The Running Thread - 2018

[Baloo in MI]

I think it may have been March the last time I posted to the tread. I do hope everyone is doing well and out there running. I have sustained an injury and now at just about 6 weeks of not running. In two weeks I get the boot off and an evaluation; I could end up with the darn thing for an additional 4 weeks. All this due to an ankle twist in deep snow... So today I finally accepted that I need to shift all my summer goals. @LSUlakes can you remove the following races for me:

Baloo in MI - Fifth Third River Bank Run (25K) - May 12
Baloo in MI - DX-A2 Half - June 3
Baloo in MI - Canal Corridor 100 - July 7

I am still hoping to tackle the Woodstock 100 in September, but need to actually start running some time soon! Here is to good news in two weeks. I do hope everyone is doing well and I will try to catch up at some point soon.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I specifically thought of you during that discussion @LSUlakes and remembered you sharing your great experience. I’m sorry I didn’t speak up for you then!

 

[Miranda]

I don't have any problem with Boston charity runners. I have known several people IRL who have done the race for charity. They raised a lot of money for good causes.

 

[dis_or_dat]

April totals:
miles: 102
pace: 8:34

finally getting to run a little more and feels awesome!

May:
would love to up my mileage a bit and maybe even try some track stuff

@LSUlakes - I've been off the forums lately, but I'm sure I speak for many people when I say that I appreciate charity runners. I know that the vast majority very much care about the charity they're running for and would never begrudge them for that.

 

[Waiting2goback]

I am caught up... well enough to get the short version of conversation and race times and upcoming races.

First I would like to thank yall for keeping things going. I realize that this thread and each addition of it has now probably become large enough to where it could really go on a while without much input from myself lol. Thanks for participating everyone!



I had recently listened to the recording on YouTube, so I am guilty of stealing the idea.

3rd ish... I think I have everyones races and finish times. I will work on updating the list tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.

Last thing I would like to discuss is from nearly two weeks ago in the thread. Charity runners at Boston. I am aware there is a segment of people who feel this should not be allowed for various reasons. I'll say it here, that I ran for charity at Boston. I was to poor to write a check for the amount required, so I went out in my community and raised the funds. That aside, the race would not be the race it is without it's charity partners. They are given bibs for people to raise money for their cause, but in return they work the butts off. Every water station is run by a charity, and they have plenty of them. They do all the free work that keep race cost somewhat down. This is why Boston and other races have charity groups involved, they provide labor, and in return receive donations by the bibs they distribute. A marathon that cost $200 dollars today would probably need to increase that entry fee without the charity groups 2-3 times more to cover hiring temp workers to work 1 day a year. Bash them if you want, but without them races would be very different. There are people that are just buying their way in and writing personal check, but they also have others that are truly touched by the cause they are running for and this is how they can contribute.

Honestly, for me, I think the charity route is more work for most people. I can't write a $5000 check and I really WANT to run for charity. I have mentioned it before but I would run for Boston Children's Hospital to give back for all they have done for my son and the other kids. My son has 5 specialists at Children's for various issues. I was actually thinking of ways to tackle the challenge of raising the money again. I would LOVE to start a gofundme (if that is even a thing anymore) page to raise money for Boston and give anything over $5000 needed for the raise to Give Kids the World.

Yes, there will be people that just buy their way in, just as there are people who cut courses to qualify or that get swept at Disney races just for the medals. But I know if decide to do this, and can raise the money, that I will stand at the start, and probably finish lines, crying my eyes out because I was able to give back, and because I made my dream of running Boston a reality. I first set that goal as an overweight couch potato about ten years ago, never really believing I could do it.

 

[Waiting2goback]

In line with what I just said, one day I woke up and decided to change my life!

 

[Jules76126]

I totally understand people who would not want to run Boston on a charity bib and would like to qualify on time as it would be a personal achievement. And I can say that if I ever (highly doubtful) ran Boston, I would probably fall into that group. However, the charities are a huge part of the race. I know people who have run on charity bibs, on time, people who volunteered as EMTs, at water stops, etc. It is part of what makes Boston so special. For 2018, $35 million was raised by the 34 charities that participated. I am also biased being from the area as well as a lot of the money goes to local places. Plus it's actually really hard to get a charity bib. They are quite competitive.

So anyone who runs Boston is winner in my book. Just the other night DH said if we ever run a marathon he wants it to be London (I also threw Disney in there haha). He is like Boston is just brutal, so major props to all who complete it.

 

[BikeFan]

I remember the Boston/charity bib thing when it first came up, and I wasn't going to comment, but . . .

I totally understand people who would not want to run Boston on a charity bib and would like to qualify on time as it would be a personal achievement. And I can say that if I ever (highly doubtful) ran Boston, I would probably fall into that group. However, the charities are a huge part of the race. I know people who have run on charity bibs, on time, people who volunteered as EMTs, at water stops, etc. It is part of what makes Boston so special. For 2018, $35 million was raised by the 34 charities that participated. I am also biased being from the area as well as a lot of the money goes to local places. Plus it's actually really hard to get a charity bib. They are quite competitive.

So anyone who runs Boston is winner in my book. Just the other night DH said if we ever run a marathon he wants it to be London (I also threw Disney in there haha). He is like Boston is just brutal, so major props to all who complete it.

I agree with this. I respect people who vow to run Boston only as a qualifier, or not at all. It's a huge personal achievement, and I wish the best to anyone who sets that as a goal. That being said, the charity bibs at Boston don't bother me at all either, for the reasons above. It's not a huge number of the entrants, it's for a bunch of great causes, and it brings in a lot more community support for the race. Even if someone gets into Boston on a charity entry, they still have to run the 26.2 miles, which is no easy task. Anyone who completes the distance has my respect. Now course cutters and other sorts of cheaters, well, that's a whole different story . . .

 

[LSUlakes]

QOTD: Since Disney is changing the way they do registration with delaying opening it up for marathon weekend I believe for security reasons maybe... If it was up to you, what other things would you change if you could?

ATTQOTD: With the lack of racing I have done since late 2016 and POT being such a big part of the registration process, I would like to change the time frame in which we can submit a race time. With the race in January, the current system requires you to provide a race a long ways back, but the October deadline is what gets me. If they could push that date back to mid to late November, it would help a lot of folks with fall races to improve their POT while training. I do not think it should take 3 months to place people into corrals and then not reveal that info until a week or so before the race. In a perfect world we would be able to submit a POT until November 30.

 

[FFigawi]

QOTD: Since Disney is changing the way they do registration with delaying opening it up for marathon weekend I believe for security reasons maybe... If it was up to you, what other things would you change if you could?

I'd move the PoT deadline back a month to accommodate Chicago, Marine Corps, and New York, and eliminate the ability to change corrals at the expo.

 

[camaker]

QOTD: Since Disney is changing the way they do registration with delaying opening it up for marathon weekend I believe for security reasons maybe... If it was up to you, what other things would you change if you could?

I would change a couple of things. I would revamp the way PoT gets entered. Keep the first tier of radio button selections where people enter their estimated finish time and just have one radio button that says "<2:45, proof of time required". Selecting that would open up another panel requiring that you enter the distance of your PoT race, your finish time, and its URL. Then have the runDisney algorithm calculate and display its proprietary estimated finish for you. It would eliminate a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth about corral placement under the current system by ensuring that everyone is using the same pace adjustment estimator and is seeing their estimated time right there in front of them during registration. I can't believe that would be a difficult add at all. You can even keep an option of adding the PoT later, too. I would also remove the corral change abilities from the expo, except in the case of clear errors on RunDisney's part where the calculated finish time shown at registration didn't match the corral placement.

 

[rteetz]

QOTD: Since Disney is changing the way they do registration with delaying opening it up for marathon weekend I believe for security reasons maybe... If it was up to you, what other things would you change if you could?

I don’t believe it’s security reasons so much if they do indeed go with their own registration site. They likely want to stop paying Active and the money potential with Active fees.

Only major change I would have is more entertainment or more unique entertainment. As a repeat runner much of the entertainment is the same from year to year.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

QOTD: Since Disney is changing the way they do registration with delaying opening it up for marathon weekend I believe for security reasons maybe... If it was up to you, what other things would you change if you could?

I want them to release a POT calculator... (see the Marathon 2019 thread from April for more of my thoughts on this )
I also agree with @LSUlakes about widening the POT deadline window- there are so many fall races that don't meet this deadline and it seems that these are the races that would best show current fitness level.

 

[apdebord]

ATTQOTD: While I completely understand the POT deadlines and that there's just so many registrants to go through, I also wish the window was widened to accommodate more fall races. I think I have a decent shot at a PR at Richmond Half, but it's a little over a month after the deadline. The good news is that I had 1 October stuck in my head for the deadline instead of the 9th, and I have a half on a flat course on the 7th. Providing it's not 90 degrees and 8000% humidity with full sun like it was in 2017, I'll make it my A race for the fall and go for a PR.

 

[Waiting2goback]

I remember the Boston/charity bib thing when it first came up, and I wasn't going to comment, but . . .



I agree with this. I respect people who vow to run Boston only as a qualifier, or not at all. It's a huge personal achievement, and I wish the best to anyone who sets that as a goal. That being said, the charity bibs at Boston don't bother me at all either, for the reasons above. It's not a huge number of the entrants, it's for a bunch of great causes, and it brings in a lot more community support for the race. Even if someone gets into Boston on a charity entry, they still have to run the 26.2 miles, which is no easy task. Anyone who completes the distance has my respect. Now course cutters and other sorts of cheaters, well, that's a whole different story . . .

My son was a patient partner for Children's Miles for Miracles team one year. We spent a lot of time with his assigned "running partner" that year trying to help him raise money. If you run for a charity, it isn't as easy as buying the spot with the money. At least for Children's Hospital's team you need to submit and application and he had to go through a 3 step interview process to prove he was even capable of running the race. Now, I am not worried about the interview part. Explaining I am running for my son, and having run 3 fulls already I am confident I could get through that part.

QOTD: Since Disney is changing the way they do registration with delaying opening it up for marathon weekend I believe for security reasons maybe... If it was up to you, what other things would you change if you could?

ATTQOTD: With the lack of racing I have done since late 2016 and POT being such a big part of the registration process, I would like to change the time frame in which we can submit a race time. With the race in January, the current system requires you to provide a race a long ways back, but the October deadline is what gets me. If they could push that date back to mid to late November, it would help a lot of folks with fall races to improve their POT while training. I do not think it should take 3 months to place people into corrals and then not reveal that info until a week or so before the race. In a perfect world we would be able to submit a POT until November 30.

I am disappointed with the overall quality of the races and the value. I was very disappointed with what they did for the 25th anniversary. I expected more. 5th year of Dopey and 25th of the full and all we got was a Mickey ears and a picture of the medal at mile 25, really? Having said that, I don't see them changing any of it with all the cost cutting in the parks in general. Oh well, I have looked at future races and all of them fall on weekends I will have my kids for the next few years so I may not be back for a while anyway.

 

[Bree]

QOTD: I'd like to see POT cutoff fall closer to the race date. It would also be nice to have some better way for calculating estimated finish times if you aren't submitting a POT for the same distance as the race you are registering for (like 10K--->Half or Half--->Marathon).

 

[Barca33Runner]

ATTQOTD:

In line with many of the other thoughts here, I think there is something being lost the last few years with rD races and the parks and it's a philosophy from the top down. Streamlined, synergized, cookie cutter, economically efficient, etc., etc., etc. is the way I see so many things at an rD Weekend and in the parks.

Look, I'm not going to get into the "What would Walt do?" "Walt would be rolling in his grave" semantics. The one thing I feel safe saying is that he was both a businessman and a dreamer. Maybe one more than the other (and arguments could probably be made on each side); but certainly he was both things. The last few years have left me feeling that the corporation at large has lost way too much of the dreamer.

I realize Disney is a corporation and it's departments are all part of that larger whole, but I would hope that moving forward rD can look for the things that make it's weekends special. Bring back some differentiation and throw in some surprises every weekend that will help bring more of the magic that got so many of us hooked in the first place. I realize that I'll probably never match the experience of my first race weekend, my first marathon, my first Dopey; but I think it should be a challenge that rD relishes to find new ways to accentuate the experience rather than settling on the same (or more to the reality: feels the same, but cheaper).

 

[Miranda]

Well, I guess it's suddenly summer here in NH! Just like 2 days ago it was still 35 at night... now today it is currently 82-83 and only 11:30 am. I am not ready to run in this!

 

[michigandergirl]

ATTQOTD: I've not had any POT issues, so for me it's COST. It would be nice if they offered discounted rooms or park tickets to runners.

 

[PrincessV]

QOTD: Since Disney is changing the way they do registration with delaying opening it up for marathon weekend I believe for security reasons maybe... If it was up to you, what other things would you change if you could?

ATTQOTD: I have a few...

1. BRING BACK THE ONLINE POT CALCULATOR SO WE KNOW WHAT THE HECK rD IS DOING WITH OUR TIMES!!!
2. Bring back requiring PoT for estimated finish times of 3:00 or faster for the halfs, and whatever the old equivalent was for the full. As a 2:45 halfer, I can attest that there's a chasm of difference between my pace and that of the 3:00 halfer and we should not all just be lumped together in one enormous corral. (And FTR, I felt the same way when I was a 3:00 halfer, and as a 3:30 halfer!)
3. Chocolate milk at the finish!