I was browsing through the finishing times from 2011 full, and there were hundreds of runners that had 7:00+ net finishing times. I was just wondering what the reason for that could be? Did they escape the sweepers? Surely they all couldn't have been up in the A and B elite corrals with a huge head start on the pace clock. I'm very slow so this information sits nicely with my nerves.
Just wondering!
First a little lesson for those who may go and look and not understand the terms
Clock time = When the very first gun goes off for the first wave start, the race time starts. Runners in the first wave run times close to Clock time and most age group runners are all running here.
Chip TIme - each runner carries a chip on their bib (it's a couple bars glued to the back of the bib. Your personal time on course is Chip Time.
Waves - There are 6-8 waves of runners starting in each race. A wave start is one where only a small group starts every 3-8 minutes. This keeps the course from being over crowded in the first few miles. For the marathon, the last wave starts about 28-30 minutes after the race clock starts.
So with the very last runners, you see that most are running with equal chip and clock times. For some reason, these guys were not registered with a start. They may have come down to the start late or the mat could have died late in the start. If a runner does not register going across a start matt and registers all other matts, they are generally giving the clock time for their race time.
There are a few cheaters who will go and dummy up a race result and try to get into a better corral or jump the fences when volunteers are not looking. Most do not get into the A corral but do get into B, C and D. They just do not realize that they create a hazard due to their relative slowness.
Going up about a hundred runners...
You see a lot of 7:10 runners...Chip Time. These were the last runners credited with a finish. More than likely they were aright around the 7 hour pace at mile 23 as they entered DHS and just lost a 10 minutes once past that point. Note their clock times can be larger than the 7:40 (added 30 minutes for the last wave). There are a few of these guys who started off in earlier waves and just fell apart. Since they had an additional time due to the earlier wave, they did not get caught up in the sweeper.
The sweep time is monitored by a guy on a bike. he may be off just a bit so if you see him, pedal a little harder. Though from what I understand, most points of a hard sweep are usually behind this biker; You may have poor execution at a point and they take folks with him.
In general, once you get into the Hollywood Studios, you are left to finish as long as you are making reasonable progress. The reason this point is last point of hard enforcement is that you are off the roadways from here on in. Just look as you come up World Dr at the traffic. Disney will really need to open that roadway as soon as it can to get rid of the traffic jam.
You can do this. Yes it is terrifying and yes it is hard, but you have put in the training. Rest until the race. I'm just doing the Half this year, but I'm planning on being in the World Showcase late morning/early afternoon on Sunday to cheer on the runners. I'll keep my eyes peeled for you! Can't wait to hear your report and I'm even a bit jealous that I'm not doing the full this year. Good luck!
