Qualify Time

[camaker]

Not to high jack the thread but, @camaker do you know anything about the Battleship half in Wilmington? My DH's brother and wife live in Wilmington and we're thinking about using this as an excuse to visit with them while still maintaining our training for Dopey. Any thoughts or information would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I will be running Battleship for the first time myself this year. I'll also be using it more as a supported training run for Dopey rather than as a full on race. Almost all the feedback I've gotten on the race has been positive. Great starting and ending point. We'll run. Scenic course through historic downtown Wilmington. The only negative I've heard about it is that the on course spectator support is not the best. If you need a hotel while you're there, a water taxi runs from the Hilton Riverside to the starting line and they still have race rate rooms available. It's my wife's favorite hotel in Wilmington.

 

[drummerwife]

I will be running Battleship for the first time myself this year. I'll also be using it more as a supported training run for Dopey rather than as a full on race. Almost all the feedback I've gotten on the race has been positive. Great starting and ending point. We'll run. Scenic course through historic downtown Wilmington. The only negative I've heard about it is that the on course spectator support is not the best. If you need a hotel while you're there, a water taxi runs from the Hilton Riverside to the starting line and they still have race rate rooms available. It's my wife's favorite hotel in Wilmington.

Thanks for the info! Yes, we'll need a hotel as his brothers house is bursting at the seams since his kids and grandkids decided to move back in.

 

[fredflintstone]

I have not run the race there. I was just talking to reps from the race at the RocknRoll Raleigh Expo this weekend, though. Seems like a nicely organized race, though. I have spent quite a bit of time in that area, though. Swansboro is a quaint little coastal town right next to Jacksonville and Emerald Isle has some nice beaches just a short drive away. Definitely a nice location for a race and relaxing weekend around it.

Good to hear nice things about the area! We have never been through the area so we are pretty excited to visit somewhere new! You definitely made me feel better about the half now!

 

[TeeKo]

After a hiatus from running, I am gonna sign up for the princess half. It takes me about 2:25 to run a half BUT the only chip timed race I did within acceptable date range was 2016 princess half and I just looked up my time....2:45:52
YIKES!!! Curse the photo stops lol
So...obviously not below 2:45. But I didn't go over 2:46
Is this gonna count? I don't care about a great corral placement. Just don't want to be in the last one! I'm thinking I just need to suck it up and do a race before November but any thoughts?

 

[RENThead09]

After a hiatus from running, I am gonna sign up for the princess half. It takes me about 2:25 to run a half BUT the only chip timed race I did within acceptable date range was 2016 princess half and I just looked up my time....2:45:52
YIKES!!! Curse the photo stops lol
So...obviously not below 2:45. But I didn't go over 2:46
Is this gonna count? I don't care about a great corral placement. Just don't want to be in the last one! I'm thinking I just need to suck it up and do a race before November but any thoughts?

and remember it just needs to be a 10K for the princess, not a full half for corral placement.

 

[roxymama]

I was going to say what @RENThead09 posted.
Find a 10k (or 15k or 10 miler) time to race or that you'd already done in last 2 years and use the macmillan calculator online to see if it translates to less than 2:45. I'm thinking that will be easier than worrying about the 2:45 cut off. That's what I did for my first half coming up and hopeful it works out well.

 

[sidrich]

After a hiatus from running, I am gonna sign up for the princess half. It takes me about 2:25 to run a half BUT the only chip timed race I did within acceptable date range was 2016 princess half and I just looked up my time....2:45:52
YIKES!!! Curse the photo stops lol
So...obviously not below 2:45. But I didn't go over 2:46
Is this gonna count? I don't care about a great corral placement. Just don't want to be in the last one! I'm thinking I just need to suck it up and do a race before November but any thoughts?

You don't need to submit a half- you can run a 10K- and for Princess's November cutoff that gives you a bunch of fall races to chose from.

On the whole "official" course and "chip time" distinctions- it never says that you have to run a certified course- unless that was a new change. Your results just have to be verifiable - so posted with the Race and your name and time and distance and a working link. I ran a local Ronald McDonald House 10K- it's a funny story actually - but the officials used an app on their phones to get our times. There used to be races without chips once upon a time. (It helps of course when there are only 20 runners and half of them are doing the 5k.) Sure it's not pinpoint precision- but I don't think Disney cares about that couple of seconds or whether your time is eligible to set a USATF record as much as- yes someone has publicly said you did this distance in about this time- this isn't Boston after all. Time got me into corall F which was a very comfortable placement for me.

But one of the girls in our group said she would finish in under 3:15 (or whatever the time requirement cutoff was that year) then got rained out of her qualifying race and never submitted a time. But she wasn't placed in the back! She was in L-several corrals ahead of our power walking group mom who put an estimated finish time of over 3:30. So I don't think your princess time would necessarily relegate you to the back.

 

[camaker]

You don't need to submit a half- you can run a 10K- and for Princess's November cutoff that gives you a bunch of fall races to chose from.

On the whole "official" course and "chip time" distinctions- it never says that you have to run a certified course- unless that was a new change. Your results just have to be verifiable - so posted with the Race and your name and time and distance and a working link. I ran a local Ronald McDonald House 10K- it's a funny story actually - but the officials used an app on their phones to get our times. There used to be races without chips once upon a time. (It helps of course when there are only 20 runners and half of them are doing the 5k.) Sure it's not pinpoint precision- but I don't think Disney cares about that couple of seconds or whether your time is eligible to set a USATF record as much as- yes someone has publicly said you did this distance in about this time- this isn't Boston after all. Time got me into corall F which was a very comfortable placement for me.

But one of the girls in our group said she would finish in under 3:15 (or whatever the time requirement cutoff was that year) then got rained out of her qualifying race and never submitted a time. But she wasn't placed in the back! She was in L-several corrals ahead of our power walking group mom who put an estimated finish time of over 3:30. So I don't think your princess time would necessarily relegate you to the back.

The current PoT verbiage from the rD website is that proof must come from an officially timed race. The "official course" and "chip time" expectations are from previous language where rD specified that proof had to come from a USATF certified course and, if I remember correctly, also said something about chip times. They appear to have relaxed the requirements somewhat in recent years, maybe due to people having a hard time finding convenient USATF course races. Regardless, if at all possible, I'd still suggest running a chip timed USATF course for PoT, as it eliminates pretty much all concern as to whether rD will accept it.

 

[baxter24]

@drummerwife, I ran the Battleship half a few years ago and enjoyed it! You run over three bridges (two the first two miles and the third at mile 12) but the rest is pretty flat. There are a ton of hotels downtown that you can stay at and you can ride a shuttle or a water taxi over to the start.