Medal questions for marathon!

[ohMom]

ok this is truly my goal -- to complete in a time that I'm eligible for my Donald medal!

so ---- how does this work? do you just have to cross before that clock that starts after the last participants cross the start line?

do they give you the medal right after you cross the finish line? or do they have to check your official time first?

i remember it's a 16 min/mile pace as the breaking point -- i'm not stressing about it but i know with potty breaks, water stations, crowds, etc

put my mind at ease please! or pump it up to where it must be for my medal! that medal is mine!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My experience at a half marathon a couple of months ago--I think is the procedure for most half and full marathons...

After you run through the chute--someone will stop you and remove your chip....once the chip is removed, another volunteer will give you your medal.

I hope they remove any plastic covering--my medal at the Space Coast Half Marathon in November still had its plastic sleeve.

 

[MelanieC]

Me too! I really want DONALD!! That will be my focus while doing the marathon. I will think of the medal at the end. I really want to be able to come home wearing it knowing I finished and got the medal.

 

[Kristi1357]

The do have CMs after the finish, placing the medal around your neck. DH has run the full twice and the half once. He even had a pic taken with Donald (and the medal) just after the 1/2 last year!

GOOD LUCK! I'll be the redhead cheering for some guy named Chad and just plain cheering if I see any of you guys! Oh yeah, I should be at Jellyrolls tomorrow night too...

 

[LAWalz23]

I really, really want that medal too! Now if only my legs agree with my head and heart, I will be fine. In any case I will try my hardest.

 

[AKASnowWhite]

We ran the 1/2 last year and yes indeed, we were greeted by a CM right after we crossed the finish line who promptly placed the Donald medal around our necks (completely *unwrapped*!)

Ok...so now for the *story* part....like the complete crazies that DH and I are, we decided to run a 1/2 marathon in October of 2003 in order to get a qualifying time and the subsequent better corral placement for the Disney 1/2 marathon in Jan. 2004. While lining up for this first 1/2 marathon, I saw a woman who's t-shirt made me giggle. She had written on the front of it, "DEAD LAST DEBBIE". Ok. I just HAD to ask. Well, it seems that she had participated in the Disney 1/2 marathon and came in, yup you guessed it, DEAD LAST! What a great sense of humor this woman had. Anyway, we were talking about the whole Disney marathon experience, and she told me that her biggest fear/concern was that the *sweeper* would pick her up and make her ride, and that if by some miracle she DID make it to the end of the race, she KNEW it wouldn't be within the 16 minute mile pace...and guess what. Even though she didn't quite make the 16 minute mile "minimum", they did NOT insist on picking her up and she got her Donald medal at the finish, just like everyone else!

So....while I can't say from personal experience, I can tell you from what I've been told....stick with it, do the best you can and get that duck!

BTW....I told you DH and I are crazy....this year we're going for the Mickey so we can have a matching set!

 

[littlegreydonkey]

just a quick note, I think the finishing line characters might be before you get your medal, so don't forget to head toward them if you want a pic as they like to move you forward and out of the end area to reduce congestion. I'm looking at my photo with Donald (on my office wall, with my pic of me running through the castle and my medal and the tigger hat I ran in - thing I'm most proud of doing ever, no, not at all!!!!) and I don't yet have my medal on. Oh and one other 'memento' hint, keep your hands/jackets/cameras etc away from your number when you run out of the castle. They need to be able to see it to reunite you with your photo.

 

[ohMom]

thank you -- AKAsnowwhite that story was just what i needed to read on my way to the airport this morning

donkey -- thanks for the tip for through the castle, i knew about the finish line pic but not through castle!