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Thread: Team MousePlanet: Don't Fear the Sweeper

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    Team MousePlanet: Don't Fear the Sweeper

    Don't Fear the Sweeper by Adrienne Krock

    Adrienne Krock on the pacing requirement for runDisney road races, including strategies for avoiding being swept from the course.

    Read it here!


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    Thanks for the great article! One more tip for restroom breaks: if you can make it into a park, you'll save a lot of time. Know the course beforehand and determine if you will be passing restrooms while running through the park segments. During the Princess Half, my stop in Tomorrowland took 3 min. compared to a 10 min. stop my group made at a single port-a-potty on the road. Lots of stalls means a fast-moving line! Unless you're a guy running in the Princess, only to find the men's room also crowded with women; then it sort of backfires.


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    Great article! I like to think of myself as a runner, since I ran Cross Country and Track in high school. But, let's get real- that was 15+ years and a lot of lbs ago. I want to get back into it. I actually started training for the first Tinkerbell half and then found out I was expecting K! Well, that was 3 years ago and I have done nothing since then. When I go on walks with DH and the kids, I get really bad toe numbness/pain. That is holding me back from even trying, which I know- excuses, excuses. I feel myself getting close to that motivated point, this article about the back of the packers gives me inspiration that I can do it.

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    SS: That's a GREAT tip. If we have to "go" in the parks, we predict where the next in-park restroom will be and try to hit those. There's one particular restroom in Anaheim that we almost always hit.

    Mermaid: Come over to the Team MousePlanet forum!! We are not doctors. We don't give official medical advice. Don't take it as official medical advice. But.

    Toe numbness and pain? Been there, done that! I'm not the only one. We can share some strategies that have worked for us!! Maybe we can help? I now have shoes with a "wide toe box" and I lace my shoes a funky way to make sure the toes are getting enough blood flow. (It could just be that your laces are too tight on the top of your foot!)

    You can do this. We can help.

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    Also, Mermaid - make sure your shoes are the right size and for your type of running. My 'street' shoes are a 10W, my running shoes are a wide-toe-box-style, in an 11. (With going up the size and getting shoes that run wider, I can actually avoid the W on the end of the size - but I go up the size for the length, not the width.

    Great article, Adriennek!

    Cathy

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by StormalongSavvy View Post
    Thanks for the great article! One more tip for restroom breaks: if you can make it into a park, you'll save a lot of time. Know the course beforehand and determine if you will be passing restrooms while running through the park segments.
    This is a great tip. I make a point to study the course map of any race to make mental notes about where the restrooms are (if any), and also where the water and fuel stations are. That way you can make a plan ahead of time and be prepared.

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    Great job, Adk!

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    Great article! I wish I had read something like it before going to the Tinkerbell 10K. We got swept unexpectedly. We never saw the pacers and were passed by by the bikes as we entered Disney property, but did not know enough to know what that meant. No one ever told us we were behind pace and as beginners we did not have electronic trackers. Thanks for giving others the heads up ! Personally, if I ever run another RunDisney event it will be a 5K. It broke my heart to run by all the cool photo ops and still get swept. It seems totally un-Disney to put out all that eye candy for only elite runners while all us slowpokes just get to glance at it as we chug by. Doing the CHOC Walk in October. That is probably more my speed


  10. #9

    One other option to smartphone apps and expensive GPS devices is a basic sport watch, preferably one with a lap feature so you can check your split times at the mile markers. You can find basic ones under $30 at Target or other big sporting goods stores. Also, you can use a pacing calculator to know your expected clock time at each marker. Pacing bands are usually available at the Clif Bar area of the expo, but there may not be one for your desired pace. It's best to have your times in mind to avoid having to do math.


  11. #10

    Very well written and equally informative!! May I add, and I know this may not be everyone's cup of tea but if you are indeed worried about the possibility of being swept, register for a local race. Sure you try to maintain proper pacing requirements during training with whatever plan you choose but testing your abilities and your runDisney race strategy in a race day environment may go a long way in determining what aspects of training you may need to work on.

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    Great article - especially for first timers like ME! It's definitely a fear I have - and a goal of mine to FINISH and not get swept. Thanks again...

    "[Disneyland] has that thing - the imagination, and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid." - Walt Disney

  13. #12

    I was just wondering... do those who get swept not receive a medal? That would make me fear the sweeper...


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    Quote Originally Posted by DLDixie View Post
    I was just wondering... do those who get swept not receive a medal? That would make me fear the sweeper...
    yes I believe that is correct. you get a medal for finishing. if you are swept, you're not finishing.
    "[Disneyland] has that thing - the imagination, and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid." - Walt Disney

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    I believe Disney has offered medals at some races to those that get swept.
    Personally, for me, I wouldn't accept one if I was swept.

    (Full disclosure, I DID accept a half marathon medal when I only made it to mile 13, before my body said 'nope, not going any further' and ended up with an ambulance ride AND overnight stay in the hospital. I'm going to change the medal to 13.0 instead of 13.1. If I'd stopped when I should have, around Mile 10, I would not have accepted it.)

    Cathy

  16. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by DLDixie View Post
    I was just wondering... do those who get swept not receive a medal? That would make me fear the sweeper...
    I saw people at a runDisney race that had likely been swept that had medals, and I know of one person personally who received one after being swept. I don't agree with the policy, but it appears to happen. I don't believe it is guaranteed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by stan4d_steph View Post
    I saw people at a runDisney race that had likely been swept that had medals, and I know of one person personally who received one after being swept. I don't agree with the policy, but it appears to happen. I don't believe it is guaranteed.
    I know of one who was swept in the marathon as part of Goofy. She received marathon medal but not the Goody Challenge medal.

    And of course, there was the person on FB who posted how cool it was to run a mile or two in the half marathon, get picked up, receive the finisher's medal and be taken to the finish line where she jumped back in and crossed the line just to get her picture taken (and lord knows how that totally messed up finisher's tracking and rankings in her age group). Not surprisingly, she didn't see the issue with that strategy.
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  18. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by stan4d_steph View Post
    I know of one person personally who received one after being swept. I don't agree with the policy, but it appears to happen. I don't believe it is guaranteed.
    A friend who was in my group running her first half was swept and received a medal as she was getting off of the bus.
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    Following up on Running Fool's post about the Goofy Challenge medal - I am aware that at the Dumbo Double Dare race, runners who were swept from the Half did not get the Dumbo Dare medal nor the Coast to Coast medal. In short: If the medal requires a wristband, they cut off the wrist band and you do not receive the medal. I interviewed people who refused to accept the finishers medals when they were swept. I have mixed feelings about whether or not I would accept a medal for an event I did not complete, if it were offered to me. I know another story where a woman at a Disneyland Half marathon was pushed down on the course, by a passing runner, who did not even STOP to see if she was ok, 1/2 mile from the finish line. She hurt herself badly and was not able to finish the event because of her injury. When a teenaged half marathon finisher met this lady at the airport, she gave the woman her medal. Now me? Injured by another runner within a half mile of the finish? I would've accepted THAT medal! (The post-script is that runDisney and Mickey traveled to Washington state to deliver a replacement medal to the heroine from the airport, at an assembly at her high school. Oh, and the teenager is the daughter of Terri White, quoted in the article!) I know Drince's story about her DNF and I'm personally very glad that they insisted she keep her medal!

    That said, I strongly dislike this policy for a number of reasons, that I won't all list here.

    It is a change in policy - they did not always give the medals anyway. I am on a Facebook group where a woman at a WDW race posted pictures of herself, after the race, wearing the medal, posing in WDW parks. In her post, she admitted that she did not finish the event. I'm also aware of a guy at the anniversary of the Mickey marathon who was at the Orlando Airport wearing a Mickey Medal. A group of marathoners struck up a conversation about the marathon and the guy revealed that he had been swept.

    It's one thing to accept the medal, but to wear it around as if you'd earned it? Holy cow. Totally not cool, in my not at all humble opinion.

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    Great article. Very helpful for new runners.

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    Great article! I wish it were around when I ran my first in 2012. I no longer fear the sweeper, but I did for my first one!

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  22. #21

    Great Article Adrienne!!!!! :hug: and I'm not just saying that cuz I was quoted!

    Truly though I wish when I started I had all this info! It would have helped my standing at the start line nerves CALM DOWN!


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    Quote Originally Posted by JunkieofER View Post
    Great Article Adrienne!!!!! :hug: and I'm not just saying that cuz I was quoted!
    Of course not. Thank you for your willingness to share your story and for your inspiration.
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    Quote Originally Posted by stan4d_steph View Post
    This is a great tip. I make a point to study the course map of any race to make mental notes about where the restrooms are (if any), and also where the water and fuel stations are. That way you can make a plan ahead of time and be prepared.
    One huge advantage with the in-park bathrooms: They are not porta-potties, but real flushable toilets. With sinks. Just be aware the lines could get a little long in them, as well (but they sure beat porta-potties).

    Quote Originally Posted by Bobcat View Post
    ...if you are indeed worried about the possibility of being swept, register for a local race.
    This is probably the best tip. If you've NEVER done a race/fun run/fun walk endurance event, the runDisney ones can be completely overwhelming. The Disney events are so huge and they can easily feel overwhelming... and there's too much to take in.

    If you are new to this whole thing, signing up for a local 5K or 10K (and incorporate it into your training) will make a huge difference, because then you'll have some experience and know what to expect.

    You can also use these earlier local races to get a sense of time. Maybe you can walk/jog/woggle/run the 16-minute-per-mile pace on your own, but being in a race environment you can actually put your pace to the test.

    This is NOT the same as signing up for a "virtual race" (where you sign up at a website than just report your mileage online); you want to sign up for a race where they have a physical start line, finish line, and mention something about timing chips.

    Quote Originally Posted by DLDixie View Post
    I was just wondering... do those who get swept not receive a medal? That would make me fear the sweeper...
    I don't think Disney used to have firm policies for its 5K races, but they've added clarifying wording now that says walkers need to meet the 16-minute pace in order to earn a finisher's medal. Implied in that notice is that those who are swept would not get a finisher's medal.

    Keep in mind that the way Disney defines things, the event shirt you get is your PARTICIPANT shirt, whereas the medal you get is your FINISHER medal. The medal is not guaranteed, but earned, whereas you get the shirt simply for registering for the event (and going to the expo to pick it up, along with your number bib).
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    Race bathroom break tip for the ladies:

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    I folded and stored a couple of these in my belt for Tink, and they work very well with no mess.

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