Official 2016 Star Wars Half Marthon - The Dark Side Weekend

[Bronte]

So I have about 5 photos on the photo pass site for the 10K and my DH has only two.
Is that about average ???
We did not stop for any photos but I did make sure I ran past the photo pass people whenever I could.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I don't think I ever said I expect everyone to live by my code. I can say I don't agree with a practice with out expecting others to change their ways. If someone has no moral qualms over paying money and claiming they finished a half when they didn't then that's on them. I still run my race and have fun either way.

Sorry - that was not meant as a personal comment, I was just replying to the concept in general. I don't like it either, but I know that they aren't doing anything "wrong" - they are just doing something that I wouldn't do.

I feel bad for folks who can't get into these races for any reason, but that's life. I haven't gotten into the NYC marathon the last two years.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

nm...

 

[BuckeyeBama]

So, I was interested to see how the runDisney corral placement worked, so I downloaded the dark side half marathon finishers list and did a little analysis. Before you read anything into the following graphs, there are a few things I would like to make clear:

Does this include DNF data? I wold count the DNF folks as slower, and I suspect that a lot of folks in the last corral did not finish.

 

[Anisum]

@opusone Thanks for providing that. It find it fascinating but somewhat unsurprising that many people were not on pace. I know that for the Princess Half I was embarrassingly slow because I was running with friends and we let ourselves have too much fun. While we were never in danger of being swept we stopped for photos at every mile marker, went to the bathroom, and took photos in front of the castle. We also got separated at least twice which led to us stopping until we found one another. The time that Disney posted has me at just over 5 min/mi slower but when I look at my gps data (I had auto-pause on) it shows I'm sub 3 min/mi slower which makes more sense between crowing and weaving.

 

[opusone]

Does this include DNF data? I wold count the DNF folks as slower, and I suspect that a lot of folks in the last corral did not finish.

I agree that DNFs should be included, but they do not list the DNFs, so there is no way to include them. All we know is, based on the corral and bib assignment tables, there were about 22,576 registered half marathon runners. We also know that there were 18,177 finishers (18,171 open + 6 wheelchair division). What we don't know is how many of that roughly 4,400 difference actually started the half marathon but didn't finish.

 

[opusone]

@opusone Thanks for providing that. It find it fascinating but somewhat unsurprising that many people were not on pace. I know that for the Princess Half I was embarrassingly slow because I was running with friends and we let ourselves have too much fun. While we were never in danger of being swept we stopped for photos at every mile marker, went to the bathroom, and took photos in front of the castle. We also got separated at least twice which led to us stopping until we found one another. The time that Disney posted has me at just over 5 min/mi slower but when I look at my gps data (I had auto-pause on) it shows I'm sub 3 min/mi slower which makes more sense between crowing and weaving.

Good point. I agree that it's not really surprising since it seems most folks do not come to attempt a PR or even go all-out (which is likely what they did for their PoT); in fact, I think lots of runners view this as more of a fun run, and so they pull back a bit, stop for characters, mile-marker pictures, potty breaks, etc, all of which they likely wouldn't do if they were going all-out (the one exception being an emergency port-a-potty stop).

 

[BuckeyeBama]

@opusone Thanks for providing that. It find it fascinating but somewhat unsurprising that many people were not on pace. I know that for the Princess Half I was embarrassingly slow because I was running with friends and we let ourselves have too much fun. While we were never in danger of being swept we stopped for photos at every mile marker, went to the bathroom, and took photos in front of the castle. We also got separated at least twice which led to us stopping until we found one another. The time that Disney posted has me at just over 5 min/mi slower but when I look at my gps data (I had auto-pause on) it shows I'm sub 3 min/mi slower which makes more sense between crowing and weaving.

That is what rD races are all about, and it would be great if we could say this about every race. I have yet to finish a rD race within the pace of my corral because I stop about twice per mile for picture (characters and mile markers).

 

[camaker]

Good point. I agree that it's not really surprising since it seems most folks do not come to attempt a PR or even go all-out (which is likely what they did for their PoT); in fact, I think lots of runners view this as more of a fun run, and so they pull back a bit, stop for characters, mile-marker pictures, potty breaks, etc, all of which they likely wouldn't do if they were going all-out (the one exception being an emergency port-a-potty stop).

Also, don't discount the effect that the challenge would have on this type of data. Most people are going to submit their best time possible as PoT. Chances are pretty good that those were established during standalone races. Then you come to Disney and instead of running a half for the weekend you're running a 10k and half (maybe even a 5k, too) as part of the challenge. Most everyone is going to dial it back a bit to get through the weekend (I know I did). I can only imagine this would be even more pronounced during Marathon Weekend with Goofy and Dopey being even more extreme challenges.

 

[opusone]

Also, don't discount the effect that the challenge would have on this type of data. Most people are going to submit their best time possible as PoT. Chances are pretty good that those were established during standalone races. Then you come to Disney and instead of running a half for the weekend you're running a 10k and half (maybe even a 5k, too) as part of the challenge. Most everyone is going to dial it back a bit to get through the weekend (I know I did). I can only imagine this would be even more pronounced during Marathon Weekend with Goofy and Dopey being even more extreme challenges.

Yes, this does affect things slightly, but not as much as you might expect. I also looked at the same graph with just the runners that were doing the half marathon only (i.e. excluded the runners with bibs above 20000), and the pattern was pretty similar, although there were slightly more (% wise) runners in the faster and in zone categories, it wasn't by huge margins. So, I think everyone seems to relax and enjoy these rD events as others have pointed out.

 

[limabeanmom2003]

Good point. I agree that it's not really surprising since it seems most folks do not come to attempt a PR or even go all-out (which is likely what they did for their PoT); in fact, I think lots of runners view this as more of a fun run, and so they pull back a bit, stop for characters, mile-marker pictures, potty breaks, etc, all of which they likely wouldn't do if they were going all-out (the one exception being an emergency port-a-potty stop).

While I know many participants do see this as a "fun run", many do see it as a race, especially in the early corals. I've run the full marathon twice and I believe I was in corral D. I won't stop for a character picture unless there are fewer than 2 people in line. Yes, I get very few pictures! LOL! But I won't sacrifice time for a picture. It's a race after all. I see very few people around me stopping for pictures. Someone is though, because those lines get long!

 

[maw]

Hello! Was anyone 42541 at the 5k? A great pic of you showed up in our photopass and I just wanted to make sure you received it, too!

 

[Keels]

Does this include DNF data? I wold count the DNF folks as slower, and I suspect that a lot of folks in the last corral did not finish.

http://www.trackshack.com/disneysports/sag/index.php

Hit "Print All Sag" and that's the list of individuals swept or pulled from the DS Half.

 

[wilkeliza]

http://www.trackshack.com/disneysports/sag/index.php

Hit "Print All Sag" and that's the list of individuals swept or pulled from the DS Half.

Wow 393. Just wondering what does SAG stand for?

 

[wilkeliza]

I agree that DNFs should be included, but they do not list the DNFs, so there is no way to include them. All we know is, based on the corral and bib assignment tables, there were about 22,576 registered half marathon runners. We also know that there were 18,177 finishers (18,171 open + 6 wheelchair division). What we don't know is how many of that roughly 4,400 difference actually started the half marathon but didn't finish.

Just read this one. Did you get the roughly 22,576 from bib numbers? I found out during the last EE 5K they hold back a certain amount of bibs at the end numbers for different reasons. I was given one when I had a medical note showing that my fiance was not allowed to fly let alone run a 5K since he had a torn meniscus and my friend was willing and able to run if they let her. The runDisney rep was awesome and went ahead and let us have another bib but we got "penalized" by her being in the last corral and me being told if you want to run with your friend go to the last corral. They had a pretty big stack of bibs that I was told were for broken tags, celebrities, and other needs similar to what I went through. I know it doesn't happen all the time that they let someone else have someone's bib but it was really special for me that I was getting to do the last of that race with someone who means a lot to me.

 

[Keels]

Wow 393. Just wondering what does SAG stand for?

I'm not sure if it's an acronym, but a "Sag Wagon" is what follows runners in a race that fall behind pace and they are taking to the finish line.

I have to assume that's a play off the meaning of the word "sag", and it's a bus/van/wagon for people that "sag" past the time limit.

 

[opusone]

Did you get the roughly 22,576 from bib numbers?

Yes, I got the 22,576 by adding the total bib numbers from the half marathon corral assignment table and the dark side challenge corral assignment table. It's probably not perfect.

 

[StartedByAMouse]

Wow 393. Just wondering what does SAG stand for?

SAG is an acronym for Support And Gear.

 

[bumbershoot]

I read of transportation problems and was curious, so I came over to check it out.

Disney now has a 15 minute mph disclaimer if you want to pee or have a picture.

They've had that as far as I can remember since at least TOT '13, which was my first disney run.

This is from the PDF of the Event Guide (er, Final Race Instructions as it was called) for that run: "It is suggested that athletes train for a 15-minute per mile pace or faster to allow time for breaks (restroom breaks, photo opportunities, etc.)."

The costume rules are ignored.

As they were for Star Wars in january. But the rules aren't that stringent. Don't put a box around yourself and don't have things dragging on the ground...those are pretty much the only rules that work. In practice...if you have a mask we'll want to see what's under it. There were people (NOT 501st members) running as stormtroopers in January, with masks. (again, NOT the "characters", but runners)

light sablers. longer than a selfie stick and just as obtrusive.

Ayep. Same in January.

10. HORRIBLE course maps. The only map was in the guide. What happed to a link for the certified map.

When did they have those? Or at least maps that you could see?

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"

Sounds like several men who ran princess 10K. I was in the middle corral, and they all came from behind, were just dashing through and being so rude about it. And they were all really tall, too. Odd.

There is no reason they can't limit the merch to runners only

Except for the fact that they just don't care.

"Runner on the right! Make a hole!"

On the RIGHT? Ugh.

As far as the buyers go... Hard core collectors are crazy about the stuff they are into, and there are a LOT of Disney collectors out there. So Ariel is right, they just want that one more thing on the shelf with the other stuff. So that $1,100 set of medals will make a Star Wars fanatic happy, I guess.

Agreed.

I dated a collector. A broke collector; poor thing could never buy anything. But his friends...they bought stuff. SW collectors are a different breed.

That CM assured us that the number of people entering the race just for medals, who don't even try to finish, is significant.

I doubt she knows what she's talking about. (if she did know, she wouldn't tell you...) You saw the breakdown...the SAG people just don't make up that many people.

She should save her outrage for rundisney's merchandise people and the craptacular job they do of ordering and working to make sure people who bought bibs get to buy stuff *for themselves* throughout the expo.

From my experience at Princess (came in about 20 minutes after a fistfight broke up...we wondered why the cops were there!) I've decided that it should all be pre-orderable. But WITH pictures and size charts (and not that junky Champion sizing chart that involves you measuring weird places). And not 6 months in advance.

 

[FFigawi]

Interesting charts and data, @opusone. Thanks for taking the time to pull it together. Since we will each have our own interpretation of what the data means, here's mine. One, there are a lot of people in the last corral who either forgot to submit proof of time or who have gotten faster since they registered and began their training. There are also a significant number of people in the corrals J and K who have gotten faster during their training. I think both of these trends are to be applauded, as they potentially demonstrate that signing up and training for a race is all you need to improve your performance, even though it's unlikely that was a primary goal. Two, it shows that the people in the earlier corrals take advantage of their relative speed advantage in their qualifying proof of time by taking lots of photos and having the freedom to have extra fun along the way. Not many people trying for a PR from those corrals compared to the number slowing down for pictures, etc.

None of this is particularly new or revolutionary, but it is fun and interesting to see it in living color. I'm one of the people who gets seeded into a faster corral and usually, but not always, finishes 10-15 minutes slower than my proof of time because I run with friends, stop for pictures, and generally goof off along the way.