Official 2016 Star Wars Half Marthon - The Dark Side Weekend

[ludari]

I just returned home after spending five days at WDW for the Dark Side Challenge and 5K. Although I agree with the comments regarding the bus service and congestion on the course I had a great time hanging out with my friends. My race times where horrible but since I have not been running in over a year, I haven't trained one bit in a year I am so glad that I completed all three races and only had sore feet at the end. I hope I can do the same with the Tinkerbell race next month. Congrats to everyone who raced this past weekend.

 

[Z-Knight]

Wow, ebay bidding on a Kessel Run pin is at $99. I bought one on ebay for $25 and was kind of pissed at being forced to do so. I bought it at 10:30 am on Thursday and since then there have not been any others for sale till today. So maybe people did buy to keep and not resell. I wonder if the ebay seller I bought from is pissed they didn't list it for higher. Haha

 

[miker1251]

Dark Side Challenge Results

So, since they only list the Dark Side Challenge results alphabetically on the race results website, I copied the list into Excel and sorted based on overall net time (10k plus half marathon). I then calculated rankings for each person based on gender as well as the normal runDisney divisions. On the far right, I also calculated rankings for Masters runners (which runDisney doesn't do). Just like the real results, you cannot get two awards, so if you were one of the top 3 overall, you are not a part of your age group results, etc. Since the file is too big to post on the DIS Boards, just click on the link below for the .pdf file (84 pages which lists 6,783 challenge finishers)...

Dark Side 2016 Results with Rankings

This is a great idea. I am glad you have the expertise to do this, but also the willingness. A wonderful gesture to the group.

 

[SueInBoston]

Congratulations to all who raced this past weekend. Some of my observations:

Expo: 10K shirt pick up is separate from the rest? WHY???? and pre-order merchandise pick up is upstairs? Crazy setup!
I arrived at about 2pm Thursday afternoon and the lines to get into the official merchandise area was still about 4-5 deep. So we looked around the expo first, picked up bibs, eat at Grill (that was another 40 minute wait for our chicken nuggets and salad), by that time we were able to walk right into the merchandise area. Sadly all I wanted was a magnet and none available except for a C2C. Daughter wanted a 5k and 10k pin (we brought her bib, and preorder was sold out by that time)and only 10k was available. So we left there with a magnet and a pin.

5K: We drove to Epcot and it was fairly smooth. We were early that I got to be in the front of my corral and held the Banner!!

10K: We stayed at Pop, the bus fiasco was unbelievable. We got to the bus stop at 4am and waited about 40 minutes until we were on a bus. It was so humid that I was drenched in sweat after the race but was freezing while waiting for bus back to resort. Wish they had given out the Mylar blanket.

Half: At bus stop by 3:45. Bus transportation was much improved however crazy traffic and a very lay back bus driver got us there at about 4:45. At that point, I saw no need to rush to corral so i got into some short lines to take photos. Was still taking photos when Corral A went off...LOL I wish there were some entertainment / distraction leading into AK, that entrance/ parking lot seems never ending! Right calf started to cramp at about mile 11, rub some biofreeze at med tent and that help! (reading a earlier post made me realized it was probably due to the embankment!!)

Photopass: I'm still waiting for my Halfs to load but I like what I see so far. The quality/quantity are really good. The 10k finish line photo setup was crazy but they must've realized that and changed the setup for the half.

In all, I had a great weekend and I felt good after races. I was able to walk around the park (after a nap and already looking forward to Avenagers!!!

p.s. Just realized that I don't have a Kessel pin in my pre-order pin package

 

[Nole95]

For those that want to give feedback to RD, here is the direct email address: rundisney@disneysports.com

If you had any concerns/issues, don't hesitate to email them. It's the only way they will know there were issues that need correcting for future races.

 

[RookieLady]

I didn't like this race as well as wine and dine, my only other rundisney experiences (I ran the monsoon and then the shortened course last year). I didn't feel as entertained, and I don't really know why. I also hated, yes hated, the run through the AK parking lot. It was so boring. I wonder if my dislike stems from the fact that I could see the empty parking lots at this race, whereas everything was dark at Wine and Dine. I really didn't like ending at WWOS. As I reflect on it, maybe I enjoyed the reward of finishing in the parks or perhaps it was all the cheering people inside Epcot at the race party. There were people at WWOS, but it just didn't have the same uplifting vibe to me.

I will say that starting in corral D, I did not experience the same course clogging issues others were reporting. Based on 10k reports, I knew it was coming, so I ran a little faster than pace at the start of the race. When I got to the sidewalk to HS, we were pretty much separated enough that people passing were doing it efficiently, without disturbing runners who were running on the right (yes, running etiquette was being followed, at least for my race). Furthermore, there wasn't a whole lot of passing. At that level, I thought the corrals were paced appropriately.

I also thought this course was hillier than Wine and Dine. I run hills at home, so it wasn't a huge deal. However, I so look forward to coming to Florida and cruising by folks not used to hills on the slight inclines. Where were my slight inclines? At some points, I felt like I was running at home.

I thought the volunteers were terrific as ever. I am debating whether I do this race again. I am signed up for Wine and Dine. I will see whether it's the race differences that turned me off or whether it was the night/day thing. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood, as I did run on a bum knee (still beat my wine and dine time though--although I could not walk the next day--joy).

 

[camaker]

OK. With all the bus horror stories, I thought I'd throw a funny one in. Stayed at POFQ, which shared race buses with POR with the stops being at POFQ first, followed by the four stops at the POR depots. After the 10k, we hopped on the bus and headed back to the resort, but the bus started at POR. It felt a little odd, and we were discussing the incongruity amongst ourselves as we went through the POR stops. Finally, the bus hits the fourth POR stop (the front) and the driver looks back and sees that he's still half full with this "what the heck are you people still doing on my bus" look on his face! We had to explain to him that he skipped his first stop in POFQ (now take us there, please). I honestly think that if we hadn't intervened half the bus would've ended up back at WWoS...

 

[samc]

My Dark Side Half After-Thoughts.....

Expo - very sad! I couldn't fly in until Sat so there was nothing left. I feel really cheated that I did the Kessel Run & wasn't able to get a single piece of merchandise

Weather - for April in Florida I was pleasantly surprised! Even after the sun came up there was a periodic breeze.

Course - the bottle neck spots didn't seem as bad as expected based on the posts from the 10K but the highway & AK parking lot were miserable! Why wasn't there much of any entertainment or characters in the areas that needed it the most!??!!

My Race - started out really well in corral I....but by mile marker 9 my left calf was cramping really bad! Ending up walking almost all of mile 10 to the finish. I completed it though so I'm happy!

Pet Peeve - runners in the early corrals, I applaud their hard work, they deserve those spots & the benefit of time for picture stops......but when those pic stops mean they're mixed in with those of us in late corrals & they behave as if they also deserve the right to literally push & dangerously weave their way through....NOT COOL

Light Side in DL - the overall course & entertainment was so much better!

Forget to add - buses to and from Coronado Springs were awesome....got right on a bus about 3:35am and again right on after I finished

 

[MissLiss279]

So maybe I'll recap more of my thoughts about this race later. I did the challenge and didn't arrive until early Friday afternoon.

I just wanted to say that I actually got a PR during the half! That was not something I was looking to do for this race or really any Disney race. I stopped and took pictures at each mile marker, took pictures in front of the Tower of Terror and the Tree of Life, and took a couple of selfies in front of Kylo Ren and the Storm Troopers. So I think I could have easily been a minute or two faster (unless the stops gave me just enough break to recover). Florida also has a lot more humidity than Kansas right now - so there's that. I'm just really excited. This training session has really gone well. I'm hoping my race in two weeks (which is the one I was going to try for a PR at) has good weather and goes really well also.

 

[MomtoGKC]

I did the 1/2 with a friend, this was my 5th and least favorite Disney race. Before this I had done a Minnie 5K, Expedition Everest Challenge, the 1/2 marathon and the full marathon (the year it was in the 30's!)

Bus - We stayed at the Dolphin and walked out to the bus around 3:25-3:30. There was a bus there and we were able to get right on. Only took a few minutes to load and we got to the start very quickly.

BAG PICK UP - I did the VIP service where you pay $39 and they have the bag waiting for you at the start of the race. I loved this part! I don't care about the merchandise, I just want to grab my bib and go so this was a great option to save time. I was a little worried it would be crazy when we got to the line in the morning but there was nobody else in line and looked like probably only about 30-40 people used the service.

RACE - Went to the first set of port o potties then headed to the corrals. I was surprised people were already smooshing into each other and a little pushing was going on - we weren't even to the start yet! We were in corral K. We should have been in F but my partner forgot to send in his proof of time so I went back with him to K. Waited around for the hour or so it took for us to start. Loved the weather, we were actually chilly!

First 4 miles were so crowded it was crazy. I had done Disney races before and had told my friend to be prepared for two-ish miles of crowds, but this was the worst I have seen. Then once we headed back into AK it started all over again with the congestion. We didn't feel like we could get any rhythm going until we were out of AK and even then it was crowded. Then back to the trail behind ESPN and the crowds were back - so frustrating.

I don't remember there being so little entertainment at the other races - would have loved to have had more bands or music or something. Loved the school band but wish they were in the middle of the course!

I also hated the embankments and hills, but I live in FL so we train in flat areas. I had done other Disney races so I knew these were part of the deal when I signed up.

Volunteers were great - plenty of water stops and everybody was friendly.

POST RACE - Everything here was much smoother than I remembered from past races. We grabbed our medals, my friend got his knees wrapped with ice, grabbed our snack and were able tog et our checked bags with no lines. Sat for a bit then went to the bus line. This time all 5 of the Epcot resorts were sharing a bus and it was the longest line there. I was a little worried but the busses just kept coming and we were on in no time.

OVERALL- I hate to say it but I don't know if I'll do another Disney race unless it is with one of my friends who is just starting out and wants to run/walk for fun. I knew going into the race that it wasn't going to be a PR or anything, but to feel like we could only really run 4 miles out of 13.1 (my Garmin said 13.39) and even those 4 miles were dodging people left and right, is very frustrating. Still glad we did it, but it was definitely not what we expected.

 

[samc]

One more comment....
To the poster with the tip to run with a wal-mart sack so you have something to hold you snack box & drinks when you finish..Genius! Thank You!!

 

[dkostel]

I was in D for the 10K and H for the half and thought it was incredibly crowded. This was my 8th run disney weekend, this was the worst by far. I didn't get to my planned race pace until AK. The route to DHS was ridiculous, that stretch should never be in the first half of a race. There was some jerk screaming at peoples heads "LEFT" and shoving past them. I was surprised no one punched him.

I must have good bus karma, they were there and quick when I needed them to and from Saratoga Springs.

 

[MomtoGKC]

Haha - that guy ran by me as well! He looked like a more serious runner and I was guessing he overslept and was late to the start! He kept saying, "runner coming on your left" - I wanted to say what do you think we are all doing out here - we're all runners


Also - I forgot to add that around mile 10 I did try to catch up to my friend and went around the orange cones a few times. (we kept getting separated by walkers) Until the last time I tried and promptly tripped and took a huge fall right on my elbow and knee! It was so embarrassing but I figured I gave a little entertainment to the people who watched me - it was like slow motion and I kept trying to grab onto the next cone to hold me up while saying, "I'm good!" I kept going until my friend noticed I had blood dripping down my elbow - I got a napkin from the people at first aid and finished up. I imagined all the people who saw me thinking what an idiot I was for trying to go around the cones.

 

[Plaid Princess]

For the last couple corrals, the experience was different this morning. After staying a couple minutes ahead of pace, even with huge bottlenecks on the road well before Epcot and again getting into world showcase, the path to HS was a crawl, then the balloon ladies were right on top of us as we entered HS. I don't think they actually swept anyone, but they started threatening when it would have been impossible for a LOT of people, who are plenty capable of maintaining 14:00 or so, to stay ahead of pace. With 7000 people in the last two corrals tomorrow morning, I have no idea how that's going to work.

If you were in the last corral it was awful!! At least half of the course was too narrow to accommodate that many people!! It forces you to walk in too many areas. From the back of the last corral it was almost impossible to maintain a 16:00/mile! Too many back areas, sidewalks and dirt roads for that kind of money!!

Then we had runDisney people on bikes trying to squeeze by in all the narrow places saying "bikes on the left, bikes on the left", the problem is there was no place to get over to allow them to pass. Ridiculous!!

They definitely swept people during the half. I had dropped back to L to run with a friend who's proof of time had errored out of the system (another story for another time), and we maintained about a 14 min pace, run/walk intervals for most of the race... still ended up with the balloon ladies on top of us due to the massive congestion and getting pushed back around boardwalk and again in DAK.

They were unable to supply water fast enough at a couple water stations.
No Powerade at all?

This. Was. Awful. A few of the water stations just had volunteers holding out bottles to fill if you carried your own. No luck if you didn't have something to put the water in. So glad I opted to bring a bottle with me. I get that we were in the last corral, but we paid the same entry as the people in A.

The merchandising crew should simply plan ahead, include some pics of merchandise, and allow for more pre-orders of race specific stuff. (There are obviously local poachers at the expo. They could require bibs to get into the race merch, but I don't see them considering that.)

Merchandise was sparse when I arrived at the expo Friday morning. I was able to get a few "rundisney" items but very, very few race related items were available.

From the kessel runners who came on Friday, they were disappointed at any kessel run commemoratives. (IOW they did not spend money) Turns out, non runners got to the parks soon enough BOUGHT OUT the whole inventory and are now selling it on ebay. (RunDisney may be ok with this but they don't understand about the $100,000 salt and pepper shakers.)

My Dark Side Half After-Thoughts.....

Expo - very sad! I couldn't fly in until Sat so there was nothing left. I feel really cheated that I did the Kessel Run & wasn't able to get a single piece of merchandise

I don't quite understand why they don't handle this better... I know from experience that Disney has several different processes in place to handle merchandise limiting that have worked well in the past for other events. There is no reason they can't limit the merch to runners only; particularly challenges that not every participant should be eligible to purchase, much less the local merch Vultures. Even just the first few days so that people who can't take time off work for every race have a shot at buying something. They've done pin releases by hole punching wristbands... that would be very easy to distribute with race packets, and then once you have your merch you trash the wristband.

I had a friend who went to the Expo Thursday afternoon, and everything was already gone. Nothing left but generic runDisney stuff and a few 3X shirts by the time I arrived Friday afternoon.

We have participated in several runDisney events and this one was by far the worst and we didn't even try to get pictures before, during or after. Apparently it's impossible to get the same experience from the last 2 corrals as compared to the first few.

Agreed. I'm sticking with Disneyland races from now on. Smaller numbers, less congestion, better organized, and I can actually buy a tshirt on day 2 of the expo.

DH's friend just told him that he skipped 4 miles by crossing the median. But it was ok because he told the cop he was injured (no not really he didn't fully train)

Wow! Not cool!!!!!

Honestly though, I liked the California light side races better. There seemed to be more course support. Cheerleading squads everywhere, 7-8 marching bands, and the general public lined the entire course. The Florida race was dead outside of the parks. A few folks here and there, the DJ near the All Star resorts, the band at the .5 mile mark and that was it. Drinks were a swig and that was all. I would have had problems if it were warmer.

Yeah, this was my first Florida race, and I'm sticking with Disneyland from now on. Who would have thought such a flat state could have so many uphill sections in a race? I like the community feel and better organization of the CA races. Glad I picked up my Coast to Coast on this one, because I won't be doing another race at WDW.

For those people who rack their distances can you tell me what you all read for the half? My device is normally pretty spot on but for this race it showed 13.9. Did anyone else notice anything like this?

Mine said just over 14, from the starting line.

People were strolling and texting and facebooking on the course.

YES! What is this?!?!?! I had multiple people just grind to a stop in front of me to answer a text. I actually crashed into one guy's back when he stopped from a jog. Someone is going to get hurt!

Pet Peeve - runners in the early corrals, I applaud their hard work, they deserve those spots & the benefit of time for picture stops......but when those pic stops mean they're mixed in with those of us in late corrals & they behave as if they also deserve the right to literally push & dangerously weave their way through....NOT COOL

Same with the walkers who were weaving around. I would try and run on the far left, and have someone waddling back and forth in front of me. I ran on the median more than I ran on the road in some places. Is it really that hard to walk/run in a semi straight line?



All that being said, I did enjoy most of the race. My time was not what I wanted due to the congestion, and the logistics of this race were all over the place. You'd think it was the first race WDW ever put on, rather than running several per year.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, the change to Photopass. The pictures were better, the prices were better, and the turnaround was faster. I hope this becomes a permanent change for all races!

 

[cgattis]

Sharing my Half thoughts:

Starting back at signup, that was a cluster. Was online waiting for opening, and the website promptly locked up. By the time I got the page to actually load, all the challenge slots were "on hold." Intent was to sign up DD14 for her first 10k and I do both. The freakin 10k sold out as I "refreshed" watching for a challenge slit to open. Grrrr. Signed up for the half only. Then the pre-order...the only items that showed up to me were the jacket, ears, and the Dooney. I was disappointed to see no pins, but ordered a jacket.

Couldn't fly in until Saturday because my running buddy didn't get back from s business trip until Friday evening. I was actually very surprised how much merch was still there, compared to other races. Really wanted that Bondi band, though, and they were all gone. Asked a runDisney guy if they were taking re-orders for anything and he said no. Told me about the Kessel stuff selling out and I griped to him that they should really do more pre-orders; he was very nice and he totally agreed. I'm so sorry to all you Kessel folks who got screwed. BUT those of us who couldn't get to CA and didn't even get the chance to go for it (announced after that race!), we're bitter too And oh yeah, nasty surprise, something happened with my pre-order and they didn't have any record of it, so I got no jacket. The "solution" I was offered was to go look at the merch tent at the finish line to see if any got returned. Gee thanks. Never even found the freakin tent.

@ samc, I don't have any Kessel merch, but I got an "I did it" for the challenge by accident (thought it was the half). It's a pink medium, so PM me if you want it.

@MomtoGKC we must've been on the same bus. I was waiting already when it pulled up. Was nice they added buses to/from SwanDolphin--IIRC, they used to get left out of race events.

So, upon arrival at the staging area, stood in some LONG potty lines for half an hour before someone finally came along and told us about the ones behind the stage. Of course all the characters were gone by then. Lined up for Jabba and by the time I finished, Han in carbonite had no line, so got that too. Corral A went out during that time, and B and C were gone by the time I got to E....although it turns out I actually got in F. Oops, oh well.

As for the actual race--course, aid, entertainment--I found it equivalent to any other Disney race I've run; I liked it. I do wish they'd spread the characters out along those loooong road miles, and have more photographers with the characters, especially when it's dark. Without the 501st, there wouldn't have been nearly enough to serve everyone (at $199 a pop......), so a massive thanks to anyone who reads this and helped with that!! I made sure to say thank you to each of them in person too.

The finish line (not WWoS, but the actual crossing of the mat) was kinda meh, but better than ToT! Got a cold rag being tossed out from the aid station which was awesome. Completely sucked that they didn't have a SW background for the medal photos--stupid generic RD drop, to try to get you to buy the PP pic to get the border. Grr. Line for the BC/YC/BW/S/D bus was stupid and who the hell can eat tiny nachos while standing in a bus line??!?!? That and the applesauce were bizarre snack box contents, IMO. Would also be nice if the waters/Powerades were on ice.

As another runner told me "I PR'ed in pictures today!" So did I, which was awesome. I'd do it again for sure; just hope I can get my kids there too. May the force be with all of y'all!

 

[cgattis]

Oh yeah, forgot to say, any SW fans wanting a Dooney...they had some at the outlet on Vineland. Not sure which bag (a rectangular two-strap shoulder bag) in a print with both dark and light characters (sith and Jedi), so a red and sort of lime green print on black. $280 bag for $160. Thought someone who didn't get a pre-order might be interested.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

Overall.. I liked it but didn't love it..

5k- got there crazy early cause I needed my bib- got a few pics in then corralled up. Race was enjoyable no real issues..

Expo- pretty typical but frustrated at the lack of merch...

Half- felt weird with it being similar but different than January.. Walk to the corrals felt longer than January but loved the quantity of porta pots- only waited 2-3 people.. My prediction of my 'untrained' friend came true and she outpaced me which tossed my pacing out quick trying to stay with.. Crowds were rough and ended up with 13.7 miles logged. Our fastest miles were strange as they were 1,6,11 and finished in 3:12- goal was 3:05 but I'll take it with the heat & crowds..

Amazed by how many people we saw cut DAK completely out by crossing over the median-

 

[SunDial]

One more comment....
To the poster with the tip to run with a wal-mart sack so you have something to hold you snack box & drinks when you finish..Genius! Thank You!!

I use the grocery store plastic bags for the carrying of post run stuff. You don't know it is on your running belt.

 

[Fruto76]

@Z-Knight Thinking about you with all that flooding there in TX. Hope you made it home safely and are feeling better.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

I was in D for the 10K and H for the half and thought it was incredibly crowded. This was my 8th run disney weekend, this was the worst by far. I didn't get to my planned race pace until AK. The route to DHS was ridiculous, that stretch should never be in the first half of a race. There was some jerk screaming at peoples heads "LEFT" and shoving past them. I was surprised no one punched him.

I must have good bus karma, they were there and quick when I needed them to and from Saratoga Springs.

Haha - that guy ran by me as well! He looked like a more serious runner and I was guessing he overslept and was late to the start! He kept saying, "runner coming on your left" - I wanted to say what do you think we are all doing out here - we're all runners

Haha! I was in G (mid-to-back) and he came through on the narrow part between BW and DHS bellowing, "Runner on the right! Make a hole!" Over and over. Problem was there wasn't anywhere for anyone to go and he ended up slamming into a few people. What a jerk.

The guy in front of me yelled, "Look at this guy! He's so fast! I can't even keep up!" Which added some levity - the jerk was lucky no one shoved him in the water at that point.