Inaugural Disney Wine&Dine**1/2 Marathon** Post Race Discussion!

[ksoehrlein]

I did have a gentlemen come up behind me and touch me on my shoulder and said a nice stride and position. I felt good that someone said that because I was at a low point with everyone passing and seemed to mutter when they passed me. This was early in the race and of course they were all runners. I just can not run but was in the high 15's for the 4.8 Your mind does take over when this is your first. Did not realize who the person was, he was dressed in a dark colored shirt. I know now that it was Jeff Galloway after I saw the picture of him with run Disney

That's awesome, Kathy!

 

[jillionaire]

congratulations everyone! i wanted to say thanks for all the valuable information i've gotten from this thread for the past few months. i lurk but don't post, but i thought i better thank you all. this was my very first half-marathon and i couldn't have done it with out all the information here. i couldn't have even gotten to the starting line on time without the help here!! and if dave, dave, or katie reads this, thanks for keeping me company from pop until the starting line. i absolutely loved the run, but i don't have anything to compare it to, so what do i know?!!?!! i do agree with the comments about the post-race ridiculousness, though. it seemed very wrong to not have a bit of a cool-down stretch before the medals, photos, and bag pick-up. and my food voucher will just go in my photo album because it was useless with those lines! but all in all, i'm so happy i decided to do this, though i doubted the decision several times training in the august texas heat! congrats, again, ya'll! and, thanks!!

 

[bounceliketigger]

Also a congratulations to Frank and it was nice meeting with you at AKL.

I finished the race and I feel I did very well. A little tight in the begining and I tried to hold my line on the white line. I do that at home also so that I do not wander. Some people seemed mad but they could see I was on a line. I felt that staying on the outside was better than being in the middle.

I did have a gentlemen come up behind me and touch me on my shoulder and said a nice stride and position. I felt good that someone said that because I was at a low point with everyone passing and seemed to mutter when they passed me. This was early in the race and of course they were all runners. I just can not run but was in the high 15's for the 4.8 Your mind does take over when this is your first. Did not realize who the person was, he was dressed in a dark colored shirt. I know now that it was Jeff Galloway after I saw the picture of him with run Disney

I walked AKL earlier so I knew how the ground was. The only area I had a hard time was at the last water area in the parking lot. Right after the water it seemed extremely dark.

I will be doing Space Coast and then I will see everyone for the January marathon weekend.

Kathy

Wow, that's so neat about Galloway!

It was so nice meeting you at AKL Kathy! And I just love the "Walt's Warriors" tags.

I was seriously considering the Space Coast, but that's just too much travel budget for me--probably have to hold out for Princess.

More on Galloway--I've always fancied myself a full-on run gal (at least since I started this whole adventure a year & 1/2 ago--lol), but my knees just don't seem to want to do it after about 7 miles, sometimes less, sometimes more. I just can't think of giving it up, so I'm thinking about trying Galloway. I'm wondering how others are making out with it. Can you still end with middle of the road times? or do you have to sprint the run portions to make that happen? think I'm gonna buy the book.

By the way, my GU & Blocks were open when I got them!!

 

[Shannon84]

More on Galloway--I've always fancied myself a full-on run gal (at least since I started this whole adventure a year & 1/2 ago--lol), but my knees just don't seem to want to do it after about 7 miles, sometimes less, sometimes more. I just can't think of giving it up, so I'm thinking about trying Galloway. I'm wondering how others are making out with it. Can you still end with middle of the road times? or do you have to sprint the run portions to make that happen? think I'm gonna buy the book.

By the way, my GU & Blocks were open when I got them!!

How did your knees do this time around?? I think I am going to try Galloway as well...I need a better "plan" next time around. It was great meeting you before the race and I will try and get that picture to your email sometime this week!!

 

[bounceliketigger]

How did your knees do this time around?? I think I am going to try Galloway as well...I need a better "plan" next time around. It was great meeting you before the race and I will try and get that picture to your email sometime this week!!

The knees were awful. The left started cramping first, then by mile 10 I was feeling it in both. That was a first. Though the knee issue didn't compare to the "other" issue! lol

I'm with you on the backup plan. I actually spoke to a couple of women on Sunday who said they pull an 11mm using Galloway. That was pretty inspiring. Think I'm gonna get the book & do more research. This race just made me so mad. I was doing a pretty solid 10-11 for the first several miles & on my way to a PR, then WHAMMO! Ugh.

It was really great meeting you too! & WDWPrincess! Though our hangout was brief, it was really a blast & a highlight to the evening!
Thanks for the pic too!

Btw, are you doing the Richmond 1/2?

--BLT

 

[marathonmommy]

Well, I did it! And I finished just under 3 hours, (Finish in 02:51:07 NET).



I was bummed to not be able to meet up with anyone, though. I was at the globe at WWoS, but wasn't sure if anyone actually showed up for that meet! I did talk to a nice guy who was running his second HM of the day!!! He ran one in Jacksonville, FL in the morning! Crazy!!!

Amy,
I am so sorry the meet up at the globe did not work. The bus situation to get to the start was ridiculous - and dropped us off nowhere near the diagram given. There was no globe in sight....but what was in sight was the bag check line - and it was winding on forever and ever. I didn't think I would even get through that line before the start, so I never even made it to the globe. I never even made it out of the bag check line until about 8:40! Crazy!

Okay ...

Pros:
That band on the back and out stretch between AK and DHS. They were awesome! At first, I thought it was a DJ - but they were singing and playing live. They were great!

The number of porta potties at the start. Lines were reasonable.

Hanging out with the lime green shirts before the race. They were easy to spot, and it was fun to meet my new friends!

The Osbourne Lights! Incredible. I saw them for Christmas a couple of years ago. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a little fake snow.

The medal. I like how substantial it is.

The way the snacks were pre-packaged and easy to grab after waiting on the long line.

The CONCEPT of the after-party.

Running through AK - cool vibe.

The home stretch with amazing crowd support.


B]CONS: [/B]

The bag check line. Seriously? This isn't rocket science.

Bag pick up. See comment above. Absolutely awful!!!!!!!!

Waiting so long to get that medal. Dang...it's what I waited for and wanted it much sooner after crossing the finish line!

The crowds. I guess I am a mid-packer. (Frank wanted this info for his blog.) I battled throughout much of the race to get around people - until my knee got the better of me. Seemed down-right dangerous in AK and parts of HS. I had the same experience with the race in January. Is this common for all Disney events? I want to try the Princess, but this is too much added stress! I was worried I would get tangled in someone else's legs and trip!

Agreed about the poor lighting in spots.

As much as I enjoy them, Shot Blocks are not "food". How about a Snickers? LOL!

My KNEE killed me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Will have to give the Gallo-WAY a try for November).




Gotta' go to bed...just got home.....More later!

 

[bounceliketigger]

No, you're not alone. It's actually fairly common. Here are some random links about it.

http://www.runtheplanet.com/trainingracing/training/questionsanswers/mail0023.asp

http://ibs.about.com/od/livingwithibs/a/runnersdiarrhea.htm

M'thonmommy- LOLOLOL! What a choice of conversation with Bingham! I'd love to know how that one started!

Thanks for these links FFigawi, (I think ). I hope to get some good advice. I

 

[BigMickeyFan]

Just got home after interminable flight delays to Philly, but I had a great time!! My sister and I ran it together - her 3rd half, but my very first. Unfortunately, she had the aforementioned...ummm, gastrointestinal issues...and I actually finished before she did, in 2:56 which I was very happy with. I am generally a nighttime runner, so I loved that about this race to begin with, plus the idea of getting to be in the parks at night was great!

I will crib from some of the rest of you for my critique:

Pros:
That band on the back and out stretch between AK and DHS. They were awesome! At first, I thought it was a DJ - but they were singing and playing live. They were great!

The number of porta potties at the start. Lines were reasonable.

The Osbourne Lights! Incredible. I saw them for Christmas a couple of years ago. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a little fake snow. I thought that very same thing about the snow - would have been a wonderful little extra touch.

The medal. I like how substantial it is.

The way the snacks were pre-packaged and easy to grab after waiting on the long line.

The CONCEPT of the after-party. Yes - the concept was awesome. The execution was horrendous. Even if my sister was feeling better, we likely wouldn't have stayed any longer - the lines were ridiculous. We didn't eat or drink anything - I have both sets of our vouchers in my suitcase.

Running through AK - cool vibe.

The home stretch with amazing crowd support. Also, the cast members all along the route were awesome!


B]CONS: [/B]

The bag check line. Seriously? This isn't rocket science. We actually didn't have a problem with this at all, but arrived fairly early. I think we were at the staging area by 7:45.

Bag pick up. See comment above. Absolutely awful!!!!!!!! Agreed. We waited half an hour to get our bags back. The "system" (I use that term very loosely) was absolutely atrocious.

Waiting so long to get that medal. Dang...it's what I waited for and wanted it much sooner after crossing the finish line!

Agreed about the poor lighting in spots.

As much as I enjoy them, Shot Blocks are not "food". How about a Snickers? LOL! Actually, Shot Blocks are my preferred training "fuel", so I was thrilled that that was what they were offering. Mine were cut open and easy to eat, too. I was not, however, thrilled with the mass quantities of them that I had to dig out of the soles of my shoes the next morning. Gross.

I'll post more thoughts later when they come to me. I wholeheartedly agree that the party was way oversold, though - what a letdown to get to the "goal" of the whole race and not be able to celebrate or even enjoy it at all because it was just waaaaay too crowded.

 

[BigMickeyFan]

Ohhhhh, but I did forget to post about the best part of my trip (although it's not specifically related to the race itself). We were reserved to stay at POFQ, but got upgraded to the Grand Floridian on arrival!!! That was some very unexpected but much appreciated pixie dust, and did make the whole experience a little more magical. We walked to the Poly for the race transportation and had no issues with that.

 

[John VN]

BigMickeyFan, way to go with the upgrade.

First...Congratulations to all and Thank You to all volunteers. Since this was my first race I can't compare to anything but will say that I pretty much agree with the positive and negative sentiments expressed by others.

Second...I would like to apologize to anyone I upset with my zig-zag-zigging as I made my way to the finish line. I was Relay Runner #2 and out to set as fast a time as possible so I have something to submit for the full in January. This being my first race I tried to have plenty of room as I passed and even went outside the cones quite frequently to avoid problems. I was the klutz who hit a cone around mile 10 and proceeded to do a left facial face plant with glasses flying off into the dark.

A HUGE THANK YOU to the woman who came over and asked if I was OK and retrieved my glasses.

Even with the fall, a couple of OOPS at early water stations that convinced me to stop taking on water and the need to stop and turn around to pick-up my Relay flashlight baton that I dropped, I still managed a 1:20:14 for my 8.3 miles a 9:34mm average.

Last year I tried to start training for this past January's full but a right knee collapse stopped all the training. I am so glad people on the W.I.S.H. board started a dialogue about Danny Dreyer's CHI Walking. After reading his walking book I began his technique and never have had a knee problem or any other pain. I have to credit his style of walking that allowed me to accomplish a 9:34mm average for my first event with a maximum speed at one point of 12mph according to my 305 Garmin. With Danny's book on Chi Running in my possession I will now see if I am able to move up to this form of running that might very well bring down my times into the 7:00mm range.

This attempt at running will have to wait a bit since my 60yo legs are still smarting from Saturday's event. I will take things slowly and would suggest to anyone who have had knee problems to look into CHI walking or running.

Much success to all in future events. Next up for DW and myself will be the Space Coast 1/2 in Nov. and then in January the 5K and 1/2 for DW and a Dopey attempt for me.

 

[MissFitt]

Back from my trip and surprised myself -- 2:26 (not bad for a first timer!) DH and I crossed the finish line at the same time -- thanks hon, it meant alot! My SIL and BIL both finished within 10 minutes of us (they are use to competing in triathalons so strictly running was different for them.

Just getting to Disney was an adventure for us. Southwest cancelled our 7am flight out of Islip (Friday) and all other flights from LI or NYC were booked up for Friday and Sat. morning. We did get a wonderful agent who got us on a flight out of Hartford, CT. on Friday morning...we had to drive to Hartford in a rain storm so the normally 2-3 hour trip took 5 hours! We made it to the plane but the plane didn't make it to us in time and we missed the connecting flight in Baltimore. Finally made it to the Beach Club about 14 hours after we left our house (original flight had us landing just after 9 am ) The good part was we walked over to Kouzzina for a bite to eat and had a great meal!

I guess I have the same observations as the rest...I was in corral C and was having trouble getting around groups of people at the start of the race (there were a few groups that were not following the two abreast rule and were more like four or five across) Since I was a newbie I didn't know if this was normal or not.

Also I couldn't believe how dark it was in places, especially going into HS. Count me in as one of those who was pleasently surprised with the Osbourne lights (would have been completely awesome if it was snowing too!)

Big shout out to all of those who lined the way from HS to EPCOT -- those words of encouragement were the perfect way to end the journey!

Were they kidding with the bag pick up? Did they even have AC on? And the after party was WAY too crowded. As much as I wanted to get my "free" taste, the lines were insane. Saw a bunch of people in dire need of medical help.

Congrats to all who finished

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

It's funny how mental running is sometimes. I totally had forgotten that after the relay point, I couldn't figure out why so many people were suddenly passing me, until it occurred to me it was the fast second leg relay runners who were running on fresh legs.

 

[FireDancer]

It's funny how mental running is sometimes. I totally had forgotten that after the relay point, I couldn't figure out why so many people were suddenly passing me, until it occurred to me it was the fast second leg relay runners who were running on fresh legs.

I had the exact same thing happen. Someone came flying up on me and at first I wondered why someone who was going so fast had started so far back but then I saw the gray bib and a light bulb went off.

 

[elbowglitter]

I'm with marathonmommy on so many of her pros and cons!

For me, I was disappointed in the race. My first half marathon was at Disneyland and everyone kept saying how it paled in comparison to WDW races. And I was not impressed with this race. The course was awesome. It was a bit too narrow at spots, and they really should have wave started.

The after party was a total bust for me. SUPER crowded and lots of people who had really been partying before we got there. I think the finish line should have been elsewhere as well. Too crowded.

Love the medal though, and the race was a learning experience. Night races just aren't for me. At least not long night races!

 

[MamaCrush]

Just finished with our meet and greet

Had about 15 show up.

Thank you Shannon (bounceliketigger) for bringing the name tags.

Kathy

I am so sorry I missed this! I was at Magic Kingdom, checked my watch and it was already 5:24...

 

[bigtony777]

Glad to hear so many enjoyed the race. My wife and I had a great time with our first Disney race.

I will agree with many others that they need to fix the bag drop off and pickup. We got to the start area at about 8. Finally made our way to the end of the line and then didn't move for 20 minutes. After we walked for 5 minutes to find the end of the line in the middle of the field, 2 other end of the lines formed further up stream. I can't believe that this is the same setup they use for other races is it?

The corrals were another thing to improve. Need more of them and actually define them. I saw B, C and D all together. I also don't understand why they asked everyone to get to them so early. It seemed that there were many first time runners so they didn't know any better. Why would I want to go get in my corral 50 minutes before the race is going to start?

Last is the lines at the after party. Way too long. This actually worked in our advantage somewhat as we were handed several vouchers while we were in line from another couple leaving early.

Overall, I enjoyed the weekend and the race. I hope that Disney fixes the issues everyone is talking about for next year as we are planning on returning.

 

[ahoff]

I agree with what many have said already, though some of the issues were not a problem for me. There was the one spot that I thought was very dark, the ramp before MGM. Running through AK was not a problem for me, I did not think it was that crowded. The run through MGM seemed never-ending, too many back lot areas. But the Osborne Lights were very cool! (I did mention to the person running near me, "where's the snow?") It seemed twice the distance of the ToT route. I would have loved if they took away some of the MGM route and added it into Epcot somewhere, though having no knowledge of the backlot areas there makes it hard for me to say where to stage the finish. I thought the shotblocks should have been given out a bit before a water stop, as you are supposed to drink after eating them. I never saw if there was a choice of any gels, but did not think so. I liked the run along the canal, felt like going home! Also wished the one performer along the route, Dominic (the guy who plays at DTD and who was setup on the road to AK) made an appearance somewhere at the party. Though maybe he did and I missed him.

Overall, I had a good time, happy that I finished with a comparable time to the January Half, and it was great to meet several of my Duck teammates!

 

[Shannon84]

The knees were awful. The left started cramping first, then by mile 10 I was feeling it in both. That was a first. Though the knee issue didn't compare to the "other" issue! lol

I'm with you on the backup plan. I actually spoke to a couple of women on Sunday who said they pull an 11mm using Galloway. That was pretty inspiring. Think I'm gonna get the book & do more research. This race just made me so mad. I was doing a pretty solid 10-11 for the first several miles & on my way to a PR, then WHAMMO! Ugh.

It was really great meeting you too! & WDWPrincess! Though our hangout was brief, it was really a blast & a highlight to the evening!
Thanks for the pic too!

Btw, are you doing the Richmond 1/2?

--BLT

I am toying with the idea of trying the Richmond 1/2, but if I dont do that one I will do the 8k they offer on the same day...not sure if I am ready to tackle another 13.1 miles yet

 

[FireDancer]

I can't believe that this is the same setup they use for other races is it?

Thankfully no, at least not for the January event. The difference of course is that the start and finish are the same location but other point to point races manage it better.

The best solution I have seen is the way the Country Music half does it (and I'm sure many others). They have 15 or so UPS trucks at the start. They are separated by either last name (Truck 1 is Aa through Bo for example) or by Bib number. You drop your bag and before the race starts the trucks close up and drive to the finish where they set back up. When you are done you just find the truck that corresponds to your last name or Bib number and get your bag.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Thankfully no, at least not for the January event. The difference of course is that the start and finish are the same location but other point to point races manage it better.

The best solution I have seen is the way the Country Music half does it (and I'm sure many others). They have 15 or so UPS trucks at the start. They are separated by either last name (Truck 1 is Aa through Bo for example) or by Bib number. You drop your bag and before the race starts the trucks close up and drive to the finish where they set back up. When you are done you just find the truck that corresponds to your last name or Bib number and get your bag.

Yup, that's how NYCM and RnR do it as well.