Do guys run the Half Princess?

[Mac4life30]

Just wondering if any guys plan to run this 1/2 Marathon.

 

[princessallegra]

Just wondering if any guys plan to run this 1/2 Marathon.

It's a small percentage of men, but there are definitely men! My husband is doing it this year.

 

[SAHDad]

Just wondering if any guys plan to run this 1/2 Marathon.

Guys can run the half princess, but they cannot start in the front corral, and they do not track guys for age awards or anything like that. (Guys get a finishing time, AFAIK, but there are no guy awards.) I think there is a mens option for the shirt, however.

Actually - I think that there are more women registered than men for the marathon in 2013 - pretty soon, the question might be if guys run any of the runDisney events.

 

[FFigawi]

There are some who do, but only the lucky ones who can find a running princess dress in their size.

 

[joan4mickey]

Guys run and SAHdad is correct on his information.
I love it when guys run as princes not princesses. In fact the first year, my daughters and I were creeped out after we saw a cute snow white, full makeup, but as it got light we realized it was a guy. But you do see many cross dressers.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I love when guys run the race - especially those that take the experience as an opportunity to support those around them and dress up. It isn't like some women's races that I have participated in where men are just about attacked for being there. Instead, every guy is welcome. But, if winning a race or being in the first couple of corrals is important to you, I would suggest not participating. Guys cannot win the race, but they can get awards, and they must start in Corral C or further back. A lot gripe, but they seem to be okay with it crossing the finish line.

 

[ludari]

I've run the Princess Half the last two years and had a blast, so yes guys can run this race.

 

[Mac4life30]

So a guy can run just in the back corals. Thas fine but would I get a finisher medal?

 

[ludari]

So a guy can run just in the back corals. Thas fine but would I get a finisher medal?

As long as you finish yes you will get a finishers medal.

 

[helloirishkitty]

My best friend's husband is running it with us this year! Hopefully he waers a tutu

 

[cewait]

As long as you finish yes you will get a finishers medal.

Hmmmm, seems like as long as one starts you get the medal.


Regardless, yes there are more guys out there than one would expect. You are relegated to wave 2 or higher but it really is not a dude race. If a couple things happen at work, I may find myself able to run this and other WDW events as a local. Hopefully, that did not just jinx the karma ... it's still a high hurdle for this to happen as I am a little over compensated for the position as they had it approved.

 

[JCH]

Yes, you can run in C or later, get a medal, and even a men's size t-shirt.

If you are going to run it, just be sure to have some sense of humor and realize that the goal of the race is not to exclude men, but rather to promote a healthy lifestyle among women. If you come in being supportive, you will be welcomed. However, I think we've all seen the one or two guys who come onto the facebook group the day after complaining about they weren't allowed the win who make all the other guys look bad. These guys are just missing the point. Just don't take it too seriously, and have a good time!

I love the guys who dress up. There are guys who dress like princesses, princes, frogs, etc. Many have t-shirts made up with some joke about trying to find a princess.

 

[Ariel484]

Hmmmm, seems like as long as one starts you get the medal. ...[snip]...

Anyhoo, to the OP...as others have said, guys are more than welcome at the Princess Half. Start thinking about your favorite princess, as you'll need to indicate your choice for your race bib! Unlike in past years, as others have said, they do have unisex race shirts available (despite the fact that they don't have women's cut shirts available for other races......but I digress).

I ran the Princess Half with my brother in 2011 (he had a Belle race bib). I think the ratio of women to men was 30:1 or something. The bro never felt uncomfortable or unwelcome, and he wasn't trying to, like, win the race or anything, so not starting in the first corral wasn't an issue.

 

[SAHDad]

Yes, you can run in C or later, get a medal, and even a men's size t-shirt.

If you are going to run it, just be sure to have some sense of humor and realize that the goal of the race is not to exclude men, but rather to promote a healthy lifestyle among women. If you come in being supportive, you will be welcomed. However, I think we've all seen the one or two guys who come onto the facebook group the day after complaining about they weren't allowed the win who make all the other guys look bad. These guys are just missing the point. Just don't take it too seriously, and have a good time!

I'll confess that the C corral bugs me a bit. I think C is about a 2:15 or 2:30 half - which means that it is something like 2 minutes/mile slower than my normal pace. And for a guy, I am not fast. That's a lot of dodging and weaving to do just in order to run at my normal pace, not race it. (I think they should have had gender-graded performance levels - A corral for women needs a 2:00 finish, but for men to get there, it is a 1:40 or 1:30.)

Anecdotally, I have heard that, the faster a guy runs the race, the less welcoming the crowd and other runners get. (I wonder how much of it is a gender-reversal of the whole "getting chicked" dynamic?)

Lastly - I rarely hear much complaints about the Princess. It seemed to me that it was the Tink that really drew the ire - that Disney decided to do another women-centric race, but the clues, while they alluded to it, did not state at the outset that the race would be women-centered. (Well, plus the realization that a men-centric race would probably call down the wrath of Kathrine Switzer and a whole host of women's groups.)

We're on verge of heading seriously off-topic here. To veer back, yes, guys can run in the Princess and Tink. They can't start in the front, and there are no age-group awards for the men, but they do get finisher's medals. Anecdotally, the women accept the presence of men on the course, but YMMV.

 

[DisneyDanielle85]

My husband is running it this year with me. I am trying to convince him to dress up.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

My husband is running it this year with me. I am trying to convince him to dress up.

IF he doesn't, you will be starting in Corral C or later to stay together, and very often, people from the other corrals drop their tiaras, tutus and other costume pieces because they are too uncomfortable. Disney is the only race series where I have witnessed this.

 

[cewait]

I'll confess that the C corral bugs me a bit. I think C is about a 2:15 or 2:30 half - which means that it is something like 2 minutes/mile slower than my normal pace. And for a guy, I am not fast. That's a lot of dodging and weaving to do just in order to run at my normal pace, not race it. (I think they should have had gender-graded performance levels - A corral for women needs a 2:00 finish, but for men to get there, it is a 1:40 or 1:30.)

Anecdotally, I have heard that, the faster a guy runs the race, the less welcoming the crowd and other runners get. (I wonder how much of it is a gender-reversal of the whole "getting chicked" dynamic?)

Lastly - I rarely hear much complaints about the Princess. It seemed to me that it was the Tink that really drew the ire - that Disney decided to do another women-centric race, but the clues, while they alluded to it, did not state at the outset that the race would be women-centered. (Well, plus the realization that a men-centric race would probably call down the wrath of Kathrine Switzer and a whole host of women's groups.)

We're on verge of heading seriously off-topic here. To veer back, yes, guys can run in the Princess and Tink. They can't start in the front, and there are no age-group awards for the men, but they do get finisher's medals. Anecdotally, the women accept the presence of men on the course, but YMMV.

I agree that the Princess was welcomed, but was also a replacement for the Minnie 15k. I also think the ire for Tink was from several levels, not just the women-centric aspect of the race, but as noted the whole read a clue and guess game that turned the welcoming crowd into a mob.

I also want to correct my wave two to a three - my bad.

 

[bwolfe]

I am running this year...my brother in law is too. So add two more guys!

 

[EEsloveDis]

Just wondering if any guys plan to run this 1/2 Marathon.

My husband is running with me.

I'm trying to find him a shirt to wear for the race. My mom saw one that said "Running with my Princess" but I am not having much luck.

 

[Reep]

I'm running Tink this year with my wife. I am going in costume and will have a good spirit about it. But, I am also disappointed that on the left coast half of our big races are really woman only. I race half marathons and would totally love to race Tink (or some other Spring/Winter DL race). Last year I would have won outright (except I'm a guy). It's not like the DL half isn't already 65% female.

I appreciate what Disney does for Women's marathon running, as it provides a great low pressure environment. But, I wish they could have put in one more non-discriminating race before adding Tink. I could live with the Florida ratio, but 1:1 is hard to take.

I'm just glad I'm running with my wife, I would be very upset to be stuck in corral C if I was running by myself. What if my wife was fast? Would they really make me run two corrals behind her? Wow.