News and Developments for Future In-Person runDisney Events

[1lilspark]

I think it would be less of an issue if they just kept the expo part open that was for packet pick up open longer, cause flight delays are a real issue esp right now flights are canceling or changing a lot right now.

or an upsell for on-site guests arriving late to have bibs be sent to their resort

 

[softball chick]

I think it would be less of an issue if they just kept the expo part open that was for packet pick up open longer, cause flight delays are a real issue esp right now flights are canceling or changing a lot right now.

This! My flight down to Orlando was delayed beyond belief for Princess 2020. I had to rely on that emergency bib pickup for the 5K - now I feel like I'm going to need to build an extra day into the front of my trip in case that would happen again which means I'll likely have to skip the half because of how much time off I can get at that point in the school year.

or an upsell for on-site guests arriving late to have bibs be sent to their resort

I would pay for that in a heartbeat! Skip the stress!

 

[Z-Knight]

Anyone hear from their Travel Agents? Mine said, they don't have any, and a second one also said the same thing. Our resident travel agent here (earlier post) mentioned that it looked like they would have some - I hope that wasn't wishful thinking.

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

Anyone hear from their Travel Agents? Mine said, they don't have any, and a second one also said the same thing. Our resident travel agent here (earlier post) mentioned that it looked like they would have some - I hope that wasn't wishful thinking.

I heard from one: nope, no bibs. My hopes are slim.

 

[cburnett11]

This is all a guess though. I was right about the extension of the POT window, but I was way off on the new POT corral cutoffs (I thought they would go to 3 hrs, but never thought they'd actually go even faster from 2:45 then to 2:30, and now to 2:00)

My wife got a 2:29:59 for the Louisiana Half marathon in January 2020. We both thought that was such a "perfect" POT for Disney races, but it looks like she will never get to use that for anything there.

 

[pclvnmcky88]

Anyone hear from their Travel Agents? Mine said, they don't have any, and a second one also said the same thing. Our resident travel agent here (earlier post) mentioned that it looked like they would have some - I hope that wasn't wishful thinking.

Travel Agents wouldn't have any right now because no one has any information on when they will be released. Charities don't even have their information yet so it's going to take a minute. The first person I spoke to said that they had RunDisney training yesterday and were told that things should work like normal. Second time I called the person wasn't the least bit helpful. There is a lot of misinformation going around and a lot of confusion. I am trying to sift through everything and get some straight answers because I'm in a bind if they've cut us out too.

 

[shellott-hill]

I got the sad email earlier today that included...

"At this time it does NOT look like travel agents will be able to sell bibs before sales start for the public. "

 

[broadsheet]

Anyone hear from their Travel Agents? Mine said, they don't have any, and a second one also said the same thing. Our resident travel agent here (earlier post) mentioned that it looked like they would have some - I hope that wasn't wishful thinking.

I’m on two TA mailing lists. One said “at this time” it appears they won’t have bibs. The other said it was confirmed they wouldn’t have bibs.

 

[PrincessV]

At this point, I’m feeling pretty anxious about getting registered for Dopey. My normal safety blankets of the AP early registration opportunity and purchasing through a travel agent seem to be unavailable. At this point I’m considering trying for a W&D challenge bib, too, just to increase my opportunities for a race weekend.

Yup. I had no intention of doing W&D this year, but now I feel like I maybe need to hedge my bets. Which is dumb, I guess, given all of the other races near me available in fall. Still...

And there's also part of me so happy to have rD back, I'm tempted to try for at least one race each weekend lol!

 

[Z-Knight]

Travel Agents wouldn't have any right now because no one has any information on when they will be released. Charities don't even have their information yet so it's going to take a minute. The first person I spoke to said that they had RunDisney training yesterday and were told that things should work like normal. Second time I called the person wasn't the least bit helpful. There is a lot of misinformation going around and a lot of confusion. I am trying to sift through everything and get some straight answers because I'm in a bind if they've cut us out too.

yeah, exactly - that's revenue that you can't get and that's mean of disney to do it after all of the years that you (Travel Agents) supported them.

 

[Kerry1957]

As a general rule, assuming there is no injury during the race, for the most part, for the most part, the people that get swept are people that don't care and didn't really train at all. If you're stressing about it today, I'd put a nice chunk of money on you not getting swept. Now, if you want to try to get a good time and you're going to be randomly in the back, I understand that but Disney races shouldn't' really be looked at for your PR's.

I have run 7 rD races and have only stopped for character pics during the single marathon I ran. Having said that, I believe the angst of being swept is by folks who start in the later corrals and want to stop for all/most characters. The lines can be as short as a minute or as long as 10-15+ minutes. (those of you who have stopped frequently can correct my times if inaccurate). So if folks are running at a 13 or 14 or 15 minute a mile pace, then they may not have time to stop at the most popular characters.

 

[The Expert]

Coming from the west side of the country, I've taken redeye (overnight) flights for my last few race weekends to help me acclimate to the early wake-up times. It works GREAT and gives me plenty of buffer to make the expo.

 

[camaker]

Anyone hear from their Travel Agents? Mine said, they don't have any, and a second one also said the same thing. Our resident travel agent here (earlier post) mentioned that it looked like they would have some - I hope that wasn't wishful thinking.

I don’t think a lot of groundwork was laid with the travel agents prior to the announcement (probably so they couldn’t leak it, inadvertently or otherwise). At this point, we probably need to give them a few days to learn the new rules of the road before we can say definitively.

 

[ZellyB]

I have run 7 rD races and have only stopped for character pics during the single marathon I ran. Having said that, I believe the angst of being swept is by folks who start in the later corrals and want to stop for all/most characters. The lines can be as short as a minute or as long as 10-15+ minutes. (those of you who have stopped frequently can correct my times if inaccurate). So if folks are running at a 13 or 14 or 15 minute a mile pace, then they may not have time to stop at the most popular characters.

Bingo! While I could have a comfortable run pace of 11:00 or so minute miles, I would stop for the majority of characters. So, for most races, I'd end up with a 16:00 pace or even slightly over that by the time I counted in all my stops. Starting in an earlier corral gave me that buffer to be able to stop a lot. And the more you stop, the longer the lines start to get even if you start out in an earlier corral as more people catch up to you. We timed some of our waits and I think the longest one we ever had was nearly 20 minutes. I'd say the average wait was often 10 minutes. Now toward the end of the marathon when people are just exhausted and over it, we could rack up character pictures with very short waits.

 

[pclvnmcky88]

I don’t think a lot of groundwork was laid with the travel agents prior to the announcement (probably so they couldn’t leak it, inadvertently or otherwise). At this point, we probably need to give them a few days to learn the new rules of the road before we can say definitively.

This. We were told nothing so no, travel agents do not have bibs today. Things will iron themselves out and we will get more information in the next day or so hopefully

 

[sandam1]

For those people sweating the Balloon Ladies - I never even knew they existed until I was reading about them one time in a human interest feature in a newspaper (NYT? WaPo? I don’t remember). Anyway, grass grows faster than I slog along the course so I’m pretty sure you have to be literally standing still for a few hours (or in obvious medical distress), before you’re going to be swept. I’m only speaking for the W&D. Perhaps the Marathon is a bit stricter. After all, at some point, they do have to let the people at the finish line go home

This isn't necessarily the case. For Princess 2020, I was inexplicably put in the last corral for the 10K and the first non-POT corral for the half. I admittedly started out relatively slow for the first mile-ish of the 10K (I was working with a physical therapist at the time and he wanted me to start slow to give my ankles a chance to warm up), but the course crowding was also unreal and any sort of intervals were virtually impossible to maintain. By the time we got to the World Showcase, I was playing tag with the balloon ladies (I'd get ahead, they'd get ahead, on and on). They were always in my sight so, in my mind, I knew that I wasn't at serious risk for getting swept, but the panic at the time was very real and made for a miserable race. I was never so happy to see miles and miles of open roads as I was the next morning for the half.

 

[AJollyHoliday]

My wife got a 2:29:59 for the Louisiana Half marathon in January 2020. We both thought that was such a "perfect" POT for Disney races, but it looks like she will never get to use that for anything there.

I never submit my POT during registration because it slows me down. I usually email it in. She could always email the information and see what happens.

 

[camaker]

I never submit my POT during registration because it slows me down. I usually email it in. She could always email the information and see what happens.

With the new registration system there’s no need to email anything. You can just log into your account and edit your registration after the fact to add your proof of time.

 

[pluto377]

My travel agent said no bibs.

 

[Sara W]

Is your chance of getting a bib increased if you sign up for one of the challenges?