Thoughts on Disneyland's Half Marathon

[ScooterL]

Well, the Inaugural Disneyland Half Marathon is now over...what did you all think?

We enjoyed the race - as much as you can enjoy running 13.1 miles, that is. It seemed to be pretty well-organized, and for the most part things went off without a hitch as far as I could tell.

I was a little disappointed that the majority of the character interaction took place so early in the race - between mile 2-1/4 and 3-1/2, essentially. Once we got out into Anaheim the "magic" got pretty scarce. Though there were a number of high school bands, dance teams, and cheerleaders out, and they all did a great job of cheering and helping to keep us going. But nothing really "Disneyish". Even once we got back into DCA ~mile 12.5 we only saw two sets of characters.

There were plenty of well-staffed water stations, and it looked like the first-aid stations were well-staffed as well, but fortunately we didn't have to check that out.

Running on the field at Angel Stadium was fun - we ran in through the right field tunnel and ran around the field on the dirt out to the left field tunnel. They had a camera set up as we rounded home plate and we could see ourselves on the big scoreboard in center field.

LOVE the medal!!! It's shaped like the castle, and it's quite large and heavy.

I've done both the WDW Marathon and Half Marathon, so I couldn't help comparing those with this race...but really, the main thing that was different was that WDW uses these really nice big signs for their mile markers, while Disneyland used some helium balloon pillars (and in a couple of places there weren't even any pillars, just a sign and the time clock) - I'm guessing that had a lot to do with most of the race NOT being on Disney property.

There didn't seem to be as many runners in costume as we have seen at WDW, though I did see a woman running in a Snow White costume - complete with ankle-length skirt (that must have been a challenge to run in) and she was carrying an apple! There was a guy dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow - complete with hat and hair and shirt and pants, and he had some "gaiters" on his running shoes to make them look like boots. A fair number of people were wearing golden Mickey ears or pirate bandanas. There weren't too many people with cameras, either, though I took lots of photos. We never had more than one or two people ahead of us when we got our photo taken with a character, and usually we just ran up without having to wait.

There weren't as many vendors/exhibitors at the Expo, either. We weren't able to check in until Saturday afternoon, but were pleasantly surprised that there weren't any lines, and neither the exhibit floor nor the merchandise area were very crowded.

Overall I'd have to say that we had a good time, and a good race - we finished in 2:21:11.

 

[sammatt]

This was my first half-marathon, and I had a great time! I lOVED the character interaction in the 2 parks, but was bummed that the magic disappeared there. I enjoyed the bands, cheerleaders, etc., but could have used a little more pixie dust during those long middle miles. The medal is AWESOME! I'm so proud to have one.
My husband did the 5K and had a blast! My daughter and I are going to do it next year. this year's theme was Pirates...from the decos, tp the medals, to the music and characters in costume. They all looked so great! two thumbs up!

 

[llachance]

My daughter and I were there as well. The fact that you had a 2:21 finish meant that you missed a lot of the costumed folks that were back in the 3:00 finish time....probably not as WDW and I finished the Inaugural Goofy Challenge this year so I have been there as well! (First WDW marathon was two years previously).

Character interaction at WDW was better - but there was more room. A lot of the race at WDW is run outside of the parks too. The difference is you are still within Walt Disney World so they are better able to control things. When the race is on city streets you have their rules to adhere to. I think the high school bands did an awesome job. Loved the Mariachis, the Polynesian Dancers too! Loved the run through the Angels stadium although I am an Oakland fan....saw my daughter on the jumbotron (she was ahead of me). I think if you look at the percentages you don't spend any less time in the parks at Disneyland vs Walt Disney World and that's ok. I looked at the race route and let my daughter (her first 1/2) know where things would be different. She brought her I pod just in case but never used it.

Having done a number of different events ranging from less then 500 participants to 35,000 participants I have seen mile markers that were clearly visible and some that you really had to look for. I don't have a preference on this.

Love the medal (it has a place of honor next to Mickey (2), Donald and Goofy. My daughter wants to do the event next year so we probably will. We also did the 5K and had a blast.

 

[FirstTimeCruiser]

I was wondering how the 1/2 marathon went. I was one of the volunteers distributing bibs and chips at the expo! I think it's so cool that you all were able to participate in the first 1/2 marathon!!! Way to go!!

 

[ScooterL]

Thanks for volunteering!!! The race wouldn't have been possible without all of the wonderful volunteers like you - you are essential to making it all happen for those of us who are running!

Were you by any chance handing out bib numbers in the 4000 range on Saturday afternoon at about 2:00?

 

[1Robins]

I was wondering how the 1/2 marathon went. I was one of the volunteers distributing bibs and chips at the expo! I think it's so cool that you all were able to participate in the first 1/2 marathon!!! Way to go!!

Thank you sooo much for volunteering. You, along with the other 1000 plus volunteers, made it possible for this event to happen as smoothly as it did.

I never ran the WDW marathon, but this event was pretty much what I expected. I knew that this event was not going to be a PB for me, especially since I was sick the first week and a half of this month. I have done the CHOC (Children't Hospital of Orange County) walk at the DLR and knew that with such a large field of 12,000, it would be difficult to get a good pace going while your running the first 5k inside the parks, especially when the course narrows down and makes it difficult to pass people. So, I would high five the characters standing along the route or wave at the other characters as I would run by.

I was hoping to see a few more characters, particularly the villians, out in the parks holding a few humerous signs (I once read a runner's account of the WDW marathon on how the villians were holding signs that said "TURN BACK, YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT!" or "YOU ONLY HAVE ANOTHER 21 MILES TO GO!". I did see a group of women outside Angels Stadium and one of the signs said, "WHILE YOU WERE AT MILE 3, WE WERE AT DENNY'S HAVING BREAKFAST". I thought that was pretty funny. Also, there was a Cast Member at Disneyland standing by the Matterhorn that kept yelling, "KEEP RUNNING UP STREAM!".

I did see a couple of women running in Minnie costumes and one guy dressed as a pirate. I really didn't expect to see a lot of stunt runners in the pack, but whenever I do at any race, I have to applaud them for running in full costumes. I've seen guys/gals running in full bunny and gorilla costumes, now that has to be uncomfortable. I remember reading in Runner's World how a number of stunt runners at the larger races are actually very accomplished runners with PB of 2:45 to 3:00hrs for a full marathon and how they are out there to help motivate other runners.

I thought the live results was a nice feature. It made it easier for my family to keep tabs on me throughout the race. I was caught off guard after you crossed the finish line to either have your photo taken, which was to the left, or get your bottle of water, which was to the right. I didn't bother with the picture since the lines were too long.

I had a great time at the race, with a chip time of 1:59, and I'll probably will run it again next year.

 

[FirstTimeCruiser]

I was passing passing out numbers 11000-12000 on Saturday, so if any of you had those numbers...

I'm looking forward to next year!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

I thought the Expo was set up very poorly. In the morning on Friday, you had to wait 45 minutes to get into the Disney merchandise area, then another 60 minutes to pay for your purchases after you found something you liked. The hats were trucker hats, not sleek runner hats and looked stupid. Not a good selection of shirts. No souvenier plush (like Mickey in running garb). Not enough cashiers. There was plenty of vacant space in the room, but they made the Disney shopping area way to small. I heard a shirt say that they were going to enlarge it for Saturday, but that didn't help the situation on Friday.

Why did they give out a long sleeve shirt? In September???

They didn't have enough people handing out the 5K packages, so the lines got very long there, too.

The photo taking after the race was a joke, too. To have to wait 30-45 minutes to get your picture taken with your medal after running 13.1 miles was wrong.

Then there was no coverage on TV. They had the Malibu Triathalon (Elizabeth Glaser fundraiser) the same day and Disney was a big sponser of that. Who made that schedule goof???

We were staying in the Paradise Pier and I had a great view of the race before the 1 mile marker. There weren't any fireworks, just confetti.

With the many years of the WDW Marathon, you'd think that the organizers of this race could have gotten it right the first time.

 

[melissalee1220]

I have to put in my two cents about this whole thing because I've been doing WDW races for years! Now I'm a SoCal resident who has done the LA Marathon a bunch of times and honestly I wasnt so disappointed w/ the non-Disney parts of the course, I guess because I'm used to it. Of course running through the parks and on Disney Property was fun, but this race really can't be compared to the WDW races: 100% on property w/ Disney Flair most of the miles. In general I loved the race, the course wasn't too hilly, the weather was nice, the people were great, the medal was fun and different, and I know I'll be back next year

Now let me tell you what I didnt like. ----Keep in mind that every time I do a WDW race I stay on property and just take the WDW transportation to the Expo---- So I drove from the Santa Clarita Valley (about 60 or so miles north) on Friday around noon down to Anahiem. I thought 1 hour 15 mins there, 15 mins getting the packet, 1 hour 15 mins back ahead of nasty LA Fri traffic! HA! Traffic was worse then I had expected and it took me about 1 hour and 40 mins.........not Disney's blame! When I arrived around 1:45pm a little hot and bothered because of lovely LA traffic I was shocked to find that I had to pay $11 to park in the DL/DCA park parking structure, which is quite far from the DL hotel/expo!!! So I parked up high and way at the back of the structure, walked across the structure, went down the escalators, and waited for a tram. Now here's what really got me..........the tram took me over to DL/DCA at the far end of Downtown Disney, which meant that I had to walk through all of Downtown Disney (I have no problem w/ walking but ever minute I wasted was a minute closer to LA Friday afternoon traffic!!!!!! YUCK) just to get to the expo!! Now I KNOW that there is parking at the DL hotel so this just pissed me off. anywho, I got my race stuff, went back through DTD, waited for the tram, took the tram back, up the escalator, and back through the stucture. Needless to say it was an hour round trip, which put me back on LA freeways around 3pm.

Those of you that are LA folks, you know what this means. It took me just over 2.5 hours to get back home. Sigh............waddayagonnado?

I know they could have made packet pick-up easier but they didnt. Beyond that all else was good!

 

[jlmarr]

... I was shocked to find that I had to pay $11 to park in the DL/DCA park parking structure, which is quite far from the DL hotel/expo!!! So I parked up high and way at the back of the structure, walked across the structure, went down the escalators, and waited for a tram. Now here's what really got me..........the tram took me over to DL/DCA at the far end of Downtown Disney, which meant that I had to walk through all of Downtown Disney (I have no problem w/ walking but ever minute I wasted was a minute closer to LA Friday afternoon traffic!!!!!! YUCK) just to get to the expo!! Now I KNOW that there is parking at the DL hotel so this just pissed me off.

Right - they should have told you to park at the Downtown Disney lot, which is free for 3 hours and is adjacent to the DLH. You definitely took the scenic route.

 

[Luv2Roam]

DH ran the DL half too! He has also run the WDW marathon many times, including the infamous Goofy Challenge! (He even ran the Minnie Marathon.)
He was only disappointed to see no Villains. But I had heard that enough WDW runners complained in past marathons about the villains that they stopped that. (Just from rumormill)
He does not plan on running next year's DL half because of it being over Labor Day weekend. Who picked that? The park was busy enough as it was, without having it over a major holiday weekend. Not to mention the travel over a holiday weekend. No thanks.
Track Shack (Orlando) organizes the WDW races, and did this race too.
An interesting side DH mentioned on the course was running through the sleeping homeless people.
And as others have mentioned, the WDW marathon is all on Disney property. The DL half was not. So characters will not be off Disney property. I would be surprised if that happened.
We were VERY surprised at the LONG line just to get in to BUY race merchandise. But the line moved fast. It almost turned me away though. WDW does not allow enough space for merchandise either. But the line was ridiculous to buy merchandise at the DL race.
Then to que in another line to pay for it. Bad.
I thought the DL expo looked to be near the same size as the WDW expo.
DH also thought the women's marathon clothing selection was better and more plentiful than the men's. DH said the finishers were close to 70% women.
Overall a thumb's up, I think. DH seemed pleased. Although he chose not to have his photo taken afterwards. So that was one long line missed too!
He was real happy the humidity was so much lower than what we have here near WDW!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We just got a survey to complete about the 1/2 marathon. My husband let them know about the poor quality merchandise and the long lines.