2018 Princess Half Marathon

Question about POF. I've done 2 Princess halfs and was in the last corral for both. I swore that I would submit a time this year to avoid that. When I'm running consistently I can do a 10K in an hour.
I go for pictures and I basically stop for all of them which got me into an awful, miserable, bottleneck last time.

I'm thrilled with any corral but the last one but was under the impression that I had to submit a time for that to happen? How do I work around this?
 
I'm thrilled with any corral but the last one but was under the impression that I had to submit a time for that to happen?

They only look at POT if you estimate a time that requires POT. If you estimate 2:45 ten they will look for and look at your proof. If you estimate 2:50 the dont lol for and therefore don't seem to look at a proof of time.

I've done 2 Princess halfs and was in the last corral for both.

What time estimate did you put in for the Halfs? That's hard to happen unless you estimated a very slow time OR you estimated a time that require POt then didnt submit POT.
 
Question about POF. I've done 2 Princess halfs and was in the last corral for both. I swore that I would submit a time this year to avoid that. When I'm running consistently I can do a 10K in an hour.
I go for pictures and I basically stop for all of them which got me into an awful, miserable, bottleneck last time.

I'm thrilled with any corral but the last one but was under the impression that I had to submit a time for that to happen? How do I work around this?

If you can do a 10k in an hour, then find a local officially timed race and submit your POT on your Active registration by the November deadline. You should wind up placed in an upper/middle corral and would have lots of time for pictures.
 
Did my first weekend run on Jeff Galloway's plan this morning! Two miles in just about 24 minutes! It's nice to know that my baseline is about a 12-13 minute walk/run mile (not bad after a 5 year running hiatus) and I have plenty of time to work on my endurance & stamina. It really is so much mind over matter, telling myself I COULD run that last little uphill and then doing it.
 


Having a hard time with quotes on my phone, so...

About POT: you want to enter a realistic finish time, based on the paces you've been running or recent races. Trust me - the race is a lot more fun when you're corralled with people of similar speed, no matter where that is!

IF your realistic estimated finish is 2:45:00 or less, you MUST enter POT to support that. If you enter a time slower than 2:45:00, POT is not required and you'll be corralled based on the estimated finish time you entered.

FWIW I've done plenty of races without POT and have never been in a wrong or "bad" corral.
 
Question about POF. I've done 2 Princess halfs and was in the last corral for both. I swore that I would submit a time this year to avoid that. When I'm running consistently I can do a 10K in an hour.
I go for pictures and I basically stop for all of them which got me into an awful, miserable, bottleneck last time.

I'm thrilled with any corral but the last one but was under the impression that I had to submit a time for that to happen? How do I work around this?
Work around it? Work with it! Pick a race of 10K or longer and then submit your official time! The deadline is in November so you should have plenty of fun fall races to choose from.

10k in an hour should put you far enough up in the corrals that you can stop for some pictures without risk of being engulfed by the peloton.
 
When does everyone think the theme for this year will be realesed. I'm trying to remeber when we found out it was Beauty and the Beast and I feel like it was in July. Any one have any guesses? It will be interesting to see what they do for the Fairy Tale Challenge instead of Glass Slipper. My bet is the 10k will be the villian and the half is the princess.

Would love to see Sleeping Beauty this year. The medals could be:
5k - The good fairies
10k - Malefiecent
Half - Aurora or classic medal with a rose or something.
FTC - ALL THE BLING! lol.

Either way I'm getting excited about this race since I figured out my costumes this week. :ccat:
 


When does everyone think the theme for this year will be realesed. I'm trying to remeber when we found out it was Beauty and the Beast and I feel like it was in July. Any one have any guesses? It will be interesting to see what they do for the Fairy Tale Challenge instead of Glass Slipper. My bet is the 10k will be the villian and the half is the princess.

Would love to see Sleeping Beauty this year. The medals could be:
5k - The good fairies
10k - Malefiecent
Half - Aurora or classic medal with a rose or something.
FTC - ALL THE BLING! lol.

Either way I'm getting excited about this race since I figured out my costumes this week. :ccat:

For this year's PHM, they released the theme (Belle silhouette) when registration opened on July 12, 2016.
For the previous year, they had hinted at a Little Mermaid theme (seashells & underwater stuff) at registration, but we didn't know the theme officially until the medals were released approximately a month and a half before race day (I remember we were still unsure as late as Christmas). They released the medals on Jan. 5, 2016.
 
If it hasn't been mentioned here, the race retreat is available on Active. I don't know if this just popped up or not. Someone on the Facebook group mentioned they were now available so I take it that they were released fairly recently. I bought 2 for my DD26 and me doing the half, and 1 for my DD30 who will be spectating (Plat Chear Pkg). Getting more excited the more money I spend!
 
If it hasn't been mentioned here, the race retreat is available on Active. I don't know if this just popped up or not. Someone on the Facebook group mentioned they were now available so I take it that they were released fairly recently. I bought 2 for my DD26 and me doing the half, and 1 for my DD30 who will be spectating (Plat Chear Pkg). Getting more excited the more money I spend!

What is the race retreat? What are the perks of purchasing it?
 
Per the runDisney website:

VIP Race Retreat Package
Purchase your VIP Race Retreat Package today!


Thursday, February 22, 2018

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. runDisney Health & Fitness Expo Early Entry*

Location: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex


Sunday, February 25, 2018

3:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. (runners only)

5:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (runners and Platinum ChEAR Squad only)

Location: Imagine Lot, Epcot®


Enjoy your race weekend even more with a VIP Race Retreat Package!

The VIP Race Retreat Package is the ultimate way for Half Marathon runners to prepare for their race, get pampered, and reunite with friends and family once the race is over.


  • Exclusive Early Access to the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo*
  • Private Hospitality tent near the Finish Line including live video feed from the race and access to live runner results
  • Pre-race bagels and fruit, plus coffee, water and PowerAde
  • Private restrooms, changing tents and bag check
  • Disney character Meet & Greets
  • Recovery Zone including padded stretching area, self-treatment and first aid station and massages available for purchase (first-come, first-serve)
  • Disney catered post-race brunch
  • Designated location to meet friends and family to celebrate your accomplishment!**
  • Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend commemorative item

Race Retreat Pricing

  • Half Marathon - $120 (not required for children under 3 years old)

Exclusive early access to the runDisney Health & Fitness expo is only offered to Race Retreat Guests; Guests who purchased Platinum ChEAR Squad will not have early access to the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo. Exclusive early access is only offered from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. on February 25, 2018. Guests will need to bring a photo I.D. and check in at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Any Guest arriving after 11:00 a.m. will not be granted early access and will be directed to the general expo queue lines.
 
Thank you, @BriarRose59

I'll have to send this to my friend I'm running with. The only thing that looks worthwhile to me from that is the character meet & greets. And those probably aren't worth $120.
 
Hi all! I know we're still about a month out from being able to make dining reservations, but in my excitement for my first Disney race I'm already starting to think about my post-race plans. For the PHM vets on here, what park do you recommend visiting after the race? Leaning towards Magic Kingdom for the photo ops but am open to other suggestions if people have other parks they prefer.

Also, what time do people usually aim for with post-race dining reservations? By the time we've finished the race, made it back to the All Stars to clean up/maybe take naps, it seems like making a lunch-time reservation might be best. Any favorite restaurants people have for post-race, particularly around the Magic Kingdom area (or whichever other park you like to visit post-race)?
 
If it hasn't been mentioned here, the race retreat is available on Active. I don't know if this just popped up or not. Someone on the Facebook group mentioned they were now available so I take it that they were released fairly recently. I bought 2 for my DD26 and me doing the half, and 1 for my DD30 who will be spectating (Plat Chear Pkg). Getting more excited the more money I spend!

Per the runDisney website:

VIP Race Retreat Package
Purchase your VIP Race Retreat Package today!


Thursday, February 22, 2018

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. runDisney Health & Fitness Expo Early Entry*

Location: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex


Sunday, February 25, 2018

3:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. (runners only)

5:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (runners and Platinum ChEAR Squad only)

Location: Imagine Lot, Epcot®


Enjoy your race weekend even more with a VIP Race Retreat Package!

The VIP Race Retreat Package is the ultimate way for Half Marathon runners to prepare for their race, get pampered, and reunite with friends and family once the race is over.


  • Exclusive Early Access to the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo*
  • Private Hospitality tent near the Finish Line including live video feed from the race and access to live runner results
  • Pre-race bagels and fruit, plus coffee, water and PowerAde
  • Private restrooms, changing tents and bag check
  • Disney character Meet & Greets
  • Recovery Zone including padded stretching area, self-treatment and first aid station and massages available for purchase (first-come, first-serve)
  • Disney catered post-race brunch
  • Designated location to meet friends and family to celebrate your accomplishment!**
  • Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend commemorative item

Race Retreat Pricing

  • Half Marathon - $120 (not required for children under 3 years old)

Exclusive early access to the runDisney Health & Fitness expo is only offered to Race Retreat Guests; Guests who purchased Platinum ChEAR Squad will not have early access to the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo. Exclusive early access is only offered from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. on February 25, 2018. Guests will need to bring a photo I.D. and check in at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Any Guest arriving after 11:00 a.m. will not be granted early access and will be directed to the general expo queue lines.

Thank you for posting this! I had been looking for it regularly, but with the D23 Expo I've been swept up in, I hadn't checked in a while! It is well worth it to me, honestly. Having somewhere temperature controlled and comfortable to sit before and after and having food available immediately, that you don't have to carry in is fantastic. Everything else is a bonus. Yes, it's a lot of money, but it can be worth it if those things are important to you.
 
I'm thinking with the new "wave" release of corrals I won't be using the tent much prior to the race. For SWDS, my DD and I lined up early to get to the front of our corral. We were in the first group released. Because of an unexpected surgery, I only had 8 weeks to train so we finished with the balloon ladies. If I was at the back of my corral I would likely have been swept. I'm not a fast runner anyway. I'm always in one of the back corrals so placement within the corral is important.
 
Hi all! I know we're still about a month out from being able to make dining reservations, but in my excitement for my first Disney race I'm already starting to think about my post-race plans. For the PHM vets on here, what park do you recommend visiting after the race? Leaning towards Magic Kingdom for the photo ops but am open to other suggestions if people have other parks they prefer.

Also, what time do people usually aim for with post-race dining reservations? By the time we've finished the race, made it back to the All Stars to clean up/maybe take naps, it seems like making a lunch-time reservation might be best. Any favorite restaurants people have for post-race, particularly around the Magic Kingdom area (or whichever other park you like to visit post-race)?

We're also leaning toward MK :) what we've talked about is finding an early lunch/late dinner ADR somewhere close or in MK so we can FEAST! Not sure where yet.
 
Question about POF. I've done 2 Princess halfs and was in the last corral for both. I swore that I would submit a time this year to avoid that. When I'm running consistently I can do a 10K in an hour.
I go for pictures and I basically stop for all of them which got me into an awful, miserable, bottleneck last time.

I'm thrilled with any corral but the last one but was under the impression that I had to submit a time for that to happen? How do I work around this?

This will be my first half marathon and first runDisney race. I am going to try to complete a 10K before the November deadline, but really just started training for a 10K and have not been consistently running for the past 4-5 months. So, I am planning to be in one of the last (if not the last) corrals. What time (or how long after Corral A) does the last corral start at the Princess Half? Really, what time do the infamous "balloon ladies" start the race? I am not only trying to determine how long I really have to complete the race, but also what time I can realistically plan for my family to come see me finish (hopefully) and what time we can plan to start our park day.
 
We're also leaning toward MK :) what we've talked about is finding an early lunch/late dinner ADR somewhere close or in MK so we can FEAST! Not sure where yet.

I'm leaning towards MK too. Though, now that I read this thread I might change my plan, lol! I'm going to be trying for a dinner res at the Plaza since we'll be touring Tomorrowland that evening. But I might try for BoG. I'm planning to have lunch the hotel. I don't want to be rushed especially in case I don't feel good for some reason.
 
I'm thinking with the new "wave" release of corrals I won't be using the tent much prior to the race. For SWDS, my DD and I lined up early to get to the front of our corral. We were in the first group released. Because of an unexpected surgery, I only had 8 weeks to train so we finished with the balloon ladies. If I was at the back of my corral I would likely have been swept. I'm not a fast runner anyway. I'm always in one of the back corrals so placement within the corral is important.

The one time I did retreat I only used the tent beforehand to drop my bag off.

But I got it for the real food afterwards and the chairs to sit on. It was worth it for that reason.
 
The one time I did retreat I only used the tent beforehand to drop my bag off.

But I got it for the real food afterwards and the chairs to sit on. It was worth it for that reason.

I like this idea. The other rD races I have done, we have rushed back, showered and gone to the parks for lunch, exhausted. This way we can be more relaxed and make a late lunch reservation at an odd time. We want to try for CRT. My DD that will be spectating will be able to make the most of it!
 

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