Hello everyone.

I am participating in the Disneyland Half-Marathon on Labor Day. This is my first race ever and I have some clueless newbie questions.

How does everyone carry their ID and money? Or do you carry that at all? I'm staying in one of the hotels on Harbor and will be walking to the corrals. Should I just take a room key and forget the wallet?

I am cold natured and will be wearing some throw-away clothes to the corral. Most likely, I'll be wearing them until about 30 minutes into the race. I know clothes are collected for donation at the corrals, but how about people like me? Can I just drop them off at a water station? I don't want to be a litterbug.

What should be in the drop bags? Fresh clothes? I'll be meeting my family after the race at the family meeting area - should I forget the drop bag and have them bring my stuff?

Does anyone carry a camera on the course? Where do you put it while running? It's too late to learn to run with a waistpack. Should I forget the camera?

Thanks for helping me out. See you there?

I don't carry money or an ID with me when I race. You shouldn't need them. If you want, you could have your family bring them. You can leave your room key in your drop bag.

I haven't ever had family meet me, so I'm not sure what to do about having them bring your clothes. If you think it will be convenient, go for it. The drop worked for me at WDW and I didn't have to wait in a line to pick up my stuff. I would definitely recommend at least having a change of shirt. You will feel a lot better changing into dry clothes.

I've never carried a camera with me. One strategy would be to try and arrange to hand it off to a family member at one point along the route. Race Ready shorts have a wider middle pocket that seems to be big enough to hold a disposable camera.

Hi mangokitty92262. Last year was my first race ever also.

My running shorts had a small pocket just inside the waistband were I was able to keep my room key/card and a $20 bill in case I needed some cash for something. It's all I needed.

I didn't wear extra clothes so I can't speak on that but I do remember that between 4:30 a.m. & the start it was pretty chilly wearing just a tshirt and shorts.

Like stan4d-steph, I didn't have family members there and since I didn't have anything extra with me, didn't use the drop bag.

I did carry a camera. But it was a very small one I borrowed from my work place. My own camera would've been to bulky to carry 13.1 miles. A disposable camera would be small and light but you need to consider how many photos you'll be taking. If you go that route and want to take lots of pictures, stan4d-steph's suggestion of handing off to a family member along the route is a good one. You could trade the used camera for a fresh one.

One quick tip, if you drink any liquids before the run, don't drink anything with ice. I had a large iced tea before leaving the hotel for the caffine boost and between it, the chilly air & being nervous, I must've visited the porta-potty at least 5 times before going to the corral.

I know you'll have a great experience. Have fun.

Congratulations on your first 1/2 marathon!

Some tips I've learned along the way:

1) Bring a garbage bag to the start line, that way you can wear it and tear it away. If you need more clothes to wear until you warm up, you can discard them at the water stations.

2) You can write your emergency information on the back of your race number, I also have a RoadID for my shoe that has all the same information....so you don't really need your ID.

3) You will want to bring a camera with you for this run...I used to run with a disposable camera but I find that my small point and shoot digital takes better pictures and I can erase them if needed. It's not really that much of a burden. Last year we were so excited, I think we took over 100 pictures!

4) Change of clothes and room key can be either put in the drop bag or given to friends/family you will meet after the run. Either way you won't need that stuff until after the run and it's just as easy and accessible to find friends and your drop bag.

5) I carry a few dollars in my small hidden pocket just in case of an emergency.

6) Bring water with you to the start line. Last year I couldn't find any at and it was a long wait from the time they ask you to be at the start line and when the run actually started. Just make sure you don't drink too much, the port a potty lines were REALLY LONG!

These are all such great suggestions! I am also new to running and will be doing my first half in December.

Everyone: thank you for all the help. I really appreciate the feedback. I'm pretty excited about doing this event - it's a milestone for me to get to this point after a very long illness.

My goal is to finish within the time limit and have fun along the way. I'm doing the 5K also with my family. The half - marathon is on my own. Well, except the 14,000 others! Ha!

Thank you!