Marathon Weekend 2018

[Dis_Yoda]

OMG. You're right -- it really did!! And the person who had the balloon INSISTED on being in the middle of the road through crowds of people trying to pass her. For miles. And she would cut in front of people at a whim, to go off to the side to take pictures, not realizing that her balloon was not a cute add-on but yet a really frustrating annoyance to pretty much everyone around her for the first 13 miles of the Marathon.

Note to self: Start carrying something to pop balloons during the Marathon.

I would have punched the balloon with my nails.

 

[derekleigh]

I'm hoping rD returns the Percentage Bars since races aren't selling out so fast. I miss them.

 

[jeanigor]

I am new here so I'm sorry if this has already been asked/answered...my friend signed up for the VIP race retreat and would like for me to join her. We are both signed up for the full marathon. Any thoughts/ experiences with this? I am just trying to see if it is worth the extra money. Thanks in advance!

I've done Dopey with and without race retreat. While it is a nice add on, it isn't necessary. But as previous poster said, it is nice to have a chair and a tent to shelter from the weather if necessary.

 

[hauntedcity]

More than a nightmare, it really did happen!

While waiting in the corrals before the race, a woman sat down next to me with... you guessed it... a balloon. I immediately turned to my wife and asked, "How many times will I get hit in the head before the race starts?"

The answer was 12.

 

[LadyDi13]

Now I'm starting to worry. I never got a confirmation email. Did everyone else?

Credit card got dinged and active shows it in my orders, but no email. I checked spam folders, etc. I opened a ticker with active to investigate.

It seems like I vaguely remember having this problem in the past.

I haven't received a confirmation emails for my husband or me, but my CC was charged and it shows in our events on Active. Looking at Facebook it would seem a number of people haven't received confirmation emails either. I would like to assume that everything is set, and maybe there is a delay in queuing up the confirmations...or as some people have said before sometimes the emails get flagged and blocked by the email providers due to the large volume coming out from a single sender before they ever make it to our inboxes.

 

[cavepig]

So, it is weird the 5k just disappeared & doesn't say SOLD OUT at least....But I can't get the active registration where you select the radio button to work through any browser, I click say 10k and it just sits. Anyone else have problems? I mean I don't "need" to add another race on so maybe it's a good thing. Edited: Nevermind I fixed my problem

 

[rteetz]

So, it is weird the 5k just disappeared & doesn't say SOLD OUT at least....But I can't get the active registration where you select the radio button to work through any browser, I click say 10k and it just sits. Anyone else have problems? I mean I don't "need" to add another race on so maybe it's a good thing.

I think the 5K being gone is how everyone is assuming it's sold out. Weird though that runDisney isn't listing it as sold out.

 

[bananabean]

Now I'm starting to worry. I never got a confirmation email. Did everyone else?

Credit card got dinged and active shows it in my orders, but no email. I checked spam folders, etc. I opened a ticker with active to investigate.

It seems like I vaguely remember having this problem in the past.

I got a notification for my mom for the 10k, but not the 5k. They definitely charged my card for both though! It does list them both in Active, so I'm not that worried.

 

[huskies90]

Did you read the comments you quoted? They gave you good advice.

thank you, captain obvious. yes. the folks here were right based on experience and gave good advice. shame on anyone for following the directions on the website. the entry form clearly states: "ages 18 and over as of 1/7/2018". my daughter will be 18 on 1/7/18 so...yeah.

 

[mbwhitti]

I'm hoping rD returns the Percentage Bars since races aren't selling out so fast. I miss them.

I miss them too!! It was great if you were trying to hold off on registering and could see when it gets close and then register.

 

[Barca33Runner]

I used to think it was RunDisney trying to cultivate fear of missing out by getting rid of the percentage bars and I guess that's probably still my belief (even if I'm dubious over whether it is effective). However, I wouldn't be very surprised if the removal of the percentage bars was never actually a conscious decision on their part because, you know, computering is hard and such.

 

[camaker]

I miss them too!! It was great if you were trying to hold off on registering and could see when it gets close and then register.

I've used them the same way and this is why they're gone and won't be coming back! They drive behavior that is counter to RunDisney's interests.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

I'm hoping rD returns the Percentage Bars since races aren't selling out so fast. I miss them.

I miss them too!! It was great if you were trying to hold off on registering and could see when it gets close and then register.

I've used them the same way and this is why they're gone and won't be coming back! They drive behavior that is counter to RunDisney's interests.

In addition to the above, I also loved watching them for races I wasn't registering/running out of a sense of morbid curiosity, I guess!

 

[KimK2006]

Now I'm starting to worry. I never got a confirmation email. Did everyone else?

Credit card got dinged and active shows it in my orders, but no email. I checked spam folders, etc. I opened a ticker with active to investigate.

It seems like I vaguely remember having this problem in the past.

We received two confirmations right away. One came a few hours later. One still hasn't come. I printed the receipt, so, I am assuming all is ok!

 

[pixarmom]

My two cents regarding race retreat, updated to reflect 2017 experience:

I've used it for three races (one half marathon, two full marathons) and only when I'm running alone. If I'm running with one of my kids, it's just too expensive for more than one person. It was great for my first runDisney race because I wasn't familiar with the drill yet and it was nice to have a place to go. After that, I said I didn't really need it again. I don't use much of what it offers - I can't eat right after a race so I don't take any post-race food (other than bacon in 2014, but that's the last time I saw bacon in the retreat.) I don't ever want to sit in a chair at a table before or after a race - I would rather sit on the ground. Bag check is pretty easy to navigate outside the retreat and I don't really need that bathroom stop until we get to the corrals. So overall, it's nice but can be skipped.

On the other hand, I keep buying it for the full marathon. This year, it was because @Keels mentioned the early expo access and I really wanted that for Dopey because I was on my own with our youngest son for expo day. That was the best decision of the trip and many thanks to Keels for the info! But I'm likely to keep buying it for the full marathon for a few reasons:

1. Pre-race weather. This one is super big. I get cold very easily and I would have frozen into a popsicle without it this year. Once my toes freeze, it's over. They would have been frozen for 26.2 miles. So it was nice to stay warm and then as soon as I left the tent, I was in constant motion until the race started. And I like to arrive semi-early for the marathon, so I'm more likely to jump on an earlier bus when I know I have somewhere warm to wait once I get there.

2. Stretching mat area. I sit on the ground while waiting, and the stretching area is perfect for that - uncrowded, pretty relaxed and relatively warm. I don't even use the mats - I just sit to the side on the ground. I used to sit in the kids' area, but then they took away the bean bags, and it turns out the stretching area was a great alternative.

3. Bag check. I like to deal with all my layers and organize my stuff before checking my bag, so it was nice to do that in the warm tent. Bag check was relatively quick. (It's quick outside too, but then I'm freezing while doing all this organizing.)

4. Pre-race fuel! Yay for Boardwalk CL because they put out Kind bars for runners throughout the week and I ate one of those. Then I took a water, a banana (yuck, yuck, yuck) and coffee from the retreat. I could have all that stuff without the retreat, but the retreat made it just a little easier.

5. Post-race chocolate milk. They added chocolate milk at the race retreat this year!!!!!! I can't overstate how much I love this - the chocolate milk access was very valuable!

 

[FelisLachesis]

I miss them too!! It was great if you were trying to hold off on registering and could see when it gets close and then register.

That's probably the exact reason why they removed them. People would see it at 95% full, and then 2000 people try to immediately register for the last 1500 spots (I'm pulling numbers out of my... *ahem*... ANYWAY). They'd then get 500 calls from angry people who saw registration was open, but then they couldn't get in.

 

[PrincessV]

5K Sold Out

So, the 5K sold out before the 10k? Wasn't it the 10K that went first last year?

Assuming it really is sold out (I've never seen it just vanish before!), I'm surprised! I really figured it would be 10K or Dopey to go first.

I am new here so I'm sorry if this has already been asked/answered...my friend signed up for the VIP race retreat and would like for me to join her. We are both signed up for the full marathon. Any thoughts/ experiences with this? I am just trying to see if it is worth the extra money. Thanks in advance!

I did RR for my first half because I didn't know what to expect and was worried about what to do in inclement weather. I haven't done it since - and I've lived through pouring rain, an evacuation, and freezing weather, waiting for rD races to start... I don't think the RR price is worth it for me. I bring whatever I need to wait (poncho, layers, food) and go back to my resort after the race to eat.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Marathon Weekend Goals

I did this last year and thought it was a good experience. Full disclosure this time (last year I was sneaky), I am saving your responses to be revealed at a later time closer to race day.

Now that registration is out of the way for most of us, I'd love to hear your goals for Marathon Weekend. Here's how I see goals. They're personal. You chose it because that goal means something to you. It's important to you. Which means your goal is important to me. No goal is too big or too small. The person's goal to finish their first 5K and another's to take down Michael Wardian's Dopey World Record are equally important to me. So, I'd love to hear yours. And yes, even the super secret I don't want to admit it goals.

Here are some ideas if you haven't thought about it:

Finish my first: 5K, 10K, Half, Full, Goofy, Dopey
Finish with a time goal
Run a race with a family member
Overcome an adversity in your life
Drink a beer or margarita at a certain mile marker
Participate in DATW (Drinking Around the World) *Happens on Monday in EPCOT (ask @FFigawi about it)
Beat a family member
Get as many character photos as possible
Get a character photo with a certain character
Do lots of park time and enjoy the races
Have fun

So, let's hear them! What's your goal? Remember yesterday (or a few weeks ago) you signed up for a race during marathon weekend for a reason, so what is it?

 

[PrincessV]

So, let's hear them! What's your goal? Remember yesterday (or a few weeks ago) you signed up for a race during marathon weekend for a reason, so what is it?

I didn't think I could set the bar any lower than last year's "just finish Dopey", but here I am with:
All 4 races actually happen, with me in them.

 

[mbwhitti]

GOALS:

Enjoy the 5k and 10k with my mom and hopefully get some rare character photos. We may play the I sprint to the character and get in line while Mom catches up.
'Run' the Half with DH and just have fun.
Marathon... I think this year I'll make this more focused on fun and photos (even if solo). I wanna ride at least one ride in DHS and stop for LOTS of characters... especially the ones in WWOS (they were AWESOME this year), haven't chosen a beverage for Epcot yet but I'm thinking Margarita. Heck, I may off road to McD's for some french fries if I'm hungry. My race, my pace for 2018.
No PR goals, just fun with family and friends!!