Official 2014 Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare, Half Marathon, 10k, and 5k Thread!

[cepmom]

Heading to LAX now !! We should hopefully get to the expo around 1ish today, for those that have already made it to the expo, was there a lot of coast to coast stuff? How about Half merchandise? Lots to choose from?
When we were at the Princess Expo the coast to coast stuff was limited so we didn't get anything...

 

[nervous1sttimer]

Heading to LAX now !! We should hopefully get to the expo around 1ish today, for those that have already made it to the expo, was there a lot of coast to coast stuff? How about Half merchandise? Lots to choose from?
When we were at the Princess Expo the coast to coast stuff was limited so we didn't get anything...

NO! I was SO disappointed. I wanted a jacket, a hat or visor, and a C2C wine glass and they had none of that. They only had the (kind of ugly, but I bought one any way) plain white technical tees in hot pink or bright blue.

I also have no idea why they didn't have DDD wine glasses and why the DDD zip jackets were so much cheaper quality than the 1/2 jackets. I was not in love with any of the merchandise. The selection was way better at PHM weekend. He best thing I got was the free DDD race shirt!

 

[cepmom]

NO! I was SO disappointed. I wanted a jacket, a hat or visor, and a C2C wine glass and they had none of that. They only had the (kind of ugly, but I bought one any way) plain white technical tees in hot pink or bright blue. I also have no idea why they didn't have DDD wine glasses and why the DDD zip jackets were so much cheaper quality than the 1/2 jackets. I was not in love with any of the merchandise. The selection was way better at PHM weekend. He best thing I got was the free DDD race shirt!

Oh man, that is disappointing I thought the Princess expo selection was awful ( by the time we got there) I was surprised because I felt like the selection was far better at the WDW marathon weekend expo

 

[Kathymford]

Not to mention ZERO 10k merchandise. I am super annoyed by that. Not EVERYONE does the Dumbo. Even the 10 pin is kind of a rip. 2 different pins for DDD and the 1/2. One that looks like the medal and one that's like the logo or something. Only one version for the 10K. SERIOUSLY? Sorry. Just super annoyed. It's still a $100 race.

The DDD tech jacket is really nice IMO, but maybe I'm not that picky. There's a non-tech one too that us cute. Lots and lots off DDD gear compared to karst year.

 

[nervous1sttimer]

Not to mention ZERO 10k merchandise. I am super annoyed by that. Not EVERYONE does the Dumbo. Even the 10 pin is kind of a rip. 2 different pins for DDD and the 1/2. One that looks like the medal and one that's like the logo or something. Only one version for the 10K. SERIOUSLY? Sorry. Just super annoyed. It's still a $100 race. The DDD tech jacket is really nice IMO, but maybe I'm not that picky. There's a non-tech one too that us cute. Lots and lots off DDD gear compared to karst year.

Very interesting - there was no tech jacket when I was there yesterday! Only for the 1/2 which is why I was so confused. Unfortunately I'm not trekking back to the expo just to look for the jacket, so looks like I just miss out!

 

[croach]

Just wanted to post to say ENJOY THE WEEKEND EVERYONE! We're headed out on a nonstop from the east coast this morning. As usual I'm hard to miss, so feel free to say hi.

Now that I saw this I just realized that I saw you in the parks several times yesterday. You had an Ironman shirt on. And I saw you on the course this morning as well.

 

[Davidg83]

How did everyone's 10k go this morning? I had lots of fun and am ready for tomorrow! I did have a safety pin malfunction but I'm happy to report that it did not result in any Janet Jackson type of incident.

 

[cepmom]

Hi everyone hope you all are having fun this weekend! Quick question, just trying to think of how to get to the corrals...coming from South harbor blvd, so straight through Downtown Disney then where? Follow the crowds?? Also what time are you all
leaving your hotel rooms and getting to your corrals? Getting night before jitters

 

[zanzibar138]

Hi everyone hope you all are having fun this weekend! Quick question, just trying to think of how to get to the corrals...coming from South harbor blvd, so straight through Downtown Disney then where? Follow the crowds?? Also what time are you all
leaving your hotel rooms and getting to your corrals? Getting night before jitters

Don't stress. There are plenty of people giving you directions We've been leaving our hotel (DI&S) at about 4:15am-4:30am and getting pretty close to the front of our corral.

 

[cepmom]

Don't stress. There are plenty of people giving you directions We've been leaving our hotel (DI&S) at about 4:15am-4:30am and getting pretty close to the front of our corral.

thanks so much!

 

[hotblooded]

These forums are usually hopping after a race weekend. Where are all the recaps and reminiscences?

 

[thndrmatt]

Now that I saw this I just realized that I saw you in the parks several times yesterday. You had an Ironman shirt on. And I saw you on the course this morning as well.

That was me!

We had our usual blast of a time! Although I'm pretty sure the temp was higher than most years, the clouds kept the course overcast until over the three hour point from what I could tell. The 5:30 start time on both days for the 10k and half meant ultra humid and I was soaked by the end of both. Cut a few minutes off my course PR and given the previous 8 attempts didn't all have a 10k the day before I'm very satisfied!

Bring on the 10th anniversary... but first, Wine and Dine!

 

[bumbershoot]

These forums are usually hopping after a race weekend. Where are all the recaps and reminiscences?

We're all melting in the heat while trying to have fun in the parks?

That's me, at least. I also posted a thing over on the Disneyland forum's thread about this race.

 

[jerivera]

I actually thought the weather during the race was fine! At least compared to here in Austin. I guess there had to be at least one benefit of living in a place where daily temps go up to 100+ during Summer.

I sweat less during the Half than I did during my training runs here!

The one aspect I didn't really appreciate during the run was that although I knew there would be a trail, I didn't realize it would be a very dusty actual dirt (and only dirt) trail next to a large dry river/construction with several "mines" from horses to keep runners sharp!

Still, I'm mighty proud I did my first Half. And in my first trip to Disneyland at that. It's been along road, with 70 pounds lost since I started losing weight back in November. Totally worth it.

My "net time", per trackshack, was 2:14:57. Booyah.

My Lesson Learned: Don't tour the parks (or anything!) until legs are sore for 2 days prior to running a race.

And very seriously, THANK YOU ALL OF YOU for all the advice and support you've given me and all others in this forum. It's been invaluable, motivational, and entertaining, all at the same time.

And now (if life continues to cooperate!) onto my first Marathon, which will be in Jan at WDW!

 

[RnbwSktles]

Arrived home around 12:30am lastnight, slept very little, and am at work now. If I liked coffee, I'd probably be drinking a lot of it!

I really enjoyed the races (did Dumbo), but the 10k was my favorite. I liked being in the parks for most of the race. The weather was also nicer on Saturday IMO. The temp wasn't bad Sunday, but it was humid! I wasn't expecting that. I was sitting in my corral thinking "Why is it so hard to breath?" so I pulled out my phone and checked the weather app...90% humidity! At least it stayed cloudy for most if it

I arrived on Thurs afternoon and did the parks Thurs evening through Sunday evening. My feet started to hurt almost right away, which is pretty normal for me. I can't seem to solve that issue. I have tried different shoes and insoles and it doesn't seem to matter. . I felt fine during the races though so I don't think I tired myself out as much as I was worried I would. My official race times were my worst ever (is there an opposite of a PR? ) but I expected that with all of the stops and congestion.

The things I didn't like:
1) Let's start with the corrals for the half. I was in G, and there fairly early so I was somewhere in the front half of it. I have no idea what it looked like in the back, but I could tell that people were having a tough time getting in. I don't know if that was for G or H or both. People were still lined up next to G when we started moving, so they all tried to shove their way into our corral near the front. One guy tried to stop them, but I thought he might be trampled! I don't understand how this happened? Did RunDisney underestimate how big the corrals needed to be?

Also, why did they send 2 corrals at a time? What was the point of so many corrals then?

2) The course through Downtown Disney for the 10k was a nightmare for spectators/runners returning to their hotels. I waited for nearly half an hour to cross at one point. The system they set up to move people back and forth was a great idea, but they moved too slow! I'm not sure I understand why the course had to weave so much in the first place.

 

[StartedByAMouse]

Overall, I had a really good time for the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. I did the Dumbo Double Dare, my wife joined me for the 10k and my 8-year-old daughter ran the 400m in the Kids Races.

We hit the expo around 5/6 p.m. on Friday. Packet pick up was pretty easy as there wasn't much of a crowd to contend with. We had to go to four different stations on the lower level to get all of our stuff -- my Dumbo bib, my wife's 10k bib & pin, my daughter's Kids Races bib and shirt, and my commemoratives (pins) at a final booth. We then made our way upstairs for a quick picture at the faux castle photo location, got our race shirts and looked around a bit.

We weren't buying any New Balance shoes but there didn't seem to be a line at that hour. Got the free art card from Lasting Commemoratives. Was disappointed at the Angels booth this year -- had to land on 1 out of 20(?) spots on the spin wheel to win anything, unlike last year where they gave you something for spinning and an assortment of better giveaways depending on whether you got a single, double, triple, etc. Walked through the official runDisney store but didn't see anything that I really had to have. We wound up buying my daughter a pair of the Kids Races ears, which I realized after getting home that I had pre-purchased but didn't receive at check-in. Bummer!

We were staying at the Tropicana on Harbor and my wife and I walked over early on Saturday morning for the 10k. Hung out at the dance party for a few minutes before they announced that the corrals were open. I was in Corral C and my wife was in D, so I moved down to be with her for the race. We were right behind the guy who ran as Kronk with the Yzma tower on his back. My wife got nervous when they said that walkers were welcome but should be in the last corral but I told her she was fine where she was but to stay off to the side. She decided she wanted to start out running anyway. It was a bit crowded but we had fun running for the first mile or so before she got tired. We walked most of the rest of the way with a few bursts of running, mainly to get around others. I liked the course a lot because so much of it was on Disney property but there were some definite pinch points, like the path from the cast member employee gate on Harbor to the Disneyland entrance, that I wouldn't have cared for if I was doing it for time. The running took its toll on my wife who struggled keeping pace after mile 5 but she made it through and was thrilled to hear the announcer say her name as we crossed the finish line.

We had a bit of trouble getting back to our hotel after the race to pick up our daughter for the Kids Races. As RnbwSktles said above, "The course through Downtown Disney for the 10k was a nightmare for spectators/runners returning to their hotels." We were stuck in place by the ESPN Zone for a long time and again in front of the Jazz Kitchen waiting for the final runner to come past before they opened up all the walkways so we could proceed. Luckily, they opened up part of the tent at the security checkpoint to people without bags and we were able to get into and through the esplanade quicker.

The Kids Races were fun to watch. Like my wife, it was my daughter's first runDisney race. She decided that she would run it on her own without Mommy or Daddy joining her. We were able to get a good spot past the finish line to watch the kids cross so we saw her at the end. Though my wife and I didn't dress up in costume for our races, my daughter was excited that she could and chose her Jasmine costume because she didn't want to trip on the longer dresses of the other princess costume she had. She was very excited to have her own medal at the end.

I got up early for Sunday's race and walked across Downtown Disney to get ready for the Half. As I approached the dance party area, the volunteers were telling us that the corrals were open so I skipped the festivities to stand in my corral. I was in Corral G and was early enough to be at the barricade. I spent the next hour an a half watching soooo many people with latter letters trying to get into our corral. It was equal parts interesting and sad. The poor volunteer who was trying to direct traffic was completely overwhelmed by the amount of people and so many people simply ignored her when she told them they couldn't come in with a lower letter. A runDisney representative had better luck checking letters and getting people to leave if they didn't belong in our corral.

As it got closer and closer to the start of the race, the massive amounts of people continuing to pour in were insane. Trying to get people into their proper corrals was proving impossible. So many people were squeezed into the corrals that there was no room for additional bodies. Eventually, I realized the National Anthem was being sung and everything finally came to a calm for a minute before becoming completely crazy once again. A and B were sent off. C and D were sent off and E and F were getting ready to go and the intersection was still completely full of people not in corrals. As the time for G to move forward approached, the hundreds of people in the intersection ahead of us were allowed to move to the start line ahead of us. Those of us at the front of the corral had been there waiting for an hour and a half and were forced to wait behind hundreds of people who had gotten there much closer to start time. It was poorly done in my opinion. Too few runDisney personnel on hand to keep things organized. Too many people being squeezed into too small of an area.

Because there were so many people ahead of me now -- many of them in lower corrals -- I did not get off to a great start time wise. After about a half mile, turning left on Katella, there was finally enough space to pick up my pace and I enjoyed a great run through the rest of the course. I needed a quick start if I was going to break 2 hours but I was never able to make up for lost time later in the race. After about Mile 8 when I realized that I wasn't going to break 2 hours, I slowed a bit and finished with a PR of 2:07:50. I was still pretty happy with my efforts and results.

Like I said to start, overall I had a really good time. It was fun to people watch, both those with good and bad behavior, as well as to see everyone's costumes and such.

This was my second Disneyland Half Marathon and my first Dumbo Double Dare. I'm now looking forward to January when I'll go to Walt Disney World to participate in my first full marathon and the Star Wars Half Marathon the following week to complete the Coast-to-Coast Challenge. Though my wife was tired and sore after her race, she's talking about getting into better shape and trying to run the 10k again next year. My daughter can't wait to be old enough to do the 10k and the Half in the future.

 

[rachlovestv]

I had a great time this past weekend! This was the first time I've ever stayed in a Disney Hotel at Disneyland, and it was so awesome! We stayed at Paradise Pier, and even though we'd only booked a standard room, we ended up with a view of the parks, on the 10k floor, right overlooking California Adventure! We could actual see World of Color from our room, and the hotel had the audio playing on one of their tv channels, so it was the perfect viewing spot! We also had fun hanging by the pool on Saturday afternoon, trying out the water slide, having a few drinks, and just relaxing.

I ran the half only this year because I was originally flying in Saturday morning, but changed my schedule a few months ago to arrive Friday. I'll admit, it was really hard on Friday watching everyone (including my running buddy) pick up their DDD stuff, especially since the DDD shirt itself is so cute and the half shirt just wasn't too my taste. Plus, that tikiStitch 10k medal is do cute, and that's one of my favorite Disney movies, so it was a bummer to miss out it.

I'll be honest, though, I had a blast on Saturday morning, watching the race and cheering on the runners, and don't regret not getting to run anymore. I was standing right after mile 6 with a sign that said "you're totally winning!", and it was fun to see all the laughs and smiles it provoked. AND AND AND!! I ended up chatting with Sean Astin for about 15 minutes, which was both random and awesome!

As for the half marathon, I have to admit, I undertrained for the race this time. I've been running for 3 years now and done dozens of halfs, and I convinced myself that even if I wasn't doing all my miles and all the runs I had scheduled, I'll be fine. In the end, I had no problem finishing, but with a time considerable slower than I am capable of, when I have trained properly. So, in the end, I only have myself to blame for being slower than I'd like.

Other than having to walk too much, I had a good time. The weather was humid, but overcast, which is better than I expected. The sun didn't come out until I was headed back to Disneyland from Angels stadium, and by then it was thankfully at my back. I started in Corral G, like a few before me have mentioned, and was surprised to see people with I and J bibs next to me, as usually Disney is much tighter with their corral checks. That's probably why there wasn't room in the corral for all the actual G people, and they ended up sending a lot of those folks to the back of H.

I also had fun wearing my "I believe in the Blerch" running shirt, and getting comments from other runners on the course.

Normally after a race, I'll stay until Monday so I can relax more post-race on Sunday, but this weekend was different -- I had to fly home to Seattle Sunday night so I could run in the Seahawks NFL kickoff 5K on Monday morning! it was totally worth it, because we got to finish on the field sidelines and got an awesome medal!

Of course, after I got home last night, I went to be early and slept 11 hours. Getting up 4 mornings at 4-5 am (day 1: flight to CA, day 2: 10K spectating, day 3: half, day 4: 5k) almost felt like I was doing Dopey again!

I probably won't do this particular race again in the future, as August in California is really just too hot and sunny for this Seattle girl, but I'm already signed up for Avengers, Star Wars, and Tinker Bell, so I'm sure I'll see you guys in the future at other races!

 

[cepmom]

I enjoyed the Half this weekend, wasn't sure how I ws going to feel about the part of the course that was mostly outside of the parks, but it was pretty fun! All the bands, cheerleaders, dance teams, cars, regular spectators were awesome! Loved the "Free Hugs" guy and the people with "ice cold" sponges...so welcome at that point as the humidity was pretty bad.

I was a bit disappointed with the amount of characters available to get pictures with...seems like WDW had a lot more, but probably because of the whole race being on property I guess. DD and I only stopped to get pictures with Jafar and the Evil Queen. DD and I ran as Mike and Sully and I so wanted a picture with them along the course.

I thought the organization at the corrals was awful, like which direction to go to for which corral etc, so confusing...I was in G also, and didn't notice lower corral numbers but that explains why it was so crowded in there They are seriously strict at WDW about getting into the correct corral so this annoys me that people were allowed to get in corrals they didn't belong in.

And releasing 2 corrals at a time?? Whats the point of that??

Otherwise we had fun...went into California Adventure on our way back to the room to grab fast passes for Radiator Springs Racers and to ride Toy Story lol, showered then went back for the day. My fitbit showed I ran/walked a total of 25 miles that day...my PF is not happy

 

[fairestoneofall]

What a great race! The course and community support blows the WDW 10k and half out of the water!

I was disappointed in the half merchandise. I was hoping for a jacket with a retro DL graphic, but every piece had a huge Mickey on it. I love Mickey, but it makes me think of the WDW marathon. So, I bought the aqua DDD hoodie instead.

I did LOVE the volunteer shirt--that is what should've gone on the back of a jacket! I'm happy I volunteered for the 5k. It was fun, plus I got the cool t-shirt.

 

[jerivera]

As the time for G to move forward approached, the hundreds of people in the intersection ahead of us were allowed to move to the start line ahead of us. Those of us at the front of the corral had been there waiting for an hour and a half and were forced to wait behind hundreds of people who had gotten there much closer to start time. It was poorly done in my opinion. Too few runDisney personnel on hand to keep things organized. Too many people being squeezed into too small of an area.

Because there were so many people ahead of me now -- many of them in lower corrals -- I did not get off to a great start time wise. After about a half mile, turning left on Katella, there was finally enough space to pick up my pace and I enjoyed a great run through the rest of the course.

I was just a few feet from the G barricade and noticed it too.

There was also a rush of folk pushing against the flow of people being sent to the back corrals. I'm pretty sure those folk also pushed their way into the corral once G started moving forward to the starting line.

It did bother me a bit initially. We all get there very early, are in the front, but still start the run with a great deal more people (prob a few hundred?) ahead of us in the corral, all of whom got there late (race had already started). Fairly poor planning/organizing on runDisney's part. They really should have had closed down that intersection once the race started. And either have an alternate route for folk to get to the back corrals, or just sent them to the back of the corrals because the race had already started. I'm not sure how they expected G, H and the rest to get through that river of people still crossing the street after the race had already started.

But there wasn't much to do at that point. I didn't want to start a fun race in a bad mood so I let it slide. Glad to hear it's not the norm in runDisney races, though! And I'm glad it looks like everyone enjoyed the race regardless.