Official 2017 Star Wars - Light Side Half Marathon Weekend (Jan 12th - 15th, 2017)

[*DisneyDreamer]

Congrats to everyone who ran races this weekend! Hope you had a great time!

 

[sophy1996]

You are so lucky they let you go without putting on the wristband. The ladies insisted I put mine on or they wouldn't give it to me. I also picked up on Thursday.

Maybe I was the first person who had refused and they weren't sure what to do, then they got clarification. I would have come back on Saturday rather than wear the wristband for days. I hate those things.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Had a great time at the Lightside! Definite newbie to racing so it was our first DL race. I walked the 5K with my niece who is the long time runner and is pregnant. She's been having terrible morning sickness even into her 2nd trimester but was feeling pretty good this weekend so although her Challenge was out the door she did walk both 5 and 10k. It was my first 10K and it went pretty well.

Loved the courses and walking to them from the hotel and plan to do it again next year!

 

[bumbershoot]

Lots of inventive costumes on the runners!

I liked the Tie Fighter with the sign "I had friends on that Death Star!" pinned to her back.

501st/Rebel legion at mile 8

They were fabulous.

I love the bands (though not when they start blaring just as I go by LOL).

I don't think they designed the package for the runners, just those of us who were cheering someone else on. My DH's breakfast for the Light Side Lounge didn't even start until 9, I believe, and he got plenty of food.

I got confused and thought you were talking with someone about the runner's breakfast.

 

[transformer67]

Anyone else having trouble accessing photos? I put in the code (without the dashes) and my number and nothing comes up, any help

 

[JohnRPG]

Anyone else having trouble accessing photos? I put in the code (without the dashes) and my number and nothing comes up, any help

On the website, they listed the code as 2016 instead of 2017.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Add me to the list of the stomach bug the morning of the race.
Sunday morning's unwanted wake up time was 1:15 and the next 3 hours+ was bathroom time.
Given that I had put so much work into this, was 2,000 miles from home, and the cost factor, I decided to give it a whirl knowing there are bathrooms all over the route. I also knew that even more hydration than normal was needed.

I struggled through the half and somehow got a PB by 16 seconds. Not bad for the 5th race.
Dark Side training starts tomorrow.

 

[ten6mom]

They put etiquette tips in the program, but they can't make people read it.

Sorry, I was thinking more of the CM's along the course who maybe could also say things like "walkers on the right" as at least a token...

Oh well. I am not a real runner so it really doesn't affect me in the end.

My younger son and I averaged roughly a 17 minute mile pace with lots of walking and a much longer than expected "go get a tissue and blow your nose" break so I can't complain. I allowed the older one to run ahead of us but I don't know what his exact time was and neither does he!

 

[ten6mom]

I got the same useless reply from RunDisney when I emailed them. Clearly we know they're not answering us correctly because we are reading here that it can and has been done. My challenge is that my husband was going to be going with me and my boys but now he cannot, and I was counting on him to drive while I slept because I work nights. Now that I have to drive I HAVE to sleep and I just don't see how I can get an adequate amount of sleep and still make a 6+ hour drive (considering Southern California traffic) and get there to pick up our things by 8 pm.

For those who were wondering about packet pick up the morning of the run....

I didn't go up and ask, but at the "Information" table/booth near the family reunion/bag check area, I definitely saw the binders they have out for packet pick up where you have to sign to get your bib. I know it's too late to help anyone with this run but it might be handy for future runs/participants.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Yikes, I wonder what everyone ate in common or was it just a virus going around.

I struggled through the half and somehow got a PB by 16 seconds. Not bad for the 5th race.
Dark Side training starts tomorrow.

Great job! Good luck on the Kessel Run!

 

[jaxonp]

I started to get sick last Monday night and it was pretty mild until I landed at Lax on Wednesday. The sore throat, runny noise and the whole cold gang attacked me good! I relaxed the next few days not sure if I could run or not but I had to try. The 10k was rough but by the end I felt so much better. It's as if the run clearled up my cold! The half was great fun. Mile 10-12 were rough but I got it done and kept close to a 12:30 pace starting all the way back in corral I because I registered so late through a TA. I didn't stop for any photos and I do regret that I didn't for BB8 but that line was just too darn long! Did they have any of the characters at the expo like they did at wine and dine? The medals are incredible this year. I know some have complained but I really think RunDisney has stepped it up with their medal game! Now if only they could step up the quality of the merchandise game!!! Dark side next. That will be a big medal haul. Doing the 5k, Challenge, Kessel and C2C that weekend!

 

[Anisum]

@Anisum logo pins, not mini medals.

Thanks so much!

 

[camaker]

For those who were wondering about packet pick up the morning of the run....

I didn't go up and ask, but at the "Information" table/booth near the family reunion/bag check area, I definitely saw the binders they have out for packet pick up where you have to sign to get your bib. I know it's too late to help anyone with this run but it might be handy for future runs/participants.

I can see how this puts RunDisney in a quandary, though. I think they are approaching the situation the way they are so that they both have the option open to accommodate people with legitimate travel emergencies such as delayed/cancelled flights while not encouraging people to skip the expo and just show up the morning of the race. As soon as they make it public that this is an option, they open the door to a flood of people for whom it's more convenient or cheaper to show up and get their bibs the morning of the race. That volume of race morning bib pick up would be exceedingly difficult to manage, especially in the time-critical controlled chaos of the race start.

 

[srauseo]

Overall, this was a great experience. Enjoyed the course but it was a little dark in spots. Loved seeing all the characters even though we didn't stop for any. My sister was also having some intestinal distress in addition to some chafing and a sore ankle. The second half of the race was much slower! Port-o-potty at mile 6 was out of TP and she had to wait until mile 9 to go. Not ideal. Yes, people were walking all over the place. Generally, a lot of people could use some more awareness. I love my medal.

Had a terrible experience at Steakhouse 55 post-race. Waited 45 minutes past our 10:30 reservation time for our table. Then waited 15 minutes for drinks. No apologies or even acknowledgement. It was ridiculous and I asked to speak to a manager for the first time in my life. I could go on and on about what a clustercuss it was. We were really looking forward to it and were so disappointed. At least give the hangry runners some water to drink!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

For those who were wondering about packet pick up the morning of the run....

I didn't go up and ask, but at the "Information" table/booth near the family reunion/bag check area, I definitely saw the binders they have out for packet pick up where you have to sign to get your bib. I know it's too late to help anyone with this run but it might be handy for future runs/participants.

Our person was able to get his packet the morning of the 10K. I also think they don't want to confirm you can because there may be a lot of people who just plan on that rather than make the trip to the expo to get it which could cause a big problem in the mornings.

He also buzzed right thru the course.

 

[huggybuff]

Had a terrible experience at Steakhouse 55 post-race. Waited 45 minutes past our 10:30 reservation time for our table. Then waited 15 minutes for drinks. No apologies or even acknowledgement. It was ridiculous and I asked to speak to a manager for the first time in my life. I could go on and on about what a clustercuss it was. We were really looking forward to it and were so disappointed. At least give the hangry runners some water to drink!

That's sad for me to hear. I've never had less than a stellar experience there.

 

[jaxonp]

Congrats to everyone who ran this weekend! I am very jealous of the BB-8 medal.

It's an amazing medal! The designs as of late have been pretty good I think minus last years Disneyland Half Marathon weekend....

 

[ten6mom]

I can see how this puts RunDisney in a quandary, though. I think they are approaching the situation the way they are so that they both have the option open to accommodate people with legitimate travel emergencies such as delayed/cancelled flights while not encouraging people to skip the expo and just show up the morning of the race. As soon as they make it public that this is an option, they open the door to a flood of people for whom it's more convenient or cheaper to show up and get their bibs the morning of the race. That volume of race morning bib pick up would be exceedingly difficult to manage, especially in the time-critical controlled chaos of the race start.

That's very very true, and I do understand why they don't publicize it. But I am glad it's there as a buffer should I ever need it!

 

[kirstie101]

Sorry I didn’t check in at all during race weekend! All in all I thought it was great. I just missed @courtneybeth at the expo. Got in and out of the race merchandise area fairly quickly and cheaply. Was disappointed a bit in the expo itself. Seemed there just weren’t nearly as many vendors as usual. I did buy some needed KT tape but that was it.


DD had a lot of fun doing the 10k with me. I think I need to buy her real running shoes however. The sketchers just weren’t cutting it. We didn’t stop for any character pics but took tons of other pics. Wish they would have had the SW Rebel characters out for the 10k rather than the half cause she totally would have wanted to stop for them. Finished in around 1:45 I think. Slow but we had a great time! Oh and we saw @Dis_Yoda on the course in California Adventure! I did think the course felt a bit more crowded than I’m used to but maybe its cause we were moving slower. The line for pics with race medals was also ridiculous so we skipped that. Didn’t get the AP bag after the 10k cause the line was ridiculous! So I went after DS’s kids race. Which he did excellent at. That was a first for him also. Super proud of both my kids on Saturday.


I really enjoyed the half course. @courtneybeth I’m so sorry you were sick! I was in corral G and got to the corrals around 5:00. Sat on the curb with a nice lady until they started moving us up. Loved the course and all the park time. So glad I stopped for a photo with BB-8! Only took about 10 minutes. Took a few other fun pics too. Finished up in 3:15 with is fairly average for me during Disney halfs and about 20 minutes off my PR. I was just thrilled cause I was worried my IT band would force me to walk it in by mile 8-10 but I was able to keep running til the end thanks to KT tape!


Post Half lunch at Carnation Café was very enjoyable and did not feel rushed at all. With the kids in tow it was a great location for us and I think it will be a regular stop for us now!


All in all I thought it was a great race weekend. Could have done with less lines in a few places but its Disney right?

I’m still loving the move to photopass photographers. So much better than marathonfoto ever was!

 

[94bruin]

Sorry I didn’t check in at all during race weekend! All in all I thought it was great. I just missed @courtneybeth at the expo. Got in and out of the race merchandise area fairly quickly and cheaply. Was disappointed a bit in the expo itself. Seemed there just weren’t nearly as many vendors as usual. I did buy some needed KT tape but that was it.


DD had a lot of fun doing the 10k with me. I think I need to buy her real running shoes however. The sketchers just weren’t cutting it. We didn’t stop for any character pics but took tons of other pics. Wish they would have had the SW Rebel characters out for the 10k rather than the half cause she totally would have wanted to stop for them. Finished in around 1:45 I think. Slow but we had a great time! Oh and we saw @Dis_Yoda on the course in California Adventure! I did think the course felt a bit more crowded than I’m used to but maybe its cause we were moving slower. The line for pics with race medals was also ridiculous so we skipped that. Didn’t get the AP bag after the 10k cause the line was ridiculous! So I went after DS’s kids race. Which he did excellent at. That was a first for him also. Super proud of both my kids on Saturday.


I really enjoyed the half course. @courtneybeth I’m so sorry you were sick! I was in corral G and got to the corrals around 5:00. Sat on the curb with a nice lady until they started moving us up. Loved the course and all the park time. So glad I stopped for a photo with BB-8! Only took about 10 minutes. Took a few other fun pics too. Finished up in 3:15 with is fairly average for me during Disney halfs and about 20 minutes off my PR. I was just thrilled cause I was worried my IT band would force me to walk it in by mile 8-10 but I was able to keep running til the end thanks to KT tape!


Post Half lunch at Carnation Café was very enjoyable and did not feel rushed at all. With the kids in tow it was a great location for us and I think it will be a regular stop for us now!


All in all I thought it was a great race weekend. Could have done with less lines in a few places but its Disney right?

I’m still loving the move to photopass photographers. So much better than marathonfoto ever was! View attachment 215621 View attachment 215622

Love your photos! Your kids are soo cute! We are trying to figure out if we can get our kids to run in the future. DD11 is just such a bookworm/anti-athlete that it would be hard for her. DD7 needs a few more years before she can run the 10k.

I'm swamped at work - will write my review of the weekend sometime this week. Have to say DH& I had a fantastic time and are thinking about 2018!

Okay, back to reality.