This is really great advice and insight from
@courtneybeth, not just for
@ReLiMe but for many that are considering have their first RD race also be their first half AND first challenge. Or even for those JUST starting out running!
Challenges, while amazing, are also NOT for everyone. Personally, I ran six half marathons and two RD weekends before I registered for my first Challenge (Dopey). This year, I've done Dopey, Glass Slipper and Pixie Dust (along with the 5Ks).
Having done Princess this year, here are my additional thoughts:
-- Princess is a CROWDED race weekend, especially towards the back corrals. This race weekend is probably one of the most friendly and accessible for first-time runners and racers, so just be prepared that even if you CAN do better than a 16:00/mile, it may be so congested where you can't really get anything going. This is why POT is so very, very important.
-- RunDisney races cost A LOT, and that's because of the experience. That means, enjoying the on-course entertainment and stopping for photos with characters - where ELSE can you take pictures with a hot-air balloon OR all of the hunky princes in one spot? Only at Disney.
-- Be prepared for an incredibly early wakeup call. You'll possibly need to get to the staging area by 4 a.m. so you can guarantee that you're in the very front of your corral. It will give you space to move and bank some time, and it will also give you a buffer from the balloon ladies and hopefully allow you to avoid congestion and bottlenecks along the course. That means standing around in the elements for upwards of two hours before you even cross the start line ... twice.
If your goal is just to finish the challenge, then go for it - but go in knowing that it's going to be crowded and that there's a chance that a 16:00/mile might not be fast enough if places are congested. Know that you (very likely) won't be able to stop for any pictures at all (the lines can reach up to 5-10 minutes at some points for the most popular characters), and that, at some points, Port-a-Potty lines can rival those of character lines.
Dopey was a great challenge for me, and I treated it as such. I didn't stop for many pictures or goof-off times, but I was OK with that.
Every challenge since then, I stop for ALL the pictures and generally spend more time goofing off and posting pictures to Insta and stuff. I think my "moving time" at the 10K during Pixie Dust was something ridiculous like 16 minutes faster than my actual finish time. Whoops.
This is going to sound harsh, and I don't mean it to - but just because the Challenge is there, it doesn't mean you HAVE to do it. I think this is one of the things that frustrates RD the most - the emphasis put on the challenges and that they're the only thing that matters. Especially for first-timers.
The 2015
Disneyland Half was my first RunDisney weekend (I did the 5K and the Half), but was my fourth half marathon. In the weeks leading up to the race, I was SO tempted to swap into Dumbo because everyone was making me jealous talking about it AND I just loved the medal and the concept. I ended up settling for the 5K instead, and I am SO glad I did.
RunDisney races - even the 5Ks - are overwhelming for a first-timer. There were more people at the Expo, and at the 5K, then I'd ever experienced at a race previously - including Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans. And if I thought the 5K was overwhelming ... man, was I in for a complete and total shock when it came to Half Marathon day. I'd read so much through the boards here and felt I was prepared for the sheer amount of people. I was NOT. My husband, friend and I were all running in different corrals, and thought we'd have more time together before we needed to split up. Nope. Corrals were already packed to the gils at quarter-to-5. I was in ... D? So my corral was released around 6:05. That was quite a bit of standing around alone, already being in my head about a race. I'm pretty sure I would've really freaked out with the gravity of not finishing the challenge - and I certainly wouldn't have been able to have fun during the race.