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.

Oh I get it.  The sweepers don't start until the last participant crosses the starting mat.  So by getting in an earlier corral, you buy more time on the course.  More time to stand in a line and get your picture taken with Mickey or Donald or Pluto (or Mickey and Donald and Pluto) and then walk as much of the rest of the course as you can before getting swept, collecting the finishers medal and going home.

And as to the thought of hiring the same runner to run the runDisney race, there's an even cheaper solution: eBay.

There is another alternative to hiring a runner to get a better proof of time.  It's called training.  The 2012 Neverland 5k (A runDisney race/event) got me off the couch and into running.  Before I signed up, I read the fine print.  I saw the 16:00 mm pace requirement and concluded that I was going to participate, i'd have to train for this event.  I concluded that getting swept would be humiliating.  What bothers me is that there are people who don't consider it humiliating and runDisney has to track them to be sure that they are always in the last corral.

That's a hell of an accomplishment to PR so strongly so soon after running a strong marathon. Big congratulations!

Oh I get it.  The sweepers don't start until the last participant crosses the starting mat.  So by getting in an earlier corral, you buy more time on the course.  More time to stand in a line and get your picture taken with Mickey or Donald or Pluto (or Mickey and Donald and Pluto) and then walk as much of the rest of the course as you can before getting swept, collecting the finishers medal and going home.

Wow that's crazy. I guess some people think of everything.

Sub-2:00 is a milestone that many never achieve, yet you appear poised to get that and more. Good luck!

 

 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.

Great job, Lurch.  Congrats on the PR.

Star Wars isn't too bad for a "themed" race, but I am intrigued by the concept of sweeper vans (and visualize a black terrorist vehicle with dark windows screeching ahead of a fading runner, with costumed storm troopers swarming out and dragging their prey through the roll door just before rocketing away.)

Also, how much do these people pay runners-for-hire?   (In all seriousness, Evil will triumph because Good is dumb.  Some guy posted on a local board last spring looking to buy a Boston bib.  Amid the bonfire of flames he earned, I suggested that you get one free with most lobster dinners, heh.)

Jay, you'd make a fantastic runner-for-hire.    But I think you'd be overkill for someone trying to get a qualifying time to move up in the Disney corrals - when I ran Tinkerbell 2 years ago, I was in "B" corral with a 2:30 or so qualifying race!

He would be in front of the leader bike. lol

A 7 minute PR just a week after you ran a marathon is pretty incredible.  Congrats and thanks for the entertaining RR.