#26: Racing Through Magic: A Guide to runDisney
This episode is a special treat for runners and Disney fans alike, as we dive into the magic of runDisney events with our special guest, Jocelyn (momrunsdis on Instagram).
Summary of Key Topics
runDisney Overview: Introduction to the world of runDisney, highlighting the blend of running and Disney magic.
Guest Introduction: Jocelyn shares her extensive experience with runDisney, offering an insider's perspective on the events.
Registration Tips: With the upcoming registration for the runDisney Marathon Weekend, Jocelyn provides invaluable advice on securing your spot in these highly sought-after races.
Running for Charity: Explore the charitable side of runDisney, where participants can run for a cause close to their hearts.
Race Weekend Breakdown: Jocelyn ranks the major runDisney weekends, giving insights into each event's unique offerings.
Costume and Character Fun: Discover the joy of running in costumes and meeting rare characters along the race courses.
Training and Preparation: Tips on training, nutrition, and preparing for race day to ensure a magical and successful runDisney experience.
Expo and Merchandise: Navigating the runDisney Expo for must-have merchandise and how to secure the best gear.
Post-Race Tips: How to enjoy the Disney parks after your race, ensuring a memorable and enjoyable experience.
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Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Matt: Welcome back to the Adventures of a Disney Dad podcast. My name is Matt. I am a dad of three and the founder of adventuresofadisneydad. com. Travel agent with the magic for less travel and your host. Joined as always by my co host Chip.
[00:00:12] Matt: The dad of five and this week we are going to be diving into the magic of Run Disney with special guest [00:00:20] Jocelyn. She is momrunsdis on Instagram. She's an avid Run Disney runner if you're watching on YouTube. You can see the absolutely beautiful medal wall behind her. That it just, just, I mean, it's just covered in medals.
[00:00:35] Matt: Jocelyn, welcome to the show. Thanks, thanks for having me. No, [00:00:40] we're really excited about this. I've done the Run Disney marathon a couple times, and we love going down in January for Marathon Weekend, and we get a lot of Run Disney folks that listen to the show. And they've always got questions. And so what, what better to do than to bring in an actual expert and it's run all the [00:01:00] weekends, done all the things.
[00:01:02] Chip: Listen, listen, she, she had me, she had me go work out this evening. I was contemplating not getting on my bike and I saw her made the workout in right before the show. I'm like, all right, I got to get one in too.
[00:01:12] Jocelyn: Yes, I'm training for springtime surprise as we speak. So that's in a couple of weeks getting those last training [00:01:20] miles, riding miles, so I'll be ready to run.
[00:01:22] Matt: And we're going to, we're going to get into it. I think the big, you know anxiety factor for any run Disney person is coming up here on April 9th, which is the registration for run Disney marathon weekend, and I'm going to, I'm going to start right off the bat with a tough question, Jocelyn, what are your [00:01:40] tips?
[00:01:41] Matt: Or people that are registering for a run Disney race, which is insane.
[00:01:44] Jocelyn: Yeah. Like, you know, over the years, it's like this process gets more and more intense because you get more and more people interested in the races. I tell everybody be patient. I mean, that's hard to [00:02:00] say. The queue opens at 10, sometimes a little bit early, like nine, nine 50 and that anxiety sets in because it's like, it's not immediate.
[00:02:08] Jocelyn: Had. Earlier this week was About how long do you wait? We just had registration for wine and diet. I waited about an hour to register. [00:02:20] So, you know if you want to do the multiple devices, some people do different browsers, I definitely say have a good internet speed. That is the key thing. Where I work, the internet's not the greatest, so I will actually work.
[00:02:35] Jocelyn: Don't tell my boss that, and I will come back, you know after I've registered, you know, [00:02:40] I just make up that time, but yeah, have patience, have a good internet speed also having a run Disney account already set up Also, I'm going to give a tip that a lot of people are going to kill me for.
[00:02:52] Jocelyn: Register, and if you can, pay for your races with a Disney gift card. That speeds up the process. You don't have to [00:03:00] put in all that information, like your, you know, address, because it doesn't require all that
[00:03:06] Matt: information. Interesting. That's a good one. So less fields to fill
[00:03:09] Jocelyn: out. A little gem. It definitely, because that's where a lot of people say, I got right there at the checkout.
[00:03:15] Jocelyn: And it was pulled out. You know, those, those seconds count because you have [00:03:20] loads, loads of people trying to register.
[00:03:23] Matt: Yeah, absolutely. And you hit on a lot of, a lot of the great tips. And the biggest thing too, is you have to be in the queue, like the waiting room for the queue before it opens at 10 o'clock, right?
[00:03:35] Matt: So 15 or 20 minutes before they put you in a waiting room [00:03:40] and then at 10 o'clock, then they randomize everybody. They ran and if you're not in there in that waiting room before they randomize everybody, then you're going to be last. And you're
[00:03:49] Jocelyn: not going to get it right. And I have people ask all the time.
[00:03:52] Jocelyn: So I want to run, I'm going to register for this race and I want to prioritize what is the most important, like, you know, [00:04:00] register for that race first and then go back. Cause I have people say, well, my whole family wants to run the 5k and I want to run the half. Okay. Register for that 5k. If that's a priority for you and your family, you know, cause you may get in the half.
[00:04:14] Jocelyn: And then everybody else gets in the 5k or whatever. And then, you know, you're, you know, think about what's most important when it [00:04:20] comes to registering for multiple races.
[00:04:22] Matt: Yeah, absolutely. That's a good one. And, you know, the last thing is the multiple browser trick does work. Because the way it works is every browser gets a unique queue ID.
[00:04:33] Matt: So basically a slot in line. The more browsers you have open, the more slots in line you have in the lottery [00:04:40] for the randomizer. And the one tip that I love to tell people that a lot of people don't know about is, you don't have to have different devices to have different browsers. So you can open multiple windows in Safari in incognito mode, and that works.
[00:04:55] Matt: You can download like Firefox, Safari, Chrome, [00:05:00] Brave, Like I, I had, yeah, I had like 50 of them open and you, all you have to do is watch for the first one that gets in and then you register on that and your goal is
[00:05:12] Jocelyn: just toggling back and like, okay, this one's 17 minutes. Okay. This one's still in an [00:05:20] hour because you, I have been in a cube on one device and then on another, it doesn't move at all.
[00:05:25] Jocelyn: So, you know, it's really, I tell people there's really no trick to it because again, it varies again, the demand is more now as people are getting more into running. Especially if they have a love of Disney, they want to [00:05:40] start small. So it's like, let me try this, which increases a number of people wanting to run races.
[00:05:45] Matt: Absolutely. And we got to love that ding now. They've got a little, little audio sound. So make sure you have your computer noise up because it'll tell you at least one of your windows hit the lottery. Yeah. Jump in there and get it done as quick as you can. So that. [00:06:00] Those are tips and I've got an article on adventureswithdizzydad.
[00:06:03] Matt: com all about registration tips and Jocelyn's given us a few that I'm going to have to add now especially the gift card one because that's, that is fantastic. The other big thing that I think a lot of people don't realize is the charitable aspect. And Jocelyn, you [00:06:20] run for charity. I've also run for charity for the marathon and it's, it's a little daunting for people, I think, because of the, if you do the marathon or the dopey challenge, the amount of money you've got to raise is in thousands of dollars typically.
[00:06:33] Matt: But I think it's important that people remember that if you don't get in on registration day. There's still options to get [00:06:40] bibs,
[00:06:40] Jocelyn: right? There are lots of great charities. Don't want to necessarily name drop. But I tell people choose a charity that means something. It makes it easier to fundraise for I know people want, have to have the demand of wanting to get into a race.
[00:06:59] Jocelyn: [00:07:00] But it makes it easier to ask and to get people to donate if there's something that they feel like it's, it's close, it's, it's, it's close to home rather than just, I'm getting in a race. So, and
[00:07:13] Matt: you can name drop because we, we support them
[00:07:15] Jocelyn: all for sure. Like, so starting Dragon Masters, that's one that I've, I've actually [00:07:20] ran.
[00:07:21] Jocelyn: With Dragon Masters Association, well initiative because they changed their name now, for six Princess 10Ks. I started, you know, before COVID met the founders. Kelsey's Hope is another one. I met some of those people great cause, great charity. Kids Give the World you [00:07:40] name it. There are several charities and you're getting donations.
[00:07:43] Jocelyn: A lot of new smaller charities that are that some of them that I'm just learning about myself, like, you know, last week I saw a name and I'm like, Whoa, that's new. Let me, let me look at that. So definitely get on Facebook because I think that's where they put most of the information out [00:08:00] in the different run groups.
[00:08:01] Jocelyn: Cause you see people asking all the time, Hey, I didn't get in the race. Any carriers and then you get, like I said, you get the name drops
[00:08:08] Matt: And i'll tell you too. We actually track them and the charities provide the information to us on adventure. com So i've got a website or an article for Wine and dine and marathon weekend [00:08:20] tracking who has bibs what the fundraising levels are And we've got an open line of communication with a lot of the charities About that and a lot of the marathon bibs are already going available, which is somet
[00:08:33] Jocelyn: weekend.
[00:08:35] Jocelyn: My son is [00:08:40] go race because he did the k he's going to run his fir already have secured. He He said, mom, I want to r So we already have our p tell people if you'r looking to run for a char do that now. [00:09:00] With a l getting into the new york have set their hopes on d of
[00:09:05] Matt: us, Jocelyn, we both a We both did not get into that.
[00:09:10] Matt: I remember seeing you do it and I got the same message. So a lot
[00:09:13] Jocelyn: of people are like, I want dopey now. So if you can go ahead and secure those bibs. A few [00:09:20] tips. I tell people, go ahead and donate what you would pay for the actual bid. That's a good way of getting your head start on your charity fundraising because you're going to pay that to enter the race.
[00:09:35] Jocelyn: So go ahead and donate that. Sometimes you'll be especially with The [00:09:40] fundraising costs and the price of dopey, that'll get you halfway there. That's
[00:09:45] Chip: what that was going to be my next. That's going to be my question. What's the number, what's the number you got to reach, reach for
[00:09:49] Jocelyn: it? Don't varies. Again, that's something that's increasing.
[00:09:53] Jocelyn: I've noticed as the demand. So I don't want to quote cause every charity,
[00:09:59] Matt: Give me [00:10:00] one second. Cause I, I have it. I haven't written down for a lot of them. So So for just an example, Sophia Madigan's Playground has been available now, and the marathon is 800 bucks, which is lower than I think a lot of the others, but their Dopey Challenge is 1, 300.
[00:10:18] Matt: So as [00:10:20] Jocelyn pointed out, and Kelsey's Hope, Dopey challenges 1200 that you have to raise. The halfway there is the dopey registration fee because that's almost 700. So you, you put your registration fee in, you're halfway there and you're, you're, you know, working for a charitable cause. Some of the [00:10:40] charities usually will have like room discounts.
[00:10:42] Matt: If you raise a certain amount of money, you'll get a t shirt. It's funny you mentioned Dragon Master. So I ran My first one for charity in 2015, which was Noah's Light, which then became Dragon Master. Which is crazy, because that makes [00:11:00] me feel incredibly old. The charity I ran for doesn't even exist anymore.
[00:11:04] Matt: Yeah,
[00:11:04] Jocelyn: and it's been through two name changes, because now it's Dragon Masters Initiative, so I keep
[00:11:10] Matt: saying it. Yeah, and you see a lot of great charities Ronald McDonald House various chapters will have bibs. And there's a lot of smaller one
[00:11:18] Jocelyn: has one, you know, like I said, you [00:11:20] name it. There are a lot of people, a lot of charities now versus when I first started, which is a good thing because again, being able to help cause and run, Hey, I like it.
[00:11:31] Jocelyn: I'm here for it. And bibs pop
[00:11:33] Matt: up to like months from now, like you'll have people that are dropping out or don't read their fundraising goals. So [00:11:40] you can usually sign up for the charities email list and they'll let you know if a bib pops up or sometimes love wait lists, things like that. So don't ever give up hope.
[00:11:49] Matt: But also if you're training for these things, you probably should start somewhat soon, unless you're like Jocelyn who is working out all the time. So she's, she's always training for a race. So let's get into the [00:12:00] basics really quickly. We talked all about registration and charitable running, but what are the four main race weekends and how Jocelyn, do you rank them as someone who's run the mall?
[00:12:11] Jocelyn: Well, there are four major. And of course this year we got the Disneyland races. So, are you doing those? I [00:12:20] am. I already did. Oh my goodness. And I did the, the, I did Goofy to Dumbo. And I am registered for the Disney and Halloween half. So there's starting in January, the Walt Disney World Marathon.
[00:12:32] Jocelyn: Then in February, there's the Princess Half Marathon. In April, there is the springtime surprise, which used to be Star Wars [00:12:40] weekend, which was my favorite, but it no longer exists. And ending off the race season with Wine and Dime and that's here on the East coast. Of course, they just bought back this year.
[00:12:50] Jocelyn: Disneyland weekend, which was right after marathon weekend this year. And then a brand new weekend, the Disneyland Halloween weekend, which is in September. So [00:13:00] it's early,
[00:13:00] Chip: early September,
[00:13:01] Jocelyn: right? It's early September, like the second week, like the six, seven, somewhere. Yeah.
[00:13:07] Matt: Yeah. Putting it on the hot seat.
[00:13:09] Matt: What are, how do you rank them? Rank
[00:13:11] Jocelyn: them? Now that Star Wars is no longer here, I would have to say it's Walt Disney World Marathon. Even though I've, I did Dopey [00:13:20] twice. It's kind of hard to get off that many days for me because I work in health care, but it is still my favorite weekend. I like to start my year off with a blank bank.
[00:13:30] Jocelyn: Most of the time, I always run the marathon. I've run the marathon the last. So that's a great way for me to start my year. So I like Disney World Marathon [00:13:40] weekend.
[00:13:40] Matt: Very, very cool. So how would you, I'm going to, I'm going to keep you on the hot seat. How would you rank the other three?
[00:13:44] Jocelyn: Then Wine and Dine is starting to grow on me.
[00:13:48] Jocelyn: It's a little cooler. You have that combined with the Food and Wine Festival. Princess Weekend is your diva weekend. So I will rate that number three. And I'm still getting used to springtime [00:14:00] surprise. It's a new one. I'm still, I'm interested in to see more on what they're going to bring back.
[00:14:06] Jocelyn: Like last year they bought the 10, you know, they brought the tower, tower, tower, 10 miler. A lot of us pre COVID one of Star Wars weekend. So hopefully we'll eventually get one of those again. But yeah, so I rank it [00:14:20] number four.
[00:14:21] Matt: That's fair. And just for clarity, springtime surprise is 5k, 10k, and then a random, is 10 mile or is it sometimes
[00:14:30] Jocelyn: a half?
[00:14:30] Jocelyn: Well, they've did the 10 mile. This is the second year. So they did a 10, you know, the, I guess they're going to maybe possibly stick with a [00:14:40] 10 mile
[00:14:40] Matt: distance. I don't know. And then there's a yoga too, correct?
[00:14:44] Jocelyn: There's the yoga. I've never participated in yoga, which is interesting. This year they moved yoga to Monday.
[00:14:50] Jocelyn: Normally it's on like Thursday or Friday mornings. But it's on Monday this year. So that's
[00:14:56] Matt: interesting. And just for anybody that's not [00:15:00] familiar, there's usually at a race weekend, there's a 5k, a 10k, some sort of medium longer distance between either a half marathon or 10k or 10 miler or something like that.
[00:15:12] Matt: And then marathon weekend has the marathon. But then you also have challenges, right? So tell tell the folks that are [00:15:20] not used to it. And let's use Marathon Weekend as an example. What are the challenges?
[00:15:24] Jocelyn: So Marathon Weekend you have several challenges. The ultimate being dopey where you complete all four races.
[00:15:31] Jocelyn: That is what most people look forward to you also have the goofy challenge, which which I would hate to say i've got to say it's [00:15:40] kind of my favorite It's the half marathon and the full marathon. With dopey you get a total of six medals goofy you get three most of the week all weekends have a challenge which normally consists of like the 10k and a half marathon springtime.
[00:15:55] Jocelyn: Surprise is the exception You have to do all three to get the challenge. So that's [00:16:00] where it differs
[00:16:01] Matt: So interesting. I gotta tell you I i've never understood goofy in marathon weekend and it's only because like if i'm if i'm doing the half in the pole The 5k and the 10k are like, they're, they're like, it's a warmup.
[00:16:17] Matt: Yeah. It's like, it's like you might as well just do [00:16:20] the dang thing and do, do the full dumpy at that point. Get like, part of it is, you know, getting demand and getting registered and it's harder and things like that. Goodness. Goodness gracious.
[00:16:32] Chip: Now what's your favorite course?
[00:16:34] Jocelyn: Oh, my favorite course. Of course the marathon, the marathon for those out there who don't know, it [00:16:40] is the only Race that you do all four parks.
[00:16:43] Jocelyn: Depending on your time. I have written everest Last year, I think it was a mistake, but the teacups were open. I made it through in time to jump on those some people ride the tower terror. So it is like I said the only race that you run through all four parks So I think [00:17:00] that's why I like it
[00:17:01] Matt: Yeah.
[00:17:01] Matt: Oh goodness. And, and having, so you obviously don't have to deal with the balloon ladies, but, but I think that that's probably the biggest fear that new folks to run Disney have is they hear about these balloon ladies, Chip's pointing at himself, the, the balloon ladies. Tell, [00:17:20] tell folks what the balloon ladies are and why they shouldn't be afraid of
[00:17:23] Jocelyn: it.
[00:17:24] Jocelyn: Oh, no, they are two very nice young ladies. Sometimes there's a guy. It just depends. But the balloon ladies are not your end all, but that's your major warning. Disney, like every other race, has time limits and [00:17:40] restrictions. Of course, they have to have the parks open. And it's to maintain a 16 minute mile.
[00:17:46] Jocelyn: Those ladies are the very last ones to start. And they are the ones that maintain that 16 minute pace from beginning to end. If they tend to pass you. There's another warning. I think [00:18:00] there are a couple of bikes. And then that is when you're pulled from the course. They're generally a little more lax on the 5k, but I will tell you, they've become a little stricter.
[00:18:12] Jocelyn: So I tell people you're, even though the 5k is not timed, they're still trying to wrap it up because, again, the parks are opening, people are coming [00:18:20] in. I just tell people, you know, train with maintaining a 16 minute mile pace. And, you know, regardless of and just do your best,
[00:18:29] Matt: but, and, and that also makes corral placement like more important and, you know, not to get too technical for anybody that's a, that's a beginner, but the corrals are kind of these huge areas [00:18:40] where you're literally corralled into construction barriers of where you're going to start the race.
[00:18:46] Matt: And you're talking about thousands of people. All being in these same spots around the Epcot parking lot at the same time, standing there for, you know, half hour to an hour, or longer. Yeah, [00:19:00] and the big thing that bothered me about it was it's like a mile walk to the start line from the carouse. But the big thing is, the earlier you start, the more leeway you have on the balloon ladies, because they're starting at the very end with the last group.
[00:19:15] Matt: So if you can get an earlier corral by having, like, if you do a half marathon [00:19:20] locally or some sort of race like that and you submit a place proof of time, you got a better chance of getting an earlier corral.
[00:19:27] Jocelyn: Yeah. And also I said, I tell those people who, if you know, you're a slower walker as well, Getting to the front of that corral because that also gives you because again, those balloon ladies are the very last ones to start.
[00:19:39] Jocelyn: [00:19:40] So if you're at the, even if you're at the front of the last corral, that gives you a little bit of a buffer. I can't say how much, but it gives you some. Do they get a medal? Yes. Yes, they do. You know, they're doing their race as well, and it's wrong that they still have to pay for their races now. I don't know how, you know, but if I'm, if [00:20:00] I'm, they still pay, that's what the rumor mill says.
[00:20:02] Jocelyn: That's what they've been saying for 10 years, but well, they say
[00:20:05] Matt: they don't pay volunteers anymore either.
[00:20:07] Jocelyn: No, they don't.
[00:20:08] Matt: But I've heard that the pace, the pacers don't have to pay. So I'm hopeful that balloon ladies wouldn't have to either. So there's pacers, this is another quick tip, in every corral [00:20:20] there's pacers, whether sometimes they're volunteers from different run groups or crews, like Jocelyn could be a pacer if she wanted to with her, like if she had a Facebook group or whatever, and they'll, they'll run a certain pace and that way you can stick together And have other camaraderie and kind of people keeping you accountable and all working towards the same goal.
[00:20:39] Matt: And [00:20:40] usually you'll have like at the marathon, you'll have a four hour, four and a half hour, five hour, five 15, all that stuff. And you can usually find. Facebook groups, or there's people kind of providing that information at the expo. You don't get that as much below like the
[00:20:56] Jocelyn: half marathon. Right. I don't, I don't think they're at, you might [00:21:00] have one or two at the 10k, but right, it's primarily, primarily the half and the full, and they're actually part of the Jeff Galloway pacing group.
[00:21:07] Jocelyn: So for those people who are asking, how can I be a pacer? Get on that group and then, you know, it's it's it tends to be the same people that pace But who knows one day they may say hey, I want to [00:21:20] pace So that's the group that you need to join if you want to be a patient for Rundi's
[00:21:24] Matt: And for people that don't know, Jeff Galloway is famous for the run walk method.
[00:21:29] Matt: So keep that in mind too, that it's not going to be a group that, that won't run the whole time. And that can also be a good way to bridge yourself into a marathon for the first time. Because [00:21:40] there's different ways that he does the run walk method. And it's, it's pretty like well established as like a Disney thing, but people do it in other races.
[00:21:47] Matt: I've seen it at the Chicago marathon. You do, do you
[00:21:50] Jocelyn: do run walk? I tell people I do a, a kind of a modified Jeff Galloway. All year round for any race, you know I do, I do [00:22:00] my two runs. Cause again, his plans are on the run, Disney website. I do two 30 minute runs a day in the week. And then a long run and right.
[00:22:07] Jocelyn: I'm a, I'm an interval runner. So I've. I've been doing Jeff Galloway since my second marathon in
[00:22:13] Matt: 2015. That's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah, and it's, it works wonders for people because it takes a lot [00:22:20] of of the effort off your legs and helps you last longer and things like that. But generally speaking, if you were to pitch somebody who's maybe a runner that's never done run Disney, why is run Disney special or different than other races?
[00:22:34] Jocelyn: It's magical. Everybody knows it's Disney. So one thing you will have that crowd [00:22:40] support. I've ran a lot of races at Disney and outside of, at any point you're surrounded by at least hundreds of people and you, that is something, not saying you won't get it every race, but you'll get that at every run Disney race.
[00:22:56] Jocelyn: You know, plus where do you get characters, [00:23:00] costumes, you know, I mean and if you're like me, you love Disney, what better place to run to where you love. So yeah.
[00:23:06] Matt: That's true. That's true. Chip, if you were going to wear a costume to a run Disney race, what would you wear?
[00:23:12] Chip: I'm one that the one that doesn't make me look so sweaty.
[00:23:15] Matt: I don't know if you wear costumes.
[00:23:17] Jocelyn: I do, and I'm still sweaty and I [00:23:20] still think I look good. So everybody's sweating in costumes.
[00:23:23] Chip: I would do it with my kids. Like if we did a 5k or 10k with my kids, I would definitely dress up with that. Other than that, like I'd probably just wear like a. A t shirt, like whatever, whoever I'm supporting, or I don't know if I'm wearing a Maslin, I don't know, something like that.
[00:23:36] Chip: I don't know if it's the adventure of a Disney dad podcast t shirt. Who [00:23:40] knows?
[00:23:40] Matt: So Jocelyn, one of the listener questions we got today asked, what is the best costume you've ever seen at run Disney?
[00:23:48] Jocelyn: Oh man. So I can't say best costume, but I can tell you the best costume we can. By far with Star Wars when I tell you some of the [00:24:00] costume, you know, the, the Jedi's droids, I mean, just, you know, Star Wars in itself has a vast cast of characters.
[00:24:08] Jocelyn: And that has to have been my favorite. I remember one lady had this huge, I promise you it had to be a ton, Darth Vader hat slash helmet, [00:24:20] and they had to hold it while they were running. But yeah, it was massive. So I was like, and they ran a half marathon like that. So
[00:24:27] Matt: I think that's what makes it special is like this, the style and the design of the costume, even more than like who it is.
[00:24:35] Matt: Yeah. Like, it's, it's the effort that goes into it, the props or [00:24:40] whatever, like, I've seen people gosh, I saw one guy doing Lumineer, you know, with the carrying the candlesticks, it's like 26. 2 miles, I'm not carrying candlesticks, it's not happening to me. I had some
[00:24:52] Jocelyn: friends be, they were monorails one year.
[00:24:55] Jocelyn: So they had cardboard boxes and I'm like, you're gonna run, [00:25:00] you know, six miles in it. And they're like, yeah,
[00:25:03] Matt: you know, so what's your favorite costume that you've done?
[00:25:05] Jocelyn: Oh man, my favorite. So this past princess, we can, I'm kind of a minimalist, but I still try to bound. I was mama Odie for the half marathon and that had to be like, [00:25:20] It was super easy, but picture wise, I thought it was my best costume yet and people loved it.
[00:25:25] Jocelyn: People loved it.
[00:25:27] Matt: Yeah, that's awesome. Do you, do you think your son will dress up for his
[00:25:30] Jocelyn: first podcast? He is already trying to decide what we're going to do. I guess he, he, he keeps changing his mind. Oh, he's definitely again, he's did the, when they had, [00:25:40] well for those who don't know. Run Disney used to have kids races.
[00:25:43] Jocelyn: It was like the 50 yard, it was like a diaper dash, a hundred meter, 200 meter. And one mile, I think is the race. And so he, he used to do those and, and dress up, he's been a Wookiee. He's been BBA. So he has [00:26:00] his own little metal wall as well. So yeah, he's looking forward to dressing up in the big people races.
[00:26:04] Jocelyn: He said, so yeah.
[00:26:06] Matt: I love it. I love it when you so obviously your son's been involved in some of your races. Predominantly, do you go solo or do you go with the family? Do you guys make a vacation of it? What's your, your race weekend life? So
[00:26:19] Jocelyn: [00:26:20] we did both. But as of late he's becoming more involved in sports.
[00:26:23] Jocelyn: So For me, it's turning into Girls Weekend. So, me and girlfriends that we've met through Run Disney, we leave the kids and the husbands at home, and we make a weekend of it. So especially Princess. Princess Weekend is definitely [00:26:40] the Girls Weekend for most ladies. We book dinners we enjoy the parks we run the races, and you know, we have fun.
[00:26:48] Jocelyn: That's awesome.
[00:26:49] Chip: How do you deal with like getting up early? Cause I know what I've always seen is it's like getting up at like two 30 or three o'clock or something like
[00:26:56] Jocelyn: that. So I try to tell everybody, [00:27:00] especially well, we'll take it back to Walt Disney world marathon weekend, because that's the next weekend coming up.
[00:27:06] Jocelyn: You have four days of getting up at two 30 in the morning or, or before. So I definitely tell people to pace yourself. to go to bed early because it's not the running part for me. It's the waking up [00:27:20] the fatigue, because again, you're meeting up with friends, you're hanging out and you're looking at the clock and like, Oh, it's eight o'clock and we have to get up.
[00:27:26] Jocelyn: So just trying to get in those early bedtimes and enjoying each other, like right after the race, but once it starts to hit that seven, eight o'clock time, you definitely want to, I'm sorry, head to bed, head to your resort and get [00:27:40] some rest.
[00:27:41] Matt: That's the big tip for people that are not running, but are going down for race weekends.
[00:27:47] Matt: The parks are pretty empty at night, especially marathon weekend, because all the people doing Dopey and the marathon, they're not staying out until. You know, park clothes and, and [00:28:00] fireworks and all that stuff because they're just, they're all exhausting. Yeah. You know, like, and I think, correct me if I'm wrong, Jocelyn, but I think that, like, the only real traffic problem is usually marathon weekend.
[00:28:12] Matt: Is that
[00:28:12] Jocelyn: fair? That would be fair to say because it's because it's you have people the whole week break basically because most people if they're [00:28:20] coming down from for Adobe, they're down from like Wednesday to Tuesday or from Tuesday to Tuesday. So it's the whole week versus on a normal race weekend. You got people coming in Wednesday.
[00:28:31] Jocelyn: Well, Thursday, or if you like me. If I'm only running a half marathon, I'm coming in on Friday, even if I'm running a challenge. So you have people coming in for, [00:28:40] for a shorter time. And so then of course, people saying a lot of people talking about family vacations, they'll choose Dopey too, to make it a family vacation because you're there a week.
[00:28:51] Jocelyn: So even if you're running, your family still gets to enjoy the park.
[00:28:55] Matt: Yeah, and the big thing too, like for the not, not for [00:29:00] marathon weekend, but for the other weekends, the races are usually done before the parks would open. So there's very little impact on everybody else's vacation. Right. So you shouldn't, you know, think, oh my gosh, it's Wine and Dine at marathon weekend, I need to avoid it.
[00:29:14] Matt: Like it's not that big of a deal for the non runners to go that weekend.
[00:29:19] Jocelyn: But I will [00:29:20] say, You guys know springtime surprise is running neck and neck with Dapper Day. So I would say it would be, Epcot is going to be a little busier because myself I'm running and I plan on doing Dapper Day too. So I'm not going to be too tired to dress up and, [00:29:40] you know, be all dapper at the park on Saturday and Sunday after I do my runs.
[00:29:44] Matt: There you go, but you're, you're, Jocelyn, you're a different breed, you know, like, you're gonna be ready to go, everybody else is gonna be tired, and you're gonna be ready to get dressed up and go have fun, which is, which is great. And Dapper Day, for those that don't know, it's, kind of take people through what that is, in Disney [00:30:00] terms.
[00:30:00] Matt: So, Dapper Day
[00:30:01] Jocelyn: is what it sounds is people get dressed up and I would say kind of like a Sunday best. They bound if, if you like last year, me and my son, 'cause he loves y'all. If you, if you follow me and, and look at my stuff. He loves Dapper Day just as much as I am. Normally he picks the characters and I come [00:30:20] up with the costumes.
[00:30:20] Jocelyn: But we bound as Nemo and Dory last year, so I had him awesome dress he had on his hat. But people just socialize, take pictures. Epcot is a great time to do Jaffer Day because it's also Flower and Garden Festival. So walk around, enjoy food, enjoy the festival, admire [00:30:40] all the beautiful dressed people, and just have fun.
[00:30:43] Matt: Absolutely. And so we've got a ton of listener questions and we're going to try rapid fire as much as possible so that we can get through as many as we can.
[00:30:52] Matt: What is the best race for a first timer to do for run Disney?
[00:30:57] Jocelyn: So, for any first timer, if, especially if you're [00:31:00] not runner, I suggest any of the five Ks, you'll get a vast collection of amazing characters. Generally, you see characters that run Disney events that you don't see in the parks.
[00:31:11] Matt: That's a, that's a great.
[00:31:12] Matt: Well, there's two things I want to ask you about that. I want to ask you about the characters in a second. Would you agree that if you had to pick one of the five [00:31:20] K's that you would recommend marathon weekend?
[00:31:22] Jocelyn: Yes. I still would recommend marathon weekend is where to me, you see the best characters because you can see anybody now.
[00:31:31] Jocelyn: I mean, that's it. It's Walt Disney world marathon weekend versus the others are a little more specific to the things.
[00:31:38] Matt: So, yeah. Well, [00:31:40] the other, the other big thing is you get a taste of the other races and there, there is really nothing like the marathon when it comes to Walt Disney World. There's, there's no other race like it.
[00:31:50] Matt: And it is, it is really special. So if you just do a 5k and you're like, I may want to do a marathon at some point in the future, you can go and spectate. And go be on main [00:32:00] street, cheering people on or whatever, and get a taste of what it's like, you can hand out beers on the boardwalk to people that are finishing which I, that's another one I've never understood is people that drink the margaritas or the beers.
[00:32:12] Matt: Are you one of them? I,
[00:32:13] Jocelyn: I've the last two years, I've double fisted. I've, I've crossed the two, I've crossed the two.
[00:32:19] Chip: Love [00:32:20] it. I would be stone cold stunning out there, Matt. I'd be clinging
[00:32:23] Matt: up. I can't, I can't do it. All right. Usually by that point, I'm like, why did I do this every single time? That's when
[00:32:31] Jocelyn: you stroll and enjoy, you soak in that moment.
[00:32:34] Jocelyn: For those listening, normally you enter EPCOT around [00:32:40] miles 23. So at that point, you're like 5k to go. Let me stop and get a beer and enjoy this moment.
[00:32:47] Matt: And I'm sitting there questioning all my life choices at that point.
[00:32:50] Chip: The
[00:32:50] Matt: one thing, the one thing that you mentioned that's really unique to Disney races and you don't get at Chicago or New York or Boston, Boston's its own deal, but [00:33:00] LA Marathon, you don't get at these places as characters. So help people understand like, And it's not every mile marker, but throughout the courses of all the races, there are characters out there standing.
[00:33:12] Matt: Yeah. And there are people that actually go up and take pictures with the characters. And there, you can see long lines for the characters, [00:33:20] right? Yeah. Like, do you, do you stop for characters and I guess, what are your thoughts on that?
[00:33:25] Jocelyn: So it, for the marathon week, for walk, this year marathon, The characters average like every mile and a half, so they're actually quite a bit.
[00:33:35] Jocelyn: Do I stop? Yes. A little [00:33:40] tidbit for those running the marathon. Once you hit about mile 17 people are done. Most of the characters you can walk up to snap your picture and keep going I'm a middle of the pack runner. So again, all those fast people are done Those people a lot of people with me are just wanting to be done.
[00:33:57] Jocelyn: So yeah, that's when I stop I [00:34:00] normally and if the lines not too long and it goes back to pacing and timing Don't stop for characters if you're not able to maintain, you know, don't get swept trying to get a, get a, get a a character picture. But yeah, that's, that's why I do Disney is for the characters.
[00:34:15] Matt: Yeah, that's wonderful. And there are a lot of people that do get swept because they stopped for characters. Like, [00:34:20] you don't realize how long it's gonna take.
[00:34:21] Chip: I've seen the videos. Have you, have you run past and then run all the way back to
[00:34:27] Jocelyn: the line? Yes. Yes, I have.
[00:34:30] Matt: Who's probably your favorite character that you've seen at A Run to Zeros?
[00:34:34] Jocelyn: Oh man. Yeah, these are hard because I've saw some, some really good ones. Darkwing [00:34:40] Duck, you know, some of the old school now you see him more, but I remember the first time I saw Max from Goof Troop, like maybe five years ago, I was like, Oh my God, that's Max.
[00:34:48] Jocelyn: So, yeah,
[00:34:49] Matt: that's awesome. Max Powerline Max. Yeah, that's right.
[00:34:53] Chip: So what's the best, best way to enjoy the parks after
[00:34:56] Jocelyn: race day? Best way get you a nap [00:35:00] and take it easy. Do not try to go like a regular park day. Schedule you a nice dinner, but take it easy. Get off of your feet, especially if you're a new runner.
[00:35:10] Jocelyn: This is your first time doing multiple races. Spend a couple of hours and then leave. So just, you know, short amount of time, but you can still do it.
[00:35:18] Chip: Kind of going with that. [00:35:20] What's your, obviously you're going to wake up, you're going to eat something to get your, your metabolism going, get that, get the sugar going.
[00:35:27] Chip: What's kind of your eating throughout that? And I'm not thinking marathon. I'm thinking like half marathon or 10 K, like what's your eating schedule like throughout that day?
[00:35:35] Jocelyn: Bye now. Well, in general, what most people because again, don't do what I do. [00:35:40] I've been doing this for a while. But like I said, to 2 a.
[00:35:43] Jocelyn: m. most people grab something if you're staying on property and this is one of the benefits of staying on property, they do offer a runner's box. It might have a bagel, you know, some juice water. So a lot of people take that. They're also food trucks. At the race start. So if you [00:36:00] want to grab a little something there prior to starting most of the time, the 10k is over by nine, I'm thinking grab a quick breakfast.
[00:36:08] Jocelyn: I don't nap. I go straight to the parks. I'll do a normal lunch. Like, I like animal kingdom. I'll go into yak and yeti. Get me some rice carb up a little bit. [00:36:20] I have a dinner about six or seven, and then I'm off to bed.
[00:36:23] Matt: I think a lot of people make the mistake of not understanding the timing of those Disney races.
[00:36:28] Matt: And it's like, you have to get up around 2. 30 to get on the bus by 3 in the morning. Right. Because if you wait until like 3. 30, there's a chance that you may not make it to the race [00:36:40] start and get in your corral. Right. But at the same time, if you get up at 2. 30 and you're on one of the early buses, You are literally like laying out in the parking lot or sitting in bleachers for two hours.
[00:36:53] Matt: It's a long time. And it's cold. It is not warm. It is cold. It is dark. And so like [00:37:00] when I, when I was done for the marathon, it's like, I'll get there. I'm usually there by like three 15 and I sleep on the floor on the parking lot. Like I just bring like my I bring my sweatshirt because you'll want to bring clothes that you can throw off Yeah It's another thing that like runners some runners that haven't done this before don't understand you'll get like [00:37:20] thrift store sweatpants or you know Walmart or Costco sweatpants and a hoodie so that like you can wear it until you start the race But as soon as you start the race, you strip that stuff off and you just throw it on the ground and it gets donated to like the local Goodwill and Salvation Army and stuff like that.
[00:37:36] Matt: They, they use all those clothes for charity, but it's a lot of [00:37:40] time that you're spending just hanging
[00:37:42] Jocelyn: out. Yeah. And some people, unlike most races, you can't just walk up at five o'clock and start. I've saw, I've, I've, I've heard and saw a lot of people not familiar with Disney, but are runners. And you see them trying to hightail it because they're in Corral A or B, thinking [00:38:00] that, hey, because they do close the corrals at a certain time it varies each race, and especially for weather, or whatever, so that's something you'd have to watch, look at the Run Disney website for, and, and stay up to date on that, but They the opening and closing of the crowd times because you will also miss your race
[00:38:18] Matt: Yeah, and that's just not [00:38:20] something worth messing with, you know, like you need to get there early but you need to understand that you're going to be hanging out for a long time with hundreds if not thousands of other crazy folks like Like jocelyn, but
[00:38:32] Jocelyn: unlike most races you do have characters and an amazing dj.
[00:38:36] Jocelyn: So and they have it before right before if you want to [00:38:40] take some of those Pre race character and normally they're the characters themes for that weekend. So yeah
[00:38:46] Matt: Yeah, those are definitely fun. So you mentioned a little bit about weather challenges A little bit there. I know that in the past Racism and shortened.
[00:38:57] Matt: And people are always worried. I think that just [00:39:00] happened with Dopey last year here in 2024. What? What? What do you tell people who say that they're concerned about the weather?
[00:39:09] Jocelyn: So I tell people I'm originally a Florida native. I've been running Randy's for 10 years. Pack everything. Pack for rain. Pack for cold.
[00:39:19] Jocelyn: [00:39:20] Pack for heat. Because You could wake up snow marathon weekend. It is snow. Yeah. Or in like 2000 Oh, it was freezing. It was like 30 degrees the whole race. I I'm not a person that normally three miles in comes out of my shirt. Nope. Kept it on the whole race or 2018. It [00:39:40] was like, it wasn't 18. One of the, one of the years they cut the course, it was that hot.
[00:39:44] Jocelyn: So packing for. Every temperature, you know and that's just something as simple as layering or, or, or taking off. So be prepared for everything.
[00:39:54] Matt: I remember this year when they cut the half marathon, there were people that ran [00:40:00] outside at the resorts because they wanted to get their race in or their dopey, because you still get the metal, you still get the shirt, but they want to feel like they actually accomplished it.
[00:40:10] Matt: So they went out into the resort and the pouring. It was absolutely downpouring, right?
[00:40:14] Jocelyn: I didn't. I was there.
[00:40:16] Matt: Yeah, you've got enough medals, girl. You don't, you don't need to [00:40:20] mess with that. But,
[00:40:20] Jocelyn: you know, kudos. Some people did I might have jumped on a treadmill, but I didn't, but no. Yeah. I
[00:40:27] Matt: walked four times in that ring, and I saw all the girls out there running.
[00:40:31] Matt: I'm like, They're crazy, but then they're seeing me walking to Starbucks at Disney Springs in the rain. Who am I? Who am I to say?
[00:40:39] Chip: So what are, what are [00:40:40] some of the benefits of staying at a Disney resort during the race weekend? You talked about the, the, the lunch or the breakfast, but what, what other benefits?
[00:40:47] Jocelyn: Or also, you know, transportation to and from especially after running 26 miles, you don't want to walk to your car and drive back to your hotel. Also, as of late the resorts are starting to kind of participate in the [00:41:00] run Disney weekend as well. So Princess Weekend, I stayed at All Star Sports and they gave out little bracelets.
[00:41:07] Jocelyn: So they gave out Disney bracelets magnets on their doors congratulating us on running the race. So, you know, just a little feel good extra magic that you get for staying on property [00:41:20] versus. What do
[00:41:22] Chip: you, what do you like to say at? I
[00:41:24] Matt: like to say All Stars.
[00:41:25] Jocelyn: My kid loves, he loves, most of the times I have my kids, he loves the All Stars.
[00:41:30] Jocelyn: So, you know, anywhere in there is good for me. I've stayed, you know, we've stayed at Restated Animal Kingdom Lodge. I've stayed You know, it's Disney, [00:41:40] it's your preference. All of them are great for one run weekend. I don't have one preference over another.
[00:41:46] Matt: I feel like some people, if you can stay like towards the Epcot resorts, it's like helpful, but it's not that big of a deal because you get, you get bus transportation from the end of the race to every resort, it's not gonna make that much of a [00:42:00] difference, but the one thing I will mention.
[00:42:01] Matt: Don't drive to Ever on Disney Weekend. Like, in terms of staying off site, don't, don't do it. Like, it, it's like, because they close so many of the roads, and it, your GPS is going to tell you where to go, and you can't go that way, and it's going to end up being a nightmare. Like, you, [00:42:20] you, it's, it's so much of a benefit to get that free Disney transportation from the race.
[00:42:24] Matt: If you're
[00:42:26] Jocelyn: new to run Disney or if you don't know the Orlando area like that, you know, that stress
[00:42:32] Matt: is
[00:42:33] Jocelyn: so much so many different routes to get on property. But if you're not familiar with that [00:42:40] as a person coming in, staying off property, yeah, you can end up missing your race because again, road blockages, they start those normally around three o'clock as well.
[00:42:50] Jocelyn: And you'll be detoured trying to get to Epcot where most of the races start.
[00:42:55] Matt: I mean, I've heard of people getting dumped off by Ubers, you know, two miles [00:43:00] away from the race, you know, the race area and having to walk and stuff. I mean, it's just not, it's not an enjoyable and, and you're just going to be stressed out.
[00:43:08] Matt: So especially if you're doing it for the first time, you, you've got to stay at a Disney resort for sure. When it comes to planning and booking your trip, obviously, You, you register for these things [00:43:20] so far in advance, which we've talked with Matt Richardson about in the past. It's almost crazy that you're trying to plan nine months in advance.
[00:43:28] Matt: If you're a Disney person, I feel like that's somewhat normal, right? People are already booking trips in 2025. But with Run Disney, like you kind of have to, I mean, you could [00:43:40] book 2025 marathon packages a couple of weeks ago. Well, how early are you booking your room? Are you waiting until you're registered or when do you do it, Jocelyn?
[00:43:49] Jocelyn: I actually do it when race registration dates are released, if it's available. And then I'm booking as soon as, so yeah, like I [00:44:00] booked princess a couple of weeks ago, so I have princess. It's 2025 already books.
[00:44:07] Matt: There you go. And it's just a 200 deposit, it's refundable,
[00:44:10] Jocelyn: all that stuff. And I just booked Marathon because I was ponding on the fence on what I'm going to run for Marathon weekend.
[00:44:17] Jocelyn: So I booked that last week. So [00:44:20] I do tell people, right, book it. It's better, especially if you're trying to stay on property. Book it that way you already have it locked in versus, especially again, it can be pricey getting a roommate to help cut the cost. But if you want to stay at some of those value, like I said, that, Hey, we, we try to make our money go [00:44:40] longer here.
[00:44:40] Jocelyn: So I'm getting on those ASAP because, you know, I want to have money for other things for all that merchandise and all the drinks and all the stuff I want to have.
[00:44:49] Chip: I get that.
[00:44:52] Matt: Speaking of the merchandise really quickly, like the, it's become kind of a Disney thing that the expo is [00:45:00] insane. It's a virtual queue now.
[00:45:02] Matt: And like half the time I made the mistake, Chip, I think I've told you this story before. When I ran the marathon in 2023, it was the throwback theme, right? And I loved, I loved that theme. It was a 90s theme. I mean, it was just, all the merch was just fire, right? [00:45:20] And they had a spirit jersey hoodie that was white.
[00:45:24] Matt: And it was just like the best Disney merch I'd ever seen. And I could not, we were not coming down until the second day of the expo. Cause I was only doing the marathon. I wasn't doing dopey by the time I was landing. It was already sold out at the [00:45:40] expo because all the people, like there's people that get there and go to the expo that aren't even running to buy the stuff to sell it on eBay.
[00:45:47] Matt: So I, I
[00:45:47] Jocelyn: spent like 200, you know, it sucks to me,
[00:45:50] Matt: but yeah, it shows me that's what I'm saying. I, I, it sucks. Cause I spent like 200 bucks on that sweatshirt on that spirit Jersey hoodie. Cause I want it. And there was no way I was not going to [00:46:00] buy it. I bought it on eBay. I'm one of the people like, like encouraging these folks, but what, what's your tips for the expo?
[00:46:07] Matt: And like, are you a merch? person. Do you like to go to the expo? What are your thoughts there? So
[00:46:13] Jocelyn: I love, I love, love, love the expo. I do have my key things that I like to buy. If there's a coffee mug, I'm [00:46:20] grabbing it. I'll grab some pins. I always like to get the magnets as well for the race I'm running.
[00:46:26] Jocelyn: I love the core merchandise this year. So I ended up getting a shirt, a bag, just about all the corporation that's because I really like, so just trying, just like the race is, there's a cube it opens, you know, the times vary, [00:46:40] like I think for springtime it's opening up at like eight 30. So be on your phone trying to get that.
[00:46:46] Jocelyn: And I tell people, if it's something you want, get it. Because then you can always return it on Disney, anywhere on Disney property. But don't second guess it. Go ahead and get it. Because, you know, there might not be an opportunity to go back. Especially if it's [00:47:00] your first race.
[00:47:01] Matt: And sometimes they have like at the Disney store, at the airport, when you're leaving those weekends, they'll have some of the merchandise, but the popular stuff, like the jet, like dopey, anything dopey is going to be gone.
[00:47:12] Matt: The track jackets are usually gone. The spirit jerseys are usually gone. The lounge
[00:47:16] Jocelyn: flies. That's a big thing. People love the lounge flies. Are
[00:47:19] Matt: [00:47:20] you a lounge fly person, Jocelyn?
[00:47:21] Jocelyn: I need to know. No, no, I'm not. All
[00:47:24] Matt: right. You joined the trio of us because we were not allowed
[00:47:27] Jocelyn: to play people on the show.
[00:47:29] Jocelyn: They're small. I mean, nothing against them. They're small. And then two, if you like me, after a while running so many races. The shirts are enough because again, you get a shirt for every race. If [00:47:40] you're getting, if you're doing the challenge, that's an extra. So in terms of apparel, I just stick with a few of the, you know, other items, coffee mug, because again, my husband's going to kill me if I bring another coffee mug in the house, but I do anyway,
[00:47:54] Chip: Oh, yeah.
[00:47:55] Chip: Well, I, I got a question. Like, how is it not feasible [00:48:00] to do, like, a runners only buying, like, a website? Like, hey, congratulations. I feel like Disney would make a lot more money just to do like, do that.
[00:48:11] Jocelyn: I think it's a supply and demand as long as it sells out. They don't care who's buying it. They
[00:48:17] Matt: have started to do some pre orders for race.
[00:48:19] Jocelyn: [00:48:20] They used to do more pre ordering. Also, so they stopped, I don't want to quote me wrong. Like around 2017, they used to bring all of the race merchandise. To the end of the race weekend, you know, that last race and let people buy because, you know, they have, I did it shirts and sometimes people don't want to buy that until they complete the race.
[00:48:39] Jocelyn: [00:48:40] But yeah, they stopped. And so now it's kind of a free fall. Literally anybody who is in a 50 mile radius can join the virtual queue and go into the expo and buy.
[00:48:49] Matt: Yeah. And the virtual queue is just like Tron or guardians of the galaxy. So it'll give you a return time and you've got to be there within an hour or whatever, and it's still it's a hot mess.[00:49:00]
[00:49:00] Matt: Yeah. The whole thing's a hot mess. It is. It is. I mean, it's, it's, it's a somewhat organized hot mess, but it's still a hot mess. It's, but as is like, if you've ever run any other race, they're all that way. So, you know, if you go to Chicago and you go to McCormick Place, you know, where they, like, it's just a bigger hot mess.
[00:49:18] Jocelyn: It is. Hints, [00:49:20] I didn't, by the luck of the draw, I just ran Chicago Marathon in 23. I ended up snagging, barely, my jacket online because, yeah, I was
[00:49:28] Matt: And that stuff sells because it's Nike stuff and, like, people love it. Yeah, it's, it's got a different pull to it. So you, you've run, you've run Chicago and you've run some other races.[00:49:40]
[00:49:40] Matt: Is there any other race that you've ever run, not Disney, that you think, like, is up there in comparison to a Disney
[00:49:47] Jocelyn: race? Nah, not unless you're doing a world major, no.
[00:49:50] Matt: But would you even put one like, if Chicago was a world major, would you put it? I don't. I'll give you my opinions. I don't want to ruin it, but I want you to go first.
[00:49:58] Jocelyn: They're different. It's a [00:50:00] different accomplishment to me. And I don't downplay Disney because it's 26 miles. I know in the running community, sometimes Disney doesn't seem as serious. Oh, but it's, it's. It's a hard 26 miles because I'm stopping for characters and I'm still trying to maintain a good time.
[00:50:15] Matt: That's people Boston qualify. It's not like it's [00:50:20] a it's a slouch of a
[00:50:20] Jocelyn: race. Because it's a relatively flat course. So that's why people like it. They come down here and they will queue for it. Again, I don't know. Yes, I can't compare but they're different. I like them. I like A bigger world major versus Disney.
[00:50:36] Jocelyn: But they're, they're well above a lot. Most of the other marathons I do, cause you [00:50:40] know, bigger crowds. Is
[00:50:41] Chip: there any race you want to do? Sorry.
[00:50:45] Jocelyn: Again, I want to complete the six stars. There are a couple of others that are on my list, but the marathon distance job, be honest with you, I'm, I'm, I'm getting over it.
[00:50:54] Jocelyn: So that's why I only do one a year and it's Disney. Cause it's a lot of training, a lot of [00:51:00] kudos to people. I ran four last year and that was a lot. So for people who run them every month and like, Hey. They're amazing, but I did four and that was, I did two this year and I have one more on the,
[00:51:15] Matt: yeah. So when you, when you talk about the stars, you're talking about all six world majors, for [00:51:20] those that aren't aware.
[00:51:20] Matt: How many do you have left? Five. That was my first. Oh, so Sky was your first
[00:51:25] Jocelyn: one? Okay. Yeah, you know, I'm not You gotta start somewhere. Yeah, it's just like a Disney, there's those races and lotteries, or
[00:51:35] Matt: chance. I'm 0 for 4 on New York now. I've, I've registered [00:51:40] and I also found out that like, so they let you register.
[00:51:44] Matt: And if you fail a certain number of times, then you get it automatically. But since I used a different email, mine didn't count, even though it's the same name, same date of birth, all that stuff. So I screwed that up, but just to touch on it really quickly. Like if you've run [00:52:00] Chicago or like one of the bigger, Racism.
[00:52:03] Matt: It's not the same as Jason put it out. It's like nothing close to what Disney is. Disney is a different level and it's a lot more fun from my perspective, like running like three or four mile stretches of the city of Chicago where there is not a soul on the course [00:52:20] to me is not that enjoyable. And I've done Chicago twice.
[00:52:24] Matt: It's not, it's like going for a run in your local neighborhood. There's areas of Chicago, like when you go through Chinatown and you know, stuff like that. Fantastic. But none of it compares to running through the parks and doing Disney. Even when you get on some of [00:52:40] those back stretches behind like Animal Kingdom, where it's kind of boring, it's not, it's still not as, it's just different.
[00:52:47] Matt: It's just different. So I would encourage you definitely to check out any run Disney race that you can.
[00:52:54] Chip: I had to google what the six world majors were. I had no idea what that
[00:52:58] Matt: was. Oh, Jocelyn, [00:53:00] we're going to be rooting for you, girl.
[00:53:02] Matt: That's going to wrap it up. If you have any comments, questions, don't hesitate to reach out to any of us on social media or via email. I can be found at adventureswithdisneydad. Chip, where can people
[00:53:11] Chip: find you? Robinson Dad Life on Instagram.
[00:53:15] Matt: Jocelyn, where is everybody finding you on social media?
[00:53:18] Jocelyn: On TikTok and [00:53:20] Instagram, mom runs this, so
[00:53:22] Matt: yeah.
[00:53:22] Matt: Love it, love it. Are you active on Facebook too, or are you just on,
[00:53:26] Jocelyn: i, hmm, I keep it on the other
[00:53:28] Matt: two platforms, you know? I, I say just as if, like, Instagram and TikTok's not enough, which it certainly is. Yeah, yeah. But, but definitely give Jocelyn a follow and make sure you reach out to her. [00:53:40] We'll, we'll be posting a lot with her on social media.
[00:53:42] Matt: We're gonna be rooting you on, Jocelyn, as you run through all these races. And certainly next week with registration coming up, we've got articles on the charities, the registration tips, all that stuff on adventure. disney. com. If you're interested in having me assist you in planning your next Universal or Disney vacation, [00:54:00] please feel free to reach out.
[00:54:00] Matt: All the links to get a free quote are in the show notes. Our services are free to you and we'd love to help you plan your next dream vacation. If you have a moment, as always, if you could, follow, subscribe, like, review the podcast on whatever platform you prefer. very much. We greatly appreciate the support and we will see you at your next race.
[00:54:17] Matt: Hopefully.
[00:54:18] Chip: And we'll see you this weekend at Disney. [00:54:20]
