Official Avengers Half Marathon Weekend 2015 Thread

[C_leen]

I'm running in a red white and blue Doctor Who costume for the 10K. I've got "Hello Sweetie" on the front of my shirt and a cool Dr. Who Quote on the back.

I bought a blue-plaid sparkle skirt for the half, but I haven't totally pulled a costume together yet with it. I might go with Pizza Planet, Sad, weeping angel, or the Tardis. I'm way more into Pixar movies and Dr. Who than Marvel or Disney.

 

[Castle2Castle]

Yesterday I read of the Facebook Avengers Half page someone asking if the course was the same. One of the responses was that runDisney has "cancelled" last year's course. Have any of y'all heard about this?

I haven't heard anything about a course change, but there did seem to be a lot of negative feedback about the course last year. Complaints seemed centered around it being the least amount of time in the parks of any Disneyland race and the dirt swirled up by the wind along the Santa Ana Trail. It's possible they adopted one of the other race routes through the park and tweaked the Anaheim streets to spend less or no time along the trail if they listened to feedback. Whether they have or haven't, time in the parks is going to be limited and front-loaded either way, and they can't control the wind, so whatever it is, it is.

On a lighter note, the cold front is COMING! I'm about to get a temperature and humidity check for days!!!

Yes!!! The same here. After having to run a 20 and 15 miler the past couple of Saturdays with 80s and high humidity, I am looking forward to another crack at 20 this Saturday with a daytime high forecast of 72. Provided there's no rain that moves in, it should be perfect conditions when I get out there in the morning.

 

[pxefig]

I'm running in a red white and blue Doctor Who costume for the 10K. I've got "Hello Sweetie" on the front of my shirt and a cool Dr. Who Quote on the back.

I bought a blue-plaid sparkle skirt for the half, but I haven't totally pulled a costume together yet with it. I might go with Pizza Planet, Sad, weeping angel, or the Tardis. I'm way more into Pixar movies and Dr. Who than Marvel or Disney.

Those sound like totally cute costume ideas (and I LOVE your avatar!). The nice thing about Avengers is it seem be a giant stew pot for everything- Avengers, Marvel, ANY superheros, sci fi AND Disney are all swirled together. While Avengers are the most seen (and I think Captain America was the #1 costume) there was a fun mix of everything. More than the other runDisney races I've been to, this one had it's own geeky vibe going on and it was just fun.

I haven't heard anything about a course change, but there did seem to be a lot of negative feedback about the course last year. Complaints seemed centered around it being the least amount of time in the parks of any Disneyland race and the dirt swirled up by the wind along the Santa Ana Trail. It's possible they adopted one of the other race routes through the park and tweaked the Anaheim streets to spend less or no time along the trail if they listened to feedback. Whether they have or haven't, time in the parks is going to be limited and front-loaded either way, and they can't control the wind, so whatever it is, it is.

Yup to this! I know the half is supposed to be the thing we work towards, but for me the actual running is just a part of the whole Avengers half marathon weekend that I wouldn't skip it because I think the course is/is not great. Especially since I, personally, have zero control over what it is- ir what the weather does for that matter! I was just wondering if some of our cyber smarties noticed something on USATF or something for an inside scoop. Regardless, I'm signed up and training!

 

[Wink25]

Yesterday I read of the Facebook Avengers Half page someone asking if the course was the same. One of the responses was that runDisney has "cancelled" last year's course. Have any of y'all heard about this?

I believe what they are referring to is the USATF certification, which has expired...If you look at the picture below, you can see all the other Disney courses are valid for several years but Avengers is not.

 

[pxefig]

Hahahaha! See, I *knew* one of you knew what was going on! I'd say that there's a difference between "expired" and "cancelled" but the fact that even Star Wars has almost a decade left does make Avengers seem ... odd.

 

[Wink25]

Hahahaha! See, I *knew* one of you knew what was going on! I'd say that there's a difference between "expired" and "cancelled" but the fact that even Star Wars has almost a decade left does make Avengers seem ... odd.

I agree it is interesting although it looks like even if they don't expire for 10 years Disney still certifies a new course to replace the old one every year for the Disneyland half....bottom line is I have no idea what's happening with the course hahaha. I hope they keep the angel stadium portion though because I love that part and can't bring myself to try the heat for the Disneyland half again.

 

[Keels]

OK, Avengers ... it looks like I may be heading back to Cali for this race weekend.

Husband was acting like I was hiding this theme from him all along and now he wants in. Just gotta see if I can get a Challenge bib from a travel agent tomorrow.

I'm already registered for Cocoa Beach and Wine & Dine, so this will make it three halfs in four weeks - with a cross-country flight. Gah!

ETA: Holy ... nevermind. Forgot I was registered for a half on Thanksgiving. So that's ... four halfs in six weeks? OMG. The things I do for Disney time ...

 

[SnowMonkey]

You know what that means right Keels?

More costumes!

(I has priorities... they're just a little skewed)

 

[SnowMonkey]

Bwahaha, just finished the eating spreadsheet. Almost time to start booking.

Does anyone know what days Fantasmic is likely to run the week before the race? (If at all)

 

[Corpsebride]

Hooray !!!! people !!! 10 weeks and counting .......

 

[courtneybeth]

Hooray !!!! people !!! 10 weeks and counting .......

This makes me nervous and excited at the same time. I think it's time to get working on my Couch to 10K program... I ran the Disneyland 5K as a benchmark - no training. 15.5 minute mile pace, finished in 48 minutes. Running the 5K again this time but with training on Couch to 10K.... so I should be almost done with the 5K portion of the program.

I'm really wanting to wear something Captain America related, but I haven't found the right outfit yet.

 

[AZMermaid]

Question about the expo crowds. This is our first Run Disney race. If we get to the Expo about 12/12:30 on Friday- should we expect huge crowds and lines? How long do you spend there? We want to browse/shop but don't know what to expect or look for really!

 

[Castle2Castle]

We've only done a Disneyland expo once back in 2013 for the Disneyland Half weekend, but the first day of the expo was crazy crowded and hectic -- packet pickup was easy enough, but the expo and merchandise line was close to an hour to get in and nearly as long to pay. It has sounded like that continues to be the case out there for Day 1, but I think it should be better the following days after the initial mad rush for merchandise. The runDisney products are the most exclusive and will sell the fastest, and it's usually a designated area so it's easy to find; the rest of the expo vendors should be well supplied and easier to browse if you want after checking out the runDisney stuff.

 

[Corpsebride]

This makes me nervous and excited at the same time. I think it's time to get working on my Couch to 10K program... I ran the Disneyland 5K as a benchmark - no training. 15.5 minute mile pace, finished in 48 minutes. Running the 5K again this time but with training on Couch to 10K.... so I should be almost done with the 5K portion of the program.

I'm really wanting to wear something Captain America related, but I haven't found the right outfit yet.

We are so excited. I absolutely support training. It will increase your endurance and help eliminate injuries. I really love Jeff Galloway training program. It's really helped us. We saw some fantastic captain America costume ideas on pinterest. Dh will be going as Thor and I will be running as black widow. I think the great thing about running is that the more you do it, the better you get.

 

[Figment1990]

Oh someone needs to talk me out of this crazy idea. I'm training for W&D right now. I've done W&D twice before and love it and since there are (always) rumors of Osborne lights going away, I HAD to sign up for it again this year. However.... I'm at the point in my training where I'm like, gee... I'll already be trained for a half... and I really want the blue coast to coast (I got the pink in 2014).... I love love love the captain America medal though and hope to get that one next year when we do the 5k with DS and DH&I do the 10k. But I definitely am not doing any other rundisney halfs on the east coast next year so.... I really should just do the Avengers half this year, right?

But how crazy is it to do two halfs, back-to-back?!?! and of course, I'm also tempted by the infinity gauntlet challenge and if I want it, then I've either gotta do it now or suck it up and run them ALL (5k-10k-half) next year (I promised DS I would run the 5k with him - his first race).

Might as well get myself a DL AP and head out there this year right? (my sis lives in LA so going out there seems less complicated to me).

Someone tell me I'm not totally crazy....

 

[emzben25]

Oh someone needs to talk me out of this crazy idea. I'm training for W&D right now. I've done W&D twice before and love it and since there are (always) rumors of Osborne lights going away, I HAD to sign up for it again this year. However.... I'm at the point in my training where I'm like, gee... I'll already be trained for a half... and I really want the blue coast to coast (I got the pink in 2014).... I love love love the captain America medal though and hope to get that one next year when we do the 5k with DS and DH&I do the 10k. But I definitely am not doing any other rundisney halfs on the east coast next year so.... I really should just do the Avengers half this year, right?

But how crazy is it to do two halfs, back-to-back?!?! and of course, I'm also tempted by the infinity gauntlet challenge and if I want it, then I've either gotta do it now or suck it up and run them ALL (5k-10k-half) next year (I promised DS I would run the 5k with him - his first race).

Might as well get myself a DL AP and head out there this year right? (my sis lives in LA so going out there seems less complicated to me).

Someone tell me I'm not totally crazy....

You're not crazy. Every time I tell myself this race (insert race here) will be the last one for a while, I end up signing up for another one! My poor bank account.

In January, there were people who did Dopey and Stars Wars Rebel Challenge. I thought they were crazy, but it's doable if you train well and take all the steps necessary to recover in between.

 

[Corpsebride]

I think you are asking the wrong people if you're crazy lol !! I say do it! We just did the Disneyland half and now we are doing avengers. Do it for your health. Do it for the status. Do it for the medals! Do it for the bananas!!!

 

[Figment1990]

How does Proof of Time work if you just sign up for the Half now? Proof of time deadline was Aug 4th. But they still have Half spots available. Would I be placed in the last corral regardless? Or would I get to submit a PoT when I register?

 

[emzben25]

How does Proof of Time work if you just sign up for the Half now? Proof of time deadline was Aug 4th. But they still have Half spots available. Would I be placed in the last corral regardless? Or would I get to submit a PoT when I register?

I believe so. I signed up for Tink one month before the race through a charity. Since PoT deadline passed, I was stuck in the last corral. You could email them to see if they can make an exception for you. If you do sign up and get put in the last corral, I would try to line up as close to the front as possible.

 

[Corpsebride]

How does Proof of Time work if you just sign up for the Half now? Proof of time deadline was Aug 4th. But they still have Half spots available. Would I be placed in the last corral regardless? Or would I get to submit a PoT when I register?

That I don't know. Best bet is to call Rundisney. After the Augustd ate, they won't be putting names on bibs , either.