Official 2011 Wine & Dine Half and Relay Thread

[Sam G]

Sam are you sign up to do the marathon at disney next year?

Not the marathon.. The half in January so far.

 

[ScoJo15]

I think it's an inclusive event. Something for runners and those of us who aren't.

Ok, I agree and misunderstood your previous statement that said it was a Disney event that runners could participate in. It's actually a runners event (runDisney) in which everyone can participate in.

I think it's a timed fun run.. and I treat it as such. It's like the difference between a bike ride.. and a bike race.. I do bike rides. I won't play the stupid bike race rules..

I disagree that a marathon, or half marathon is a timed 'fun run'. "Fun Runs" are indicated as such and can often be seen in local smaller events. A marathon or half marathon is an endurance event which should be taken seriously. Kudos to everyone who trains hard via running/jogging/walking and accomplishes the difficult goal of an endurance race.

I do bike races too as part of Duathlons, and agree there are strict rules. Believe me, as a courtesy I made sure I knew those rules before I stepped on to those courses.

I guess what I'm hearing is that there are tacit rules to running that aren't shared in the disney stuff but I should just know... I hate tacit rules.. But how should most of the people in these "races" know what they are? Not running into somebody in front of me is the most common sense thing I can think of..

I guess if common sense is a tacit rule, then so be it

 

[tinkeast]

Any other race reports or topics?

Here's my race report.....

I am a new aspiring runner and I ran 1 min and walked 2 min thru the relay one part of the course. I had to dodge lots of folks but that made me happy that I was going fast enough to deal with that aspect (my first Disney race I was all the way in the back the whole way ). I didn't stop for any of the characters because I was focused on getting to the finish and not getting swept. I have done a bunch of 5ks but this was the first time I tried 4.8 so it was a big milestone for me. I had the pasta meal at the expo at lunchtime and then a banana and milk around 5pm. Was at the bus stop by 6:45 ready to get moving and was happy to see the first bus at our resort left a little early and I was on my way.

Got to the expo and took a photo with the giant bottle of champagne (facebook proof lol) then headed into the waiting area. Lined up in the longest character lines ever to get a photo with Mickey and Minnie, that was cool. Talked with some very nice folks while in line. The guy in front of me waiting for Mickey didn't realize they didn't have cameras so he was going to leave and I offered to take his picture and email to him. He clearly was a very good runner and as we were chatting I realized he was definitely a great runner (he finished in the top 20); very nice and was there by himself as well. I told him he would find lots of young great runners to hang out with at the party but if he needed some company he could always email us and join us (never thinking he would want to join a middle aged lady and her friend and daughter but more on that later).

After the photos I went to wander around to find my corral - I didn't bring my glasses so that was a real adventure. Found it and a warm concrete block to sit on to stay warm for a while. Was among the first to enter the corral and held back a bit since there were some fast runners who had ended up there somehow and didn't want to get in their way. Met a couple of really nice folks while waiting for the hour, we had a great time chatting about different events and how special the Disney events always are.

Then we were off! I was so happy to finally be moving. I was very focused on moving forward and sticking to my plan so I didn't run out of gas or go too slowly. A bunch of folks passed me. I tried to be sure I didn't slow to a walk with someone right behind me and that mostly worked out well. I too had challenges in passing folks some of whom were walking four or five together but hey that's the fun of a Disney race. I just celebrated that I had the wonderful opportunity to be running faster. Mile one and mile two and mile three just melted by. I remember being shocked to see the mile three marker, how could we have possibly gone so far? That was the first time I think I took a breath and thought wow I might just pull this off. And then another deep breath when we entered Animal Kingdom since I knew it would be tough to sweep me at that point since the relay one finishes there. Animal Kingdom seemed a little quieter and darker than I thought it would be, but it was all fun. I somehow missed seeing the mile 4 marker so I lost perspective of time and distance and all of a sudden we went around a corner and the relay 2 corrals were there. I was done and didn't even know it. But just before the finish I didn't know about, there was a live armadillo crossing the road. Fortunately I was looking down at that point. I remember thinking, do they bite? Will he go left, right or just sit there? Should I stop (Heck no, no armadillo is going to mess up my time lol). So I slowed and watched and kept running. He gave us a look like what the heck are you people doing in my park, then ambled towards the edge of the road. I came within an inch of him but we both survived the ordeal and I watched him get safely off into the bush.

Then I was done. My relay 2 runner wasn't able to run so I had no one to tag, I just ran past all the corrals and to the finish medal. Cool moment getting the medal, then off to find water, food, and how to get back to Epcot. It was kind of confusing but made it to the bus and met a nice lady there who had gotten sick at the end of the race so missed getting her water. So I gave her mine and was happy I was able to help someone.

Made it to Epcot quickly and then eventually found my way past the various checkpoints and in to Epcot proper. I walked past the beer but wished I'd known they had cans of diet coke, my drink of choice, I would have stopped for that!

Met my wonderful daughter and best friend by the giant ball. My daughter brought me guac and chips from Mexico and a Diet Coke! So we sat there and chatted while I wolfed down the most perfect after race food ever. Then we walked down to the water, got a glass of champagne, had someone take our photo and then decided to leave and walked all the way out to the front of the park to leave. Just then I received an email from the awesome runner I'd met in the Mickey line wanting to meet up. So we walked all the way back to Canada to see him and introduce him to my guests. Had a nice chat and then headed out to go back to the resort.

It was confusing leaving Epcot...where were the buses? At this point I didn't want to walk one more step . Got general directions, head this way and we encountered a very long taxi line. Decided to stay there since it was deterministic, once we got to the front of the line the taxi would take us straight to our hotel. Started talking with others, and found another group going to the same hotel, so we let the taxi coordinator know we had a group of 7 and that got us a slightly earlier cab (they were asking for large groups for the van cabs). We tipped him and I thought he would faint, at that point everyone was a little crispy being so tired. Had the nicest cab driver and we made sure to tip him well. A great end to the evening.

Made it back to the hotel room by around 3:30. My daughter said wow when's the last time you were out that late (way too many years to remember!). A wonderful night, lots of great folks, and a personal sense of accomplishment that I will treasure. I can't wait for the Tinkerbell half!

Hope you all had amazing times as well. I've enjoyed reading everyone's race reports and thank you for posting them.

If I had any suggestions for improvement it would be to have Disney photopass folks taking the after race photo (both at the Princess and now Wine & Dine I found those guys to not have the disney spirit) and to have the hotel buses closer to the exit after the party . But little things amidst an overall wonderful evening.

 

[Sam G]

Ok, I agree and misunderstood your previous statement that said it was a Disney event that runners could participate in. It's actually a runners event (runDisney) in which everyone can participate in.



I disagree that a marathon, or half marathon is a timed 'fun run'. "Fun Runs" are indicated as such and can often be seen in local smaller events. A marathon or half marathon is an endurance event which should be taken seriously. Kudos to everyone who trains hard via running/jogging/walking and accomplishes the difficult goal of an endurance race.

I do bike races too as part of Duathlons, and agree there are strict rules. Believe me, as a courtesy I made sure I knew those rules before I stepped on to those courses.



I guess if common sense is a tacit rule, then so be it

Strict rules are great.. if they are written down. I will follow them. Then everyone will know what they are.. Please don't think going to the right only is such common sense when even Galloway said go to either side to a very small group. Put it in the documentation. Make the announcement over the jumbotron... Until it's written down, I'm going to stop where there is plenty of room to get around me. Which is in accordance with the race documentation. I was run into walking on the side last year.

I don't think a serious race would have characters for you to have your picture taken with. I don't think 13.1 miles is that much of an endurance test.... It is a good fun distance. It's a distance my dog and I hike often. (within the 16 minute mile time limit - heck, I limped the entire January half within the 16 minute time limit.) It's a bit of a stretch to run. Much like a metric century bike ride. A distance everyone can reach without too much effort. Barring an injury. I don't want to belittle anyone who had trouble reaching that distance. I think you win as soon as you start.

I'm sorry that I am going to have fun... thus it's a fun run. I'm not going to win. I'm sorry that running isn't a sport to me. It's something I do.. for fun.

I spoke to several people who hadn't trained at all and were in the race. So although the runners were serious. Many of us aren't. Hopefully I didn't hold up anybody wanting to get by.. And as long as they don't run into me.. no worries.

I do feel bad for the people who want to actually run the event and are put into the later corrals.. I hope they are only stuck there for one race.

So.. I hope you are in A, and I am back further. And we only meet at the end.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Any other race reports or topics?

Here's my race report.....

I am a new aspiring runner and I ran 1 min and walked 2 min thru the relay one part of the course. I had to dodge lots of folks but that made me happy that I was going fast enough to deal with that aspect (my first Disney race I was all the way in the back the whole way ). I didn't stop for any of the characters because I was focused on getting to the finish and not getting swept. I have done a bunch of 5ks but this was the first time I tried 4.8 so it was a big milestone for me. I had the pasta meal at the expo at lunchtime and then a banana and milk around 5pm. Was at the bus stop by 6:45 ready to get moving and was happy to see the first bus at our resort left a little early and I was on my way.

Got to the expo and took a photo with the giant bottle of champagne (facebook proof lol) then headed into the waiting area. Lined up in the longest character lines ever to get a photo with Mickey and Minnie, that was cool. Talked with some very nice folks while in line. The guy in front of me waiting for Mickey didn't realize they didn't have cameras so he was going to leave and I offered to take his picture and email to him. He clearly was a very good runner and as we were chatting I realized he was definitely a great runner (he finished in the top 20); very nice and was there by himself as well. I told him he would find lots of young great runners to hang out with at the party but if he needed some company he could always email us and join us (never thinking he would want to join a middle aged lady and her friend and daughter but more on that later).

After the photos I went to wander around to find my corral - I didn't bring my glasses so that was a real adventure. Found it and a warm concrete block to sit on to stay warm for a while. Was among the first to enter the corral and held back a bit since there were some fast runners who had ended up there somehow and didn't want to get in their way. Met a couple of really nice folks while waiting for the hour, we had a great time chatting about different events and how special the Disney events always are.

Then we were off! I was so happy to finally be moving. I was very focused on moving forward and sticking to my plan so I didn't run out of gas or go too slowly. A bunch of folks passed me. I tried to be sure I didn't slow to a walk with someone right behind me and that mostly worked out well. I too had challenges in passing folks some of whom were walking four or five together but hey that's the fun of a Disney race. I just celebrated that I had the wonderful opportunity to be running faster. Mile one and mile two and mile three just melted by. I remember being shocked to see the mile three marker, how could we have possibly gone so far? That was the first time I think I took a breath and thought wow I might just pull this off. And then another deep breath when we entered Animal Kingdom since I knew it would be tough to sweep me at that point since the relay one finishes there. Animal Kingdom seemed a little quieter and darker than I thought it would be, but it was all fun. I somehow missed seeing the mile 4 marker so I lost perspective of time and distance and all of a sudden we went around a corner and the relay 2 corrals were there. I was done and didn't even know it. But just before the finish I didn't know about, there was a live armadillo crossing the road. Fortunately I was looking down at that point. I remember thinking, do they bite? Will he go left, right or just sit there? Should I stop (Heck no, no armadillo is going to mess up my time lol). So I slowed and watched and kept running. He gave us a look like what the heck are you people doing in my park, then ambled towards the edge of the road. I came within an inch of him but we both survived the ordeal and I watched him get safely off into the bush.

Then I was done. My relay 2 runner wasn't able to run so I had no one to tag, I just ran past all the corrals and to the finish medal. Cool moment getting the medal, then off to find water, food, and how to get back to Epcot. It was kind of confusing but made it to the bus and met a nice lady there who had gotten sick at the end of the race so missed getting her water. So I gave her mine and was happy I was able to help someone.

Made it to Epcot quickly and then eventually found my way past the various checkpoints and in to Epcot proper. I walked past the beer but wished I'd known they had cans of diet coke, my drink of choice, I would have stopped for that!

Met my wonderful daughter and best friend by the giant ball. My daughter brought me guac and chips from Mexico and a Diet Coke! So we sat there and chatted while I wolfed down the most perfect after race food ever. Then we walked down to the water, got a glass of champagne, had someone take our photo and then decided to leave and walked all the way out to the front of the park to leave. Just then I received an email from the awesome runner I'd met in the Mickey line wanting to meet up. So we walked all the way back to Canada to see him and introduce him to my guests. Had a nice chat and then headed out to go back to the resort.

It was confusing leaving Epcot...where were the buses? At this point I didn't want to walk one more step . Got general directions, head this way and we encountered a very long taxi line. Decided to stay there since it was deterministic, once we got to the front of the line the taxi would take us straight to our hotel. Started talking with others, and found another group going to the same hotel, so we let the taxi coordinator know we had a group of 7 and that got us a slightly earlier cab (they were asking for large groups for the van cabs). We tipped him and I thought he would faint, at that point everyone was a little crispy being so tired. Had the nicest cab driver and we made sure to tip him well. A great end to the evening.

Made it back to the hotel room by around 3:30. My daughter said wow when's the last time you were out that late (way too many years to remember!). A wonderful night, lots of great folks, and a personal sense of accomplishment that I will treasure. I can't wait for the Tinkerbell half!

Hope you all had amazing times as well. I've enjoyed reading everyone's race reports and thank you for posting them.

If I had any suggestions for improvement it would be to have Disney photopass folks taking the after race photo (both at the Princess and now Wine & Dine I found those guys to not have the disney spirit) and to have the hotel buses closer to the exit after the party . But little things amidst an overall wonderful evening.

Thanks for sharing your race report! I wish I saw an Armadillo! They do not bite BTW. I loved seeing them when I had to take packages out to the Treehouse Villas when I was in the College Program. Nice to see live ones and not smooshed ones!

 

[Sam G]

Sam are you sign up to do the marathon at disney next year?

By the way.. How's your knee? You had an awesome time.. Did your knee hold you up any? Haven't seen you running.

Did you sign up for the Donald?

 

[aaronv88]

By the way.. How's your knee? You had an awesome time.. Did your knee hold you up any? Haven't seen you running.

Did you sign up for the Donald?

My knee is find after 3 or 4 days of taking motrin. I havn't been running cause i want to give myself a break until November. I am still up in the air as for signing up for the marathon or doing the 1/2 donald again. Not sure what i should do but i have to decide really really soon. I had to Limp & Jog at mile 8 from WD. I want to really do the C2C. I wish i had the motivation to run right now. I truely have the Run Disney Bug.

 

[Sam G]

My knee is find after 3 or 4 days of taking motrin. I havn't been running cause i want to give myself a break until November. I am still up in the air as for signing up for the marathon or doing the 1/2 donald again. Not sure what i should do but i have to decide really really soon. I had to Limp & Jog at mile 8 from WD. I want to really do the C2C. I wish i had the motivation to run right now. I truely have the Run Disney Bug.

Let me know here or on runkeeper what you decide. Also, let me know if I can help. I'm really good at nagging..

 

[aaronv88]

Let me know here or on runkeeper what you decide. Also, let me know if I can help. I'm really good at nagging..

Sam,
I believe i decided to go with the donald this time cause its the 15th anniversery. Next year i'll go with mickey cause of the 20th anniversary. Right now i think i got this heart burn which have been with me for 3 days now. On the verge of getting a cold and still having left wrist problems. I wish all this stuff would go away. I hope i can start training next month.

 

[Sam G]

Sam,
I believe i decided to go with the donald this time cause its the 15th anniversery. Next year i'll go with mickey cause of the 20th anniversary. Right now i think i got this heart burn which have been with me for 3 days now. On the verge of getting a cold and still having left wrist problems. I wish all this stuff would go away. I hope i can start training next month.

That makes sense to me. Sounds like a good plan. I hope you can start running again soon. I'll watch for you on runkeeper.

Also.. I love your profile picture. The one with you and Mulan.. I don't know where you found her to get your medal picture taken with. But great idea!

 

[aaronv88]

That makes sense to me. Sounds like a good plan. I hope you can start running again soon. I'll watch for you on runkeeper.

Also.. I love your profile picture. The one with you and Mulan.. I don't know where you found her to get your medal picture taken with. But great idea!

I actually found her in front of china at the Epcot.

 

[kristie03]

Hi all!

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's reviews of the race and thought I would just quickly post that I still am a bit amazed that I finished my first 1/2 marathon....and I have signed up for the Princess in Feb.

I'm hoping to take the training a little more seriously this time, but in the end I'll be happy just to finish that one as well, and if I can improve each of my split times I'll be thrilled....

Thanks for all of your encouragement along the way, even if I was generally just lurking here!!

 

[bhurley]

The certificates are available

http://www.mydisneymarathon.com/WineDineRun/

 

[OregonGirl]

Hi everyone!!!

I disappeared for awhile, yes, and as some of you know it's because I took off on a cruise just after the run and got home on Sunday. Since then it's been a constant stream of work and unpacking and new furniture and I just haven't had a chance to post until now.

Sam - It was great seeing you at the corral. I would have stayed to chat more but I was nervous. Did you meet up with your son after the race?

Kristie - I am also running the Princess after having such a good time at the Wine & Dine. It was my first 1/2 and I also have caught the Disney running bug. And I mean DISNEY running bug. I think outside of my normal routes at home I am not going to bother running any 1/2s unless I can work a Disney trip into it.

MY RACE EXPERIENCE:

So I was training with pretty consistent 7-8 mile runs about 1-3 times a week for the last 6 months at least for this 1/2. I started running/jogging in April of of 2010 with no experience and a coach potato body. I RAN the entire 13.1 miles and only stopped for a half second twice to tie my shoe. My time was 2:28:49. My legs nearly gave out on me when I finished and a muscle in my right thigh kept threatening to cramp up, and to boot I had trouble on stairs for about 5 days after the race simply because my thighs hurt to bend that way, AND a day after the race my right toenail (next to the big one) promptly got all swollen and when I messed with it the entire nail popped off! Wow, did that hurt for a few days before forming a scab.

But I would do it all over again, and in fact I AM!! Princess in February. My SO got me a commemorative frame from one of the vendors at the expo, and I am really happy with my race photos, and I had a really good time.

The line to the Expo from POFQ on race night was REALLY LONG, but I didn't mind. There were a lot of people at the corrals and the stage was sort of set up funny so once you were in your corrals you couldn't see it anymore, but I didn't mind. There was a lot of weaving in and out of people and there was not a lot of entertainment along that long highway stretch, but I didn't mind. After finishing the race my group wanted to ride Ellen's Energy Adventure (not my first choice) but I didn't mind. I was hoping to ride Test Track but I was having trouble walking, so I didn't mind. My SO, the sweetie that he is, half escorted, half carried me to the engravers where I got my time on the back of my shinny. He's such a wonderful guy, and he was so proud of me. I had a FABULOUS TIME I TELL YOU!!

I did not find anyone from the board (accept for Sam) to tackle in a hug. Darn it Sam, I should have pounced on you. I was nervous. Oh well. I hope everyone else had a FABULOUS TIME!!!!

I am going to go lurk in the Princess thread. I might even post. That thread is HUGE!! It rivals this one and the event is still 4 months away. ACK!

- Carey

 

[MikeofRose&Mike]

For those who stayed at the Dolphin, how did you get to and from the race?

I stayed at BWV. You could just walk to BWV and take the bus to the race. Get there early, we got there at 7:10 and had to wait for 2 busses. By the time our bus pulled out the line stretched all the way ito the lobby.

The walk back isn't that bad. It'll be good for your muscles. DW did it with ice on her knee.

 

[ChloroFiend]

I stayed at BWV. You could just walk to BWV and take the bus to the race. Get there early, we got there at 7:10 and had to wait for 2 busses. By the time our bus pulled out the line stretched all the way ito the lobby.

The walk back isn't that bad. It'll be good for your muscles. DW did it with ice on her knee.

This. We walked over from the dolphin to BWI for the bus there, then walked back to Dolphin from Epcot. I nearly didn't make it back...my legs locked up pretty good about halfway around Crescent Lake.

 

[kristie03]

I am going to go lurk in the Princess thread. I might even post. That thread is HUGE!! It rivals this one and the event is still 4 months away. ACK!

Woo hoo!! See you over on the Princess thread!