Paging Bongorific...I want to hear about the Disney Half Marathon.
Just got back a couple of days ago. As previously stated, I've never run in any type of race before; not even a 5K. So I'm not sure how the Disney race compares to others, but I can offer my experiences:
I finished the race in 2:34. I was pretty happy with my time. I figured I'd be around a 11-12 minute pace. I was actually running at a better pace during many sections. The race is pretty crowded at 16,000. We started in 3 waves and I was in the last coral of the 2nd wave. The pack definitely slowed me down. During all of the highway sections I ran 10 minute miles, but during other sections it got pretty crowded. I spent a majority of the race weaving in out of slower runners and walkers. However, the course is pretty flat so there aren't too many hills to screw up your pace. I also stopped twice for a few minutes at the 4 miles and 8 miles marks to chat with my family. My goal when I signed up with Team in Training was to be able to run 13.1 miles. I wasn't concerned with getting my absolute best time. I walked for about a quarter mile during mile 11 on a long uphill bridge, but ran the rest. I did a slow jog through the water stations.
The timing of the day was pretty crazy. Buses picked up runners at the Disney resorts from 3am-4am. The TNT people wanted to be on the 3am bus. I expected I would have trouble sleeping the night before due to nerves and being used to going to be around 1am most nights. I was able to fall asleep around 11:30pm and slept until 2:30am. When we arrived at the course around 3:30am, there were a few hundred people. We checked our bags and sat around/stretched. There were live bands and other entertainment. Around 4:15 there was huge flood of participants ariving. By 5:15 or so we made our way to the corals. The first coral went off at 6am. Mickey, Minnie, and other Disney characters kicked off the race, and there were fireworks when each coral started. I crossed the starting line around 6:25am. I walked about .5-.75 miles from where the buses dropped us off to the starting line, so I didn't bother with a warm-up jog. Miles 5-7 are throughout Magic Kingdom which is really cool. In addition to regular spectators, Disney characters are everywhere and many runners stop to take pictures with them. One thing I noticed about the Disney marathon (which could be true of most), a lot of people are there to have fun instead of setting their personal best. The restrooms were also open in the park, so instead of having to wait at a port-a-potty during the street course, I ran in and out of one of the park restrooms which took under a minute. Disney also does a great job with pictures. On Friday, all of my pictures will be posted online. I type in my bib number, and any pictures with me in them are posted for download or purchase prints. There were at least 3 points, including the finish line, where photographers take everyone's individual picture. As with the Disney parks, the marathon weekend was run efficiently, professionally, and with an eye toward everyone having fun.
I'm going to post my fundraising efforts in the P&G thread I started awhile ago once I get my financial statement and a summary of the TNT program as a whole. If anyone has any other questions regarding the Disney Marathon weekend more specifically, feel free to ask. I'll post some pictures once I get them.