I see lots of fears of being swept here.
The posts I've seen so far have times that really shouldn't be causing this concern, but I'm going to write about it anyway.
Last year I got swept in the Half. A whole bunch of us were all fully stopped with a convoy of buses pulled up, exactly at the mile 9 marker.
Lots of reasons. Some were my problems (which I've done my best to take care of), and some were Disney's (I truly hope they've fixed the bus cluster-eff, but I will also make sure I'm there on time for the first bus, just in case), and according to many people, there was one life or death medical emergency just beyond mile 9 that I believe disney decided to not have people walking and slowly running past.
I thought I was over it until yesterday when I went looking at my cousin's time (a minute faster than my pace) and saw a video on youtube and tracked their time (a minute OVER my pace).
Looking at my garmin's data, by the time I hit mile 9 I was at 2:36:41, which active's run calculator tells me was a 17:25 pace. My per-mile pace had been 17:24 according to Disney for the 10K the day before, and I never even saw the balloon ladies or pacers.
The issues I could have controlled, and so can you:
Bathroom breaks are my own personal time-destroyer. Literally. Without those stops I would have been FINE. You have 2 weeks to get a new fuel situation worked out if you, like me, have a delicate belly. I'm finally trying Tailwind, and it doesn't seem to have the same, er, flushing effect on me that Clif and SportsBeans do. Last year I distinctly remember two bathroom breaks but am sure there were 1 or 2 more. If I had not stopped near Gaston's I might never have even seen the balloon ladies.
Be at the front of your corral. Not in the middle, not in the back. Don't be timid. Just get there. Don't be a jerk, either, of course.
Do not, NOT NOT NOT, pause your watch for bathroom breaks or photos! Take it off autopause if you have that currently set. You don't want to think you're at x pace when you're at a slower pace. I learned that lesson at the January 2014 Half, when I was running while desperately sick (anyone else remember that ridiculous respiratory illness that swept through that January?). I always have a hard time doing running math, but I had no brain at all. My watch was auto-pausing then. Oops. I was kept safe because I was still using a proof of time from 2013 and was in an early corral.
Also, be aware that if you are not in a position to "run the tangents," your watch is going to effectively lie to you. Garmin tells me a different story than 17:25, because I had already gone 9.3 miles when I got to mile 9. So be mindful that you aren't quite as fast as your watch tells you unless you're one of the early starters who can actually run the exactly measured course.
Be ready for the first bus/monorail. If you're driving, leave earlier than you could imagine wanting to leave. Set tons of alarms. For my first Princess I nearly overslept for the 10K because my phone decided it didn't have an external alarm anymore that morning. Thankfully it was set to vibrate and I'd left it on the bed. Set many alarms, get yourself ready, and get to your car or the bus (or monorail if you're at a monorail resort). This will keep you ahead of any transportation issues that might crop up. And it should keep you from having to sprint/rush to the corrals b/c the race already started thanks to those issues. (I was dealing with corona from the month before. My heart rate is naturally high, goes higher with albuterol, and was RACING with post-corona + the events of that morning, and it never evened out)
Those are the main things I could have changed last year, or learned in previous years.
If you're already solidly at an under-15-minute pace, as many I'm seeing are, just be mindful of the breaks you take and have fun. If you're over that, be very mindful of the breaks and keep your pace up.
If you're like me and have no competitive bone in your body, you do NOT want to even get a hint of the balloons or pacers. So stay aware and alert and keep on moving forward.
And if you do get swept, it'll be emotional and hard, but you'll get through it. Hopefully quicker than me, but I've had an absolute hell of a last 365 days, and there are lots of things stepping in between me and healing LOL.
