And I I was like, Shal, what do you think about us running a marathon? And she was like, absolutely not. Remember, we both said we're never gonna do a marathon. And I was like, I know we said that, uh, but something's changed. And I think it took me about 15 seconds to convince her uh to do that Disney World marathon weekend with me. And never say never, never, never regretted it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 30:12

Is your sister still in England or is she in the States also?

SPEAKER_01: 30:14

She's actually in um New York City. She lives in Long Island City, right outside of Manhattan.

SPEAKER_05: 30:19

Does she have a background in running?

SPEAKER_01: 30:22

No, she swam as well. And uh she quit swimming way before I did, um, but kind of tuck up running to to fill in like the free time and stay fit and healthy. But same, like she uh trained herself and wanted that nice challenge.

SPEAKER_04: 30:40

Yeah, that's outstanding. That really is.

SPEAKER_06: 30:42

So you said that you went from the 15k to being like, okay, I want to run a marathon. Had you run other race distances, or is running just something that you were like, I just do this in my spare time and see how far I can go.

SPEAKER_01: 30:57

Kind of a little bit of both. Um, I remember doing my first ever, I my first ever 5k, it was like the Susan uh Koman 5K in Grand Rapids. And I finished that 5K and I thought I was gonna throw up and die at that finish line. It was the hardest run I'd ever done in my entire life. And um I think that was the race though that kind of got my got me interested in running, I don't want to say competitively, but running races. Um uh the atmosphere, the cheering squad, you know, the race goodies at the end and the snacks and stuff. It was like a really, really fun environment and a fun atmosphere. So then I kept pushing like just a little bit more. You know, I started off with that 5k, did a load of 5Ks, pushed myself to do a 10K, and I was like, all right, let's keep doing 10Ks now. Um and then I did a handful of half marathons. I've probably only done, I don't know, like six or seven maybe half marathons and one 125k. And that 25k was last June. So not that long ago.

SPEAKER_04: 32:03

Stephanie, what how did you qualify for the elite corral?

SPEAKER_01: 32:06

Um, so I did a half marathon in October, and I did a time of 118.

SPEAKER_05: 32:16

Ooh.

SPEAKER_01: 32:17

But that would not have qualified me.

SPEAKER_05: 32:19

Really?

SPEAKER_01: 32:20

No, it would have, but I was too late to after because I think the um Disney was like end of the cutoff, yeah. The cutoff was like September. So I did actually do um a half marathon of January last year, and I got about 120. And then when I did the half marathon, the wine and dine, um, I did 127 at that one. So all of those halves that I did allowed me to get into that elite squad.

SPEAKER_04: 32:45

Just out of curiosity, what corral did your sister start out of?

SPEAKER_01: 32:49

She was in A2. So as soon as I signed up and she signed up as well, I was like, Shal, you have to go and run a half marathon right now, and you need to go as fast as possible because I want you to start in corral A with me. I didn't know I was gonna be in the elite squad at all. Um, but when we had done the wine and dine the year before, she ended up in the last corral because she didn't have a time. Um, so I was done, and I probably waited like two or two hours or so for her to come through that finish line just because she had to start so far back. So she pushed it and she managed to get into Corale, thank goodness. And I remember going up to the expo and we were both like, I hope we're in Corale, I hope we're in Corale. And the guy gave me my paper and it said Elite, and I had to like double check. I was like, What is this even like what is this? I like I was expecting I saw the E at first and I was like, Oh great. Um, not that there's anything wrong with that at all.

SPEAKER_05: 33:46

No, you're right, Stephanie. You're right.

SPEAKER_01: 33:48

I wanted to kind of start, you know, and in B or A, and when I saw that on there, I was like, oh my goodness, this is crazy.

SPEAKER_10: 33:55

So in talking and having all these conversations about okay, I I want to start tackling the marathon distance. What was it about the Walt Disney World Marathon that you wanted that to be your first ever marathon?

SPEAKER_01: 34:11

Yes. So um when um so my sister's name is Charlotte. Um so when I called her, I was like, okay, let's do this marathon, but we want to make it somewhere fun, um, that we love and um isn't like a serious, like like a Boston or a New York or a Chicago marathon where it's like very so like very, very serious. Um we wanted somewhere that we love going to that's gonna be fun to run around. You've got the characters, you've got all the parks. Like, how often do you get to say that you run through all of the parks in like a three-hour time frame? Like you never get to do that. You got to run through the castle. So we're like, let's do Disney um just because we love it both, we both love it so much. Let's do Disney um and make that our our thing.

SPEAKER_08: 34:59

It's race day. Uh, what goals did you have for this race? And was it to win this race?

SPEAKER_01: 35:05

My goal was to not win the race. Um, my goal was to be around three hours. Um, I would have been I originally I went into this before I'd even officially started training. I was like, lesson 320, 315 would be great. And then the more training I did leading up to it, I was like, you know what, around three hours I would be really, really happy with. Um I heard um sat down the night before the race. Uh so my one thing that I do before every single race is have a glass of red wine. So we went to the bar, had a glass of red wine, just try to like relax. I got, I was so nervous, and I'm looking up the results from the past couple years or so. Um, well, I'm drinking my wine and I see that uh some of the girls have been close to three hours. And I was like, oh, um, that's sort of my ideal time. Um, if that's the results from the past few years, I might have a shot at sort of placing. Um, but didn't have I had no expectation of placing at all. It was my first ever marathon, so I really had no idea how it was gonna feel or how my body was gonna react, um, or if I was kind of gonna, you know, hit a wall at mile 16 and not be able to finish. I had no idea what was gonna happen. I didn't know how it was gonna feel at all. But um so I didn't have any um expectation of winning or placing until I sort of saw the results from the past couple years, and I was like, maybe there's a possibility of getting up there at least.

SPEAKER_08: 36:36

Was there anything special about mile eight that you wanted to do?

SPEAKER_01: 36:40

Mile eight was where you got to run down Main Street, and I only thought that you ran through the castle during the princess. So I'm running down Main Street, and I also knew that my parents were there. So I'm running and I'm still in, I'm somehow in first place. I took off and I'm immediately in first place, and I was like, as long as I can hold on to first place at mile eight, my parents will get to see me running down Main Street in first place and run through the castle, and then I literally don't care what happens after that. Um, as long as they see me there. And so anyway, I'm running down Main Street and they have us turn. And I went, oh my goodness, we get to actually run through the castle. And I had like tears in my eyes. I just like the the cheering of everybody. Um the I will never forget the cheering. I I won't forget the bells, um, the crowd, the guy on the bike leading me through the castle, and I was like, no way is this real life right now. What the heck is going on? I didn't expect this at all. I was like super emotional at that point. And my parents also got to see me in first place, running in our like our home, basically.

SPEAKER_06: 37:52

As you were in first place, did it ever cross your mind to see any characters? Did you stop for any, or you were you just like, I once I'm in first place and I see Main Street, like this is this is my goal?

SPEAKER_01: 38:06

Yes, yes. So I knew that if I potentially stop to take pictures, I might not start again. Also, I am actually very competitive, so I didn't want if I was in first place at that moment, I was like, I want to hold on to this for as long as possible, and then I'll get my pictures afterwards, like when I've crossed the finish line around at the park later on that day. So no, I didn't stop to take any. I did wave, I gave um uh, who did I give a high five to? I gave one of the characters a high five as I ran past. I forget which one it was, but that was about it.

SPEAKER_06: 38:39

So as you're talking about um running through and you know, not knowing if you were gonna stop. And um how did your training change like going into the race and like how long did you run before you went to marathon weekend? Like, what did that kind of look like?

SPEAKER_01: 38:58

Yeah, so I did do some like kind of extensive training, I guess, leading up to the marathon. Um, I followed a a plan that had me running about, I think my longest run was around 20, 22 miles, somewhere around there. Um so I I knew I was up there. I didn't want to run the full 26.2 or more just in training because I went into this with my sister and we said we're both we're not we're not gonna do it until we do it together at this marathon. So um we held off on on running um that full distance until that day. So the training, the training was good. It's it's like honestly, it's a full-time job. I'm sure you all know it's like a full-time job training for a marathon.

SPEAKER_04: 39:40

It's a lot of at that level, it certainly is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 39:43

Yeah.

unknown: 39:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 39:44

Very impressive.

SPEAKER_01: 39:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 39:46

You mentioned the bike riders. What kind of feedback were they giving you? How were they helping you out?

SPEAKER_01: 39:52

Amazing. Um, first off, I as soon as the um um I think his name was Oh my gosh, was it Matt? Oh my gosh, his name is I follow him on Instagram now. My the guy that was leading me, as soon as he came out, I couldn't even tell you where I came from, but the next minute I have this guy next to me on a bike who, um, which I just have to say, you have someone following you for three hours during like a really intense moment of your life, and then they just kind of float off at the end, you know, to let you finish that race by yourself. And it's so sad because you don't you don't know him, he doesn't know you, but he's just led you to victory on this incredible journey, and it's like really emotional. So I'm really glad that I got to find him on Instagram and he sent me a video of me running down Main Street that he took on his phone. And I was like, this is the best thing you could have ever done. Just absolutely incredible. So I think it's really cool that um you like you're given one of those bike riders and they kind of lead you through that way. Um I didn't talk too much to him. I tried to keep in my own head and like like race in my head in a way. Um, but I did talk to him around mile 19, and that was the Blizzard Beach parking lot.

SPEAKER_10: 41:08

So it's one of our personal favorites.

SPEAKER_01: 41:10

Yeah, from what I've read on the Facebook groups, everyone else is too. It seems like everyone loves that parking lot. Oh my gosh. So, as you know, you run into the parking lot, you do a loop, and you come back out the same way. So you can see people coming in.

SPEAKER_04: 41:26

Oh, yes, right. Right. So you got to saw the second place runner there.

SPEAKER_01: 41:30

Yes, exactly. But I didn't know who she was or where she was placed, except I knew that this girl who was entering the parking lot as I was coming out had a bike rider with her. So I turned to my guy and I was like, who is she? And he goes, It's so-and-so. She's currently in second place. And I was like, Oh my gosh, she's second place. Like, how far behind is she? Um, where am I at in terms of like keeping up front? And he goes, She's still about five to six minutes, maybe just less than a mile behind you. And this is at mile 19. So then my heart rate, I know it's it's racing pretty hard because I'm running a marathon, but now it's like racing even harder. Um, I'm like, that's it's far, but I still have seven miles to go. Like anything could happen. I could slow down. She could be playing the long game where she's gonna start sprinting for that last 10k. Um, and I'm not a sprinter, so she's got me on that. Um, if that happens. Um, but then it started raining a lot.

SPEAKER_04: 42:30

Oh, that's when the rain porn. Okay, the rain hit you there at Blizzard Beach. Yeah, it hit the rest of us as we were going into Magic Kingdom, but that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01: 42:38

Yeah. Okay. And at first I was like, oh, maybe it's just like a little bit of water spraying from the water park because it was a zero percent chance of rain the whole morning.

SPEAKER_05: 42:49

That whole it was low, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 42:52

I was like, oh, it must just be a little spray, and then it was like downpouring, but I tried to think of this like I tried to use it to my advantage. I've the weather here has been it's been warm for the winter, but it's been rainy on days, so I've been training in the rain, so I just had to like grit my teeth and push through it and try and use that to my advantage.

SPEAKER_10: 43:11

Was that the first time that you asked about, you know, the the distance between you and and second place? Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 43:20

That was the first time. Um, and I had honestly no inkling at all about where really anyone was. I could hear that he would do the walkie-talkie as I was crossing certain um paths or certain mile markers. Um, and I could hear people radioing back between back to him or back to whoever was on that frequency, I guess. Um, but I just assumed it was like for the guys in front or or I I don't really even know. I was like in a world of my own, I guess. Uh no, I never I never asked besides mile 19. I didn't ask where anyone was.

SPEAKER_10: 43:57

Interesting. Okay. So what I'm curious to know is, you know, you won, or the the the gap between you and second place was five minutes. And actually, fun fact, the woman who came in second place is actually from the town that I actually I used to live in three years ago. Uh so it was really cool to see that local connection there. Um, I'm looking at your splits here. You had about a 90-second lead on her at just shy of the uh the 10k mark, then you upped at the three minutes at the 10 mile, you had about, let's see here, just under four at the half, and then you really started to open it up, you know, again, around that Blizzard Beach parking lot. To you, when was the moment during that race that you knew this was yours and you had it in the bag?

SPEAKER_01: 44:54

That was probably right after definitely right after Blizzard Beach. When I saw her coming in and as I was coming out, that was to that was the moment to me where I was like, I really gotta gotta keep what I'm doing and keep pushing. If I can go faster, go faster, or at least maintain what I'm doing. I can't, I don't know what she's gonna do. She might pick up her pace. I'm hoping she doesn't because a marathon is a long way to go. Um, if I can just keep doing what I'm doing, or even a little bit more, I should be okay. And it was probably when we entered Epcot for that final lap around the world, world showcase. And that I think was when I was like, holy crap, this is this is actually happening. I've got, you know, a couple miles to go. And if I can just hold off for a little bit longer or just keep pushing and hope she doesn't catch back up to me, this might actually happen. Um, and the weird thing is the night before I'm laying in bed and I'm not no one's really sleeping. I feel like I'm nervous, I'm not gonna wake up if I fall asleep. And so I'm laying in bed and I have like this weird sort of like dream, but I wasn't really asleep. But I like envision myself crossing the finish line in first place. And so to get to see that weird like vision come to life is just a really weird experience.

SPEAKER_00: 46:21

Can you describe more about what the emotions were when you were crossing that finish line? It was going through your head that that kind of dream was reality now, and you had just won the Walt Disney World Marathon.

SPEAKER_01: 46:35

I even like right now, I have like goosebumps going through because I I've told everyone that I never ever want to forget that feeling of turning that last loop, and you can see the finish line, you can see the spectators down the one side, and there was a guy there waving a like an aeroplane thingy that they guide the aeroplanes in with. I could see him doing that. Okay, and that was when I was like, they're about to announce that I'm gonna be the first place female, and I had like I had tears in my eyes. Um, I think I covered my mouth, and then I was like, do not cover my mouth because they're gonna start taking photos. And so I like put my hands away and they had the the uh the tape up or whatever, the two people holding the tape, and so I you automatically have to throw your arms up in the air right there. Um, and then I crossed the finish line and I covered my face again, and I was just in, I was just like, there is no way this is real right now. There is no way this is real. And I stopped my watch and I don't even think I took I someone threw me a bottle of water, but I suddenly had like these like reporters and like the people like with the cameras right there in front of me immediately asking me questions, and I was like, what is going on? Like, what is happening? This is absolutely insane. Like it was just an absolute dream. And I that last uh like point one or whatever it was, that whole point one, I was like, do not forget this feeling that you are feeling right now. Do not forget the noises that you're hearing, do not forget the people that you are seeing, and that finish line at the end. Never forget any of this.

SPEAKER_06: 48:13

I love that you were like mentally conscious enough in that moment to be like, I want to remember this. Because there's there's only a few moments in life that you want to be like, I'm gonna snapshot this to remember, like on whenever I'm dying one day. Like, you know, but I think that's really cool that you you had that mental consciousness in that last point one of like, no, this is one of those moments that I'm gonna think about when I'm 90 years old.

SPEAKER_01: 48:41

Yeah, I will on it, I will never ever ever forget it. Um, and my parents luckily got a video of me crossing or doing that final point.

SPEAKER_02: 48:49

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_01: 48:50

And I watched that video, and you can hear um um the people in the podium saying, and here is your 2024 female Walt Disney World champion or whatever, whatever they said, and just like re-hearing that and knowing what I felt when I heard that is um, I just love that I'm able to hold on to that video forever.

SPEAKER_10: 49:11

So, Stephanie, I unfortunately I didn't have time to do the research to find this out, but again, the major storyline you know coming out of this race is your first ever marathon and you win the dang thing. Has have you like done any research on your own, like checking like I don't know, like Guinness Book of World Records or something along those lines in terms of like, has this ever happened to anybody else? Like, have you researched that at all?

SPEAKER_01: 49:39

I haven't. I haven't now. Oh god. Well, actually, I think wasn't there a girl um a couple of weeks ago um who did do a marathon debut. I don't know if she won it, but she did she win it though? I think she got like one of the best American qualifying times. I think someone else just did it right, but right after I did it. So if it's if I was the first person ever, she was second after me, but no, I haven't researched it.

SPEAKER_04: 50:08

Alright, that'll that'll give us some homework to do in it in those next couple of weeks. Stephanie, had you won other events?

SPEAKER_01: 50:16

Um, I won the Naples half marathon last year, but it was totally by accident. The two girls that were supposed to win got lost on the course. Oh my god, but I did get to run and break through the tape, so I like half won.

SPEAKER_04: 50:30

Oh, that's a win.

SPEAKER_01: 50:31

In a way. And then I did actually come second in the wine and dine, but also that wasn't that wasn't a win either. Um, so no, this was my first real win.

SPEAKER_04: 50:41

My goodness, that's remarkable.

SPEAKER_06: 50:44

You came through all of the reporters and uh you got through all of that. Did you just like crash, like undone, get me some food and sleep, or were you like hyped up on adrenaline?

SPEAKER_01: 50:55

I was so hyped up. Um I the weird thing was I felt like I had a lot of energy even after I crossed that finish line. And even to this day, I'm like, could I have gone faster? I didn't feel like I was dying at the end. And I keep watching that video back that I got of me running through that last part, and it looked like I was sprinting. And even afterwards, I felt great. Like I felt so good. Like I didn't expect to feel as good as I did. And I'm sure it was the adrenaline and living on that high. And then I quick ran back over to the spectator line to cheer my sister in as well. And then I'm living off of her high, and the ball just kept rolling. We did go back to our hotel and um I don't like running a long distance, like it kind of messes up my appetite. Like I wasn't hungry, I had to force myself to eat, um, which most people are like, oh, you didn't scarf down an entire breakfast. I'm like, no, like I really, it was like a struggle to eat right afterwards, but I knew I had to. And we just kind of hung out on in our living room or in our bedroom for a little bit and watched some TV. And then we ended up going to Disney Springs, um, just walked around there for a couple of hours and then got back into bed super early that night. The next day, um, we went to Epcot and we ended up walking like, I don't know, like 13 miles or something. It was pretty slow, but you know, we we had to do the full Epcot experience, and it was so funny because everyone was wearing their Mickey ears, they all had their Disney marathon or Dopey Challenge t-shirts on, and every single person looked like they just got off of a horse that they had been riding for like 12 hours, like everyone's legs were like so stiff, so we knew we were in the right place, yeah.

SPEAKER_05: 52:41

Among friends for sure.

SPEAKER_07: 52:43

Yes, so the reverse goofy she did.

SPEAKER_06: 52:46

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_07: 52:48

There we go.

SPEAKER_03: 52:49

Right, right.

SPEAKER_06: 52:51

So now I have to ask, since you mentioned Dopey, do you have Dopey or Goofy on the horizon? Is that something else you want to accomplish? Are you like, nah, one marathon, like let's just live this in infamy and not touch it?

SPEAKER_01: 53:06

Right. I'm I'm honestly so stuck. I'm so stuck. I'm like, do I um so Disney did invite me back next year to run it again? Um, and I did say yes, but I'm also like, oh my gosh, like I was it was a hard decision, decision to be honest, because I feel like that was my first one. I won it. Do I want to try? I'm never gonna replicate what just happened. That's never gonna happen. So um it was a hard decision, but I I have to do it. So, but do I do it as a dopey? I don't know.

SPEAKER_05: 53:42

I don't know. It is kind of the ultimate mic drop moment, isn't it? Isn't it? One marathon, I want. See ya.

SPEAKER_08: 53:49

Right. Going out on top. That's where you go.

SPEAKER_10: 53:53

You know, something you just said, Stephanie, there that made me think about, you know, what we're very blessed. This is the third year in a row we have the female marathon winner here on the Rise of Run podcast. But this was a question that we never asked Brittany or Katie is as the winner of the race, obviously you just mentioned the invitation that you got to come back next year, but are there any other types of like perks or privileges that you get either from Run Disney or Disney itself for being the winner? Or is it just the the mouse ears and the metal like the rest of us?

SPEAKER_01: 54:31

I did get an email yesterday confirming my address um because they are sending an award in the mail. So I'll keep you posted.

SPEAKER_10: 54:40

Very cool.

SPEAKER_01: 54:41

Keep you posted on what comes.

SPEAKER_04: 54:43

Yeah. They they used to do those for age groups, Stephanie. They and they're nice. And I imagine the one for the overall champion is really nice.

SPEAKER_01: 54:52

Well, when I came second for the wine and dine, they sent me um a pair of Shucks headphones, which I've wanted forever. So I was like, this is the best sort of gift. Like, what else did I want? Like headphones for running, it's perfect, and then a super cute, like um, like little award, like a like a plexiglass award with like my name and I have everything written on it. So I was like, this is great. So I can only imagine.

SPEAKER_04: 55:13

Uh you alluded a little bit, Stephanie. What's next? Like you have Boston on the horizon or thought, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 55:19

I think I'm gonna try and um enter into Boston for 2025. Um, New York would be a fun one. It actually runs right past my sister's apartment. So I'm like, how cool would that be? Like she could stand there or even and or do it with me, whatever she would choose. Um, but then I am doing, um, I did just sign up for the Brooklyn Half Marathon. That one is in April, and then I'm gonna probably do, I think there's like a 5k Irish jig that's coming up in Grand Rapids. Um, so I'm probably gonna do quite a few local races too.

SPEAKER_06: 55:50

I can definitely recommend New York. Amazing. Have you done that one? I did it last year. It was the most favorite, like I love Disney races, but New York was my absolute favorite race I've ever done in my life.

SPEAKER_01: 56:04

That's good to know. That's really good to know. I was kind of nervous. Like, I know at the start of this I mentioned like I didn't want to do a too much, too much of a serious marathon, if that makes sense. But it's good to know that that was a really good one.

SPEAKER_06: 56:18

So hands down, like the crowds, the crowds, like that's all that just made it for me. And uh New York is one of my favorite cities, but like top notch. It was amazing.

SPEAKER_01: 56:30

Good to that's good. That's really good to know.

SPEAKER_10: 56:32

Well, something I just thought of, Stephanie, is I mean, obviously you're you ran an amazing time, and I mean the course is certified. Is your time from a couple of weeks ago fast enough at to be a BQ for for Boston next year?

SPEAKER_01: 56:48

It is, yes.

SPEAKER_10: 56:49

Amazing. Okay, awesome.

SPEAKER_04: 56:50

I don't have it in front of me, Greg, but I'm sure not only is it good enough, but it's good enough to survive any gaps or anything. Yeah, that's that's well under. Yep.

SPEAKER_10: 56:58

Excellent. Well, congratulations. Thank you. On multiple fronts.

SPEAKER_01: 57:04

Not many people can say that they ran and won their first marathon in their favorite place on earth. So I feel very lucky to be able to say that.

SPEAKER_10: 57:12

That's true. You know, they say Boston's the unicorn race, but that might be a unicorn in itself right there.

SPEAKER_06: 57:17

So in wrapping this all up, um, winning your first ever marathon is so inspiring, and I know a lot of people listening would just like I know I'm smiling listening to your story, so I'm sure everyone else will. Um, what advice would you give a runner who is currently training for their first attempt at a 26.2 race?

SPEAKER_01: 57:44

Just know it's gonna take a lot of time to train um for that. But I feel like you're already winning if it's already in your mind that you want to do it. Whether you're running it, walking it, doing a combination of both, you are already doing so much more than you probably ever thought you could. Um, so you know, showing up to that starting line, whether you feel prepared or not, as soon as you take that first step onto that marathon course, you're already a winner, in my opinion. Um, not many people can say that they've done a marathon at whatever speed. It doesn't matter the speed, just keep pushing to the best of your ability. Everybody's different. Whether you're like I said, whether you're walking it, running it, it doesn't matter. You've done a marathon.

SPEAKER_04: 58:31

That's lovely. Well, Stephanie, I'm sorry we couldn't offer you a ticker-tape parade down Main Street like the Super Bowl champions and all that, but we are we are delighted, happy, and proud that you joined us here on the Rise and Run podcast.

SPEAKER_05: 58:46

Thank you so much for your time.

SPEAKER_01: 58:48

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. You guys are awesome.

SPEAKER_11: 58:52

Caution runners, change of topic ahead.

SPEAKER_04: 58:58

And now please stand clear of the door. It's time for a race report. Friends, the race report is sponsored by Thomas Stokes of Stokes Metabolic Training. Stokes.fit slash rise and run coaching URL to investigate for more information, or just take a look at the featured section of our Facebook group page. And we've got a link for Tom and Stokes Metabolic Training up there. Well, let's kick this one off on Saturday in Texas at the Houston Running Company 12K's of Christmas. Brandy was there. Brandy had a heck of a year when she's not busy recording intros to the Rise and Run podcast. Brandy has run a total of 39 races.

SPEAKER_10: 1:00:01

Most of them my fault.

SPEAKER_04: 1:00:03

I think all of them, but anyway. That's a lot. There's not many not many weekends that she was off. I know she's I think she's going back to back on Perfect Disney's. So there's a bunch of them right there. But 39's a good number. And Jennifer was out there. Jennifer had signed up for the 6K, but she upgraded to the 12k so that she could complete her six eight hundreds that were on her training schedule. Each 800 was a little bit faster than the one before, so she's real happy with that. And as you should be, Jennifer, way to go.

SPEAKER_10: 1:00:40

Moving to the other side of the country in Los Angeles, California was the clueless and breathless 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon. Our friend Kayla was there. This uh race organizes runs based off of 80s and 90s movies, which I think is so cool. Uh, so Kayla and her friend Dress to Impressed for this clueless uh themed race. Oh, nice. And uh the race offered great vibes and zero stress, and she highly recommends this race series. Not just the this particular race, but just the race series that the Organ Zinders put on for any first timers out there.

SPEAKER_04: 1:01:17

Very cool, very nice. There you go. There you go, West Coasters. There's a good one. Back to the East Coast, though, back around back around Disney World, Winter Garden, Florida, specifically. Uh the Dream Finders Homes 12Ks of Christmas, Christmas 5K, and kids' races. Let's start this one off with Sam and Sam's mom. We used to know her as Laura. Yes.

SPEAKER_10: 1:01:41

But now she's just she's kind of like Prince, like the artist formerly known as.

SPEAKER_04: 1:01:46

Yeah, right. Uh they did the 5K. Little Elf and Mrs. Claus for a while ran with Reindeer K for the first two miles, anyway. Then Kay broke off and she ran the 12K, why Sam and Laura did the 5. Now Sam wasn't feeling well. Battling a cold he's he sucked it up though, battled through, and although there was no sprint to the finish line this time, uh in a nutshell, it was a sweet, low-key morning filled with holiday spirit, good company, and the kind of memories that make these runs extra special. Heather was rolling, she did the 12K. Mentioned already that Kay did the 12K, and Jason did as well. Special Jason's very first race ten years ago, April of 2015, was a 12K. This one was really crowded at the start, but it opened up a little bit, so he was able to pick up his pace. It did the first mile about 30 seconds faster than goal pace. That's not always good. But mile two was even faster. Mile three, one of the fastest miles he's ever run, boiled all down. He was hoping to shave a couple of seconds off of his older PR, wound up PRing by six minutes.

SPEAKER_10: 1:03:14

That's awesome, Jason. Way to go. Yeah, it is. That's six minutes and it's 12K. Now, I'm not a native Floridian, so I don't know what in direction we're going, but I know it's very close to Winter Garden, and that's in Winter Haven, Florida. We had uh the Santa's Run Fest 5K, and this was a family affair for Morningstar and her family. Uh, they all participated in this race, they won the largest family award. But the tough part was they had to wait 90 minutes for all the awards to be announced. Oh, wow. And to her and the the rest of the family, that was 90 minutes of torture. But just want to recognize all of uh the family members that participated. So again, we mentioned Morningstar. We also had Donald, Samson, Sarah, Betsy, Taj, Melissa, Michael, Jennifer, Trinity, Greenley, Evelyn, Lillian, Jaden, Bella, and Brooklyn. So congratulations on winning the big family award there in the world. That was all one family, Greg? Yes, that is all one family.

SPEAKER_04: 1:04:27

Oh, wow. Wow. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_10: 1:04:29

And if it's not one whole family, I will correct that in next week's episode. Okay.

SPEAKER_04: 1:04:35

Yeah, which we were going to record two weeks ago, I think. In Canton, Ohio, Lori did the Frosty Frolic 5K. Fun and festive. A fun and festive Frosty Frolic. I ain't saying that again. She ran through the stadium park that had a nice Christmas light display, featured cookies and hot chocolate at the finish.

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In Norfolk, Connecticut was the Norfolk Pub 10 Miler. Rachel was there. This was a last-minute decision for her, but it made for a pleasant training run. You know, she understands that you know the hills in fact um are tough and it's cold in Connecticut this time of year. But she had fun in the snow, the slush, and the ice, although it did turn out to be a little bit tougher than expected, but way to battle those elements. Becca was also there, and she goes on to say that she had some sore hips from the race uh that short her last training run. So probably smart that you took this one a little bit more conservative, but great job.

SPEAKER_04: 1:05:35

Probably wise. Let's go to Mandeville, Louisiana, where they ran the Outlast New Orleans nighttime edition, and Lisa was there. A unique event, six 5Ks with a six-hour limit in the woods in Mandeville at night. Never thought she'd do a trail run, but since you had to wear lights, she made sure they were Christmas lights. Glad you had fun, Lisa.

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Heading back down to Florida in Claremont, Florida was Santa's Twilight 5K. And your tipsy ducks and love friend there, Bob. Mary ran this one. She enjoyed a little family 5K to wrap up her dopey simulation where the Christmas lights did not disappoint. Uh, she enjoyed the beauty of all the large areas of the course that were covered in decorations and all the lit up trees.

SPEAKER_04: 1:06:26

Cool. Out in San Antonio, Joseph did the Stars at Night 10K, a family affair for Joseph, where he had finished in just over 56 minutes. His son Tristan completed his 5K in 28 minutes, daughter Isabella in 38 minutes. All of those outstanding times. Congratulations.

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In Mandon, North Dakota was the North Dakota Santa run. Autumn was there. You know, I complain a lot, especially with how cold it's been in Pennsylvania the last couple of weeks for my training runs. I think after this report race report, I got to keep my mouth shut. Autumn is still trying to warm up from that race because during the course of the run, the real field temperature was minus three degrees. But she goes on to say that the hot chocolate that they had at the end was well worth it.

SPEAKER_04: 1:07:21

I reckon it was well earned. As soon as I saw where it was, Greg, I said, it's got to be cold. North Dakota in December, it's got to be cold. Now, Irvine, California in December, that might be a different story. Allison was there, did the Run for a Clause 5K. Every runner got a Santa hat, a scarf, and a little Debbie Christmas tree at the finish. We talked about those a couple weeks ago.

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Moving a little east, we head over to Las Vegas, Nevada, where Sarah ran the ugly sweater 5K. You know, you know how they always say that's bad luck here in the States that you that you should never wear the race shirt to the race? Well, she threw that one out the window for this one because the tech shirt that they gave out really matched the theme of the race, so she had to wear it. Uh, but this is the part of the race report that I love. She said she stayed until the end of the race with her friends to cheer on a grandmother who was finishing her first 5k ever, even though most of the volunteers had left. And what was even cooler is that since all the volunteers were gone, Sarah got to give this grandmother her medal for crossing the finish line.

SPEAKER_04: 1:08:32

Ah, neito. Nito. This one had to be cold too. Let's see. It's in Kennebunk, Maine. Jake was there for the Seaside Santa Dash. I think Jake's normally out in western Pennsylvania. Must have been traveling up to New England for this one. Every runner got a Santa costume or an elf costume for the kids. Jake lost the beard around a half mile in, the belt buckle about halfway through. Managed to hold on to the hat and coat the entire time. Course was a bit short. Got a PR, kinda. But he did end up with an age group third place finish, and that's legit. Super proud of the run based on his previous wine and dine 10K time in 2024.

SPEAKER_10: 1:09:17

Next up, Tiffany ran the Catch the Elf 5K in Markham, Illinois. This was the inaugural event uh that was a bit disorganized, uh, but she was happy even with a cold headwind, and she was able to hold on to an eight-minute pace the entire time. So way to go, Tiffany.

SPEAKER_04: 1:09:37

Wrap up Saturday in Lincroft, New Jersey. The holiday 5K that Kelly ran, Kelly and Bob, or should we say Elf and Jovi. Braved the 29-degree chilly start, enjoyed all the costumes, including, but not limited to the Grinch, Max, a Christmas story bunny suit, and many ugly sweaters. Sounds like front, Kelly. Alright, let's talk. We have uh we have one weekend long event, and that is, and I'm always teasing folks about this, the Mount Dora half marathon and 5K in Mount Dora, Florida. I didn't know there were any places in Florida that earned the name Mount. Well, I've learned in the meantime that there are, and that it is in fact a hilly race. It ain't Colorado hilly, but it's Florida hilly. But over the weekend we had the Mount Dora half and marathon in 5k, the Dora double, which would be both races. Debbie was there, as was Donna, Tracy, and Trevor. For the half marathon, Kay was there. Jared. Jared says he got seven miles in beforehand and then used this race, the half marathon, to finish his dopey training. Jennifer was there. Jennifer runs with a guy. Jennifer has a visual impairment. She runs with a guide. Her guide was Adam. He had a great plan to hit Jen's one hour and 57-minute time goal for this half. This hilly half. It is hilly. As much as I joke about it, it is hilly. They talk of a took off a little bit too fast, but dialed things in until a strong finish, and Jen did end up knocking out a one-minute PR on this half marathon. Very good there. Michael was there for year five, and he ended. This is he ended the 2025 race season with a PR, that's the way to go out. And Adam, we already mentioned that Adam was pacing Jen. Adam had a great race. He says he lost count of how many times he heard the phrase, I don't like you, and I'm dying, on his way to coaxing Jen to that PR.

SPEAKER_10: 1:11:58

You know, that's something that Adam should put on the business card for future pacing opportunities in the future. On his back of his t-shirt. No, on the back of his cape.

SPEAKER_04: 1:12:07

Cape, yes, yes, yes, yes. Uh and for the 5K, Brooke did the 5k. Uh let's go over to Sunday. There was one just up the road from me, the holiday distance classic 10K and half marathon in Largo, Florida. I did the 10K. I walked the 10K, but I walked at a faster pace than I've walked in a long time. And I have been pessimistic about the half marathon. Mentioned once already that I backed out of Honolulu because I knew I couldn't do the marathon. But things I think may have turned the corner. I knocked out 19 miles on Saturday, and I did that at a solid 15-minute walking pace all the way through. And then I came and did this one, and I don't have it in front of me, but I think my final pace per mile. I know the first two miles were just slightly over 14 minutes. Miles 3, 4, and 5 were in the low 13s, and mile 6 was actually in the 12s. So I like 1315 or something for the 10k. It felt good, gang. It really did. So things are improving. Saw our friend Trina there. Trina's guts here and I. Trina did the entire half marathon. This was on a uh flat course, a rail trail course in Largo. And golly, the weather couldn't have been any better. I'm just hoping for all of our friends, whether you're coming from up north or whether you live around here. I'm hoping this weather holds out for a couple more weeks because it is just ideal. I think it was 56 or 57 when I got there, and maybe 61 or 62 when I finished. It was great.

SPEAKER_10: 1:13:58

Bob, you'll have to remind me if my memory's wrong here. Is this the same race that you did a couple of years ago with Ally and Heidi, where Heidi went into the Dunkin' Donuts mid-race because I think you guys did the half and then you did another half afterwards, and she had to stop for donuts. She stopped for donuts during the half marathon. Exactly during the half. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:14:20

Yeah. Yeah. Um, it is the same race, but they've changed the course. The course used to go through the streets, it it started south of here in a place called John's Pass, and uh it doesn't do that anymore. It just stays on the rail trail here. So it's honestly it's kind of dull for the half marathon. They take off, they head south, they go about two miles, come back, then they go north and do a turnaround. It's it's okay. Uh the the 10K was uh straight up out and back. We just went north to start with. But no, on that race, yeah, I don't know, start at 5 30 or 6 in the morning, and uh Heidi needed to use a restroom, and so she decided to use the Dunkin' Donuts, and she comes out with a cup of coffee and a bag of donuts.

SPEAKER_10: 1:15:11

Now, at any point during your 10K were you like looking over your shoulder, like waiting for a hop up!

SPEAKER_04: 1:15:18

No, I haven't seen her for a while.

SPEAKER_10: 1:15:20

Oh, hopefully we get to see you soon, Heidi. We we miss you. All right, staying in the Sunshine State, we moved to Wellington, Florida for the Wellington Jingle Bell Run 5K, where Mara ran, and this was Mara's first race postpartum. Not only was this her first run postpartum, but it was also her first time running straight through with no walk intervals in almost a year, and she felt fantastic. Was not a PR, but she was still really proud of her time and good enough for first place in her age group. Uh, she also got a stroller finish, and uh she won top Mrs. Claws because apparently there was also a costume division as well, too. So, congratulations overall in terms of getting back the racing and motherhood.

SPEAKER_04: 1:16:08

Yeah, hashtag podium baby. Ooh, I like that. I like that. Up in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Courtney and Avery ran cousin Eddie's 5k.

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And to round out this Christmas version of the race report, we head to Atlanta, Georgia for the Run Santa Run Race Series. Lauren was there running the 10K. Her friend Tiffany convinced her to run this race, and it had it all. No timing mats, inaccurate mile markers, a sassy Santa who was handy out medals, and thin mint moon pies. Uh, she just ran it for the fun and the vibes, uh, but her friend Tiffany got a PR.

SPEAKER_04: 1:16:52

All right, my friends, that wraps up the Christmas edition of the Rise and Run Race Report. Friends, and if you run, you know you're our you are our friend. This is a special day. To the ten of you that are still listening on this Christmas day. Maybe some folks will listen on the weekend, Craig. We hope you enjoyed it. We hope you had a wonderful holiday, whether it was Christmas or Hanukkah, or if there's another holiday you're celebrating at this time of year. We hope you had a wonderful time with family, with your family, and hopefully with the Rise and Run family. We look forward to seeing you real soon. But until then, happy running.

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