Official Tinker Bell Half Marathon 2012 thread

[AquaDame]

I'm pretty sure I was with you, FireWoman. I just started crying quietly. I also stopped to take pictures in the park and I'm kicking myself for it now. I don't know how accurate it is, but I heard later that nobody who was swept by the parking garage got a ride back to the finish. I guess someone was injured and they needed an ambulance near the true sweep point, so Disney had to rush to move it back to where we were and it caused confusion. Did you see the group that had been behind us that got to go through after we were stopped? That hurt more than getting swept. I understand, though. My Garmin said I was at about an 18min/mile pace and I had been near the back of Corral E, so it was probably right. If I'm honest with myself, I know the sweep was justified, even though they apologized to us. I know I could have made up time and been okay, though. I don't get why they didn't just tell us there was a medical emergency ahead, though. I don't think the screamers would have cared, but I would have been more understanding, I think.

Oh, Im so sorry you were swept!! That is why I was so concerned about being further up in the corrals - I wanted some extra room in case I was slow on a couple miles. In the end the character lines just scared me too much anyway though so all we did was snap pics of them with other people or just our heads in front of nice backdrops and then kept up our pace otherwise. I didn't even stop at any of the mile markers (Ok, I went a little crazy, we finished in under 3 hours) but still... I can't imagine how long those lines took. Skipping Rapunzel just about broke my heart... for those of you who stopped how long do those lines take? There were at least 15 people in each one!

 

[carps09]

Congratulations to everyone who worked hard and completed the Tinkerbell Half this past weekend! I'm preparing for my first half - the Princess Half - in February and had a question about runner updates. I saw where you could sign up and have updates post to Facebook or notify others of your status; did anyone do this? If so, what does it look like and what kind of information does it give? Thanks for your help!

 

[MotoXPrincess99]

The pictures are up on brightroom.com.

 

[becky11]

Congratulations to everyone who worked hard and completed the Tinkerbell Half this past weekend! I'm preparing for my first half - the Princess Half - in February and had a question about runner updates. I saw where you could sign up and have updates post to Facebook or notify others of your status; did anyone do this? If so, what does it look like and what kind of information does it give? Thanks for your help!

Here's what my post looked like:

Tinker Bell Half Marathon:
AMY TUPPER at Finish in 2:30:42.
Pace: 11:30 min/Mile.
Time of Arrival: 8:24:33.

Plus it has a link to the race site at RunDisney.

Now that I'm home, here are my race highlights:
- (Virtually) meeting the awesome Amie (aimmike&meg) who had the unfortunate experience of a broken toe, but who's misfortune led to my first-time DVC points purchase, giving me the ability to stay at the best hotel for the race (IMHO) - Paradise Pier!!
- Meeting the equally awesome Cara (crmrrsn28) who was the best roommate a person could ask for!
- Going to my first DIS meet!! I'm the one standing bravely on the fountain wall (on the left) in Sarah's (MotoXPrincess99) picture above.
- Enjoying the race so much! Best sign: "This is the worst parade ever!" Awesome Red Hat Ladies!! Great pep bands/dance crews. Lots of "Go WISH!" support!!
- Staying on my pace plan for the entire race! I was so involved in it that I totally missed some mile markers - I was convinced that there wasn't one for each mile!!
- AND setting a new PR - 15 minutes faster than my previous two halfs!!

I was able to finish in just enough time to shower and RUN over to DL to make the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour, which was fantastic and worth the money and effort to get over there in time!!

Lastly, I'm so sorry about what happened to you FireWoman! That's definitely unsat !!! I hope that you do get in contact with someone that can somehow make it right for you. And I join in the amazement of how well you're handling it. I absolutely would have been on fire about it.

 

[FlowersCroon]

i was at the 5K - it was great! congrats to all who ran the tink 1/2! you're my inspiration for the princess 1/2 next month.

sorry to those who were swept. i think it's all about that last corral spot. if you start there i truly believe you are doomed. i am so worried about that next month.

below is a pic of my daughter and i at the 5K. it's a screen shot from the brightroom.com site. all the event photos are posted there now.

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

I remember thinking at Mile 9 "Holy moly! It's mile 9!!" Then I didn't see a mile marker for a while, and when I finally saw one on the horizon I thought to myself "I really really hope that's the Mile 11 marker and I somehow missed the 10."

Luckily, I had. I was so stinkin' happy when I saw two 1's on that sign, it was ridiculous.

 

[Dagny]

It was great meeting everyone at the meet...an thanks for the WISH bracelet!

It was great to finally meet you too. Glad everyone enjoyed the bracelets!

There was miscommunication, and a group of about 12-15 of us got swept, even though we were absolutely within pace. I think the volunteer thought we were the tail end... After 15+ minutes of working it out, while others behind us were allowed on the course, and the officials deciding to let us back on course, the bikes and the real swept people started showing up, and they decided that they couldn't get us back on course because they had to reopen the street to public.

It was bizarre. A lot of ladies were yelling and swearing, and I was just stunned. I kept a great pace. They gave us medals, and escorted us to the finish line for pictures, etc, sneaking us through barricades, but would not let us finish or give us an official time. So, no Coast to Coast this year, which saves me MAJOR cash. But I'm a "DNF". I am just in shock. I was doing fairly well! Definitely not sweepable! They admitted their fault, but there is nothing to be done about it.

What a letdown. Yet, it was okay. I'm just tired. It wasn't my fault, but it's still a drag. My husband took me to the beach, and it was just what I needed. It was our favorite beach when we dated in CA back in '94.

I guess 2013 will be my C2C year!

All I can say is I would have absolutely lost it. That is completely unacceptable under any circumstance. I hope you do send a very direct letter to runDisney.

FireWoman, I must have been with you. Same thing happened to me. I wasn't making pace though so it would have been a struggle for me to finish. I was ok with it. But a lot of the other ladies in the pick-up area were angry. A lot of them said they didn't hear any announcements about being behind pace. I had heard one but the people on the bikes with the orange flags weren't very loud and I could barely hear them. I figured there was no use in arguing with the race officials since they didn't seem like they were going to allow anybody back onto the course. It was a matter of minutes (like 2 minutes) that I missed the cutoff for the course closure.

I just accepted the medal and went back to my hotel, I didn't want to stay around with all the women yelling/being upset so I missed them escorting people to the finish line for pictures. I was happy that my sister finished and that I was able to meet up with her in the finish area. I was surprised that Tinkerbell and/or the other fairies weren't out during the Half.

I had a great time doing the Neverland 5K though. IMO it was a lot better than the Star Tours 5K I did last September. It was fun seeing the Lost Boys! And I loved running at night especially through CA Adventure. There just needed to be more light in certain areas backstage; I almost fell once and I saw somebody who did. And it was a bit random that there were Halloween and Christmas floats out backstage. Overall I had a good time and took being swept as a learning experience (an expensive one but one nonetheless).

I agree, where the heck was Tink? Seriously? I enjoyed the 5K course a lot. Thought it was fantastic - but you're right, it was really dark in places!

The pictures are up on brightroom.com.

Woo hoo!! Was great to meet you - spent some time with Jessica on Sunday!

 

[kim3339]

There was miscommunication, and a group of about 12-15 of us got swept, even though we were absolutely within pace.

So sorry about that! That shouldn't happen.

Oh, and those Red Hat Society ladies? One was my Mom!! Sneaky old broad didn't tell me she was going! hahah Best.Surprise.Ever!

I LOVED them!! I wish they were all over the course! You should tell your mom they need to come back for the 1/2 in Sept.

I had a great time doing the Neverland 5K though. IMO it was a lot better than the Star Tours 5K I did last September. It was fun seeing the Lost Boys! And I loved running at night especially through CA Adventure. There just needed to be more light in certain areas backstage; I almost fell once and I saw somebody who did. And it was a bit random that there were Halloween and Christmas floats out backstage. Overall I had a good time and took being swept as a learning experience (an expensive one but one nonetheless).

I agree w/ you about the 5k! I had such a blast. B/c they were lining you up by when you got in the park and not like they've done for past 5ks, I was at the front of the race. It was so cool! And the themed mile makers were awesome, they need to do that for the Sept one as well. I do agree w/ you about the light and the floats. Thought I was missing something! If they take away the included park ticket, I'll definitely do it again like in Sept, but if you can only get the 2 together, I might have to skip it.

As for the 1/2, didn't have any legs still, so I took my camera and had one of the most fun races I've ever had! Took pics at all the mile markers and character stops. And how cute were the little hula girls! I loved the new course, it was a nice break from the Sept course. Maybe people who've run the Sept race can correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought there were a lot more people along the course than that race. Both cheering/support groups as well as spectators. Hopefully, they'll carry that over for Sept.

Aside from reading about the sweeping problem, I thought the race went really well for an inagural event. There were enough water at the water stops, gus were in stock and I didn't have any problems getting my bag after or anything. I know they've done a ton of races before, but there are can always be hiccups like RnR's Vegas last month. I was really impressed. My only suggestion would be that after the race, they have a line at the security check point where runners can just go through and not have to wait for people to go through the bags~ we're sweaty and just want to take a shower!!

The rest of the weekend was a blast and too short. The highlight was getting something to eat after the race and seeing Sean Astin. Goonies is one of my all time faves and I really wanted to go say hi, but he was w/ his wife and daughter so I just kept walking.

It was great meeting all of you this weekend!! Can't wait until next year!

 

[Dagny]

Here's what my post looked like:

Plus it has a link to the race site at RunDisney.

Now that I'm home, here are my race highlights:
- (Virtually) meeting the awesome Amie (aimmike&meg) who had the unfortunate experience of a broken toe, but who's misfortune led to my first-time DVC points purchase, giving me the ability to stay at the best hotel for the race (IMHO) - Paradise Pier!!
- Meeting the equally awesome Cara (crmrrsn28) who was the best roommate a person could ask for!
- Going to my first DIS meet!! I'm the one standing bravely on the fountain wall (on the left) in Sarah's (MotoXPrincess99) picture above.
- Enjoying the race so much! Best sign: "This is the worst parade ever!" Awesome Red Hat Ladies!! Great pep bands/dance crews. Lots of "Go WISH!" support!!
- Staying on my pace plan for the entire race! I was so involved in it that I totally missed some mile markers - I was convinced that there wasn't one for each mile!!
- AND setting a new PR - 15 minutes faster than my previous two halfs!!

I was able to finish in just enough time to shower and RUN over to DL to make the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour, which was fantastic and worth the money and effort to get over there in time!!

Lastly, I'm so sorry about what happened to you FireWoman! That's definitely unsat !!! I hope that you do get in contact with someone that can somehow make it right for you. And I join in the amazement of how well you're handling it. I absolutely would have been on fire about it.

OMG! I saw that sign too "this is the worst parade ever" That was classic!

I thought little hawaiian dancers were really cute too

I see you made it to your tour Kudos for doing that afterwards - I went to Trader Sams and enjoyed something with an umbrella in it till I couldn't feel the pain in my legs

 

[proudmonkeymama]

for those of you who stopped how long do those lines take? There were at least 15 people in each one!

It added about 26 minutes to my time. My runDisney time was 3:06 but I stopped & restarted my watch to only record running time and my watch recorded 2:40. I think I didn't stop my watch at mile markers where there was no line.

This was my 1st Half and I'll admit I got carried away. I stopped & took pics at every character and mile marker. I was in Corral E but shimmied my way to the front to give me some cushion.

 

[kim3339]

It added about 26 minutes to my time. My runDisney time was 3:06 but I stopped & restarted my watch to only record running time and my watch recorded 2:40. I think I didn't stop my watch at mile markers where there was no line.

This was my 1st Half and I'll admit I got carried away. I stopped & took pics at every character and mile marker. I was in Corral E but shimmied my way to the front to give me some cushion.

I should have stopped my watch too! Didn't think about that one. When I was stopped, the only really crazy lines were for Rapunzel when we got into DL and Jack Sparrow. Aside from those 2, when I was in line there weren't more than 6 or 7 people.

 

[RedRosePrincess]

I'm pretty sure I was with you, FireWoman. I just started crying quietly. I also stopped to take pictures in the park and I'm kicking myself for it now. I don't know how accurate it is, but I heard later that nobody who was swept by the parking garage got a ride back to the finish. I guess someone was injured and they needed an ambulance near the true sweep point, so Disney had to rush to move it back to where we were and it caused confusion. Did you see the group that had been behind us that got to go through after we were stopped? That hurt more than getting swept. I understand, though. My Garmin said I was at about an 18min/mile pace and I had been near the back of Corral E, so it was probably right. If I'm honest with myself, I know the sweep was justified, even though they apologized to us. I know I could have made up time and been okay, though. I don't get why they didn't just tell us there was a medical emergency ahead, though. I don't think the screamers would have cared, but I would have been more understanding, I think.

When I was at the Course Pick-Up I had heard something about a medical emergency because they were going to allow one woman to back onto the course right after they had told us the course was closed which made a lot of ladies mad. I was looking at some paper that they had on the table at the pick-up area and it said you needed to be there by 7:35 to be on pace. I think I got there at 7:37

But congrats to all the finishers!

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

I went to the Expo today and bought....
I Did It Shirt
Coast to Coast tech shirt (because when I tried to buy one last time they only had men's t-shirts)
Run pin(that looks like the medal)
Metallic bumper sticker

What did you buy?

My mom bought me an I Did It shirt. I bought the juice/ smoothie cup, key chain and 3 of the "My mom ran the Tinker Bell half" shirts for my girls.

The tink dooney's sold out Friday...so sad! I really wanted one

They sold out pretty fast too. I went through the line the first time around 12:30 and they only had about 2 or 3 left. I went back through the line again about 1 or 1:30 and they only had the wristlets left.

What was everyone else's time? I think I was about 2:45:00. Something around there, which means I totally met my goal for this one. Definitely pleased


ETA: Got my official itme from the Tink website: 2:43:15. Made my goal of 2:45!

Congrats!

My time was 2:36:52, which met my goal of 2:30-ish

I did it! Took some photos which I'll post after a little relaxation time. . Congrats to all my other Tinkerbell runners! I actually ran 13.58 miles because I didn't know the trick to stay on the inside corner cuts. Newbie mistake, but I'll know for next time! . My time was 2:40:05. Which is not my 2:30 goal, but I'm totally proud of myself and really enjoyed my first 1/2 marathon!

Congrats!

I had heard someone talking about that on the course. I doubt that is where my watch picked up the extra .25-ish mile, but I guess I'll never know.

I finished my first half!! My original goal was just to cross the finish line, but as I started to see my times at each mile marker I decided to shoot for under 3 hours and came in at 3:55:58!!

Congrats!! You mean 2:55:58 though, right?

I shaved 15min off of my previous PR so it was a great race for me!!

Congrats!!

I cut 21 minutes off my PR too so I know how excited you are!!

Oh, and those Red Hat Society ladies? One was my Mom!! Sneaky old broad didn't tell me she was going! hahah Best.Surprise.Ever! Even my bf kept her updated of my pace so she knew when to expect me!

I loved the Red Hat Society ladies!! I was telling everyone how they were my favorite (and the loudest) spectators out there!

I remember thinking at Mile 9 "Holy moly! It's mile 9!!" Then I didn't see a mile marker for a while, and when I finally saw one on the horizon I thought to myself "I really really hope that's the Mile 11 marker and I somehow missed the 10."

Luckily, I had. I was so stinkin' happy when I saw two 1's on that sign, it was ridiculous.

I didn't miss the 10 but I felt like 11 came up pretty quickly. I wish I could say the same for 12 and 13

- (Virtually) meeting the awesome Amie (aimmike&meg) who had the unfortunate experience of a broken toe, but who's misfortune led to my first-time DVC points purchase, giving me the ability to stay at the best hotel for the race (IMHO) - Paradise Pier!!
- AND setting a new PR - 15 minutes faster than my previous two halfs!!

Congrats on the PR!

ITA about PP. We got some Pixie Dust at check in and was upgraded to a theme park view. I could see the back of corral D and the front of E from my room. I loved being able to walk out of the lobby and down Dinseyland drive to my corral. Way better then the bus drama I saw for the Princess (although I was lucky there and got on the first bus that came by, but we passed the other stops because we were already full and they had much longer lines.)

 

[Belle Ella]

Congrats!! You mean 2:55:58 though, right?

Haha, I did mean 2:55:58 Goes to show you how tired I was, lol.

I am kicking myself for not buying the I Did It shirt. I have no idea why I didn't. Probably because I bought so much to begin with. I went a little crazy, lol. But I got one of the Dooney's so I'll take that over the shirt.

 

[lisah0711]

It was such a pleasure meeting so many of you this week-end! It was the highlight of my week-end!

I just can't say enough about what nice, nice people WISHers are. That was a sentiment echoed by Pete Werner (the owner of the Disboards) at the podcast meet on Sunday.

Dagny, thank you so much for the bracelet. I will treasure it always as a momento of my first Disney race finish and meeting a special friend! Good luck at the Princess in a few weeks and say hello to all my WISH princess friends for me please. I hope your feet are feeling better.

Some of you might have seen me before you headed into CA Adventure.
I was shaking the cowbells and holding the funny signs!
I was dressed in my Tinkerbell costume and had my medal in!
Disfan11

I think that I did see you and you shouted "Go WISH!"

I shaved 15min off of my previous PR so it was a great race for me!!

Woo hoo! Congrats on the PR!

Firewoman, I am so, so sorry that you were swept, especially for the wrong reason. You are to be commended for handling this disappointment with grace and class.

When I was swept last year at the Princess I had lots of time to reflect on what went wrong and what was my fault and what was things outside my control. For me it was a great learning experience and I made a tremendous amount of progress in my training and health this year. I think that you will be able to turn this into a positive too. But, boy, do I know how you feel. One of the hardest things I did last year was hang out with the rest of the WISHers after being swept being the only person in the group not wearing a medal. (They gave me one but of course I could not wear it).

Firewoman I am impressed by your reaction

But congrats on your attitude. It is probably worth more than an extra medal if you can deal with the disappointment that way.

Well said!

Oh, and those Red Hat Society ladies? One was my Mom!! Sneaky old broad didn't tell me she was going! hahah Best.Surprise.Ever! Even my bf kept her updated of my pace so she knew when to expect me!

Alice, please tell your Mom that group was the best ever! They were so lovely and so loud. It was a great way to start those miles away from the park. We should all be so lucky as to grow up to be red hat ladies someday!

FireWoman, I must have been with you. Same thing happened to me. I wasn't making pace though so it would have been a struggle for me to finish. I was ok with it. Overall I had a good time and took being swept as a learning experience (an expensive one but one nonetheless).

RedRosePrincess, I'm so sorry that this happened to you too. I really love how you are turning it into a positive. I commend you!

I'm pretty sure I was with you, FireWoman. I just started crying quietly. I also stopped to take pictures in the park and I'm kicking myself for it now. I don't know how accurate it is, but I heard later that nobody who was swept by the parking garage got a ride back to the finish. I guess someone was injured and they needed an ambulance near the true sweep point, so Disney had to rush to move it back to where we were and it caused confusion. Did you see the group that had been behind us that got to go through after we were stopped? That hurt more than getting swept. I understand, though. My Garmin said I was at about an 18min/mile pace and I had been near the back of Corral E, so it was probably right. If I'm honest with myself, I know the sweep was justified, even though they apologized to us. I know I could have made up time and been okay, though. I don't get why they didn't just tell us there was a medical emergency ahead, though. I don't think the screamers would have cared, but I would have been more understanding, I think.

Funnyrun, I am so sorry for your experience, too.

Hello!

Here's a picture from the DTD meet-up.

And me after I finished (with the sign my mom cheered me on with along the course).

It was so nice meeting you! Your costume was adorable!

i was at the 5K - it was great! congrats to all who ran the tink 1/2! you're my inspiration for the princess 1/2 next month.

sorry to those who were swept. i think it's all about that last corral spot. if you start there i truly believe you are doomed. i am so worried about that next month.

Love your picture! You ladies look so cute and happy.

Don't fret if you are in the back corral at the Princess. My friend mikamah was in corral E but accidentally started in F corral. She made it through fine and even got some pictures but she booked it the whole way and never saw the sweepers. If you are in the last corral. Don't stop, no matter how tempting it is.

Kim, so glad you had a fun race and got lots of pictures. Please post some because I did not take any.

Amy, congrats on your PR! And congrats on making it to your tour on time.

I was very fortunate to be in corral C and did not get behind pace until mile 7 when I was only a minute behind. I was able to keep up the pace all the way through the hard cut off at mile 10 -- where I noticed there were no busses so I don't know what they did with the people who were swept at mile 10. I was one of the last 20 people to finish but I finished.

I think all of our Tinker Bell runners deserve a big pat on the back and woo hoo for showing the true WISH spirit!

 

[lorasmom]

It added about 26 minutes to my time. My runDisney time was 3:06 but I stopped & restarted my watch to only record running time and my watch recorded 2:40. I think I didn't stop my watch at mile markers where there was no line.

This was my 1st Half and I'll admit I got carried away. I stopped & took pics at every character and mile marker. I was in Corral E but shimmied my way to the front to give me some cushion.

Our official time was 3:20:xx. Our Garmin Auto Pause* time was 2:40. That's a good 40ish minutes spent in line and not moving. We also stopped for every single picture, walked every water stop, posed for on course photogs, and had a stellar time. All of us were put in either A or B corral, but started in B to run together.

 

[MotoXPrincess99]

Haha, I did mean 2:55:58 Goes to show you how tired I was, lol.

I am kicking myself for not buying the I Did It shirt. I have no idea why I didn't. Probably because I bought so much to begin with. I went a little crazy, lol. But I got one of the Dooney's so I'll take that over the shirt.

Are you going to CoD? Last year I found a 1/2 Marathon shirt there that I didn't see at the Expo during the race.

I'm still hoping they release the Tink Dooney's.

 

[Belle Ella]

Are you going to CoD? Last year I found a 1/2 Marathon shirt there that I didn't see at the Expo during the race.

I'm still hoping they release the Tink Dooney's.

I'm thinking they might, just maybe without the medallion we'll just have to see. And I am going to CoD next month so I'll keep my eyes peeled.

 

[Cripey]

I have the post Disney and post race blues! So what's next on everyone's race calendar for 2012? I'm doing a Relay For Life (and pledging to run my assigned legs, eventhough it's not a race!) and a 10k in a couple of months and then my BF and I plan on registering for the Tower of Terror 10 miler...or whatever it's called...in October I'm so so soooo disappointed they moved the Wine & Dine to the end of the F&W festival. It works out much better for me to get to Orlando, rest, complete the race, THEN enjoy the festival. I can't do all that walking around the parks (oh and EATING around the parks too) and then do a half! I really enjoyed the W&D and would have done it again had they not changed the date. I'll probaby try to sign up for some other local 5 and 10k's this year, just to stay in the "mood" and then I think I'll go back to back in 2013 to do the Tink again and then Princess...I'm hoping for a special Princess medal since it will be the 5th anniversary. I'll run Tink for time and then do Princess with my BF as more of a fun run with lots of pics...must think of a "Prince" theme for him So I guess that means I'll get C2C #2 in 2013 if that little plan works out! I've yet to do the WDW half...would like to someday but it's going to be hard considering how much I enjoyed the Tink and how close together they are.

How are everyone's legs? I wore compression calf sleeves all day sunday after the race and my calves never felt sore at all...my quads were a different story! I was really sore, but most of it has worked itself out now. I'm going for a massage tomorrow and I can't wait for that!

 

[lisah0711]

Ah, Summer, I am having a hard time getting myself back to reality, too.

My quads have been hurting, too, I figure it was from the different road surfaces vs. the plain old indoor track, which never varies. Or it might be because I cut my zenzahs off in an effort to cool down a bit at the med tent at mile 7.

I have a 10K on 3/3/12 in Phoenix -- anyone else going to be there? Then a local 5 mile race in April and a local half at the end of May. My next Disney race isn't until the Donald in 2013. That seems like a long way away.

Those Coast to Coast medals sure are pretty!

Enjoy your massage tomorrow.