Spring Surprise (March 31-April 3rd 2022)

[luv2cheer92]

Was curious about how this would play out, because I thought this was a big reason why they were reluctant to send races through GE. I could be mistaken but IIRC there’s a potential bottleneck in that area, worse than the one at mile 3ish.

Speaking of… how did that go? I know there was a lot of concern about that being early in the race.

The path between Boardwalk and HS was pretty terrible for me. Had to walk the whole thing. I started in s3. I didn't have that much trouble anywhere else, at least for that long of a stretch.

 

[furiated]

The path between Boardwalk and HS was pretty terrible for me. Had to walk the whole thing. I started in s3. I didn't have that much trouble anywhere else, at least for that long of a stretch.

I was surprised at how smooth it was for me. No congestion or issues at all! I started in the first wave of S2 and made sure not to stop for photos or anything until I got past that part.

 

[fatmanatee]

Someone feel free to correct me but I believe you’ll never be able to run by Millennium Falcon because it’s a pseudo dead end. One side has stairs and a handicap ramp.

I think you’re right with that, I know there was stairs involved but I wasn’t sure if there was a path I was missing, it’s kind of a logjam over there.

 

[Z-Knight]

I think you’re right with that, I know there was stairs involved but I wasn’t sure if there was a path I was missing, it’s kind of a logjam over there.

i think it could have been done... feels like they have logjams in other parts of the course that are even tighter... my opinion, will see in person later today

 

[Dopey 2020]

Definitely enjoyed finally running more of HS!
This was a quick trip just for the race weekend with no time for the meetup, hopefully in the future.
@opusone great to see you on the course, sorry I had to run (bad pun intended) but this was my first official 10 miler, had to go for my 1:15. Spoiler alert, didn’t get it but I’m thrilled with 1:19:36 as part of a challenge weekend.

 

[Z-Knight]

looks like there are stairs to get to millennium falcon area
.. ding dang

 

[Baloo in MI]

My daughter and I ran out of S2, around the 4th wave, maybe 5th? What struck me was how many ppl just had no clue about signaling they were about to walk, we’re running in groups that covered the path, not staying to the right if going slower, etc. More than I have noticed in past race weekends. I saw one runner yell at another who stopped abruptly. I heard the exchange and it was neither kind nor helpful. Both left that feeling bad I bet.

I am not trying to place blame on any of these runners. I think my daughter said it best. If no one is sharing this info, how will anyone learn. She felt runner etiquette should be part of the spiel shared prerace. RunDisney is certainly a welcoming space for new runners, but the organization could do a better job balancing new and veteran runner needs for everyone’s benefit.

Last thought, maybe today’s race could be better served by going in reverse. Start out on the roads. Let the runners spread out a bit before hitting the parks and the most engaging and narrow course sections.

In the end I really enjoyed all the races and am crossing fingers for a Dopey registration in 2 weeks!

 

[camaker]

I am not trying to place blame on any of these runners. I think my daughter said it best. If no one is sharing this info, how will anyone learn. She felt runner etiquette should be part of the spiel shared prerace. RunDisney is certainly a welcoming space for new runners, but the organization could do a better job balancing new and veteran runner needs for everyone’s benefit.

RunDisney has tried a number of ways to convey running etiquette over the years. When I started with RunDisney, they talked about running etiquette in the pre-race spiel. They've had sections on etiquette in the old printed race weekend guides and subsequently in the electronic guides. For the last few races they've tried putting etiquette postings out on social media. Unfortunately, few, if any, paid any attention regardless of the medium and the same problems recur race after race.

At some point, the runners have to take some responsibility for the situation. At this point, I don't know what more RunDisney could really do beyond making runners take an online course and quiz prior to being allowed to pick up their bib and hoo boy, it doesn't take any imagination to see how that would go over!

 

[fatmanatee]

looks like there are stairs to get to millennium falcon area
.. ding dang

Yeah I actually scouted around a little bit when I was there for MW bc I was curious about the HS route problem, noticed the stairs and ramp and was like welp, that’s a bummer but I guess it makes sense that they wouldn’t run a course through here. That’s on top of the crowd issue for HS. So needless to say the 10 miler course was a surprise (pun intended). Thought maybe there was something I missed but what they ended up doing makes sense.

Time to cross my fingers that next years _____ mile race is GE themed.

 

[fatmanatee]

RunDisney has tried a number of ways to convey running etiquette over the years. When I started with RunDisney, they talked about running etiquette in the pre-race spiel. They've had sections on etiquette in the old printed race weekend guides and subsequently in the electronic guides. For the last few races they've tried putting etiquette postings out on social media. Unfortunately, few, if any, paid any attention regardless of the medium and the same problems recur race after race.

At some point, the runners have to take some responsibility for the situation. At this point, I don't know what more RunDisney could really do beyond making runners take an online course and quiz prior to being allowed to pick up their bib and hoo boy, it doesn't take any imagination to see how that would go over!

TBH i think they should still educate runners, particularly right before the start. If it doesn’t take, oh well, but it feels like a problem that will just continue to get worse if they just ignore it.

One other thing I’ll note, re: @Baloo recommending a reverse course…. I’m not sure this map happens if they do it in reverse. In that case you’re in HS at mile 6 as opposed to mile 4… can they get everyone through before the HS crowds show up? I wasn’t there so I dunno, but I’m guessing that’s the trade off: we get a full run through HS but have to deal with an annoying logjam to get there. I’m sure they’ll be taking a look at this race from a few angles to figure out what might be feasible in the future.

 

[bryana]

I was surprised at how smooth it was for me. No congestion or issues at all! I started in the first wave of S2 and made sure not to stop for photos or anything until I got past that part.

I was in the first wave of S3 and it was awful by the time I got there. I was expecting it to be bad but it was somehow worse than I expected it to be.

I also noticed a lot of really poor etiquette but it’s been a while since I ran down here so maybe it was as bad as it always has been but I just forgot. I ended up logging an extra half mile on my watch because of all of the weaving I had to do.

 

[Naomeri]

I think the direction of this course was good; the parks and bottlenecks keep you slower in the beginning so you can get all the kinks from all the pre-race standing worked out, and then you’re all loose for the open highway stretches.

You can totally see where I was in bottleneck city and where I got going on the highways. I also ended up with an extra half mile due to weaving (and one bathroom detour)

 

[Sara W]

I heard them talk about race etiquette this morning. My impression is that they were trying to help the message get across by interviewing a runner who spoke about walking to the right, signaling, and she said her group of 5 would never run more than 2 across. I think that people may be excited and talking to other people, so they never hear the message.

I felt like I was ice skating on the boardwalk this morning, I was very scared of falling. I thought I would dread the highway miles, but I found I enjoyed the wide open, long stretches of road after the parks. Overall, I was happy with my 1:23.

 

[kps7795]

I was surprised at how smooth it was for me. No congestion or issues at all! I started in the first wave of S2 and made sure not to stop for photos or anything until I got past that part.

My daughter and I came close to our A goal of stopping for every picture stop.

 

[jpeterson]

I also ended up with an extra half mile due to weaving (and one bathroom detour)

Also keep in mind that most of the extra distance is likely not from weaving. The course distance is set from the shortest possible route. Meaning it's the absolute inside of every corner and curve. Assuming you weren't hugging the inside every single time, you will pick up quite a decent amount of extra distance over the entirety of the race.

 

[Suprize2017]

Hello everyone! I’ve enjoyed reading all the positive reviews of this weekend, and am very jealous that I could only fit the 5k into my weekend! It was total luck that I could do even that, so I am grateful, but still bummed I couldn’t get all three! It sounds like the 10k and 10 miler were great races!

My question is about the pictures. I have memory maker and all my park pics have loaded to my account just fine. I’ve tried following the directions on the RunDisney page about going to the Photo Pass page of your account, select “link photos,” then typing in the 11-digit race code, plus the 5-digit bib number. Every time I do that, I get a message that the code is invalid. Anyone know what I’m doing wrong? Has anyone else had problems getting their pics from the 5k?

 

[rundisfan]

Was curious about how this would play out, because I thought this was a big reason why they were reluctant to send races through GE. I could be mistaken but IIRC there’s a potential bottleneck in that area, worse than the one at mile 3ish.

Speaking of… how did that go? I know there was a lot of concern about that being early in the race.

There was plenty of space to run in GE - I was more concerned about the the announcement right before we got there about it being slippery (I anticipated like i

Hello everyone! I’ve enjoyed reading all the positive reviews of this weekend, and am very jealous that I could only fit the 5k into my weekend! It was total luck that I could do even that, so I am grateful, but still bummed I couldn’t get all three! It sounds like the 10k and 10 miler were great races!

My question is about the pictures. I have memory maker and all my park pics have loaded to my account just fine. I’ve tried following the directions on the RunDisney page about going to the Photo Pass page of your account, select “link photos,” then typing in the 11-digit race code, plus the 5-digit bib number. Every time I do that, I get a message that the code is invalid. Anyone know what I’m doing wrong? Has anyone else had problems getting their pics from the 5k?

By any chance is your bib number less than 5 digits? If so put zeros in front of it to make it 5

 

[jpeterson]

I just submitted my time for the virtual 10 miler and looks like the code that generates the certificates is broken. It lists the time correctly but the average pace is wrong. It's calculating the 10 mile as if it were a 10k. Leading to a greatly inflated pace time.

Oops.

 

[sandam1]

I thought I would dread the highway miles, but I found I enjoyed the wide open, long stretches of road after the parks.

That was how I felt doing my first 10K at Disney (Princess 2020). I swore that I was never so happy to see the long miles of open highway to the Magic Kingdom as I was the next day.

 

[The running raven]

Yeah I actually scouted around a little bit when I was there for MW bc I was curious about the HS route problem, noticed the stairs and ramp and was like welp, that’s a bummer but I guess it makes sense that they wouldn’t run a course through here. That’s on top of the crowd issue for HS. So needless to say the 10 miler course was a surprise (pun intended). Thought maybe there was something I missed but what they ended up doing makes sense.

Time to cross my fingers that next years _____ mile race is GE themed.

I am so tired that I spent at least 5 minutes trying to figure why Disney would have a race themed after General Electric before I realized you meant galaxy’s edge.