Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend

[Ariel484]

My first as well!

How quickly does it usually fill up? Do I need to try to register the moment it goes live to have a shot? :lookaroun

I looked at the runDisney site and it looks like the races didn't fill up until December, so no, you don't need to register right when it opens.

The advantage of registering early is that you won't have to pay as much. The price jumps up $10 (I think) a few times over the course of the year.

It's a great first marathon...you'll love it! :sohappy:

 

[lukacseven]

My first as well!

How quickly does it usually fill up? Do I need to try to register the moment it goes live to have a shot? :lookaroun

The earliest I've ever seen any race fill up was back in 2008. I believe the half was full by the end of August. Goofy used to also fill up fast, but eversince they increased the cap from 3K to 7.5K, like the other races it doesn't fill up until into December.

The price increase is also something relatively new. Years ago it was the same fee regardless of when you registered.

 

[joel_maxwell]

Looks like this runner might be participating next year.

 

[JillC LI]

Thanks guys I was just worried about it because I'm from the uk and don't want to miss out. It will be my first marathon

Yay, it will be my first marathon as well. I want to sign up sooner rather than later because I need the motivation to get back into running regularly.

Oh how exciting! Training for your first marathon is nearly as memorable as running it. Good luck!

Looks like this runner might be participating next year.

Yeah???

 

[joel_maxwell]

Yeah???

Discussing with Sam about me doing the Goofy challenge. If I do, I would give up the local Talledega event and Mercedes 2013. This is (for some of us) once in every 10 years I could pull something off like this with the expense of kids etc.

 

[Texas84]

Might be doing the Chip & Dale next year. Gotta collect 'em all!

 

[GoofyRacer11]

Might be doing the Chip & Dale next year. Gotta collect 'em all!

Just like pokemon. Lol

 

[joel_maxwell]

Talks about 2013 goofy challenge have chilled in the Maxwell household due to the $$$ factor.



Might be 2014.

 

[lukacseven]

2013 will be my 8th year. Was planning on the 20th anniversary full, when my girlfriend says, " When does Disney registration open, I want to do the half." She has only run two 5Ks previously (one at Disney). So it looks like I'll be doing my second Goofy next January. Can't wait!

 

[Ariel484]

So I got the latest issue of Runner's World in the mail yesterday...imagine my delight to find a 2-page runDisney ad for Marathon Weekend 2013! :sohappy: (They also had ads for the ToT 10-miler and the Wine & Dine, but those are off my radar this year so I focused on the marathon ad).

The main points I got from the ad (mostly related to the marathon):

1. There will be a new design for the Mickey Medal, which I think a lot of us figured seeing as it's the 20th anniversary of the marathon
2. There is a "surprise" at mile 20 :shrug:
3. Registration opens April 10...which I read on another site but sort of took it with a grain of salt because a. They didn't say where they got the info and I got the impression that it was just a guess (turns out it was a good one!) and b. That is SO late compared to last year, when I remember registration opening March 15 - that date was burned in my brain. Speaking of registration, I hope there are Disney Visa discount codes or discount codes for people that have run a Disney race this past year available. That would be nice!

If I think of it later I'll scan the ad and post it here...excitement! :sohappy:

 

[MKCP 1985]

Runner gossip at the Little Rock marathon was that Disney is going to roll out its biggest ever finisher medal in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Marathon.

We shall see. :lookaroun

 

[Ariel484]

Runner gossip at the Little Rock marathon was that Disney is going to roll out its biggest ever finisher medal in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Marathon.

We shall see. :lookaroun

Maybe it will be 20 times larger than normal for the 20th anniversary?! :lol:

So I got the latest issue of Runner's World in the mail yesterday...imagine my delight to find a 2-page runDisney ad for Marathon Weekend 2013! :sohappy: (They also had ads for the ToT 10-miler and the Wine & Dine, but those are off my radar this year so I focused on the marathon ad).

The main points I got from the ad (mostly related to the marathon):

1. There will be a new design for the Mickey Medal, which I think a lot of us figured seeing as it's the 20th anniversary of the marathon
2. There is a "surprise" at mile 20 :shrug:
3. Registration opens April 10...which I read on another site but sort of took it with a grain of salt because a. They didn't say where they got the info and I got the impression that it was just a guess (turns out it was a good one!) and b. That is SO late compared to last year, when I remember registration opening March 15 - that date was burned in my brain. Speaking of registration, I hope there are Disney Visa discount codes or discount codes for people that have run a Disney race this past year available. That would be nice!

If I think of it later I'll scan the ad and post it here...excitement! :sohappy:

Okay, so I didn't get around to scanning in a picture of the ad last night, but I thought of something else I wanted to look for in it. I remember people saying "I hope they still have the relay next year" - were there rumors that it would go away? At any rate, they list all of the events in the ad, and the relay IS listed, so I guess it's here to stay.

ETA: The ad also says that you can sign up for an email reminder to register for the marathon at runDisney.com but I don't see that on their webpage. Just the reminder for the W&D :shrug:

 

[AUPr8Hd]

Maybe it will be 20 times larger than normal for the 20th anniversary?! :lol:



Okay, so I didn't get around to scanning in a picture of the ad last night, but I thought of something else I wanted to look for in it. I remember people saying "I hope they still have the relay next year" - were there rumors that it would go away? At any rate, they list all of the events in the ad, and the relay IS listed, so I guess it's here to stay.

ETA: The ad also says that you can sign up for an email reminder to register for the marathon at runDisney.com but I don't see that on their webpage. Just the reminder for the W&D :shrug:

There are a couple of reports of runDisney reps at expos saying the relay will NOT be back.

Unfortunately, marketing ads are approved and submitted well in advance. All one would have to do is look at the event brochures at races last year to see runDisney likes to make changes (i.e. Wine & Dine change for this year).

 

[Ariel484]

There are a couple of reports of runDisney reps at expos saying the relay will NOT be back.

Unfortunately, marketing ads are approved and submitted well in advance. All one would have to do is look at the event brochures at races last year to see runDisney likes to make changes (i.e. Wine & Dine change for this year).

Oops...good point!

I wonder why they wouldn't bring the relay back? Did they give you a reason? Maybe it wasn't as popular as they expected? :shrug: It seemed like it went fairly smoothly on race day (this coming from someone who ran the full, not the relay, so I could be wrong).

 

[AUPr8Hd]

Oops...good point!

I wonder why they wouldn't bring the relay back? Did they give you a reason? Maybe it wasn't as popular as they expected? :shrug: It seemed like it went fairly smoothly on race day (this coming from someone who ran the full, not the relay, so I could be wrong).

I haven't spoken to a rD rep directly. However, I plan to try next week when I am at an expo in Atlanta, if they're there.

My guess on relays being discontinued is the expense and manpower needed for the exchange point.

 

[MKCP 1985]

My guess on relays being discontinued is the expense and manpower needed for the exchange point.

If it doesn't come back, another possible reason might be that the relay cannibalizes the registration numbers for the half. So, you are not really adding numbers. The half marathon has historically sold out way before the full marathon, but that was not the case this past race year. :shrug:

 

[AUPr8Hd]

If it doesn't come back, another possible reason might be that the relay cannibalizes the registration numbers for the half. So, you are not really adding numbers. The half marathon has historically sold out way before the full marathon, but that was not the case this past race year. :shrug:

It may cannibalize some. I think rD's problem is the increase in the capacity of Donald.

Finishers
2012 - 22,443
2011 - 21,991
2010 - 17,144
2009 - 12,451
2008 - 12,299

As you can tell by the # of finishers, rD had a MAJOR jump in the number of participants from 2009 to 2010 to 2011. In this time span, the # of finishers increased ~ 75%. I believe in 2011, it was stated there were 24,000 or 25,000 participants in the Half. I don't remember the figure as I was still in a zombie like trance at the start :lol:

 

[Ariel484]

If it doesn't come back, another possible reason might be that the relay cannibalizes the registration numbers for the half. So, you are not really adding numbers. The half marathon has historically sold out way before the full marathon, but that was not the case this past race year. :shrug:

That's true. I remember reading Holly's report and her saying that the 2009 half was sold out by the summer of 2008 or something. And this year I think it didn't sell out until December/January (can't remember exactly when).

It may cannibalize some. I think rD's problem is the increase in the capacity of Donald.

Finishers
2012 - 22,443
2011 - 21,991
2010 - 17,144
2009 - 12,451
2008 - 12,299

As you can tell by the # of finishers, rD had a MAJOR jump in the number of participants from 2009 to 2010 to 2011. In this time span, the # of finishers increased ~ 75%. I believe in 2011, it was stated there were 24,000 or 25,000 participants in the Half. I don't remember the figure as I was still in a zombie like trance at the start :lol:

Wow! I knew the half was crowded, but 22k?! That's crazy. It definitely drives home the point that if you're taking Disney transportation to the race you need to line up for your bus EARLY.

 

[Ariel484]

There are a couple of reports of runDisney reps at expos saying the relay will NOT be back.

Unfortunately, marketing ads are approved and submitted well in advance. All one would have to do is look at the event brochures at races last year to see runDisney likes to make changes (i.e. Wine & Dine change for this year).

Okay, so the ad in Runner's World mentioned that you can go to runDisney.com to sign up for a reminder to register for Marathon Weekend. The link is up, so I clicked on it to sign myself up and a page popped up with a picture of Mickey (holding a medal), Donald and Goofy. No Chip & Dale. I could be reading too much into this, but I think it supports what you're saying that the relay won't be back in 2013. :shrug:

 

[surfsupdon]

Nice eye.