Questions about Walking the Half Marathon

[EJKorvette]

I just started brisk/fast walking a few months ago to help me lose weight. I would love to have something to motivate me to walk further and faster, such as going up to Disney World to walk in the Half Marathon!

I know I have to be able to keep up a speed of sixteen minutes an hour for the thirteen point one miles, but should train for a speed of fifteen minutes an hour. Right now my fastest time is fifteen point seven miles an hour for two point one miles, so I have a long ways to go. I just got a book about race walking out from the library today so will get a lot of good info from that.

My concern though is that if I take all three and a half hours to do the half marathon, will I miss out on all the Disney extras? Is everything geared to the runners who can finish in much less time? About what percentage of entrants walk the route vice running it? If I am going up to Disney World, I would want to get the full Disney experience. If all the characters and performers leave after two hours, then I might as well just lose more weight until I can comfortably run again and train for that so I don't miss out.

Or am I overthinking this?

 

[verticalchaos]

I'm not sure what you mean by "extras". If you're pushing the 16 minute mile limit, then no, you likely won't be able to stop for pictures with every character (then again, I didn't do that anyway, and I'm a run/walker). But the on-course support should still be available for the prescribed length of time, and they shouldn't run out of medals. Each corral gets its own send-off, so you're not missing anything there. Also bathroom stops will have to be mega-quick if you're toe-ing the line.

The key is to start as far forward in your corral as possible - the 16 minute clock doesn't start until the LAST person in the LAST corral crosses the starting line. Also you'd be surprised what race adrenaline will do.

That said, you don't have to be skinny to run. I know I'm not (started Couch to 5K myself at about 200 pounds - down to 168 through diet and exercise). Take a look at Couch to 5K (just google it) and then "Marathoning for Mortals". The book has a walk/run plan. There's no prescribed tempo for the running, it's what you can do. It's worth a look imho.

 

[cewait]

Generally you will have as much, if not more as a 15-16 minute paced runner (I use runner as it is easier to type but mean walker, runner or any combination) as the first person in the race. However that is not saying that you will see the same characters as the parson an hour in front of you since they do rotate during the race. You should have full race support for the entire distance.

I would suggest trying to get your speed up as you train. Your idea of training at a 15 minute pace is a great one. That will allow time to stop for photos or other things and still be inside the 3.5 hours.

 

[dthogue]

I would also suggest looking into the C25K program if you are at all interested in walking/running. I started the program 9 weeks ago and will "graduate" this week being able to slowly jog 30 minutes. Race walking is great if you can do it and you have plently of time to train - I'm sure you will be fine - just find a good plan to follow and you will be able to reduce your time. Also look into several of the 1/2 training programs that promote run/walk ratios - that might work for you as well. Good Luck!

All the race activities will be there from start to finish - I'm actually hoping that the lines for the characters are shorter later in the race.

 

[stampingoddess]

While I generally finish the Disney halfs in the 3:00-3:10 range (I like to stop for lots of pictures) there have been years when I was much closer to the 3:30 finish time. In my experience there is no real difference in the "extras" The characters will still out along the course and at the finish. In fact, I get the same "extras" that my hubby gets and he finishes closer to 1:30.

As someone else pointed out, the biggest "advantage" to getting faster is that you have more time/cusion to stop and take pictures along the way, which IMHO is the "real" reason to run or walk a race at Disney.

 

[johde]

I've never done Disney, but I understand where your fear is comming from. I've completed local 2 half marathons. My first one in Cleveland,OH I finished in 3:28. The time limit was 3:45 so I was in no risk of being swepted. The water stops during the race were fully stocked. No troubles with running out of cups. The GU was down to a couple of flavors but they still had plenty. But, over half of the on course entertainment had packed up and gone by the time I got there. My second one was Columbus, OH, and everything went perfectly. All the bands were out, they actually had a schedule of which band were going to be during what miles and the times they were going to play. And the times listed matched that course time limit well.

Disney is very much a walker heavy race. So as you've read above there should be no problem with characters packing up and going home. They are paid performers where in most races they are volunteers.

If you finish at a 15:00 pace you would have finished in 18,912th place out of a field of 21,974 finisher in this years WDW half. That's over 3,000 moderately paced walkers and slow runners.

I would second looking at Marathoning for Mortals walk/run plan if your worried about your time. I used the walking plan for my first half and the walk/run for my second half and went from the 3:28 to 3:07. I ended up doing a walk 2/run 1 instead of the walk 3/ run 2 recommended because I was faster with the shorter run and shorter walk. I'm doing Disneyland this September and feel I fast enough to not worry about getting swept and be able to take pictures if I want.

 

[verticalchaos]

I would second looking at Marathoning for Mortals walk/run plan if your worried about your time. I used the walking plan for my first half and the walk/run for my second half and went from the 3:28 to 3:07. I ended up doing a walk 2/run 1 instead of the walk 3/ run 2 recommended because I was faster with the shorter run and shorter walk. I'm doing Disneyland this September and feel I fast enough to not worry about getting swept and be able to take pictures if I want.

Definitely! You can most certainly alter the time intervals for what feels right for you. I use the run/walk plan, and it technically calls for a 4:1 ratio. I did the Disney Half with that, but it really hasn't felt super comfy for me since then. I've settled lately into a 3:30 to 1:30 run to walk and it feels good. I took 6 minutes off my 5K PR with this ratio a couple of weeks ago and plan to use it in the NYC Half on Sunday! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[cewait]

I've never done Disney, but I understand where your fear is comming from. I've completed local 2 half marathons. My first one in Cleveland,OH I finished in 3:28. The time limit was 3:45 so I was in no risk of being swepted. The water stops during the race were fully stocked. No troubles with running out of cups. The GU was down to a couple of flavors but they still had plenty. But, over half of the on course entertainment had packed up and gone by the time I got there. My second one was Columbus, OH, and everything went perfectly. All the bands were out, they actually had a schedule of which band were going to be during what miles and the times they were going to play. And the times listed matched that course time limit well.

Disney is very much a walker heavy race. So as you've read above there should be no problem with characters packing up and going home. They are paid performers where in most races they are volunteers.

If you finish at a 15:00 pace you would have finished in 18,912th place out of a field of 21,974 finisher in this years WDW half. That's over 3,000 moderately paced walkers and slow runners.

I would second looking at Marathoning for Mortals walk/run plan if your worried about your time. I used the walking plan for my first half and the walk/run for my second half and went from the 3:28 to 3:07. I ended up doing a walk 2/run 1 instead of the walk 3/ run 2 recommended because I was faster with the shorter run and shorter walk. I'm doing Disneyland this September and feel I fast enough to not worry about getting swept and be able to take pictures if I want.

Definitely! You can most certainly alter the time intervals for what feels right for you. I use the run/walk plan, and it technically calls for a 4:1 ratio. I did the Disney Half with that, but it really hasn't felt super comfy for me since then. I've settled lately into a 3:30 to 1:30 run to walk and it feels good. I took 6 minutes off my 5K PR with this ratio a couple of weeks ago and plan to use it in the NYC Half on Sunday! I'll let you know how it goes.

You should not feel locked into a particular run/walk ratio.... I ran a mile with Jeff at the Wine and Dine and we was talking about how he had changed up his ratio during the race to accommodate a bad day. He was running 0:30/0:30. I could not stick with him for long as his ratio was way different from what I was running.

 

[verticalchaos]

You should not feel locked into a particular run/walk ratio.... I ran a mile with Jeff at the Wine and Dine and we was talking about how he had changed up his ratio during the race to accommodate a bad day. He was running 0:30/0:30. I could not stick with him for long as his ratio was way different from what I was running.

Oh I don't feel locked in, even with my Garmin set to intervals. If I feel that I need to walk during a run interval, I will do so. With my 3:30 to 1:30 if I feel I CAN run an additional 30 seconds I do so.

 

[johde]

One think I wish wish was different about the Garmin was the ability to change things on the fly. The watch is somewhat rigidly stuck into a certain walk/run ratio. Even with that, I didn't stay locked into a specific ratio during the race even though I stayed pretty close. I would end a run cycle early to walk through the water stops. There were also times I took an extra long walk break, especially on the uphill sections. It's easy to end a cycle early on the Garmin by pressing the lap key.

 

[Embroidery Grandma]

EJKorvette - I only walked the 1/2 marathon this year. I completed it in 3:31:25. I might have made it under 3:30 but on the last "hill" my heart beat was up to 178 and I backed down.
I do not feel I missed out on anything. I did see the characters but did not stop for pictures since I do not do that anyway. Plenty of water at the stops but I did carry my own water, my husband did drink their water. Many people finished after me and still medaled.
I am going to do DL and get a C2C medal. I am working on increasing my speed slowly but am not concerned about it.
You will do fine and just keep putting the miles in.

Kathy

 

[HockeyKat]

I just started brisk/fast walking a few months ago to help me lose weight. I would love to have something to motivate me to walk further and faster, such as going up to Disney World to walk in the Half Marathon!

I know I have to be able to keep up a speed of sixteen minutes an hour for the thirteen point one miles, but should train for a speed of fifteen minutes an hour. Right now my fastest time is fifteen point seven miles an hour for two point one miles, so I have a long ways to go. I just got a book about race walking out from the library today so will get a lot of good info from that.

My concern though is that if I take all three and a half hours to do the half marathon, will I miss out on all the Disney extras? Is everything geared to the runners who can finish in much less time? About what percentage of entrants walk the route vice running it? If I am going up to Disney World, I would want to get the full Disney experience. If all the characters and performers leave after two hours, then I might as well just lose more weight until I can comfortably run again and train for that so I don't miss out.

Or am I overthinking this?

Disney races are very supported, down to the last person.

I did the Princess this year in 3:33 and walked most of it due to injury rehab. A friend of mine finished in 3:50 and we were still around the medic tent at her finish time.

There were plenty of medals, we didn't see any stocking issues at all at the water stops and fuel stations, and we stopped to take pictures with at least 3-4 characters.

By the time we picked up our friend, met with the rest of our group (we were 8 total), and made our way over to the food tents (still plenty left), the thing I noticed is that all we missed out on were a lot of the LINES!

We easily got into the massage tent, and bag check had no lines at all, and transportation out of the parking lot was a breeze!


I would check out the Galloway program. I am a run/walker as well and adding in a few run intervals here and there can really up your speed without the risk of injury. Plus, you change up which muscles you are using with "run breaks", and can actually wind up with less fatigue than walking the whole thing.

I started with a run 1 minute, walk 10 minute interval and worked it up until I could do shorter walk intervals and join the official Galloway training program in my area, but you can customize it to what works best for you. You are doing great so far!!

 

[sap1227]

With my 3:30 to 1:30 if I feel I CAN run an additional 30 seconds I do so.

I LOVE this idea! Thank you so much! I will be trying this on my next run!