Tips for Marathoning Bizarro

[coasterdude28]

Hi everyone,

 

I won the photo part of the contest being held by SFGAdv so now my friend and I will be competing in the "Stride-A-Thon" contest this Saturday. Basically it will be riding Bizarro for up to 8 hours straight and the last person standing wins. I'm not sure how they will run it as far as seating, breaks, and all that goes.

 

I am pretty confident that both my friend and I can ride it as long as is necessary to win the competition, but any tips you have would be appreciated. We both have ridden many coasters for long periods of time, but never for 8 hours. I am thinking I'll put some headphones in and listen to some good music. I'll try to block everything out, including the soundtrack on the ride which will start to get really annoying after 20 or so laps. I'm just going to relax as much as possible.

 

Anyway, if you have ever marathoned a coaster before and have some good tips, please share! Thanks!

[Emiroo]

That's cool. What's the prize?

 

My advice would be to get a great night's sleep, stretch quite a bit and take some pain reliever before the contest. The fatigue factor is typically the deciding element in these contests.

 

Good luck and post some pics!

[Homeboy23]

Get ready for them to not allow your headphones on. My guess would be the music over and over is part of the reason they chose that ride. Makes staying on for a long time even more worse.

[coasterdude28]

^^The prize is a VIP tour of the park for four people.

 

My friend and I came in first place in the Scavenger Hunt last year, so we have the chance to defend our title. The prize is just an added bonus

 

I was thinking they may have a problem with headphones. I'll have to ask when we get there.

 

I definately plan on getting a good nights sleep and eating a light breakfast. Maybe a granola bar or something. It should be interesting, lol.

 

Thanks for the tips and any more would be really appreciated.

[jbarner14]

Do you know the other people who won? I am at school and can't check my email or facebook? I doubt I won but am just wondering.

[Der Der Dongt]

You should have some aspirin with you or something else to prevent a headache.

That helped me a lot when I rode Diamondback 81 times in one day last summer.

It was a really hot day but since you will be riding Bizarro early in the season that should not be a problem.

I really think the soundtrack will be your biggest problem.

good luck!It's not as hard as it sounds!

[fpsphil]

If worse comes to worse you could always use earplugs to blocked out the soundtrack, I dont know how rough Bizarro is but i would assume its not all that bad so i dont think pain would be much of a problem. Just come prepared with what you think you might need and you'll be fine.

[coasterdude28]

^^^They did not announce the winners publicly. We were messaged and told we won.

 

^^It's going to be in the 40's so heat shouldn't be a problem, lol. I'll definately stay hydrated though.

 

^Bizarro is pretty smooth, which is a good thing. Earplugs are definately a good idea

[YoshiFan]

I am figuring they will have 1 train for the contest and 1 or 2 trains for everyone else so if they run 3 trains you can expect lots of stacking and prrobably double stacking too which will give you a chance to rest for a few minutes after each ride, even if only 2 trains are running they will probably still stack most if not all of the time at least that has been my experience on almost every trip to the park in 2008 and 2009.

 

Good luck, I thought about enetering but knew I would have no chance since I would start to feel sick after 5 or 6 rides

[larrygator]

Since you have no idea how your body will feel after hours of riding. If you want to better your chances try to sit closer to the less forceful front of the train if they give you a choice. 8 hours is a long time. Good Luck

Edited March 24, 2010 by larrygator

[coasterdude28]

^Thanks everyone.

 

I will definately try to get a seat closer to the front, but I'd imagine they'll do some kind of seat rotating. I also think they will have the other trains running for the rest of the people there so there will be some stacking.

[exmouse]

Having just been on a health and safety course relating to sound, I can offer some advice about ear plugs. Make sure you get musicians ear plugs rather than standard ear plugs. Without getting to techy musicians ear plugs reduce sound level at all frequencies, standard ear plugs vary depending on frequency ie. low frequency sounds are attenuated less than mid range frequencies.

 

Standard ear plugs won't do much for low rumbling noise and will cause you more stress and fatigue due to not being able to hear all sounds properly. They give you a distorted impression of the real world. Musicians ear plugs will cause you less fatigue and make it easier for you to have conversations with people. Because everything sounds the same, just quieter, they are better for longer periods of wear.

[Steelinwood]

I would take 2 Dramamines 30 minutes before you ride. After a few laps, you may begin to feel sick. What are the rules? can anyone drop out at anytime? If so, you can push harder by gauging how far you've come against other people, but chances are they are probably other enthusiasts. If they aren't, your in luck!

[SharkTums]

^Two Dramamines>!!?? Are you crazy!?! Do you want the guy to fall asleep or worse while on the ride?!?!

 

Eat something light and get a good nights rest. I wouldn't mess with ear phones or anything as your ears are very connected to the part of your body that could make you nauseous.

[DBru]

I can understand taking a couple Tylenol before the marathon...

 

But is riding one of B&M's best creations over and over for hours not enough to keep you going throughout the day?

 

I guess I can't speak much, because I've never ridden a coaster to that extent...but it all just seems like a dream-come-true to me. Haha.

[coasterdude28]

^Two Dramamines>!!?? Are you crazy!?! Do you want the guy to fall asleep or worse while on the ride?!?!

 

Eat something light and get a good nights rest. I wouldn't mess with ear phones or anything as your ears are very connected to the part of your body that could make you nauseous.

 

Yea, I'm not going to mess with Dramamine or anything like that. Tylenol would be as far as I go, lol.

 

That is an interesting point you bring up about the earplugs, Elissa. I'll have to look into it an see what would be best.

 

^You too have a good point. Just having the opportunity to do this should give me a lot of "stamina" as I am very excited. Bizarro is a great ride which helps as well. As far as the other people competing, I think they all obviously like the park and like coasters, but I'm not sure if they are really "enthusiasts" like everyone here is. I'm hoping they don't have any experience with riding something consecutively. By the way the people post on the Facebook page, that may be the case. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.

 

Thanks again and keep the tips coming!

[Skycoastin Steve]

After you're done with that weaksauce of a marathon on a smooth B&M, come down to Alabama and marathon Rampage. You might be wishing you had bare knuckle boxed Mike Tyson afterward.

 

All joking aside, good luck. Marathons are fun!

[scooterdoug]

Congratulations on winning this contest and getting a chance at being the master of Bizarro. I'm not sure I would suggest a light meal, as riding on an empty stomach, for me, can cause nausea. But, then again, I can destroy a buffet and strap myself into a coaster no problem. As for the earplugs, I don't think that wearing them would cause nausea. Balance and nausea issues are caused by the inner ear, not the outer ear canal. I wear ear plugs every night, and I have no problems. If you really want to see if they will cause a problem, just wear them for a few hours one evening around the house. If you don't vomit, fall over, or experience any other symptoms of vertigo, you should be fine. Personally, I support the earplugs-on-the-ride idea. If not for the speakers, at least for the B&M roar (which is a lovely sound, but might not be so great for 8 hours straight). And, like others said, sit as close to the front as possible. Good luck, and have fun!

-Doug

[austinlee]

There isn't much I can add at this point but I just want to say that I agree with the Tylenol suggestion. I take one extra strength Tylenol before almost every park visit and it really reduces any light headaches and body soreness I get from riding all day. Once in a while I forget to take it and even though I can still go all day I do notice some difference in how I feel toward the end of the day. Even a smooth coaster can take it's toll after 8 hours of near constant riding.

[uwgbdork]

After watching an interview with some of the competitors on the mall of america spongebob marathon that went on for a couple days, they said the worst part was the first half hour, after that they said it was just sort of monotenous. It was a radio contest like a year ago. Unfortunalty I cannot find any of the press info from the contest anymore.

[coasterdude28]

^That's what I figured. If I can get into a groove and zone out after the first half hour or so I should be ok. I'm wearing earplugs now to see how I do with them, lol.

[scooterdoug]

^Glad to hear it! The best way to see if you'll have any negative effects from wearing earplugs is to give it a try.

[Crazy_Behemoth_Lady_Jess]

I would just stay away from medications altogether. Think I've said this before in another thread, but medications and 4.5 G's are not a good combo from my knowledge of aerospace physiology. "...anything that reduces blood volume or cardiovascular response may reduce G tolerance. Dehydration, excessive sweating, severe sunburn, low blood pressure, prolonged standing or sitting, hypoxia, infection (even minor illnesses), and medications all lower G tolerance."

http://avstop.com/ac/ac91-61.html

 

I would recommend natural remedies instead if you're worried about motion sickness/headahces. Ginger is byfar the most well known one. Since you're not allowed to bring your own food/drinks inside the park, I would recommend having a glass of ginger tea (you can buy instant ginger tea mixes from any store that sells Asian foods or make it yourself) before you leave. Doesn't make you drowsy or tired and tastes great too.

 

As for the soundtrack getting annoying, I know it sounds abit silly but try this: listen to the soundtrack on Youtube or something over and over again. After awhile you'll probably get used to it. Atleast you're lucky you're not marathoning "It's a Small World"!!

 

I'm going to be doing an unofficial coaster marathon in May and sure enough, I will have a glass of ginger tea in the morning.

 

Good luck and have fun!

[coasterdude28]

^Those are some really good points you have.

 

It makes sense that taking a blood thinner could be a bad idea. I'm going to look into the ginger idea but do you know if Ibuprofen would be ok? While it does thin blood slightly, it's not technically a blood thinner. As of now I'm probably not going to take anything before hand but might want to have something with me in case I start to feel it.

[scooterdoug]

Jess has a good point about ginger. It certainly has anti-nausea properties. You could consider taking some candied ginger with you in your pocket. If nausea starts to crop up, just chew on a couple to relieve the symptoms.