Official Wine & Dine 2014

[ua1992]

The rain can make for blisters and unusual chasing. When running in the rain I put body glide on the bottom of my feet and that seems help. Great job on finishing is rough conditions - it was a wet and cold one last night

 

[Kathymford]

This was my first WDW race. The bus situation after the race seemed horrendous!! Is that normal? Or was the rain a factor? And a line of people for cabs and none waiting?? We are paying good money to stay on property and 2-3 extra hours before and after the race seems excessive. We are used to DL and just walking back to even good neighbor hotels is way better.

 

[wellesleyprincess]

Can't wait to hear everyone's reports! Hope y'all all had great races!

 

[wilkeliza]

The rain can make for blisters and unusual chasing. When running in the rain I put body glide on the bottom of my feet and that seems help. Great job on finishing is rough conditions - it was a wet and cold one last night

Did the bottoms and still blistered. Not to self bring old running shoes to walk in at the parks because my park shoes started the blister and the rain finished um.

 

[wilkeliza]

This was my first WDW race. The bus situation after the race seemed horrendous!! Is that normal? Or was the rain a factor? And a line of people for cabs and none waiting?? We are paying good money to stay on property and 2-3 extra hours before and after the race seems excessive. We are used to DL and just walking back to even good neighbor hotels is way better.

Bus lines were 2 hours long after the race? The cabs were the fact that a lot of runners didn't stay at host resorts but also didn't want to drive. At tower it took me 5 minutes if that for a taxi as a long line were waiting. I also really think the rain had most of just wanting to get somewhere warm so we could tend to our issues.

 

[champdds]

My time was a few minutes above usual, but certainly acceptable regarding the photo stops ( and one unplanned potty stop, seemed I over hydrated beforehand, and didn't time the prerace stop accordingly...)

In regards to the blistering issue, from my experience with numerous toe foot issues early oń, you need to definitely purchase good running shoe..I had to experiment with 4 or 5 brands and styles for my particular running style before finding a brand that works and I wear a full size larger running than dress shoes due to toe nail damage in the past from long runs. High grade running socks are a must, I prefer Feetures...they are great. And finally, if I do any run longer than 10 miles, I use pure Vaseline and literally glob it all over my feet and slip the socks over it...yes, it is very messy, and eventually makes the socks gross after a numbers of runs,but I no longer get any blisters, perriod,even in the soaked conditions last night. I found it better than Body Glide ( which I do use of my thighs and chest)

My thoughts, both positive and negative:
1) incredibly too few portapotties for the number of people...I have been involved with races a quarter the size and twice as many portapotties-definitely my biggest problem
2) amazed at the number of volunteers/helpers.... Simply outstanding
3) really liked the online tracking system to send split times to my wife via text and friends via Facebook posting...was very happy that my split times decreased and estimated finish time got better every 5k which I contribute to the crowd finally thinning to allow better running strides
4) I didn't think there was nearly enough area to properly warm up, I like to jog a little to stretch warm muscles, and therefore, didn't get warmed up hardly at all, so that too affected my early split times.
5) rain or shine , I was planning on changing clothes after the face...the tent provided, as least for the men, was way too small, and probably became very muddy as the night progresses.
6) I had two favorite spots- the disco tunnel ( probably because it was under cover)..and the Osbourne Christmas Light area.
7) I did go to Epcot afterwards, enjoyed a Bass at my favorite English Pub there, and did sample some food as I walked around the WS..I was amazed how uncrowded it was early on around 1am, and the employees seemed pretty bored, but some were enjoying the music and dancing along which was fun
8) Lastly, the bus leaving to get back to Caribbean Beach was very chaotic, as there was not enough room for the volume of people per stop, I was at stop 8 and the lines overlapped easily back past #6, which was very confusing as some people inevitable ended up in the wrong line. Disney needs to consider spreading out this out, there is plenty of room in that lot area..

Overall, got home at 3am, showered and asleep by 4am....I will do this race again to see what a non rainy race is..

Safe travels everyone... Go it to hit a park soon myself and head up to Chattivegas tomorrow...

David

 

[bumbershoot]

Liza, I've felt both worse and better during halfs. Last night was so hard because of the weight of water in my shoes and the weird things my shorts were doing from being wet. I had to do a Vaseline stop because apparently I hadn't bodyglided up far enough.

I normally don't glide the bottoms of my feet but I had hot spots from flip flops and thank goodness I did.

Walking is so different from running, so if you weren't planning on 6 miles of walking it makes sense that you rubbed in different places. Hitting a wall at that mile marker is very very normal. Sometimes you can work it through and sometimes you can't. For tot 2013 and this year's wdw half it was ONLY the music on the course that got me through the 6th mile. Tot had Born This Way and wdw half had three songs (let it go, a Steve perry/journey song, and, important for me, ROAR). I wasn't running with music then and those songs brought me up.

This time (and DL half) I had music and was running with good people. They brought me through.

But sometimes you just can't get through the wall. I'm so glad you finished though.

 

[bumbershoot]

We are at SSR and the situation with that bus was unacceptable and mystifying. They nearly had a riot. We got in what looked like the line but was cbr. Thankfully we figured it out early. Others weren't so lucky.

 

[Kathymford]

We are at SSR and the situation with that bus was unacceptable and mystifying. They nearly had a riot. We got in what looked like the line but was cbr. Thankfully we figured it out early. Others weren't so lucky.

That is the line I was talking about. And we still had to get over to OKW. Not having buses for all the onsite resorts is crazy. We ended up taking the shortest line bus and a called a cab from there.

 

[MacClemsons]

This was our 3rd RunDisney race. We started running to meet the characters so it was disappointing that there weren't more characters. I completely understand that the fuzzies can't be out in the rain along the long stretches, but there were plenty of places in the parks that had overhangs where a character could have done meets. For example, there was a sign coming out of HS for the Incredibles - just a little way away there were a couple people standing out of the rain in a parking deck. Easily could have put the incredibles under there.

I was disappointed in the lack of people cheering compared to previous marathon weekend and ToT but it was understandable in the rain.

Gear pickup lines seemed long compared to other races. I guess because everyone had a change of clothes. For day races it is easy to go back to room.

It was a miserable race. I'm glad that I can say I did it, but sure hoping that the marathon and Princess half are better.

We were so wet and cold that we didn't even want to change clothes to go to after party. We didn't have any bus trouble back to CBR, but it was only 1:30. I imagine it got worse as the night went on.

 

[DCbride]

Good news- despite all the puddles, walking on inclines and other slick area...my time was only 15 seconds more than last year's Wine & Dine. So that means I have gotten better

I have never run in the rain so this was totally new. I stopped for 7 different photos, and helped a few fellow runners by taking their picture. Stopped at first med tent to Vaseline my Achilles, stopped at another med tent to bio freeze my calves, and stopped at about half drink stations. I found there were many more walkers this year especially after mile 8. It was tough to try to push through when everyone was just done, and showing it. I was cold from the start and rain in a base jacket. That got really heavy. But it kept me warmer so I dealt with it. I wish I had run in compression socks. The cold/rain killed my calves. I had to stretch practically every 15 min towards the end. I had hoped to stay, especially passing Beach club and it was not raining. But it started again by medal pick up so I called DH to come get me. I finished at 1:02 am with a time of 2:39:34. Warm shower and bed by 2:10

It is still my favorite race. I felt badly for all the first timers. It wasn't the best first Disney half experience.

 

[DOOM1001]

For how long did it rain during the race and just how cold was it?I did a half marathon in Ft.Lauderdale Sunday morning and at mile 8 I think we got hit with the rain that must have been at Disney the night before.It wasn't too cold but it basically rained from mile 8 on and through the after party at the beach and then we had to stand in the rain for an hour to wait for a bus back to the starting line to get our cars.I had never had a race where it rained continuously for a good part of the race,I can't say I enjoyed it but at least it wasn't too cold although while waiting for the bus you did feel a drop in temps.I've been getting over a chest cold so I hope it doesn't affect my recovery,if it would have been cold I would be more worried about it.I did another half 2 weeks ago and today's race took me 12 minutes longer,I went slower on purpose,didn't want to put too much strain on myself with the chest cold.I hope next year's Wine and Dine has better weather,I'll be there for that one.

 

[jdg345]

First: Congratulations to everyone who did this! Amazing accomplishment for many of you!

My cousin ran this yesterday for the first time and I was wanting to do it next year but it seems that there are a lot of delays to get started. Are all Disney races like this?

From what I saw, the roads closed at 8pm, so you had to be at ESPN by then. What do you do for 2-2.5 hours before race? It would be my first half and it seems that I'd be waiting just as long as I'd be running.

I am trying to find some advice from the seasoned professionals to see if there is a better way to do this where there is not as much wait time. I have anxiety issues and I don't know if I can sit that long.

For example, I did the Jingle Jungle and they told us to be there no later than 6:15am -- but people were arriving at 6:55am and did just fine. The hour wait was pretty tough for me, and I almost bailed.

 

[regul8ter18]

It started raining right before the start and didn't stop until around 8 am this morning. It made for a very long cold race.



For the 2.5 hour wait they have music and dancing. We just find a spot and sit down and people watch.

 

[bumbershoot]

For how long did it rain during the race and just how cold was it?.

From the time we got to the corrals through the end and beyond. It was likely in the 50s at the end. But many of us get cold after a long distance and all the lines were really hard. Long line for gear-getting, for beer/wine-getting, and such a long line for the women's hanging room we said forget it. Decided to go home instead. I did change in the restroom close to the buses. Then froze and waited in the rain for the SSR bus.

First: Congratulations to everyone who did this! Amazing accomplishment for many of you! My cousin ran this yesterday for the first time and I was wanting to do it next year but it seems that there are a lot of delays to get started. Are all Disney races like this?

The race started exactly on time. From wheelchair corral to corral K it was about half an hour, all on time.

Trust me, if you have anxiety you should be there early rather than sitting on a bus as the start time gets closer and closer. We got in the long line at SSR and got on a bus after 8. Sat on the bus in a line of buses once at espn until we got to where he could let us off. Walked to the area, waited in lines for gear check, waited for the portapotties, walked alllll the way through to corral I and parked it there. It was a bit of a wait but there were interesting people to talk to. I was glad to be in the corral and not on the buses still coming in as race time got closer.

 

[jdg345]

It started raining right before the start and didn't stop until around 8 am this morning. It made for a very long cold race.



For the 2.5 hour wait they have music and dancing. We just find a spot and sit down and people watch.

Is there any way to arrive closer to the start time? It seems silly to have to be there so early if you do not want to participate in the music, dancing, and people watching.

 

[wilkeliza]

Is there any way to arrive closer to the start time? It seems silly to have to be there so early if you do not want to participate in the music, dancing, and people watching.

It is a gamble but no one will stop you. They don't hold the race for anyone though and every gear people try to push how late they can show up and then miss their corral walking out etc. At Tower a lot of that happened because they moved the corrals at 9:30 on the dot (the time they say to be in your corral by) and I saw people who were in A get told they would have to jump into an open corral (at that point E of K if I remember correctly) and try to get back to A but since corrals were closed that may be hard.

Also the buses can be a nightmare as well as regular car traffic if you don't get there early. I left Epcot at 7 so was on the first set of buses but I know people who left their resorts only 30 minutes later but didn't get to the corral area until 8:40.

 

[DOOM1001]

What a shame the weather stunk for Wine and Dine this year,the combination of chilly temps and rain is not a good one.I was stressing out for like a week before ToT as early in the week it was showing 70% but you could tell the forecasts were changing constantly throughout the week and it ended up being a really nice night.For this weekend for the W&D and for the half I did this morning it was basically showing for the last 5 days 80-90% late Saturday into Sunday,it wasn't changing,I pretty much knew we were getting wet.

As far as getting there early before the races,nobody is forcing you to be there hours before but just make sure you get there in time to get in your corral.I usually get there early and I'm usually in my corral with plenty of time.For ToT this year I don't know what happened but it seemed like they weren't as loud when calling for people to go to their corrals or they didn't repeat it as often so I ended up hanging out longer than at other races and then even tried to use the port o potties one last time knowing I didn't have much time,I was in corral E and I got to the corral as corral F was exiting the corral and everyone in E was at the front of the corral ready to be let out,that's as late as I've ever been.

 

[zeltoo]

So here's my thoughts on the weekend...I'm a rundisney veteran. We've done Marathon weekend for several years now and have also done DDD/coast to coast. This was our first wine and dine. We stayed at beach club to be close to Epcot/finish line. Would do this again in a heartbeat. Great resort and location was perfect.

The expo was small but appropriately sized for the event. We got there at opening and lines were long for bib pickup. We still had fun and snapped a few photos.

Saturday - Did not run the 5k but slept-in and had bfast at flying fish. Got in some pool time Then lunch at fresh. And back to hotel for nap time. Nerves got the best of me and no sleepies occurred. We met friends in the lobby at 6:30. Out to the bus at 6:45 and were on the second bus to wwos. No issues. Bag check/drop off was smooth as could be and we found a comfy place to relax.

It didn't start drizzling until we were in corrals. We wore our tyvec coats over our clothes so I figured I was ok. First 5k was lovely. I was so happy to be running again after a devastating injury in January that nearly crippled me. So it was raining..who cares?

Loved ak. The tight course was tough to keep a good pace but I was running in ak..cool! Back on the course, next 5k done. Wow, we are wet and still I'm a happy girl. Volunteers pointing out the "big puddles" haha. We slog on to the studios.

Yay we made it! I take a moment to enjoy the new surroundings. However, I Was bummed the lights had a slow soundtrack though seeing them was pretty magical. I've never seen them on. Past the final sweep point..on to the boardwalk. I'm cold...drenched...beaten mentally. I don't know what happened. If this was a 12 mile race then I would have skipped to the finish line in glorious victory. The last mile was miserable for me. Thank goodness spaceship earth came into view. Holy cow...I'm back! I can run again. I'm going to complete this puppy. I ran across this finish with everything I had left. Skipped photos and the boxed food. I grabbed a banana and got the heck outta the finish line area. My husbands medal broke but they immediately gave him another.

Our friends were so cold they took bus back to resort. No wait to get on but a long wait to fill the buss. We walked back and while we were shivering and miserable...we still found Brazil and Greece . Haha. The warm shower at the hotel was heavenly.

As always, a great weekend. Some awesome stories and victories. Precious memories. Thank you ever so much to the volunteers. You are all amazing people. We will be back to race this again.

 

[regul8ter18]

Doom1001: I found it funny the only place on the whole radar map when I was watching like a hawk with a huge green blob was Florida.