Race Report: My First Marathon
Two of my most significant memories from the Disney Marathon Weekend didn't occur during the race.
The first was sitting in the corrals at 3:45 a.m., waiting for the race to start at 4:30. A man worked the crowd and interviewed people with cool stories. The speakers and the LED walls around the event gave us some short entertainment in the freezing cold. Frankly, most of them could be tuned out, but not this one.
This woman shared that this was her third attempt at doing this marathon. In 2018, she got the flu and couldn't attempt it. In 2023, she got swept at mile 18. Now, in 2025, she was giving it her third try. With tears streaming down her face, she proclaimed to the crowd that all she wanted to do was to finish. At that moment, all 12,000 of us erupted in a chorus of cheers and support. It was a powerful moment.
It was a reminder that this event is special.
The Walt Disney World Marathon weekend began on January 8th and concluded on January 12th.
This race was a dream 5 years in the making for me.
In May of 2020, I was sitting in a coffee bar completely by myself when I stumbled across a YouTube video of someone running a Disney Marathon. I bawled like a baby. I don't know if it was because of the isolation of the moment, the shape I was in, or the dream realized, but there was a real emotional moment. It was at that moment that I wrote on my bucket list to run a Disney Marathon. Five years later, here we are.
After signing up in June, I had to figure out my training plan. As a 270lb runner, I have to be very strategic about the wear and tear that I take on. I can quickly overtrain, leading to a stress fracture. That had happened to me before in preparation for a different half-marathon. As someone who loves RunDisney, I landed on Jeff Galloway's run-walk method. I adapted that frequency and style with Higdon's Novice training. While hard at times, it was the right mix of programs. My longest run was 19 miles, and I felt prepared leading up to it.
Packing for this trip was interesting because I also had to prepare for park days with my kids. So, I packed really comfortable gear to walk around in and recover with.
My essentials for my run went as such:
ASIC Novablast 4
Dri-fit shorts/shirt
Flip belt
Gymboss interval timer
Garmin forerunner 55
BPN “Go One More” hat
Oakley Sunglasses
Shokz open runs
A crap ton of gels, sodium, and Excedrin
After the 7.5-hour car ride, we got to the expo. I don't know if it was because the expo was open the day before or if it was the time of day, but it was super easy and fast to go through, grab all of my gear, and get out. Before we got out, I had to take one of my favorite photos.
While there, we grabbed some gear from the shop: a Marathon weekend hat and a Disney Passholder race shirt. This gear was cool because it signified two exciting things for me: running a marathon and being a Disney Passholder.
Race Day Morning
After a few park days, I prepped my stuff on the table in front of me. Then I looked down and saw a massive blister on my left heel. Blisters before the race? Lovely. I threw some KT tape on and rolled on. After tossing and turning, I finally fell asleep somewhere around 10:30 or 11.
And Boom. The alarm goes off at 1:50 a.m. What the heck am I even doing? I get ready in the dark, and I'm already stressed out. Did I forget this? Why is this taking so long? Where did I put that? Eventually, I got out of the door with Katie around 2:25. As I walked to the bus, I slammed a bagel and a water bottle. Then it was onto my banana and electrolytes.
The bus ride was simple enough. It felt faster than when I did my half marathon at Disney in the years past. I was incredibly nervous at this point, and Katie was trying to keep my brain from spiraling. It was really cool to see the Epcot ball and all the runners on a mission together. We stopped and took a few photos, then made our way to the waiting area, where they had music, characters, food, and bathrooms.
As a slow runner, I never really get the chance to take a picture on the course, so I took advantage of the waiting time and got my picture with Genie and Goofy. The other lines were way too long. After that, I gave Katie a kiss and hug and then went to my corral.
The air was extremely cold while we were there, but the atmosphere was fantastic. Everyone was in a good mood and excited. Race weather was going to be perfect.
The Race
Miles 1-3:
The start of races is always the hardest for me. It's where I face the biggest self-doubt. No matter how prepared I am, I have an impending sense of doom. This typically lasts about 2 miles, and that was the case again. My legs were tight, my feet hurt, and my mind wasn't in it. I was struggling and afraid of having to go 24 more miles.
But then there was a God send. The World Showcase. Being able to run through the world showcase at 5 a.m. with no one in the park except runners and a few staff was just amazing. It's already some of my favorite parts of any park; add in getting to experience it so quietly, and it was special. The best thing about this section was that it snapped my focus back to what I was doing… I wasn't doing something miserable. I was running a marathon through freaking Disney World. How awesome is that!!!
Miles 4-8
This was just the strap-in, cruise-control portion of the race—nothing too remarkable. Running 26 miles is going to have some boring sections. This was just getting from point A to point B.
Miles 9-11
This is what we do it for: running through Magic Kingdom. For many, there is nothing cooler than turning the corner and seeing the entrance. You know that once you cross that threshold, you will be on Main Street, and there will be tons of people cheering for you.
And yeah, running down Main Street really is tear-inducing. It's beautiful, there are a massive number of spectators, and you get the joy of an isolated park. There really is nothing better for me in any race that I have done. It was really cool, too, to have Katie cheering me on. Praise God for her willingness to stand in the cold and suffer through that.
Side note: Apparently, they changed the route for this year's marathon. I loved how much I got to run through Magic Kingdom. I felt like I saw almost the whole thing. It was just a great route all around.
Miles 12-16:
From seeing the route previously, I knew this section would be an absolute war. Halfway through the race, the Half Marathon was completed, but there was still another one to do. Talk about brutal. It was especially challenging considering that this stretch was the big highway one. You had to mentally prepare for it, as it would be a while before you even sniffed a park.
At this point, my legs were getting tired, and I could feel the smallest of cramps developing. I popped a few gels and a couple of sodium tablets, pounded some Powerade, and moved on. But you know what I really wanted at this point? I wanted some solid food. I had been up since 2, and I was starving.
Then, the greatest thing of all time happened: ice-cold bananas at mile 14. Boy, those were the tastiest bananas I had ever had. I grabbed two, smashed them, and felt a million times better. It was the small moment I needed to get through this section.
Miles 17-19
Here, we ran through Animal Kingdom. I don't know if it was the podcast I was listening to or just being in this section of the park, but I was feeling FANTASTIC at this point. My time was good, and I felt good. I knew it was about to get hard, but I had put some serious work in and still felt solid.
It was fun to run through Animal Kingdom. I am gaining more appreciation for that park the older I get. I snapped a few photos, took a bathroom break, reapplied some Squirrels on some problem spots, and then kept it moving.
I left the short break feeling really good. But then I saw the balloon ladies. Now, was I multiple (probably 3) miles ahead of them at this point? Yep. Were they crossing an intersection on the opposite side of the road as me? Yes. Did it matter? Nope. I wouldn't let myself see them for the rest of the race.
Game on.
Miles 20-23
Game stopped.
At mile 20, my headphones died.
Yep, I was officially running farther than I had ever run in my life, and my freaking headphones died. Everybody says the first 20 miles are a warmup, and the last 6 are when the race begins. Now, I had to do it without headphones. Lovely.
Here's what is weird: I kind of liked it. It definitely made it more of a challenge, but I noticed two things from it.
It made me appreciate the challenge I was taking on. What I was doing was going to be even harder.
I got to be in the moment.
From what everyone says, this is supposed to be right before the hardest section of the run: Blizzard Beach Parking. I don't know why, but that section wasn't bad at all for me.
We then ran through a tiny bit of Hollywood studios. And man, I wish I had run fast enough to ride the Tower of Terror during the race! People riding rides during a race make this such a unique experience. I saw a guy who had rode Everest, Dinosaur, Triceratops Spin, and Tower of Terror. Pretty cool for a run.
Miles 24-26
This was it. The first and last two miles were the hardest of the entire race. I had nothing left in the tank at this point. We were six hours into this run, and all I wanted to do was finish this race. My legs were dragging, my mind was fuzzy, and I was absolutely at the end of my rope.
I'll never forget what one lady did for me, though. I have no clue who she was; I didn't even see her face, but as I was running on the boardwalk, she yelled encouragement at me. She had seen my hat that said "Go one more," so she yelled that at me.
It was exactly what I needed. I, Clay Finklea, had done all that training, all that work, all of the race, and I had one more mile left. All I had to do was go one more.
So I did.
Mile 26.2
Running through the last bit of Epcot was brutal, but I knew the finish line was coming. I said a prayer of gratitude to God, thanking him for the ability to run, the ability to afford the trip, my family's support, and the great race.
The emotion overtook me, and I turned the corner to see the straightaway to the finish line.
I mustered up every single thing of energy that I had left, and I took off. Full-on run to finish this race.
As I crossed the finish line, I pointed towards my hat, crying, telling myself I went one more.
The feeling of crossing that finish line was strange. The moment of a massive goal being achieved is both humbling and exciting.
I have struggled to "finish" the things I want to do for years. I am a big time dreamer, starter, idea haver, but I have always struggled at finishing whatever dream that I have. To finish a marathon though, there are no shortcuts. You can't skip training, you can't cut a corner during a race, you can't magically go faster. You do it until it's done. Because no matter how much you don't want it to be, 26.2 miles will always be 26.2 miles.
Finishing this was a moment that I can look back on and remember that I can do hard things. The things that I once thought were impossible? Yeah, they are possible. If you are willing to do the work, you can do anything.
I wrote it in an Instagram post this way:
“It was one of the hardest, most rewarding things I have ever done, and I am filled with gratitude that God allowed me to do it, that my family supported me through it, and that the running community embraced me during it.
I have been reflecting a lot, and this past weekend has not fully set in. But I keep coming to the same set of thoughts.
I don’t know what goals you have for your life, but my advice is simple because I have repeatedly told myself it.
Dream big. Work hard. Then finish the dang thing by going one more.
Despite all the work and pain, I promise you it’s worth it.”
Once I got through the runner's exit, Katie and the girls surprised me with a "Go The Distance" Hercules pin. If I had any energy to cry at that point, I would have lost it. If you know anything about me, that song describes so much of what I have felt in life, but it has also driven me to finish the race.
From there, I went back to the hotel, ate some food, showered, and then made my way right back to the parks. It was a pretty absurd day on my feet, but I wanted to keep moving so I would lock up real bad.
The next day, we visited the Magic Kingdom and took pictures around the park. It was the perfect way to finish the trip.
Overall Thoughts on the Race
Taking out the personal side of the race, the whole event was fantastic. The route, as I said earlier, was just a really fun route, and the running community was nothing but top-notch. From the expo to the finish line, one big family was about to undertake something together. If you ever want to do a Run Disney race, I highly suggest it. I will continue to do them throughout my life.
What’s Next?
You have to love this question, right? Are you going to do another? It's like getting a tattoo; once you have one, you typically want to do more. That's where I am at. I want to do more. Now that we are a week removed, I do want to do another one. Before then, I will knock out my Disney 10k in the Spring and a few more half marathons. This running journey will not stop, though. I will still run, train, and add in some nutrition now. As always, I will track through TikTok. I will likely jump on YouTube to create more long-form content.
This was the experience of a lifetime, and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to have it.
Thank you to Katie and the girls for enduring my long training runs and crazy trips.
Thank you to my family and friends for all of the support.
Thank you to Matt for all of the Run Disney insight.
Thank you to our church for being so excited for me.
I want to finish with this.
At the beginning of this blog, I said two of the greatest memories came from before and after the race. Well, after the race and the park day, I was lying with my daughter Keeley in our hotel bed. At one point, she rolled over and said to me, "One day, I want to run a race like Daddy."
I'm setting the example for my family with how I am living my life, and that makes me dang proud.
Dream Big. Work Hard. Go One More.
