Galloway Pace Groups @ RunDisney Races: The Official Discussion Thread

[crewmatt]

I would say the Galloway groups are very different then the Clif groups - and in my mind not as good in the most recent races - but they're working on it I hope. The Clif groups seemed a bit more professional and experienced compared to the Galloway groups. Maybe it was a function of strictly running vs. run/walking - but of the Clif pace groups I've run - they were almost as accurate as my GPS watch with splits and were running WAY below what the pace leader would be capable of running (3:30 pacer would be a 2:45 marathoner or better for example). Everytime I've run with a pace group we've been within 30 seconds of our desired time - even in awful conditions, the Galloway groups were well off of their paces in what was almost an ideal marathon weather - no large temperature swings that day, relatively chilly, not windy, etc. Clif also had floaters out on the course to handle issues that might arise (one year my friend and I ended up taking over the 3:25 group due to the pacer having GI issues - eventually we ran into a floater who ran with us till the end) - I didn't see any of these with the Galloway groups. Also there were no faster groups for the Galloway pacers - I believe they started at 4 hours?

They also started long before the race kind of gathering their crews, reassuring the newbies, and had lots of fun and interesting stories and tricks up their sleeves for making the miles go by. I didnt see as much of that with the Galloway crew, but it could have been happening.

Part of this might be because the Galloway group is relatively new and is working out the kinks - but given all of the super experienced folks here that run lots of runDisney races (myself included) - they should probably work with runDisney and reach out to us to kind of flesh out the ranks a bit. You'd be surprised what people will do for a free shirt - I would sign up to pace one of those races in a heartbeat. I would like to see them have some faster pacers - maybe some run only (as its harder to do a run/walk at a 3:30 marathon).

The other thing that some of my run/walk friends would want to know would be if they could release months before the race that hey if you want to run XX:XX we're going to be doing an X run/ Y walk pattern so they can train for it.

Finally the big thing I talked to Galloway about but I didnt see happen in either of hte last 2 races, is duplicating the pace groups across multiple corrals. Again, free shirt and a stick with a time on it doesnt cost much.

 

[bumbershoot]

The pacers should obviously be running 30-45 minutes faster than their typical marathon then.

For their their own sake, sure.

But pacers are doing it for others. And a pacer has to know they can do it.


My brother would make a brilliant pacer - he can can hold a pace intuitively (he also wakes himself up without an alarm) - but he just doesn't like people enough lol.

 

[Anisum]

The other thing that some of my run/walk friends would want to know would be if they could release months before the race that hey if you want to run XX:XX we're going to be doing an X run/ Y walk pattern so they can train for it.

I think this is huge. Galloway pace groups while great for runDisney since he's the one they've partnered with and provides training plans are somewhat more complicated then just 'run at X pace'. You need to run/walk/run at such a pace that it gets you to the finish at the stated pace and if people are going to have any success following you I would imagine they'd need to know what intervals you're using. Especially because the runners may not be able to keep up with that interval meaning they would be able to know that in advance and choose not to follow the pacer.

 

[joan4mickey]

It is interesting as I prepare for the Princess Half, I was looking at the Runner Info section and it still lists Clif as the pacers.
Quote from site "The CLIF BAR Pace Team will be returning as this year's "official" Disney Princess Half Marathon pace team."

 

[pigletliz]

Looks like Princess pacers will be Galloway. Several of them have confirmed it on Facebook.

 

[rteetz]

Looks like Princess pacers will be Galloway. Several of them have confirmed it on Facebook.

All WDW races are Galloway.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

My sister and I do the 1/2s together, and we generally run and take walk breaks when we feel we need them. At about the 7-8mi mark during the last W&D half we came across a Galloway pacing group and decided to just join and give it a shot. We ended up sticking with them until the last mile. The pacer was great fun, and we just enjoyed the novelty of it, I think! I actually ended up writing a letter to Disney about how positive the experience was and how I hoped they kept them going.

 

[ksoehrlein]

I didn't run with any of them but kept pace with the 5:45 pace group for a bit before the Magic Kingdom. I passed them up and never saw them again after that. The 5:45 group probably had 20-30 runners all together with one pacer at the front and another at the back with the flag. The pacer would yell out the times.

Hey, that yelling pacer (the one not holding the flag) was me! I've been a WISHer/DIS Board member from way back but haven't posted as much now that there are so many runDisney-focused groups on Facebook. My fellow pacer and I are experienced marathoners and were probably more obsessed with being good race citizens than we were about keeping the pace. (Although I will say that we pretty much nailed our target pace, regardless. LOL) At every walk break, one of us would announce a reminder that our group needed to stay to the right -- not just for their sakes but also to let the runners around us know that if they wanted to escape our "clump," it would be beneficial for them to keep left. ;-) I'm glad that you noticed we were trying to do this.

We were also the 2:45 pacers at Princess and the E Corral 2:45 pacers at Star Wars Dark Side as well and we hope to continue pacing for as long as runDisney and Jeff Galloway will have us. I will do my best to check in on the DIS Board and this thread a little more from now on and will report your feedback to our pacing team coordinator. Some changes -- like having pacers in more corrals and offering identical paces in two different corrals -- have already been implemented starting with Dark Side, so please know we are listening! We will do our best to be the kind of pace team that some of you need and do our best to NOT be the kind of pace team that some of you don't need. (We know most runners fall into one of the above two camps!) Please message me if you have feedback that you don't want to make public. I look forward to hearing from you -- and to checking out the boards after my long time away.

 

[rteetz]

Hey, that yelling pacer (the one not holding the flag) was me! I've been a WISHer/DIS Board member from way back but haven't posted as much now that there are so many runDisney-focused groups on Facebook. My fellow pacer and I are experienced marathoners and were probably more obsessed with being good race citizens than we were about keeping the pace. (Although I will say that we pretty much nailed our target pace, regardless. LOL) At every walk break, one of us would announce a reminder that our group needed to stay to the right -- not just for their sakes but also to let the runners around us know that if they wanted to escape our "clump," it would be beneficial for them to keep left. ;-) I'm glad that you noticed we were trying to do this.

We were also the 2:45 pacers at Princess and the E Corral 2:45 pacers at Star Wars Dark Side as well and we hope to continue pacing for as long as runDisney and Jeff Galloway will have us. I will do my best to check in on the DIS Board and this thread a little more from now on and will report your feedback to our pacing team coordinator. Some changes -- like having pacers in more corrals and offering identical paces in two different corrals -- have already been implemented starting with Dark Side, so please know we are listening! We will do our best to be the kind of pace team that some of you need and do our best to NOT be the kind of pace team that some of you don't need. (We know most runners fall into one of the above two camps!) Please message me if you have feedback that you don't want to make public. I look forward to hearing from you -- and to checking out the boards after my long time away.

Awesome! I thought you guys did a good job of staying to the right when I was near you. Glad to hear you guys are listening to feedback too.

 

[Nole95]

I know Galloway is a run/walk program, but I really wish RunDisney would also have run only pacer groups like they use to. I'll typically run with a pace group in marathons, but the run/walk thing would just not work for me at all.

 

[ksoehrlein]

I know Galloway is a run/walk program, but I really wish RunDisney would also have run only pacer groups like they use to. I'll typically run with a pace group in marathons, but the run/walk thing would just not work for me at all.

We have had some comments like that at the expo, so one of the other Galloway pacers suggested that steady-pace runners could use our flag as as visual guideline of where you should be for that pace overall. On average, we will keep the flag moving at the needed per-mile pace to hit the finish line on time. If you don't mind hearing the calls of "Walking in 3...2...1...WALKING" every XX seconds, you could hang out on the left side of the road near us while we run/walk/run on the right. Or you could keep us within earshot as you run a few yards ahead. If you can still hear our calls, you'll know you didn't go out too fast. And if you start hearing us getting closer, you'll know it's time to speed up a bit. On the flip side, I think it could be helpful to remind our group members not to take up the entire width of the road if we had a few steady-pace runners who were nearby on a consistent basis throughout the race. It's fun to play leapfrog with the same runners, and knowing that these runners were always going to be to our left could serve to keep group members from drifting over into the runners' lane just before each walk break.

While I definitely appreciate where you are coming from, with Jeff Galloway being the official training partner of runDisney, it was a bit of a disconnect to have a non-interval pace group in years past. So I used to do the inverse of what I suggested above. I would do my intervals as always but kept the Clif Bar pacers in my sights as my visual guide of what my average pace needed to be. Here's hoping the opposite works for you.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

The one thing I didn't like about the pace groups this time around was the 2:45 group in Corral F pushed their way to the very front of the corral at 5:00AM after many of those in the front had already claimed their spot. It made it way more claustrophobic as there already wasn't enough room for the addition of 40 more people in that part of the corral. It risked people getting their feet stepped on.

 

[ksoehrlein]

The one thing I didn't like about the pace groups this time around was the 2:45 group in Corral F pushed their way to the very front of the corral at 5:00AM after many of those in the front had already claimed their spot. It made it way more claustrophobic as there already wasn't enough room for the addition of 40 more people in that part of the corral. It risked people getting their feet stepped on.

Yikes! Sorry that happened. Our pre-race instructions were for the two official pacers to enter the preceding corral at the back and then -- with the race director's permission -- go under the rope from there in order to arrive at the front of our designated corrals without inconveniencing anyone who had arrived before we received our flags at our pre-race meeting spot. Sadly, the side-by-side set up did not allow us to do so on Sunday. We were expecting a front-to-back staging area like virtually every other runDisney event. (I was one of the 2:45 pacers, but I started in E so all I can do is apologize on their behalf and pass along the information. Sorry!) We did tell everyone who stopped by the Galloway booth at the expo that they should arrive at the corrals early if they wanted to position themselves at the front and join our pace teams. I hate that such a large group did not get that memo!

 

[ksoehrlein]

Hope this isn't too small to read, but here is the pace chart that the Galloway team uses.

 

[cheesemouse]

I will be running my very first half marathon at 2018 Princess. I will admit that I'm a bit nervous about making sure I'm at my pace (don't go out too fast etc) and am very interested in joining a pace group. But that said, I would need to know in advance what each finish time's interval will be. I can't train at a certain interval and then do a completely different one on race day. So my biggest request is that the finish times and corresponding pace/intervals be posted well in advance - like 6 months in advance.

 

[ksoehrlein]

I will be running my very first half marathon at 2018 Princess. I will admit that I'm a bit nervous about making sure I'm at my pace (don't go out too fast etc) and am very interested in joining a pace group. But that said, I would need to know in advance what each finish time's interval will be. I can't train at a certain interval and then do a completely different one on race day. So my biggest request is that the finish times and corresponding pace/intervals be posted well in advance - like 6 months in advance.

Funny enough, that was supposed to be the post above yours, but I had technical difficulties. Hope I did it right this time!

 

[bumbershoot]

...pacers to enter the preceding corral at the back and then... go under the rope from there in order to arrive at the front of our designated corrals without inconveniencing anyone who had arrived before we received our flags at our pre-race meeting spot.

Doesn't that result in people squashing in in front of the people who had already been there? How is that any different than coming through from behind people? I'd be irked either way, personally.

 

[cheesemouse]

Hope this isn't too small to read, but here is the pace chart that the Galloway team uses.

Thanks! Sorry to be such a newbie, but for the 3:00 finish time, it has an overall pace of 13:43 and a 30:30 ratio. What I don't understand is what will the running pace of that 30 seconds be? You can't run at 13:43 and then walk slower to still maintain that pace. Is the running portion a 10:00? That's what confuses me. Any help or insight is really appreciated.

 

[ksoehrlein]

Doesn't that result in people squashing in in front of the people who had already been there? How is that any different than coming through from behind people? I'd be irked either way, personally.

It would just be two people with the flag coming in under the rope. The other runners who want to join the group wouldn't be following the pacers through the corral using this approach. And if there truly isn't enough room for the pacers to dart under the rope before the corrals are released, they would just hang out at the back of the preceding corral until the actual start.

 

[ksoehrlein]

Thanks! Sorry to be such a newbie, but for the 3:00 finish time, it has an overall pace of 13:43 and a 30:30 ratio. What I don't understand is what will the running pace of that 30 seconds be? You can't run at 13:43 and then walk slower to still maintain that pace. Is the running portion a 10:00? That's what confuses me. Any help or insight is really appreciated.

This is one of those gray areas. I, for instance, am a VERY slow walker. Like, 20-minute miles. My pace partner is a very fast walker. Like, she can race walk a marathon and come in around my (running) PR time. As a result, I need to run much faster than she does during each run break while she can dial back the runs and still hang with me over the course of the mile since her walk is so much faster. Since we don't run in formation, this works. Practice using intervals in your training and see where you fall on the spectrum.

And if you really want to get into the weeds with math and such, I found a super detailed pace chart online once. It seems to no longer be available on the host's web page, so I can give you instructions for how to set up the calculations in Apple Numbers which is similar to Excel. Some function names may be slightly different in Excel so YMMV.

1. Enter your overall race distance in miles in cell A1
2. Enter your goal finish time in cells A2 (hours) B2 (minutes) and C2 (seconds)
3. Enter the number of minutes you will run in each interval in cell A3 (use 0.5 if you are doing 0:30 segments) and the number of minutes you will walk in each interval in cell B3
4. Enter your average walking pace in cells A4 and B4 with A4 being the number of minutes it takes you to walk a mile and B4 being any additional seconds. (So a 16:30-minute-mile walker would enter 16 in A4 and 30 in B4. Note that the walk breaks in the Galloway method are designed to get your heart rate down, so use your "comfortable stroll" pace rather than your "race walk" pace for this calculation)
5. Here's where the Excel magic happens:
   1. Create cell A5 with the formula of (A2 x 60) + B2 + (C2 / 60) -- this gives you the total number of minutes in your goal finish time
   2. Create cell A6 with the formula of A5 / (A3 + B3) -- this gives you the total number of run/walk cycles in your race (Note that if you are doing :30/:30 intervals or anything else that adds up to one minute, this number will be identical to the result of A5)
      
   3. Create cell A7 with the formula of (A6) / (A4 + (B4 / 60)) x B3 -- this gives you the total number of miles you will have walked in aggregate throughout the entire course of the race
      
   4. Create cell A8 with the formula of (A5 - (A6 x B3)) / (A1 - A7) -- this gives you the pace you will need to run in minutes per mile. Note that this will be a whole number plus a decimal so a pace of 10.5 is 10:30.
   5. Create cell A9 with the formula of A3 / A8 -- this gives you the distance you will be covering during each run break in miles.
      
   6. Create cell A10 with the formula of INT A8 and cell B10 with the formula of (A8 - A10) x 60 -- the two cells together will give you the needed run pace in minutes (A10) and seconds (A11) per mile
   7. Create cell A11 with the formula of INT ((A2 x 60) + B2 + (C2/60)) / A1 and create cell A12 with the formula of (((A2 x 60)+ B2 + (C2 / 60)) / A1 - A11) x 60 -- the two cells together will give you the aggregate race pace in minutes (A11) and seconds (B11) per mile