Mark P.
Well-Known Member
Agreed, getting more excited by the minute. Currently sitting in the lobby at the Disneyland Hotel waiting for the expo to open…
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Disneyland Half Marathon
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Agreed, getting more excited by the minute. Currently sitting in the lobby at the Disneyland Hotel waiting for the expo to open…
surfsupdon
Well-Known Member
You may just have
Texas84
Well-Known Member
Yesterday I went to Flo's for lunch and a young lady from San Diego asked to join me because the indoor seats were all taken and it was too hot to go outside. Guess she saw my 10K medal and figured I was safe. If you happen on this site and thread, thanks again for the conversation. Made my weekend. It's always fun talking to Disney runners.
Survived the half. It was brutal out there. Someone lost their lunch about mile 4. Was not pleasant. I took it slow and it seemed like corral C & maybe D all passed me. But I was passing a bunch of people the last few miles even as I was struggling.
Flawless race by runDisney. Are we sure these people are paid because they did a GREAT job today. Maybe the old volunteers came back again and took the jobs. Yes, they were even passing out beans. I noticed CMs embedded with the volunteers, keeping an eye on them. Felt like the old Disneyland race with the usual entertainment but with a much superior course. Much better than the old 'river' course IMO. In the row of cars there was a Corvette (I think) McQueen and a Mustang chief.
On a side note, FastPass Max is awesome and worth $10 per day. GotG is amazing but everyone is having so much fun it's hard to hear the dialogue. Going back after a shower.
Congrats to all the finishers. We earned this one.
Survived the half. It was brutal out there. Someone lost their lunch about mile 4. Was not pleasant. I took it slow and it seemed like corral C & maybe D all passed me. But I was passing a bunch of people the last few miles even as I was struggling.
Flawless race by runDisney. Are we sure these people are paid because they did a GREAT job today. Maybe the old volunteers came back again and took the jobs. Yes, they were even passing out beans. I noticed CMs embedded with the volunteers, keeping an eye on them. Felt like the old Disneyland race with the usual entertainment but with a much superior course. Much better than the old 'river' course IMO. In the row of cars there was a Corvette (I think) McQueen and a Mustang chief.
On a side note, FastPass Max is awesome and worth $10 per day. GotG is amazing but everyone is having so much fun it's hard to hear the dialogue. Going back after a shower.
Congrats to all the finishers. We earned this one.
RunningKoen
Well-Known Member
This is so true. In general, Disney runners are great people and it's always nice to have conversations with them. Reading that line made me miss several people I met at the rD races.
Great job on finishing! What time did you get in the end? Curious about a detailed race report, but you'll want that shower first.
surfsupdon
Well-Known Member
Congrats to all. I did not earn my personal best, as I chose to try something new because of the heat. I did the Galloway run-walk-run with the 1:45 pacer and finished weak, but finished nonetheless!
Not my best time, but far from my worst. I was initially disappointed but I think I'm okay with it now
Not my best time, but far from my worst. I was initially disappointed but I think I'm okay with it now
Texas84
Well-Known Member
My time was horrible. And that was my 'detailed' report because I don't remember much more than that. I was in survival mode and just happy to finish.
One thing I forgot to mention was the cooling towels (which they have had before) and the cooling fans like you see on the sidelines of football (US) games. Those things are AMAZING! Then bought a $3 can of Coke at a food truck. Didn't care, I would have paid $10 for it.
Just checked the numbers and the finisher count was WAY down. I'll update the numbers thread later.
Mark P.
Well-Known Member
Finally getting around to collecting my thoughts on this one. I agree with @Texas84 up and down: fantastic experience for the half. Missed my target time by about 12 minutes because I was a bit overzealous with photo stops and taking it easy due to the early heat, but I'm walking (more like hobbling) away from this one with no regrets, especially since three weeks ago I didn't know if I was going to even be able to make it to the start line.
- Got to the expo early Saturday and was able to sign for my bib before 10AM, which was a nice surprise. Still had to wait out in the heat for the actual expo to open, though. Seemed far more crowded than at WDW, a byproduct of the smaller space, but still quite manageable.
- You wouldn't know race support *wasn't* staffed by volunteers if you hadn't read it in advance. Given the weather conditions, turnout along the route was better than expected, though there were a few tough lonely segments between the parks and the stadium.
- Cooling towels were an amazingly nice surprise, as was Powerade at every single stop (thought it would be only every other, though I could be wrong there).
- Character availability was fantastic through the parks, but I selfishly would have liked to have seen more of them staffed by PhotoPass CMs. No character M&Gs in the finish area, though, which was a surprise compared to W&D last year.
- I knew it from the 10K reports, but crossing into Paradise Pier and seeing the WoC fountains lit up took my breath away. (Probably not the best race strategy...)
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
The joy of having Dr. Cool as a sponsor of the event. Decent quality cooling post race instead of the disposable baggie things they used to offer.
surfsupdon
Well-Known Member
Agreed too. The early morning Paradise Pier lit up with WoC lights on is literally breathtaking. Very reminiscent of running thru Osborne Lights for W&D. Not nearly the same, but I gawk at the sight, get teary eyed, and look over my shoulder as I leave the area!! Beautiful.
I did find the event pretty flawless.
I did find the event pretty flawless.
surfsupdon
Well-Known Member
At the start, did anyone else notice race announcer Carissa made it very, very clear at both the 10K and Half that there were tons of characters on course waiting to cheer us on and snap a picture? She would spout off names too. I think they had a purpose to show how different this race was from Tink. It was blatantly obvious.
I really enjoy Carissa, she does a terrific job. We became friends back during the Tower13K race timeframe when we were neighbors on the BoardWalk!!
I really enjoy Carissa, she does a terrific job. We became friends back during the Tower13K race timeframe when we were neighbors on the BoardWalk!!
Greenlawler
Well-Known Member
Agreed on Carissa's announcement although, I do not like it when they ruin the surprise by naming them all off....Also what's with the putting the characters so far off the track?
Anyways as for the race....
As most of you regulars know, I am in a battle to get back to my faster days.
I had improved all through training, and had gotten to the point where I thought I might be able to get back down below 2 hours again.
I ran with my wife on the 10k so it was just a simple slow fun run, lots of character stops, and I still had that extra gear at the last mile. It was hot but I trained in the Tennessee humidity all summer, so it was no biggie.
Well Sunday morning came around and in spite of the heat, I thought I might go for it, after all I did a 11 mile run in 90' weather back home. However I knew it would be a challenge, so in a brilliantly foolish stroke of "genius", I decided to do the run/walk with the 2:00 pacer. This in spite of the fact that I have never done the run/walk before. My logic was "it's hot" I need to do something different. What I failed to take into account was that in spite of the walk breaks I had not trained to run an 8:40 pace even for short bursts. So I could not get enough wind back during the walk breaks to sustain the increased speed I was churning out for the first 5 miles of the race.
By mile 5 I knew I was cooked. I had to slow down. That's when the heat just started to bore down. I slowed to my 9:30 pace and was able to sustain that till mile 9 or so but then the wheels fell off. The combination of the overexertion and heat had me walking through every water station, something I had never done before.
About mile 10 I decided to say "screw it" and had to admit it was not gonna be "that day". I just wanted to finish, I slowed to a comfortable pace and made it to the finish feeling fine.
Both the people I run with had horrible times too. But we had a great "time" at DL the next two days!
Next up for me: Dopey! Another shot at that sub 2.
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kevlightyear
Well-Known Member
Some quick thoughts about the weekend...
My sister sprung for the race retreat/runners lounge for both of us. That made our expo experience like a dream! Early entry into both the expo and merchandise areas made it so much less stressful! Private bib/shirt pickup was amazing. We had a tent with chairs, food/drink, separate bag check and photo op for before and after the races, which made us much more comfortable. We also got a group meet and greet with Jeff Galloway Saturday afternoon which was cool. The package also included photo pass for the weekend. I wouldn't have paid for it for myself, but it was lovely as a gift. I definitely see the appeal of it.
As for the races, I loved the new half course! Way better in my opinion. I don't stop for pictures much, but I was pleased with the in-park entertainment. No problems with security or crowd flow. The heat was rough, and when the hosts left the stage before a slightly delayed race start I thought for sure they were going to shorten the course. Luckily that wasn't the case. I heard elsewhere that they did later shorten the course for those in the last corrals? I knew I wasn't going to have a great time, so I slowed my pace, but even then I was exhausted at the finish.
The crazy heat Thur-Sat made for uncomfortable park days, but luckily I convinced my sister to fly out on Tuesday, so we had a glorious park day on Monday--cloudy, breezy, and cool!
My sister sprung for the race retreat/runners lounge for both of us. That made our expo experience like a dream! Early entry into both the expo and merchandise areas made it so much less stressful! Private bib/shirt pickup was amazing. We had a tent with chairs, food/drink, separate bag check and photo op for before and after the races, which made us much more comfortable. We also got a group meet and greet with Jeff Galloway Saturday afternoon which was cool. The package also included photo pass for the weekend. I wouldn't have paid for it for myself, but it was lovely as a gift. I definitely see the appeal of it.
As for the races, I loved the new half course! Way better in my opinion. I don't stop for pictures much, but I was pleased with the in-park entertainment. No problems with security or crowd flow. The heat was rough, and when the hosts left the stage before a slightly delayed race start I thought for sure they were going to shorten the course. Luckily that wasn't the case. I heard elsewhere that they did later shorten the course for those in the last corrals? I knew I wasn't going to have a great time, so I slowed my pace, but even then I was exhausted at the finish.
The crazy heat Thur-Sat made for uncomfortable park days, but luckily I convinced my sister to fly out on Tuesday, so we had a glorious park day on Monday--cloudy, breezy, and cool!
Greenlawler
Well-Known Member
Yes we started flying in on Friday's and back home on Wednesday's for this race. The weather was light years better Monday and Tuesday. The crowds tend to thin out too.
I liked the new course better as well.
Greenlawler
Well-Known Member
Oh and BTW where the heck was Cliff? Their absence was noted.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Clif Bar? They haven't had pace groups for a while now. Dating back to last years W&D it has been Galloway pacers only. Their expo presence had been scaled back, but were they gone completely this time?
Mark P.
Well-Known Member
I don't recall seeing them at the expo at all, but to be fair we only did a rather quick walk through, dropped ten bucks on a set of BibBoards I ended up not being able to figure out how to attach at 3 AM, got my race jacket and got out of there.
surfsupdon
Well-Known Member
Yes, Clif is phased out, they do not provide energy shots or bars any longer. It was some sport jelly bean.
Galloway were the official pacers, but Beast Pacers were also present at the race...who run the entire course, which is what is also needed. Hope WDW races can get a running only pace group too.
Galloway were the official pacers, but Beast Pacers were also present at the race...who run the entire course, which is what is also needed. Hope WDW races can get a running only pace group too.