It's Official, It's Official!
Well, today was the big day. March 17, 2015. The first big date I had circled on my calendar for this trip. No, I am not referring to
St. Patrick's Day (
although that was something to look forward to in itself), but rather ...
That is right, today was the day I could finally register for the
Wine & Dine Half Marathon! Rather an important day, considering the entire reason for this runCation from the beginning has been this event. If my friend and I could not get registered everything would have to be cancelled and I would have to try again in January 2017 when I finally think I will be (
somewhat) mentally prepared for my very first full marathon.
But that is getting ahead of myself!
It always seems like each and every
runDisney event is getting harder and harder to get into. Races that used to take days to sell out started to take mere hours, and now it seems as though if you are not ready to register the moment it opens you will be on the outside looking in. Recent races have sold out in roughly 30 minutes or less. I think it is safe to say registration is a literal feeding frenzy of activity. Everyone out there has their theories, and the speculation for today was that a few factors would play into how fast the Half would fill up:
1. It's the only night race, meaning a different atmosphere and a big draw for some people
2. The cancellation of the
Tower of Terror 10 Miler (
rumored to be returning in the future, but also rumored to be gone for good)
3. Runners wanting a re-do after foul weather in 2014
4. The last Half of the calendar year, which means the last chance to earn your
Coast 2 Coast medal
I myself, however, believe the real reason to be far more simpler: word of mouth makes the demand that much higher. For example, I cannot even count how many people I have introduced to
runDisney since I ran my first event back in 2012. From family members, to friends, and to co-workers I have seen many people with my own two eyes register for these events who had never even heard of them before they saw something I posted on Facebook or mentioned in a conversation that I was doing. I myself was even introduced to
runDisney by a friend and had never even heard about it before. More an more people are finding out about these Disney running series and are trying to register, and then sharing with their friends. And then of course we all share stories about how registration can be and so more and more people are trying to register first thing. Events are going to sell out, and they are going to sell out fast. There is no way around it.
The best
runDisney can do is try to add new events for us, which they have successfully been doing for the past few years: Tinker Bell Half, Disneyland 10K and Dumbo Double Dare, Tinker Bell 10K and Pixie Dust Challenge, Avengers Half, Star Wars Half, Star Wars 10K and Rebel Challenge, and now a new Half Marathon coming for Disneyland Paris. More and more events are being added as more and more people are demanding them. Too bad the demand still far outweighs the supply.
But back to registration day!
This is not my first
runDisney registration day rodeo (
try saying that ten times fast) so I have to admit I have a system that has not let me down yet. The plan was to be ready and at my laptop well before the official start of registration at 9:00 am PST (
seeing as I am on the West Coast), have my CC information copied to my clipboard, a straight link to the registration page (
runDisney's page has a history of crashing, and thankfully I had a little help in finding this - you know who you are, thank you), and be prepared to keep refreshing!
The page went live somewhere around 8:54-8:55 and I was filling everything out as fast as I could. I was a little frustrated because I just got a new laptop and the font sizes are so much smaller on webpages than I am used to, so making sure I was filling out the right information was a challenge and I had to resubmit a few times.
Boy, was I nervous! But for no reason at all. When I finally submitted for real, and my payment was processed I was officially registered before 9:00 am!
I am in! I am in!
Then I had to wait anxiously to make sure my running companion was able to get in as well. I could not imagine any reason why she would be on the outside looking in when she had the same exact link that I did, but I still needed official confirmation. Can I just say I cheered out loud when she texted me moments after I finished my registration that she was in?
Because I did. I definitely did.
Now the real planning begins and I have already circled a couple more dates on my calendar: One for ADR's on May 9, one for FP+ selection on September 6 (
just before I leave for my birthday vacation).
Stay tuned for more!
I'm going back in January 2017 and plan on making that one all about getting to see as much as I can. I'm hoping to go have brunch with my friend on Monday so we can pin down what things we absolutely want to do and then work from there.
