Interesting WDW Half Review

[panthergirl]

For those of you who have run this a few times - are his concerns valid? You might like to take a look at the messages this generated as well. Folks sure are passionate about this.

http://miceage.com/kevinyee/ky011607a.htm

 

[westcliffemom]

I'll be interested to see what others have to say. I haven't run the half yet (hoping to in 09). I read in the reviews here about the porta potty issue. The pics were neat though, esp the backstage ones!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

well--I just started reading the article and will tell you that for years people will pee in the median adjacent to the start corrals b/c they opt to not go to a port o potty.....

And lines for the first 4-6 miles....pretty much exist frequently.

It is a congested event--and they could have 1000 port o potties and there would still be lines b/c when you gotta go, you gotta go and lines will often form especially more towards the beginning of the race.

THEN after the start....people who 'thought' they were fine....will be peeing in the woods along the path after the start when they realize--"oh no--I gotta go". It is an annual thing and will happen in any event most anywhere in the country..especially those that are super duper crowded.


Regarding sweep times--you get swept to get you off the course in time for roads and MK to clear.

If you finish you get a medal--but if you do not reach the mat by the cutoff--you don't get a certificate and are not an "official" finisher. That happened to me. How they go back and review chip times is up to them....but they can make it so you are not an official finisher. But regardless of when you finish--you will get a medal b/c you did indeed finish. It is an annual thing. Other races have more generous completion times..and sometimes are quite lax about them. The "not fair" whining is just sour grapes to someone who feels they were cheated out of something when they really were not.

HE is wrong about the mugginess...it was quite muggy at the start in 2005. The temperature situation was quite similar if not the same.

As for the start--you should never start jogging until the crowd really gets moving. It is a start/stop/start/stop/start/stop/start stop. It will happen in any destination distance event.

The half course was new last year. It allows the field to finish in the same spot as they do for the half. I agree you miss something magical with that start--but if they ran you through...you wouldn't make it back to EPCOT. Having one finish area is actually kind of smart for two events that take place on two separate days.

If he is upset about crosswalks--he would not like the full which travels through AK and MGM in the daylight when the parks are open and they have CM crossing guard. That's the breaks of running throgh a park AFTER it opens.

And the long stretch--man....he hasn't seen that boring stretch between MK and AK and AK until you get to the exit to head to MGM. And he certainly wouldn't like our local marathon which has you run the route once for the half and twice for the full....but the scenery is BEE-YOU-TEE-FULL!

I find it hard to believe there were no characters on the course. I saw plenty in MK for the half last year...cannot recall other sections.

As for entertainment--if he really wants to be entertained, the rock n roll marathon series is the way to go. Disney pales in comparison and I have indeed found the course entertainment to be somewhat lacking both times around. It was good--but lots of dry spots.

Frankly--I do find him to be quite cynical. Holding Disney to a hire standard for an endurance event is a tad ridiculous IMHO. Do they screw things up--YES I have no doubt. I do think they are in it for the money and they allow far too many to participate. But it is Disney--and they are totally a destination event. They are not the Boston Marathon.

I think if he actually TRAINED for the event...his cynicism may have been less. Things tend to look more crappy when you are not fully prepared. And he could have always brought his stinkin' IPOD.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'll be interested to see what others have to say. I haven't run the half yet (hoping to in 09). I read in the reviews here about the porta potty issue. The pics were neat though, esp the backstage ones!

There are potty issues every year. When you have a field of 20,000....it will ALWAYS happen.

Last years issue was the lack of TP.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Well I read what others have to say and aside from the elitest part about "you should RUN the event"--I agree with most everything said. Even a trained walker would have a more positive approach to an event than one who just shows up and says--welp, I paid my money--I didn't train..but I'll give it a go.

I really wouldn't put much consideration into the person who wrote the original article.

Last year this write-up was a stinker... this year is even worse.

1. Port-a-potties - Yes in 2005 there were more. Why? Because there were twice as many people. Up until 2006 the Marathon and Half-Marathon races were combined. In 2006 they split them with one on Saturday and one on Sunday (thus creating the opportunity for the Goofy Challenge).

2. $80 - Al how many marathons have you run? This is the going rate for a Marathon... let alone one without 'the Magic'. (The cost is set-up around the Marathon - this price point is to encourage you to run the real race).

3. Corral Systems - Once again, how much experience do you have with these race procedures. This is how they do it everywhere, even Boston. The real runners understand that they are seeded in spots according to their abilities. Of course they understand, if you want to start at the front you have to learn to run a little bit faster. And actually, there is no math involved with the Race Clock. Clock time is what is used to determine finishers (not chip time).

4. Finishing at Epcot - Personally I'd rather fininsh at a theme part (like this year) opposed to a parking lot (2005 and back). Anyone who walks a race shouldn't be surprised when there are people picking up trash around them and trying to cross areas of the course. Once again, the moral of the story - run it and you won't have those problems.

5. The course is just as magical as ever... however as you pointed out. It's not all that magical when you don't train and you walk the whole thing.

6. Sharpie - Welcome to the big show. These races are all about revenue - when I saw Sharpie as a sponsor I thought, wow that was a clever tie-in. By the way, would you prefer non-themed mile markers or no mile markers. Once again, you lack experience in criticising a race.

7. Rock N Roll or Country... the music didn't bleed into a cacophony? I personally ran (yes ran) right through the center of them during my race so I could experience what both sides was playing.

8. Must endure the 'long stretch twice' - Oh my, is that not the funniest phrase I've ever heard by a person reporting on a half marathon. Can I get an Amen? It's not that long... actually the full marathon has a longer 'stretch' than that.

9. Characters on course - they are there for the 'runners' to enjoy. During the full I saw them all even Mickey twice! Also, did you not forget to take into account the heat?

10. Picture of the Generator and music - I've probably seen that every time I've run the race (9 times). Could it possibly have been something for the Marthon the next day? I'm sure it has nothing to do with subcontracting. Do you have any evidence to support your theory?

11. There is always an escort at the front to make sure the path is clear.

12. Photos at the finish... Action Sports International takes them, they have every year along with hundreds of other larger marathons. You want a nice picture, you buy it. What's wrong with that?

About the only thing you truly could complain about was the weather. It was significantly hotter than average for this time of year. Everything else... well really makes me think how legit your reporting is if your gonna go to the parks with a chip on your shoulder to begin with.

 

[AprilN]

The discussion was interesting as well - the back-and-forth criticism of the author notwithstanding. The most useful posts for me were from "regular" runners who traveled from CA and elsewhere specifically to run in WDW. You can find their posts here and here.

The comparison between the DL Half (which I ran last September) and this year's WDW Half, by real participants who *like* Disney (esp. post 46) was really great. I've been toying with traveling to WDW for their half, or possibly training for the Full, but after these reviews, I'm wondering if it would better to skip it for a race closer-to-home. One major draw to get me all the way to FL just for a race would be the magic (especially because I don't go to WDW that often) - and if the magic is truly disappearing from the race, I'm not sure it would be worth it...

 

[windwalker]

I loved the race. But I'm a small town country boy so I don't have a lot of experience with the big time races. It flat out amazed me we all got from start to finish without having to worry about anything but the physical act of one foot in front of the other. I had a drink of water when I needed one and a banana when I was low of fuel.

If I were going to pick something it would be the paid area for watching the finish. I wasn't warm with that idea.

Dave

 

[Lan]

This was my first 1/2 Disney marathon and I had a good time!!!! I would not change anything. I will be going back in '08!!!

 

[goofyguy1958]

AprilN, if you are even thinking about going to run the Disney World half, I say go for it. I have run 15 half marathons, 5 marathons and over a hundred other races I can honestly say that the half of my Goofy Challenge this year was by far the most fun I ever had in a race (and I RAN a 1:53 even with conserving energy for the full the next day). I went into the race saying I am going to have fun and not worry about any of the negatives (comments, people complaining about ohthers peeing in plain sight, the long stretch of highway ahead, etc.). I high fived as many charactors and spectators as I could reach, joked with everyone who would listen and generally had a blast. The author is, in short, a running snob who cannot see past his own complaints.

 

[littlegreydonkey]

I didn't run this year so I can't comment on his criticisms, but I agree with his point about it being the 'Disney' half marathon though - if I want to just run a half marathon for the sake of running 13 miles, I'll do it here or I'll do it relatively nearby in Australia. When I fly 18 hours on a plane to do a DISNEY half marathon, where I'm sold in the brochure by people with characters and entertainment on route and running through the castle, however that's what I want to entertain me as I run. There's a reason I hadn't done a full marathon before 2006's WDW: and that if someone here suggested that maybe next January I run 39.3 miles round Auckland one weekend I'd laugh at them, but I'm willing to ship off to Florida and do it, and that's because it's Disney and that the idea of seeing Tigger en route seems to make the pain go away (please let him be there this year!!!!!). Call me stupid, but that's the point of this particular race for me and I'd be very disappointed if that disappeared. Helen

 

[windwalker]

I didn't run this year so I can't comment on his criticisms, but I agree with his point about it being the 'Disney' half marathon though - if I want to just run a half marathon for the sake of running 13 miles, I'll do it here or I'll do it relatively nearby in Australia. When I fly 18 hours on a plane to do a DISNEY half marathon, where I'm sold in the brochure by people with characters and entertainment on route and running through the castle, however that's what I want to entertain me as I run. There's a reason I hadn't done a full marathon before 2006's WDW: and that if someone here suggested that maybe next January I run 39.3 miles round Auckland one weekend I'd laugh at them, but I'm willing to ship off to Florida and do it, and that's because it's Disney and that the idea of seeing Tigger en route seems to make the pain go away (please let him be there this year!!!!!). Call me stupid, but that's the point of this particular race for me and I'd be very disappointed if that disappeared. Helen

Helen dear, if that springy butt Tigger is not out we will drag him out by the tail and make him earn his ears like the rest of us.

Dave

 

[Big Vic]

This was my first 1/2 Disney marathon and I had a good time!!!! I would not change anything. I will be going back in '08!!!

It was my first also and I had a great time. I'll definitely be going back in 08.

In any large project there are going to be glitches. IMO, deal with it and move on.

 

[Mark214]

This was my first Disney 1/2 marathon so I have no other Disney race to compare it too. Overall, I enjoyed the race. I love Disney and enjoyed running through the Magic Kingdom as well as the backstage areas. I saw about eight characters in the Magic Kingdom. I had my own camera with me so I took the opportunity to have my picture taken with them.

While the lines for the porta potties was fairly long, they did move quickly. I thought that Disney could have been more organized with getting people in each of the corrals to the starting area.

A course that let you run Epcot and finish after running through the Magic Kingdom sounds like more fun to me. The reason most people run these races is for the chance to go through the parks so anything that extends the time spent in those locations is ideal.

Is it worth the price???? Well, that depends. For me I not only had the $80 registration fee, but also the cost of airfare from NY and a hotel stay. I am glad I ran the race and have already signed up for next year's marathon. After that, I am not sure I will feel the need to come to Disney to run a race.
For someone who loves Disney World and running, it is certainly worth doing once.

 

[Valentine]

I did the 1/2 for the first time this year also... and I am a walker... I thought everything was great... but.. I was also surprised by the lack of characters.. I think that we just hit the parks at the wrong timeframe.... during the character breaks... My suggestion would be to have continuous rotating characters... one taking the place of another.. and then the original one leaving... that way everyone is happy! I mean.. come on.. it's Disney.. you expect to see characters on the route somewhere! So.. the comments from some of the people of "You want to see characters ... go to the parks" were ridiculous... People do this race expecting to see them.. that is part of the fun...

I cheered for the full the next day.. and I saw tons of characters! So.. I know they were there.. and people I know who also did the 1/2 said they saw lots as well.... so.. I think us slow folks at the end just had bad luck... the 15 min milers! LOL!!

I am doing it again next year because it was so great over all....

Kathy

 

[10nis]

I ran the full in 2005 and Goofy in 2007. I am NOT a hard core runner but I am a lover of all things Disney. For me, the half marathon in 2007 was the best experience, followed closely by the full marathon in 2007. The entertainment and spectators on the course has improved, in my opinion.

I will admit, by Sunday around 7am I was pretty tired of seeing people use the trees/bushes as a potty. I did wait 15-20 min both race mornings for the port-o-potties. After that, I used the bathrooms in the parks (MK for the half and EPCOT for the full worked out perfectly for me).

Highlights: Running thru MK both days; running thru EPCOT at mile 12.5 for the half marathon; running thru MGM on Sunday; running thru Ticket & Transportation center both days but better crowd on Saturday; Mary Poppins and Bert outside GF on Sunday; Peter Pan and Wendy in MK on Sunday; Piglet in MGM on Sunday. I am just hitting the characters that particularly inspired me--I have a roll of 24 photos that we took w/ the characters--they were out in force. (ex: cinderella/prince charming, belle/beast and mickey/minnie on Saturday at MK)
-There was better cross walk protection this year for the full marathon.
-Volunteers, one word--AWESOME! thanks!

Lowlights: walking! There is so much walking!!! From where the buses dump you off in the parking lot at 4am, to having to walk to the buses after the races---and especially to the start of both of the races! I know, it is difficult to haul around such a large number of people but it was just endless!
-I do not like the sharpie mile markers. Bring back the Disney mile markers.
-I would like Disney music when running thru the parks.
-My husband experienced no water/gatorade at 2 of the water stations late in the full marathon. There is no excuse for that to happen--they had been predicting hot/humid temps all week.
-I would love to have more oranges out on the courses!
-There are novice runners that participate in this race that run/walk 4-5-6 across. This race is so crowded and it is just rude to the other participants to hog the road and make it difficult to pass. Also, just as rude, is walking in the middle of the street instead of all the way over to the right--or even over to the left, if necessary.
-I do not train on highways...therefore, the sloped angles of the on/off ramps really bothered my legs and in particular, my knees. The grassy off road terrain is flatter and easier to run on.

I did not come close to hitting all the highlights--we really had a blast this year. Again, we are not hard core runners and we went in with the goal of finishing both races while having fun-goal accomplished!

 

[panthergirl]

Thanks for all of the comments. Now for my two cents: I think the author can be way negative about the smallest things when it comes to Disney but he does make a few good points. The change to the Sharpie mile markers really bugs me. I remember when running the 06 half, the Hercules one that said "Go the Distance" really inspired me for some reason. I hate that those are gone. I also enjoyed the amped up Disney music in the MK and would hate it if I didn't get to experience that as well. But they guy who responded that the author would have had a better experience if he had RUN the race really made me mad. There are tons of people who walk the race for whom that is a great accomplishment. Those people should have the same magical experience as the speedy people up front. Characters need to be rotated so that the last person to finish has the same quaility Disney experience as the first. All of the rest about the start procedure, the up and back, and potties is just part of any race. He didn't do much research if he does not know about the debacle in 05 when runners who were well within the required pace were stopped outside the MK. I think having runners go through MK earlier is a direct result of that issue. You also can't expect to enjoy any race if you are not properly trained.

Thanks all!

Susan

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

. But they guy who responded that the author would have had a better experience if he had RUN the race really made me mad. . . . . . . .You also can't expect to enjoy any race if you are not properly trained.

Thanks all!

Susan

Yes--that was quite the elitest snob comment--but, it really all comes to that the guy didn't train. While he claims he still had a "great" experience, his argument is weakend by the lack of training. You go into something like that without preparation, the bias is already there. Kind of like people who don't research a vacation properly then go at the most busiest time and then complain about what went wrong.

And he also didn't do his research. He says this is the first year with the new half route--that is total bunk. The change was made last year once the races were moved to separate days. That, for me, weakens an argument when you don't have your facts straight. I appreciated finishing at the full finish and would not have liked it in previous years to have to bus to EPCOT and then back to wherever I needed to return. But that is just me. I missed seeing EPCOT in the dark, but really liked heading straight to MK and catching the sunrise on approach. It was still magical to me.

 

[wtpclc]

For teh full, I did not notice a huge difference btwn 06 and 07. However, the mileage markers stunk! I got a pic of every sign in 06. I gave up after the first few stunk this year.

Note to Susan: Go teh Distance was still up on teh water bridge by teh contemporary. If tha tone had been messed with, I think I would have hurt somone.

Othe rthing I noticed. Last year they had a ton of sports heros giving good luck wishes to the racers on teh MK speaker system. I was kin do f bummed ot miss that this year.

 

[gatorphipps]

I ran the Goofy in 06 so that did include the 1/2. But only ran the marathon this year.

1. I think one of his problems is the LACK OF TRAINING!
2. Also, if you have been to any race...there are ALWAYS people standing in line for the port-a-jons and people peeing in the woods. No matter the size of the marathon.
3. All big marathons start slow and some of them start in waves. Sometimes this works well, sometimes it does not.

Now in the marathon course this year...there seemed to be fewer characters
and
I HATED the mile markers!
BUT......
This was by far the HOTTEST marathon I have ever run (and yes I did run 05...I finished 05 in 5 something hours, so I was out on the course a hour longer than this year.). It was hot in 05, but not as hot...I think that makes a huge diff.

But overall...a good experience!

 

[ultramickeymouse]

I missed the Disney Cruise Line station before TTL from 06. The race had issues and when I talked to Jon he knows they made some critical mistakes but he reassured me that this wouldn't happen again. He said there will be something special for the 08 marathon(15th)!

Robert
http://www.DisneyRunning.com