I am looking into possibly signing up for either the Half or the Challenge since they are still open and I am kind of exploring ideas for a runcation next spring. I've only run runDisney events during Marathon Weekend and have a few questions for anyone with knowledge:
-I know it's possibly during a spring break period and that those crowds can be quite daunting so I'm wondering how were the crowds in 2016?
-Are all of the resorts host resorts like during Marathon Weekend?
-If you've been to both does the atmosphere differ for this race as opposed to Marathon Weekend or are they quite similar?
-Was the course for each of the races nice? What type of characters and course entertainment was there?
-I may be going solo, how is the experience of doing an rD race on your own?
This is still in the very fledgling stages of planning but I was hoping to get a little bit of a feel for what I'd be getting into. I appreciate any and all guidance on these issues or anything else that you may think is relevant. Thanks.
1. I'm doing the vacation part after the race and that week after the races looks very manageable for crowds.
2. As far as I know, all Disney owned resorts are host resorts.
3. I've only ran Wine & Dine at WDW, so I can't speak to how Dark Side compares to marathon weekend.
4. Expect the characters in a Star Wars race weekend to be exclusively from Star Wars. It's always been this way at
Disneyland for the Star Wars 1/2 on the west coast. The Star Wars 1/2 at Disneyland has a cosplay mile around mile 8 where a lot of cosplayers are dressed in a wide variety of Star Wars costumes from prominent characters that everybody knows to characters from Star Wars novels and comics that only those fans who have read those items know about.
5. I've essentially run all 5 of my runDisney events solo. While my little sister also ran the 2011 Disneyland 1/2 with me, she was substantially faster than me and we knew beforehand that I would run my race and she would run hers. So we waited in the corral together and shortly after the race started she took off like a flash and I never saw her again until after the race.
Pros:
You have complete and total control of your agenda. You can stay for as little or as long as you like at the Expo. Likewise, any pre race preparations the night before are completely up to you. You don't have to worry about others in your party waking you up if they come in after staying in the parks while you go back to the room to get to bed early. Same thing applies on race morning. You are in complete control. You can linger in the post race area for as long or as little as you want to.
This also applies to any post race park touring. You can tour as actively or as relaxed as you want to. If you want to sit down on a bench for 20 minutes, no one will stop you. If you want to wait in line to show Mickey your medals, no one will complain that they want to go on a ride instead of waiting to meet a mouse. Or if you want to watch Path of the Jedi 3 times because it's air conditioned and you get to sit down, no one will complain.
Cons:
If you're used to running with someone and want to stop for a photo, you'll need to ask another runner. Likewise, you may have no one to keep you company while you wait in the corral for the race to start. In the post race area, if you're solo then you'll need to find someone to take any pictures you may want to. As noted above, some of the pros have equally opposite cons.
For the 2012 Wine & Dine 1/2, I met up with some fellow DISers from the race thread and we just talked for about an hour before the race. It was a lot of fun and a nice way to pass the time and distract myself from any nerves before the start of the race. For me, running is a highly individual activity anyways so running solo doesn't bother me. My little sister is once again joining me for the 2017 Star Wars 1/2 at Disneyland. And we already understand that we are each running our own race and starting in different corrals if necessary.
