2011 Disneyland Race Reports

[slp1650]

First off, I hope everyone had fun and did well! In my opinion, it was a great day for the race.

So how about some race reports? What did you guys think of the race?

Personally, I thought the race was fun. Longer lines for characters this year, and it seemed as though there weren't as many out. I didn't like how the corrals were set up (at least the back ones D and up). It was just too crowded for how they were trying to do it.

Even though my training hasn't been as good as I had been hoping, I still finished and only 4 minutes behind my personal best! My ankles are screaming at me, but I was expecting that no matter how far I trained. Hardest part for me was between 6-8 miles, but I got through it and it ended up being a great race for me.

For a more detailed review of the race, check out my blog (first link in my sig). I'm putting up a better race report tomorrow once I've relaxed for a bit. I'm also going to try and put pictures up from all of my races in a slideshow.

So how'd it go for everyone else?

 

[r3ngels]

I would love to know to... thinking about it for next year!

 

[Danhockey04]

Personally, I think the characters was lacking, though no lines as always in the front. It was a fast course, really took advantage of the troughs. The race support was good, though isolated, but still great. I did pr and get my goal of under 1:59 with 1:44. Overall, it was a fun experience. Now the countdown begins for food and wine, 27 days.

 

[J-2]

Good to hear. Keep them coming! I'm thinking of doing this next year for the coast to coast!

 

[RENThead09]

I agree that there were less characters out this year, but I think that is due to the fact that there really wasnt a journey through DCA. That will be eliminated next year and I cant wait for us to run through Radiator Springs and with that incredible new mountain range as a backdrop for us.

With the ending of this phase of construction, we should hopefully see the return of Pixar Play Parade, which would also increase the pool of characters that they can draw from.

No lines that I ran into, but I started in Corral B.

I thought that the cheering and support sections were loud and placed at the perfect spots. Also the water seemed plentiful. As always, the section that goes through the Santa Ana Wash was a little tight, but nothing too crazy.

Nice to see that we ran through the stadium even though there was a game (Go Twins).

Cant wait to get down and get the Goofy going!

 

[ludari]

This was my first Disneyland Half and I had a fantastic time but in February I completed the Princess Half and I have to say that the entertainment is so much more better at WDW. I thought the corral organization was a total mess and needs better coordination. On the upside I enjoyed running through Angel's Stadium and they where plenty of water stations. However the good things outweighed the bad and I had a wonderful time at the event and with my friends. I also earned my Coast to Coast Medal so that was an amazing feeling as well. Next month I'm heading to WDW to run the W&D Half, then Goofy, Tinker and Princess.

 

[lisah0711]

Congrats to all the DL runners and especially those C2C folks!

If you have any tips for those of us doing the inaugural Tinker Bell Half in January they would be appreciated!

 

[Disfan11]

Sorry I don't know how to cut and paste on the message boards.
My report is on page 51 of the Disneyland 1/2 thread.

I'm sure the reason there are not as many characters at Disneyland 1/2 as compaired to the DW Princess is because they own the roads at DW. Therefore they can put anything they want on their property.. ie characters.
I wish they would have had the pirates on the ship at least.
Oh well. At least I'll get to see them at the Princess next year. Arrrrrrrrr....

 

[slp1650]

I put a longer race report on my blog. You can find it on this link:
http://runningmuses.blogspot.com/2011/09/race-recap.html

I did put some advice in it and PICTURES! Well, just 3 right now, but more are coming!

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I can agree with most of the posts. They didn't have nearly as many characters but the ones they had were great! I didn't stop to take any pictures because the lines did look a bit long. I agree that California Adventure was not as prominent this race as it was last year which had to do a lot with the characters. The corrals were confusing yet again and the back ones seemed to have a mixture of bib's - D/E for example due to that. The pick-up for the C2C was really slow...whereas the regular packet pick-up was pretty fast. I guess it just depends on who volunteers for what. Since there were so few C2C, I would think that they would have one long list and just have anyone available help. When you are only given 30 minutes to park without being charged a daily rate, picking up the speed would be really nice!

The bags were really lacking this year...and I hope that the Tinkerbell has a nice bag like the Princess did in 2010. I still expect at Disney with how much money they make off this race to have a lot more little gifts in the bags. Not just race advertisements. But, that may be just me. I liked the shirt though and it did seem like there were a few less exhibitors this year. The Expo doesn't have the amount of room that WDW does so I wasn't expecting it to be nearly as large.

The entertainment on the course was good, it was nice to run through Angel Stadium again, and I didn't have any problems with the beverage stations. I think that a lot of things improved, but there was still some room for improvement...more signage please regarding corrals - not yelling volunteers. The back corrals were easily accessible by the parking garage yet no volunteer said anything about that so you had to walk through slow moving crowds to finally find them. So, this is definitely a race that you need to arrive early to. Otherwise, you won't get into your corral.

My favorite thing...the medal and my C2C - although did anyone notice it no longer has the year hanging from it? Just the lanyard is different? Maybe so that they can order more and save money? It has to be a lot easier to just change the lanyard.

 

[Qltrgrl2]

Race Thoughts:

This was my first Disneyland Half marathon and there were things that I loved and some things that could defintely improve....

The race course was really nice...loved going through the parks and especially the Angels stadium. I forgot to look at the jumbotron since I was busy smiling at all the cheering scouts and cheerleaders. Someone even called out my name and that was really fun.

The corrals were not well monitored. Next to me in Corral B were several people with friends who had numbers in the high 13,000's. (I overheard them talking and they just decided to join up and did not care about correct corral placement) This would definitely create problems for runners in corral C and D. I doubt these were the only runners/walkers in the wrong corral.

The expo was nice and since I was there early on Friday, I waited just a short time for my number and C2C wristband. The merchandise at the expo was limited, but I found plenty of cute stuff at the Rundisney booth. It surprised me that returning to the expo on Friday afternoon with my sister, the booth was already sold out of the purple tech C2C female shirts. Luckily I bought one early and my sister did not want that particular shirt.

The goodie bag was weak and I think any race that charges alot for a race fee like Disney should offer male and female sized shirts. While the shirt is really cute, I am a tiny female and it is too big. I liked the popcorn and more snacks would have been appreciated.

We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and loved it. The location was perfect for the parks, Downtown Disney and of course the race. We also saw fireworks from our window the last night and that was an extra treat, especially since our room was a standard view of the parking lot!

I would love to run this race again and maybe even next year. I have been drinking the Rundisney coolaid, just like most people on this board!

Happy Running!
Pam

 

[Qltrgrl2]

Shelby,

The medals were my favorite part too. I told the man giving me the C2C that I had waited 6 months for that beauty.

Happy Running!
Pam

 

[BACON]

I put a longer race report on my blog. You can find it on this link:
http://runningmuses.blogspot.com/2011/09/race-recap.html

I did put some advice in it and PICTURES! Well, just 3 right now, but more are coming!

I have a thread in the DL section of DIS for my trip report and I could copy and paste your blog for my update. I share the same sentiments about this race. I'll put it into my own words eventually.

I'm still in Anaheim, but I moved onto non-Disney things today. I watched the Price is Right live this morning and I'm going to Angels stadium to catch the game tonight. It was fun meeting everyone, and best of luck on your next event. I might see you at Goofy.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I have a thread in the DL section of DIS for my trip report and I could copy and paste your blog for my update. I share the same sentiments about this race. I'll put it into my own words eventually.

I'm still in Anaheim, but I moved onto non-Disney things today. I watched the Price is Right live this morning and I'm going to Angels stadium to catch the game tonight. It was fun meeting everyone, and best of luck on your next event. I might see you at Goofy.

So jealous you got to watch the Price is Right!! Too bad you didn't get on!

As far as the crowding that many have mentioned...the course is so much smaller than at WDW so we all get a bit spoiled going there. With the construction in DCA, it didn't help that one bit. But, I bet the Tinkerbell and next years DL race will be even better! I can't wait!!

 

[ban26ana]

I'm going to try to give a race report that isn't a "woe is me" one. Because I really did have a good time overall.

I thought the entertainment was lacking. I liked the expo better than the Princess one. It seemed more organized and less mobbed. Maybe it's just the times that I went though. This time I was able to actually take my time and make my way through exhibits, rather than be smushed up against a billion people trying to move in different directions like I was in February. I thought that getting into the corrals was just chaos. We'd be stopped as a huge group, all wondering what we're doing. Then we'd go a little farther, and be stopped again. There were G people in corral C. I wasn't nervous when I woke up, but I was definitely anxious after that start to the day.

So here's a word of advice: don't run a half marathon on a broken toe. Dumbest idea ever. For the first 4 miles, I tried to keep my regular run/walk intervals. My toe hurt a lot. The day before I had done Disneyland, and it had been the first time I had put on sneakers instead of flip flops since breaking my toe less than a week before. I also think that I have plantar fascitis, and I have an appointment with a sports medicine doctor to get that looked at. So after about 4 miles, I just wanted to be done. I hadn't gone all that way from NJ to leave without my DL and C2C medals, so I knew that I was finishing. But darn it, every step hurt. Because I was compensating due to my broken toe, I started running/walking a weird way that my body wasn't used to. So my other foot hurt, actually more than the one with the broken toe lol.

Even though I started in corral D, I fell waaaaaay behind pace. When I got to mile 10, I was only 6 minutes ahead of being swept. If they swept after mile 10, I wouldn't have finished the race. Of course everyone in TNT was amazing, and I did a lot of the race with various coaches who were kind enough to go at my ridiculous hobbling pace, and not joke at how silly my limp looked. I decided to run the last tenth of a mile, just so that I could be running through the finish line. Yeah, another dumb idea. Man did that hurt!!!! But I finished, with a time of 3:57:41. That's 40 minutes slower than the Princess half. Oh well, I got my 2 medals!!!

So afterwards, both of my feet hurt so badly. As in every step I took, I wanted to cry. I got back to my hotel room and just fell face first onto the bed. It took me almost an hour to get up the nerve to put my feet on the floor to walk to the shower. I showered by laying down in the tub and letting the water just fall on me. It wasn't pretty to see me try to get back up! I sadly decided to not do a park that day. Probably the only time I'll ever be out there, and I skipped California Adventure. It just wasn't going to happen. I ordered room service because there was no way I could even walk downstairs to get food. And I used the desk chair as a wheelchair to move around the room. I just sat in the hotel room and watched tv. I did finally venture down to the hot tub that night, but it didn't really help.

Thankfully Monday morning my feet felt 300% better. But man, that race day was brutal. Overall I'm glad I went through with the race, I'm sad that I broke my freaking toe beforehand, I'm disappointed in my time, and I don't think I would do the race again. Not that I'm jaded by a bad experience that had nothing to do with the race or DL itself, but I just wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be with DL. But it was still nice to be away from the kids for a weekend!

 

[slp1650]

I have a thread in the DL section of DIS for my trip report and I could copy and paste your blog for my update. I share the same sentiments about this race. I'll put it into my own words eventually.

I'm still in Anaheim, but I moved onto non-Disney things today. I watched the Price is Right live this morning and I'm going to Angels stadium to catch the game tonight. It was fun meeting everyone, and best of luck on your next event. I might see you at Goofy.

You're more than welcome to put the link in that thread as well. Thanks for spreading it

 

[mandac]

I had a good race. I got to the corral WAY too early. My Dad and sister were in C, but I was WAY back in E. I am not sure how that happened and I was a little bummed about it. We were lined up over the hill and couldn't even see the starting line. I was hoping to finish in 2:30 and was surrounded by people who were going to be happy to finish in 3:00 (which is how long it took me to do my first half, but I didnt' want to run around them). I guess I should have made more of a stink about this at the expo but I didn't realize how hard it would be to pass anyone for the first few miles.

Once we started (about 20 minutes after the start) we headed into the parks. I was so busy getting around people that I hate to admit I didn't look up and around much. My dad and sister were mentioning things they saw that I sure didn't see when I was out there. I was only about 10 minutes behind them so I think they were there and I just didn't see things.

Once we were out of the parks and on the road people seemed to reach their pace groups. I was no longer running around people as much (I added an extra .15 miles in the first 4 - not good). This was my first running race and I felt good except for a little tightness in my hip. I made sure to avoid running over the bumps in the middle of the road (I tripped on one last year - oops). I loved going through the stadium. that is always fun!

I do wish there were more characters at the end, or that we would run through the park (like we did a couple years ago) just to give me an extra boost at the end.

I beat my PR by about 20 minutes, finishing in 2:26. If I do the race next year hopefully I will be in an earlier corral so I don't have to run around as many people.

I was a little disappointed to not see any WISH people at the race. But again, that might have just been that I was so worried about moving through people that I didn't look around much.

 

[Qltrgrl2]

I had a good race. I got to the corral WAY too early. My Dad and sister were in C, but I was WAY back in E. I am not sure how that happened and I was a little bummed about it. We were lined up over the hill and couldn't even see the starting line. I was hoping to finish in 2:30 and was surrounded by people who were going to be happy to finish in 3:00 (which is how long it took me to do my first half, but I didnt' want to run around them). I guess I should have made more of a stink about this at the expo but I didn't realize how hard it would be to pass anyone for the first few miles.

Manda, Congratulations on your PR, after a difficult start to the race. I agree with you about having to watch out for other people and running around groups that ran next to each other. They did not patrol the corral entrances, so people could really go where they wanted. I, too, missed seeing many things in the parks due to watching my footing and other people. I was determined to get a PR, so early pace was important. I found the Princess easier to run, because the paths/roads were not nearly as narrow as Disneyland. However, I loved the race and would consider doing it again.

Happy Running!
Pam

 

[kim3339]

I do wish there were more characters at the end, or that we would run through the park (like we did a couple years ago) just to give me an extra boost at the end.

Hopefully next year we'll be able to go back into the parks when all the construction is done. I miss that part at the end too! It was a lot better and definitely an energy surge going back into DCA as opposed to outside in the parking lot around DCA.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Hopefully next year we'll be able to go back into the parks when all the construction is done. I miss that part at the end too! It was a lot better and definitely an energy surge going back into DCA as opposed to outside in the parking lot around DCA.

I hope so too! Cars Land should be ready by the Tinkerbell or not until the next DL half?