POT (Proof of Time) Race Equivalency Cutoff Confirmed Times

[DopeyBadger]

Since they use POT for the challenge folks doing the 10k, they may as well make it for everyone.

Do you (or anyone else) have evidence that they reverted to this system? I'd like to add it to the OP if that's the case.

There was a period of time somewhere between 2014-2018 where we would submit POT for a Challenge or Dopey, and they would use the POT as a guide to determine 5k/10k placement. We know this because they didn't ask Challenge or Dopey POT runners for any additional 5k/10k pacing information, and the 5k/10k corrals aligned with submitted POT info. It was also the case during this period of time that we would submit estimated pace/finish time for the longer distance races and those estimates would actually supersede the POT information submitted. For instance, you'd have a sub 2hr HM POT, but then put an estimated finish of 2:45 because you planned on doing characters, fun, etc. runDisney then placed you in the 2:45hr corral, not the sub 2 corral based on POT. But they got rid of that superseding estimate input around 2017-2018, and it was around the same time that they introduced the 5k/10k estimate dropdown for Challenge or Dopey runners. After that, the evidence strongly pointed to the 5k/10k estimate was being used for corralling, and not any information from the POT submitted. So that's why I'm curious if you have evidence of the POT information being used for 5k/10k corralling and not the 5k/10k estimated pace that is inputted at registration.

It is true though that over the years, the distribution of runners within the 5k/10k corrals has become more hit or miss by submitted estimates. There was a time when <8 = A, and 8-10 = B and so forth. But as time has passed and more and have figured out the system, there's an abundance of faster estimated times and no additional method of separating those out amongst the 5-6 corrals. So they went back to an older system of just keeping the 5k/10k corrals around the same size (give or take). Given the time and effort needed to verify POTs, I'm not sure runDisney would move to a POT system for the 5k/10k corrals other than maybe a system where Challenge or Dopey runners POT is used only as an advancement above estimate and not a falling-back. Although I'm personally still saying they should move the HM POT to something like 2:45 or 3:15 instead of the current 2:30.

One thing I did find interesting from Wine and Dine was the apparent use of mini-corrals within the staging process and not just solely a ribbon barrier as runners approached the start line. So X number of runners were assigned Corral D. But they physically separated Corral D into mini-waves of 1 through Y if I'm understanding reports correctly. And once mini-wave 1 was full, then they began filling up mini-wave 2, and so forth. I'd imagine it led to less pushing and shoving once the later arriving people came because they were shuffled to Corral D mini-wave Y instead of wiggling their way to the head of Corral D. Sounds like they were using a password system for going to the bathroom for those in a "locked" mini-wave, which I also find interesting. I'd love to hear pros/cons from anyone that experienced that system. Because I see it as a good move. Not moving back to the Corrals A thorough P again because that was like the 5k/10k estimates where too many people put the same thing and it was difficult to further differentiate runners. Lots of emails and runner relations visits from disgruntled pairs/groups that put the same thing and were in different corrals.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Do you (or anyone else) have evidence that they reverted to this system? I'd like to add it to the OP if that's the case.

I definitely still had to put in a 5k and 10k pace for Dopey registration this year (no POT for me.) Is @KCO5988 saying that if you put in a POT, it *didn't* ask for 5k/10k pacing??

 

[accm]

Do you (or anyone else) have evidence that they reverted to this system? I'd like to add it to the OP if that's the case.

There was a period of time somewhere between 2014-2018 where we would submit POT for a Challenge or Dopey, and they would use the POT as a guide to determine 5k/10k placement. We know this because they didn't ask Challenge or Dopey POT runners for any additional 5k/10k pacing information, and the 5k/10k corrals aligned with submitted POT info. It was also the case during this period of time that we would submit estimated pace/finish time for the longer distance races and those estimates would actually supersede the POT information submitted. For instance, you'd have a sub 2hr HM POT, but then put an estimated finish of 2:45 because you planned on doing characters, fun, etc. runDisney then placed you in the 2:45hr corral, not the sub 2 corral based on POT. But they got rid of that superseding estimate input around 2017-2018, and it was around the same time that they introduced the 5k/10k estimate dropdown for Challenge or Dopey runners. After that, the evidence strongly pointed to the 5k/10k estimate was being used for corralling, and not any information from the POT submitted. So that's why I'm curious if you have evidence of the POT information being used for 5k/10k corralling and not the 5k/10k estimated pace that is inputted at registration.

It is true though that over the years, the distribution of runners within the 5k/10k corrals has become more hit or miss by submitted estimates. There was a time when <8 = A, and 8-10 = B and so forth. But as time has passed and more and have figured out the system, there's an abundance of faster estimated times and no additional method of separating those out amongst the 5-6 corrals. So they went back to an older system of just keeping the 5k/10k corrals around the same size (give or take). Given the time and effort needed to verify POTs, I'm not sure runDisney would move to a POT system for the 5k/10k corrals other than maybe a system where Challenge or Dopey runners POT is used only as an advancement above estimate and not a falling-back. Although I'm personally still saying they should move the HM POT to something like 2:45 or 3:15 instead of the current 2:30.

One thing I did find interesting from Wine and Dine was the apparent use of mini-corrals within the staging process and not just solely a ribbon barrier as runners approached the start line. So X number of runners were assigned Corral D. But they physically separated Corral D into mini-waves of 1 through Y if I'm understanding reports correctly. And once mini-wave 1 was full, then they began filling up mini-wave 2, and so forth. I'd imagine it led to less pushing and shoving once the later arriving people came because they were shuffled to Corral D mini-wave Y instead of wiggling their way to the head of Corral D. Sounds like they were using a password system for going to the bathroom for those in a "locked" mini-wave, which I also find interesting. I'd love to hear pros/cons from anyone that experienced that system. Because I see it as a good move. Not moving back to the Corrals A thorough P again because that was like the 5k/10k estimates where too many people put the same thing and it was difficult to further differentiate runners. Lots of emails and runner relations visits from disgruntled pairs/groups that put the same thing and were in different corrals.

I’m only one data point, but I had a 8-10 estimated pace for the 10k, and a 1:28 something 10 miler POT, and was in A for both races. In contrast, I had the same 8-10 pace for the 5k and ended up in C. Everyone only had one corral on their challenge bibs, which to me means they went off the POT.
I wonder if it’s different for Dopey since you get 2 bibs vs just the one

 

[accm]

I definitely still had to put in a 5k and 10k pace for Dopey registration this year (no POT for me.) Is @KCO5988 saying that if you put in a POT, it *didn't* ask for 5k/10k pacing??

Not Dopey, but for Wine and Dine challenge I had to put in a pace for the 10k even with POT

 

[WillRunForPizza]

I can't speak to the current season, but for the Princess challenge I had only one corral on my bib, based on my POT. (They did ask for an estimated pace for the 10K as well, and I (truthfully) put <8mm.)

 

[KCO5988]

Do you (or anyone else) have evidence that they reverted to this system? I'd like to add it to the OP if that's the case.

No, I had seen that mentioned in either one of the other threads here or on another site and assumed it was true, sorry! Wasn't trying to make any false statements!

 

[LilyJC]

Do you (or anyone else) have evidence that they reverted to this system?

DP from the DL Halloween weekend… we submitted PoT 1:55half and were in A for the half. We selected 8-10 pace for the 5K/10K and were in B for the 10K. Can’t remember for the 5k I need to see if I still have my bib

 

[Naomeri]

Do you (or anyone else) have evidence that they reverted to this system? I'd like to add it to the OP if that's the case.

There was a period of time somewhere between 2014-2018 where we would submit POT for a Challenge or Dopey, and they would use the POT as a guide to determine 5k/10k placement. We know this because they didn't ask Challenge or Dopey POT runners for any additional 5k/10k pacing information, and the 5k/10k corrals aligned with submitted POT info. It was also the case during this period of time that we would submit estimated pace/finish time for the longer distance races and those estimates would actually supersede the POT information submitted. For instance, you'd have a sub 2hr HM POT, but then put an estimated finish of 2:45 because you planned on doing characters, fun, etc. runDisney then placed you in the 2:45hr corral, not the sub 2 corral based on POT. But they got rid of that superseding estimate input around 2017-2018, and it was around the same time that they introduced the 5k/10k estimate dropdown for Challenge or Dopey runners. After that, the evidence strongly pointed to the 5k/10k estimate was being used for corralling, and not any information from the POT submitted. So that's why I'm curious if you have evidence of the POT information being used for 5k/10k corralling and not the 5k/10k estimated pace that is inputted at registration.

It is true though that over the years, the distribution of runners within the 5k/10k corrals has become more hit or miss by submitted estimates. There was a time when <8 = A, and 8-10 = B and so forth. But as time has passed and more and have figured out the system, there's an abundance of faster estimated times and no additional method of separating those out amongst the 5-6 corrals. So they went back to an older system of just keeping the 5k/10k corrals around the same size (give or take). Given the time and effort needed to verify POTs, I'm not sure runDisney would move to a POT system for the 5k/10k corrals other than maybe a system where Challenge or Dopey runners POT is used only as an advancement above estimate and not a falling-back. Although I'm personally still saying they should move the HM POT to something like 2:45 or 3:15 instead of the current 2:30.

One thing I did find interesting from Wine and Dine was the apparent use of mini-corrals within the staging process and not just solely a ribbon barrier as runners approached the start line. So X number of runners were assigned Corral D. But they physically separated Corral D into mini-waves of 1 through Y if I'm understanding reports correctly. And once mini-wave 1 was full, then they began filling up mini-wave 2, and so forth. I'd imagine it led to less pushing and shoving once the later arriving people came because they were shuffled to Corral D mini-wave Y instead of wiggling their way to the head of Corral D. Sounds like they were using a password system for going to the bathroom for those in a "locked" mini-wave, which I also find interesting. I'd love to hear pros/cons from anyone that experienced that system. Because I see it as a good move. Not moving back to the Corrals A thorough P again because that was like the 5k/10k estimates where too many people put the same thing and it was difficult to further differentiate runners. Lots of emails and runner relations visits from disgruntled pairs/groups that put the same thing and were in different corrals.

Can't speak to the "corrals-within-the-corrals" system, but I really liked having B just fill in the pre-U-turn start chute. It avoided a lot of that crowded shuffle-walk; and the annoying "funnel everyone through a narrow opening in the corral" piece. On the downside, I couldn't really see any of the screens for the pre-race entertainment, but I'll take the trade-off.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Everyone only had one corral on their challenge bibs, which to me means they went off the POT.

Yea, that's pretty strong evidence that they ignored the estimate and just used the POT for placement. Because otherwise there would have to be two corral listings on a challenge bib for the chance that someone put fast pace for POT and slow pace for 10k. Additionally, it would mean the same for those without POT too. Someone might have put 8-10 10k and 3:00-3:15 HM and would very likely have been slotted by the 3:00-3:15 HM.

I can't speak to the current season, but for the Princess challenge I had only one corral on my bib, based on my POT. (They did ask for an estimated pace for the 10K as well, and I (truthfully) put <8mm.)

Interesting, so potentially not a new change for runDisney WDW.

No, I had seen that mentioned in either one of the other threads here or on another site and assumed it was true, sorry! Wasn't trying to make any false statements!

No worries. Like I said, I just want to update the OP appropriately, and based on what a few others have stated thus far it does look like runDisney made a change from what I've previously recorded.

DP from the DL Halloween weekend… we submitted PoT 1:55half and were in A for the half. We selected 8-10 pace for the 5K/10K and were in B for the 10K. Can’t remember for the 5k I need to see if I still have my bib

That's good to know. Because that shows runDisney DL in its most recent race did have two corrals listed on the challenge bib.

 

[DopeyBadger]

This is what I could put together from images of bibs I could find.

2021 Wine and Dine Challenge - single corral listed (first race post COVID)
2022 Princess Challenge - single corral listed
2022 Springtime Challenge - single corral listed
2022 Wine and Dine Challenge - two corrals listed
2023 Princess Challenge - two corrals listed
2023 Springtime Challenge - single corral listed
2023 Wine and Dine - single corral listed
2024 DL - two corrals listed
2024 Princess - single corral listed
2024 Springtime - single corral listed
2024 DL Halloween - two corrals listed
2024 Wine and Dine - single corral listed

So looks like it's been that way awhile, except for a few exceptions, that the POT is probably superseding the estimate for 5k/10k at registration.

 

[Desdemona924]

This is what I could put together from images of bibs I could find.

2021 Wine and Dine Challenge - single corral listed (first race post COVID)
2022 Princess Challenge - single corral listed
2022 Springtime Challenge - single corral listed
2022 Wine and Dine Challenge - two corrals listed
2023 Princess Challenge - two corrals listed
2023 Springtime Challenge - single corral listed
2023 Wine and Dine - single corral listed
2024 Princess - single corral listed
2024 Springtime - single corral listed
2024 Wine and Dine - single corral listed

So looks like it's been that way awhile, except for a few exceptions, that the POT is probably superseding the estimate for 5k/10k at registration.

If you want to CA to the mix, Disneyland Halloween also had two Corral's on the challenge bibs, as did January 2024.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Hi! I just did a 10k and my official time was 1:07:38 (just short of an 11 minute PR which is crazy). Did I get PoT?? Or just miss it?

 

[RuntheMouse]

Hi! I just did a 10k and my official time was 1:07:38 (just short of an 11 minute PR which is crazy). Did I get PoT?? Or just miss it?

For the half you made it! Under 1:08:01 per the chart Billy made! Congratulations!

 

[kps7795]

I'm curious about the Platinum Club rD corral bump. For Dopey, if they submit a 1:54:00 HM POT would they be placed in Corral B or would they be bumped up to Corral A?

 

[Naomeri]

I'm curious about the Platinum Club rD corral bump. For Dopey, if they submit a 1:54:00 HM POT would they be placed in Corral B or would they be bumped up to Corral A?

CrD just places you in B no matter what**, it doesn't upgrade you to A if you earn B the old fashioned way.

**unless you actually qualify for A, of course

 

[kps7795]

Thank you for this wealth of information!

I've been trying to figure out what I need to run to get myself into the B/C corrals based on my pace. I submitted a 1:01:24 for 2025 Princess Challenge and assume I just missed the cutoff for B by a smidge and will be in Corral C?

Which race are you focusing on in order to get into a higher corral, the half marathon or the full marathon? Assuming that it's the HM, I would focus on getting a 10K POT. I would recommend following a reputable 10K training plan (Jack Daniels has a great one) that will help you get the best time that you can achieve. I did almost exclusively easy runs and one hard workout a week on a track and was able to submit a 54:23 which placed me in Corral A. Looking back, I don't believe that my training was the most effective, but it got me the POT that I wanted.

Regardless, it's possible that others may disagree, but I believe that the shortest race that you can use to qualify will give you the best chance to get into a higher corral. As much as I enjoy a HM, I believe that I perform better with only 6.2 miles instead of 13.1.

 

[jpholic]

Which race are you focusing on in order to get into a higher corral, the half marathon or the full marathon? Assuming that it's the HM, I would focus on getting a 10K POT. I would recommend following a reputable 10K training plan (Jack Daniels has a great one) that will help you get the best time that you can achieve. I did almost exclusively easy runs and one hard workout a week on a track and was able to submit a 54:23 which placed me in Corral A. Looking back, I don't believe that my training was the most effective, but it got me the POT that I wanted.

Regardless, it's possible that others may disagree, but I believe that the shortest race that you can use to qualify will give you the best chance to get into a higher corral. As much as I enjoy a HM, I believe that I perform better with only 6.2 miles instead of 13.1.

The 2025 DL Half is my current goal and then long term is the WDW Marathon/Dopey in 2026. Completed a 10k race that should qualify for Corral B based on the unofficial information thats been shared, finished in a little over 57 mins. Going to keep training and see how much more I can improve my time. I agree, shorter races tend to give the best chance from my experience. Thanks for the Jack Daniel recommendation! I have been training based on what an rD IG account posts for weekly run goals and including some indoor running to supplement.

 

[kps7795]

The 2025 DL Half is my current goal and then long term is the WDW Marathon/Dopey in 2026. Completed a 10k race that should qualify for Corral B based on the unofficial information thats been shared, finished in a little over 57 mins. Going to keep training and see how much more I can improve my time. I agree, shorter races tend to give the best chance from my experience. Thanks for the Jack Daniel recommendation! I have been training based on what an rD IG account posts for weekly run goals and including some indoor running to supplement.

I believe that it was @DopeyBadger's experience with Jack Daniels that initially inspired me to read his book and utilize his training methods. However, for the HM and full marathon I am now a HUGE fan of the Hanson's Marathon Method (and HM). Also, based on Billy's experience with Hanson's. My previous best HM time was 2:08:52 and it went down to 1:52:23 (officially - I'm still a little bitter about my time because the course was accidentally lengthened by at least 1/4 mile). Most importantly, I crashed pretty hard during the first two HMs and had to walk during a portion of each of them and slowed down at the end of both races. In this latest race, I not only had a negative split but I felt strong during the entire race. In fact, my fastest times were at the end when I went 8:23, 8:11 and 7:31 to finish the race.