2018 Princess Half Marathon

[keahgirl8]

I stayed at the Grand Floridian. I boarded the monorail at 3 am and headed over from there. It worked just fine.

Coming back from the race I took the bus. However, it couldn't get through to the Grand for some reason and dropped everyone at the Poly. I then had to take the resort monorail to the Grand. I wasn't happy about that.

Be warned-the staff at the Grand do nothing about the race logistics. Several people told me the transportation would be buses. I knew better than to trust that and headed to the monorail station.

Expo transportation was via bus and worked just fine.

What a pain all of that is. You'd think it wouldn't be such a hassle when you're paying that much for your hotel.

 

[courtneybeth]

Hey past runners, do any of you guys remeber what mile you were safe from being swept for the 10k? I know for the Half it was like mile 11 or 12 where if you made it past that point you were safe from the balloon ladies. I have some family walking the 10k next year and figured there was a "safe" spot from the balloon ladies as well.

The only safe spot from being swept is the finish line!

If your family wants to walk, I would recommend them doing the 5K as they're a bit more lenient on time for that event. They do enforce the 16 min mile pace (from the last corral participant crossing) for all events that are timed. They won't have time to stop for pictures, as those lines can be up to 10-15 mins long.

 

[KSellers88]

Officially registered for the half! I did all three this year and that was too many early mornings for me. Can't wait!

 

[Suprize2017]

Officially registered for the half! I did all three this year and that was too many early mornings for me. Can't wait!

How are some of you able to register so early?

 

[bananabean]

How are some of you able to register so early?

runDisney sent around an e-mail to those that participated this year with a link to register early for 2018. I think there are TA's that have also started selling bibs for next year.

 

[FFigawi]

Hey past runners, do any of you guys remeber what mile you were safe from being swept for the 10k? I know for the Half it was like mile 11 or 12 where if you made it past that point you were safe from the balloon ladies. I have some family walking the 10k next year and figured there was a "safe" spot from the balloon ladies as well.

There's no official safe spot other than the finish line, as mentioned above, but generally, rD does not sweep people within Epcot. I suggest your family train to walk/jog faster than the 16 min/mile minimum pace if for no other reason than to avoid the stress of worrying about being swept. The race will be much more enjoyable for them if they're not constantly looking over their shoulders for the guys on bikes.

 

[smec73]

runDisney sent around an e-mail to those that participated this year with a link to register early for 2018. I think there are TA's that have also started selling bibs for next year.

I did the phm this year, and I still haven't gotten an email. I wonder why.

 

[Allison]

The email mentioned had several topics in it and said something like "thanks for participating". Registration ended Friday.

 

[bananabean]

I did the phm this year, and I still haven't gotten an email. I wonder why.

The email mentioned had several topics in it and said something like "thanks for participating". Registration ended Friday.

Even though rD said it ended Friday, the link is still live and it's still possible to register.

 

[jdd]

Hey, does anyone know if you need the actual physical Annual Pass to register early for PHM? From what I understand, you can only get that at a Disney park. I'm planning to buy mine prior to April 27th, but will most likely just have the voucher, not the actual pass. Wish I could get to Orlando to pick up the real one, but don't think that's happening

 

[Fire14]

Hey, does anyone know if you need the actual physical Annual Pass to register early for PHM? From what I understand, you can only get that at a Disney park. I'm planning to buy mine prior to April 27th, but will most likely just have the voucher, not the actual pass. Wish I could get to Orlando to pick up the real one, but don't think that's happening

Techinaly yes to get to link but if you get link you can register without.

 

[BelleWannabe4]

There's no official safe spot other than the finish line, as mentioned above, but generally, rD does not sweep people within Epcot. I suggest your family train to walk/jog faster than the 16 min/mile minimum pace if for no other reason than to avoid the stress of worrying about being swept. The race will be much more enjoyable for them if they're not constantly looking over their shoulders for the guys on bikes.

My mom and I were almost passed by the balloon ladies while in Epcot! They were basically on our heels when we crossed the finish line. I felt like they were very aggressive during the 10K. We started from the VERY front of corral F, which I highly recommend if you are in the last corral. We did a run/walk pace for the first 3 miles (until we got to Epcot) with an average pace just under 13 minutes. We stopped for one picture - the wine ladies in France! - and made one relatively quick bathroom stop. By mile 5, we heard that the balloon ladies were 30 seconds behind us and we were never really able to get too far ahead of them. By that point, the path was too crowded to run or even speed walk. It ended up being fine but knowing that we were close to getting swept did add a level of stress.

If you want to stop for pictures, I would highly recommend a faster than 16 min/mile pace and also try to get into an earlier corral. I was placed in C and think we would have been fine there but of course my mom couldn't move up and the whole point of the 10K was to have fun together

 

[Shea&Van]

My mom and I were almost passed by the balloon ladies while in Epcot! They were basically on our heels when we crossed the finish line. I felt like they were very aggressive during the 10K. We started from the VERY front of corral F, which I highly recommend if you are in the last corral. We did a run/walk pace for the first 3 miles (until we got to Epcot) with an average pace just under 13 minutes. We stopped for one picture - the wine ladies in France! - and made one relatively quick bathroom stop. By mile 5, we heard that the balloon ladies were 30 seconds behind us and we were never really able to get too far ahead of them. By that point, the path was too crowded to run or even speed walk. It ended up being fine but knowing that we were close to getting swept did add a level of stress.

If you want to stop for pictures, I would highly recommend a faster than 16 min/mile pace and also try to get into an earlier corral. I was placed in C and think we would have been fine there but of course my mom couldn't move up and the whole point of the 10K was to have fun together

WOW! Thank you for sharing your story! How did you and your Mom get placed so far apart in the corrals? Is there any way to avoid getting placed in the last one? We are hoping to do the 10k with our family and friends, but being in different corrals concerns me, especially hearing your story! Some folks are runners and do these races on the regular while others are just beginning and have been training to get to about a 14-15 minute mile doing a run/walk pace. Sounds like even those plans need to be even more aggressive than first thought.

Reading through this thread though...I'm starting to wonder if there is any chance we will be able to even register for the 10k. Lots and lots of early birds, I hope they allow some room for newbies.

Thanks again for the insight. I'm glad you were successful and had fun with Mom!

Have a happy day!

 

[msmith07101]

I'm excited to be planning for the 2018 PHM to be my first runDisney race!

Debating the GSC, so I have a question for more experienced runDisneyers -- I plan to be on my computer at exactly noon on May 2. I might even have an AP by then, through my work. That would get me the opportunity to register earlier, right? Either way, would I have a better chance to get in registering for the GSC? Or PHM only?

Yes, you can get the early registration with an AP. And you'd want to be ready to sign up a few minutes before it opens. Have your Active account logged in, as well. If you are thinking of doing the challenge, sign up for it right away. If you only sign up for the half and then decide you want the challenge, if it is still open you will have to register for the challenge, an then pay a $45 fee for them to do the transfer and refund you the difference.

 

[msmith07101]

Hello everyone!! I completed my first Princess races last month...did all three of them. Was my first 10k and first half. Manages to get through them with an injured foot. So I went slowly and stopped often. Had a fantastic time with my sister and niece...it was so much fun having a girls trip. I really wasn't planning on doing Princess again,at least not so soon. But then I received an email saying thanks for participating, and there was a link for early registration. It was soooo tempting to sign up and not have to stress about registration day. And then I realized we had DVC points that we would need to use sometime next year or they'd expire. So...I convinced the hubby that we should go. Id like to try Princess again, hopefully without any injuries. So I;m signed up for the challenge and our resort is booked. Only thing undecided is if I want to do the 5k. It was rough getting up so early for all three races. Not sure I want to do that again!

 

[msmith07101]

Did anyone stay at the Poly (studios or hotel) or Grand Floridian (villas specifically since it's a separate building) for Princess this year? If so how were they in terms of transportation to races etc?

I've stayed at Bay Lake both years we did Princess and I am 100% over the lobby smell.

Yes, stayed at the Poly this year. Transportation was fine...we had no issues. Busses for 5k and 10k...bus was ready and waiting when we walked up to head to the races. Half was monorail. We were in a studio, so pretty close to TTC. We walked over and got right on the monorail. Took a bus back. Again, no issues at all.

 

[KatsMeow715]

My mom and I were almost passed by the balloon ladies while in Epcot! They were basically on our heels when we crossed the finish line. I felt like they were very aggressive during the 10K. We started from the VERY front of corral F, which I highly recommend if you are in the last corral. We did a run/walk pace for the first 3 miles (until we got to Epcot) with an average pace just under 13 minutes. We stopped for one picture - the wine ladies in France! - and made one relatively quick bathroom stop. By mile 5, we heard that the balloon ladies were 30 seconds behind us and we were never really able to get too far ahead of them. By that point, the path was too crowded to run or even speed walk. It ended up being fine but knowing that we were close to getting swept did add a level of stress.

If you want to stop for pictures, I would highly recommend a faster than 16 min/mile pace and also try to get into an earlier corral. I was placed in C and think we would have been fine there but of course my mom couldn't move up and the whole point of the 10K was to have fun together

Thank you so much! I'll be sure to tell them to try and get in the front if they get Corral F. I know I was in E last year and only posed for one picture(France ladies too lol) and didnt even see them but I was def running a 11 min pace for the first three miles.

 

[Suprize2017]

I have several questions:

1. Just out of curiosity, do all the Princess races fill up the first day registration opens to the general public?

2. I know the half begins at 5:30, but not all runners will actually start running at 5:30 due to corral assignment. I think someone already responded earlier in this thread, that some of the later corrals may not get going until 30 or so minutes into the race. A person running a 16 minute mile (just for my example) wouldn't finish until after 9:00. Are there runners going through the park after it has opened to the general public? (My apologies if the course has been mentioned and I should have been able to figure this out on my own.)

3. Is it possible for friends and family to cheer from any location of the course, or are there only a couple places they can do this? If that's the case, where are those places?

I really want to do this, but the half would be my first half since 2001. I like to start panicking early.

 

[BelleWannabe4]

WOW! Thank you for sharing your story! How did you and your Mom get placed so far apart in the corrals? Is there any way to avoid getting placed in the last one? We are hoping to do the 10k with our family and friends, but being in different corrals concerns me, especially hearing your story! Some folks are runners and do these races on the regular while others are just beginning and have been training to get to about a 14-15 minute mile doing a run/walk pace. Sounds like even those plans need to be even more aggressive than first thought.

My mom put in for the time for the 10K the "I don't know" option, which got her put into the last corral. I was doing the Glass Slipper Challenge and had provided a proof of time for the half. My mom's not a runner and this was her first event, but she walks every day and definitely can be faster than 16 min/miles when needed. She should have put in some type of estimated time and that might have moved her up to E. I think the key is to put in the fastest realistic time that you can finish. You don't want to be with the elite runners if you run/walk, but I don't think it's a bad idea to be with other people who are moving at your pace. And if you do end up in different corrals, you can always move back, just not up. We did have a really great time! My mom wants to do another event someday so clearly it was a success

Also, another key is to keep an eye on your pacing. I just use the stopwatch function on my iphone and hit lap every time we hit a mile so I know how fast each mile has been. I'm sure there are more tech savvy ways of doing this but it works really well for me because I use the same timer for my intervals. Knowing you've "gained" 2 minutes on those balloon ladies really helps you to know if you can stop for a pic.

I heard (total corral gossip on the morning of the half with no basis in truth) that close to 100 people were swept at the start of the 10K because the balloon ladies jogged to the start and passed them before they even began. I find this a little hard to believe and haven't seen anything about on this site but was curious where that rumor came from. Did anyone else see/hear anything?

ETA: The France ladies were the best! What a fun photo opp

 

[Fire14]

I have several questions:

1. Just out of curiosity, do all the Princess races fill up the first day registration opens to the general public?
in past it has varied, with 2018 being annv. year I'd say will fill faster but who knows

2. I know the half begins at 5:30, but not all runners will actually start running at 5:30 due to corral assignment. I think someone already responded earlier in this thread, that some of the later corrals may not get going until 30 or so minutes into the race. A person running a 16 minute mile (just for my example) wouldn't finish until after 9:00. Are there runners going through the park after it has opened to the general public? (My apologies if the course has been mentioned and I should have been able to figure this out on my own.)
I saw runners run down main street when I was going to crystal palace in 2016, 2017 I ran half I never saw public

3. Is it possible for friends and family to cheer from any location of the course, or are there only a couple places they can do this? If that's the case, where are those places?
some places are easier to get to than others but yes. by poly, ttc, mk, grand floridan. I'm sure outside Epcot

I really want to do this, but the half would be my first half since 2001. I like to start panicking early.