Help settle a "debate"

[dreams91]

As a newbie, I don't want a medal unless I finish. I also wish the expo were AFTER the race. I don't want to go shopping for cool stuff, not finish, and feel like a fraud. I feel like if I buy a 13.1 sticker (I'm signed up for the Princess Half Marathon) before I finish, I'm jinxing myself!

I totally agree. I want an 'I did it' shirt for the full, but I'm terrified to buy it before I run it.

 

[cobbler]

I too think they should have expo stuff before & after the race. But I'm sure they won't if they know they can sell it all before the race.

At least if one doesn't complete the race they can return the items before they leave. Or sell it on eBay for those that may have missed out on expo merchandise.

 

[indygirl99]

I have mixed feelings on this topic. As a former 250 pound, completely out of shape woman who is training her butt off for the Tink in DLR I want something for my efforts.

I started training June 24 of this year. I am discarding weight as I am increasing my pace and distance. I ran/walked what was supposed to be a 4 mile run, turned out it was really 4.8 miles the other day, at a 15:24 pace. Yea me.

My first 5K was 57 mins, I am signed up for 2 more 5K's and an 8K and looking for a 10 K to run before Tink.

I will continue to train my butt off, and a few other parts that need reducing, and plan to finish the race if I have to crawl across the finish line.

But if I get swept at mile 10 a least aknowledge all my effort. How about a keychain that says "I got swept at the Tinkerbell"?

As I said I have mixed feelings. I totally understand what everyone is saying about the medal is for finishing (and all the work that goes into proper training).

 

[JCH]

I have mixed feelings on this topic. As a former 250 pound, completely out of shape woman who is training her butt off for the Tink in DLR I want something for my efforts.

I started training June 24 of this year. I am discarding weight as I am increasing my pace and distance. I ran/walked what was supposed to be a 4 mile run, turned out it was really 4.8 miles the other day, at a 15:24 pace. Yea me.

My first 5K was 57 mins, I am signed up for 2 more 5K's and an 8K and looking for a 10 K to run before Tink.

I will continue to train my butt off, and a few other parts that need reducing, and plan to finish the race if I have to crawl across the finish line.

But if I get swept at mile 10 a least aknowledge all my effort. How about a keychain that says "I got swept at the Tinkerbell"?

As I said I have mixed feelings. I totally understand what everyone is saying about the medal is for finishing (and all the work that goes into proper training).

I just want you to know that we commend your efforts and you are not one of the people we have issues with, You are training, and training consistently and at the right pace. Keep it up, and you will finish!

 

[dburg30]

I have mixed feelings on this topic. As a former 250 pound, completely out of shape woman who is training her butt off for the Tink in DLR I want something for my efforts.

I started training June 24 of this year. I am discarding weight as I am increasing my pace and distance. I ran/walked what was supposed to be a 4 mile run, turned out it was really 4.8 miles the other day, at a 15:24 pace. Yea me.

My first 5K was 57 mins, I am signed up for 2 more 5K's and an 8K and looking for a 10 K to run before Tink.

I will continue to train my butt off, and a few other parts that need reducing, and plan to finish the race if I have to crawl across the finish line.

But if I get swept at mile 10 a least aknowledge all my effort. How about a keychain that says "I got swept at the Tinkerbell"?

As I said I have mixed feelings. I totally understand what everyone is saying about the medal is for finishing (and all the work that goes into proper training).

Great work!!! Keep that up and you wont have to even think about getting swept!!!

 

[cewait]

I just want you to know that we commend your efforts and you are not one of the people we have issues with, You are training, and training consistently and at the right pace. Keep it up, and you will finish!

I have mixed feelings on this topic. As a former 250 pound, completely out of shape woman who is training her butt off for the Tink in DLR I want something for my efforts.

I started training June 24 of this year. I am discarding weight as I am increasing my pace and distance. I ran/walked what was supposed to be a 4 mile run, turned out it was really 4.8 miles the other day, at a 15:24 pace. Yea me.

My first 5K was 57 mins, I am signed up for 2 more 5K's and an 8K and looking for a 10 K to run before Tink.

I will continue to train my butt off, and a few other parts that need reducing, and plan to finish the race if I have to crawl across the finish line.

But if I get swept at mile 10 a least aknowledge all my effort. How about a keychain that says "I got swept at the Tinkerbell"?

As I said I have mixed feelings. I totally understand what everyone is saying about the medal is for finishing (and all the work that goes into proper training).

Understand that I have been in similar shoes. I was once north of 290. I feel your anxiety and understand that folks on the pointy end of the race often do not understand the caboose issues. But know that if you train well between now and late January you will have a fighting chance of being successful. Create a plan between now and the race. Track/journal fuel in. This helps and you will be ready to go on race day.

 

[indygirl99]

Thanks for the confidence everyone. I will cross that finish line because I have 5 months to continue my training and you can bet I will be out there working very hard on my endurance and speed.

I really think they should do something like my suggestion of a "I was swept" keychain, pin etc. I would be totally okay with that instead of the medal.

If you see someone crawling franticlly ahead of the sweepers that may be me.


Coach also know that I read what you say and tips that you offer and I listen. I appreciate your input.

 

[cewait]

Thanks for the confidence everyone. I will cross that finish line because I have 5 months to continue my training and you can bet I will be out there working very hard on my endurance and speed.

I really think they should do something like my suggestion of a "I was swept" keychain, pin etc. I would be totally okay with that instead of the medal.

If you see someone crawling franticlly ahead of the sweepers that may be me.


Coach also know that I read what you say and tips that you offer and I listen. I appreciate your input.

It would be tempting to bail for an "I was swept" keychain.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I am definitely in full agreement with those of you that believe that finishers medals should be for finishers. If I ever was swept, I would get rid of that medal or use it as a "carrot" on the treadmill to train more!

I was nearly swept this year during the Goofy and was definitely undertrained, but not purposely like so many on the FB pages that boast about the Goofy being their first Marathon. I signed up for the Dopey and the beginning of December got into a car accident on the way to the gym for my 18 mile run. Between all of that stress, I didn't train or eat properly and stayed nice and dehydrated it seemed. I was far from in good shape and decided to drop out, but was talked into doing it anyway by a "coach" that felt that because I had done quite a few races, etc. that I could easily bounce back from a Half Marathon distance to pushing myself to do a 5K, 1/2 and Full in three consecutive days. I knew it was crazy but because they were the coach and I wasn't, I believed that it may have been possible.

The 5K was a piece of cake. They are always easy at Disney. No pressure, just fun. The Half was okay, but I didn't feel great afterwards and my IT band started to hurt a bit. But, I took it easy and pushed through. The Marathon was an entirely different story. From the get go, I was in pain. That first medical stop with the gallons of Bio-Freeze were very popular with those of us with a Goofy bib. But, it didn't help at all. I got to Mile 3 and knew that it was going to be a very long day. I can tell you that I looked at every single one of those tents and wanted to give up, but I don't give up easily...so I pushed along. It wasn't until mile 20 that I was warned, and frankly I was begging them to sweep me, but they told me I was a few minutes ahead of pace and to keep going.

When we finally got into Epcot they greeted us there and said that we were still ahead of pace. I recognized the last part from the year before and felt like I could make it. But, I was a hurting unit. I could feel a blister developing on the bottom of the front of my foot and just ignored it. But, as I was walking into the final stretch by the choir, it popped. I can honestly say that trumped the IT band pain. I could hear them saying that they were a few minutes from turning off the clock and just pushed myself to find every little ounce of energy I had left to get across that finish line. I got all three medals and did not get swept. My times were far from commendable and what I did was honestly stupid.

The point is that only you know your limits and when I hear people whining about getting swept suddenly, it makes me furious. I felt like the biggest cheerleaders on that horrible day were the sweepers. They warned us a lot, and not just at the checkpoints. They would not let me give up and kept giving me good news with being ahead of pace, and I could hear them encouraging those that were behind pace at some points.

I am doing the Goofy (haven't decided if I want to do the Dopey again - getting up early three days in a row is brutal) next year only to live that experience the way I would have wanted to this year. I definitely earned those medals this year, and it infuriates me that others who did not earn them regardless of the reason still got them and wore them around the parks afterwards like they earned them and thought it was okay.

It is inspirational to me to hear about all of you working so hard to meet such a momentous goal. I wish more people at Disney would be as dedicated instead of blaming them for something they alone are responsible for. It sounds like there will be some good company on the course next year! Crawling across the finish line, is still crossing the finish line!

Don't fear the sweepers, they aren't so bad and I am glad that I experienced seeing them first hand to help squash the horrible perception so many have of them.

 

[buckeyecinderella]

What a good post. I really enjoyed reading about your experience. You surely did earn those medals!

 

[stargazertechie]

I feel like if they tried to give me a medal if i didnt finish or keep the pace i would be embarrassed to be seen with it

I was swept in the 2011 half at mile 8.5 after a pretty gruesome injury. I got on the bus and they handed me a medal. I asked them what it was for, and they said "for trying- have a magical day".

I was registered for the goofy, and I figured I'd get up and at least attempt the marathon in the morning after a day of rest. Ended up in the emergency room instead- DH dropped me off at the ER on his way to the starting line.

You can bet that it was left in the room and NOT worn in the parks- I didn't earn it!

 

[wvjules]

I totally agree. I want an 'I did it' shirt for the full, but I'm terrified to buy it before I run it.

Have someone else in your party 'buy' it for you. I'm making DD purchase mine. We purchased the 1/2 ones before the race in 2011 because I wanted that shirt if I finished and I didn't want it to be sold out. I was afraid of jinxing myself but we all finished and were able to wear our shirts with pride. I'm not temping fate with the full though.

 

[irishtwins1112]

Just my two cents:

I was well trained for Goofy 2009(or so I thought....always 15 minutes per mile on my training runs). Half went fine. The marathon began to get tough around mile 10 due to some huge blisters popping on the bottom of my feet but I kept my pace until about mile 21. I slowed considerably between miles 21 and 23. I was encouraged to pick up the pace by the sweepers somewhere between 22 and 23 miles but I had those gigantic blisters with the raw meat under them and could only do what I could do(I think I was somewhere between 17 and 18 minutes per mile). I was swept along with about 5 other people by a van in the DHS parking lot. They placed three little yellow traffic cones in the walkway and there was a security guard present. One lady was flipping out so they must have expected this. We were almost to the walkway by the lake that goes under the overpass(I am assuming at about mile 23.5?.....I have a pic of me that the race photographers took going past the 23 mile sign just a few minutes before). I do not wish I had a medal . My only regret is that I was not allowed to finish with less than 3 miles to go. Just a word of caution. If they want to.....they can sweep you anywhere.

 

[Terapin]

That is heartbreaking. I'm sorry.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

In reading this thread, I have a different kind of sweeping question. 2012 will be my 2nd and 3rd 1/2 marathons, the Disneyland 1/2 and Wine & Dine 1/2 for the Coast to Coast medal. For the 2011 Disneyland 1/2, since it was my first, I was placed in the last corral and had no problems with this as my goal was to finish the race. I would have been perfectly content with 3:29:59 as my race time.

Just to give myself extra cushion, I trained at a 15 minute per mile pace and finished the race around 3:05. So for this year, I signed up for the second to last corral for both the Disneyland 1/2 and the Wine & Dine 1/2. I anticipate my time to be similar to last time. I cannot run because it seriously aggravates an old back injury, but I can walk the race. I have trained at the same pace this year. Again my chief goal is to finish both races. I don't plan on taking pictures, stopping to see characters, etc. because the way I see there will be plenty of time to see characters after the race and get pictures with them while I have my medals.

Now I'm worried that by going in an earlier corral, it I can't maintain that pace I'll be swept. Does being moved up in a corral mean I need to maintain that pace or does it still give me the stated race time of 3 hours and 30 minutes?

Thanks.

 

[stargazertechie]

In reading this thread, I have a different kind of sweeping question. 2012 will be my 2nd and 3rd 1/2 marathons, the Disneyland 1/2 and Wine & Dine 1/2 for the Coast to Coast medal. For the 2011 Disneyland 1/2, since it was my first, I was placed in the last corral and had no problems with this as my goal was to finish the race. I would have been perfectly content with 3:29:59 as my race time.

Just to give myself extra cushion, I trained at a 15 minute per mile pace and finished the race around 3:05. So for this year, I signed up for the second to last corral for both the Disneyland 1/2 and the Wine & Dine 1/2. I anticipate my time to be similar to last time. I cannot run because it seriously aggravates an old back injury, but I can walk the race. I have trained at the same pace this year. Again my chief goal is to finish both races. I don't plan on taking pictures, stopping to see characters, etc. because the way I see there will be plenty of time to see characters after the race and get pictures with them while I have my medals.

Now I'm worried that by going in an earlier corral, it I can't maintain that pace I'll be swept. Does being moved up in a corral mean I need to maintain that pace or does it still give me the stated race time of 3 hours and 30 minutes?

Thanks.

The max time starts from the moment the last participant crosses the starting line- so being up a corral will actually give you MORE time.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Thanks so much. I'm glad to know that, not that I have any plans on risking anything to not finish. I thought about bringing in a small camera for pictures during the Disneyland 1/2 last year, but decided that I didn't want to chance anything. So yes, I missed out on pictures with Darth Vader and next to some of the parade floats, but I didn't really care walking around Disneyland later that afternoon with my medal and getting character pictures.

To anyone who has doubts about whether they can do this, it is possible. Train at the necessary pace to meet the official requirement and you can do it. Not that it's easy, but when I tried to run during the race and felt pain shooting all throughout my legs, I knew I had to walk it. But I had trained to just that.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

That had to be a tough experience, Irishtwins. Thank you for sharing your story. I only had one big blister, I couldn't imagine having any more than that. There is just no good way to numb that. Regardless of you not finishing that year, you did go a lot further than most people would have in your situation. I also believe that they can sweep you anywhere. The course time always trumps chip time. I hope everyone stays injury free and finishes their next races without seeing a sweeper!

 

[debbieandroo]

Understand that I have been in similar shoes. I was once north of 290. I feel your anxiety and understand that folks on the pointy end of the race often do not understand the caboose issues. But know that if you train well between now and late January you will have a fighting chance of being successful. Create a plan between now and the race. Track/journal fuel in. This helps and you will be ready to go on race day.

Coach, from your description, the 'pointy end' seems a whole lot more painful than the caboose. Me, I'm hanging out on the caboose!

Thank you, from a perpetual caboose who hopefully will walk the entire Princess Half on her own and NOT have to spend any time with the sweepers. Unless I get one of those HUGE blisters that Irishtwins and Rupert were describing ...then I will be begging them to pick me up.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Coach, from your description, the 'pointy end' seems a whole lot more painful than the caboose. Me, I'm hanging out on the caboose!

Thank you, from a perpetual caboose who hopefully will walk the entire Princess Half on her own and NOT have to spend any time with the sweepers. Unless I get one of those HUGE blisters that Irishtwins and Rupert were describing ...then I will be begging them to pick me up.

No you won't! You will be pushing through because you trained for that race and will not go down without a fight this time!