Tinkerbell Half reviews?

[Raya]

Having just gotten back from the ToT 10 miler, I'm already thinking about the Tinkerbell half. Can anyone who ran it share their experience? I'd like to hear about the course, logistics, etc. thanks!

 

[kim3339]

I liked it. You're in the parks for a couple of miles and then around Anaheim for the the majority before you head back to the finish line. The big difference, and the nicest, is that unlike the race in Sept., you run around some residential areas and downtown Anaheim vs. the straight Industrial area in Sept. You run a little bit in industrial, but not much. 2012 Course Map There were a TON of wings, so if you're okay w/ dodging those, you'll be good. One of the big differences b/w the WDW and DL races is that b/c DL doesn't own the streets around the park, the only characters are in the parks and parking lot towards the end of the race. Outside the parks, they'll have cheerleaders, bands, that type of thing.

They did change weekends for the race, so instead of the last weekend in Jan., it's MLK weekend. So park crowds... not sure yet, but if they're like Labor Day, it's not crazy busy like the summer, but you'll see some crowds. Also, they changed the start time. Instead of 5:45, we go off at 5am so it will be in the dark a lot more than last year. Weather is a big question as well, it could rain or be cold, especially that early in the morning, but last year was on the warm side. I started the race in capri's and a short sleeve and was fine. Also, they don't offer race retreats out here, but they were handing out foil blankets after the race.

The expos in DL are a bit smaller than WDW, but they still have a decent amount of booths. They offered a Dooney and Bourke bag that a lot of the runners bought up as soon as the expo opened. I think they were sold out by the afternoon.

Not sure if you knew this already, but it is sold out for this year. Reg opened in June and was sold out around the end of July or August. But the DL 1/2 Labor Day weekend reg will open sometime in Jan. if you still want to run in out here.

 

[hungrygreenhippo]

Here's my blog post about Tinkerbell.

The Disneyland 1/2 and Tinkerbell are my top 2 favorite races (Disney or otherwise), although I haven't been to WDW for marathon weekend yet so I can't fully compare.