How quickly does a race fill up?

[bellrae]

I am hoping to do my first ever RunDisney race at marathon weekend in January. I am wondering though if others could let me know how fast the race registration fills up? The day registration opens I will be on the other side of the world and it will be 2am! Should i be getting up in the middle of the night?

Thanks!

 

[FFigawi]

Yes, if it's important to you to be able enter for 2015. Races, Disney and non, have been filling very quickly recently, so if being on the start line in Orlando is a must-have, then by all means you need to set your alarm & register right away. The race might not fill immediately, but why take the chance?

 

[mking624]

No one can guarantee how long it will take before a race fills up. W&D sold out the day after registration opened, Avengers sold out in less than 2 hours. That's not to say it will be like that with every race, but as John said, why take the chance? If being in the race is very important to you, be prepared to sign up as soon as registration opens.

 

[DOOM1001]

If you're only doing the half or full by themselves it's pretty unlikely that they'll sell out in the first couple of days.A couple of years ago those took like 7 months to sell out,even with the races selling out much faster they still took a couple of months last year.Highly unlikely you'll need to sign up for these right away but better to be safe than sorry so maybe you could finish off that nights sleep and then register in the morning which will only be a few hours after registration opened up.If you're doing the 5K,10K,Goofy or Dopey challenges then I probably would be getting up at 2am to sign up.The 5K and 10K spots are taken by everyone signing up for Dopey along with those who only want to do the individual races and since capacity is not very high on these they'll go quick.The Dopey challenge last year being the inagural year went right away,there's a good chance the same will happen this year.The Goofy challenge normall takes a couple of months but this is the 10th anniversary so it's also likely to go fast.

 

[mking624]

If you're only doing the half or full by themselves it's pretty unlikely that they'll sell out in the first couple of days.A couple of years ago those took like 7 months to sell out,even with the races selling out much faster they still took a couple of months last year.Highly unlikely you'll need to sign up for these right away but better to be safe than sorry so maybe you could finish off that nights sleep and then register in the morning which will only be a few hours after registration opened up.If you're doing the 5K,10K,Goofy or Dopey challenges then I probably would be getting up at 2am to sign up.The 5K and 10K spots are taken by everyone signing up for Dopey along with those who only want to do the individual races and since capacity is not very high on these they'll go quick.The Dopey challenge last year being the inagural year went right away,there's a good chance the same will happen this year.The Goofy challenge normall takes a couple of months but this is the 10th anniversary so it's also likely to go fast.

The same can be said about W&D though. When I did it in 2012, registration opened in March and it didn't sell out until the end of July. Last year it took a couple of months. This year it took a day. Granted, it is an anniversary year and I'm sure there are people who are signing up for the purpose of C2C with Avengers, but this can also lead people to think "if X race sold out that fast, then Y race might sell out just as fast" so they rush to register. I do know TOT took a bit over a month to sell out, so I'm not saying that it most definitely will sell out very fast, but I think that runDisney is in a place now where we can't depend on races still being available a couple months or so after registration opens.

I definitely agree it is better to be safe than sorry. If your heart is set on any race, I wouldn't recommend putting off registering. It may not mean it is a necessity to get up at 2am, but I wouldn't recommend waiting a month or so either.

 

[Castle2Castle]

The day registration opens I will be on the other side of the world and it will be 2am! Should i be getting up in the middle of the night?

First, I agree with the others that it's probably best to be safe than sorry in terms of registering right when it opens. Unless of course you intend to run the Goofy and will be competing with me to grab a spot, in which case take as much time in the world. . .

Secondly, while dragging yourself up at 2 am seems totally appropriate to register for a race which will require you to drag yourself out of bed at 2 am months later, could you maybe entrust a friend or family member on this side of the world to register on your behalf when it opens up?

 

[Krandor]

News reports like "avengers sells out in less then 2 hours" and "W&D sells out in a day" is going to have a cascade effect and people who would normally wait are not going to wait anymore. I think we are only going to see races filling up quicker and quicker compared to what they did the previous year.

I wouldn't take the chance and I didn't. I was hitting F5 even before noon for Avengers and got into both races.

 

[goofeygirl]

I ditto to what most have just said. Why take a chance? The worse than can happen is that you had to get up at 2am to register and lost of a bit of sleep for that one night.

Before the races were taking mos to sell out but as of late we are talking hours.

I think (as just mentioned) that people like me are watching this and thinking... I had better not take a chance!

I was considering the W/D but by the time I decided I would sign up...like a day later...it was sold out...oh well for me.

So sign up right away...otherwise you wont sleep anyway.

 

[Krandor]

I ditto to what most have just said. Why take a chance? The worse than can happen is that you had to get up at 2am to register and lost of a bit of sleep for that one night.

Before the races were taking mos to sell out but as of late we are talking hours.

I think (as just mentioned) that people like me are watching this and thinking... I had better not take a chance!

I was considering the W/D but by the time I decided I would sign up...like a day later...it was sold out...oh well for me.

So sign up right away...otherwise you wont sleep anyway.

These days, you need to decide if you want to run a race prior to registration opening. Of course with avengers I knew as soon as they announced it. Actually, I knew as soon as I saw #smashthehalf because (like many) figured what that meant.

When the star wars race comes about, that is going to be completely insane. It will be like the big bang theory episode where they are buying comicon tickets

 

[SultanPprShkr]

some of these races are selling out quickly due to inaugurals or anniversary years. W&D this year sold out faster because it's the 5th anniversary. DLR's sells out because there's not much going on here and DLR has a tendency to do that. We'll have to see how fast Tink sells out now that it's in May and not January anymore.

 

[goofeygirl]

When will Star Wars come out?

I would totally sign up for that. Luke Skywalker.

 

[mking624]

some of these races are selling out quickly due to inaugurals or anniversary years. W&D this year sold out faster because it's the 5th anniversary. DLR's sells out because there's not much going on here and DLR has a tendency to do that. We'll have to see how fast Tink sells out now that it's in May and not January anymore.

Yes I did mention that. Obviously that is going to have an impact. But, it also can cause a "cascade effect" as others, including myself, have brought up. If people see how quickly these races sold out, they might think it will go just as fast next year, so they rush to register...which, in effect, can make it sell out just as fast. And even if it doesn't take mere hours to sell out, don't expect it to last as long as previous years. The sell outs happen earlier and earlier.

The bottom line is that if you really want to do a race, don't put off registering.

 

[Krandor]

When will Star Wars come out?

I would totally sign up for that. Luke Skywalker.

Nobody knows, but there seems to be a lot of smoke around it replacing EE in May and coinciding with the start of Star Wars Weekends.

At this point though it is all speculation, but with the new movie coming out next year and Avengers selling out so quickly, IMO it is almost guaranteed they will do one. Get publicity for the movie plus it will sell out in record time. There really is zero reason for Disney not to do it and if there was any concern about it, how well Avengers was received should kill any concern.

I believe it will happen next year. Only question is when will it be and when will they announce it. #runwithforce

 

[Krandor]

Yes I did mention that. Obviously that is going to have an impact. But, it also can cause a "cascade effect" as others, including myself, have brought up. If people see how quickly these races sold out, they might think it will go just as fast next year, so they rush to register...which, in effect, can make it sell out just as fast. And even if it doesn't take mere hours to sell out, don't expect it to last as long as previous years. The sell outs happen earlier and earlier.

The bottom line is that if you really want to do a race, don't put off registering.

I think in general we are going to see races sell out faster and faster with them being extra fast on inaugural and anniversery events. I think more and more people are hearing and rundisney races and wanting to do them. When I have mentioned to people doing the disneyworld half in January, I've gotten a lot of "That's cool. I'd love to do that.". I think in general more and more people are hearing about them through positive word of mouth and wanting to come and do them and then it is easy to become hooked. I was originally planning to just do the half this year, but some online friends (who haven't run a rundisney race) talked me into TOT and then I had to do Avengers. So a planned one disney race quickly turned into 3.

I think the days of races staying open for months and months are gone.

It will be interesting to see how quickly WDW marathon weekend sells this year. The full i expect to stay open for a while since that is a tougher distance to train for but I'm thinking the others will fill up quickly. Maybe not 2 hours or 25 hours quickly, but probably quicker then last year.

 

[SultanPprShkr]

edit: deleting.. i'm confused why i wrote what i wrote. LOL.

 

[derekleigh]

As others have said, if you have your mind already made up, set the alarm and reg. Yes you might lose a few minutes sleep for one night, but it pales in comparison to the heartbreak of not running.

Depending on the situation, my wife or I fully plan to be at the computer when registration opens April 22. Its more so for the 5K and 10K certain family members of mine want to run it. I'll be doing the full which I don't expect to sell out the first day. Last year the 10K sold out in 8 hours and the 5K took about a day or so.

 

[RunDisney Crazy]

Yes, yes, yes. I think the panic of all the races selling out so quickly and the enormous popularity of running now with the fact that RunDisney is so well organized, running through the parks and it's DISNEY, has people jumping on the chances. Like someone said, everyone that hasn't done it thinks it's so cool. And it is.

Look at ToT this year. Last year it took months, this year is went fast. So, early to be, early to rise. Plus, it will be training for getting up that early in January!