I ran the half from G and had no congestion at all! I mean, there were people all around me - I wasnt' out there by myself lol! But I was able to run my pace 100% of the time; plenty of room to maneuver around faster/slower runners out there.
G. I find that interesting, and quite damning as well.
Several cast members saw our medals and asked how the weekend was, and it seems they had heard all the problems before. We really appreciated that they were reaching out for feedback. But I learned something especially interesting from a cast member who both works and runs the races...
It seems that 18,000 number may be starters, not finishers. There is a significant number of people who self sweep... as in they have no intention of attempting to complete the race, and put themselves on the first bus they see, because they know everyone gets the medal regardless. She was adamant that practice should stop. According to her, it should be a finisher's medal. Period.
At first I thought that was a bit harsh, but the more I thought about it, the more I agree. I get that runDisney is a more generous race, and with the 16:00 requirement is a great introduction to the sport, which is great! If they wanted to be more lax with the medals, they could still award it to people who made a real effort to make it happen, and if they get picked up at mile 11 or 12, I have no problem with that. But if people really are just walking across the line and putting a hand out for their medal, as she claims, I agree that's awful. (If they have to give them something, made it a little participant ribbon or something.)
So what is happening is bibs are being taken up by people who are buying medals, and taking spaces from people who, even if they can barely cut 16:00, are working their butts off to try.
Thoughts?