Official Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend - The Dark Side 2017

[camaker]

Did they say they were changing the course this year? Cause if they are the same or similar to last year all the races start outside Epcot and will still be dark when we start.

They are changing the courses this year. Probably due to the excessive congestion in spots on last year's courses. From the RunDisney website, the 5k still starts and ends at Epcot, but both the 10k and half start on Floridian Way and end at Epcot.

 

[opusone]

Did they say they were changing the course this year? Cause if they are the same or similar to last year all the races start outside Epcot and will still be dark when we start.

On the rD website, both the 10k and half will start on Floridian Way in 2017, so they are definitely changing the courses.

 

[PrincessV]

Did they say they were changing the course this year?

Yep, the 10K and Half will be starting down by the Ticket & Transportation Center next year:


Star Wars Half Marathon - The Dark Side
Sunday, April 23, 2017

5:00 a.m.

Start: Floridian Way
Finish: Epcot®

Star Wars 10K
Saturday, April 22, 2017

5:30 a.m.

Start: Floridian Way
Finish: Epcot®

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

I saw this on the Disney store website this morning and got a good laugh

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[courtneybeth]

@MommaoffherRocker - I need that. OMG. That's amazing.... I hope they have them at Lightside next month.

 

[cavepig]

I saw this on the Disney store website this morning and got a good laugh

View attachment 209287​

Thought that was pretty cool too!

 

[cavepig]

Medals revealed here - - - http://www.starwars.com/news/feel-the-power-of-rundisneys-2017-dark-side-medals-first-look

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Medals revealed here - - - http://www.starwars.com/news/feel-the-power-of-rundisneys-2017-dark-side-medals-first-look

I love them!! Why is the 10k always the best medal? I might need to find a 10k bib!

 

[Chasing Dopey]

Medals revealed here - - - http://www.starwars.com/news/feel-the-power-of-rundisneys-2017-dark-side-medals-first-look

Ummm.... Ok, I appreciate that they put more time and effort into these designs, which I expected with more lead time. The 10k and Challenge medals are terrific... not a fan of the half medal. Again, clearly more effort, and it has good design elements, but it's not really my cup of tea. And Kylo Ren just isn't cool enough for his own medal.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief. After the lackluster 2017 Rebel Challenge medal, I was rooting for not screwing up the Dark Side medals. I already have a stormtrooper medal for the first Star Wars 10K at Disneyland, so while a second stormtrooper medal is a personal disappointment, I'm very happy with how the medal looks. While Darth Vader was my top choice for the 1/2 medal, I like the Kylo Ren medal. And very happy with the Kessel Run medal being very similar to last year.

 

[courtneybeth]

I'm a bit disappointed that they're all some variation of a Storm Trooper - no Jabba the Hutt 10K?

That said - we really like the Challenge, Kessel, and 10K medal. The Half isn't doing it for us - but I understand why they did it. That said - I think we're doing the Dark Side Challenge officially now!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I'm actually thinking about signing up for the 5K now just because I think the Advanced Weapons Research (AWR) Troopers look really cool. In the end though I'm just happy they put some thought and detail into all of these medals. As much as I really wanted a Darth Vader medal, I also really like the Kylo Ren design for the 1/2. I would argue that the Dark Side Challenge medal is an improvement over the 2016 one which was also really nice.

 

[Dopey Devon]

I kinda agree with what's been said, love the overall design of the medals but the half medal is just a bit....no darth vadar and it doesn't look like a spinning medal either. The detailing is super good though and, apart from the half medal, I prefer them to the light side medals. Loving the updated challenge medal as well!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

The Dark Side 1/2 medal is, unless they really surprise us, far more detailed than the 2017 Rebel Challenge medal. I'm fine with it not being a spinner and would much rather have Kylo Ren on it than say Darth Maul or Count Dooku. And I like the prequels.

 

[cavepig]

I'm a bit disappointed that they're all some variation of a Storm Trooper - no Jabba the Hutt 10K?

That said - we really like the Challenge, Kessel, and 10K medal. The Half isn't doing it for us - but I understand why they did it. That said - I think we're doing the Dark Side Challenge officially now!

Welcome aboard the Darkside!

Medals look cool to me, I didn't study the pictures closely though as they are always way neater in person anyway then in pictures.

 

[PrincessV]

Nothing will ever beat the Palpatine/Vader combo on this yer's half medal, in my mind! I'm pleased to see a better Challenge medal this time around - the rest, meh, whatever.

 

[courtneybeth]

I am so excited to be doing Light Side and Dark Side this year - I completely forgot that I'm running the January race and am panicked because I don't have a race outfit yet.

The medals look better to me on second review. I pulled them up again this morning and I like the detail on the Kylo Ren medal. I think they may have them at the Light Side race so I'll get a good look at them. I'm happy to officially be running this now, as I was on the fence before.

 

[DisDadDVC]

FYI, the 10k registration for the Dark Side is open again now.

 

[compshu]

We had been planning a trip in April during the kids' spring break from school. In the past, we had avoided the super busy times by just taking them out of school, but this year, my eldest has end-of-grade exams and we don't want to run into an issue with her missing class. Their break is from April 17-21, so we plan to drive down the day before Easter and drive home the following Saturday. I just realized that puts us in WDW for the beginning of the race weekend, and we'd be able to do the 5k and kids races on Friday (I'm also thinking about the 10k on Saturday, but that's a long drive back to North Carolina and I'm sure my legs will turn to stone on the way). So last night I wanted to see how far and at what pace my eldest (she's 9) can run. We went out and ran 3.3 miles with a pace of about 11'25", so it looks like the two of us may be signing up for the 5k.

I had done the final EE Challenge in 2015, my only runDisney event so far, and had a blast. It is difficult for us to plan a trip around a runDisney event because of the timing of our schedules at work, school, and events (all three kids play hockey). Luckily, both this race and the last one I did just happened to be while we were already planning to be in WDW.

 

[MyFavEeyore]

I don't know much about SWDS characters or the importance of each one, so on that note I'm in love with the 5k & 10k medals! The pop of color is eye catching and appealing! The 1/2 and Challenge seem to lose that despite the touch of red (and mostly black in the 1/2), and the normalcy of a round shape automatically is a bummer. However, I am running for personal accomplishment that weekend and all the medals despite what anyone thinks or says (including me) is an awesome reward for getting out there and trying at the very least! Everyone I'm sure, should and will be proud to wear these medals at the end of the day!