The Official 2013 Wine and Dine Half Marathon Thread

[Tinker326]

Originally Posted by DCbride

Wow on the price increase! I know it is only $25 but still....

To kaf7878- I fully expected to spend the night with my friends enjoying Epcot, we even talked about taking the monorail back to MK which was also open until 3am to ride some rides. Our reality- we walked to Soarin (stretched a few times on the way) looked at each other and hobbled to the bus. I am impressed with anyone who is able to actually make it around the countries! But then again, it was the first half for us.

Shoot- you just shot down my night plans! Well there's always wheelchair rental. Who wants to push me to all those drinks?!?

[sillylily]

Originally Posted by Tinker326

Shoot- you just shot down my night plans! Well there's always wheelchair rental. Who wants to push me to all those drinks?!?

See, I'm on the fence about the after party. It'll be my first half, and I'm not sure how hobbled I'll be. I'm a post bariatric surgery patient, so drinking is a super bad idea (literally two sips of my beloved Grand Marnier slushie and I would be sloshed). If we decide not to attend the after party, will my DH and DDs be able to cheer me on? I honestly don't know, since the park will be closed.

[PlutoBaby]

Originally Posted by sillylily

See, I'm on the fence about the after party. It'll be my first half, and I'm not sure how hobbled I'll be. I'm a post bariatric surgery patient, so drinking is a super bad idea (literally two sips of my beloved Grand Marnier slushie and I would be sloshed). If we decide not to attend the after party, will my DH and DDs be able to cheer me on? I honestly don't know, since the park will be closed.

Yes, they can always meet you at the finish line. Unless they change where the finish line is, they don't have to actually go into the park.

[evildiva]

Possibly stupid question....can you buy tickets to the after party if you're running the 5k?

[FloridaNative8]

Originally Posted by evildiva

Possibly stupid question....can you buy tickets to the after party if you're running the 5k?

I believe anyone can purchase tickets to the after party, no matter if you run a race or not!

[jeanigor]

Originally Posted by evildiva

Possibly stupid question....can you buy tickets to the after party if you're running the 5k?

No such thing as a stupid question.

You can buy a ticket to the after party if you are doing the 5K. You can buy a ticket to the after party if you are a spectator. You can buy a ticket to the after party if you have no clue about the race and somehow stumble across the runDisney site and are going to be in WDW that weekend. The after party is open to anyone who wants to purchase a ticket, like other hard ticket events (MNSSHP, MVMCP, etc).

If you do the half, your after party is included in the race fee.

My two cents on the after party.
Year 1 Brutally hot and humid. Severely overcrowded. Poor volunteer coordination. Logistical screw-ups. Racers passing out and puking all over. Only World Showcase was open. Hobbled from Millennium Village to France. Sat down and a friend brought me my 'free' food. Walked a friend to BWV, drove back to OKW. Popped a bottle of bubbly sat in the tub and was at lunch at the Poly around 1:30 the next day.

Year 2 Still warm and humid. Less crowded. Finish line location moved to an improved area. Less instances of racers going down post race and bag check issues resolved. World Showcase and Future World open. More enjoyable. Met spectator friends post race. Had a slow race so it was late. Rode Soarin' twice--the declining ramp down to the ride and to exit the pavilion is a killer. Closed the park. Strolled back to BCV as one of the last people in Epcot.

Year 3 Nearly perfect. Pleasant crowd level. Reasonable humidity (it is Florida after all). I actually got chilly because I didn't pack a wind breaker in my check bag. World Showcase and Future World open. Magic Kingdom had evening Extra Magic Hours mirroring the hours of the party, so it lessened the "we have to be in a park because it's open" crowd. the people at the after party seemed more there due to the race. Went on rides in Future World with a fellow racer. Let the breeze get the better of me and took the bus back to ASSports well before the party closed.

I'm hoping that this year they will follow suit with EMH at MK or HS even. I also intend to make a far better showing when it comes to time, and enjoy more of the party. I am a HUGE character/photo op nut. I can take or leave the food and drink, especially after a distance run.

[rebapple]

Trying to decide if I should book my plane tickets or wait until after registration. It's not going to be crazy and maybe not get a spot like DL right?

[FloridaNative8]

Originally Posted by jeanigor

Year 1 Brutally hot and humid. Severely overcrowded. Poor volunteer coordination. Logistical screw-ups. Racers passing out and puking all over. Only World Showcase was open. Hobbled from Millennium Village to France. Sat down and a friend brought me my 'free' food. Walked a friend to BWV, drove back to OKW. Popped a bottle of bubbly sat in the tub and was at lunch at the Poly around 1:30 the next day.

2010 W&D was my first half - the way I felt afterwards (nauseous and miserable, ending up having to visit the ladies' room on the way out of Epcot, and I wasn't the only one), made me so nervous to do another race. I wasn't sure if that was normal or not, but after reading some accounts of others' experience of that night, it seemed like I wasn't alone and it wasn't normal when compared to other races. I could barely eat half a banana, much less use the food/drink coupons for myself

I'm so glad to hear it's gotten better every year!!!

[schoonersky]

Originally Posted by rebapple

Trying to decide if I should book my plane tickets or wait until after registration. It's not going to be crazy and maybe not get a spot like DL right?

I booked mine- but I plan to be online first thing March 12th and registering! I think we should have no problem if booking early...but that's based on the past few years.

[DCbride]

Originally Posted by sillylily

See, I'm on the fence about the after party. It'll be my first half, and I'm not sure how hobbled I'll be. I'm a post bariatric surgery patient, so drinking is a super bad idea (literally two sips of my beloved Grand Marnier slushie and I would be sloshed). If we decide not to attend the after party, will my DH and DDs be able to cheer me on? I honestly don't know, since the park will be closed.

They can always cheer you on from the Boardwalk or Beach Club. It is free and you will almost be finished and can meet them afterwards. We also saw some people cheering by the McDonalds, but I honestly do not know where they parked and if they were supposed to be there.

My problem with the afterparty was I didn't take the day seriously. Up at 5 to run the 5K, afternoon at MK and headed straight from MK to the race. It was a crazy long day! This year we are skipping the 5K and sleeping in that morning! Beginner stupidity!

[schoonersky]

Originally Posted by DCbride

My problem with the afterparty was I didn't take the day seriously. Up at 5 to run the 5K, afternoon at MK and headed straight from MK to the race. It was a crazy long day! This year we are skipping the 5K and sleeping in that morning! Beginner stupidity!

Question for you (I really want that Mickey Medal for the 5k)! But this will be our first half too. What do you think if we were to get up at 5, walk the 5k just fast enough to stay ahead of the pace requirement, maybe visit EE and Kali, head back to BWV and rest up/ nap/ prepare for race, saving ourselves for the half that night? Doable? Or Dieable? (New word!)

[bigtony777]

It is definitely doable. It all depends on your training and expectations. Two years ago, we did MNSSHP on Friday night until midnight, ran the 5k Saturday morning and then ran the half that evening. I had to slow down my pace at AK, around mile 6. My legs were telling me that they were wearing down.

If you do not care so much about your time for the half, then the 5k should not really be a problem. I head back to the resort after lunch to nap for a couple of hours regardless of running the 5k.

[DCbride]

I agree it is definitely doable!

The morning of the 5K they asked who was running the half that night and lots of hands went up. I just couldn't stay out of the park (and off my feet) during the rest of the day. DD also had her kids run immediately after the 5K- so it was a really crazy day. And while we did train, this was my first half so I really had no idea what to expect.

Which brings me to bigtony777- I was fine until we hit the overpasses coming out of the AK too. Which I think was around mile 6/7. From then on I had to stop every mile and do a 30 second stretch. We were not worried about our time (we stopped to take a quick picture at EVERY mile and for most of the characters and since I cannot get the hang of running and drinking so we stopped then too ) and still managed to make it under 3 hours.

I loved the morning 5Krace- this was the 2nd time we did that one- DH and I did it together and since that is as far as he will run, it is the only time we get to run together.

It is fun and an exciting way to start the day and I would definitely encourage you to do it. Doing both pretty much just cancels the after party for me.

[spartankid34]

Hi everyone!

I've been looking into the 5k this weekend for myself! See, I've been battling my weight for many, many years now. Over the past year and a half I've lost 60lbs, and I'm still working on losing more! It's my dream to be able to run/jog, or even "wog" a half marathon, but I am no where close to being able to do that, yet! So I'd like to try the 5k first! I'm still thinking and deciding and saving just in case I can do this! Any training tips would be greatly appreciated thanks!

[mmgrdg]

Hi! New to this ... Even though registration hasn't started yet, can we book the travel packages? Also, does anyone know when the training schedule will be updated, since it still has last year's dates? Thanks!