Rteetz - Race canceled?

[Madonna3]

http://rodale-usa.instantmagazine.com/rundisney/dwmar17/

Their FB page is saying canceled.

 

[rteetz]

Yep. There are signs at the resorts saying it is cancelled...

 

[Madonna3]

Yep. There are signs at the resorts saying it is cancelled...

So sorry

 

[rteetz]

So sorry

Not much you can do. It's for our safety. It just sucks being a challenge runner and it being the 20th anniversary of the half.

 

[Ariel484]

Email we got from runDisney:

In an abundance of caution, the Walt Disney World Resort has cancelled all running events on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017 due to weather conditions. This includes the Walt Disney World Half Marathon and the Disney Kids Races. In addition, the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo will delay opening until 11 a.m. While we share our Guests’ obvious disappointment, the safety of our Guests and Cast is most important. Weather tracking has indicated there is an elevated risk of lightning in the area of the racecourse. In addition, there are sections of the course that do not provide immediate access to shelter. Both of these factors have influenced this difficult decision.



All registered half marathon runners will receive their half marathon medal and may choose from one of the following options:

1. A full refund for their race registration in the form of a Disney gift card.
2. Two One-Day Park Hopper tickets.
3. Defer registration to another runDisney half marathon race in the U.S. within the next 24 months, subject to availability.
4. We can offer limited availability to run the full marathon on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017 during the regularly scheduled race.

All registered runDisney Kids Race runners will receive their Kids Race medal and a full race registration in the form of a Disney gift card.



Details on the fulfillment of the above options will be communicated by 10 p.m. this evening.

 

[Ariel484]

This couldn't have been an easy decision for them to make...but we all have been watching the weather for days and knew it was a possiblty. Still shocking that it is canceled.

I feel most sorry for those who aren't running any of the other races, or those who signed up for this as their first half. But I am impressed that runDisney is compensating us - when we register we acknowledge that a race can be postponed or canceled with no refunds. This is above and beyond, in my opinion.

 

[rteetz]

This couldn't have been an easy decision for them to make...but we all have been watching the weather for days and knew it was a possiblty. Still shocking that it is canceled.

I feel most sorry for those who aren't running any of the other races, or those who signed up for this as their first half. But I am impressed that runDisney is compensating us - when we register we acknowledge that a race can be postponed or canceled with no refunds. This is above and beyond, in my opinion.

Agreed.

 

[memo10]

Any thoughts that it could be a security related cancellation?

 

[rteetz]

Any thoughts that it could be a security related cancellation?

Nope purely weather. Storms incoming. It's for our safety. The Epcot parking lot doesn't have any cover.

 

[Accident]

That kind of sucks news is basically saying the storm will hit overnight and then shift south of the event.. but they are also saying a lot of lightning with it so that's probably hte caution side because it would be raining during setup. I would have cancled it too.

Where we all drowning our sorrows?

 

[rteetz]

That kind of sucks news is basically saying the storm will hit overnight and then shift south of the event.. but they are also saying a lot of lightning with it so that's probably hte caution side because it would be raining during setup. I would have cancled it too.

Where we all drowning our sorrows?

Mickey bar and Arnold palmer on my hotel room balcony.

This is a first for them cancelling a race like this.

 

[Accident]

This is a first for them cancelling a race like this.

The weathers been perfect for it for months except tomorrow.. odd how that happens. How does something like this effect the dopey challenge? You cant do every race now on 2 coasts. did they add paris to the challenge or is that just the first of teh marathons there and not part of anything extra yet.

 

[rteetz]

The weathers been perfect for it for months except tomorrow.. odd how that happens. How does something like this effect the dopey challenge? You cant do every race now on 2 coasts. did they add paris to the challenge or is that just the first of teh marathons there and not part of anything extra yet.

We still get challenge medals because we paid for it. They did add a challenge to Paris but we can't use his deferral for that since it's run differently.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Nope purely weather. Storms incoming. It's for our safety. The Epcot parking lot doesn't have any cover.

And as DH noted, imagine getting all those runners into their corrals, then the lightning and thunder arrives, and so suddenly you need to get all those thousands of runners back to their resorts.

 

[rteetz]

And as DH noted, imagine getting all those runners into their corrals, then the lightning and thunder arrives, and so suddenly you need to get all those thousands of runners back to their resorts.

They'd have to put us inside Epcot. There is no way they could get us all back to resorts in a timely manner.

 

[rteetz]

Someone posted a photo of the weather map that had the bad stuff staying to the north. It still probably the right call for safety but if it's just rain here tomorrow that will not make people happy.

 

[jdub coasterfan]

Sorry to hear, i know how disappointing it can be in these situations. At least it sounds like they're doing the right thing in this case.

 

[LSLS]

Said it in the run thread, but this is the right call, and at a time where Disney earns a lot of negative feedback, they deserve a ton of praise for how they have treated this situation.

 

[wilkeliza]

And as DH noted, imagine getting all those runners into their corrals, then the lightning and thunder arrives, and so suddenly you need to get all those thousands of runners back to their resorts.

If it is anything like Wine and Dine 2015 moving people in and out of corrals sucks. At the staging area for WDW Half it would be to Epcot and there just isn't enough indoor space ther that could be quickly opened and would not include stuff that needed to be secure.

 

[rteetz]

Said it in the run thread, but this is the right call, and at a time where Disney earns a lot of negative feedback, they deserve a ton of praise for how they have treated this situation.

I agree but I was surprised they cancelled as early as they did. I thought they would late as long as possible.