Official 2015 Disney Marathon Thread

[roomthreeseventeen]

If you submit a proof of time when you register, you can still send a better/updated proof later as long as it's before the deadline right?

I only have one half time to submit by registration (this years princess half 2:46) but I'm doing a local half marathon in May I hope to get a better time so can I still email track shack with that one?

Yes, you can. However, there is a lot of anecdotal data that suggests that corral preference is given to people who submit a time when they register and don't change it.

 

[Nole95]

Yes, you can. However, there is a lot of anecdotal data that suggests that corral preference is given to people who submit a time when they register and don't change it.

I think it is just anecdotal. I ran the 2012 W&D, and it was my first race of any kind ever. So when I registered I had no proof of time, which would have put me in the back.

Over the course of that summer and after a good amount of training, I ran a 10K, emailed in that time, and ended up in corral C.

 

[PrincessV]

I still maintain that all rD corral placements are determined by the Magic 8-Ball. Okay, real life scenarios... 2012 TOT and 2013 PHM: I had no proof, entered my finishing times as the minimum allowable without proof, and was placed in C for both. I submitted proof for the 2013 TOT after registering, and for the 2014 WDW Half and 2014 GSC in registration - and those races included the new corralling system (more corrals, fewer ppl in each): placed in G for TOT, J for WDW Half and I for PHM. In ALL of those races, I felt like I was placed properly for my pace, so proof, no proof, proof at registration or proof after registration made no difference in my corral placements. That said, I know of several folks who were placed wildly - in corrals that didn't correlate at all to either their expected finish times or proof. I honestly think I've just had good luck... that will likely run out some day.

 

[MacClemsons]

I still maintain that all rD corral placements are determined by the Magic B-Ball. Okay, real life scenarios... 2012 TOT and 2013 PHM: I had no proof, entered my finishing times as the minimum allowable without proof, and was placed in C for both. I submitted proof for the 2013 TOT after registering, and for the 2014 WDW Half and 2014 GSC in registration - and those races included the new corralling system (more corrals, fewer ppl in each): placed in G for TOT, J for WDW Half and I for PHM. In ALL of those races, I felt like I was placed properly for my pace, so proof, no proof, proof at registration or proof after registration made no difference in my corral placements. That said, I know of several folks who were placed wildly - in corrals that didn't correlate at all to either their expected finish times or proof. I honestly think I've just had good luck... that will likely run out some day.

So is it better to report a good time on a shorter race or not-so-great time on longer race?

I ran ToT 10 mile in under 2 hours but wasn't happy with my corral placement for Donald half. Got stuck waiting to meet characters and ended up with 2:45 time. Did a non-Disney 10k in 59 min. Is that the time I should report when registering for next race?

I run Disney races to meet characters so my Disney runs take longer than 9.5/10 min mile pace that I run,

 

[DOOM1001]

I don't stress out too much about corral placement,I mean I know I'm not fast but I'm not too slow either,I'm probably as close to a middle of the road runner as you'll find.What that means is that I was in corral K for 2014,the 11th corral out of 16 with the last one being P.Sounds like I'm 2/3 of the way back but in reality I'm right near the middle pretty much where I belong as the early corrals have a couple of hundred runners and the last corrals have several thousand runners.I think my time in the full last year was pretty good and I've run some halves this year at an even better pace so I guess it's possible I might go up a corral or two for 2015 but that's still like the 9th corral to go and still like 30 minutes after the first corral goes off.I would love to be up as much as I can for 2015 as I plan to do Goofy and I plan to do a good amount of walking for the half and don't even want a glimpse of the balloon ladies,but I know I won't be as high as a B,C or D.

 

[Castle2Castle]

So is it better to report a good time on a shorter race or not-so-great time on longer race?

I ran ToT 10 mile in under 2 hours but wasn't happy with my corral placement for Donald half. Got stuck waiting to meet characters and ended up with 2:45 time. Did a non-Disney 10k in 59 min. Is that the time I should report when registering for next race?

I run Disney races to meet characters so my Disney runs take longer than 9.5/10 min mile pace that I run,

Check out a race calculator like from McMillan below; it will discount your pace from shorter races to give you an idea of how runDisney will view them for expected finish times.

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/

 

[live4sleep]

So is it better to report a good time on a shorter race or not-so-great time on longer race? I ran ToT 10 mile in under 2 hours but wasn't happy with my corral placement for Donald half. Got stuck waiting to meet characters and ended up with 2:45 time. Did a non-Disney 10k in 59 min. Is that the time I should report when registering for next race? I run Disney races to meet characters so my Disney runs take longer than 9.5/10 min mile pace that I run,

I usually use the mcmillian calculator (mcmillianrunning.com) and use whichever race time that provides the fastest finish time projection for the half. I usually enter the calculator's projected time (or something very close to it) as my finish time estimate when registering or updating proof of time for Disney races.

 

[laughinplace199]

I just talked DH into doing the marathon with me!

We ran it in 2009, 2010, and 2013. He said he was done after 2013.

Now to decide where to stay...

 

[PrincessV]

So is it better to report a good time on a shorter race or not-so-great time on longer race? I ran ToT 10 mile in under 2 hours but wasn't happy with my corral placement for Donald half. Got stuck waiting to meet characters and ended up with 2:45 time. Did a non-Disney 10k in 59 min. Is that the time I should report when registering for next race? I run Disney races to meet characters so my Disney runs take longer than 9.5/10 min mile pace that I run,

I'd submit the shorter, faster time, if you're registering for the 1/2 (you need a longer distance for proof for the full.) I find that rD assumes we all keep getting faster over time - my proof showed a pace near 12:30... rD took that and estimated my TOT finish as a hair over 12:00/mile. I don't even pretend to get it!

 

[moose615]

Decided today to do my first RunDisney Half, Registered for the ToT 10 miler today and planning to do the Half next year and hopefully the coast to coast and do Avengers 2015 if it does well this year.

 

[derekleigh]

Decided today to do my first RunDisney Half, Registered for the ToT 10 miler today and planning to do the Half next year and hopefully the coast to coast and do Avengers 2015 if it does well this year.

Congratulations on deciding to run your first Half! I ran my first at WDW in 2012 and loved the course.

 

[moose615]

Congratulations on deciding to run your first Half! I ran my first at WDW in 2012 and loved the course.

Thank you, everyone around me thinks I'm crazy for wanting to run a 1/2 when a bear or axe murder are not chasing me, I keep telling them its good practice for if that ever happens and that at least I have to outrun them from a bear or axe murderer.

 

[faneuil]

Thank you, everyone around me thinks I'm crazy for wanting to run a 1/2 when a bear or axe murder are not chasing me, I keep telling them its good practice for if that ever happens and that at least I have to outrun them from a bear or axe murderer.

hahaha. That's what my co-workers are saying too.
This will be my first as well.

I'm so excited.

 

[sumlee]

Hello Everyone!
Hoping to run the Dopey 2015! I've run 6 half marathons, but this will be my first full marathon! I'm so excited!!!

 

[Pixiedust2758]

Planning on going for Dopey in 2015. For those that have been there marathon weekend, I'm hoping to stay at a DVC Villa 1-bedroom (want that whirlpool tub). I'll be running all 4 days, so I was going to limit my park time. Any advice of which DVC would be the best distance-wise (to the start line/finish line), pool-wise (hot tub?), food-wise (easy access for meals). I'll be spending most of my hours at the resort, so one that worked well in the past for marathoners would be good. What has been your experience in the past few years?

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Planning on going for Dopey in 2015. For those that have been there marathon weekend, I'm hoping to stay at a DVC Villa 1-bedroom (want that whirlpool tub). I'll be running all 4 days, so I was going to limit my park time. Any advice of which DVC would be the best distance-wise (to the start line/finish line), pool-wise (hot tub?), food-wise (easy access for meals). I'll be spending most of my hours at the resort, so one that worked well in the past for marathoners would be good. What has been your experience in the past few years?

AKL has an outrageously good hot tub, and easy access for meals. I can't think of any other DVC resort that does. It's definitely not close to the finish line, but the good thing is that it's away from all the other resorts, so the traffic isn't bad.

 

[laughinplace199]

Planning on going for Dopey in 2015. For those that have been there marathon weekend, I'm hoping to stay at a DVC Villa 1-bedroom (want that whirlpool tub). I'll be running all 4 days, so I was going to limit my park time. Any advice of which DVC would be the best distance-wise (to the start line/finish line), pool-wise (hot tub?), food-wise (easy access for meals). I'll be spending most of my hours at the resort, so one that worked well in the past for marathoners would be good. What has been your experience in the past few years?

We love BWV or BCV for marathon weekend. We've only done the full, but we bring our park tickets on race day and enjoy a leisurely walk through Epcot (and a beer in England ) on our way back to our resort.

 

[Diskidatheart]

We love BWV or BCV for marathon weekend. We've only done the full, but we bring our park tickets on race day and enjoy a leisurely walk through Epcot (and a beer in England ) on our way back to our resort.

I'll second the BWV and BCV. We stayed at Beach Club for Dopey last year and thought it was outstanding. The prior year, we stayed at the Boardwalk...not the villas though. That location was excellent too and we're going back this year again...only to the Villas.

 

[Nole95]

We love BWV or BCV for marathon weekend. We've only done the full, but we bring our park tickets on race day and enjoy a leisurely walk through Epcot (and a beer in England ) on our way back to our resort.

I was wondering about this back in January after finishing the marathon. We were at POR this year, but will probably book at Beach Club for 2015. I'm planning on running Goofy and was wondering if it would be easier/quicker to just walk back through Epcot when done on Sunday rather than doing the whole bus thing.

I did see people walking around Epcot in their race clothes and medals so I know at least some people walked from the finish area to Epcot.

 

[laughinplace199]

I was wondering about this back in January after finishing the marathon. We were at POR this year, but will probably book at Beach Club for 2015. I'm planning on running Goofy and was wondering if it would be easier/quicker to just walk back through Epcot when done on Sunday rather than doing the whole bus thing.

I did see people walking around Epcot in their race clothes and medals so I know at least some people walked from the finish area to Epcot.

We love walking through Epcot after the race. We haven't booked anything yet, but we'll probably stay at BW, BC, or YC for the 2015 Marathon. We bring a change of clothes, some deodorant, baby powder, comb, etc and make ourselves as presentable as possible. After some PowerAde and food, we head into Epcot for a beer and a stroll and to cheer other runners on. It's a lot of fun (if the weather's good) and I think it helps with recovery to keep walking for a while.