Official 2013 Tower of Terror 10 Miler

[drewswife]

I loved it and am so glad I did it. It was awemome. I even stopped for pictures after the 6 mile point when I was pretty confident I would not be swept. Even with 3 stops I did a 15.5 minute pace

The one thing that I found very disappointing was the finish line. Where was it and why wasn't it better marked? All there was was a volunteer saying congrats you finished.

 

[JamieLM]

Congratulations to all!! Can you tell me if the week of the race, the parks were over crowded? Also when is the sign up for 2014? We are planning a trip next October and I wasn't sure if I should go to Disney the week of the race, and end my visit on race day.

 

[DOOM1001]

I was at Disney Friday through Sunday,pretty much concentrating on the race and the F&W festival.I would say overall it wasn't crazy crowded,because I've seen worse for F&W but still crowded enough.Saturday at Epcot was definitely the busiest of the three days.The one thing I still can't figure out is after the race I rode RnRc and TOT with 10 minute waits and I had high expectations to get TSMM at most with 20-30 minutes,wrong!!45 minute wait,I skipped it and headed out,too long to wait,I was tired and couldn't sleep that late on Sunday since it was check out day.Is there any time this ride has short waits,ever.I finished the race in 1:58 and I could tell I likely need to start getting more serious about training for the full marathon in January.For the full this year I trained pretty good and felt good throughout and after the race,for the ToT 10 miler I wasn't hurting or anything but finished pretty tired,I wonder if it's lack of training or that I was at Epcot all day and even walked from Epcot to DHS for the race.On another note did anybody like the vegetable hummus in the Run Disney box,I thought it was pretty tasty on the pita chips.

 

[PrincessV]

Sooooo much to say... when I get to a real keyboard tomorrow, lol!

For now - I finished, and did so with a decent time. Yay!

And I think everyone who raced - whether you finished or not - is a ROCKSTAR! WTG DISers

 

[maux]

I walked the 5K on Saturday morning and was at Hollywood Studios for the after race party. It was so much fun watching everyone finishing the race. All of you have inspired me. I'm gonna start training to run The 10 mile race next year. October 4th is my birthday so it will be a present to myself. Thanks again for the inspiration!

 

[minniebeth]

Doom1001, you mentioned an item from the snack box~ just out of curiosity, would you share what else was in the box? Did it have a nifty little handle?

I'm just curious...I get focused on silly things
I did the Dumbo Double Dare in DL and was a little disappointed that the boxes for both the 10k and the 1/2 were the same. I get why they do it, and maybe if I actually liked the stuff in the box I'd be ok with it. It was mostly sweet stuff, and I'm a salty person after a race. I wish they had more of a balance. I remember the cheesy stuff they had with the crackers last year at the ToT and liked it. I'm just really curious how they pick the boxes' items....

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Doom1001, you mentioned an item from the snack box~ just out of curiosity, would you share what else was in the box? Did it have a nifty little handle?

I'm just curious...I get focused on silly things
I did the Dumbo Double Dare in DL and was a little disappointed that the boxes for both the 10k and the 1/2 were the same. I get why they do it, and maybe if I actually liked the stuff in the box I'd be ok with it. It was mostly sweet stuff, and I'm a salty person after a race. I wish they had more of a balance. I remember the cheesy stuff they had with the crackers last year at the ToT and liked it. I'm just really curious how they pick the boxes' items....

The box I had did have a nifty little handle.

This was the box given for the 5k. I'm sure its about the same as what they gave at the 10miler from the sounds of it.

 

[cewait]

Doom1001, you mentioned an item from the snack box~ just out of curiosity, would you share what else was in the box? Did it have a nifty little handle?

I'm just curious...I get focused on silly things
I did the Dumbo Double Dare in DL and was a little disappointed that the boxes for both the 10k and the 1/2 were the same. I get why they do it, and maybe if I actually liked the stuff in the box I'd be ok with it. It was mostly sweet stuff, and I'm a salty person after a race. I wish they had more of a balance. I remember the cheesy stuff they had with the crackers last year at the ToT and liked it. I'm just really curious how they pick the boxes' items....

The box did have a nifty little handle! I was sweating so much that my handle broke within minutes.

The ingredients were much better than the January boxes.
Graham cracker pack
An almond/rice cake snack pack
Pita Chips
The referenced humus (isn't all humus vegetarian? not a vegan here thus the question)
a sample sized Builders Bar
A wipee


In addition, at the line were bananas, water and PowerAde

Hope this helps

 

[DOOM1001]

I also broke my handle from it getting wet from sweat.If I don't bring extra clothes I wouldn't have wanted to ride one ride or stay in the park at all.I put my race clothes to hang dry at the hotel Saturday night but were still wet Sunday morning,I got home late last night so I hung them up to finish drying last night where they finally finished drying,I was seriously soaked.Did anyone see the guy running only in a speedo and Chewbacca hat and the guy who proposed to his girlfriend in the pre race,they both go to my run club.

 

[bumbershoot]

On another note did anybody like the vegetable hummus in the Run Disney box,I thought it was pretty tasty on the pita chips.

I love that hummus. It's in the tapas box I always buy on alaska air flights. The pita chips are way too hard for me to enjoy but they were eaten. . Couldn't stand those crispy rice things though. Even DS didn't eat them.

 

[meryll83]

Thought I'd already posted this, but my signal may have been bad.

Is there anywhere that can still engrave the medals now, i.e. post race?

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[run2relax]

I also broke my handle from it getting wet from sweat.If I don't bring extra clothes I wouldn't have wanted to ride one ride or stay in the park at all.I put my race clothes to hang dry at the hotel Saturday night but were still wet Sunday morning,I got home late last night so I hung them up to finish drying last night where they finally finished drying,I was seriously soaked.Did anyone see the guy running only in a speedo and Chewbacca hat and the guy who proposed to his girlfriend in the pre race,they both go to my run club.

The toe box inside my shoes are still damp.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I loved it and am so glad I did it. It was awemome. I even stopped for pictures after the 6 mile point when I was pretty confident I would not be swept. Even with 3 stops I did a 15.5 minute pace

The one thing that I found very disappointing was the finish line. Where was it and why wasn't it better marked? All there was was a volunteer saying congrats you finished.

Yes I agree. I kept running a little bit after I thought I crossed the finish line, only because I wasn't sure I had crossed!

I thought all the volunteers were great! They were so positive and I really appreciated them being out there!

I stopped for some of the pictures, but not all. There were a couple pictures that I ran right by before I noticed they were there--like the 2nd one, I think was the evil Queen from Snow White? Not the old hag with the apple, she was first....anyway, I didn't see it until I had already passed! Same with the zombies, I saw them, but didn't realize they were for taking pictures with (no one was taking pictures with them) as I didn't see the camera guy till after.

I had a great time! I ran by myself (thought I had a relative in the crowd to cheer me at the finish line) and met some really nice people while waiting or the race to start.

Congratulations everyone!

 

[cewait]

Thought I'd already posted this, but my signal may have been bad.

Is there anywhere that can still engrave the medals now, i.e. post race?

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

The crystal shop in DTD, Arribas Brothers I think is the name. At least they used to offer it.

 

[hotblooded]

The box did have a nifty little handle! I was sweating so much that my handle broke within minutes.

The ingredients were much better than the January boxes.
Graham cracker pack
An almond/rice cake snack pack
Pita Chips
The referenced humus (isn't all humus vegetarian? not a vegan here thus the question)
a sample sized Builders Bar
A wipee


In addition, at the line were bananas, water and PowerAde

Hope this helps

Thanks for the write-up. I read labels pretty religiously, and I have yet to come across non-vegan hummus. Good to know I might have an option on Marathon Weekend!

 

[cewait]

The race's schedule is just one week off - again.

Sat Oct 12
Hi 86°
LO 65°
Partly Cloudy
Chance of rain: 20% Wind: NNE at 7 mph

 

[cewait]

Short
I came, I ran, I ran again, I conquered.

Long
Ran the 5K Saturday morning and had a blast. Loved the Headless Horseman. I thought the trail was rather groomed for a trail run. No real obstacles to speak of along the course. The first 600m sprint from the start line may have gotten sloppy for later runners since it felt like the sprinklers had shut off a couple hours earlier. I ran the first mile harder than planned and the loafed around the course the last 2 miles.

Spent Saturday running errands – bad coach, bad! Fell behind on hydration just a bit and was a little out of whack on fueling. After returning home, went over to WDW thinking I would just park in an Epcot resort – forget that after I saw the line of cars attempting to turn onto the loop. I ended up parking in WWoS about the 4th row. I thought the bus transportation worked well – much better than I expected.

I milled around the staging area. I was in corral F and loaded early. I caught a brief nap, I think. I heard the announcer say every so often that runners needed to be in their corrals no later than 9:10. As a long time Disney runner, I thought yeah right, you say that at every race. Then about 9:20-9:30 I saw corral A staging, followed by B. Once E started moving, the gates opened and a lot of folks were coming through the E corral – many from A-D, some bib numbers looked to be from later corrals – betting they were reassigned.

I thought the pre-race staging worked great. The speaker system was compromised so a lot of the audio was missed but I am not a huge fan of the noise so I really did not mind. The temperature seemed to creep up as we waited for the start. I thought for a 10 mile race the entertainment seemed to be continuous. I loved the laser effects in the parking entrance and really loved the Oz-like fireball. There were a few complaints about being the DAK parking lot but not visiting. I actually liked the run through WWoS. I found the return back against the breeze refreshing. I thought the trail section was well lit and a nice track to run on. I also found the warning track around Champion Field much better than during the marathon. Could be a difference in 13 miles, or not having the flu or maybe a difference in the state of maintenance. The reason I mentioned my parking spot is that I looked over and saw my car as we pass through. It was all so tempting to head over and leave. Managed that well.

I recall talking with someone who ran last year and they were saying that they wished the ToT ride were incorporated. I indicated that the finish line was behind the ride and that you could clearly see the façade. Boy was I wrong. I know from being in that parking lot a few times that in fact all one has to do is look up and you see the ToT. I have to admit that on my charge to the finish and the cool down walk, I never looked up.

Positives
Course. I love the course. It may spend the fewest miles in a park of any of the headline events, but I found the course to be open and a great run. The long straights that are such a pain in the light felt short in the dark. I found the WWoS an energy boost due to the sports lighting. It added energy to my effort.
Entertainemnt. I felt like the entertainment was nearly constant. Maybe in the sections where it was missing I found a costumed runner to chat with or maybe it was the draw of flashing lights marking the next corner.
Aid Stations It looked like the stations may have been stressed for the last runners based on what I saw as a mid packer. Disney got the spacing just about right on this.
The Medal – It is cool and glows in the dark for those who may not know.
New Waves I am impressed. The small and frequent waves are probably the best thing I can point to in a RnR run. Disney is finally getting the message and moving in that direction. I never felt like I was overly crowded once out of the gate. I was about 3 people off the front of the F wave. We merged seamlessly into E about the time we hit Osceola. I heard that the later corrals were still a little cramped and weaving was still common.
Negatives
First, realize that I am not a real night race fan. I will always comment on lighting as a result. I thought the lighting was nearly perfect, but where it was off, it was really off. The areas I have issue with are where the light towers are not aimed correctly. It does not take much to have the crews look at the aim and adjust while setting up the towers. Saturday the largest issue was nearing the end of the trail section. A fog machine was blowing fog, a lighting tower was aimed back into the runners and the field lighting was beginning to bring up the ambient lighting in the eyes of the runner. It may just be the 55 yo eyes I have. The other two huge issues from this race were the bright black lights in front of the Hat in DHS which hid the sharp rise along the course. Then the flashing lights in the costume tunnel. I will give kudos to the race organization as all but one street light was working, there were no LEO car headlights aimed back into the runner’s eyes and I never felt totally uncomfortable as I did in sections of the inaugural W&D.

The worst negative was not the race but me. It’s a do as I say, not as I do moment. I fell off hydration replenishment during the day. Basically I was out and about and did not take on the fluids I should have. I a result, I lost about 4.5% body weight through the day (post 5k through Sunday AM) – making the 10 mile race go long.

I give the race an A, my effort a C. I may eventually like night races. The issue I have is that the start is about my bedtime so my clock is a little out of whack for a couple days post race.

I see others had a good time.

I may be back

 

[disney_runner]

Thanks for the detailed information Coach! Looking forward to doing this one next year.

Interesting about the new corral system. This is the first race with it, right? Too bad I'm not doing January this year. I'd love to see how it works for that one.

 

[PrincessV]

I posted Part One of my race recap today! I'm trying to get it done while the memories are still fresh. You can find it at www.facebook.com/fuzzyV

The box did have a nifty little handle! I was sweating so much that my handle broke within minutes.

I also broke my handle from it getting wet from sweat.

+1 The handle helped some, until it broke, lol!

The temperature seemed to creep up as we waited for the start.

YES! I was pretty miserable until we started - once the pack opened up, it felt MUCH better!

I thought the trail section was well lit and a nice track to run on.

I think that was my favorite stretch of the race. I'm slowly finding that I love - LOVE - trail running. Give me dirt and grass over asphalt any day. Sadly, there's not much to be had of that where I live.

I recall talking with someone who ran last year and they were saying that they wished the ToT ride were incorporated. I indicated that the finish line was behind the ride and that you could clearly see the façade. Boy was I wrong. I know from being in that parking lot a few times that in fact all one has to do is look up and you see the ToT. I have to admit that on my charge to the finish and the cool down walk, I never looked up.

I looked and saw it... only because I missed it last year!

I heard that the later corrals were still a little cramped and weaving was still common.

G was sort of a mess. First, it was HUGE, compared to the earlier corrals. I seeded myself toward the back of G, knowing I'd be running slower than the 12:00-ish/mile pace associated with it, and figuring everyone ahead would be much faster than my 13:00 pace... I figured wrong. It wasn't a big deal; I didn't have anything at stake; but it was pretty slow going for a while - much slower than I expected.

Yes I agree. I kept running a little bit after I thought I crossed the finish line, only because I wasn't sure I had crossed!

Did it even say "FINISH"?! I actually slowed down to look and couldn't find anything that said "FINISH" but figured it had to be it, lol!

 

[cewait]

Yes I agree. I kept running a little bit after I thought I crossed the finish line, only because I wasn't sure I had crossed!

Did it even say "FINISH"?! I actually slowed down to look and couldn't find anything that said "FINISH" but figured it had to be it, lol!

Funny, I too thought the finish was less than obvious. My clues were the guy just around the corner swearing that the finish was just around the corner, the two odd hour-glass shaped light balloons, Goofy with a really dirty glove and the Second timing mat. Oh, and the photographer who was kneeling 10 feet past the second timing mat in my path with flash a flashing. The bike racks started right at the turn so I knew I was close.

For the record, the finish line said FINISH - just not on the bridge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnHZOUSQI40