Official 2015 Disneyland Half Marathon Thread.

pamster said:
I just have to get this off of my chest about the one slightly negative experience during the 10k:

When the runners were leaving Disneyland by Splash Mountain (past mile 5.5?), a Cast Member shouted, "COME ON, RUNNERS! WALKING IS CHEATING!" He might have said something else prior to that, but I only caught the end. I shot back: "Hey! I don't see YOU doing this!," while another runner commented, "Says the person who's just standing there!"

I'm sure the CM was trying to be encouraging, but I wasn't impressed, especially since the official runDisney training guide suggests the run-walk method.

/end complaint about a first world problem haha
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I feel you there! It actually reminds me of the first time I ran this one. Out with all the people and their classic cars one guy had a sign that said "I didn't wake up this early to watch you walk". It got me so disheartened as I was on a walk interval at the time and already struggling. I'm not gonna lie it brought me to tears - and not in a magical way. I had a very hard time getting myself through the final few miles after that and I think the only thing that kept me going for the last mile was running by people I knew and not wanting to stop in front of them.

As much fun as some signs can be, I wish some people put more thought into it. Thankfully those signs are few and far between. I'm sure the guy thought it was funny, but it definitely wasn't on my end.[/QUOTE]
 
pamster said:
I love reading about everyone's experiences as well as seeing your pictures!

I just have to get this off of my chest about the one slightly negative experience during the 10k:

When the runners were leaving Disneyland by Splash Mountain (past mile 5.5?), a Cast Member shouted, "COME ON, RUNNERS! WALKING IS CHEATING!" He might have said something else prior to that, but I only caught the end. I shot back: "Hey! I don't see YOU doing this!," while another runner commented, "Says the person who's just standing there!"

I'm sure the CM was trying to be encouraging, but I wasn't impressed, especially since the official runDisney training guide suggests the run-walk method.

/end complaint about a first world problem haha

I loved my first rD experience and now have 3 friends committed to running the DL 10k with me next year!

@Keels - my best friend and I had our first Dole Whips (in float form) on Thursday night! I might have thought of you at that time :)
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I'm guessing the average, non-runner has never heard of the run-walk method. I've definitely heard some people telling me not to give up when I am on a walk break. Since I am sure they have no idea what I am doing, I just say thanks or smile and keep moving forward.
 
Belle Ella said:
I feel you there! It actually reminds me of the first time I ran this one. Out with all the people and their classic cars one guy had a sign that said "I didn't wake up this early to watch you walk". It got me so disheartened as I was on a walk interval at the time and already struggling. I'm not gonna lie it brought me to tears - and not in a magical way. I had a very hard time getting myself through the final few miles after that and I think the only thing that kept me going for the last mile was running by people I knew and not wanting to stop in front of them.

As much fun as some signs can be, I wish some people put more thought into it. Thankfully those signs are few and far between. I'm sure the guy thought it was funny, but it definitely wasn't on my end.
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If it makes you feel better, my Bluetooth headphones died at Mile 9 and I had to run the rest of the way with just the bands and the thoughts in my head.

And this was after I made sure I had a pair of plug-in headphones in my SpiBelt - which I ripped off and gave to my Mom on Main Street when I was so frustrated with the crowding through the first two miles.
 
We left the magic behind last night. After a red eye from LAX, we'll be at Boston airport for a while waiting for our connecting flight to Buffalo, so I may as well add my thoughts on the weekend.

Expo:
* Although waiting in line for 1 1/2 on Thursday morning wasn't the ideal activity, it went quite quickly, and I was pleased that we managed to get so close to the front of the line having arrived at about 9:30am. Managed to snag a half marathon jacket, so I was pretty pleased with that.
* Got my free LC bookmark, a few samples from Cliff and Sports Beans, and of course stocked up on socks - we actually quite enjoyed the rest of the expo.
* Didn't bother to line up for the photo opportunity in front of the castle - was always a huge line when we were in the vicinity.

5k:
* This run was great fun, but we went a bit faster than I was originally aiming for! Didn't manage to stop at any of the official photo locations, but still got a decent selection of official photos (thank goodness, because mine were all lousy).
* Loved how they had the Evil Queen on the POTC bridge, but I didn't get a very good photo because she kept telling everyone to keep going lol!
* From corral B, there were still fairly decent lines for all the characters, but they were all pretty classic type ones that we could have met in the parks anyway, so we didn't bother to stop.

Half:
* We arrived shortly after 4:30am, and went straight to the front of corral D - in the first few rows. I did see someone who looked like he could be Sgt Tibbs in front of us, but wasn't sure enough to say hello. We were probably pretty close to Bella Ella as well!
* We ended up running intervals because of Mum's stress fractures, and overall ran faster than I was planning to. I was really just aiming to finish in under 3 hours, but we came in at about 2:43!
* Really enjoyed the whole course! Through the parks was great fun of course, but it did feel like there was a lot of back stage. We didn't find the city streets too bad because there was so much entertainment along the course - never a dull moment! As Australians, we just couldn't believe the amount of public support this race gets!
* I had a bit of a sensitive tummy for much of the run, and the orange slices really got me through those couple of middle miles. Also the very frequent water and Powerade stops! There were enough of them that I could just have a small sip at each station. Really can't thank the volunteers enough!
* Just love the medals!

Parks:
* OMG they were soooooo packed over the weekend! Thursday was ok, but from Friday night, it was ridiculous crowds and none of us could face spending much time there. Thought they would dissipate a bit on Monday, but no such luck. Yesterday the crowds were finally light enough that we actually enjoyed visiting the parks.
* LOVE the new fireworks show. We personally found the parade a bit 'meh'.
* At least 3 random 'strangers' over the weekend 'recognised' me from the boards! Loved meeting everyone and chatting about the run and the weekend.
* We found that CMs generally didn't seem to make as big a fuss over our medals this year, but the characters we met while we were wearing medals all seemed to notice and a couple of them made a big deal of it - that's always fun!

Generally, had a great time and thinking about how we can make it back next year lol!
 


Thanks for posting your pictures slogger. It was great to look back and reminisce even if the race just happened this weekend. Like others I missed Hades too.

This weekend was a blast but it was exhausting:
I took an early flight from NC to LAX so even with renting a car I made it to my hotel before 10 am. I'd completed packet pickup and the expo by a little after 11:15 (Woohoo for being let in early) and then headed to DL for the day. This was when I realized the problem of a solo trip. Without anyone else to think about, and without Dining reservations I didn't have anything to stop me from just doing stuff. I wound up staying to see Paint the Night and Disneyland forever. By the time I made it back to my room I had walked 15 miles (On a rest day) and had spent a grand total of about 45 minutes sitting down.

Saturday I woke up about 3:30 and was able to leave my room by about 4. I wan't to get my daily milage to closer to 8 for the training plan that I'm on for chicago so I went for a quick run down harbor and along katella to add about a mile and a half before I headed to the corrals. I was really blown away by how much smoother the process of getting to the corrals is at Disneyland than at DisneyWorld. I was fairly close to the front and didn't get to the corrals much before they played the national anthem. The race start was hectic. I spent the first mile trying to get through the crowds to a point that I could run. I think a lot of fast dumbo'ers got to the front of a then decided to take their time to save their legs for the half. I totally understand that but it made for a hectic start with a lot of weaving. After a mile and course cleared out. I was super energized by the parks and ran way faster than I planned to. So much for saving my legs for the half. I had a blast interacting with the crowds and giving hi 5's. Overall I think this is one of the best races I've done anywhere. After the race I went back to get ready so I could make rope drop at California adventure. I had fun in the park but wound up weaving back and forth across the park a lot because of fastpasses. As a result when I checked my pedometer early in the afternoon I was already at about 16 miles (including the race and running) for the day. I rested and iced my legs for a while and then headed back into the parks for dinner. I had a quick bite at flows and explored a little bit more then watched WOC and headed back to my room. I wound up with total milage for the day around 18.5 miles. (At this point I felt my half marathon PR slipping away)

Sunday: My running milage for the day was supposed to be 16 but I figured I could just round up. A hard 13.1 should count for as much as a easy 16 I think. I was nervous. I've been running 6 days a week averaging 50+ miles a week training for the Chicago Marathon. The plan I'm doing has a an estimated half finish time if you are on track to meet your marathon goal. That time would have been a 3 minute PR for me, but secretly I was hoping to PR by 4 minutes. I started right behind the pacer and the first 6 miles seemed to go by quickly. As we got into the streets of Anaheim I started talking with another runner but that only lasted a mile or 2. By about mile 10 I could feel that I was starting to struggle. The pacer started slowly moving away from me. By mile 11 it was a real mental battle. All the walking I'd done that trip had caught up with me. At this point the pacer was probably 10-20 yards in front of me. I spent the last 2 miles just trying to keep him relatively close to me but by the time I finished he wasn't anywhere in sight. I did manage to finish 30 seconds ahead of the pace time so I did make my goal and my stretch goal.

So the biggest emotional swing of the week was at the finish of the 10k. As I crossed the finish line one of the other runners asked me. What age group are you in, I think you might have pushed me out of an age group placement? ( I was shocked and flattered, I've never been fast enough to place at a race of this size.) When I responded "i'm 40", he said "Oh good I thought you were 50". Doh! Momentary Flattery bubble popped.
 
I was in B near the front and saw some D corral bibs. A corral was spilling out of it's entrance since I could see their gate the whole time waiting. The crazy thing I saw was in B a guy started falling over, guess he started to faint, everyone jumped into to help & I read later on facebook he did run & finish.

I did have a rude women tell me to 'watch out' and half pushed me on the Santa Anna Trail, not sure what her deal was as I wasn't doing anything but running, so I powered as fast I could up the hill and left her in the dust, ha. I just don't get the rude people who think they are the only ones out there. A little bit of jostling at the start of B but not bad in the half.

I got a Coast to Coast shirt but they were out of L & XL so my brother couldn't get one. Lots of stuff gone by Friday afternoon sadly.

Overall though loved everything, volunteers were great and on course entertainment rocked! Happy with my times too even with photo stops and all! Loved the old cars that stretched forever & the Stadium. I need to go though my pictures & video, always fun to see what I ended up with.
 


cavepig said:
I was in B near the front and saw some D corral bibs. A corral was spilling out of it's entrance since I could see their gate the whole time waiting. The crazy thing I saw was in B a guy started falling over, guess he started to faint, everyone jumped into to help & I read later on facebook he did run & finish.
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I was standing next to that guy! Glad to hear that he recovered and was able to race.

He seemed really excited to be there. Seemed alert and in good spirits. When the announcers were talking about race etiquette and told everyone to turn to the person on their right and give some encouragement, he and I did a fist bump and wished each other luck. Then, just as Corral A, was finishing their start, he started swaying. He fell backward first, then forward, which was when I caught him. I was holding him up with his friend next to him. We started waving frantically trying to get one of the official's attention. Another runner came up and said she was a nurse and she and the friend were able to move him off to the side where some runDisney people had come to help him. He looked really out of it. The friend said something about him having a bad back but it didn't seem like it had seized up on him, just that he passed out. Definitely a scary start to the race.

I had a great half -- even set a P.R. by about a minute and a half though I didn't feel like I was in as good of running shape as I was at last year's Disneyland Half. Being at the front of Corral B, I was able to get a really good start and avoid the weaving that I typically experience when bunched up with more people in later corrals. In fact, I probably got off to too quick of a start. Maybe 20 people took off ahead of me but I was running ahead of the pack by myself for a long while. Only really got crowded when I caught up with some of the Corral A people. The only downside to being in Corral B and having a quick start is that I'm already on the streets of Anaheim before the sun rises. Though seeing the World of Color fountains lit up in the dark was pretty nice!

I haven't been running long but the Disneyland Half is my favorite of the races that I've done. This was my third DL Half. I like running through the parks and usually do well with the crowds cheering me on through Angels Stadium and then I slog through the next couple of miles to the end. But this year, I kept my pace and was able to finish strong. Enjoyed myself tremendously all weekend. Looking forward to Avengers next!
 
StartedByAMouse said:
I was standing next to that guy! Glad to hear that he recovered and was able to race.

He seemed really excited to be there. Seemed alert and in good spirits. When the announcers were talking about race etiquette and told everyone to turn to the person on their right and give some encouragement, he and I did a fist bump and wished each other luck. Then, just as Corral A, was finishing their start, he started swaying. He fell backward first, then forward, which was when I caught him. I was holding him up with his friend next to him. We started waving frantically trying to get one of the official's attention. Another runner came up and said she was a nurse and she and the friend were able to move him off to the side where some runDisney people had come to help him. He looked really out of it. The friend said something about him having a bad back but it didn't seem like it had seized up on him, just that he passed out. Definitely a scary start to the race.
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Apparently he did an ironman the weekend before, got a little sick and then I guess that caught up to him and knees locked up standing there as well. Glad you caught him, I was a couple feet back and to the right and we all just started yelling for a medic or someone to help. Last I saw was him being supported on the side as we started so yes was glad to read him responding on facebook.

Yeah no bunching up from front of B in the half, a little jostling which happens at the start. It got a little crowded at the baseball field but I expected that. Oh & I liked the Santa Anna trail gravel, but can see how some people might not like it, but I started running on gravel roads.[/QUOTE]
 
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To continue the adventures, Sunday was DL Half day. Didn't sleep well but had issues with my race dots magnets and we ended up missing the ART bus. No biggie. A little warmer this morning than yesterday but still nice. Easy walk to the parks and staging area. Handy tip.....there are more porta-potties behind the big row at the staging area......No lines!

Got to our corral in time for the national anthem, didn't catch the name of the young lady that sang but she did a phenomenal job. Fireworks too!
Still love the announcers with their banter..."Who's having a birthday.....THIS YEAR?!!" made me chuckle at 5:15 in the morning.
Race started on time. As others pointed out, the first part of the half has you running through both parks almost right out of the gate. Didn't stop for as many pics this time, but did grab one with Mack from Cars and the Halloween Mickey Pumpkin right next to him. Isn't it cool how both parks are right next to eachother? Thanks to all the Disney employees and volunteers that were out supporting us and high-fouring us!

After exiting the parks, we hit the streets of Anaheim just as the sun was coming up. Grabbed a quick pic with the 2 stormtroopers on the corner and then was amazed at how many cheerleaders, dancers, bands, and spectators were out so early on a Sunday morning. Definitely grabbed some energy from the crowds.
And how about all of those cars? Just when I thought it would be over.....there were more and more cars. Just seemed to go on forever, one amazing car after another? Did anyone else see the Deathstar van? Herbie the lovebug? The hearse that allowed runners to pose in the coffin? Lighting McQueen? And all of those muscle cars, Mustangs, and Corvettes. One car lady said "Thanks for running through our car show." You are welcome!

At some point someone handed out the world famous sponges. Those. Were. Awesome.
Kept mine and reused it at every water stop.

The trail part was easy and nice diversion from the pavement. My feet say thank you.
No wind on Sunday. Someone told me a previous Disney event the wind was awful on the trail.
Oranges and Redvines given out before we hit Angels stadium. Great crowd energy there. Mrs. Slogger and I posed for a selfie with the crowd. More cheerleaders, bands, cliff gels, and sun.

Great crowds and runner vibes. At one point we were discussing the Disney characters and I asked if Kuzco could be considered a villain. And then we spotted someone dressed a lot like Kuzco. I thought Yzma was more of a villain in that movie but thanks to the runner behind me that shouted her name when I couldn't think of it. My apologies to those around us when we got into an animated discussion about Breaking Bad and hopefully we didn't spoil any endings for anyone.

Back to the sun. Lots of water and powerade stops along the course. I think there were 9 total but it felt like more.
The sun did make it hard to see at times and I kept thinking it would have been nice to have it at your back to see all of those great cars.
Under the bridge there were people with spray cans of biofreeze or similar....nice touch.

The finish line was in sight, crowds cheering, announcer called our names, there's Donald at the finish?, and we safely crossed the finish line hot and sweaty but injury free and well within the Dumbo required time.

Quickly received our half medals. Verification at the Dumbo and C2C was a breeze. Not sure they actually looked at our photos or times when we passed by. Washcloths and snackboxes handed out, Mrs. Slogger got some ice at the medical tent, RunDisney does a top notch job with that.
Posed for pics and found a nice shady spot to spread out and rest.

Really nice medals.
Fun course.
Great support.
I might like this event better than WDW but the cold weather in FL might have influenced that.
It definitely felt smaller but the energy and park time were off the charts.
Great weather.
Loved all the characters and photo ops!

Wish I would have been able to attend the meet ups or see some of you on the course.
Guess we will just have to do another runDisney race.
 
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A few more pics from the half..........outside the parks for the cars, trail, Angels stadium, medals, C2C wristbands and the all important snack box.
Because we really only run for the RunDisney snackbox!!dl half 17 car.jpg dl half 18 trail.jpg dl half 19 angels.jpg dl half 20 angels entrance.jpg dl half 23 medals.jpg coast to coast.jpg dl half 21 snack.jpg dl half 22 snack 2.jpg
 
Slogger said:
Got to our corral in time for the national anthem, didn't catch the name of the young lady that sang but she did a phenomenal job. Fireworks too!
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If i heard correctly it was Jessica Bernard, one of the current Disneyland Resort Ambassadors :)
 
So I really feel like I did this whole thing backwards! I worked all weekend and squeezed the 1/2 in between shifts at both of my jobs. Now I'm sitting on a plane to visit family in Texas for my vacation, lol. Never again will I try working before and after a half. It was horrible.

@hauntedcity - I feel like I saw you guys in Cars Land while I was working. Thanks for sharing the pictures and it looks like you had a great time!
 
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