New race to be announced in April

[MKCP 1985]

*sigh*

I'm curious to know why they thought the way to go was to make another race geared toward women...:shrug:

Being a little bit disappointed that the event is "for women and girls," I'd like to hear from the ladies whether there is a general feeling that "women only" races are needed to encourage participation.

Whenever I go to a race from a 5K to a full marathon, it looks to me like there are at least an equal number of women if not more. Admittedly, my perspective is that of a male, so maybe I am overlooking something.

Clearly, RunDisney exists to make money and they have now established "women only" races on both coasts, so they must have data to support their decision.

But yeah, today's announcement has left me a little cold. :shrug:

 

[Ariel484]

Ditto on the coast to coast. I do wonder if they will update the eligible races to include it though. I don't have so much an issue with the event itself, but rather the way they hyped it. I still can't see how some of those clues tie in the the theme. And I think that most people would have rather seen something different. A tri, real adventure run, something like that. I'm sure it will sell out. And won't be surprised if my mother/sister sign up for it. And the 5k is tempting, but can't justify the cost to the wife.

Yes, $99 for a 5K is insane...as is $120 per person for the relay. Yowza.

Oh well, at least Disneyland has another race. They definitely need it.

 

[Ariel484]

Being a little bit disappointed that the event is "for women and girls," I'd like to hear from the ladies whether there is a general feeling that "women only" races are needed to encourage participation....

I don't feel that way. Really, the only reason why I did the Princess this year and not the WDW Half was because the reports of last year's weather freaked me out. And then they had beautiful weather for the 2011 WDW Half...d'oh! :hammer: And I'm signed up for the full in 2012. So I wouldn't say it has an effect on me.

On the other hand, even though the Princess is "geared toward women," my brother ran it with me, and I don't think he came out of it feeling like he, as a guy, was left out in any way. Disney was still more than happy to have his registration fee!

 

[PrincessMandi]

Ditto on the coast to coast. I do wonder if they will update the eligible races to include it though. I don't have so much an issue with the event itself, but rather the way they hyped it. I still can't see how some of those clues tie in the the theme. And I think that most people would have rather seen something different. A tri, real adventure run, something like that. I'm sure it will sell out. And won't be surprised if my mother/sister sign up for it. And the 5k is tempting, but can't justify the cost to the wife.

A coast to coast Princess is what I was hoping for....but they are too close together to be done in the same calendar year (I think...I forget how it works). I really hope they work it to allow for a coast to coast. Maybe the next year.:king:

 

[garyhoov]

Can you just imagine the brainstorming session for this one:

Big Shot: Okay, we need to think of a race that 99% of the potential Disney runners out there will not be interested in. How can we do that?

Smith: Well . . . we can make it a half-marathon, that will get rid of the full marathoners.

Big Shot: Good, good start, but we need to think bigger.

Ferguson: People don't really like Disneyland as much as Disney World and the streets aren't nearly as nice. Let's hold it at Disneyland.

Big Shot: Now we're onto something! What else can we do?

Johnson: Oh! I know! Let's hold it the same month as the big events in Orlando. Most people aren't going to want to run twice in the same month.

Big Shot: Great idea, Johnson! Now we're really rolling.

Smith: Hey! What if we make it a girl/women thing? We can lose half of the remaining weirdos right there.

Big Shot: Fantastic! Anything else.

Silence


Continued silence


Johnson: Ummmmm, this might sound a little crazy . . . but hear me out.

Big Shot: We're just brainstorming here Johnson, Don't be shy.

Johnson: What if . . . leading up to the announcement, we created a series of clues . . . really inane things that are basically incomprehensible. . . heck, we can even throw in few that make absolutely no sense at all. People will spend all kinds of time trying to decipher them . . . and then . . . here's the kicker . . . after all that, we'll unveil this pile of s*** race. That will p*** them off so bad that anyone who might still be interested will be turned off just by that.

Big Shot: I don't like it . . .


. . . I LOVE it!!!

 

[Texas84]

Gary nailed it! :ROFLOL:

Another race in JANUARY?!?!? :brick:

 

[MKCP 1985]

Gary, :ROFLOL: :lol: :ROFLOL:

I "unliked" the Run Disney Facebook page today.

 

[dreamfinder]

On the other hand, even though the Princess is "geared toward women," my brother ran it with me, and I don't think he came out of it feeling like he, as a guy, was left out in any way. Disney was still more than happy to have his registration fee!

I ran it as well, and outside of a few women who made comments about why did men register for this race (when I was the only male in earshot) most seemed to have no problems with me being there. And they seemed to appreciate the kilt. : ) Yes, Disney was most certainly happy to take my money. I woulda appreciated a mens tech t, but I wasn't the audience.

 

[Eeyore]

What a disappointment! I have no interest in running with a bunch of grown women in tiaras and tutus at WDW let alone traveling even further to California for that privilege. I don't understand why they feel the need to be doing gender specific races at all. :shrug: I think I'll be "unliking" the rundisney page as well.

 

[MKCP 1985]

What a disappointment! I have no interest in running with a bunch of grown women in tiaras and tutus at WDW let alone traveling even further to California for that privilege. I don't understand why they feel the need to be doing gender specific races at all. :shrug: I think I'll be "unliking" the rundisney page as well.

Thank you, Beth :wave: I did send an e-mail to ask why they made the decision to be exclusionary. Disney guest relations is usually good to respond. Not so certain about the Disney Endurance races staff - they haven't been as well staffed and inquiries there don't go to the general guest relations lines, so a response is usually not the same day.

Any response will be passed along, for informational purposes.

 

[JillC LI]

Being a little bit disappointed that the event is "for women and girls," I'd like to hear from the ladies whether there is a general feeling that "women only" races are needed to encourage participation.

I definitely do not feel more encouraged to enter a race because it is geared towards women. I choose my races based on factors such as location, race distance, time of year, etc. I couldn't care less if both men and women run it. If I had chosen to run a race that was women only, and many of the entrants planned to run in tiaras, I would consider doing the same for the fun of it, but it wouldn't affect my decision whether to choose that race.

 

[SleepingMonk]

And the Princess Mania just keeps on rollin'.

:hurl:

 

[anc33]

Well this saves me a little money then. I did the princess this year and now have no interest in doing another event geared toward women. I guess I was just stabbed by one too many fairy wands during the race. In all seriousness, it just isn't my cup of tea.

 

[dreamfinder]

I think it shows how the RunDisney group thinks. In my experience, lots of the people who did the Princess were first time or beginning runners. I saw lots of people who trained just for that. Admittedly the same holds true for any race, but the women I talked too seemed to echo that more so. Also, alot of these women seemed to make a trip of it with their friends.
Now I'm generalizing here, but I have also noticed that women tend to like to buy things to remember big events, time with friends, etc. Disney likes people who buy things. Alot. So by having events that cater to people for whom running a half marathon is a huge deal, possibly even a once in a lifetime deal, helps them to sell merchandise. My mom, who just "ran" her first half at the Princess had been training just for that, a bucket list type item. She bought a bunch of stuff. Admittedly she has jackets from like 4 of the races I did that she wasn't even at WDW for, but that just furthers the point.
So from the overall Disney standpoint, having events that make lots of money make sense. And help to keep the RunDisney staff employed. After having lackluster turnouts at some of the ToT races, they will bleed whatever they can until its dead just to justify their position. And I don't blame them, overall they do a great job putting on these events, I think we were all just looking for a little more creativity then was shown this time.

 

[Ariel484]

dreamfinder, I think you're on to something with the shopping theory. I wanted to claw my eyes out at the Princess Expo. That place was just PACKED with people, and the line in the official merchandise area was crazy. Hopefully it won't be that bad for other Disney races.

The comments on Facebook are overwhelmingly negative...is it true that men cannot be placed in Corral A?

So...is anyone here actually even going to run the Tinkerbell Half? :veryconfu

 

[garyhoov]

After watching this, I'm even more annoyed with the whole clue thing. There's absolutely no way that anybody could have logically deciphered these clues and even if they did, they don't tell anything:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MfLvxbZBJ8&feature=youtu.be

 

[wdwmagic]

After watching this, I'm even more annoyed with the whole clue thing. There's absolutely no way that anybody could have logically deciphered these clues and even if they did, they don't tell anything:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MfLvxbZBJ8&feature=youtu.be

Yeah you're right - I would be willing to be that absolutely nobody got that. Makes the whole thing a bit pointless.

 

[Eeyore]

I think it shows how the RunDisney group thinks. In my experience, lots of the people who did the Princess were first time or beginning runners. I saw lots of people who trained just for that. Admittedly the same holds true for any race, but the women I talked too seemed to echo that more so. Also, alot of these women seemed to make a trip of it with their friends.
Now I'm generalizing here, but I have also noticed that women tend to like to buy things to remember big events, time with friends, etc. Disney likes people who buy things. Alot. So by having events that cater to people for whom running a half marathon is a huge deal, possibly even a once in a lifetime deal, helps them to sell merchandise. My mom, who just "ran" her first half at the Princess had been training just for that, a bucket list type item. She bought a bunch of stuff. Admittedly she has jackets from like 4 of the races I did that she wasn't even at WDW for, but that just furthers the point.
So from the overall Disney standpoint, having events that make lots of money make sense. And help to keep the RunDisney staff employed. After having lackluster turnouts at some of the ToT races, they will bleed whatever they can until its dead just to justify their position. And I don't blame them, overall they do a great job putting on these events, I think we were all just looking for a little more creativity then was shown this time.

I think that's exactly it. The only reason they have the races is to make money. Women buy more stuff than men do so the princess 1/2 at WDW must be very profitable and now they are just duplicating it on the west coast.

I think its great the Disneyland is getting an additional race. I just wish it was something compelling enough for us to make the trip out there for it.

I don't like the idea of gender specific races- I'm a runner just like anyone else I don't want or NEED a special race because I'm a girl! I really dislike female centered events, most likely because I went to an all girls high school. :lol:

Yeah you're right - I would be willing to be that absolutely nobody got that. Makes the whole thing a bit pointless.

A bit? It was completely pointless. :lol:

 

[dreamfinder]

dreamfinder, I think you're on to something with the shopping theory. I wanted to claw my eyes out at the Princess Expo. That place was just PACKED with people, and the line in the official merchandise area was crazy. Hopefully it won't be that bad for other Disney races.

The comments on Facebook are overwhelmingly negative...is it true that men cannot be placed in Corral A?

So...is anyone here actually even going to run the Tinkerbell Half? :veryconfu

I didn't go to the expo at the Princess, but the expos for the regular marathon weekend have been crazy. Large amounts of the merchandise for that event is sold out the first day. I am really surprised that Disney doesn't post a catalog in advance or take online orders.

For the Princess, yes, men were not in Corral A. Except for a few special cases like Jeff Galloway and the guy from Survivor who was there. They let them in Corral A since it was right next to the stage where they spoke.
I was kinda surprised by my bib number based on my approx finish time, but then I saw that there were no guys in the first corral. Which kinda makes sense. They want a women to be the first one across the finish line. Doesn't matter that the guys can't win, they are trying to give the women the chance to cross first. The same way that the skirt chase 5k's do. I wasn't bothered by corral B at all. I was however bothered by all the people from corral A who were already walking 1/2 mile in.

I don't think I'm going to do the Tinkerbell race. Already doing dumbo a few weeks earlier, and we are planning on doing the Disneyland half in September. So I don't think its gonna be worth it.

 

[dreamfinder]

After watching this, I'm even more annoyed with the whole clue thing. There's absolutely no way that anybody could have logically deciphered these clues and even if they did, they don't tell anything:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MfLvxbZBJ8&feature=youtu.be

Really now? Really RunDisney? The fans got the numbers right from clue 1, but how the heck were people supposed to know they needed to watch a youtube video? Can't wait to hear the explanations for the rest of them. They seemed to be a little on the light side for us to have gotten enough information to decipher them.