Marathon Weekend 2019

[FlashAM7]

I just realized my half PR was in December of 2016 so will be a month too old to use for next year's marathon. I have a half scheduled in April but it's hilly from around miles 7 to 10. Hmm... I may have to see what else I can find in the Spring. I do have a question about POT though. I'm nowhere near the cut off where it states that the POT is required. My half PR is 2:50 which I think converts to a 5:57 marathon. I put in the POT anyway for the 2018 marathon because I wasn't sure if it was better to have it in there. So if you're not in the times range where the POT is required, do you really need to put it in?

Yes, I would still put it in. They will place you in the last corral automatically if you don't have anything in. At least if you submit a POT with an estimated finish of 6 hours, you won't be in the very last corral.

 

[cavepig]

Yes, I would still put it in. They will place you in the last corral automatically if you don't have anything in. At least if you submit a POT with an estimated finish of 6 hours, you won't be in the very last corral.

No, they don't put you in the last corral automatically for no proof of time...I know many people who picked the first drop down that didn't require POT and were not in the last corral, they were in the F or G. Same with Wine & Dine half my mom didn't have proof and was not in last corral but picked that drop down (which is what she ran/runs anyway). They put you in the last corral if you pick an estimate that does require proof and you don't put a POT or you put a 7 hr estimate or something else doesn't line up. I mean this is how I've read/heard/known things to be so maybe I'm off.

 

[FlashAM7]

One thing regarding POT after talking to some Track Shack and RunDisney employees recently... Their #1 suggestion was that if you are signing up for a marathon, try and enter a marathon POT. If you enter in a half-marathon POT for a full marathon, they will double that time and add anywhere from 20-30 minutes. Most runners' marathon times should only add about 5-15 minutes. So their tip was, if you have a half marathon POT of 2:00:00, and a marathon POT of 4:18:00, and you are signing up for the marathon or Dopey, use the 4:18:00 marathon time as your POT, not your half.

 

[MilesMouse]

No, they don't put you in the last corral automatically for no proof of time...I know many people who picked the first drop down that didn't require POT and were not in the last corral, they were in the F or G. Same with Wine & Dine half my mom didn't have proof and was not in last corral. They put you in the last corral if you pick an estimate that does require proof and you don't put a POT or you put a 7 hr estimate or something else doesn't line up. I mean this is how I've read/heard/known things to be so maybe I'm off.

This seems to be true. I selected an estimated 4:30(or close to it) for the WDW marathon in 2016 but was too late to provide POT. I thought for sure I'd be in the last corral but I was closer to 3rd from last.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I feel silly even asking a "POT" question, because I've read people talking about them for years now, so feel like I should know. But, with that being said...

What happens if you enter a POT that doesn't quite match your estimated finish time. For example, my most recent HM time of 2:38 translates (in McMillian terms) to a 5:32:xx marathon. If I put an estimated finish time of 5:30 with that POT, would I be doomed to the last corral?

 

[FlashAM7]

I feel silly even asking a "POT" question, because I've read people talking about them for years now, so feel like I should know. But, with that being said...

What happens if you enter a POT that doesn't quite match your estimated finish time. For example, my most recent HM time of 2:38 translates (in McMillian terms) to a 5:32:xx marathon. If I put an estimated finish time of 5:30 with that POT, would I be doomed to the last corral?

I have wondered the same thing. Like if I enter a POT, but it was from a year ago and I have gotten faster, should my estimated finish be higher? Like could I enter a POT of 4:25:00 but my estimated finish is 4:10:00 or something?

 

[MissLiss279]

I feel silly even asking a "POT" question, because I've read people talking about them for years now, so feel like I should know. But, with that being said...

What happens if you enter a POT that doesn't quite match your estimated finish time. For example, my most recent HM time of 2:38 translates (in McMillian terms) to a 5:32:xx marathon. If I put an estimated finish time of 5:30 with that POT, would I be doomed to the last corral?

I think @MommaoffherRocker had an issue with this, this year for Dopey. Something about runDisney using a different calculator than McMillan, so her POT didn’t match, and she was put in a later corral. (I could be remembering her story wrong, though.)

 

[DVCFan1994]

I think you are ok giving yourself a few extra minutes to improve by, not sure I'd go with 15 minutes because that is a significant min/mile difference. I was a touch generous in my estimate for this years race after some discussion in the 2018 thread. My POT 10 miler converted to 4:44:55 using McMillan but I chose <4:40. I was placed in D, which in this years race included both my chosen estimate and the actual calculator estimate. I did it because in previous years 4:40 was occasionally a cutoff. But they greatly reduced the number of corrals this year, so it ended up not being an issue. I got the POT in June and knew I was capable of running faster (I ran the POT race still on meds for bronchitis). The back and forth discussion in last years thread lead me to feel comfortable going with the lower estimate knowing it was off by under 5 minutes. But, there were some stories of people being placed in the last corral because their estimate and POT were farther off.

If you know you can do better I always suggest finding another race. I had intended to run a second 10 miler in the late summer, but ended up with a severe calf strain the week of that race. As soon as I sign up for a rD race I start looking for a fresh POT race about 1-2 months before the deadline. Knowing I loved my POT race last June, perfect course for me (rolling coastal route) I'll sign up for it whenever I know I'm considering the WDW marathon in the future.

 

[Nole95]

For this year, I put my estimated finish time as 4:30. I always put in the estimate for what I am training towards or want to accomplish. It has never affected my placement before. My proof of time was a 2:21 half marathon. McMillan converted that to a 4:57 marathon. I ended up in D for Dopey, which was correct. I finished the marathon in 4:53. If I had not been running Dopey I am pretty sure I would have been sub 4:45.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

For this year, I put my estimated finish time as 4:30. I always put in the estimate for what I am training towards or want to accomplish. It has never affected my placement before. My proof of time was a 2:21 half marathon. McMillan converted that to a 4:57 marathon. I ended up in D for Dopey, which was correct. I finished the marathon in 4:53. If I had not been running Dopey I am pretty sure I would have been sub 4:45.

Thanks! Did the times for Corral D match your estimated time of 4:30 or your POT conversion time?

 

[Nole95]

Thanks! Did the times for Corral D match your estimated time of 4:30 or your POT conversion time?

They did. Corral D was 4:31 to 5:00.

So even if they doubled my POT, and added extra time for the marathon and/or Dopey I still ended up where I should have according to the McMillan calculator.

I have always put my estimated time at or below what my POT shows. I have never been penalized for it.

 

[kski907]

I feel silly even asking a "POT" question, because I've read people talking about them for years now, so feel like I should know. But, with that being said...

What happens if you enter a POT that doesn't quite match your estimated finish time. For example, my most recent HM time of 2:38 translates (in McMillian terms) to a 5:32:xx marathon. If I put an estimated finish time of 5:30 with that POT, would I be doomed to the last corral?

For reference I selected 5:30 put in POT of 2:46.00 my tinkerbell 2016 and was put in corral F. So not last. Another lady in our corral selected 5:30 and entered no POT and was also placed in F, but her husband who also selected 5:30 and entered a POT close to mine was put in G. Honestly I think if you are not A-D its a crap shoot.

 

[PrincessV]

I started quoting, but instead I'll just do one big post about PoT for all This is based on 2018 info: as always, it is subject to change in 2019...

Marathon, Goofy Dopey:
IF YOU ARE ENTERING AN ESTIMATED FINISH TIME FASTER THAN 5:30: you must enter Proof of Time (PoT) to support that finish time. The McMillan Running calculator has been found to come very close to whatever formula runDisney/TrackShack uses, so it's a good reference to see what your half-marathon or 10-miler time will equate to in a marathon (because it's not just doubling.) If you enter an estimated finish time that requires PoT and you fail to enter Pot, or you enter a PoT that does not support your estimated finish time, you will be placed in the last corral.

IF YOU ENTER AN ESTIMATED FINISH TIME OF 5:30 OR SLOWER: you do not need to enter PoT, entering PoT will not put you in a better corral, and you won't automatically be placed in the last corral. You will be placed according to your estimated finish time. So a 5:40 est finish will go in the 5:40 corral, a 6:10 est finish will go in the 6:10 corral, and so on. No one looks at PoTs for estimated finish times slower than 5:30, so there is simply no reason to submit one.

Half-Marathon:
Same as above, but the cutoff is 2:45 - faster than 2:45 requires PoT, slower than 2:45 does not.

5K and 10K:
No PoT required, no way to submit. You will be corralled based on the estimated pace you enter in registration.

I haven't bothered with PoT for the past few years and have yet to be placed in the last corral. I started in G for the half/full for this year's Dopey and ran a PR in the marathon. You do want to do what you can to be placed in a corral that matches your approximate speed, so if that's faster than the PoT threshold, yes - go get that fast race for PoT! But if you know your pace is going to be slower than the cutoff, or if you just don't really care to race for time, I assure you it is not necessary and a lovely time can be had in any corral.

 

[JeffW]

I started quoting, but instead I'll just do one big post about PoT for all This is based on 2018 info: as always, it is subject to change in 2019...

Marathon, Goofy Dopey:
IF YOU ARE ENTERING AN ESTIMATED FINISH TIME FASTER THAN 5:30: you must enter Proof of Time (PoT) to support that finish time. The McMillan Running calculator has been found to come very close to whatever formula runDisney/TrackShack uses, so it's a good reference to see what your half-marathon or 10-miler time will equate to in a marathon (because it's not just doubling.) If you enter an estimated finish time that requires PoT and you fail to enter Pot, or you enter a PoT that does not support your estimated finish time, you will be placed in the last corral.

IF YOU ENTER AN ESTIMATED FINISH TIME OF 5:30 OR SLOWER: you do not need to enter PoT, entering PoT will not put you in a better corral, and you won't automatically be placed in the last corral. You will be placed according to your estimated finish time. So a 5:40 est finish will go in the 5:40 corral, a 6:10 est finish will go in the 6:10 corral, and so on. No one looks at PoTs for estimated finish times slower than 5:30, so there is simply no reason to submit one.

I think I'd put it this way, based on what happened to my wife this year and a long email conversation with TrackShack. If your PoT equates to longer than 5:30 (or longer than 2:45 for the HM), DO NOT submit a PoT. They appear to have used that PoT instead of estimated finish if you provided it, ignoring your estimated finish. I told them I thought the PoT field should simply disappear from the registration page if the selected estimated finish didn't require PoT.

 

[PrincessV]

I told them I thought the PoT field should simply disappear from the registration page if the selected estimated finish didn't require PoT.

ITA! I think that would help a lot with some of the confusion.

 

[JeffW]

I have wondered the same thing. Like if I enter a POT, but it was from a year ago and I have gotten faster, should my estimated finish be higher? Like could I enter a POT of 4:25:00 but my estimated finish is 4:10:00 or something?

Here are some direct quotes from TrackShack, so interpret as you see fit (these were from different emails within a conversation where I was using various examples to understand their replies). Their use of "equate" and "less than" seems to say selecting a faster anticipated finish than your PoT will be ignored (or used against you). What isn't stated here, and what happened with my wife, was selecting an anticipated finish of 2:45 but submitting a PoT 10k that equated to longer than 2:45 HM. In that case, even though the 2:45 doesn't require PoT, they ignored it and used the PoT for a later corral placement.

As you can see we do state that your ‘Proof of time information below must equate to Marathon Finish Time above.’ Your placement is done based on your actual finishing time.

The proof of time field is used to determine if anticipated finish time is necessary. We are not able to rely on anticipated finish times to support placement as many people don’t actually have proof of time to support this

If a guest selected an anticipated finish time of 5:30, proof of time is not required. If a guest selects an anticipated finish time less than 5:30, they must provide a valid proof of time that equates to a less than 5:30 placement to be placed in that corral.

If you select an anticipated finish time of 2:40, you must have a valid proof of time to support the 2:40 finish time. If you do not have a valid proof of time to support this time, you would need to select an anticipated finish time of 2:45 or greater.

 

[Keels]

They did. Corral D was 4:31 to 5:00.

So even if they doubled my POT, and added extra time for the marathon and/or Dopey I still ended up where I should have according to the McMillan calculator.

I have always put my estimated time at or below what my POT shows. I have never been penalized for it.

Samesies.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Thanks everyone for the information!!

The confusing part is it seems that experiences with POT and corral placements are not always consistent.

 

[daisyamy]

Just as another point of information from someone who ran the Dopey Challenge this year (2018). I did not have a proper proof of time for 2018 Marathon weekend. So I selected the 5:30 estimated time and left the PoT blank. I was placed in the proper corral (corral F, Time required = 5:30), which was not the last corral. This aligns with @PrincessV 's post above!

For 2018, the non PoT corrals were the following: Corral F was "=5:30", Corral G was 5:31-6:00, and Corral H was 6:01-7:00.

As always though, things can change, so this may or may not be the same for next year.

 

[PrincessV]

Thanks everyone for the information!!

The confusing part is it seems that experiences with POT and corral placements are not always consistent.

Overall, they really are very consistent. There will alwyas be a few outliers due to human error, but it seems to be a very small percentage of a really huge field that don't wind up where they should be.