Official Dopey 2017 Thread

[DOOM1001]

B for the 10K and D for the half.

 

[Chasing Dopey]

B for the 10K and D for the half.

Well... Let's say for transportation, imagine about 10,000 people coming up behind you. And for the race itself, it's difficult to convey the effects of 5000 plus in the last 2 corrals at the half, which flowed brilliantly compared to the 10k. The people in the back half had a very different experience. Regarding merchandise, it's getting worse, not better, and I think a lot of people are getting fed up.

 

[DOOM1001]

Well... Let's say for transportation, imagine about 10,000 people coming up behind you. And for the race itself, it's difficult to convey the effects of 5000 plus in the last 2 corrals at the half, which flowed brilliantly compared to the 10k. The people in the back half had a very different experience. Regarding merchandise, it's getting worse, not better, and I think a lot of people are getting fed up.

I agree with you that the crowding must have been very bad in the back corrals especially from the Boardwalk to DHS,I'm saying this because it was crowded for me closer to the front,I remember being in that narrow path and we could only run so fast without room to pass and this guy was coming from behind who looked like he wanted to run people over,I know someone yelled at him to just chill until the path widens.As far as the bus situation I know I finished earlier than those in the back but on both days after finishing I went to cheer on the runners inside WWoS basically staying both days until the final runners came through so I had really long bus lines,I could have left after I finished with short lines but I enjoy seeing the other runners finish.The merchandise situation I would agree was a fiasco,for me to be at the expo at 10am on Friday and I couldn't get any of the race magnets(10K,half or Dark side) is still amazing to me,and I'm not paying $60+ for one on eBay.On either the Mickey miles and more podcast or the marathon show podcast,I'm not 100% which one they mention thinking next year they might flip the course with both races starting at WWoS and ending at Epcot.Sounds good but as far as I've heard WWoS does not have enough parking spaces and if people have problems with waiting a long time for a bus after the race I can only imagine it being worse for those driving having to park at Epcot and then board a bus to WWoS for races that start at 5&5:30am.For the old Wine and Dine starting at night it was fine since people have been up all day and to be told to be there at 8pm for a 10pm race is a lot easier than to be there at 3am,I'm curious as how Wine and Dine will work this year with it being a morning race.

 

[pixarmom]

First, thanks to DopeyBadger for the comments and the info - really helpful!

I'm not doing Dopey, but I enjoy reading along with the thread anyway. I wasn't planning to actually post, but I saw the conversation about Wisconsin runners and needed to give a shout-out to my fellow Wisconsinites @DopeyBadger, @rteetz and @WiscRunner! I live in the Milwaukee area as well. Good luck to all of you running Dopey (and everyone else too!)

Anyone running Summerfest Rock N Sole?

 

[rteetz]

First, thanks to DopeyBadger for the comments and the info - really helpful!

Anyone running Summerfest Rock N Sole?

I was going to look into that one and the Brewers Mini-Marathon.

 

[Keels]

My training this year is going to be COMPLETELY different than last year - mostly because the bulk of it will be spent training for the Chicago Marathon (which includes going for a legit PR at the Disneyland Half in September, thanks to my new PoT 10k from late last year during my previous round of Dopey training). I'll run Disneyland, Chicago and take about a month off before I start ramping mileage back up for Dopey. I've got kind of a working idea, but I want to get through Tink Weekend (I'm still a little off after taking over a month away with a post-Cowtown injury) and then chat it through with my coach - hee hee.

For the first-timers (especially those running their first marathon as part of Dopey!), I highly recommend Hal Higdon's "Marathon" book - just for the anecdotal advice on the hardest part of Dopey ... the Marathon. I used a version of Higdon's Dopey plan last year that I tweaked, with the help of @FFigawi, and while it was difficult (especially around the holidays), I went into Dopey feeling prepared and confident. So much so that I probably started off the 5K (and finished the 10K) far faster than I should have - I'm not going to go back and read text messages, but I'm pretty sure I said such stupid things as "I feel like I'm flying!" and "I feel like Secretariat right now!". It was obvious that I was just happy to FINALLY be at the challenge and racing towards my goal of finishing. I hit Mile 8 of the half and I was over it - not because I was done, but because I was ready for the marathon. I was READY to face the beast and finish it off. The marathon didn't exactly go the way I wanted it to (it was humid and hot, from almost the very beginning and so we had to change our plan immediately), but I also didn't know what to expect.

But I loved it - every moment of it. Even when my two best girls and I were doing the big circle of guilt trips to get each other over "The Wall" and to the next Mile Marker (or, in some cases, the next Med tent for more BioFreeze!). I didn't pressure myself to do anything OTHER than just finish - it was my first marathon, and my first RD challenge - and I'm glad I did. I got to take it all in, enjoy the moments, feel all the pain, deal with the struggle and truly realize the grand scale of what I was doing. B, S & I STILL talk about the marathon to this day, in detail - and it's always happy memories and wishes that we could go back to that weekend.

And I'll never forget making the turn to the finish line straightaway, seeing my Mom and then seeing her start crying as she yelled out that she loved me ... and then I crossed that finish line. Leading up to Dopey, I always thought I would cry when I finished the Marathon - in relief, in happiness, or just because I'm a crier in general. But it didn't happen! I mean, that's a lie - I cried a couple days later - but at that moment in time, I felt on top of the world.

I finished Dopey, and I came out almost injury-free (stupid toe tendon). I know every Dopey thereafter will never compare, and that's fine. But crossing that final finish line will always be amazing.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I'm not doing Dopey, but I enjoy reading along with the thread anyway. I wasn't planning to actually post, but I saw the conversation about Wisconsin runners and needed to give a shout-out to my fellow Wisconsinites @DopeyBadger, @rteetz and @WiscRunner! I live in the Milwaukee area as well. Good luck to all of you running Dopey (and everyone else too!)

Woot! Woot! On Wisconsin!

Anyone running Summerfest Rock N Sole?

Never done that one. Are you doing it? You'll have to let me know how it is, if so. My favorite Wisconsin area halfs are: South Shore (in April), Parkinson's (in April), Madison Half (in May), Madison Mini (in August), and Last Call (in December). My favorite Wisconsin area marathon is Milwaukee Lakefront (in October).

 

[Diskidatheart]

And I'll never forget making the turn to the finish line straightaway, seeing my Mom and then seeing her start crying as she yelled out that she loved me ... and then I crossed that finish line. Leading up to Dopey, I always thought I would cry when I finished the Marathon - in relief, in happiness, or just because I'm a crier in general. But it didn't happen! I mean, that's a lie - I cried a couple days later - but at that moment in time, I felt on top of the world.

I finished Dopey, and I came out almost injury-free (stupid toe tendon). I know every Dopey thereafter will never compare, and that's fine. But crossing that final finish line will always be amazing.

I agree 110% that crossing that finish line after my first Dopey was amazing. Dopey was my first marathon and I remember calling my wife as soon as I crossed the finish line and got my medals....I couldn't even talk because the tears started (not very manly of me, but it was truly an emotional experience). At that point, I felt that there was nothing that I couldn't accomplish if I put my mind to it. I can still vision that final stretch and crossing the finish line...and I still get chills thinking about it three years later. I've done other marathons, but none will ever compare to that first one.

 

[rteetz]

My training this year is going to be COMPLETELY different than last year - mostly because the bulk of it will be spent training for the Chicago Marathon (which includes going for a legit PR at the Disneyland Half in September, thanks to my new PoT 10k from late last year during my previous round of Dopey training). I'll run Disneyland, Chicago and take about a month off before I start ramping mileage back up for Dopey. I've got kind of a working idea, but I want to get through Tink Weekend (I'm still a little off after taking over a month away with a post-Cowtown injury) and then chat it through with my coach - hee hee.

For the first-timers (especially those running their first marathon as part of Dopey!), I highly recommend Hal Higdon's "Marathon" book - just for the anecdotal advice on the hardest part of Dopey ... the Marathon. I used a version of Higdon's Dopey plan last year that I tweaked, with the help of @FFigawi, and while it was difficult (especially around the holidays), I went into Dopey feeling prepared and confident. So much so that I probably started off the 5K (and finished the 10K) far faster than I should have - I'm not going to go back and read text messages, but I'm pretty sure I said such stupid things as "I feel like I'm flying!" and "I feel like Secretariat right now!". It was obvious that I was just happy to FINALLY be at the challenge and racing towards my goal of finishing. I hit Mile 8 of the half and I was over it - not because I was done, but because I was ready for the marathon. I was READY to face the beast and finish it off. The marathon didn't exactly go the way I wanted it to (it was humid and hot, from almost the very beginning and so we had to change our plan immediately), but I also didn't know what to expect.

But I loved it - every moment of it. Even when my two best girls and I were doing the big circle of guilt trips to get each other over "The Wall" and to the next Mile Marker (or, in some cases, the next Med tent for more BioFreeze!). I didn't pressure myself to do anything OTHER than just finish - it was my first marathon, and my first RD challenge - and I'm glad I did. I got to take it all in, enjoy the moments, feel all the pain, deal with the struggle and truly realize the grand scale of what I was doing. B, S & I STILL talk about the marathon to this day, in detail - and it's always happy memories and wishes that we could go back to that weekend.

And I'll never forget making the turn to the finish line straightaway, seeing my Mom and then seeing her start crying as she yelled out that she loved me ... and then I crossed that finish line. Leading up to Dopey, I always thought I would cry when I finished the Marathon - in relief, in happiness, or just because I'm a crier in general. But it didn't happen! I mean, that's a lie - I cried a couple days later - but at that moment in time, I felt on top of the world.

I finished Dopey, and I came out almost injury-free (stupid toe tendon). I know every Dopey thereafter will never compare, and that's fine. But crossing that final finish line will always be amazing.

Great story Keels! I'll definitely look into that book.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

First, thanks to DopeyBadger for the comments and the info - really helpful!


Anyone running Summerfest Rock N Sole?

I am! I did the quarter marathon last year and am doing the half this year.

I was going to look into that one and the Brewers Mini-Marathon.

I did the Brewers 10K last year and would like to do it again this year or go for the Mini.

Woot! Woot! On Wisconsin!


Never done that one. Are you doing it? You'll have to let me know how it is, if so. My favorite Wisconsin area halfs are: South Shore (in April), Parkinson's (in April), Madison Half (in May), Madison Mini (in August), and Last Call (in December). My favorite Wisconsin area marathon is Milwaukee Lakefront (in October).

I enjoyed the Rock n Sole quarter marathon last year. It was pretty cool running the Hoan Bridge and along the lakefront. I'll let you know what I think of the half this year! You have a good list of races there. Since I'm doing the Rock n Sole half it would be cool to do the Madison Mini this year as well since they have a 26.2 challenge if you do both, but I don't think I'll be able to make it work.

 

[dburg30]

I agree 110% that crossing that finish line after my first Dopey was amazing. Dopey was my first marathon and I remember calling my wife as soon as I crossed the finish line and got my medals....I couldn't even talk because the tears started (not very manly of me, but it was truly an emotional experience). At that point, I felt that there was nothing that I couldn't accomplish if I put my mind to it. I can still vision that final stretch and crossing the finish line...and I still get chills thinking about it three years later. I've done other marathons, but none will ever compare to that first one.

Almost the same, but I broke down when I found my wife, niece and God daughter outside DHS around the bus stops before you head to BW / BC Epcot. Once I was there, I knew I was going to finish, not that I was in any danger of getting swept, I just knew once I was there I was good. I saw them, bee lined for them and just about knocked my wife over with the hug I gave her! Tears were flowing all around. She had my "I did it" shirt that SHE bought me at the expo.. I told her which one I wanted, what size. She got it (I knew it) but I never saw it, touched it or anything til that moment.. I crossed the finish line looking like the biggest goof in history trying to do the fist in the air, holding my shirt in such a way that you could see it and still see my bib.. Right after the race I wasnt that emotional.. It was about an hour after that I found my family, posted some pictures to facebook and texts and posts congratulating me started showing up that I broke down again.. Man I cant wait for that again!!!!

 

[Sailormoon2]

I am not running Dopey this year (unless something crazy changes with my finances!) but I will continue to read this thread because of the inspiration and motivation you all provide. I will continue to train as if I were though. Completing a marathon is amazing accomplishment, and one not soon forgotten, so I love reading all your Dopey stories, and following your training ideas!!

 

[pixarmom]

I was going to look into that one and the Brewers Mini-Marathon.

Rock N Sole is my favorite! Running on an empty Lincoln Memorial Drive downhill towards the lake is the best! I'm not as much a fan of running in the stadium area.

My training this year is going to be COMPLETELY different than last year - mostly because the bulk of it will be spent training for the Chicago Marathon (which includes going for a legit PR at the Disneyland Half in September, thanks to my new PoT 10k from late last year during my previous round of Dopey training). I'll run Disneyland, Chicago and take about a month off before I start ramping mileage back up for Dopey. I've got kind of a working idea, but I want to get through Tink Weekend (I'm still a little off after taking over a month away with a post-Cowtown injury) and then chat it through with my coach - hee hee.

For the first-timers (especially those running their first marathon as part of Dopey!), I highly recommend Hal Higdon's "Marathon" book - just for the anecdotal advice on the hardest part of Dopey ... the Marathon. I used a version of Higdon's Dopey plan last year that I tweaked, with the help of @FFigawi, and while it was difficult (especially around the holidays), I went into Dopey feeling prepared and confident. So much so that I probably started off the 5K (and finished the 10K) far faster than I should have - I'm not going to go back and read text messages, but I'm pretty sure I said such stupid things as "I feel like I'm flying!" and "I feel like Secretariat right now!". It was obvious that I was just happy to FINALLY be at the challenge and racing towards my goal of finishing. I hit Mile 8 of the half and I was over it - not because I was done, but because I was ready for the marathon. I was READY to face the beast and finish it off. The marathon didn't exactly go the way I wanted it to (it was humid and hot, from almost the very beginning and so we had to change our plan immediately), but I also didn't know what to expect.

But I loved it - every moment of it. Even when my two best girls and I were doing the big circle of guilt trips to get each other over "The Wall" and to the next Mile Marker (or, in some cases, the next Med tent for more BioFreeze!). I didn't pressure myself to do anything OTHER than just finish - it was my first marathon, and my first RD challenge - and I'm glad I did. I got to take it all in, enjoy the moments, feel all the pain, deal with the struggle and truly realize the grand scale of what I was doing. B, S & I STILL talk about the marathon to this day, in detail - and it's always happy memories and wishes that we could go back to that weekend.

And I'll never forget making the turn to the finish line straightaway, seeing my Mom and then seeing her start crying as she yelled out that she loved me ... and then I crossed that finish line. Leading up to Dopey, I always thought I would cry when I finished the Marathon - in relief, in happiness, or just because I'm a crier in general. But it didn't happen! I mean, that's a lie - I cried a couple days later - but at that moment in time, I felt on top of the world.

I finished Dopey, and I came out almost injury-free (stupid toe tendon). I know every Dopey thereafter will never compare, and that's fine. But crossing that final finish line will always be amazing.

I just love this description!!!

Woot! Woot! On Wisconsin!



Never done that one. Are you doing it? You'll have to let me know how it is, if so. My favorite Wisconsin area halfs are: South Shore (in April), Parkinson's (in April), Madison Half (in May), Madison Mini (in August), and Last Call (in December). My favorite Wisconsin area marathon is Milwaukee Lakefront (in October).

This will be my third Rock N Sole half, and I love love love it! Over the bridge, through Lake Park, down Lincoln Memorial - love the course. Not a fan of the theme, but the course is one of my very favorites. I like the Madison Mini, but have been sacrificing it for either vacation or a sprint triathlon lately. Another favorite is Sheboygan Harvest Fest in September - just for the running, not for the hoopla (because they don't have much hoopla and they never give me the shirt size I ordered - grr.) I also loved the inaugural Milwaukee Running Festival last November - only did the half, but thought it was really well done for a first year. I'm strongly considering the Lakefront Marathon in October, as a training run - I haven't done that one before, but what a great course!

I am! I did the quarter marathon last year and am doing the half this year.


I did the Brewers 10K last year and would like to do it again this year or go for the Mini.




I enjoyed the Rock n Sole quarter marathon last year. It was pretty cool running the Hoan Bridge and along the lakefront. I'll let you know what I think of the half this year! You have a good list of races there. Since I'm doing the Rock n Sole half it would be cool to do the Madison Mini this year as well since they have a 26.2 challenge if you do both, but I don't think I'll be able to make it work.

I did the challenge one year, and it was fun to get the extra medal. Just can't seem to work Madison into the schedule anymore.

 

[PrincessV]

First, I opted not to do Dopey this year - but I'm doing all but 5K of it and may well do the whole thing next year, so I'm sticking around here, if that's okay

I'm interested to hear more about this. I know folks were unhappy with the merchandise situation and there was a lot of crowding in the later corrals, but personally I had a great time at Dark Side weekend and have seen many good reviews on the weekend along with the bad. To call it a fiasco seems awfully harsh. Especially for an inaugural.

Huge SW geek here - I think it's important to know that before hearing my take on the race weekend. I had an AWESOME time! I went in figuring it would be a one-and-done for me because A. April in FL, and B. I assumed it would be overly Disney-fied. Well, I think we got very lucky with the weather, though I still think late April is a stupid time to hold a half in FL. And I was VERY pleasantly surprised by the lack of Disney stuff and the total SW immersion in all 3 races and the expo! IDK if it'll be like that again next year, but I'm willing to give it a chance: I'll be back for more, for sure.

That said... "fiasco" is exactly the right term for what happened to the back corrals of the 10K and is maybe too light a term for the busing to EP situation. I fell back to run with friends in the 10K and started in E. We never stopped moving from the start to the UK in EP, but could only move as fast as the thousands in front of us - which was not fast at all. Got to the first character stop and were told the line was closed. Corral F had only just started and character lines were closed already?! Took a fast potty stop in the UK and wound up behind the Balloon Ladies. No problem, right? We were all capable of running 11:00-12:00 miles comfortably so we should have been able to get back ahead of them with plenty of time to spare. Except that we couldn't; we couldn't move at all, practically! It wasn't quite a dead stop through the Boardwalk and path to DHS, but it was a slow shuffle, to be sure. And all the time there were rD officials screaming at the crowd to "Get moving! If you don't go any faster, you WILL be swept!" There was clearly nowhere to go, so what was the point of that? All it did was incite near-panic and the crowd got borderline dangerous, IMO. We sprinted through any opening we could find and finally had some breathing room in the final miles, but overall it was not a fun experience. I couldn't even get near the first water table, then had to stand there and wait for a volunteer to pour water into cups to get some at the second table - none were ready to go. After the race, we found the line for buses back to EP was at least an hour long wait and not moving at all. Talked to a Transportation worker and were told buses to EP would stop running entirely at 10am... it was then after 9:30am. "So if we get in this line now, and you're saying it's at least an hour wait, but you'll stop running buses in an hour, we'll have waited for no reason? How will we get back to our cars in EP?!" "Oh, we'll have you take resort buses, then you get a bus from the resort to EP. You might want to just do that now actually." We did - got on a bus to AKL, then a bus from there to EP... then had to walk from the regular EP bus depot to the other side of the huge parking lot to get to our cars. A man that had done the same thing was slowly making his way across the lot and told me that he was injured and was in a wheelchair after the race, but the bus refused to get him closer to his car; told him he'd have to walk from the EP bus stop back to the race lot. Total time from when I finished to when I got to my resort? 3 hours.

For the half, I started in my own corral - G - and had a GREAT race! Was able to run at my own pace the entire time. Assumed (I know, I know...) they'd have figured out the bus mess, so I again parked at EP. The EP bus line was again huge, but moving continuously at a pretty good clip, so we got in line. We walked in that line for over an hour and covered 4 additional miles. The sun was beating down and people were going down regularly; I haven't heard "MEDIC" called out that often since 2012 TOT. To their credit, Disney did magically produce a bunch of carts and started handing out bags of ice and cold water/Powerade all along the line. But still - "fiasco" it was, indeed. Total time from my finish to my resort? 2+ hours.

I'm holding out hope that they recognized not just how annoying the situation was, but also how dangerous, and will make sure it doesn't happen again next year.

They've done enough races at this point that they shouldn't be making mistakes like that anymore.

^THIS x1,000!!!!!

There is only one way out (unlike Epcot) and they weren't prepared.

I hadn't even thought of that. But good grief: they've run buses from EP to WWOS for W&D for years - shouldn't they have had a better idea how to handle things?!

 

[Ariel484]

@PrincessV that. IS. INSANE.

And it's frustrating to me, because I wonder if they are even taking runner feedback seriously?? With posts from people saying that they've emailed rD and gotten canned responses, I'm not sure.

The husband of one of my BFFs is a Disney CM - his boss was "gifted" a Star Wars bib from a rD official who wanted feedback from this guy on the race. The guy normally runs 1:40ish half marathons and had never done a rD event - he was placed in a back corral. Needless to say, his experience was not pleasant, and apparently he did not mince words when it came to his thoughts on the race (he forwarded the email he sent to the rD official to my friend's husband). The email was, per my friend, "harsh" and talked a lot about safety issues. The guy said he'd never recommend a rD race to any of his runner friends.

It's interesting because, clearly, this guy was not corralled properly - which was miserable for him, but probably a blessing for others, because runDisney needs to know that that the experience is not always good for those that are in the later corrals.

While I'm glad they got feedback from SOMEONE, I hope they are taking runner feedback seriously as well...though, again, it's not encouraging with these canned responses people are getting.

 

[PrincessV]

@PrincessV that. IS. INSANE.

And it's frustrating to me, because I wonder if they are even taking runner feedback seriously?? With posts from people saying that they've emailed rD and gotten canned responses, I'm not sure.

The husband of one of my BFFs is a Disney CM - his boss was "gifted" a Star Wars bib from a rD official who wanted feedback from this guy on the race. The guy normally runs 1:40ish half marathons and had never done a rD event - he was placed in a back corral. Needless to say, his experience was not pleasant, and apparently he did not mince words when it came to his thoughts on the race (he forwarded the email he sent to the rD official to my friend's husband). The email was, per my friend, "harsh" and talked a lot about safety issues. The guy said he'd never recommend a rD race to any of his runner friends.

It's interesting because, clearly, this guy was not corralled properly - which was miserable for him, but probably a blessing for others, because runDisney needs to know that that the experience is not always good for those that are in the later corrals.

While I'm glad they got feedback from SOMEONE, I hope they are taking runner feedback seriously as well...though, again, it's not encouraging with these canned responses people are getting.

Strangely, I fin that comforting! It was SO insane, it felt rather surreal, if that makes any sense. I kept asking other people "Am I overreacting here? Is this less crazy than it seems?!" No - we all thought it was bananas, lol! And yes, safety was my biggest issue. The rest was irritating, for sure, but that 10K felt soooo unsafe, I was ready to call a halt to the madness and just pull off course at the BW and get a cab back to my car. I heard MANY first-timers say they'll never consider another rD race after that experience.

One promising note: one of the transportation people I spoke with did something that would probably get her fired and admitted that the bus situation was BAD. She said they didn't plan for that many people to drive and hadn't dedicated enough resources to get them back to EP. So they knew. And hopefully they'll fix it going forward.

 

[Barca33Runner]

I hadn't even thought of that. But good grief: they've run buses from EP to WWOS for W&D for years - shouldn't they have had a better idea how to handle things?!

I had no idea things were that bad. I have never attended anything other than Marathon Weekend and buses have always been my primary pet peeve about that weekend. I can only imagine how angry I would have been if I had faced that fiasco. Could part of the problem have been trying to vary the courses from other weekends? It seems like the Boardwalk to DHS bottleneck should have been predictable (it gets crowded going the other direction during the marathon which is a much more spread out race); but at least they were trying something new perhaps?

Like yourself and others have stated, hopefully they will begin to take the complaints and feedback as serious issues to correct moving forward. It would really be a shame if all of the great things about these races get overshadowed by poor planning and logistics.

 

[pixarmom]

First, I opted not to do Dopey this year - but I'm doing all but 5K of it and may well do the whole thing next year, so I'm sticking around here, if that's okay


Huge SW geek here - I think it's important to know that before hearing my take on the race weekend. I had an AWESOME time! I went in figuring it would be a one-and-done for me because A. April in FL, and B. I assumed it would be overly Disney-fied. Well, I think we got very lucky with the weather, though I still think late April is a stupid time to hold a half in FL. And I was VERY pleasantly surprised by the lack of Disney stuff and the total SW immersion in all 3 races and the expo! IDK if it'll be like that again next year, but I'm willing to give it a chance: I'll be back for more, for sure.

That said... "fiasco" is exactly the right term for what happened to the back corrals of the 10K and is maybe too light a term for the busing to EP situation. I fell back to run with friends in the 10K and started in E. We never stopped moving from the start to the UK in EP, but could only move as fast as the thousands in front of us - which was not fast at all. Got to the first character stop and were told the line was closed. Corral F had only just started and character lines were closed already?! Took a fast potty stop in the UK and wound up behind the Balloon Ladies. No problem, right? We were all capable of running 11:00-12:00 miles comfortably so we should have been able to get back ahead of them with plenty of time to spare. Except that we couldn't; we couldn't move at all, practically! It wasn't quite a dead stop through the Boardwalk and path to DHS, but it was a slow shuffle, to be sure. And all the time there were rD officials screaming at the crowd to "Get moving! If you don't go any faster, you WILL be swept!" There was clearly nowhere to go, so what was the point of that? All it did was incite near-panic and the crowd got borderline dangerous, IMO. We sprinted through any opening we could find and finally had some breathing room in the final miles, but overall it was not a fun experience. I couldn't even get near the first water table, then had to stand there and wait for a volunteer to pour water into cups to get some at the second table - none were ready to go. After the race, we found the line for buses back to EP was at least an hour long wait and not moving at all. Talked to a Transportation worker and were told buses to EP would stop running entirely at 10am... it was then after 9:30am. "So if we get in this line now, and you're saying it's at least an hour wait, but you'll stop running buses in an hour, we'll have waited for no reason? How will we get back to our cars in EP?!" "Oh, we'll have you take resort buses, then you get a bus from the resort to EP. You might want to just do that now actually." We did - got on a bus to AKL, then a bus from there to EP... then had to walk from the regular EP bus depot to the other side of the huge parking lot to get to our cars. A man that had done the same thing was slowly making his way across the lot and told me that he was injured and was in a wheelchair after the race, but the bus refused to get him closer to his car; told him he'd have to walk from the EP bus stop back to the race lot. Total time from when I finished to when I got to my resort? 3 hours.

For the half, I started in my own corral - G - and had a GREAT race! Was able to run at my own pace the entire time. Assumed (I know, I know...) they'd have figured out the bus mess, so I again parked at EP. The EP bus line was again huge, but moving continuously at a pretty good clip, so we got in line. We walked in that line for over an hour and covered 4 additional miles. The sun was beating down and people were going down regularly; I haven't heard "MEDIC" called out that often since 2012 TOT. To their credit, Disney did magically produce a bunch of carts and started handing out bags of ice and cold water/Powerade all along the line. But still - "fiasco" it was, indeed. Total time from my finish to my resort? 2+ hours.

I'm holding out hope that they recognized not just how annoying the situation was, but also how dangerous, and will make sure it doesn't happen again next year.


^THIS x1,000!!!!!


I hadn't even thought of that. But good grief: they've run buses from EP to WWOS for W&D for years - shouldn't they have had a better idea how to handle things?!

Glad you're sticking with us here! And wow - that's a true mess.

 

[ANIM8R]

We were all capable of running 11:00-12:00 miles comfortably so we should have been able to get back ahead of them with plenty of time to spare. Except that we couldn't; we couldn't move at all, practically! It wasn't quite a dead stop through the Boardwalk and path to DHS, but it was a slow shuffle, to be sure. And all the time there were rD officials screaming at the crowd to "Get moving! If you don't go any faster, you WILL be swept!" There was clearly nowhere to go, so what was the point of that? All it did was incite near-panic and the crowd got borderline dangerous, IMO. We sprinted through any opening we could find and finally had some breathing room in the final miles, but overall it was not a fun experience.

Talked to a Transportation worker and were told buses to EP would stop running entirely at 10am... it was then after 9:30am. "So if we get in this line now, and you're saying it's at least an hour wait, but you'll stop running buses in an hour, we'll have waited for no reason? How will we get back to our cars in EP?!" "Oh, we'll have you take resort buses, then you get a bus from the resort to EP. You might want to just do that now actually." We did - got on a bus to AKL, then a bus from there to EP... then had to walk from the regular EP bus depot to the other side of the huge parking lot to get to our cars. A man that had done the same thing was slowly making his way across the lot and told me that he was injured and was in a wheelchair after the race, but the bus refused to get him closer to his car; told him he'd have to walk from the EP bus stop back to the race lot. Total time from when I finished to when I got to my resort? 3 hours.

An experience like this would make me start entertaining the thought of never, ever participating in a Disney event again. How frustrating! Especially the officials yelling "get moving" when there was nowhere to move. I have a long fuse but that might have been a situation that sent me over the edge.

So sorry you and so many others had to experience that!

 

[PrincessV]

An experience like this would make me start entertaining the thought of never, ever participating in a Disney event again. How frustrating! Especially the officials yelling "get moving" when there was nowhere to move. I have a long fuse but that might have been a situation that sent me over the edge.

So sorry you and so many others had to experience that!

I'll confess that I was pretty cranky lol! Mostly I was really frustrated for some friends who hadn't run the 5K - which was an absolute dreeeam! - and had planned to take lots of pics in the 10K. They really got the shaft because there was no time to stop. Iv'e since heard they didn't' even bother sweeping the 10K because they'd have had to sweep thousands at once... even if that's true, there was no way to know that in the moment, so we spent way too much time and energy just trying to MOVE. I found myself telling a lot of folks in the bus line Sunday "I promise - not all rD races are like this! This is NOT the norm!!" I hope I was right!