Expedition Everest Challenge 2014

[MannyB]

So. I signed up for my first ever running event and it's the Everest 5K. I have a few questions

I hear this is really a 10k? You do the actual running then the scavenger hunt?
If I drive and leave my bag in my car. Can I get it after the race? Or do I have to check it in

I really want to do the ToT 10-Miler in October. I have never done much endurance running before and I think I am pretty out of shape. Does 10 months to train for the 10-miler seem sufficient? I feel like I am more apt to continue training if I drop $150 on the race.

It was my first RunDisney Event and I throroughly enjoyed it.

- Not really a 10K (6.2 miles)... but last year my Final Distance was just over 5.5 miles. The 5K and Scavenger hunt are separately timed.

You run the 5K First. When you cross the finish line you get your first clue and you head back into the park. After weaving through AK getting your clues ultimately you make your way back to the Finish Line where you cross again and receive your medal, swag bag, bananas, warm water , and get your photo taken.

You can definitely forego bag check by leaving it in your car, but remember there is no tram service to your car so depending on where you park you could be adding another half mile of walking.

Ten months would be difficult to go from couch to 10 miles.. but I absolutely am not saying you can't do it, and in fact would love to encourage you to shoot for it. If that is your goal I suggest training for this as if it is a 10K and running the entire time..even during the scavenger hunt.

Couch to 5K is what I began with when I did EEC last year in the middle of February.. I did not anticipate the length of the scavenger hunt but had no problem and acually made good time partially running the scavenger hunt. I did a 10K on the 4th of July following.

Here is a great link to train for a 10K:
http://www.myrunningtips.com/couch-to-10k.html

If you can run a 10K by May the 3rd I think a 10 mile race is definitely within reason.Going to take a lot of resolve to stick with it..especially when little injuries or illness pop-up. Will probably want to make sure your diet is in line as well because once you get to the 5 mile or so distance the law of diminishing returns will begin and it gets tougher and tougher to gain ground and distance over a period of time,, in my case it required me shedding the spare tire I was carrying before I could take the next step forward.

 

[Castle2Castle]

My fiancee, brother, sister, dad, step-mom and I will all be doing the EEC 5k in May this year. This will be the only (planned) runDisney race for my fiancee and I this year after running Goofy, DLH and TOT last year, and this will be the first ever runDisney event for the rest of my family. Looking forward to it!

I hear this is really a 10k? You do the actual running then the scavenger hunt?
. . . . . . .
I really want to do the ToT 10-Miler in October. I have never done much endurance running before and I think I am pretty out of shape. Does 10 months to train for the 10-miler seem sufficient? I feel like I am more apt to continue training if I drop $150 on the race.

As others have mentioned, there is the 5k and then there is the scavenger hunt within the park. As the 5k runs outside as well as inside the park, I would expect that most people finish with closer to 5 miles than 6.2, but at the very least you should train to feel good after a 5k so that you have enough gas to do amble through the scavenger hunt.

10 months is enough time to train to finish the 10-miler, meaning you should focus on comfortable pacing within the 16:00/mi limit rather than really trying to race it. Jeff Galloway's training plan through the runDisney site, for beginners, is a 19 week program and from today you have 36 weeks available. If you start now with something like the Couch-to-5k plan and then continue working to improve even modestly between now and the start of the 19 weeks, you should be capable of finishing.

 

[ewerstruly]

I have heard rumors that this will be the last year for this race. Glad I signed up. I hope I can still buy after party tickets. This race sold out fast.

 

[jagfanjosh3252]

Thanks for the support guys and gals!!

Question about the race party tickets. If I buy one. Do I have to give a name? I don't know if anyone will be joining me in May, but want one just on case someone does come with me

 

[ewerstruly]

I just called runDisney to get a post race party ticket for a guest. They said they can only be purchased online. I am also not 100% sure I will have a party guest, but if my mom can join me, I don't want it to be sold out. The race itself sold out fast. I just put my name down as the participant. I hope I did that right.

Anyone who has done this race before, what time do you have to be at Animal Kingdom before the start of the race? Thanks.

 

[ewerstruly]

Surely, after party tickets are all they need to attend, right? Animal Kingdom park ticket isn't also necessary, right?

 

[MannyB]

Surely, after party tickets are all they need to attend, right? Animal Kingdom park ticket isn't also necessary, right?

Just the after party I believe.

It's not as if the entire AK is open..just a handful of attractions and places to eat. It would be poor form to require a full admission just to experience 30% of the park.

Purely looking at it from a logical standpoint with no inclination to the actual truth, but I would assume no name is required for the tickets. I just don't see Disney going through the process of checking names off a list for admission. Especially when the runners just walked straight in not even using turnstiles.

 

[Castle2Castle]

Surely, after party tickets are all they need to attend, right? Animal Kingdom park ticket isn't also necessary, right?

Yes. No other ticket will provide admission into the park except for the after-party tickets.

I am also not 100% sure I will have a party guest, but if my mom can join me, I don't want it to be sold out. The race itself sold out fast. I just put my name down as the participant. I hope I did that right.

Anyone who has done this race before, what time do you have to be at Animal Kingdom before the start of the race? Thanks.

If it doesn't ask for a name of the guest for the after-party when purchasing tickets, I would say you don't need it. The only time they could really check the name for a ticket would be at the expo, and I don't know that they'd go through the trouble really. With respect to the after-party selling out, keep an eye on the runDisney event page; once it hits 50% it will show up there same as the race itself did so you can monitor how close they are to capacity.

This year will be our first EEC, but it seems to be standard policy that runDisney wants people to be on-site for the races at least an hour before the start. So I would say to plan on being there no later than 9 PM. When the final race instructions come out, they will probably specify to be sure.

 

[MannyB]

Yes. No other ticket will provide admission into the park except for the after-party tickets.



If it doesn't ask for a name of the guest for the after-party when purchasing tickets, I would say you don't need it. The only time they could really check the name for a ticket would be at the expo, and I don't know that they'd go through the trouble really. With respect to the after-party selling out, keep an eye on the runDisney event page; once it hits 50% it will show up there same as the race itself did so you can monitor how close they are to capacity.

This year will be our first EEC, but it seems to be standard policy that runDisney wants people to be on-site for the races at least an hour before the start. So I would say to plan on being there no later than 9 PM. When the final race instructions come out, they will probably specify to be sure.

Last year traffic got pretty bad. I tried arriving about an hour and a half early and it took a good 25-30 minutes to get from the Parking Kiosks to the place I actually finally parked.

If you are in Corral A-C I would be very mindful of this when trying to plan when to arrive. There will be a good 5 minute walk to the race area, and if you need to use the rest room or check a bag then it will begin to make you feel a bit rushed.

 

[BwoZoo22]

Can the experienced runners tell me about the photos... Do you need a photo pass ticket or magic band for them to scan to link the photos from on course to you? Can you buy these photos? How many photo ops are there on course? Thanks!

 

[BeckFam08]

Can the experienced runners tell me about the photos... Do you need a photo pass ticket or magic band for them to scan to link the photos from on course to you? Can you buy these photos? How many photo ops are there on course? Thanks!

So glad you asked this question! I was wondering the same thing about the memory maker

 

[rachlovestv]

So glad you asked this question! I was wondering the same thing about the memory maker

I've never done this particular race, but if it's like other rundisney races, which I assume it is, then there are photographers on the race route. They are not photopass photographers, though, they are from marathonfoto, and track your photos by your bib number. There are photographers both on the course as you run and with each of the characters. These photos are available for purchase after the race.

 

[MannyB]

So glad you asked this question! I was wondering the same thing about the memory maker

We are all on the same wave length and I bet we were frequenting the same websites last night doing research!

In year's past the race photos for RunDisney were a completely separate thing. Maratonfoto (sp?) was contracted for the events and the photos were an entirely separate entity than photopass. Part of that has to do with technology I am to assume... people are runnning.... they aren't going to stop and let someone scan their photopass card. It seems Disney simply made a deal with an independent party who knew what they were doing so people could say they at least had the opportunity to take pictures if need be.

With the addition of the MagicBand though I would think the technology would be there to let Disney take it over for themselves. I don't see why you can't just link up your Magic Band to the race itself as an event and use your bib number the same way Marathonfoto does to recognize who's pictures go where. Thus, with Memory Maker you then have the chance to get your race photos and character photos.

For EEC my GF and I are doing this as a team, but we are also bringing her niece and nephew down for the weekend for their first Disney trip along with other family members. We will only be in the Parks two days, so Memory Maker financially doesn't make sense. Anytime we do a RunDisney race this is basically the same deal.. leave Atlanta on Thursday Night.. break up the trip for the night..arrive early Friday for a full day at the parks.. full day Saturday... race Saturday night or morning as necessary..come home. Then we spend 45.00-60.00 on race photos.

We would buy MemoryMaker without a doubt if we got our race photos included. As it stands now Disney will miss out on that and I think several hundred more people who have to do the race like we are.

 

[sunshine girl]

I've never done this particular race, but if it's like other rundisney races, which I assume it is, then there are photographers on the race route. They are not photopass photographers, though, they are from marathonfoto, and track your photos by your bib number. There are photographers both on the course as you run and with each of the characters. These photos are available for purchase after the race.

Race photography is a unique thing ... it's quite different from what the Photopass photographers do. The race photographers are in constant action snapping away as the thousands of runners stream by, on the course. Their specific skill set has to be well-honed to be able to get decent photos. I am glad Disney uses "experts" in race photography to get this done right!!

That being said, it would be cool if you could combine Marathonfoto's photos with your Photopass photos!

I'm glad I signed up for Everest early, it sold out faster this year than last year by at least a few weeks!

 

[jagfanjosh3252]

So. I was reading info on the race. Are headphones not allowed? I can't listen to music while I run?

 

[mr noodle]

So. I was reading info on the race. Are headphones not allowed? I can't listen to music while I run?

Headphones have never been an issue. Just be cognizant of where you are running, especially if you're in a heavy pack of people and you don't run at that high rate of speed and people are trying to pass.

 

[JillyBean1899]

So. I was reading info on the race. Are headphones not allowed? I can't listen to music while I run?

They're allowed, they're just not encouraged because they apparently play "safety instructions" along the route. But I say go for it, wear the headphones ... it makes it easier for us to sneak up on you and poke you in the back without you knowing we're coming.

 

[BeckFam08]

Hello everyone! I am not a runner by any means but I am doing my best and plan to run the entire 5k in May. However, I really want to bring my phone along for the race and have it accessible for photos, etc... What have you used in the past?

 

[wilkeliza]

I had planned on running this race but sadly it sold out before I could register. Dang it being on a Disney cruise as registration started to fill up . I'm going to follow the thread just in case any team runners need to find a new team mate since I've discovered that is the only way runDisney will allow a transfer and as a CM I don't feel comfortable going against the rules just for a race.

 

[MannyB]

Hello everyone! I am not a runner by any means but I am doing my best and plan to run the entire 5k in May. However, I really want to bring my phone along for the race and have it accessible for photos, etc... What have you used in the past?

Depending on what phone you have most MFG's offer a running band that fits around your arm and has a clear shell that holds your phone in place with an opening for the head phones/earbuds to plug in. The major smart phones like the iphone and Galaxy typically have cases you can purchase at any major retailer like Target and WalMart

Here is an example:

This will give you a way to have your phone with you, but to actually take a picture you will have to remove it from the sleeve which may be a bit cumbersome while you are running. Another option would be a runner's pack that acts like a cooler looking fanny pack. It has a zip pocket that you can use to put your car key and potentially your phone:

This would give the easiest access for taking pictures, but if you are like me and need to have music when running then this is not the smartest option.