Inaugural Disney Wine&Dine**1/2 Marathon** Post Race Discussion!

[bigtony777]

Thankfully no, at least not for the January event. The difference of course is that the start and finish are the same location but other point to point races manage it better..

Yes, I have done many other races and all do it the same way. Many more trucks and by bib #. I see you have also done the Mini here in Indy. They have 30,000 racers and I never wait more than 30 seconds to turn in my bib. I just don't understand how an experienced race team could organize it the way it was.

One other thing I forgot to ask about was everyone's experience with product at the expo. We were there at 6pm on Friday and they were already out of several shirts and the wine glasses. I really wanted to get a couple of the wine glasses. Does anyone know where I can still get some of these?

 

[MissFitt]

Yes, I have done many other races and all do it the same way. Many more trucks and by bib #. I see you have also done the Mini here in Indy. They have 30,000 racers and I never wait more than 30 seconds to turn in my bib. I just don't understand how an experienced race team could organize it the way it was.

One other thing I forgot to ask about was everyone's experience with product at the expo. We were there at 6pm on Friday and they were already out of several shirts and the wine glasses. I really wanted to get a couple of the wine glasses. Does anyone know where I can still get some of these?

Good question...I didn't know they had wine glasses (I would have jumped all over those) I also liked the "I did it!" tee shirts but felt too funny buying one before the race. Shoulda, woulda, coulda...

 

[FireDancer]

Yes, I have done many other races and all do it the same way. Many more trucks and by bib #. I see you have also done the Mini here in Indy. They have 30,000 racers and I never wait more than 30 seconds to turn in my bib. I just don't understand how an experienced race team could organize it the way it was.

Yes, the Indy race packet pickup was well organized using FedEx trucks.

The way they did it in Indy (I asked one of the FedEx drivers) was they volunteered their time and in return got a ticket to I believe qualifying for the Indy 500, maybe even the race. Disney could offer a free park ticket or maybe a 4 day resident pass to the FedEx or UPS drivers to volunteer their time. I'm sure they could find 15 or 20 drivers who would do it for a few hours.

I just think that is the best way to do a point to point packet pickup. Heck, they could use Ryder trucks and their bus drivers if they couldn't work something out with the parcel companies.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

At last! A picture where I do not look supremely unhappy and/or am wiping crap from my nose.

[/IMG]

 

[ahoff]

Speaking of product, I was looking forward to some Nesquick after the run, being as they were at the expo I thought there would be some at the finish.

 

[verticalchaos]

Speaking of product, I was looking forward to some Nesquick after the run, being as they were at the expo I thought there would be some at the finish.

Good to know. Looks like I'll be wrapping some in an ice pack and foil and giving it to my sister to have for me at the end of the Half. It's definitely my post-race drink of choice! (And from what I've heard BOSTON is considering having it.)

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Speaking of product, I was looking forward to some Nesquick after the run, being as they were at the expo I thought there would be some at the finish.

Oh, dear god, that frozen stuff at the expo was delicious.

 

[MissFitt]

Oh, dear god, that frozen stuff at the expo was delicious.

I kept telling DH that there was no Nesquick after the race because he drank all of it at the expo! Had a hard time tearing him away. I was very surprise that there wasn't any after the race.

 

[becky11]

Speaking of product, I was looking forward to some Nesquick after the run, being as they were at the expo I thought there would be some at the finish.

They had it for the kids after their races.

 

[Shannon84]

Good question...I didn't know they had wine glasses (I would have jumped all over those) I also liked the "I did it!" tee shirts but felt too funny buying one before the race. Shoulda, woulda, coulda...

I wish I had seen wine glasses, i would have loved those!!

 

[hipporina]

We got in late last night, so this is the first chance I have had to post. What an experience! We had a blast! We finished in 2:59:50, which thrilled me! I can't wait for our next half. I am hooked.

We only had a few issues. The first is that I ended up sick after the race and spent a while in the med tent instead of at the party. The dr said I was hyponatremic and gave me some anti-nausea medicine that worked beautifully. By the time I was well enough to go, we were in no mood to wait in the horrible lines at the party and went straight back to the hotel.

That is where we discovered the second problem; they gave us the wrong bag at bag pick-up. DH picked it up while he was waiting for me and was too worried to pay much attention to it. As we were getting off the bus, we realized the problem. Fortunately, the wonderful staff at POR took care of everything for us. By the time we woke up the next day, they had retrieved the correct bag for us.

We discovered the third issue Sunday morning. We had both bought the I Did It! shirts at the expo on Friday. When we went to wear them, we discovered that they had handed us the wrong size. DH had a small and he needs a L or XL. We are working with someone to get it fixed, but they are out of that shirt in those sizes now. We should find out our other options tomorrow.

Lessons learned:
1. Drink less water.
2. Check to make sure the correct item is handed to you everytime!

Really, it was a great experience, and I am sad that it is over.

 

[Shannon84]

We got in late last night, so this is the first chance I have had to post. What an experience! We had a blast! We finished in 2:59:50, which thrilled me! I can't wait for our next half. I am hooked.

We only had a few issues. The first is that I ended up sick after the race and spent a while in the med tent instead of at the party. The dr said I was hyponatremic and gave me some anti-nausea medicine that worked beautifully. By the time I was well enough to go, we were in no mood to wait in the horrible lines at the party and went straight back to the hotel.

That is where we discovered the second problem; they gave us the wrong bag at bag pick-up. DH picked it up while he was waiting for me and was too worried to pay much attention to it. As we were getting off the bus, we realized the problem. Fortunately, the wonderful staff at POR took care of everything for us. By the time we woke up the next day, they had retrieved the correct bag for us.

We discovered the third issue Sunday morning. We had both bought the I Did It! shirts at the expo on Friday. When we went to wear them, we discovered that they had handed us the wrong size. DH had a small and he needs a L or XL. We are working with someone to get it fixed, but they are out of that shirt in those sizes now. We should find out our other options tomorrow.

Lessons learned:
1. Drink less water.
2. Check to make sure the correct item is handed to you everytime!

Really, it was a great experience, and I am sad that it is over.

Glad that you guys had fun, sorry that you ended up sick though Did you guys have a nice meal at Ohana friday evening? we were there around 9 pm and I was hoping we would run into you!! We had a seat right by the window and saw the Hallowishes from there which was amazing...except they didnt have the music

Just checked out my race pics and I had to do some searching in the "lost and found" ones to find some...I think I saw some other DISers in there...I think I saw one of you crossing the finish Frank

 

[wdwprncess77]

Hi Everyone - just returned back to civilization (Darn!) and read through everyone's posts. This one might be a little long, but here's my take.

This was my first half (that I "raced", did another one as a training run in Aug). I'm super slow. I was just happy to finish and i beat my time from the August race. So yay me! I'm PUMPED that I'm already registered for the January half as I had no down time in the "what am I going to do now" department? I was way in the back of the pack and I really felt like it was a 13 mile party. I never once checked to see my total time or what time of night it was. I was focused on pace and getting to the next mile. I lost my ipod right over the start (yup that was me - such a loser), but found it within 20 or so seconds. But after that I just did my run/walk (I'm a galloway girl) as I trained right to the end. I couldn't have been more excited to cross that finish line.

Now - getting my medal after banana/muffin/water? I mean seriously, I didn't run for the banana. I just kept saying where's my medal? But ok, now I'm wearing my well deserved medal, use bathroom, give away my vouchers cuz I feel like i kinda wanna die a little and head out into the madness. I imagine that's what rock stars pile into.....entering the park where friend's/family were trying to reunite with their runners right there was madness. All I wanted to do was get to international gateway and walk back to the BC. And don't even get me started on having to walk another hill. I would have been slightly peeved if I had spent the money for my family to be there. It just seemed like a miserable experience for all who were there.

Next up, the merchandise. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I thought the merchandise assortment was terrible. The tech shirt is ugly and not creative. My everest one is so much prettier. I thought ok, i'll buy something, but I didn't love any of the rest of the merchandise. I finally bought the pint glass (I have one from everest so I thought 2 glasses makes a set) and the eat, drink, run red tee. Thought that was a cute slogan. Well, I go to try it on the next day at my hotel and I can't get it on. I look at the tag and it says XL - JR. Really? Really? A Junior shirt that talks about drinking? That's just poor merchandising. Who's going to buy a drinking shirt for their kid? That product developer should be fired for ordering those sizes.

I agree with everyone about the lighting on the way to DHS. And the backstage part from mile 10 to 11 was just torture. That was the longest mile ever. A bunch of us at the back got to 11 and we all said that.

I'm kinda glad to hear this was a bad race though for Disney, as overall I had a great time. It was much better than the one I did here in the Bronx (no yankee stadium, no zoo passing, just bodega after bodega). I'm really looking forward to January.

I saw my photos from ASI and they are all really good. I'm kind of torn about which one I want to get. BTW, my mom took some really great photos in between mile 13 & the finish. Not just of me but of a lot of runners. When she gets home I'll have her post them to an album so if there's one of anyone here, you can feel free to download it. (Gotta love picasa!) She's a former pro photographer so she's pretty good with camera.

Also, I saw many many wishers and loved saying hi and cheering everyone on. I met up with Shannon84 and bounceliketigger and I think they really saved my nerves pre-race. Thanks Ladies!!!! You were lifesavers.

Sorry so long. Have a great night!!! And congrats to All!!!

 

[wdwprncess77]

Oh I forgot one more thing: the fireworks at the start. When I did everest, each wave had fireworks. I was in Corral D this time so when the fireworks went off we had to look through trees and it was like "oh i think i saw a shiny sparkly spot". I would have liked fireworks when I started too. So perhaps, they can figure that out next year too.

I Promise, I'm done now.

 

[elbowglitter]

Well, I go to try it on the next day at my hotel and I can't get it on. I look at the tag and it says XL - JR. Really? Really? A Junior shirt that talks about drinking? That's just poor merchandising. Who's going to buy a drinking shirt for their kid? That product developer should be fired for ordering those sizes.

I was totally bummed with the merchandise sizing. To give you an idea, I ordered a medium race shirt and it's gigantic on me. I need a small (which I was unable to get later). And I could just squeeze into that XL shirt. It was skin tight and highly unattractive. I'm a mid-sized girl. Not small, but not large either. I was frustrated with the sizing of things. But I guess on some level, it makes sense. If the race shirts are going to run bigger, the merchandise runs smaller so that everyone can find SOMETHING in their size.

Oh well. The medal ROCKS.

 

[verticalchaos]

Did the eat, drink, run t-shirt specifically say anything about alcohol or just "eat, drink, run"? You can drink other things - and there are non-alcoholic drinks served in wine glasses. I'm just curious.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Did the eat, drink, run t-shirt specifically say anything about alcohol or just "eat, drink, run"? You can drink other things - and there are non-alcoholic drinks served in wine glasses. I'm just curious.

It says "Eat, Drink, Run" and below it the name of the race weekend.

 

[wdwprncess77]

Did the eat, drink, run t-shirt specifically say anything about alcohol or just "eat, drink, run"? You can drink other things - and there are non-alcoholic drinks served in wine glasses. I'm just curious.

You are correct. I definitely drank non alcoholic beverages for the past week as well, but I just think it's the wine and dine half marathon, not the kool aid and dine half marathon. So it had an alcoholic connotation to me.

 

[verticalchaos]

Ah, ok. I don't know...with no picture I probably wouldn't think twice about it. But I'm not a parent either, so... Like I said, I was just curious.

 

[hipporina]

Glad that you guys had fun, sorry that you ended up sick though Did you guys have a nice meal at Ohana friday evening? we were there around 9 pm and I was hoping we would run into you!! We had a seat right by the window and saw the Hallowishes from there which was amazing...except they didnt have the music

We had a great meal. We also had a perfect window table with a great view of Hallowishes. We were early and were seated by about 8:35. I'm sorry we missed you!