Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend

Surferboy567

Well-Known Member
Just curious what your thought was running an in-person vs. virtual. Personally, I find it much more difficult running a virtual event, especially a full marathon. If you can run a half, you can probably run the Disney full in-person. The atmosphere is exciting and you can;t replicate that anywhere else. For me, the most difficult part of the Dopey isn't the actual running, it's having to wake up at 3:30 AM for 5 days in a row (after taking an early flight to MCO on Wednesday) and then feel like you have to go to the parks with family for at least a few hours in the afternoon/evening.
Obviously, it’s a total different beast. As you can imagine doing a virtual race requires some level of dedication on the runners part. You aren't being tracked by Disney and it's done on the honor system (thought their is a mechanism to submit your time). It's squarely up to the runner to perform the distance or challenge they signed up for at registation. Something I am happy to say, that I have always followed though on my virtual races.

I have run now in-person at Disney two times (once springtime comes it will become 3). At Disney, I typically go for the challenges as they appeal to me the most. I have run in both the Springtime Surprise Challenge as well as the Two-Course Challenge for Wine & Dine. These are the only two weekends I have experienced in person. Though I have run every weekend Disney has to offer virtually. As such, I am very familiar with the toll a challenge takes on the body. Particularly with the Two Course Challenge (I actually ran all the races including the 5K) for that specific weekend in addition to the challenge.

I am not too worried for the wake up for Dopey as by now I am used to doing it (of course I say that now but in practice it works differently). It's more the worry comes from being able to run the full marathon coming from a half. Something I have never done, but I feel with proper training I should be able to pull it off, despite being a first time full marathoner. I am also not too worried in the loss of Park Time for Dopey, I probably won't be going to the parks on Half and especially full marathon day. The 5K and 10K are fair game, but I will be cautious of how much time I am spending on my feet.
 

pdude81

Well-Known Member
Does anybody remember what the POT guidelines were last year? I feel like I remember the last day for making a change was 9/26 but the emails I have don't have a particular date on them. And did they say give an end date for the race as well? I didn't use this in the past 2 years so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. Trying to plan a half for later in the year to help out my placement.
 

Surferboy567

Well-Known Member
Does anybody remember what the POT guidelines were last year? I feel like I remember the last day for making a change was 9/26 but the emails I have don't have a particular date on them. And did they say give an end date for the race as well? I didn't use this in the past 2 years so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. Trying to plan a half for later in the year to help out my placement.
  • Half Marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes
  • Marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes
Not sure if this is correct, but found this.

Side Note: When should you not submit proof of time? Does proof of time hurt a runners chances? Or does it help with getting placed not in the very last corral no matter the results?
 

uncle jimmy

Premium Member
Does anybody remember what the POT guidelines were last year? I feel like I remember the last day for making a change was 9/26 but the emails I have don't have a particular date on them. And did they say give an end date for the race as well? I didn't use this in the past 2 years so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. Trying to plan a half for later in the year to help out my placement.
"POT guidelines: "If you believe you will finish the Half Marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes (2:15) or less or the Marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes (4:30) or less, proof of time is required for start group placement."

results must be from 1/1/19 - 9/27/22 AND SUBMITTED BY 9/27/22 (unless you register after 9/27)

  • Proof of Time must be submitted at the time of registration. You may change your proof of time until the deadline of September 27, 2022. No changes can be made after September 27, 2022. If data provided is incomplete or cannot be verified, you will be placed in the last start group.
  • No start group changes will be made after September 27, 2022.
  • If you register after the proof of time deadline you are still able to submit a valid proof of time at the point of registration. After you conclude the registration process, you will not be able to add or edit proof of time."
 

Rteetz

Well-Known Member
  • Half Marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes
  • Marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes
Not sure if this is correct, but found this.

Side Note: When should you not submit proof of time? Does proof of time hurt a runners chances? Or does it help with getting placed not in the very last corral no matter the results?
A PoT can only help you. It definitely will not hurt. You can only submit one below those times. Non-PoT corrals typically start C and back.
 

Surferboy567

Well-Known Member
A PoT can only help you. It definitely will not hurt. You can only submit one below those times. Non-PoT corrals typically start C and back.
Thanks for the advice! The part where you mention you can only submit one below those times, that is the sticking point for me. I won’t be able to submit POT with my running times.
 

pdude81

Well-Known Member
"POT guidelines: "If you believe you will finish the Half Marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes (2:15) or less or the Marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes (4:30) or less, proof of time is required for start group placement."

results must be from 1/1/19 - 9/27/22 AND SUBMITTED BY 9/27/22 (unless you register after 9/27)

  • Proof of Time must be submitted at the time of registration. You may change your proof of time until the deadline of September 27, 2022. No changes can be made after September 27, 2022. If data provided is incomplete or cannot be verified, you will be placed in the last start group.
  • No start group changes will be made after September 27, 2022.
  • If you register after the proof of time deadline you are still able to submit a valid proof of time at the point of registration. After you conclude the registration process, you will not be able to add or edit proof of time."
Thanks. I might have 2 options this year if I'm really going for it.
 

pdude81

Well-Known Member
A PoT can only help you. It definitely will not hurt. You can only submit one below those times. Non-PoT corrals typically start C and back.
AFAIK if you submit a POT that indicates a slower time, they may throw you in the last corral. Certainly there are plenty close to the line that make it into C, but I'd be afraid to submit a slower time.
Thanks for the advice! The part where you mention you can only submit one below those times, that is the sticking point for me. I won’t be able to submit POT with my running times.
In the past they would let you submit pretty much anything you wanted if you picked the POT option. The last time I did that was 2019 and then I made sure to set it back to the first non proof time until I ran the race. In the year prior, 2018, I thought I'd have a fast enough race for POT and just didn't do it. That year I ended up in H and had to do a lot of weaving in the first 5 miles.

Now they may have cleaned this up since then as I didn't even attempt to put one in the last 2 years
 

Surferboy567

Well-Known Member
AFAIK if you submit a POT that indicates a slower time, they may throw you in the last corral. Certainly there are plenty close to the line that make it into C, but I'd be afraid to submit a slower time.

In the past they would let you submit pretty much anything you wanted if you picked the POT option. The last time I did that was 2019 and then I made sure to set it back to the first non proof time until I ran the race. In the year prior, 2018, I thought I'd have a fast enough race for POT and just didn't do it. That year I ended up in H and had to do a lot of weaving in the first 5 miles.

Now they may have cleaned this up since then as I didn't even attempt to put one in the last 2 years
If I am fortunate enough to get into Dopey, I think going by this the best course of action is to not submit a POT and hope for the best.
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
AFAIK if you submit a POT that indicates a slower time, they may throw you in the last corral. Certainly there are plenty close to the line that make it into C, but I'd be afraid to submit a slower time.

In the past they would let you submit pretty much anything you wanted if you picked the POT option. The last time I did that was 2019 and then I made sure to set it back to the first non proof time until I ran the race. In the year prior, 2018, I thought I'd have a fast enough race for POT and just didn't do it. That year I ended up in H and had to do a lot of weaving in the first 5 miles.

Now they may have cleaned this up since then as I didn't even attempt to put one in the last 2 years

I think you have to do a lot of weaving regardless unless you are a fast runner and in the front corrals. I am not a fast runner by any means, I think I was seeded in E the one year I did the Half in January and I had to do a lot of weaving the entire race. I was a new and different experience for me as I am used to being in the back of the pack in races over here.
 

Demarke

Have I told you lately that I 👍 you?
AFAIK if you submit a POT that indicates a slower time, they may throw you in the last corral. Certainly there are plenty close to the line that make it into C, but I'd be afraid to submit a slower time.

In the past they would let you submit pretty much anything you wanted if you picked the POT option. The last time I did that was 2019 and then I made sure to set it back to the first non proof time until I ran the race. In the year prior, 2018, I thought I'd have a fast enough race for POT and just didn't do it. That year I ended up in H and had to do a lot of weaving in the first 5 miles.

Now they may have cleaned this up since then as I didn't even attempt to put one in the last 2 years
I read that part too about possible placement in the last corral if your proof of time is rejected. I think that may be more for ones that turn out to be fake or against submission guidelines (like someone trying to submit a virtual race time or something from Strava).

I submitted either 2:09 or 2:10 half marathon time for Dopey and was a little worried about it being rejected since (even though it's below the Half threshold) they only consider the Marathon standard when you do both and I didn't know exactly where the cutoff would be. Apparently, my time wasn't good enough for whatever conversion calculation they use (I read somewhere that it was about 2:08 for a Half to be considered equivalent to the 4:30 full), but fortunately they only dropped me back to C.
 

Rteetz

Well-Known Member
I read that part too about possible placement in the last corral if your proof of time is rejected. I think that may be more for ones that turn out to be fake or against submission guidelines (like someone trying to submit a virtual race time or something from Strava).

I submitted either 2:09 or 2:10 half marathon time for Dopey and was a little worried about it being rejected since (even though it's below the Half threshold) they only consider the Marathon standard when you do both and I didn't know exactly where the cutoff would be. Apparently, my time wasn't good enough for whatever conversion calculation they use (I read somewhere that it was about 2:08 for a Half to be considered equivalent to the 4:30 full), but fortunately they only dropped me back to C.
It is assumed they use the McMillan calculator for these conversions.

I submitted a 1:58 half for Dopey. I was in B.
 

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