2009 Disneyland Half-Marathon Weekend!

[BoygunaSurf]

Hahaha--excellent question! I jogged through all the water stops last year which just resulted in splashing water all over my face. At a stop near where they gave us that goopy stuff that we were supposed to ingest (?!?), I finally stopped and walked while I drank just because I was feeling a little sick to my stomach by then and thought actually drinking some water might help. It did. This time I plan to walk and drink at most of the stops since I still haven't mastered the art of drinking while jogging. I never did eat the goopy stuff--just had a bad feeling about it.

Hey friend! The Gu available during the race is a funny thing. If you aren’t already taking this stuff on your runs, you may not want to start on race day. I guess the rule is to take one 15 minutes prior to the race, and then every 45 minutes thereafter. I saw one of these at Sports Basement on the weekend. There are three main brands, and they all make the same stuff: Power Bar, GU, and Cliff Bar (shots). It definitely has a strange texture, but they do help. Originally designed for rock climbers that needed an extra boost to get them to the next shelf (sometimes a life and death situation), they have been well adapted into the endurance sports.

They are a heavy concentration of caffeine, and claim to be nothing else which is good and honest. Grab a couple if you want to try them out and use them on your next couple of runs; it will help you determine if this is something you want to grab on race day.

Less than three weeks to go!

[SilentDante]

I just took my first energy gel on the 11 miles I did on Saturday. I think it was Power Bar brand, but I can't recall for certain. It was one of the least pleasant textures I've ever had in my mouth and the taste wasn't spectacular, but it worked like crazy. I don't like to use anything for runs under 10 miles, but I'll certainly by trying this again on my longer distances.

So, are you saying they have these available at certain stops over the course? It would certainly be preferable to bringing a pouch/bottle with me on race day.

[Schmielsen]

Yeah, there was one stop that handed you a pack of the gel stuff. I carried it all the way to the finish line because I was afraid to try it, but you guys have convinced me to give it a try. As I recall, the stop with the gel was towards the end of the race when I was feeling pretty spent. A power boost at that point would be very helpful!

[dizneeboy]

Thanks, actually the WDW full marathon is only 75% full, but the half marathon is totally full.
I know, at first I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. Once I started thinking about what I actually signed up for, it's like, oh man, I am in trouble, since I never even ran a marathon yet, but I'm determined lol.

Honestly, I don't really know how to train for it. I heard something about the day before long runs, your suppose do half the mileage that your going to do on long runs, i don't know, I have to keep researching that.

The furthest I ran before my first marathon (which was the WDW 2009 marathon) was 18 miles the week before it and I did fine. It was a fun race. You'll do great.

[Deedlebug]

Back to the water stop question. I have to smile...the DL Half in 07 was my first half marathon. I thought I could jog the water stops....you see people do it all the time in the big races. Well my first water stop I tried this and ended up with all of the water down the front of my shirt. I thought it was just a fluke and I needed to run a little "smoother" at the next stop - well I took Powerade at the next stop - once again all down the front of my shirt. By the third water stop I got smart and walked. Funny how when a little fluid actually gets in you it can make you feel so much better.

[Syndrome]

Wish I could go. Next year for sure!

[dags]

Back to the water stop question. I have to smile...the DL Half in 07 was my first half marathon. I thought I could jog the water stops....you see people do it all the time in the big races. Well my first water stop I tried this and ended up with all of the water down the front of my shirt. I thought it was just a fluke and I needed to run a little "smoother" at the next stop - well I took Powerade at the next stop - once again all down the front of my shirt. By the third water stop I got smart and walked. Funny how when a little fluid actually gets in you it can make you feel so much better.

Heya Deedlebug, I think everyone has the same water stop problems the first few times you do it. The trick I used was to hold the cup at the top and pinch it in the middle. This made a "v" in the cup and made it easier to drink and kept the water from sloshing out while I ran.

This year I'll be brining my own hydration. The Poweraid does not sit well in my stomach and makes me sick. The Cliff shots also did not sit well with me. (sheeesh I'm a mess.....)
I'll be using HammerNutrition HEED for my hydration and Hammer Gel - Espresso for my gel shots. (I'll actually have the gel diluted in a gel flask. This makes it much easier to consume)
I'll use the water at the stops to pour on my head if it gets hot during he race.

[dags]

Another topic....

Does anyone know how the corrals will be broken out by time?

[BoygunaSurf]

The corrals are going to be set up by speed, corral A, corral B, corral C etc. with the first corral being the fastest and the last being the slowest.

There are also the waves, so while you may be in corral A, you will still have to wait as Elite Wave will go after the wheelchair athletes and cyclists followed by wave 1, 2, etc.

Usually, corral A means you submitted a proof of time, otherwise you will be in B or further back. There was also a section on the form you completed when signing up for the race that asked if you intended on walking part, or all of the race. If you checked any of these, then it will push you further back to eliminate jam-ups in the front.

You are all aware, I am sure, that you can print out your waivers for the race. On the waiver form you can find your bib number. This will give you a good idea where you stand in the pack. The bib number corresponds directly with how far your stanchion will be from the front of the line.

Example: I am bib number #450 this year. Last year I was 1,436 (or something close). I was in corral A, but wave 2 or 3. This year I should be in corral A, wave 1, but we will see! My first year, 2007, I had never run a half before and entered with NT (no time). This put me as bib# 13451, way back there!

If you haven’t already printed your waiver, follow the below link:


Verify Registration

15 days and counting!

[Figaro]

Here's an interesting problem, and I'm hoping someone here has some ideas. I am running the Disneyland half with three friends, but one of them signed up for the WDW Donald half-marathon instead of the Dland half. The Dland half is sold out. Has anyone had this problem before and figured out a solution? She really wants to run the Dland half with us. She has a call into Disney, and someone is supposedly calling her back.
Any experience with this before, or ideas, are helpful...

[BoygunaSurf]

Here's an interesting problem, and I'm hoping someone here has some ideas. I am running the Disneyland half with three friends, but one of them signed up for the WDW Donald half-marathon instead of the Dland half. The Dland half is sold out. Has anyone had this problem before and figured out a solution? She really wants to run the Dland half with us. She has a call into Disney, and someone is supposedly calling her back.
Any experience with this before, or ideas, are helpful...

I have heard of similar problems and here is what I know. There is still a pretty good chance your bud can run. Wait to hear back from the Disney rep of course, but what they will likely tell you is that there are various charity groups that purchase entry tickets in bulk early on, and sell those spots to either runners who want to support a charity (sometimes includes a dinner/reception) or for those who were super late in signing up - or, in your friends case, mistakenly entered in a different event.

I am willing to bet they will do something for your buddy, though. Disney is famous for bending over backwards in these situations. I will warn you though, there may be some extra fees. Good luck and let us know how it goes - I hope all of you guys get in the race!

[dags]

The corrals are going to be set up by speed, corral A, corral B, corral C etc. with the first corral being the fastest and the last being the slowest.

There are also the waves, so while you may be in corral A, you will still have to wait as Elite Wave will go after the wheelchair athletes and cyclists followed by wave 1, 2, etc.

Usually, corral A means you submitted a proof of time, otherwise you will be in B or further back. There was also a section on the form you completed when signing up for the race that asked if you intended on walking part, or all of the race. If you checked any of these, then it will push you further back to eliminate jam-ups in the front.

You are all aware, I am sure, that you can print out your waivers for the race. On the waiver form you can find your bib number. This will give you a good idea where you stand in the pack. The bib number corresponds directly with how far your stanchion will be from the front of the line.

Example: I am bib number #450 this year. Last year I was 1,436 (or something close). I was in corral A, but wave 2 or 3. This year I should be in corral A, wave 1, but we will see! My first year, 2007, I had never run a half before and entered with NT (no time). This put me as bib# 13451, way back there!

If you haven’t already printed your waiver, follow the below link:


Verify Registration

15 days and counting!

Thanks.

This kind of answers my questions. However, I know its broken out by ABCD etc... and wave 1 and 2.
But What I guess i was really wanting to know is, what are the time brackets for each one. Example - To be in A you must run an avg of 8:00/mi or faster. To be in B its 8:00/mi to an 10:00/mi.

Any idea if that is how they are broken out?

[BoygunaSurf]

Oh oh oh, I see what you’re saying. The truth is it all depends on what the field average is. The elite wave is about 6:15/mile or faster. Corral A, wave 1 is probably 6:15-7:30 maybe even 7:45, wave 2 7:45-8:45, etc.

I really have no idea, but that would be my best guess. What is your mile pace, and what did you enter as your proof of time for position? If I knew that, I might be able to give you a better idea where you will be posted.

*Also, what is your bib number, a lot can be determined by that in accordance with the number of people currently entered in the race?

[dizneeboy]

Here's an interesting problem, and I'm hoping someone here has some ideas. I am running the Disneyland half with three friends, but one of them signed up for the WDW Donald half-marathon instead of the Dland half. The Dland half is sold out. Has anyone had this problem before and figured out a solution? She really wants to run the Dland half with us. She has a call into Disney, and someone is supposedly calling her back.
Any experience with this before, or ideas, are helpful...

My friend has to cancel her DL half due to work revoking her vacation due to cutback...how crappy is that! So, we've got a call into them too to resolve that but I'm not too hopeful.

However, I know they were very accomodating last year when another friend signed for the 5k fun run and then wanted to upgrade to the half. So, since the same organization governs the races, I bet they will take care of you and transfer her over to the DL half. Good luck!

[dags]

Oh oh oh, I see what you’re saying. The truth is it all depends on what the field average is. The elite wave is about 6:15/mile or faster. Corral A, wave 1 is probably 6:15-7:30 maybe even 7:45, wave 2 7:45-8:45, etc.

I really have no idea, but that would be my best guess. What is your mile pace, and what did you enter as your proof of time for position? If I knew that, I might be able to give you a better idea where you will be posted.

*Also, what is your bib number, a lot can be determined by that in accordance with the number of people currently entered in the race?

Well, my bib is 2616, but I have since updated my time.
So, I'm not sure if they are going to change my corral or if I will need to do it at the Expo. I submitted a pace of 8:25/mi

I got an email back from Disney Sports and they said they would update the time into the system. So, we will see.