Official 2018 Star Wars Dark Side Weekend

[cel_disney]

Easter Sunday is 4/21 next year. That’s probably why they changed the date.

Yes -But the weekend prior to easter is still in the AP block out.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

The hard switchbacks and narrow portions of the course were a little challenging at times. Seems like it was worse this weekend than MW. I did love them including Pandora in the HM course though. Running through there in the dark was a nice pump me up at that part of the race. Unfortunately it's followed by my least favorite portion of any Disney race, the AK parking lot and proceeding road to nowhere. lol.

Agree on this and ESPECIALLY THIS!!!

I doubt they would do that as there really isn't another good weekend for them to do a race weekend.

Curious why you say this? How can there not be another possible race weekend all year?

 

[rteetz]

Curious why you say this? How can there not be another possible race weekend all year?

Well I wouldn't say there isn't a possible weekend buts its unlikely they would do another 3-4 day event like the ones we have now. There was the rumor of Everest coming back which is just one event and that is possible.

The biggest issue is hurting current events and Florida weather. There are three WDW events in the first half of the year and one in the second half. Add another to the first half and that could take people away from those existing events. I think it would be more likely to add them in the second half of the year.

 

[Bree]

I was looking at results this morning. 12 women and 27 men all over the age of 70 crossed the finish line. That is a whole lot of awesomeness and inspiration!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Well I wouldn't say there isn't a possible weekend buts its unlikely they would do another 3-4 day event like the ones we have now. There was the rumor of Everest coming back which is just one event and that is possible.

The biggest issue is hurting current events and Florida weather. There are three WDW events in the first half of the year and one in the second half. Add another to the first half and that could take people away from those existing events. I think it would be more likely to add them in the second half of the year.

I agree re: potentially hurting other events — but I don’t think it’s because there isn’t another possible race wknd in FL all year. When ToT was around, W&D wasn’t a 3-day, and SWDS wasn’t around, right? But would no West Coast races leave room for a temporary SWLS as PP mentioned? Doesn’t seem crazy to me.

 

[rteetz]

I agree re: potentially hurting other events — but I don’t think it’s because there isn’t another possible race wknd in FL all year. When ToT was around, W&D wasn’t a 3-day, and SWDS wasn’t around, right? But would no West Coast races leave room for a temporary SWLS as PP mentioned? Doesn’t seem crazy to me.

Yeah when ToT was around W&D was a 5K in the morning and the half at night and Dark Side wasn't here. I don't think we see a temporary light side in Florida either. I think any new Florida races is a new type of race.

 

[jaxonp]

First two weeks of December are quiet and weather is good.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Yeah when ToT was around W&D was a 5K in the morning and the half at night and Dark Side wasn't here. I don't think we see a temporary light side in Florida either. I think any new Florida races is a new type of race.

I can see that too.

Virtual half was ok for this one. I got the inaugural Kessel Run so this is my second. Pretty nice.

ToT 2013 was my first race ever over a 10K. I still miss that one... would have loved to do it again.

 

[The Expert]

I was looking at results this morning. 12 women and 27 men all over the age of 70 crossed the finish line. That is a whole lot of awesomeness and inspiration!

Where did you find the results?

 

[Keels]

I don’t think it’s fiscally feasible for RunDisney to produce two Star Wars race weekends right now. The money-grab of the virtual half is one thing - they don’t have to cover the overhead of the actual race.

If anything, they need to look at what Star Wars race does sell out (the 5K) and try to capitalize on that ... like a three-day race weekend of just 5Ks. That Challenge and all those races would easily sell out, and probably at $400/Challenge.

 

[jaxonp]

I don’t think it’s fiscally feasible for RunDisney to produce two Star Wars race weekends right now. The money-grab of the virtual half is one thing - they don’t have to cover the overhead of the actual race.

If anything, they need to look at what Star Wars race does sell out (the 5K) and try to capitalize on that ... like a three-day race weekend of just 5Ks. That Challenge and all those races would easily sell out, and probably at $400/Challenge.

The 5k sell out at every race because of lower capacity. It's apples and oranges.

It's not about theme, its about timing. Here are some facts to consider: WDW weekend and Princess are back to back and draw the largest number of runners. Women dominate all the races regardless of theme. The 10k numbers are very similar across the board. Star Wars being right after spring break probably hurts larger numbers for the 3rd RD race of the year. Especially for Women who did the first two of the year.

Here are the finishing numbers for the last 4 race weekends:

SWH - 15089
SW10- 10922

PH - 20457
P10- 12228

WDWH-20816
WDW10-12897

WDH-13181
WH10- 11115

 

[jaxonp]

duplicate

 

[camaker]

First two weeks of December are quiet and weather is good.

At that time I think the limited RunDisney staff is gearing up for Marathon Weekend, their largest and most intense weekend. I don’t see them looking to put something in that time slot with all the MW prep work going on.

 

[jaxonp]

At that time I think the limited RunDisney staff is gearing up for Marathon Weekend, their largest and most intense weekend. I don’t see them looking to put something in that time slot with all the MW prep work going on.

I would agree, just is a great time for the parks and the weather.

 

[JM735]

Finally catching up here after a great Disney weekend.

Had an awesome time at the HHHH - thanks @Keels for coordinating that!! It was fun to meet everyone.

Regarding the race, it wasn't one of our fastest ones, but we had fun and enjoyed it.

Congrats to all of the runners!

 

[KingLlama]

Well, I finished.

Barely, but I finished.

Didn’t have a chance to train in any heat or humidity. So for the first eight miles, I was truckin’ it.

Then at the overpass my body decided to shut down. Aching shoulders(never expected that), and intense cramps in both calves.

Just couldn’t run the rest of the way, with the exception of an occasional shuffle. Balloon ladies caught me at the edge of Future World, but thankfully I was close enough to the end to survive.

Immediately got both calves on ice and laid in the parking lot, nearly passed out. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life, and the closest I’ve ever come to passing out in my life.

So when does registration open for 2019?

 

[cel_disney]

The 5k sell out at every race because of lower capacity. It's apples and oranges.

It's not about theme, its about timing. Here are some facts to consider: WDW weekend and Princess are back to back and draw the largest number of runners. Women dominate all the races regardless of theme. The 10k numbers are very similar across the board. Star Wars being right after spring break probably hurts larger numbers for the 3rd RD race of the year. Especially for Women who did the first two of the year.

Here are the finishing numbers for the last 4 race weekends:

SWH - 15089
SW10- 10922

PH - 20457
P10- 12228

WDWH-20816
WDW10-12897

WDH-13181
WH10- 11115

I just wanted to say that the 2 times we have run in SWDS - 2016 and 2018 - it’s because it overlapped with our Spring Break. New England Schools have April Vacation that makes it possible for many of us to travel for this race but more difficult to attend the other events.. next year, Easter aligns with our spring break so we will not be able to easily go to Disney (although my son and I might do a quick weekend trip just for SWDS).

As for training - we have zero chance to train outdoors for an April race. We had frigid temps and snow and sleet most days thru last week here in MA. We train on an elliptical - hope we get one nice day to run outside even once - and hope for the best on race day. Joy.

 

[Bree]

Where did you find the results?

Go to runDisney.com and click on results on the top of the page.

 

[cavepig]

Someone posted this picked up at Dark Side on facebook, looks like the virtual Star Wars half will be back in 2019.

 

[quandrea]

Someone posted this picked up at Dark Side on facebook, looks like the virtual Star Wars half will be back in 2019.

View attachment 319042

Thanks for this. Signing up today for the summer short series. Going to do it with dd, 14 and my twins, 8. Excellent alternative to summer camp. They are excited about the medals. We may even run the August portion when down at WDW the first week of August.