Big runDisney announcement coming in April

[Honeibee]

This would have been so much better. I just don't get these "women only" races. Both DH and I run; why would we spend all that money to travel to CA for a race that is thumbing its nose at him? No temptation for me to run this one. I'll stick with marathon weekend at WDW where the whole family is welcome, thanks.

 

[SAHDad]

This would have been so much better. I just don't get these "women only" races. Both DH and I run; why would we spend all that money to travel to CA for a race that is thumbing its nose at him? No temptation for me to run this one. I'll stick with marathon weekend at WDW where the whole family is welcome, thanks.

Because women-themed races are deemed "empowering." (Male-themed races, if they existed, would be proof of patriarchal oppression, and there would be protests and petitions within the hour of the race unveiling.)

The sad thing is that it won't change until women tell RDs to knock it off, because they sure aren't listening to the men who are complaining.

 

[slp1650]

Going with my "add a pirate half to princess weekend" theme why not do a Tinkerbell half on Saturday and a Peter Pan or Capt. Hook half on Sunday? It would open up a bunch of possibilities. You have a race for men, you'd not only have a whole additional race for revenue but some people would do both, and you could do an additional coast to coast medal or even two. Do a pirate double (Pirate half in WDW and Capt. Hook half in DL) and an, I don't know, pixie dust double or something with the Princess and Tinkerbell.

I think that if RunDisney wants to do these gender specific races then having a women's race one day and a men's race the next or vice versa is a great idea. You'd probably even get more people running it!

 

[CrystalCastle]

I think that if RunDisney wants to do these gender specific races then having a women's race one day and a men's race the next or vice versa is a great idea. You'd probably even get more people running it!

I'd like to see something more like that too.

Just a thought though, every year when I do the DL 1/2 they make a big deal about how the majority of racers are women. I think last year it was something like 68% if I remember correctly. If so, I can somewhat see Disney's logic. Maybe if the guys start evening that number out, these gender specific races will stop?

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I'd like to see something more like that too.

Just a thought though, every year when I do the DL 1/2 they make a big deal about how the majority of racers are women. I think last year it was something like 68% if I remember correctly. If so, I can somewhat see Disney's logic. Maybe if the guys start evening that number out, these gender specific races will stop?

Even if the Disney races were 99% women, that's no reason to purposely exclude a gender. All the more reason to encourage men to run.

 

[FireDancer]

Even if the Disney races were 99% women, that's no reason to purposely exclude a gender. All the more reason to encourage men to run.

Exactly. If the majority of college graduates are men you don't make mens only schools as a consequence. Instead you do something to encourage women to continue with education after high school.

 

[kappyfamily]

My take on it is pretty straight forward. I live on the west coast and to me it is as simple as they wanted a womens 1/2 on both coasts. I'm not a big "womens libber" but I think it's cool (go ahead and flame me). But I would also be cool with a mens only race too.

Besides all you guys have the NFL and MLB, last time I checked no girls allowed there!!

Run happy everyone there is something for everyone!

 

[CrystalCastle]

Exactly. If the majority of college graduates are men you don't make mens only schools as a consequence. Instead you do something to encourage women to continue with education after high school.

I never said I agreed with it. Anyway, it's about making money. Disney knows how to make money.

It's only one race at either park (WDW, DL). I know the guys are disappointed but it's really not that bad.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I never said I agreed with it. Anyway, it's about making money. Disney knows how to make money.

It's only one race at either park (WDW, DL). I know the guys are disappointed but it's really not that bad.

Really not that bad if you're a woman. runDisney has been hyping this thing for months as the next big thing. To find out that you're automatically excluded has to suck.

 

[CrystalCastle]

Really not that bad if you're a woman. runDisney has been hyping this thing for months as the next big thing. To find out that you're automatically excluded has to suck.

I absolutely agree. They really should have played this up to the women so we all would have known.

 

[MotoXPrincess99]

I'm excited it's a CA race! I just signed up and can't wait!

 

[stampingoddess]

I response to the discussion on this thread of women only vs men's only, I created a poll to see if there seems to be any real interest by the men for a men's only race. I thought it would be interesting to see, since my husband who is a big runner has mentioned on more than one occassion that a men's only race would hold no special appeal to him.

 

[Cripey]

I never said I agreed with it. Anyway, it's about making money. Disney knows how to make money.It's only one race at either park (WDW, DL). I know the guys are disappointed but it's really not that bad.

Boy, do they ever know how to make $$$...so, I just registered, and there's an option for the commemorative pin AND a commemorative necklace!!! Had to have them!

I'm 100% a girly-girl and I eat this stuff up, I admit it! Hey, I'd even pay extra at a "gender-neutral" race if a women's cut shirt was offered!

 

[CrystalCastle]

Boy, do they ever know how to make $$$...so, I just registered, and there's an option for the commemorative pin AND a commemorative necklace!!! Had to have them!

I'm 100% a girly-girl and I eat this stuff up, I admit it! Hey, I'd even pay extra at a "gender-neutral" race if a women's cut shirt was offered!

I'm not a pin person but that necklace sounds appealing. I wonder what it looks like though for that price? Or if they'll sell it at the expo.

 

[Ash&Wes07]

Really not that bad if you're a woman. runDisney has been hyping this thing for months as the next big thing. To find out that you're automatically excluded has to suck.

I really have no issue with the theme. Is it a theme I'd choose? No. But, Disney knows it'll make them money, so they are doing it.

But, I have to say, men aren't the only ones automatically excluded. People were automatically excluded from this race for dozens of reasons. I am automatically excluded because of the date and location.

It sucks, hardcore. I was hoping against hope that the rumor on stitch kingdom was wrong with regards to the dates. I'm not a huge Tinkerbell fan at all, but I didn't even care about the theme. I cared about the dates, and I was let down.

Women-centric races are the new trend especially with the upsurge of mom-runners/bloggers (like myself). (Hopefully) It will die down in a few years and Disney will follow trend. While I am not totally psyched they chose a women-centric race for their big announcement, I get why they did it. Money talks.

 

[SAHDad]

I response to the discussion on this thread of women only vs men's only, I created a poll to see if there seems to be any real interest by the men for a men's only race. I thought it would be interesting to see, since my husband who is a big runner has mentioned on more than one occassion that a men's only race would hold no special appeal to him.

I suspect that you won't find a whole lot of interst in a men's race. See, men (well, any under 35 or 40) have been told pretty much their whole life that girls need to be included too, because to exclude them would be unfair. But, women, in roughly the same age bracket, have been told that they need to have women-only (or at least women-centered) events and races in order to archieve parity/compensate for historical oppresion/revel in the strength of womanhood/experience sisterhood in a noncompetive setting/etc. So, men expect to compete with women in any given race, but women know that the option of a women-centered event is a given, and socially accepted.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I would like to see a GLBT friendly race during Gay Days at WDW.

 

[SAHDad]

Women-centric races are the new trend especially with the upsurge of mom-runners/bloggers (like myself). (Hopefully) It will die down in a few years and Disney will follow trend. While I am not totally psyched they chose a women-centric race for their big announcement, I get why they did it. Money talks.

It won't die down for a looong time. Women have been earning the majority of undergraduate degrees for almost 20 years, and we are still hearing about how colleges need to do more to recruit women. (And, if a college looks at a 65/35 split, and decides that the need to add more men to get closer to 50/50, women's groups come down on them like a ton of media-sympathetic bricks.)

As I said previously -this trend won't stop until enough women start complaining about it as well. (It's one of the reasons colleges are trying to get more men to attend - they found that, when women make up about 65% of the student body, women are less likely to apply, since the dating pool is too small.)

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I'm out. I'm sad because we aren't planning on doing WDW in 2012 but I was thinking we might be able to swing a quick trip to DL (we're on the west coast) for a new race. But my DH is a runner too, and he would not be enthused to run a women's centric race, or to come along to watch me run it.

So, we're also saving some money this year! Thanks, Disney!

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I would like to see a GLBT friendly race during Gay Days at WDW.

Now that we would make the trip down to FL for!