Timing to be in front of last corral?

[stairstepmom]

What time do they let people into the corral areas? I'm in the last, signed up for the retreat, and I want to be as far in the front of the corral as possible...about what time should I leave the retreat to head to the corral?

Also, are there people or signs telling you how to get to the retreat and how to get to the corrals? I feel like it's a new park map to be memorized or I'll be wandering around lost LOL!

Do they give you any info at the resorts upon check-in about where/when to catch a bus to the races? I'm doing the 10K and the Half and staying at AKL.

Any other newbie tips?

 

[bumbershoot]

Basic map of the staging area is in the event guide. “Big huge tent” is what you’re looking for with RR. And there are signs.

There are also signs pointing to the corrals. If I’m remembering right from last year, 10k corrals are right there. Half corrals are a solid walk away and you’ll want to leave on the early side. Don’t wait until they tell us all to head to corrals to do so if you want to be at the front.

 

[Krandor]

The resorts I've stayed in have a sign at the bus stop and often also just in the lobby with bus information and times. The one inside the lobby/food court bulding is normally right near the door so people see it. Pay close attention to when the busses start and when last bus leaves. I normally double check the day before each race when I'm getting dinner. This is in the guide too but I personally like to double check the sign the night before to be safe.

Finding the bus stop isn't an issue. Pretty much everybody dumb enough to be up at 3am in the morning is going to the same place. Just follow along. lol. They should be near the normal busses. They often have a bus stop just for race transportation but on the big races (Half/full) they may move those busses elsewhere. At all-star they often bring them in the area where the MDE busses come in vs the park busses so they can have multiple busses lined up and can just fill one, go, and the next one starts loading.

Normally corrals open 1 hour before race start. So if you want to be at the front get lined up near corral entrace a little before that one hour mark.

 

[cavepig]

For a 5:30 start corrals open at 4:30, people will be pre-lined/mashed/mobbed up to get in there well in advanced though. But you do have to walk then to your corral so even if you aren't at the front of the mob when that opens you could still probably get to the front of your corral.