Race reports

[dumbo_buddy]

great course! we took it nice and slow and really had fun. when we got to the world showcase they were blasting "let it go" which i LOVED. lines for the characters were WAY too long so we took pics with the security guards, LOL! went through some different areas backstage and loved running the epcot resort loop. definitely recommend people do the 10k.

re: finishing over the 16mm pace. it's fine. as long as you don't get swept you get a medal. done. don't worry about disney taking away your dopey medal if you finish over the pace. it's 16mm from the last person crossing the start line.

 

[dburg30]

Ran the 10K today-

Liked the course- wish there was more entertainment on the course even things like the stilt walkers/banners etc

Wish the ratio of dopey/10K was different or they sent one then the other- So many of the Dopeys took it slow from the start which made it super frustrating trying to find MY pace when it was trying to run upstream and spent a lot more time on the grass than should have. Lost a LOT of time/energy the first 2 miles trying to not just shuffle alongI dunno I had to weave a bob around a lot of minnie 10k also. And I was going SLOW for the reason you said.


having a ratio of 7 dopeys to 3 10kers put the odds against us both in making those who a 10k is a GREAT achievement that should be celebrated as such (who cant/arnt doing a longer race) vs the 'notch on the belt' for the dopey kids which I felt the event was catered to.
Well, since it's part of the challenge, and we HAVE to do it to get the medal, I guess you can call it catered to us?
I really hope the ratios tomorrow are different but as of now as much as I looked forward to this race (minnie is one of my fav characters and the 10k is my fav distance) I dont see myself running it again simply due to it being a 'dopey qualifier' vs a 'run disney event'

I ran the dumbo last year and loved that 10K since while there was plenty of dumbo kids everyone still 'tried' but there wasnt the full lingering over their effort...

I wish they would have spread it out a bit different also. I dont even remember if when we signed up it asked for an estimated time or how corrals were assigned. I guess since I'm going to be a slow 1/2 and full (has nothing to do with dopey, I'd be a slow 1/2 or full no matter what) I was in the last corral. I really dont know how you got into the faster corrals. But you have a PR at the Minnie 10k!! And the 1st year medal, and what I think was a pretty cool shirt. So not all bad.

 

[dburg30]

Oh yea, I agree was very disappointed with the on course entertainment. Being at the back I know there will be no chance for me to have pictures WITH the characters.. So sorry all those random people I am taking pictures of as I go by.

 

[cewait]

Of course, now I'm all worried and paranoid that I screwed myself from getting my Dopey medal by stopping for a photo and finishing over the required time limit. That honestly never even occurred to me this morning.

A couple thoughts from Goofy's past. We started with the wrist band system in the first Goofy races. The rule of the road was to get the wrist bands and you would get a Goofy regardless of time. As long as the finish line is up and you get a new band you are good to go.

We converted to a no-band system in 10 or 11 and the thought then was since there would be a list of Saturday finishers they would police the 16mm rule. They did not - nor really could they with the rush of 7500 runners coming through.

The bottom line - stay in front of the buses and cross Toady and tomorrow on your feet and you will do well.

 

[cewait]

I thought the race was a great race.

It started off not so great with the longer gaps between waves. I would hate to be Creigh and gang as they were not aware of the longer gaps until the race director started practicing the gaps. I would have liked being left in the staging area a little longer than being held in the compressed holding pattern - but that is a small issue.

I found the course to be very un crowded considering the number of runners on course. But then I was taking the race easy so I may have been a problem for those ruining more for time... but I just did not feel the crowd that we feel on the same part of the roadway for the half.

The weather stunk but I really was happy with the cloud cover and occasional sprinkle (or maybe that was heavy dew )

It was fun running on the Boardwalk side of the lake again. We have not run that side of the lake since 2005 or so.I did stop at the Jelly Rolls end of the boardwalk section when I found a friend (Scott) hanging there to see his wife. I busted 5-6 minutes there.

All in all a good race and a new Florida Resident PR int he 10k

ADDED - I would look to the revision of the 10k waves to be more reflective of the half and full if the race is more than a one and out event. If you receive a survey, I would hope folks would suggest smaller waves for the 10k to get rid of the longer gaps and lower any crowding seen yesterday.

Now on with the show - I hear the monorail running by

 

[cewait]

Man was it humid. Started from the K corral and managed a conservative pace for a lot of the race. I will reserve judgement of the new wave system as I felt the course crowds were just as bad as previous years.

I did stop around mile 2 where a gentleman had fallen and scrambled his noggin. A couple minutes after I arrived the med staff were on their way so I took off. Hope he ended up well. I ran a consistent pace through mile 6 then decided to slow up just a bit to preserve energy. I did find the wind refreshing as we went south and into the wind.

I met up with a couple guys in the corral who were running Dopey as well. They were discussing photo bombing and how they planned to take selfies at every mile point as well as selfie-bomb character photos ( taking a self of a character from the side while the character was posing with others). We played tag the entire race. Around mile 6 I stopped and photo bombed their photo of Mile 6 and then of some character just after the mile marker. I think I jumped into a half dozen of their photos from there to the end of the race. We high fived post race and promised to look for one another tomorrow.

All in all a good race for the weekend. It turns out to be a near personal worst time but turning the look it is also a Florida Resident PR. I am a little amused as the Garmin 620. On Thursday, the Garmin suggested a 12 hour recovery followed by a 6 hour recovery after the 10k. The suggestion makes a little more sense for the post half recovery offering a 31 hour suggestion. Unless I miss an alarm, that simply is not happening.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

I mustve lucked out spacing wise as I felt that it was a LOT smoother and far less crowded than previous races on that exact course.. Even though the 'narrows' of exiting MK to World Drive was better than expected (last princess it was pretty much a 2 mile shuffle)

Liked the new corral waves start- I was in I and stepped off about 3-4 min earlier than I wouldve in the old system (tend to end up in old corral D) and felt it evened people nicely

Wish it wouldve been about 10 degrees cooler but overall very satisfied of my run- Finished less than 2 min slower than my best time this race season and that didnt include near as many inclines nor running a 10k the day before.. Had I not had my knee twinge about mile 8 prob wouldve been a tad faster but will still take it

-em

 

[buckeyecinderella]

Half Report

I started near the front of L. Only 1 picture stop. Last year I was in D. I think they missed fireworks for a couple of corrals? Anyway, fun run but I missed the people on stilts and the hot air balloon. Maybe tomorrow. I have never seen character lines as long as they were today. Perhaps because I was relatively back a corral from where I have been in the past? I wish they would add a few more character stops. Also I have never seen so much course crowding. I had to walk through the castle and down the ramp. No room to run on the ramp at mile 10 back to Epcot. At least one or two other places - one being Epcot. Almost all runners were walking and it was nearly impossible to get through. Volunteers, cast, and spectator support was awesome. Looking forward to tomorrow and some cooler temps.

 

[disbabyndaddy]

Beginner Runner here with a friend down there running the Dopey Challenge ~ REALLY enjoying reading your race reports from here in the Midwest! I like envisioning the course, seeing the photos on FB & daydreaming of my own Princess Half someday. Until then ~ Keep up the excellent races everyone! Enjoy your gorgeous medals & successful run(s)!!

 

[heyitsmejosh]

okay so i decided to run the 10k and the half. i was one of the very few non dopey runners in the 10 .and i really enjoyed the course even though the start was pretty congested (like all races) there weren't many bottle necks where i was forced to walk. i felt like the race just flew by once you go into epcot just because it was such a nice area to run. now since most people there were running the dopey i felt like the finish line lacked the energy of other disney races just because as another poster had said for most people running the race it was just checking a box.

now for the half, well this race was probably my least favorite race ive run at disney/ a lot of it might have been due to the silly new policy of not accepting times past nov 1st, considering they had the wine and dine on like the 9th. now i am by no means a speed demon (2:45 in the wine and dine) but being stuck in O was brutal. anyway i started the race at the front of the pack and pretty much caught the back of N in about 2 or 3 minutes. so the race started pretty well for me since i wasnt stuck behind people and the main road leading up the TTC was pretty wide. then came the TTC and the road narrowed to pretty much one lane this is where it was brutal for me, there were so many walkers that were just blocking the way, there was no way for me to run. id get some bursts here and there but it was really tough to keep any sort of real pace going, i was getting very frustrated at that point. anyway that pretty much was the deal most of the way to the magic kingdom and through it. it was really fun going through the MK though despite the snail pace. finally when the road got wider or there was grass to run on, it made the run much more enjoyable i was finally able to get a good pace going and get comfortable. i enjoyed the rest of the race and running through epcot with all the crowds was fun. anyway i finished with my worst half time ever of 3:10 but i expected that. if i run another disney half i think ill stick to the wine and dine i liked the course a little better even though animal kingdom was a little crowed it was nothing compared to this.

 

[rachlovestv]

The half went pretty well for me. My legs felt heavy again the first few miles, but I stuck to my 3:1 intervals, and they loosened up after a bit. My finish time is my worst ever for a half, but I was taking it slow, and stopped for a couple pictures, so I rather expected that.

I was in Corral J and started a little after 6. Although it was definitely warmer and more humid than I'd like, I actually was afraid it would get worse, so I was pleasantly surprised when not only did the sun not come out (except for about a 10 second spurt at one point), but there was a nice breeze at times.

The course... It was definitely boring on the long stretches of freeway. I appreciated seeing Jack and Sally on the way out and Lilo and Stitch on the way back, but it would be nice if there were more characters, or just more entertainment in general. There were definitely a few spots on the course that were quite crowded and hard to run on. I'm not even that fast of a runner, but I had to hit the grass at a few points, and walk when I "should" have been running at others. I tried to just take it in stride, and adjust my intervals accordingly. In the end, I don't feel the crowding messed up my race or ruined my experience. The most frustrating for me was the people who would see a photographer up ahead and jump in front of me, or slow down to a snails pace to pose. I understand that they just want a cool picture, but they aren't the only ones.

Tomorrow should be interesting. My friend is running, too, and wants me to run with him, so we are starting back in N. I'm worried because It sounds like the later corrals are much more congested, and the later start (compared to J) makes me nervous, as I'd like to run without the sun as much as possible, especially those freeway stretches, but we'll just have to make do.

Good luck to everyone running tomorrow!

 

[cewait]

I should add to my crowded course feelings that I have started B or C for the last 7 years so I may be a little spoiled. I did do a lot of tress running today. For me, I have no issue setting up court a couple feet off the pavement as it is mostly smooth. The only spot of real worry is the corner from Epcot to World. About a quarter way through the turn and about 3-4 feet off the edge is a conduit vault cover about one foot below grade. Its dark so it can be a hazard but most folks tend to point the depressed area out.

 

[cewait]

Day 4 of the Dopey Challenge and the fun really begins. Currently 65 at WDW will be around 59-60 at the start and then get cooler. Should not see 60F again until late morning and then only up to 65 for the day. Humidity falls as well. Not ideal but better than the last couple days. Good luck to all my running buds.

 

[afnaechiquita]

good luck everyone!!! in less than ten hours you will be finished!

 

[Nole95]

Finished our first marathon this morning and had a great time. Corral h and did not find the course overly congested other than the places coach already warned about. Absolute best part for me was the run through MK with all the crowds/

Only issue was the return. On our way back to POR, we were stuck in traffic for over 20 minutes waiting to turn onto Buena Vista Drive. This because over 1000 motorcycles were allowed to come through the light. I cannot imagine how bad things were backed up behind our bus. Unless this was some funeral then there is really no excuse why this should have been allowed to happen today of all days when many roads are closed. After running 26.2 people were not happy to be stuck on a cramped bus for 30 minutes for ride that should have taken 10.

Other than that we had great time. Cleaning up now to head out to Epcot for adult beverages.

 

[DOOM1001]

Beat my last years marathon time by 37 minutes,but I'm limping around worse than last year.Last couple of days I've been walking around with Goofy and Dopey dreams for next year.After finishing a bit beat up those dreams have been pushed aside.The full is hard enough and the getting up that early 4 days in a row would also take its toll,serious respect to all Dopey and Goofy finishers.

 

[dburg30]

I am dopey! It took me the full 7 hours, but I did it..
Thank goodness I had some people helping me thru.

 

[buckeyecinderella]

I feel today's temp was perfect for me.. Course crowding was less today than what I experienced for the half. Also the picture stop lines weren't as long so I got some extra pics. Again awesome volunteer, cast, and spectator support. Thanks to Wish team passing out wash cloths and i can't even remember where! Animal Kingdom area?

I also ran the 10k plus the Goofy. Strangely, the fastest pace was in the marathon. My pace kept getting faster each day. I shaved a minute off last years marathon time too so new PR for me. That was even with a bathroom stop. Lol.

I did not mind WWoS. To me it is still better than more highway.

I see a Dopey challenge in my future.

 

[buckeyecinderella]

I am dopey! It took me the full 7 hours, but I did it..
Thank goodness I had some people helping me thru.

Congratulations to you and ALL this weekend's participants!

 

[dburg30]

I feel today's temp was perfect for me.. Course crowding was less today than what I experienced for the half. Also the picture stop lines weren't as long so I got some extra pics. Again awesome volunteer, cast, and spectator support. Thanks to Wish team passing out wash cloths and i can't even remember where! Animal Kingdom area?

I also ran the 10k plus the Goofy. Strangely, the fastest pace was in the marathon. My pace kept getting faster each day. I shaved a minute off last years marathon time too so new PR for me. That was even with a bathroom stop. Lol.

I did not mind WWoS. To me it is still better than more highway.

I see a Dopey challenge in my future.

I THINK I saw you during the half.. I was afraid to ask though, in case it wasnt you

CONGRATS to you too and everyone else!!!!