How do you avoid the last corral?

[JJ2017]

If this will be my first race with no proof of times, and I'm scared of being swept, is there any way to avoid the last corral?

 

[Kerry1957]

A bit more info would be helpful...

• Which weekend/race are you referring to? W&D, Marathon, Princess? 5K, 10K, Half, or Full? There are no POTs for 5ks and 10Ks, and corrals are assigned by your estimated pace.
• Do you know the POT submission dates and required times? There is a lot of info on these Boards to help know this.
• Is it possible for you to sign-up for a local race before the cut-off date to get a POT? Depending on the Disney weekend you are running, this may be difficult with all of the recent and future cancellations.
• What is your projected pace? There are several corrals for folks who did not submit a POT. runDisney assigns the non-POT corrals by your estimated pace.
• Are you an honest person? Some people who are not just lie about their projected pace. They will not get into a POT corral, but may get into a non-last corral.
• Have you run a Disney race before? If yes, then you are already familiar with balloon lady paces, stopping for pictures, etc. If no, then the search button will be your friend to find a lot of helpful advice on avoiding the balloon ladies.

 

[camaker]

If this will be my first race with no proof of times, and I'm scared of being swept, is there any way to avoid the last corral?

Pick one of the first expected finish times that doesn’t require a proof of time and you shouldn’t be in the last corral.

 

[Kerry1957]

Pick one of the first expected finish times that doesn’t require a proof of time and you shouldn’t be in the last corral.

Or to really simplify things, just do what @camaker said above.

 

[JJ2017]

Ha. Thank you. I really am not sure how races work.

Princess 2021

10k

I had planned one 5k that’s already cancelled and was going to look for a 10k in the fall. Guess I should look at submission dates for POT.

I’m running with two others. We would want to be in the same corral, right?

part of why I want to go for the 10k is to have a longer course to be able to slow down and take pics. But I’m going to be slow for sure.

 

[camaker]

Ha. Thank you. I really am not sure how races work.

Princess 2021

10k

I had planned one 5k that’s already cancelled and was going to look for a 10k in the fall. Guess I should look at submission dates for POT.

I’m running with two others. We would want to be in the same corral, right?

part of why I want to go for the 10k is to have a longer course to be able to slow down and take pics. But I’m going to be slow for sure.

10k races don’t accept proof of time. Corral seeding is done based on the estimated pace that you select during registration. If you and your friends aren’t placed in the same corral, you can always move back to the lowest corralled person and start together.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I’m running with two others. We would want to be in the same corral, right?

Correct. If one of you is placed in a faster corral, then they could drop down to a slower corral to be with the others. But if the plan is to run the race together the entire time, then you will need to start from the same corral.

part of why I want to go for the 10k is to have a longer course to be able to slow down and take pics. But I’m going to be slow for sure.

I sort of kind of, but not really almost got swept once. I'm very glad it happened because it proved to be very liberating about how I approach pictures during runDisney races. Like you, I am not very fast.

In the 2017 Star Wars Dark Side 10K and Half Marathon races at Disney World, I was seeded in the last corral for each race. It had been 6 years since I started a race from the last corral. I didn't have a lot of cushion. But I came to a photo op that I really wanted to do. So I got in line. When I was about 3rd or 4th in line, race officials came up to us on bikes and explained that the balloon ladies were about 5 minutes away. And when the balloon ladies arrived at the photo op, we could either leave the line and keep up with them or stay in the line and be swept. I had enough race experience and training to know that barring injury, I would have no problem maintaining pace with the balloon ladies if I needed to and would just have to skip photos if that was the case. I was also close enough to my turn that I thought I would be okay. And while some photos during Disney races are rare opportunities indeed, there are character photos available before and after the race.

I stayed in line, got my photo, and resumed the race. Sure enough about 5 minutes later I saw the buses pull up and form a V shape blocking anyone behind them from continuing the race. I continued my pace and was just fine, even getting some more photos in when I felt like the line was short enough to work for me.

One more note. Just because you see the buses along the course marked Parade Bus does not mean that you are in immediate danger of being swept. It just means that they are there for when the sweep will occur. I know that many people fear being swept. I hope to encourage people that with sufficient training and preparation, they will be able to finish the race.

 

[JJ2017]

10k races don’t accept proof of time. Corral seeding is done based on the estimated pace that you select during registration. If you and your friends aren’t placed in the same corral, you can always move back to the lowest corralled person and start together.

Ah. Ok. Thank you.

 

[JJ2017]

Correct. If one of you is placed in a faster corral, then they could drop down to a slower corral to be with the others. But if the plan is to run the race together the entire time, then you will need to start from the same corral.
I sort of kind of, but not really almost got swept once. I'm very glad it happened because it proved to be very liberating about how I approach pictures during runDisney races. Like you, I am not very fast.

In the 2017 Star Wars Dark Side 10K and Half Marathon races at Disney World, I was seeded in the last corral for each race. It had been 6 years since I started a race from the last corral. I didn't have a lot of cushion. But I came to a photo op that I really wanted to do. So I got in line. When I was about 3rd or 4th in line, race officials came up to us on bikes and explained that the balloon ladies were about 5 minutes away. And when the balloon ladies arrived at the photo op, we could either leave the line and keep up with them or stay in the line and be swept. I had enough race experience and training to know that barring injury, I would have no problem maintaining pace with the balloon ladies if I needed to and would just have to skip photos if that was the case. I was also close enough to my turn that I thought I would be okay. And while some photos during Disney races are rare opportunities indeed, there are character photos available before and after the race.

I stayed in line, got my photo, and resumed the race. Sure enough about 5 minutes later I saw the buses pull up and form a V shape blocking anyone behind them from continuing the race. I continued my pace and was just fine, even getting some more photos in when I felt like the line was short enough to work for me.

One more note. Just because you see the buses along the course marked Parade Bus does not mean that you are in immediate danger of being swept. It just means that they are there for when the sweep will occur. I know that many people fear being swept. I hope to encourage people that with sufficient training and preparation, they will be able to finish the race.

I was totally able to envision your story. Thanks for the details!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I was totally able to envision your story. Thanks for the details!

You're welcome. I'm glad to be of help. In my very early days of running, my head was filled with all sorts of fears about running that made my first race far more difficult and much less enjoyable than it could have been otherwise. Experience and successfully finishing races helped me overcome those fears. So while experience can only come one way, if I can help runners worried about the sweep understand how it works in reality, I'm happy to. I've run many a race with runners nervously checking their time afraid that the the sweep is seconds away from dashing their dreams when they're really doing just fine.

My little sister was severely undertrained at this year's marathon. She went very, very slowly and managed to stay just ahead of the balloon ladies at the end. She told me that they would actually say the balloon ladies are 20 seconds behind you. Do your best and you should be just fine. And best of luck. These races have been some of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Even without all the fun Disney trimmings.

 

[sandam1]

Pick one of the first expected finish times that doesn’t require a proof of time and you shouldn’t be in the last corral.

Corral seeding is done based on the estimated pace that you select during registration.

Unfortunately, that doesn't always work out. For this year's Princess challenge, I listed similar pace timing for both the 10K and half. I was placed in F corral (the first non-POT corral) for the half and F corral (the last corral) in the 10K. I was miserable because I wound up starting out slow (it was cold and my physical therapist recommended doing long walk/short run intervals for the first mile) and got caught up in the massive pack. By the time I felt warmed up, the course was crazy narrow and there was NO place to run (particularly if you wanted to do any sort of intervals). End result was seeing waaaay more of the balloon ladies than I wanted to and being incredibly frustrated by the whole thing. And I wasn't the only one who were assigned to wildly different pace corrals for the 10K and half (I saw a bunch of people with POT corral letters for the half and back of the pack corral letters for the 10K). I don't know if this was a one-time glitch or whether this happens often with runDisney, but it can happen.

 

[bumbershoot]

And I wasn't the only one who were assigned to wildly different pace corrals for the 10K and half (I saw a bunch of people with POT corral letters for the half and back of the pack corral letters for the 10K). I don't know if this was a one-time glitch or whether this happens often with runDisney, but it can happen.

I've done Princess 5 times and don't recall hearing that complaint before.

They do put you in a slower corral than if you weren't doing the challenge, but it's usually not drastic.

 

[SL6827]

So do most people just check off on the earliest POT for the 5 and 10Ks to try to secure the best corral since there is no required proof?

 

[YawningDodo]

I'm trying really hard not to second guess my decision to be honest with my estimated finish time for the marathon--I put myself in the second to last category, which is the best I'm aspiring to based on my current pace and fitness level. I'd like to do photos along the way and it'd be really cool to ride EE, but mostly I just want to finish the marathon...hoping I'll still have a good experience if I end up just ahead of the balloon ladies the whole way.

So I guess my answer to the question is...well, I'm not trying to avoid the last corral because frankly it's probably where I belong. I'm trying to look at it more in terms of how I can have a good time with a back of the pack start.

 

[cmarsh31]

My first Princess 5k, we put down the "right/honest" category. Wasn't the last corral, but oh my, spent most of the race passing people and running around people. Next one, shaved a few minutes off of my time and it was a much more enjoyable experience. I think, at least for the 5k, it's as much a fun run & wonderful experience for everyone, so if you want to actually run it, even if you're a slow runner like I am, definitely estimate a little faster than normal.

No experience with anything longer than the 5k - looking forward to Feb being my first 10k!

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm trying really hard not to second guess my decision to be honest with my estimated finish time for the marathon--I put myself in the second to last category, which is the best I'm aspiring to based on my current pace and fitness level. I'd like to do photos along the way and it'd be really cool to ride EE, but mostly I just want to finish the marathon...hoping I'll still have a good experience if I end up just ahead of the balloon ladies the whole way.

So I guess my answer to the question is...well, I'm not trying to avoid the last corral because frankly it's probably where I belong. I'm trying to look at it more in terms of how I can have a good time with a back of the pack start.

Not exactly back, more like middle, but I started in the first non-POT corral at the Princess Half this year (I qualified for a POT corral but jumped back to run with my sister). We stopped for most of the pictures, and while there was some crowding, it wasn't all of the race and it was manageable. Expect to encounter some crowding, and lines for some characters may be long so you may not be able to stop for all of them, but you should be able to stop for some. Not sure about EE because since I started from a POT corral for the marathon. Manage your expectations, and understand that you may not be able to do everything you want, but you should still be able to have a good time.

 

[SL6827]

I'm trying really hard not to second guess my decision to be honest with my estimated finish time for the marathon--I put myself in the second to last category, which is the best I'm aspiring to based on my current pace and fitness level. I'd like to do photos along the way and it'd be really cool to ride EE, but mostly I just want to finish the marathon...hoping I'll still have a good experience if I end up just ahead of the balloon ladies the whole way.

So I guess my answer to the question is...well, I'm not trying to avoid the last corral because frankly it's probably where I belong. I'm trying to look at it more in terms of how I can have a good time with a back of the pack start.

Your gonna ride EE during the marathon? You can do that?

 

[SL6827]

How many corrals do the 5 and 10K have?

 

[rteetz]

How many corrals do the 5 and 10K have?

3 for the 5K, 6 for 10K.

 

[SL6827]

3 for the 5K, 6 for 10K.

Wow, that is not that many for the 5K.