Mad Stitch
Well-Known Member
Well if they were first then there was no waiting for pics. It probably only took a second or two to pose.
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Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Well if they were first then there was no waiting for pics. It probably only took a second or two to pose.
Runnin'Gator
Active Member
On a positive note. I started about 40 seconds after the gun and did not encounter any walkers in A.
Texas84
Well-Known Member
Now for the trip report:
We got in Friday and registered. The usual good organization and friendly volunteers I've come to expect. Stopped at SoG to pick up military tickets for sis. Checked into the timeshare then rushed to West Side to catch Cirque. We hit Puck Express for some pizza. Wow that was good! Sis has been to Italy a few times and said that was close to authentic.
After the show I gave the girls a choice: Sleep in or do a park early and nap later. They picked a park so we went to MK early. It was a bit chilly in the morning. The crowds really didn't show up until after lunch. Loved the Christmas decorations. We tried to get into New Fantasyland but they weren't letting the peons in. Lunch at Harbour House. The fried shrimp is not bad! Upstairs is nice and quiet.
Stopped at McD's for a grilled chicken sandwich before a nap. McD's grilled chicken has become our pre-night race tradition. I am not a napper but that was the best 1.5 hour nap ever. I was refreshed and ready to go. Cousin Brandi stayed up to watch her Aggies beat Bama. Tide got rolled. That had to hurt.
We got in Friday and registered. The usual good organization and friendly volunteers I've come to expect. Stopped at SoG to pick up military tickets for sis. Checked into the timeshare then rushed to West Side to catch Cirque. We hit Puck Express for some pizza. Wow that was good! Sis has been to Italy a few times and said that was close to authentic.
After the show I gave the girls a choice: Sleep in or do a park early and nap later. They picked a park so we went to MK early. It was a bit chilly in the morning. The crowds really didn't show up until after lunch. Loved the Christmas decorations. We tried to get into New Fantasyland but they weren't letting the peons in. Lunch at Harbour House. The fried shrimp is not bad! Upstairs is nice and quiet.
Stopped at McD's for a grilled chicken sandwich before a nap. McD's grilled chicken has become our pre-night race tradition. I am not a napper but that was the best 1.5 hour nap ever. I was refreshed and ready to go. Cousin Brandi stayed up to watch her Aggies beat Bama. Tide got rolled. That had to hurt.
Texas84
Well-Known Member
I actually thought that. No lines!
Texas84
Well-Known Member
Yep, my sister said there no walkers in A. Think Disney is at least verifying those times?
Runnin'Gator
Active Member
I saw a couple of people around me who had numbers outside of the 1-2500 range, but they looked pretty fit and like they'd be running most, if not all of the time. There were a couple of volunteers checking bibs as we walked into the corral but it wasn't like going through bag check where you're stopped. They were just eying the numbers as we went through. I was very happy that I didn't have to worry about dodging walkers.
Runnin'Gator
Active Member
As far as verifying times I don't know if there's any way to tell.
Texas84
Well-Known Member
Parking at Epcot seemed smoother than usual. But they still have the "Runners two left lanes" flashing sign that eventually causes you to merge. The bus lines were LONGER than usual but moved quickly. Where do they get all those buses? That is some amazing logistics.
DJ at the start was the same as ToT. Good thing Joel wasn't there.
The weather was absolutely perfect. Forecast was low 60s but felt colder. It was down to 55 the night before. The start was right on time and we moved forward shortly after A took off. We were in D (because we were honest about our times) and were dodging people like crazy. I felt like a running back looking for holes. We left WWoS to ESPN music and headed for, dun-dun-DUN! Osceola Blvd! The only good thing about that is seeing the leaders coming back and cheering them on. At least this time we get the AK break. That's such a beautiful place to run. The volunteers and the CMs were amazing as usual. We would yell thank you and they would yell back, no, thank you! Ak was our second slowest mile. Bad congestion but still fun.
Back on Osceola for the run to DHS. Our fastest 2 miles were here. My cuz has to do 3:1 run/walk and I wouldn't have stopped if I was by myself. Felt that good. Fantasia characters were out and that band that plays at PI. Sarge was back at that ramp again. Love Sarge. Civilians, take that hill!
As we approached DHS cuz started to break down a bit. She was hurting and I offered to slow down but she said keep going. She wanted that PR. I was trying to make up some time for her and I'm sure I missed a lot. We saw Wreck-It Ralph. I wanted to stop but the line was too long. We did stop and walk the Osbourne Lights. A girl started "Can a get a what-what' and everyone started doing the 'what-what' and laughed at each other. Sounds stupid but it really broke the stress. Then off through the Epcot resort area. We had a 14 minute mile here. BAD congestion. People were walking 3-4 abreast and completely blocking the narrow paths.
The bus lines were LONGER than usual but moved quickly. Where do they get all those buses? That is some amazing logistics.DJ at the start was the same as ToT. Good thing Joel wasn't there.
The weather was absolutely perfect. Forecast was low 60s but felt colder. It was down to 55 the night before. The start was right on time and we moved forward shortly after A took off. We were in D (because we were honest about our times) and were dodging people like crazy. I felt like a running back looking for holes. We left WWoS to ESPN music and headed for, dun-dun-DUN! Osceola Blvd!
The only good thing about that is seeing the leaders coming back and cheering them on. At least this time we get the AK break. That's such a beautiful place to run. The volunteers and the CMs were amazing as usual. We would yell thank you and they would yell back, no, thank you! Ak was our second slowest mile. Bad congestion but still fun.Back on Osceola for the run to DHS. Our fastest 2 miles were here. My cuz has to do 3:1 run/walk and I wouldn't have stopped if I was by myself. Felt that good. Fantasia characters were out and that band that plays at PI. Sarge was back at that ramp again. Love Sarge. Civilians, take that hill!
As we approached DHS cuz started to break down a bit. She was hurting and I offered to slow down but she said keep going. She wanted that PR. I was trying to make up some time for her and I'm sure I missed a lot. We saw Wreck-It Ralph. I wanted to stop but the line was too long. We did stop and walk the Osbourne Lights. A girl started "Can a get a what-what' and everyone started doing the 'what-what' and laughed at each other. Sounds stupid but it really broke the stress. Then off through the Epcot resort area. We had a 14 minute mile here. BAD congestion. People were walking 3-4 abreast and completely blocking the narrow paths.
Texas84
Well-Known Member
On to Epcot. This year you actually run through Epcot to the same finish line they use for Marathon weekend. We both had a sprint left and Brandi beat me to the finish line! She started her sprint before I did and I didn't see here. Brat! There was an awesome crowd watching the last mile through Epcot. Medal and bag check was very smooth. Volunteers got this down. Skipped the picture. I have enough of my ugly mug. Skipped the free beer. Bud? Really? I've got Sam Adams and craft waiting inside!
I didn't change after that experience at ToT. Nasty. But Brandi said the women's change tent wasn't bad. I just changed in to a long sleeve tech. I wasn't drenched like ToT.
So we head for the party. The bad news: Runners were still coming in and we couldn't get past them to the party! You had a bunch of tired, hungry runners and I thought it was about to get ugly then all of a sudden everyone stopped complaining and started cheering on the remaining runners. It's like the crowd just realized they needed to calm down and be patient. I still think blocking the way to the food & drink was a dumb move that they need to fix, but the way they handled the crossing was ingenious. The CMs had two running paths with an island. They would funnel runners through one path then fill the 'island'. When a gap came up they would re-route the runners so the island could finish crossing. Brilliant! We actually had a very short wait to get to the island then cross.
I didn't change after that experience at ToT. Nasty. But Brandi said the women's change tent wasn't bad. I just changed in to a long sleeve tech. I wasn't drenched like ToT.
So we head for the party. The bad news: Runners were still coming in and we couldn't get past them to the party! You had a bunch of tired, hungry runners and I thought it was about to get ugly then all of a sudden everyone stopped complaining and started cheering on the remaining runners. It's like the crowd just realized they needed to calm down and be patient. I still think blocking the way to the food & drink was a dumb move that they need to fix, but the way they handled the crossing was ingenious. The CMs had two running paths with an island. They would funnel runners through one path then fill the 'island'. When a gap came up they would re-route the runners so the island could finish crossing. Brilliant! We actually had a very short wait to get to the island then cross.
Texas84
Well-Known Member
You know, after writing this, I'm changing my A- to a solid A and the only thing that keeps this from being an A+ is blocking the party. The party was great. Off Kilter was out and the crowd was having fun and singing along. The CMs were making the best of it and having fun with us. We started at Mexico with those awesome Tacos de camerones, a Dos Equis, and some nachos from La Cantina. Unfortunately the paramedics had to make an appearance to help someone there. I hope that person is OK. Also saw a few runners in wheelchairs and a bunch of limping. I was tired but physically felt really good. Brandi was hurting but didn't want to leave. We spent the rest of the evening at UK so I'm not sure what else was going on. I hope someone here can post more info.
Great job Disney and volunteers. See ya Marathon weekend!
Great job Disney and volunteers. See ya Marathon weekend!
CP_alum08
Well-Known Member
Walking out of Corral B? As in they started the race walking? That seems absurd! Since it was my first one I didn't really get the whole corral/ETA thing when I registered, I ended up in the last corral which was a little bit of a let down at first then I passed a bunch of people and got my confidence back
I did the exact same thing! I was there in Jan. watching a friend run the marathon and it looked like so much fun I wanted to give it a try.
CP_alum08
Well-Known Member
I overheard several people saying how running a race like this it usually ends up being more than 13.1 because of all the weaving in and out you do. I wasn't really convinced when I heard them, but maybe it makes sense.
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
I think it's not only the weaving in and out (which certainly happens a lot in a Disney race thanks to the corral issues you guys are mentioning...
), it's also how a runners runs the race vs. how the course is measured. I am going to butcher this explanation horribly, but I'll try my best: I have read that when a course is being measured the course measurers do it in such a way that the smallest distance you can cover and still finish the race is the advertised race distance...that is, the shortest legal route for the W&D is 13.1 miles. So if you run a perfect W&D race with no weaving, where you don't take wide turns and run the tangents, etc. it'll be 13.1 miles.More info (and a much better explanation of what I tried to say above): http://riverregionrunners.org/html/gps_accuracy_article.html
I think it's pretty unusual to run a race in the shortest legal distance...I don't think I have ever done it. The worst for me was last year's WDW Marathon, in which I ran 26.88 miles.
Yowza!
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
I actually thought that. No lines!
Yeah. At the princess 5k a few years ago, I was eh, first 30 or something like that, and stopped at the characters. No lines, and in most cases they were actually surprised someone that early wanted to stop.
There most certainly is. Get the interns to hop on active.com and coolrunning.com and check out the provided times/races. A few oddball races in the area don't use them, but I'd say 95%+ of em do.
Easily. The 13.1 is a point to point distance. Straightest distance between any two given points. Which runners will almost never ever end up doing. So between that fact, and yes the weaving & bobbing, it always ends up being a bit higher. A 5k you may not notice it as much, but the longer the race, the longer the extra distance is.
Texas84
Well-Known Member
Yep, everything you all have said about distance makes sense. Now that I think about it I was surprised when my Garmin said I ran way more than 26.2 last January.
As for verification, probably not enough interns to check 17,000 people, but they could, and probably are, checking the A group. So the worst cheaters send up in B.
As for verification, probably not enough interns to check 17,000 people, but they could, and probably are, checking the A group. So the worst cheaters send up in B.
Runnin'Gator
Active Member
Everything you guys said is right. It has to do with the weaving and how many runners take the shortest possible line throughout the race. The other factor that can skew the distance is that the GPS is accurate only to a certain point. It can jump around a little adding extra distance to your run. If you happen to take a sharp corner it can also take distance off because it's drawing a straight line between two points rather than a rounded one. It's not much distance, but it is there.
yelena's aunt
New Member
Quick race report from the weekend run.
Had a great time and a great time. This year's run was 20 minutes faster than last year's and 30 minutes faster than the inaugural in 2010 for me. Needless to say I am still stoked about it. Disney has listened and improved the pre- and post-race activities immensely. The two problems I encountered were 1) the women's changing tent and a lack of benches to sit or put your stuff on and 2) getting in to the park. There was no clear direction once you exited the tents and despite the number of volunteers I could not find one at that time to direct me. I eventually found a medical person who was able to put me on the right track. My group stayed till nearly close at 4 (we also took advantage of the extra magic hours at MK Sunday night which was unfortunate for the people I traveled with as I am a morning person. Internal clock has me up with the sun regardless of the hour I went to bed. Both mornings I was awake and ready to go at 6!). Missed the Up characters on the course this year as this is probably my favorite movie. Love coming around the corner in HS and hearing, well before you can see, Darth Vader.
All in all, had a great time and look forward to new challenges next year, probably not Disney as they are getting pricey and I have other stuff that needs my money first.
Had a great time and a great time. This year's run was 20 minutes faster than last year's and 30 minutes faster than the inaugural in 2010 for me. Needless to say I am still stoked about it. Disney has listened and improved the pre- and post-race activities immensely. The two problems I encountered were 1) the women's changing tent and a lack of benches to sit or put your stuff on and 2) getting in to the park. There was no clear direction once you exited the tents and despite the number of volunteers I could not find one at that time to direct me. I eventually found a medical person who was able to put me on the right track. My group stayed till nearly close at 4 (we also took advantage of the extra magic hours at MK Sunday night which was unfortunate for the people I traveled with as I am a morning person. Internal clock has me up with the sun regardless of the hour I went to bed. Both mornings I was awake and ready to go at 6!). Missed the Up characters on the course this year as this is probably my favorite movie. Love coming around the corner in HS and hearing, well before you can see, Darth Vader.
All in all, had a great time and look forward to new challenges next year, probably not Disney as they are getting pricey and I have other stuff that needs my money first.
