Kevin Tierney's Staging Area

Even though my race didn’t go as planned, I loved almost everything about this race

Expo:
The race expo/packet pickup is at Celebration Town Hall about a mile from the race start. It runs Friday and Saturday afternoon, and packet pickup is available on race day as well, but it’s discouraged, mostly due to the size/amount of runner schwag and having to take it back to your car. Packet pickup was well organized and broken into 3 steps. Outside, you presented your ID and received you Bib and a bag that could be used for bag check. Inside the bag were various flyers along with a Buff Multifunction Headwear with the race logo. Once inside, the expo spanned 2 small rooms and a hallway. In the first room, you picked up your race shirt. The race shirt is a really nice shirt from Raw Threads. Their shirts are moisture wicking, made with bamboo, and very soft. Each year the race changes up their main schwag. In the 3rd room you picked up this year’s schwag which was a giant blanket. I ended up using the blanket that night after the race and it is very soft

Race Morning
My wife was nice enough to drop me off, so I didn’t have to worry about parking, but based on the description in the runners guide and what I observed, I would recommend planning on being there about an hour before the race and be prepared to park around 1/2 – 3/4 miles away from the start.

From where I was dropped off, I first walked past the finish line area in downtown Celebration. There were about 5 portalets here. Since the lines weren’t too long and I wasn’t sure what would be the at the start, I waited about 20 minutes for one and then headed to the start. In the starting area, there were many more portalets available.

The half and full marathons start at the same time and run the same course until the marathon splits off a little after mile 12. I was concerned it would be crowded at the start, but things seemed to open up quickly. In addition to having pacers, the race directors put up large signs encouraging racers to self-seed based on pace and for the most part, people seemed to comply

The course is split up between quiet neighborhood roads through the town of Celebration, the main road Celebration Boulevard, and a path consisting of a mix of boardwalk and concrete. For the most part, the race is shaded, but the part on the main roads, there is little to no shade. This shade free section was around 4 miles. During the section on Celebration Boulevard, there we many humerous and or inspirational signs about every 100 feet. These made me smile on the first loop and when I was struggling on the second loop, they gave me markers to run between. Running on the boardwalk wasn’t as crowded as I expected, and it was a nice running on softer terrain.

There were water stops around ever mile and a half and portalets every other stop. The water stops had both water and Gatorade and Cliff Shot gel was available at miles 6,4, and 19.

Another plus on this course is that it’s very spectator friendly. Because the way it meanders through the neighborhoods, spectators could walk or bike to various places on the course in a short period of time.

Post Race
The race finishes in downtown Celebration. Runners are presented their medal and given a bottle of water and a banana. After walking down the chute, you are given a card that you can use to collect various food and drink options. While the food all looked good, the only option I was interested when I finished was the pancakes, and some OJ. While the other food would probably been great any other time, maybe even if I had only done the half, it really wasn’t what I was in the mood for after running a marathon. They also offer free post-race massages, but I didn’t make it over to that area to see how the lines were

I ended up grabbing a bagel with cream cheese, a cookie, and a coke zero from the bakery next to the finish line and they were just what I needed. If you are visiting for this race, there are several shops and restaurants near where the race finishes and I’d highly recommend spending some time exploring