Moving on up...

[EddieMccoy2]

Running through crowds was tough for me when I started in Corral C at the Wine & Dine. It took at least 3 miles to start to be able to get into a constant rhythm. I didn't have an official time at that point, and was placed there. For the Half this past January, I got to start in A and was able to run my own pace with very little interferences. I'll be running the Princess in just under 2 weeks, and guys are not allowed in A or B, so I'll be at the front of C ready to dodge through traffic again. It does slow you down, especially when some are running in groups that 3 wide or larger. Lots of darting in and out.

My advice, get an official time, and if you are south of 2 Hours on a Half, you most likely will end up in A and be able to run your own pace.

 

[dragitoff]

Running through crowds was tough for me when I started in Corral C at the Wine & Dine. It took at least 3 miles to start to be able to get into a constant rhythm. I didn't have an official time at that point, and was placed there. For the Half this past January, I got to start in A and was able to run my own pace with very little interferences. I'll be running the Princess in just under 2 weeks, and guys are not allowed in A or B, so I'll be at the front of C ready to dodge through traffic again. It does slow you down, especially when some are running in groups that 3 wide or larger. Lots of darting in and out.

My advice, get an official time, and if you are south of 2 Hours on a Half, you most likely will end up in A and be able to run your own pace.

Will they take a 1/2 time as an official time? The half I'm running in a few weeks is a BQ so I'm sure it could be used for an official time if they use half times. I hadn't planned to run a full until marathon weekend at WDW next year, but I may run one before that if they don't take the 1/2 times.

 

[PrincessRhi]

Will they take a 1/2 time as an official time? The half I'm running in a few weeks is a BQ so I'm sure it could be used for an official time if they use half times. I hadn't planned to run a full until marathon weekend at WDW next year, but I may run one before that if they don't take the 1/2 times.

I initially said yes, but then realized I wasn't in the ToT thread... oops. I don't know for the full marathon, but definitely for the half or any other race that requires proof of time.

 

[fashionista311]

Will they take a 1/2 time as an official time? The half I'm running in a few weeks is a BQ so I'm sure it could be used for an official time if they use half times. I hadn't planned to run a full until marathon weekend at WDW next year, but I may run one before that if they don't take the 1/2 times.

yes, you can use a half for corrals for the full marathon....i believe they even accept 10K times as well

does your half have a full marathon attached to it? boston only accepts full marathons as qualifiers, so that is probably what your race means. believe me, i wish the baa would accept half marathon times!
http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/qualifying.aspx

 

[dragitoff]

yes, you can use a half for corrals for the full marathon....i believe they even accept 10K times as well

does your half have a full marathon attached to it? boston only accepts full marathons as qualifiers, so that is probably what your race means. believe me, i wish the baa would accept half marathon times!
http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/qualifying.aspx

Yes. I was referring to the full marathon being a BQ. It's the Albany Marathon (formerly Snickers Marathon) in Albany, GA on March 3rd.

 

[jmasgat]

Disney will take anything over a 10k as proof of time. And for reference-I have submitted 1:50 1/2 times for the last few years and been consistently put in B for the January races.

Maura

 

[Ariel484]

Did I ever have the fear I couldn't do it? Yes....for every distance I ever did--going from nothing to 15k, up to 1/2, up to full. I think you'd be nuts if you didn't!

One thing that I have learned--and I am not by nature a patient person--is that "this is why we train". You said you felt that you couldn't do 12 more after your 12 mile run--and you probably couldn't--not at your current training. But you could 2-3 more. And that is the thing. YOu just build slowly. Some days you may feel like you can do 1 more mile, and other days you will struggle to just get through the ones you have on the plate. BUt if you stick with it and take it slowly, you can make it.

As for goals--it is good to have one. Actually, I favor the A,B,C thing. For my first marathon, I felt--based on my training--that I wanted to run 4:15 or better. If things went wll, I wanted sub-4 (I also wanted to BQ and thought my BQ time was 4:00. Turend out it was 4:05) and if things really tanked, no worse than 4:30. I finished in 4:09. And I was satisfied with that. I would make 2 points: don't put too much pressure on yourself make a tough goal. Second, make sure the goal(s) is/are supported by your training. Mine were based on specific training and paces.

As for BQ--don't sweat it right now. Make it through your first marathon and then assess. I will add that after my first marathon (WDW 2010), I did commit to try and BQ later that year (since I was pretty close). I changed up my training plan and ran one in the fall. I did BQ (and PR'ed at 3:52) and ran Boston in 2011. It can be done--and I have only been running since 2008.

Good luck,

Maura

Completely agree with the parts in bold. Personally, I'd set a goal just to finish feeling good and strong for your first marathon.

 

[Ariel484]

Will they take a 1/2 time as an official time? The half I'm running in a few weeks is a BQ so I'm sure it could be used for an official time if they use half times. I hadn't planned to run a full until marathon weekend at WDW next year, but I may run one before that if they don't take the 1/2 times.

Yes, it has to be a recent (since July 2009) time that is at least a 10k. I used a 10-mile race time from April 2011 and was placed in Corral D for the 2012 Full. If you get a new time between registration and the race you can email it to Disney and they will update it, or you can take it to the runner relations booth at the expo to update your corral placement.