Yesterday I ran the Star Wars Half Marathon at Disneyland. I got to Disneyland at 3:30 am, which was kind of early. The runner’s village was ‘guarded’ by stormtropers who were happy to ham it up for the cameras. While waiting for the start of the race, I hung out with friends with the Pacebook Running Club, and A Snails Pace. This was a goal race for members of A Snails Pace Training Academy, so I wore my Snail Shirt. This was not a goal race for me. I ran a full marathon last weekend. I really didn’t know what to expect out of myself here.

These are not the Storm Troopers you are looking for

Snails get ready to run

The call to the corrals came at 5:00 am. This course was laid out differently. The corrals are on Disneyland Drive, the main North-South Street through the Disneyland Resort. Instead of staring to the south (like all the other rD events), this race starts to the north. This makes for a long walk to the corrals. Not as long as Walt Disney World, but much longer than the Disneyland Half.

When I got to my corral, I found the place was jammed with people. Disney puts on a bit of a show before the race. Star Wars characters came on the stage.  It was kind of embarrassing in an awkward kind of way. The term “the force” devolved into toilet humor. One of the actors said, “I feel a disturbance in the force.” To which I replied “Better go find a port-a-potty.”  They showed clips of the Star Wars movies on the big screens.  When Darth Vader said, "No, I am your father!"  someone in my corral yelled "SPOILERS!"

The back of shirt of the guy in front of me read, “If you can read this, you didn’t train either.”

The First Four Miles

I start running up Disneyland Drive, on to Ball Road and then into backstage Disney. The first four miles of this race are on Disney property. The problem is that the first two miles were back stage. The roads are narrow, we’re packed in awfully tightly. I was beginning to think that if I spent any more time back stage, Disney would need to put me on the payroll.

The Start - Photo by Laura Green

Start as seen from the Disneyland Parking Garage - Photo by Laura Green

Once we got in the parks, the midways widened, and the siren of a photo opportunity with a Star Wars character thinned the herd. I was able to pick up the pace. At the north end of Main Street, I ran over a timing mat. RunDisney has timing mats at 5k, 10k and 15k. This one wasn’t marked and only 2.5 miles in. Did rD put down a cheater mat?

After running through Disneyland and California Adventure, the course headed out onto Harbor Boulevard and the glorious streets of Anaheim.

Mile 1 – 10:42

Mile 2 – 10:12

Mile 3 – 9:40

Mile 4 –9:37

Miles 5 through 9

The city street section of the course is teardrop shaped. It runs south down Harbor Boulevard into Garden Grove, through a residential neighborhood, back to Harbor and then north to Disneyland. And like the Avengers Half Marathon last November, I find myself running down the middle of the street. Unlike Avengers, this is an out and back course. As I’m running south, the really really fast runners and wheelchair athletes are headed north.

I’ve lived in Southern California most of my life. I’ve driven up and down Harbor many times, usually between 45 and 50 mph. I got an entirely different perspective running down Harbor at 6 mph. Harbor Boulevard is a strange mix of young and old. It has high-rise hotels next to seedy, run down liquor stores. I saw houses on Harbor that looked like they’d been there forever. This is a six lane divided highway zoned for commerce and hotels. I didn’t think anybody still lived on Harbor Boulevard.

The further away from Disneyland I got, the more interesting Harbor Boulevard became. I saw rusted over steel super-structure; A half finished construction project that had its funding cut that is now serving as a monument to the banking crisis.  Down the road I saw The Garden of Eden Adult Book and Novelty Store which, curiously enough, was open at 6:30 am on a Sunday.

The doughnut shop (complete with a cop) at mile six reminded me to that it’s time to fuel.

The course turned right onto Garden Grove Boulevard and into a residential neighborhood. As I passed Garden Grove High School, I saw a coyote running the other way down the street. I guess the race is disturbing the locals.

At Mile 8.3 the Clif people set up their inflatable arch. They had a guy dressed up like a Clif Bar dancing around to blaring music. Volunteers were handing out Clif Shot packets. I’m sure the neighbors loved this.

Shortly before mile 9, a Cosplay group called the 501^st Legion (Vader’s Own) was standing on the sidewalk. Unlike Disney’s Storm Troopers, these guys were celebrating and cheering runners

Bantha lose on the streets of Garden Grove - Photo by John Dziak

The 501st Legion (Vaders First) - Photo by John Dziak

Mile 5 – 9:31

Mile 6 – 9:01

Mile 7 – 9:13

Mile 8 – 9:09

Mile 9 – 9:09

Miles 10 to the Finish

Shortly after passing the mile 9 marker, I noticed that my breathing had become quite labored. As I passed the mile 10 marker, I feel my hands start go grow cold and tingly. So this is what racing feels like.

At Mile 11, I turn north up Harbor Boulevard and realize that I’m now the fast runner. There were thousands of people walking/waddling south. I know Disney draws a slow crowd, but I had no idea that there would be this many people headed south as I headed north. I hope they have a sweeper bus big enough for all of this.

Following the parade of ‘runners’ came the official sweeper convoy of medical people on bikes, police officers in cars, four street sweepers, and the Anaheim City Jail Transport Bus. Wow. I hope they are not using the paddy wagon as a sweeper bus. That would be humiliating.

Passing mile 12, I pull along side a father and son team. The boy is running his first half marathon and dad is pacing. Encouraging the pair I tell dad that my kid is asleep right now.

Photo by Tony Conticello

I crossed the finish line, collected my medals (finisher and because I ran the Marathon last weekend, the Coast to Coast medal), bottle of water and tidy-bowl blue Powerade, found my wife and headed out to the parking structure. As I was headed to the garage, I saw the sweeper vans depositing the freshly swept into the parking lot far away from the party-like finish line. They were escorted across a timing mat, were given a box of runner chow, bottle of water, a finisher’s medal (I guess it’s just a participant’s medal now) and walked into the parking garage. I saw one guy put the medal on. Sheesh.

Passing the Mile 13 marker - Photo by Laura Green

I didn't think I could run that fast! - Photo by Laura Green

Bling Shot by Laura Green

Mile 10 – 9:30

Mile 11 – 9:38

Mile 12 – 9:16

Mile 13 – 9:01

The last 0.1 – 0:54 (7:46 mm)

Final Chip Time per runDisney – 2:04:37 a new PR by 7 minutes.

For having run a marathon last weekend, I am overjoyed at my results here. I guess I’m still riding the wave of fitness from marathon training. In looking at my split times, I think it is the theme parks that killed me. The large corrals shoved into narrow streets slowed everybody down. But for the Tour de Backstage Disney, I think I could have gone sub 2 here. I’ll have the chance to test my theory in two weeks at the Surf City Half Marathon. It’s all city streets, no theme parks, and I’ll have a rocket to chase.

Congrats! Getting to be quite the speed demon.

Congrats! Getting to be quite the speed demon.

Yes, and I blame you!  Well not you personally PADRunner, but this group.  All the other groups I hang out with (PbRC and the Snails) are really more about the experience than the athletic aspects of running.  B&B is the only place where finishing time and training is talked about with any seriousness.

4outtta5 - Thanks for your sage advice.  I need not worry about any tangents at my next race.  Surf City is an out and back race.  There is one dogleg in it, but the distances between turns here is measured in miles.  I also need not worry about any travel issues.  This is my hometown marathon.  I walk to the starting blocks.

Really cruising. Way to finish strong. Congrats on a big PR too. 

Great job!  You are getting speedier by the race. Good luck in two weeks!

Wow, HM PR the week after running a marathon?  I ran a 5K three weeks after a marathon and still felt like I had lead in my legs!  Way to go!

That's strange that they had the cheater mat AND the finish mat for the DNFers.  Interesting combo.  I assume that mat records those finishers separately so they can keep track of how many people are needing the ride to the finish?

Good luck in Surf City!

 

I was really sore this morning.  I'd plan to run six today.  That didn't happen.  The big difference between this marathon & half and the last cycle is about 20 lb.  Weight Watchers (or the mere accountability to the scale) is good for that.

 

I took a look at the course map.  I think the cheater mat was placed just a little down the course from a place where it would be very easy to cut a couple of miles off the course.

 

As to recording the swept, In much the same way rich folks would hire the handicapped to skip the lines at Walt Disney World, I have heard of people hiring a runner to run a fast half under their name and date of birth for the sole purpose of a better corral placement at a Disney race.  RunDisney is recording the participants who are swept to combat this fraud.   If a three and a half hour half/sweeper-bait runner suddenly goes sub 2 in a single race, runDisney (or any race organizer) should be suspicious. Knowing that a particular participant was swept multiple times (as opposed to removing themselves via medical or some other channel) is useful information to have when the same runner registers with their 1:50 HM proof of time.

I just don't get that at all.  Hiring somebody to race for you to get a better corral?  Pretty soon they won't need to race at all, they might as well hire the same runner to get their race and bring them the medal.  Plus they'd look a lot less sweaty in the finishing photo.

Anyway, congrats on the continued weight loss!  It can be tough to keep it up over multiple years.  I had fallen into a bit of a rut last fall, which the end of marathon training hungriness didn't help.  But I do think that even a few pounds can make a difference in how I feel when I'm out there, and I bet that it's a bigger issue the longer the race.

You've earned those sore legs!  I bet they'll be better soon.