I'm looking into and setting a goal of running a Disney race. Earlier today I was on the RunDisney website. I saw a lot of complaints from participants about being placed in the corral of shame. What is that and how do I avoid it? Is this for people who did not submit times prior to the race and ended up in the last corral. They also complained about being bused places they didn't want to be, not getting photo ops, and being stuck behind barricades. It seems like some had a very bad experience and I would like to avoid this. Thanks in advance for any info!
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What is the corral of shame?
- Thread starter DisneyDreams09
- Start date
imagination30
Well-Known Member
sounds to me like its the under pace people who get swept! .. I saw a video of it on run Disney fb..
Mad Stitch
Well-Known Member
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
I'd be inclined to agree that it is the last set of corrals. After they put everyone who submitted a proof of time, they stick the rest in the remaining corrals. In prior years, you could submit a time at the expo and be moved to the proper corral. But they are no longer allowing this. Lots of people missed this despite the fact runDisney plastered the info all over the place.
The info about busing, missing photo ops, being stuck behind the pacers who close off the course would apply only to those people who cannot maintain the 16 min pace Disney requires. If you train properly, even if you are the absolute last person to start the race, you would stay ahead of the pacers, never be put on a bus, never be denied a photo op, etc. Even with the lenient pacing requirement that doesn't start until the last racer crosses the start line, there are people who think that Disney is too harsh on the slower runners, and they typically have no problems speaking up about it.
The info about busing, missing photo ops, being stuck behind the pacers who close off the course would apply only to those people who cannot maintain the 16 min pace Disney requires. If you train properly, even if you are the absolute last person to start the race, you would stay ahead of the pacers, never be put on a bus, never be denied a photo op, etc. Even with the lenient pacing requirement that doesn't start until the last racer crosses the start line, there are people who think that Disney is too harsh on the slower runners, and they typically have no problems speaking up about it.
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
Was it about the Tinkerbell 10K? I heard a ton of people in the last corral were swept.
For example - I read some Facebook comments about poor race etiquette and people were like, "It's my first race, how would I know?!" Maybe by reading the documentation that runDisney posts on their website?! It's right there in the race program.
And don't they hand you a hard copy of the race program when you arrive for bib pick-up?
YES. I think people sign up for these races without really respecting the distance and the rules set in place by the race director. Yes, runDisney races are great for first-timers, but that doesn't meant you should show up unprepared. All of the information is on runDisney.com (which racers must know exists since that's where they go to sign up for the races). If people don't read it and don't know that there's a 16:00/mile pace requirement, that they can't change corrals at the expo, etc....that's their fault, not runDisney's.
For example - I read some Facebook comments about poor race etiquette and people were like, "It's my first race, how would I know?!" Maybe by reading the documentation that runDisney posts on their website?! It's right there in the race program.
And don't they hand you a hard copy of the race program when you arrive for bib pick-up?
216bruce
Well-Known Member
You are in a very similar place as to where I was last year at this time. I entered the 1/2 marathon with no 10k+ time on file with the RunDisney folks and was placed in the "son of the corral of shame" (second last corral) for that race. After a 'nature calls' before our corral was to start I came back and started with the last corral. The race went just fine- had 17 photos taken, finished in the middle of the pack (10,000 or so out of 20,000 or so) and had a blast. Don't worry about your placement. Just follow the training that Jeff Galloway has on the RunDisney site and you'll have no problems keeping ahead of the sweep, you'll pass a bunch of folks and end up wondering what you'll sign up for next year. Definitely a GREAT experience.
There's a tremendous amount of very high maintenence whiners on these boards that are spoiled beyond belief- pay no attention to them. That being said, there's a lot of very bright, well-balanced, fair thinking folks too. Listen to them.
There's a tremendous amount of very high maintenence whiners on these boards that are spoiled beyond belief- pay no attention to them. That being said, there's a lot of very bright, well-balanced, fair thinking folks too. Listen to them.
JillC LI
Well-Known Member
I'd hate to be on the road with them the first time they got behind the wheel of a car.
Mad Stitch
Well-Known Member
What?
Are you speaking about the running section or the forums in general. I think that the people in the running threads are some of the best people on WDW Magic. Everyone is always helpful and encouraging, I wouldn't say that anyone is spoiled.
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Maryssa*
Well-Known Member
I agree there really is no excuse to be unprepared! I researched months before I even signed up for my first race so that I wouldn't stress out when I actually got there. With such a vast amount of info on the official website, fan forums, video blogs, etc it's hard to even TRY to be ill-informed these days. I was even still terrified about being sweeped but I wasn't even remotely close to it happening and I consider myself slower than average. I think as long as you are smart and prepared everything will be great!
imagination30
Well-Known Member
@Mad Stitch stitch I don't seem see it they may have took it down , but there is some funny comments here about the tink .. take a look! https://www.facebook.com/RunDisney
Mad Stitch
Well-Known Member
So if I'm reading some of those posts right it sounds like during the Tink 10k they closed the backstage gate behind the ToT that leads out onto the streets of Anaheim. Runners who arrived at the closed gate were told they have fallen behind pace and would be transferred to the finish via the sag wagon. Thus all the runners who were cut off from the rest of the race accumulated backstage (hundreds of them supposedly) in what they are calling the "corral of shame".
Now how so many got swept is confusing. Some say the last corral got split onto two different starts at the last second and the pace times were not adjusted to account for that. Others were saying by the time the last corral started the course was so congested it was impossible to go faster than the required pace. We will never know the truth behind all this.
To the original post, don't let this deter you from participating in a runDisney event. This was an isolated incident. Read everything on the runDisney web site for the race your interested in, train properly, and you will have no problems finishing the race.
Now how so many got swept is confusing. Some say the last corral got split onto two different starts at the last second and the pace times were not adjusted to account for that. Others were saying by the time the last corral started the course was so congested it was impossible to go faster than the required pace. We will never know the truth behind all this.
To the original post, don't let this deter you from participating in a runDisney event. This was an isolated incident. Read everything on the runDisney web site for the race your interested in, train properly, and you will have no problems finishing the race.
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Ariel484
Well-Known Member
Agree with @Mad Stitch - I read those stories and it sounds very confusing. Can't really get a great handle on what happened, but it supports my stance that I won't ever run an inaugural runDisney event. They're normally very organized but it seems like the first ones always have kinks to work out.
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
I mean...right???
I'd hate to be on the road with them the first time they got behind the wheel of a car.
Maybe it's just me but if I'm spending all that money to run a race you can bet I'm going to read up on it as much as possible, make sure I'm ready and know what I need to do to finish successfully and fully enjoy myself.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
I can easily see this. I had family that did the Tink 1/2 this year, and their splits went from 18 mins pace in park due to congestion, to a 12 min pace on the streets of Anaheim. While DLR is awesome cause of how intimate it is, that same intimacy makes it chaos for running.
Ditto.
216bruce
Well-Known Member
Not this part of the forum. The Running threads are great. Mostly people who gripe about not getting free soda, being limited to 3 FP's and 1 park, how the parks "aren't what they used to be", people who are different from them (Brazilian teens) and any number of other things. I just don't get it. They seem to go constantly, look for anything that's changed, not (their version of) perfect and whine about it. Sure, they are entitled to an opinion but it seems that for many folks Disney does nothing right and they- the whiner- could certainly do a better job. If you don't like it- don't go. Personally, after twenty years of going at least once a year I think the place is doing fine overall. If you can find another company this large that does as good an overall job of taking care of its customers and still show great profits- good luck.What?
ChristaH
Well-Known Member
I had the similar experience as @216bruce at the WDW half. My proof of time did not make it to them before the cutoff and I was in the last corral. I was more worried about crowding than my pace, but everything was fine. There was one good thing about being in the last few corrals... With the layout they used, the most of the corrals were in line behind the starters, so they started moving forward as each wave was sent out. The last few were in parallel to the main line of corrals, so we were able to sit and stay off our feet for about 40 minutes or so after corral A went out before we started moving. From that standpoint, being in corral L was worse than corral P.
Blue_Pearl
New Member
I was in The Corral Of Shame. Thats what we are calling the crowd "swept" at the ToT gate. WE trained to a 15MM but had no reserve to sprint to catch up. The first mile of the race was like a 5000 person human centipede. Once stopped we were not told we had been swept, there were two buses for 500 people, no one would tell us what was going on. After 30 minutes someone set up a chant of "Let Us Out". About 15 seconds later an obviously angry RD staffer got up on some steps and yelled at us that we would be walked out. we would get our medals if we stuck together and followed instructions. None of us knew we had been swept to start with since not one of us had seen or heard any Run Disney staff or volunteers since the start. We had seen and been cheered by many third shift Disney Parks maintainance crew; they were awesome at keeping up our spirits.
The reason we are so unhappy is not so much being swept, but being held with no plan. If you stop 15-20% of entrants to a race it is obviously not a problem with the runners but a defect in the planning. IF 10,000 runners could have gotten through to the TOT gate between 6:00 and 7:30 (almost at mile 4 mark) we would not be having this discussion.
There has been little to no follow up with Run Disney. Most folks did not get a reply to their emails and phone callers are sent around office to office with no one taking much notice.
My advice; dont drink the Kool Aid. If your top pace is 15MM you probably can't finish a Run Disney race, let alone take part in any of the photo ops. We tried to run our best pace and did not get any photos.
The reason we are so unhappy is not so much being swept, but being held with no plan. If you stop 15-20% of entrants to a race it is obviously not a problem with the runners but a defect in the planning. IF 10,000 runners could have gotten through to the TOT gate between 6:00 and 7:30 (almost at mile 4 mark) we would not be having this discussion.
There has been little to no follow up with Run Disney. Most folks did not get a reply to their emails and phone callers are sent around office to office with no one taking much notice.
My advice; dont drink the Kool Aid. If your top pace is 15MM you probably can't finish a Run Disney race, let alone take part in any of the photo ops. We tried to run our best pace and did not get any photos.
Mad Stitch
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the boards and thanks for your first hand account of what happened.
What would shed some light on this is if we knew what happened to the balloon lady. If she made it through the gate and they closed it behind her, well then... On the other hand if she was swept then there was a big problem somewhere seeing that technically the balloon lady is the only runner that cannot be swept.
Blue_Pearl
New Member
She passed, of course she only had a small flag which she admits she held low because it was very awkward to carry. We only saw her after the race. Reports are that she was going faster than 15mm and her compatriot the 15mm walker was screaming at her to slow down.
So if you are swept at a Run Disney event it is ok if they keep you penned up without explanation?
There were 500 in my group but a total of 1673 entrants did not complete the race. That seems excessive.
I think that the DNF was so high because of the overly crowded conditions. I have heard the same from experienced runners who were swept with me.
I would like to give this another try, but only if I think I stand a reasonable chance of success. This time 15mm was not enough due to the crowds and bottlenecks until we were a couple of miles into the race. 15mm is all I've got to work with, sadly.
So if you are swept at a Run Disney event it is ok if they keep you penned up without explanation?
There were 500 in my group but a total of 1673 entrants did not complete the race. That seems excessive.
I think that the DNF was so high because of the overly crowded conditions. I have heard the same from experienced runners who were swept with me.
I would like to give this another try, but only if I think I stand a reasonable chance of success. This time 15mm was not enough due to the crowds and bottlenecks until we were a couple of miles into the race. 15mm is all I've got to work with, sadly.
Banzai
Member
Wow. This was sure an interesting thread. @Blue_Pearl, thanks for filling in the info gaps. Not really sure what to think of all of this but maybe @Ariel484 is right, I might just sidestep any inaugural events.....