News and Developments for Future In-Person runDisney Events

[EPCOT-O.G.]

Mostly, I'm drawing a blank - did rD ever formally say any dead event is cancelled, or did it just not appear on the calendar anymore?

You don’t have to “cancel“ a race if it wasn’t scheduled in the first place!

(recall emails where they say the 2021-22 race series hasn’t been announced)

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

I just checked the rD blog from April 2020. Note the highlighted sentence, and the dates when registration would be opening.

 

[BikeFan]

View attachment 580798

You don’t have to “cancel“ a race if it wasn’t scheduled in the first place!

(recall emails where they say the 2021-22 race series hasn’t been announced)

No, I meant when prior rD events were discontinued, like Tower of Terror, the Expedition Everest Challenge, all the Disneyland races, etc. Did they ever make a formal announcement on any of them, or did they just stop showing up on the calendar anymore? Regarding Wine and Dine, that race weekend has existed for 10+ years. It'd be a shame if it just went away, with no announcement or anything.

 

[The Expert]

No, I meant when prior rD events were discontinued, like Tower of Terror, the Expedition Everest Challenge, all the Disneyland races, etc. Did they ever make a formal announcement on any of them, or did they just stop showing up on the calendar anymore? Regarding Wine and Dine, that race weekend has existed for 10+ years. It'd be a shame if it just went away, with no announcement or anything.

I do seem to recall an announcement about Light Side being canceled. I had signed up for Dark Side at WDW in anticipation of getting the Kessel Run medal. The time for LS registration came and they announced a delay, then a few weeks later they said it was being discontinued. I was GUTTED as the whole reason I'd started running was for that medal and I thought I'd missed it! But a few months later they announced the virtual LS Half as a way to complete the challenge.

Someone please correct me if I've got the sequence of events wrong or if I'm remembering incorrectly.

 

[Barca33Runner]

I seem to recall all of the race weekends that were discontinued having some type of press release acknowledging their discontinuation. I have to imagine there were if for no other reason than to curb all of the questions about what happened to them and when they would be coming back.

 

[opusone]

After all, they never actually announced a 2021 W&D event would take place, or any events in 2022, so maybe they don't feel obligated to further address the question.

They did mention one 2022 event (which is still part of the current “Important Message” on the rD website). When discussing the Star Wars weekend being rethemed, they say:

“During this unusual time, race organizers around the world continue to pause on hosting in-person race events that draw large crowds. As we look to the 2021 Star Wars Rival Run Weekend, we will convert this race to a virtual event, similar to the previous runDisney race weekends this season. In addition, we will reimagine the theming of this race weekend for 2022 and will share more information on that at a later date.”

 

[camaker]

This is all really kind of hilarious.

RunDisney is legendary for their lack of attention to detail (misspellings and incorrect dates on medals/shirts, anyone?) and incredibly poor communications both in frequency and specificity. Yet, here we are, combing through old releases looking for Illuminati-level hidden clues to what they might do. It’s like our own little version of The DaMickey Code!

Come on, RunDisney, tell us something!

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

This is all really kind of hilarious.

RunDisney is legendary for their lack of attention to detail (misspellings and incorrect dates on medals/shirts, anyone?) and incredibly poor communications both in frequency and specificity. Yet, here we are, combing through old releases looking for Illuminati-level hidden clues to what they might do. It’s like our own little version of The DaMickey Code!

Come on, RunDisney, tell us something!

I see what you did there. Oh, did I see it.

 

[rrobinhhalk]

Is it possible that RD/Disney wanted to open the race registration to only vaccinated participants but now with the executive order Gov. DeSantis has put forth (not being able to require proof of vaccine and if done the business will be fined for each occurrence) it now has them in a holding pattern of what to do?

 

[lukemorenus]

Is it possible that RD/Disney wanted to open the race registration to only vaccinated participants but now with the executive order Gov. DeSantis has put forth (not being able to require proof of vaccine and if done the business will be fined for each occurrence) it now has them in a holding pattern of what to do?

We have no idea, since they are apparently incapable of communicating anything more meaningful that playlists and Zoom backgrounds

 

[huskies90]

Is it possible that RD/Disney wanted to open the race registration to only vaccinated participants but now with the executive order Gov. DeSantis has put forth (not being able to require proof of vaccine and if done the business will be fined for each occurrence) it now has them in a holding pattern of what to do?

Folks, I think this post is probably OK, but let's be careful. Any posts mentioning politics or either one of the two controversial aspects of the pandemic response are getting the entire thread closed immediately. I am not sure if the mods are even reading the threads at this point. They may simply be doing a keyword search for the "V" word or the "M" word and just closing any thread that mentions them. Let's keep this on topic without any mention of any of those 3 things.

 

[rrobinhhalk]

Folks, I think this post is probably OK, but let's be careful. Any posts mentioning politics or either one of the two controversial aspects of the pandemic response are getting the entire thread closed immediately. I am not sure if the mods are even reading the threads at this point. They may simply be doing a keyword search for the "V" word or the "M" word and just closing any thread that mentions them. Let's keep this on topic without any mention of any of those 3 things.

sorry about that!

 

[Z-Knight]

sorry about that!

there was nothing wrong with your post

 

[huskies90]

there was nothing wrong with your post

Like I said, it was probably OK, but they have had pretty itchy trigger fingers recently (I honestly can't blame them) and I have see threads get closed for what seemed like pretty harmless discussions but if they hit on any of the hot buttons, they are getting closed. Just a PSA. I wasn't trying to be critical. One of the mods posted this as a sticky post on Monday as a warning:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/policy-on-covid-related-discussions.3840342/

 

[Z-Knight]

Like I said, it was probably OK, but they have had pretty itchy trigger fingers recently (I honestly can't blame them) and I have see threads get closed for what seemed like pretty harmless discussions but if they hit on any of the hot buttons, they are getting closed. Just a PSA. I wasn't trying to be critical. One of the mods posted this as a sticky post on Monday as a warning:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/policy-on-covid-related-discussions.3840342/

i understand the concern - it's a good reminder to make. But the post simply stated fact of current events regarding covid passes....which I actually agree could be a reason for their delay in the announcements. I just wish they put something out because, although it can be "fun" to speculate, I am getting more and more worried daily that they are reaching the limit of how long they can go. I think the post mentioning that runDisney would make announcements with enough time to train is probably accurate - I suspect they have until the end of this month since the Galloway plans likely start in July. I would hope they wouldn't wait that long to do it though.

 

[creativeamanda]

At some point in the past couple of weeks, my link to Autism SPeaks' charity for Marathon Weekend was taken down, along with all reference to the 2021 race, even though most of us took the option to defer to 2022.

 

[Onceuponamarathon]

I took a look at the current large marathons that have announced they're coming back. To keep this thread on track, no personal or political opinions on the races' decisions about safety protocols, please. We're just here to speculate endlessly about runDisney coming back while we die of old age waiting for an announcement. Not get this thread shut down.

NYC- Be prepared to provide a negative test or proof of vaccine
Boston- Vax status doesn't matter, be prepared to provide 2 negative tests
Chicago- Be prepared to provide a negative test or proof of vaccine
MCM- no info either way
LA- no info either way
Honolulu- no info either way


It seems like there's no clear consensus on what the protocols will be. The official Majors are leading the charge and setting precedence but even then they're careful to say "be prepared". They also have qualifying statements that protocols are changing rapidly and more specifics will be addressed in the months leading up to the race. It sounds like NYC/Boston/Chicago are prepping runners for "worst case scenario" up front. MCM/LA/Honolulu races seem to be taking a wait and see approach as so much is changing so quickly.

Boston, by far, has the most detail on how they're handling things. I found these changes interesting:

-There is an additional 25 dollar fee on top of the race registration to cover enhanced safety support
-No stagging area/gathering of runners
-rolling start instead of corrals with runners assigned start times based on bus loading

If we're speculating on what the hold up is for runDisney announcement, I don't think it's because they wanted to make the race available only to vaccinated runners and the gov threw a wrench in their plans. Even the majors aren't aligned with setting precedence around vaccination status to run, and I think Disney is going to follow whatever precedence ends up getting set and proven out around safety.

That being said, I could totally see Disney tacking on an extra fee, a la Boston. I wouldn't mind a rolling start if I could ensure I was on the first bus. More time in the dark = better for the marathon for me.

 

[Barca33Runner]

I took a look at the current large marathons that have announced they're coming back. To keep this thread on track, no personal or political opinions on the races' decisions about safety protocols, please. We're just here to speculate endlessly about runDisney coming back while we die of old age waiting for an announcement. Not get this thread shut down.

NYC- Be prepared to provide a negative test or proof of vaccine
Boston- Vax status doesn't matter, be prepared to provide 2 negative tests
Chicago- Be prepared to provide a negative test or proof of vaccine
MCM- no info either way
LA- no info either way
Honolulu- no info either way


It seems like there's no clear consensus on what the protocols will be. The official Majors are leading the charge and setting precedence but even then they're careful to say "be prepared". They also have qualifying statements that protocols are changing rapidly and more specifics will be addressed in the months leading up to the race. It sounds like NYC/Boston/Chicago are prepping runners for "worst case scenario" up front. MCM/LA/Honolulu races seem to be taking a wait and see approach as so much is changing so quickly.

Boston, by far, has the most detail on how they're handling things. I found these changes interesting:

-There is an additional 25 dollar fee on top of the race registration to cover enhanced safety support
-No stagging area/gathering of runners
-rolling start instead of corrals with runners assigned start times based on bus loading

If we're speculating on what the hold up is for runDisney announcement, I don't think it's because they wanted to make the race available only to vaccinated runners and the gov threw a wrench in their plans. Even the majors aren't aligned with setting precedence around vaccination status to run, and I think Disney is going to follow whatever precedence ends up getting set and proven out around safety.

That being said, I could totally see Disney tacking on an extra fee, a la Boston. I wouldn't mind a rolling start if I could ensure I was on the first bus. More time in the dark = better for the marathon for me.

I don’t think rD is in the position to even care what the other marathons are doing yet. I’m sure they are monitoring those situations and planning on all types of eventualities but their relevant marker surrounds what the theme parks and resorts of a larger corporation are doing. Maybe I’m wrong, but I tend to think successfully running the Boston Marathon doesn’t mean nearly as much to rD as successfully running the Festival of Fantasy parade.

 

[Onceuponamarathon]

I don’t think rD is in the position to even care what the other marathons are doing yet. I’m sure they are monitoring those situations and planning on all types of eventualities but their relevant marker surrounds what the theme parks and resorts of a larger corporation are doing. Maybe I’m wrong, but I tend to think successfully running the Boston Marathon doesn’t mean nearly as much to rD as successfully running the Festival of Fantasy parade.

I think they care to the extent that they won’t be the first ones to do anything. If all the other marathons had canceled, Disney would too. If every single other large marathon had announced that proof of vaccination was required, then I think Disney would be reluctant to announce themselves as the first to NOT require it. But even the large marathons are largely TBD on vax status. Hence why I don’t think the Florida regulations on proof of vaccination really matter to Disney, and thus they aren’t the reason for the radio silence from runDisney.

To your point, I agree. They’re far more interested in getting their other divisions up and running then running a marathon. The best we can hope for is that rundisney is working behind the scenes and the reason for the silence is a tactical communications strategy. If they announce a race, people will demand answers on parades and fireworks. After all what’s the difference between people crowded for a parade vs in a corral. If they announce parades and fireworks first, then a race announcement will just be the next step in opening.

 

[Kerry1957]

I decided to play along and contact rD. I sent them a very short note yesterday asking when the decision to have an in-person W&D race would be decided and communicated. I received a nice reply today. I won't quote it all since I'm not sure if it is proper to post a private reply to theses boards, but it said, in part,

Our complete 2021-2022 runDisney race series has not yet been announced, and we do not have information to share regarding when an announcement may be made......
Kerry, we can’t wait to cheer you on at a future runDisney event!

I was a bit surprised how quickly they responded and at the positive tone of the response. No new information, but I came away feeling better today about rD than I did yesterday.