If this will be my first race with no proof of times, and I'm scared of being swept, is there any way to avoid the last corral?
Ha. Thank you. I really am not sure how races work.
Princess 2021
10k
I had planned one 5k that’s already cancelled and was going to look for a 10k in the fall. Guess I should look at submission dates for POT.
I’m running with two others. We would want to be in the same corral, right?
part of why I want to go for the 10k is to have a longer course to be able to slow down and take pics. But I’m going to be slow for sure.
Correct. If one of you is placed in a faster corral, then they could drop down to a slower corral to be with the others. But if the plan is to run the race together the entire time, then you will need to start from the same corral.I’m running with two others. We would want to be in the same corral, right?
I sort of kind of, but not really almost got swept once. I'm very glad it happened because it proved to be very liberating about how I approach pictures during runDisney races. Like you, I am not very fast.part of why I want to go for the 10k is to have a longer course to be able to slow down and take pics. But I’m going to be slow for sure.
Ah. Ok. Thank you.10k races don’t accept proof of time. Corral seeding is done based on the estimated pace that you select during registration. If you and your friends aren’t placed in the same corral, you can always move back to the lowest corralled person and start together.
I was totally able to envision your story. Thanks for the details!Correct. If one of you is placed in a faster corral, then they could drop down to a slower corral to be with the others. But if the plan is to run the race together the entire time, then you will need to start from the same corral.
I sort of kind of, but not really almost got swept once. I'm very glad it happened because it proved to be very liberating about how I approach pictures during runDisney races. Like you, I am not very fast.
In the 2017 Star Wars Dark Side 10K and Half Marathon races at Disney World, I was seeded in the last corral for each race. It had been 6 years since I started a race from the last corral. I didn't have a lot of cushion. But I came to a photo op that I really wanted to do. So I got in line. When I was about 3rd or 4th in line, race officials came up to us on bikes and explained that the balloon ladies were about 5 minutes away. And when the balloon ladies arrived at the photo op, we could either leave the line and keep up with them or stay in the line and be swept. I had enough race experience and training to know that barring injury, I would have no problem maintaining pace with the balloon ladies if I needed to and would just have to skip photos if that was the case. I was also close enough to my turn that I thought I would be okay. And while some photos during Disney races are rare opportunities indeed, there are character photos available before and after the race.
I stayed in line, got my photo, and resumed the race. Sure enough about 5 minutes later I saw the buses pull up and form a V shape blocking anyone behind them from continuing the race. I continued my pace and was just fine, even getting some more photos in when I felt like the line was short enough to work for me.
One more note. Just because you see the buses along the course marked Parade Bus does not mean that you are in immediate danger of being swept. It just means that they are there for when the sweep will occur. I know that many people fear being swept. I hope to encourage people that with sufficient training and preparation, they will be able to finish the race.
You're welcome. I'm glad to be of help. In my very early days of running, my head was filled with all sorts of fears about running that made my first race far more difficult and much less enjoyable than it could have been otherwise. Experience and successfully finishing races helped me overcome those fears. So while experience can only come one way, if I can help runners worried about the sweep understand how it works in reality, I'm happy to. I've run many a race with runners nervously checking their time afraid that the the sweep is seconds away from dashing their dreams when they're really doing just fine.I was totally able to envision your story. Thanks for the details!
Pick one of the first expected finish times that doesn’t require a proof of time and you shouldn’t be in the last corral.
Corral seeding is done based on the estimated pace that you select during registration.
And I wasn't the only one who were assigned to wildly different pace corrals for the 10K and half (I saw a bunch of people with POT corral letters for the half and back of the pack corral letters for the 10K). I don't know if this was a one-time glitch or whether this happens often with runDisney, but it can happen.
I'm trying really hard not to second guess my decision to be honest with my estimated finish time for the marathon--I put myself in the second to last category, which is the best I'm aspiring to based on my current pace and fitness level. I'd like to do photos along the way and it'd be really cool to ride EE, but mostly I just want to finish the marathon...hoping I'll still have a good experience if I end up just ahead of the balloon ladies the whole way.
So I guess my answer to the question is...well, I'm not trying to avoid the last corral because frankly it's probably where I belong. I'm trying to look at it more in terms of how I can have a good time with a back of the pack start.
Your gonna ride EE during the marathon? You can do that?I'm trying really hard not to second guess my decision to be honest with my estimated finish time for the marathon--I put myself in the second to last category, which is the best I'm aspiring to based on my current pace and fitness level. I'd like to do photos along the way and it'd be really cool to ride EE, but mostly I just want to finish the marathon...hoping I'll still have a good experience if I end up just ahead of the balloon ladies the whole way.
So I guess my answer to the question is...well, I'm not trying to avoid the last corral because frankly it's probably where I belong. I'm trying to look at it more in terms of how I can have a good time with a back of the pack start.
3 for the 5K, 6 for 10K.How many corrals do the 5 and 10K have?
Wow, that is not that many for the 5K.3 for the 5K, 6 for 10K.