Marathon Weekend 2025

[DisneyParrothead]

Thanks for the thoughts. Y’know upon further reflection, we only had one training run warmer than that, and it was only a 4 miler. The humidity was no joke, and that was probably a major contributing factor.

And, y’know what else? My mother was in the ER earlier in the week, and the stress of that could have been a major influence, as well. I was technically correct that my race morning was “business as usual”, but the preceding days were anything but. At the end of race, all I could think about was that I was a failure. I really have to give myself some grace.

Yes, give yourself grace! We don't eat healthy when we're emotionally stressed, at least I don't, which then takes its toll on my running. I took a yoga certification course and one of the articles talked about what stress does to our body and how everything just tightens up without us knowing. You finished, which is great, and it sounds like really bad humidity, which also takes a toll on the body.

 

[AJollyHoliday]

I have a small head too. I hate it because there are so many cute hats but just too big for me. On that note I wear Adidas women’s superlite visor in the summer and the adidas women's superlite hat.

My DH loves when women wear trucker hats and I told him I totally would if I could find one that fits! He didn't believe me that it was hard. When we went on vacation a few years ago I tried on hats everywhere we went, men's, kid's, women's, and nothing fit! He finally understood my plight. I will check out the Adidas hat. I have a Nike hat I got over 10 years ago and it fits perfectly, but it is not in good shape anymore.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I did the 10k that year! I never thought I would take cover in a porta potty, but I did Thankfully the rain let up right before we started. After I finished and spent some time at my charity tent, it started pouring as I was walking down to the gear check trucks where my rain jacket was checked.

Cue the mental image of the pre- race lines for the porta potties and people wonder just what is taking so long in that one potty...

 

[Cabius]

SAFD: I'll just run and get soaked. I don't have raincoat. Just get good and wet.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

I have a big head and I find the Headsweats visor too small if that helps

I have a head (normal? big? idk), and the Sparkle Athletic visors— which I think use Headsweats— give me a headache. They’re so cute though!

 

[Disneyhanna]

I have a head (normal? big? idk), and the Sparkle Athletic visors— which I think use Headsweats— give me a headache. They’re so cute though!

That makes me feel better LOL! They're probably great for windy weather though, since they're so tight haha!

 

[FFigawi]

I guess here is a gear question, what hats/visors do people like? Does anyone have a child size head like me? (which honestly, the kid sizes don't fit right, just a little too small and the women's size is just a little too big).

Some brands that I use, though I guess I need to turn in my Ironman card since I never wear them backwards

DeSoto Sport (Skin Cooler Run Cap) - https://www.desotosport.com/collections/accessories/products/skin-cooler-run-cap-with-pocket
BOCO Run Hat (I have one for my tri club with the fully mesh panels) - https://bocogear.com/boco-hats/running-hat/

 

[Herding_Cats]

I can't remember who was looking for dopey-design shorts (it was one of the guys in here) but I'm thinking it may have been from something from DGFdesigns. They have a private fb group where you can pre-order fabric prints they have made, and then you can send it to a person who sews to get what you want made. Oh, it looks like they also have an indiecart page....not a lot on it right now though.

 

[jrsharp21]

I can't remember who was looking for dopey-design shorts (it was one of the guys in here) but I'm thinking it may have been from something from DGFdesigns. They have a private fb group where you can pre-order fabric prints they have made, and then you can send it to a person who sews to get what you want made. Oh, it looks like they also have an indiecart page....not a lot on it right now though.

That was me. Thanks for the heads up. I don't have FB. May have my wife take a look.

 

[Herding_Cats]

That was me. Thanks for the heads up. I don't have FB. May have my wife take a look.

they don't have anything right now, but they usually do several runs every year tailored to specific race weekends as far as graphics go.

 

[RN_Mama_inFL]

Gear recommendations needed…my husband is new to running general. Just found out he got a charity bib for the Marathon so we can do this one together! So he needs all the things. I’d like to gift him some for Father’s Day. Need recommendations on stuff for a guy, including but not limited to:
- Phone carrier (I use a flipbelt but wasn’t sure if there’s something that men wear that’s better? He doesn’t think he’ll like it on his arm
- Water contraption? (For longer runs when we need to carry water. My flipbelt also holds my water so what else is there? Camelbak?)
- He says a hat makes him feel hotter but I want him to protect his face in the Florida sun. Visor?

TIA!

 

[Dopey 2020]

Gear recommendations needed…my husband is new to running general. Just found out he got a charity bib for the Marathon so we can do this one together! So he needs all the things. I’d like to gift him some for Father’s Day. Need recommendations on stuff for a guy, including but not limited to:
- Phone carrier (I use a flipbelt but wasn’t sure if there’s something that men wear that’s better? He doesn’t think he’ll like it on his arm
- Water contraption? (For longer runs when we need to carry water. My flipbelt also holds my water so what else is there? Camelbak?)
- He says a hat makes him feel hotter but I want him to protect his face in the Florida sun. Visor?

TIA!

I used to use an arm phone carrier but found it got very sweaty, now use an SPI belt that easily carries phone if I want, keys, cash or ID, as well as four gels in loops with more in with the other items. Also has small clip on water bottle for long training runs. Usually for runDisney its keys, salt tabs, and gels, I like to keep it light for any ‘A’ race. If I want pics, the phone comes along too. I wear it with the pouch in front and it is very comfortable though in last years marathon downpour I found that I could use some body glide in heavy rain.

 

[mtnmjd]

My DH loves when women wear trucker hats and I told him I totally would if I could find one that fits! He didn't believe me that it was hard. When we went on vacation a few years ago I tried on hats everywhere we went, men's, kid's, women's, and nothing fit! He finally understood my plight. I will check out the Adidas hat. I have a Nike hat I got over 10 years ago and it fits perfectly, but it is not in good shape anymore.

I have been using Alter Ego Running hats and love them so much I joined their Ambassador Program. You can use my discount code MRTW for 20% off. They have a fit guide to help you choose the right model.
Full disclosure; I do not recieve anything in return for promotion. Just an occassional discount and first crack at new products.

I used Headsweats in the past and they're great too.

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

SAFD: You can add me to the "if it's raining, I'm moving my run to another time/day" camp. I find that I do not need to train in the rain to be prepared to run races in the rain. I'd rather be miserable when I have to, not on a training run. Lol. I don't currently have access to a treadmill but I may need to invest in a gym membership so I don't miss runs when it's unbearably hot here in Dallas this summer and/or when it's storming.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Gear recommendations needed…my husband is new to running general. Just found out he got a charity bib for the Marathon so we can do this one together! So he needs all the things. I’d like to gift him some for Father’s Day. Need recommendations on stuff for a guy, including but not limited to:
- Phone carrier (I use a flipbelt but wasn’t sure if there’s something that men wear that’s better? He doesn’t think he’ll like it on his arm

I also use a SPI belt (this one) and it holds my husbands ihpone promax 13 with an otterbox case on it. You can also get water bottles that clip on. We also have a nathan belt that holds 2 water bottles and my iphone pro 13(NOT a max) with a case on it, but my husband's won't fit in the pocket. I prefer to wear my SPI belt so my phone is on my lower back. BUT, I also have a pocket on all my leggings to carry my phone as well. I think a lot of men's shorts are getting on the same page with the functional pocket for a phone, so you might not necessarily NEED something extra to carry a phone. Plenty of people don't run with one at all (and plenty of people DO carry a phone, it's just a preference thing.)

- Water contraption? (For longer runs when we need to carry water. My flipbelt also holds my water so what else is there? Camelbak?)

There are a ton of options. Handheld is or belt with bottles is probably going to be the easiest intro for this. I'm a back-third-of-the-pack'er for disney marathons and don't carry water on course, and stash water along my out-and-back routes when I do long runs. So having something specifically to carry water might not be a MUST. Popular brands for belts and vests are: Nathan, Salomon, and OrangeMud.

- He says a hat makes him feel hotter but I want him to protect his face in the Florida sun. Visor?

TIA!

Some hats are meant/able to be wet down, which could help the "feeling hot" thing. I'm a visor wearer, but that's because I have a hard time getting hats to fit.

 

[PrincessV]

Good afternoon RunDisney All-Stars! Welcome to this week's edition of Sundays are for Disney (SAFD). It's a rainy Sunday here in central NC and most of us are likely to be faced with rain on training run days at some point between now and Marathon Weekend. What do you do when it rains? Do you keep the runs outside? Move them to the (gasp) treadmill? What tips and techniques do you have to share with your fellows who may not yet have had the dubious pleasure of a raining training day?

Rain with no lightning or extreme wind almost always = run… because it’s such a rare event here on the west-central coast of FL. Most of the time, rain comes with a heavy side of lightning, so I’m forced to either run indoors or skip it. I don’t really have special tricks or tools - I literally just run in the rain lol! A hat with a brim helps a little, unless the rain is horizontal. Newspaper is the best for drying out shoes afterward: remove insoles and stuff with newspaper - repeat every few hours until mostly dry.

I guess here is a gear question, what hats/visors do people like? Does anyone have a child size head like me? (which honestly, the kid sizes don't fit right, just a little too small and the women's size is just a little too big).

Small head here, too - I swear by Headsweats visors and hats. The elastic on the visors stretches out over time, but is easily remedied by taking a fold in the elastic and stitching by hand.

Gear recommendations needed…my husband is new to running general. Just found out he got a charity bib for the Marathon so we can do this one together! So he needs all the things. I’d like to gift him some for Father’s Day. Need recommendations on stuff for a guy, including but not limited to:
- Phone carrier (I use a flipbelt but wasn’t sure if there’s something that men wear that’s better? He doesn’t think he’ll like it on his arm
- Water contraption? (For longer runs when we need to carry water. My flipbelt also holds my water so what else is there? Camelbak?)
- He says a hat makes him feel hotter but I want him to protect his face in the Florida sun. Visor?

TIA!

Not male-specific, but my unisex go-tos:

Bike-style shorts with leg pockets for phone carrying.
Handheld water bottle that can be refilled - I like Amphipod, personally.
Headsweats visor plus sunscreen - because no hat or visor will fully protect from the sun!

 

[sandam1]

Gear recommendations needed…my husband is new to running general. Just found out he got a charity bib for the Marathon so we can do this one together! So he needs all the things. I’d like to gift him some for Father’s Day.

Honestly, I would just get him a gift certificate to a running store or better yet a homemade "you find what equipment you want and I'll buy it" certificate. This type of gear is so personal that finding the perfect thing for someone else is virtually impossible. For instance, some people love handheld water bottles. I would rather die of thirst than carry something in my hand during a run. I tend to carry a lot of fuel and other stuff when I run so a running belt works well for me. Other people hate them. I need to have my phone accessible (I use it for my intervals and will flip between music and podcasts) so I wear shorts with pockets and, (no joke) when upgrading my phone the last time, measured these pockets so I knew what phones would fit in them. And just look at the recent discussion about hats to see how many different types, styles and sizes there are.

A marathon (let alone marathon training) is too long to deal with a piece of gear that doesn't quite work perfectly for you, IMHO. If you want to get him started on places to look, you can always do some window shopping in advance (or maybe some actual shopping for you ) and give him a list of links.

 

[Kerry1957]

Gear recommendations needed…my husband is new to running general. Just found out he got a charity bib for the Marathon so we can do this one together! So he needs all the things. I’d like to gift him some for Father’s Day. Need recommendations on stuff for a guy, including but not limited to:
- Phone carrier (I use a flipbelt but wasn’t sure if there’s something that men wear that’s better? He doesn’t think he’ll like it on his arm
- Water contraption? (For longer runs when we need to carry water. My flipbelt also holds my water so what else is there? Camelbak?)
- He says a hat makes him feel hotter but I want him to protect his face in the Florida sun. Visor?

TIA!

Phone carrier: I use Under Armour compression shorts (from Dick's Sporting Goods, but they sell them all over) and running shorts with pockets that I cut out the liner. My phone (an iPhone 12 mini) fits in either my shorts pocket or in the leg pocket of my compression shorts. Am arm band would drive me crazy, as would a bigger phone.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: You can add me to the "if it's raining, I'm moving my run to another time/day" camp. I find that I do not need to train in the rain to be prepared to run races in the rain. I'd rather be miserable when I have to, not on a training run. Lol. I don't currently have access to a treadmill but I may need to invest in a gym membership so I don't miss runs when it's unbearably hot here in Dallas this summer and/or when it's storming.

I couldn't stand the treadmill when I first moved to Dallas, but I ended up making peace with it. Only way for me to keep running in the summer. I'm one of those who won't get out of bed until I have to, so early (very early) morning runs never happened.

 

[Bree]

Honestly, I would just get him a gift certificate to a running store or better yet a homemade "you find what equipment you want and I'll buy it" certificate. This type of gear is so personal that finding the perfect thing for someone else is virtually impossible. For instance, some people love handheld water bottles. I would rather die of thirst than carry something in my hand during a run. I tend to carry a lot of fuel and other stuff when I run so a running belt works well for me. Other people hate them. I need to have my phone accessible (I use it for my intervals and will flip between music and podcasts) so I wear shorts with pockets and, (no joke) when upgrading my phone the last time, measured these pockets so I knew what phones would fit in them. And just look at the recent discussion about hats to see how many different types, styles and sizes there are.

A marathon (let alone marathon training) is too long to deal with a piece of gear that doesn't quite work perfectly for you, IMHO. If you want to get him started on places to look, you can always do some window shopping in advance (or maybe some actual shopping for you ) and give him a list of links.

Same!!!!!


Running gear is soooooooo personal. A gift certificate to a running store where they can touch things and try stuff on would be my choice.