While I don't disagree that they wanted more people at the after party, the impression that I got listening to the announcers while waiting in my corral (Corral I) was that they were trying to use the "you'll get to the after party quicker" as a consolation for the race being shortened. (Again - this is only my take on it).
In texting with a friend prior to the race while we were evacuated, supposedly someone spotted a tornado near by. I am not sure if this really happened or not, because where I was at WWOS, I think there was maybe three sprinkles of rain. And seriously nothing else. The humidity was awful and when we finally got to our corrals the announcement was made about the shortened course and it was followed by very loud booing from the crowd. (And friends in the later corrals said that they didn't even hear the announcement because their speakers went out!) I know that RunDisney was updating their facebook and twitter pages - however with so many people on their phones, I couldn't refresh my feed and didn't get any of the messages. The internet was horrible Saturday night.
The communication plan could have been much better. If the protocol is to delay and evacuate for lightning, then I'm glad they followed it. However - my complaint is that the messaging from Run Disney did not come through very clear. The crowd started moving to be evacuated and no one really knew why at first. Everyone was just following everyone else. When the evacuation was over, it was the same thing - people just started walking. No messages or announcements over any loudspeaker and really, the volunteers had no idea either. I also have concerns that they evacuated people to an open baseball field! If there is inclement weather - why send people to a baseball field??
I think that Run Disney would have been damned if you, damned if you don't with any scenario they chose:
Scenario 1: Run the full half, someone get struck by lightning or die - people upset that their safety wasn't looked out for.
Scenario 2: Cancel the race entirely - people upset that they paid so much and the race was canceled.
Scenario 3: Shorten the race, enjoy time at the after party - people still upset that they didn't get to run a full half when the storm that was threatening broke up prior to hitting us.
I wouldn't want to be in that Race Director's shoes to make that call. I also heard that Osceola Parkway had to be reopened at a certain time, so that was also factored into the decision to shorten the race. (Even after the last person gets through the parkway - there is still cleanup of the roads to get it ready for cars to drive.) Plus the people, policemen, staff, ect. that were not volunteers who were contracted to work for a certain number of hours (the paid ones - not the volunteers.)
I don't know, I have mixed emotions about the whole thing. I trained for a half and it is disappointing that I didn't get to run a full half Saturday night. However, I live in Florida and the weather can be crazy at times. I'm happy that I was able to run, even if it was a shortened course because Disney races are fun. I enjoy the course, the view and the camaraderie of my fellow racers. I can understand and empathize with everyone who was upset because from what I gathered speaking with people while waiting - they put a LOT of money into the trip. Many came from across the country so there is not only the race fee, but airfare, hotel, food, etc. A few people I talked to - this was their first half and this was a big disappointment to them. I understand their feelings and everyone is justified to feel good or bad about the situation.
