Y'all are a chatty bunch! I have psyched myself up to tackle all of these replies!
Yeah, I'm with you on the conflicted feelings. We took both the half and Goofy medals but other than for the finisher shot, we never wore the half or Goofy medal again. When we went into the park on Sunday night we just wore the marathon medal as that's the one we earned. It's sort of how I feel about the W&D half medal. I earned it in the only way I could from rD and through no fault of my own that I didn't run that race as intended. But, it will never have the same meaning to me as the others I have. I actually hadn't thought about donating them, but maybe that's something to consider. It's also not something that keeps me up at night either, truthfully. Should I keep my runDisney half marathon medal or not? #firstworldproblems
I wore the Dopey medal and shirt around - I did and do feel weird about it.
Looking back maybe I should have just stuck with the marathon medal. But I'm getting to the point where I'm just like, look - for me, this time, it was more about the journey and everything that led up to this weekend - something that I KNOW you can relate to.
I agree that it - and the Goofy and Dopey medals - don't have the same meaning. They mean something different to me, they tell a different story. I was still happy to get them!
And yeah, I haven't really thought about it much since then, like you!
I was pretty far behind, but I have finally caught up! Love your new room! It looks so relaxing!! Looks like a great 10K! Nice work! I love your running clothes- my ripped tshirts don't stand up at all!
It was a fabulous room. Very soothing during a busy weekend, which was perfect!
Okay. Here are my 2 cents about the 1/2 marathon cancellation: This was set to be my 1st Half Marathon. I have never run as seriously and consistently until I registered for this race. I actually have only ever run one other 'official race' and that was for PoT for this one! It was also scheduled on the exact date ofmy 10 year wedding anniversary and my husband and I were going to run together. A physical triumph completed together exactly 10 years later as a symbol of all we have gotten though together since we said 'I do'.
Needless to say, I was fairly devastated when we heard about the cancellation. Each of my training runs were the longest I had ever managed leading up to the race, so there was no way I could consider running the full. It never even occurred to me to try to run the 13.1 on our own the next day (and being new to the runDisney community, I wasn't active enough to see these suggestions on social media). So instead, we drowned our sorrows a bit and set out the next day to celebrate our anniversary in Epcot!
We did go to the Expo and picked up our medals though. runDisney handled this wonderfully. Theyd didn't owe us anything back and they were amazingly fast getting us our refunds and medals. I didn't wear the medal at all, but I will keep it.
It has become a personal goal of mine to register for another runDisney 1/2 and earn those medals. Not sure which yet, as the logistics of getting ANOTHER weekend away without kids may take another 10 years, but somehow we will make it happen. Once I register for that race, I will look at this unearned medal to fuel all those days where I don't want to train.
And you can bet that once I finally cross the finish line, I will be wearing BOTH medals that day!
Happy Anniversary!
I'm really, really sorry that this happened for what was to be your first half marathon!
It's just terrible luck. And something that is so super rare that I don't think any of us could have predicted this. We take a gamble with Florida weather, I guess.
I hope you figure out a way to plan another Disney race!! I think you'll love it! And I think it's great that the medal can serve as a tool for you to stay motivated to train - that's a great mindset to have!
I need to chime in on this one...if I'm able to carry a flask anywhere I want, it most certainly will not be full of gingerbread flavouring #justsaying
Point taken!!
I am one of those people though who...if given the choice...I will likely choose dessert over booze, so???
Or maybe I need to combine them and get one of those rum Dole whips! Problem solved! Not that this was a problem.
My husband was supposed to run the half. I think I was more bummed about it being cancelled for him than he was. He admitted that he hadn't really put a lot into training so he wasn't excited about doing it anyways. He especially was okay with it being cancelled when we realized he could get his money back and he got to sleep in! I convinced him to at least wear his race shirt that day but he didn't want to take any pictures with his medal. We met two different people that morning who their first attempt at a half was the "half of a half" wine and dine and this was supposed to be their second attempt half. They surprisingly had a pretty good attitude about it. It was really nice to see people handling it okay here on the boards because they were definitely some very angry people on Facebook.
Yeah, the compensation was a really nice surprise, wasn't it?! I feel so bad for people who got burned both on this race AND on the 2015 Wine & Dine half! That's gotta be crazy frustrating.
I saw the angry people on Facebook too (and in person!). Here everyone seemed...disappointed but understanding, I guess. Which made me proud to be a DIS-er!
I am here to read about your trip!
Yay! Hi Chris!
I think I can solve the question for you. It so happened that I was also in Animal Kingdom that day. They were doing a neat little thing in that area where the CMs from Flights of Wonder came over with a bunch of Macaws that would sit on a perch there and then take off on command. If you look to at the pair of lights way behind you, then look to the left, that's the tall perch thing they had. My guess, based on what I saw that day, is that the photographer got your picture just as a Macaw took off. Sorry I didn't see you to congratulate you on your medal! BTW, DH was back at the resort resting up for the (non-existent) half marathon.
*Magical* timing if that is the case! I think it's cool that whatever it is made it into the picture!
Smart of your husband to rest up, I probably should have done that more over the course of the weekend!
It has been interesting sense returning to life and work. Everyone has been asking me about Dopey and how I felt about the cancellation. Most people were simply supportive in terms of saying that must have been such a bummer type things. Others hinted at not earning the medals and I had one friend (who is a runner) just come out and say I should not have accepted the medals. I have to admit that in each conversation a piece of me felt the need to justify and to share that I did still go out and run the 13.1 on Saturday. But honestly I am a little disappointed in myself for that now.
Ah, see - I'm weird with running. I feel like it is something very personal that is just for me, so in my "real life" I don't talk about it much. I think I overshare here so much that the desire to have someone to discuss this sort of stuff with is fulfilled by all of you!
I have one co-worker who is a runner and he knew I was going for this so we just briefly chatted for a minute but otherwise, that was it.
But I do know what you mean about feeling the need to justify your choice. It's something I thought about a lot before posting this trip report.
I talked about it with my husband and he was just like "I don't understand how someone can give you a hard time when it was YOUR personal choice that you made." I guess people just like to get their opinions heard, like your co-workers!
As I have thought about it, I think the bottom line is running for almost all of us (unless some of you are secret Olympic runners) is for fun. Some of us take it more seriously than others, but when you come down to it, we each choose to do this. It is therefore a personal endeavour. We all signed up for a race, we trained, we traveled and it was cancelled and that was out of our control. In that context, what we do from there is up to each of us and how we view the medal(s) is also up to each of us. And that is all that matters. I am going to stop justifying, I feel good about what I did and I felt good wearing the Dopey Medal after the marathon. If you ran on saturday - cool; if you slept in and hit the parks - cool; if you tossed the medal or hung it on your rack - cool. It was about each of us individually anyway.
YES!!!
Did you reach into my brain and pull out my thoughts and just type them out way more eloquently than I could? Because I agree with every word!
I understand the conflicting thoughts. After all, had IMFL cancelled the swim, I wouldn't have gone out and done a 2.4 mile swim on my own. I would've been disappointed not to do the full distance, but you can only do the race as given to you on the day. For Disney, I slept in and had zero intention of running 13.1 on Saturday. I only went out in the afternoon because a friend was going.
The sleeping in was pretty great. Once I realized I could sleep in that day I was almost giddy!
Here's how I see it... the running community on a whole is a very positive, supportive group. (I love you guys!!!)
BuuuUUUUuuut... there are definitely some ... outliers (a much nicer word than the one I wanted to use). For example, I've read more than a few articles raving about how run/walkers and casual participants are "ruining the sport".
You can look at it several ways (you met the challenge as outlined by Disney, you ran 13.1 unofficially on Saturday, you made up the 13.1 after the fact, you more than ran the miles during training, etc.), but in the end, that medal is yours.
Enjoy it, and enjoy the stories around it! I ran my 13.1 a few days after the marathon on a dramatically icy day, and I feel that I earned my Half and Goofy medals. And shame on anyone who would try and make you feel bad!
Doug
I like how you used the word "outliers" in your post. #mathgeek
I completely agree with you about the running community! 95-99% of it is great - unfortunately sometimes it's the vocal...shall we say, less-magical minority that really stick out. I've only really run into maybe 2-3 jerks in my 8-9 years of running, but they really stick with me more than the countless others who were supportive and awesome. I need to do a better job of focusing on the supportive and awesome majority.
"Ruining the sport"...LOL. Yes, internet running experts, PLEASE school me on the proper definition of how to be a runner!
Sanaa sounds so good, I've heard great things about it too especially for a vegetarian like me, but all that naan bread for one made me laugh. They wanted you to really carb load!
I was super sad for everyone it got canceled, but very impressed Disney offered the options like you. Since I wasn't there I have no idea what I would have done in regards to running Saturday, but I'm pretty sure I would have taken the medals, makes a good story at least, maybe mark the back with something, but I really have not idea/thoughts on it since I wasn't part of it. Hopefully the bad weather and race weekends is done, got it out of it's system, knock on wood!!
I bet you would love Sanaa as a vegetarian! I definitely recommend it. Also...I think that naan app was supposed to be shared among friends.
Note to self for next time!
I am super impressed with Disney and their handling of the cancellation! It has to be a herculean task to go through all 26K runners and "make it right" for them when they don't have to. Probably getting them a ton of good PR, I would think/hope.
So happy I caught up on your TR! Your value resort/deluxe resort experience made me chuckle. They could not be more different! And the fact that your room was gross (which I'm sorry for you!), and your Boardwalk room looks absolutely GORGEOUS just highlights those differences anymore.
Having a car on Disney property is really convenient- I agree!
Animal Kingdom is a really close second to Magic Kingdom for me. I love that park too! And your hair did look super pretty!!
Congrats on the 5K and 10K so far! I seriously can't believe you guys had to deal with the 1/2 cancellation. So crazy! But yeah, I say you definitely still earn your Dopey status!!
How was your trip??
Yes, my two rooms were polar opposites, that's for sure!
At least I can check All-Star Movies off of my "Disney resorts to stay at" list!
I looooove Animal Kingdom. So great and pretty and serene.
But yeah, the Magic Kingdom is pretty great too!!
It was glorious and I was starting to feel a little less Sleepy!
So I didn’t get my 13.1 in on Saturday. Part of me wishes I would have just finished it, but part of me is okay with it. Mixed feelings for sure! I ended up at around 9.5 miles for the day.
but it was just them basically saying that it would be cold and to wear layers. 
Being from Ohio, I have trained in WAY worse conditions, and Big Purple was packed with some good cold weather running options, so I knew I would be fine for the race (I really probably had 4-5 extra full running outfits with me so that I had plenty of options for any type of weather - good thing Big Purple is so...*big*). But waiting around in that weather in the corrals for an hour+ was going to be the tough part. Since the half had been canceled, I now had 2 sets of throwaway clothes and I planned on wearing allll of them the next morning, but the one thing I hadn’t brought was a warm hat. I had something I was going to wear on my head during the race, but it was thin technical fabric and I knew it wouldn’t cut it for keeping my head warm before the race. The gift shop didn’t have any knit hats, so I was debating on driving to Target or Walmart. But then I checked the gift shop out on the Boardwalk - they had 2 hats left! 
