Official Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend - The Dark Side 2017

[Jaypd]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi. I didn't run but was working the event. It was nice meeting runners from the DIS I had to stop and say hi.

 

[opusone]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi. I didn't run but was working the event. It was nice meeting runners from the DIS I had to stop and say hi.

Thanks for stopping by. It was great meeting you and hearing some of the history of the DISboards. Also, thanks for working the event!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Only 284 people on the SAG list...the wild card being, like you said, that we also have DNS runners. No way to know how many there were but I doubt almost 3K runners didn't start the race!

I think that SAG number is wrong. I was SAG'd but I'm not showing up as part of the SAG. Never did they take my number or have me go across a pad. There were about 40 people on that SAG bus.



Typically for SAG you will show up like:

 

[opusone]

I think that SAG number is wrong. I was SAG'd but I'm not showing up as part of the SAG. Never did they take my number or have me go across a pad. There were about 40 people on that SAG bus.

View attachment 233040

Typically for SAG you will show up like:

View attachment 233041

Actually, you do show up on the official SAG list: http://www.trackshack.com/disneysports/sag/index.php, so you are part of the 283 number.

 

[Ariel484]

I think that SAG number is wrong. I was SAG'd but I'm not showing up as part of the SAG. Never did they take my number or have me go across a pad. There were about 40 people on that SAG bus.

View attachment 233040

Typically for SAG you will show up like:

View attachment 233041

Weird!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Actually, you do show up on the official SAG list: http://www.trackshack.com/disneysports/sag/index.php, so you are part of the 283 number.

Weird...that's totally different than Wine & Dine!

Glad they at least have me recorded somewhere.

(And hopefully I never have to SAG again after surgery!)

 

[DISRNR1000]

Reporting my experience. First of all, walking from the Poly was a breeze. From our room door to the place where buses were dropping off other runners took about 15 minutes and it was a leisurely walk. I imagine coming from the GF or shades of green might've only added another 10 minutes to the walk. The walk seemed much much shorter than the walking we have to do for the marathon starting at Epcot.

Everything to me seemed very organized. I think I was in the last wave to go out in corral F. It was F6 they said.

From my perspective the course was pretty congested especially in the first half. I was thinking that if they did not sell out this race then they are increasing numbers. There are many times I could not always run when I wanted to. I didn't want to zigzag or run on the grass so I just slowed down and looked for the next hole to move through and run again.

I really like the course although due to the heat and humidity I didn't stop for many pictures because I was just wanting to get done. Towards the end of the race I stopped for a couple of character pics and just some pictures of the scenery.

Overall a really good experience. I would definitely do this race again and try to do the light side and maybe get the special Kessel run challenge medal.

Oh, a few other things - the volunteers were wonderful and I thought other runners on the course were very polite. None of the bad things I've heard reported here and there. And the expo was good, very manageable, plenty of merchandise and I got there late Friday afternoon.

My biggest suggestion for this race would be for Disney to go back to requiring additional proof of time for above 2:45. I think that would help to seed people better in the corrals. Seems like at one time you could submit proof of time up to 3:15.

 

[MissLiss279]

I really enjoyed the half. Thanks to everyone that came to the meet up. I enjoyed the conversation and it definitely helped the time go by quicker. As far as the race goes I loved the fireworks before each corral, they seemed grander than any other race I have done before. I stopped for lots of pictures (woohoo for Ewoks!) and the 501st were awesome!! The weather didn't bother me until the sun came out for the last couple of miles. My only real complaint were the pace groups. I had to pass the 3:15 & 3:30 groups after every stop and they were wall to wall people. I don't what could be done about that but it was a little frustrating.

With there being 16302 finishers and I think 19000 bib numbers, does that mean they created bib numbers that that weren't sold or that many DNS or DNF? and from a back of the pack perspective I couldn't imagine another 3000 runners.

I agree on the pacers -not sure how to make it better with congestion sometimes. About midway in the race I was going back and forth with one of the 2:15 Pace groups. It's a little awkward to keep passing each other; however, this group was much better than the pace group I ran into during the marathon. One of the pacers kept yelling (when they would start to run or were wanting to pass people - 'pace group on the left!', helpful and a little annoying ). And for the most part, I didn't see anyone running more than 2 wide with this pace group. I think they probably tried to tells those at the beginning to run single file or no more than two wide. The problem probably occurs when they pickup people throughout the race.

 

[croach]

Don't know if any of you were at MK yesterday but they didn't mess around tearing everything down. I left there at around 1:00 yesterday and I think the only think left was the main stage in the pre-start area. Sadly I was actually parked right near the race stuff. Way in the back.

 

[HockeyMomNH]

First of all, my DD and I successfully completed the half!

I was a much different experience running from the back corrals. We started in the front of F, and ran the first 2 miles at 12 m/m. My poor DD needed a porta potty and it was nearly 2 miles in before we saw any.

After we hit mile 6 the heat and my DD's short training hit and we walked most of the rest of the way. But we finished and never spotted the dreaded balloon ladies.

The course seemed much more congested to me this year and there was a lot of area where we couldn't have run if we wanted to.

 

[opusone]

First of all, my DD and I successfully completed the half!

I was a much different experience running from the back corrals. We started in the front of F, and ran the first 2 miles at 12 m/m. My poor DD needed a porta potty and it was nearly 2 miles in before we saw any.

After we hit mile 6 the heat and my DD's short training hit and we walked most of the rest of the way. But we finished and never spotted the dreaded balloon ladies.

The course seemed much more congested to me this year and there was a lot of area where we couldn't have run if we wanted to.

Congrats to you and your DD!! I'm glad she finished on her first attempt. Also, it was a pleasure meeting you both at the dinner!

 

[Calfan]

First of all, my DD and I successfully completed the half.

So glad DD (and you of course) had a successful race and finished. It was so nice to meet and visit with you both at dinner Saturday night. Hope to run into you at Tink!

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi. I didn't run but was working the event. It was nice meeting runners from the DIS I had to stop and say hi.

I am so glad you stopped by to chat with us! and I enjoyed hearing about the Disboards history too

 

[zgirls]

Friday - Sunday in Florida was sunny and warm, been back in PA for 6 hours, rainy, cloudy and damp(high 58).
Race recap - I did the challenge again this year, started in Coral A for both, for the 10k sprinted between every character pic, got them all and every mile marker. For the half ran the 10k then running partner crashed (was running on broken foot) so I walk ran with him. Never ran for that many many hours consecutively in a half, usually finish btwn 1:40 -1:50, we did it in 3 hrs.

IMO course was crowded throughout, surprised at how narrow some of it was for the Half. Wish we would have ran through MK and then looped to HD and Epcot - for life of me don't know why every race doesn't go through MK.

Volunteers were awesome, spoke with a lot of them on half - thanked everyone I spoke with - thank you if I missed you.

Entertainment - average, needed more on both courses.

Finish and start line, crowd management - thought it was very good.

Transportation was good, but note to anyone who drives from off site, remember where you park at 3am or as u prolly heard there will be lots of alarms going off post race.

Last piece of advice, do not stay out drinking until 1am when you need to be up and driving at 2:30am.

See you next year and May the force Be with you.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

I had a really enjoyable race weekend as well! I feel like things went super smoothly. I already can't wait to run Disney again (although I have no idea when that will be). Some of my thoughts:
-Loved the courses! Getting to do Hollywood Studios, both sides of Boardwalk/Yacht and Beach and so much of Epcot was great. The course support in the Boardwalk area is incredible (my parents are staying there and got to spectate so that was awesome - I think they thought it was cool to be able to do that).
-The medals are great. I'm so glad the races don't sell out instantly anymore so I could sign up after seeing the Death Star medal. It's the reason I did the Challenge as opposed to just one or the other of the 10K or half, and it was so worth it, even if I have only gotten about 10 hours of sleep the past couple days! The medal is just as great in person.
-As for the weather, the humidity was definitely a struggle especially on Sunday, but we couldn't really ask for much different. I'm thankful for no rain for any of the races, and for the cloud cover after the sun came up. Considering the weather, I'm happy with how it went - it could have been much worse. I've got my sights set on doing a local half marathon sometime in the fall for sure though, since all 3 of my halfs so far have been in hot weather, and I want to know what I can do with hopefully cooler conditions.

That was even hotter...and my race was a hot mess. GI issues from the start and 4(!) stops after the start of the race led to a slow pace. Felt like I was carrying all of the combined food in WDW along with me in my stomach. Still a great race and the volunteers and on course CMs were fantastic. Sadly no character photos; just wanted to get done.

I'm sorry. I had a minor GI-related issue as well towards the end (also probably attributed to having my vacation before the races and the food I ate as a result) but fortunately nothing that made me have to stop. I just had to walk more than I wanted to because it felt fine when I walked. I'm a little bit disappointed about it, though, because despite the humidity, I could have beaten my time from Wine and Dine if I had felt a bit better. Time was literally less than 10 seconds difference (the couple super quick character stops I made added to that too). And it took a little bit away from my enjoyment of the final stretch, which was the best part of the course, since I just wanted to be done.

Congrats to all the runners today! Curious what you thought of the course, since I'll be doing this race next year (though I suppose it could change again).

I loved the course! Would have liked a bit more time inside Animal Kingdom instead of in the parking lot outside of it, but definitely better than Wine and Dine. The last 3 miles were perfect. I hope they reuse it for other races.

This was my first Florida race, so I don't have much perspective. The humidity this morning made the run extremely challenging for me. Other than that, the grade on the overpass ramp was a killer, but it's probably unavoidable.

I really enjoyed running through Epcot to end it, but by that point, the conditions had me too exhausted to fully appreciate it.

Same here.

I loved the course - way better than the W&D course (the only other half I've done at WDW).

It was definitely humid but it didn't end up bothering me that much. I think I was lucky to be able to start in one of the earlier corrals, and it stayed cloudy during the part of the race where the sun was up.

It was my fastest runDisney race so far (out of three I've done). The only negative I will say is the crowding, particularly on Bear Island road. Also, I nearly got blinded by some of the lights in the mock battle along that stretch...

I liked that fight scene on Bear Island Road, but I thought that it could be pretty blinding also... maybe if they could put it higher in the trees??

Yeah, the lights on Bear Island Road were definitely bright. One almost blinded me too. But other than that, the effect was amazing and I thought that stretch was just too cool!

 

[David Daniels]

Congrats to all the runners today! Curious what you thought of the course, since I'll be doing this race next year (though I suppose it could change again).

Hmm... This was my first "Half" at Disney World. I "liked" the course, didn't love it... I ran the Light Side half in Jan @ Disneyland. I personally loved that most of the path was wide, very wide!. I was shocked how narrow some of the paths were. (like the sidewalk leaving DHS to Swan and Dolphin). I'm sorry but that was a horrible decision...

Also, to me, there is no (good) reason why you don't run through Magic Kingdom. Running through the Castle at Disneyland during The Light Side half was an incredible moment. Would love to know the thought process behind the decision.

Now, the race weekend overall was awesome. They did a good job with all of them. (I ran all three). A few tweaks would really make this a don't miss event!

 

[camaker]

Also, to me, there is no (good) reason why you don't run through Magic Kingdom. Running through the Castle at Disneyland during The Light Side half was an incredible moment. Would love to know the thought process behind the decision.

I think the thought process behind not running through MK is related to course diversity. WDW already has three races across two race weekends that run through the MK/castle. With the additional parks that WDW has over DL it makes sense to add some diversity to the courses to help attract runners to multiple weekends. In addition, the geography and spread out nature of WDW (especially compared to DL) limits the number of parks available to visit during 10k and half marathons.

They also seem to try to match half courses very generally to their theming, so you get:

WDWMW: Classic Disney theme running through the original park.
Princess: Princesses have to run through Cinderella's Castle!
SWDS: Runs through the current and future home of SW (DHS)
Wine & Dine: Runs through the home of its namesake festival (Epcot)

 

[BigEeyore]

What a great race weekend!! Bravo run Disney on making this year's Dark Side even better than last year! Overall a great time - a few quick thoughts....
- EXPO - got there Thursday afternoon about 4pm and there was plenty of merch to be had! Nothing like last year where they ran out of everything super early. Got my must have items (Kessel Run shirt, sweaty bands, tervis, ornament, and the VADER TOTE).
- 5K - I was in corral B (even though I was A for the 10K?) and found it to be a pretty crowded course - SO many walkers, which I would expect in the later corrals, but a chunk of corral A was walking from the get-go. Otherwise - awesome course and awesome characters (EWOKS oh. em. gee!!)
- 10K - As per usual - boring first half and fantastic last half! Got lots of great pictures along the way but felt there could have been more entertainment on that first half stretch.
- 501st - Those people are amazing! Less of them this year bc of the celebration the prior weekend, but I thanked them all for being there.
- HALF - Just wow - probably my favorite half ever! Love the course - 3 parks, NO ESPN!!, tons of characters, great entertainment (fireworks at the beginning, characters, the laser lightsaber battle, the music especially in Epcot, the big screens showing the movie clips).

The weather wasn't what I would have ordered, but I did what you are supposed to do in those conditions - slowed my pace down, stayed hydrated through the whole trip, dumped water on my head at the water stops, and alternated b/t electrolyte drink and water). And I was fine - a sweaty gross mess but fine. I hated to see so many people needing medical attention, hopefully everyone is OK!

Biggest disappointment - the lack of Rogue One photo ops/characters or even movie clips. They had that one lame backdrop and that was it. My dreams of a K2SO meet and greet were not to be...

Congrats to all - I really think we will be back again next year to make it 3 in a row! Won't do the Kessel again next year but SO happy to get that medal! It is tied for my favorite medal ever (#1 will always be the 20th anniversary WDW marathon medal!).

 

[David Daniels]

I think the thought process behind not running through MK is related to course diversity. WDW already has three races across two race weekends that run through the MK/castle. With the additional parks that WDW has over DL it makes sense to add some diversity to the courses to help attract runners to multiple weekends. In addition, the geography and spread out nature of WDW (especially compared to DL) limits the number of parks available to visit during 10k and half marathons.

They also seem to try to match half courses very generally to their theming, so you get:

WDWMW: Classic Disney theme running through the original park.
Princess: Princesses have to run through Cinderella's Castle!
SWDS: Runs through the current and future home of SW (DHS)
Wine & Dine: Runs through the home of its namesake festival (Epcot)

I get your logic, but again it's at Walt Disney World. I have only done Wine and Dine and now Star Wars, but I still have to disagree with skipping Magic Kingdom. I ran all 3 races this weekend and one of them could've included MK...

Running in DL you get to do it. I know there's less parks, a more condensed area, but at WDW, regardless of theming, it's Disney. And even with it being Star Wars, I would skip AK and Epcot to get to run at MK.

 

[Keels]

Hope everyone had a great race weekend!

Just wanted to pop in to say I heard about the meet-up and it sounds like it was awesome!