Official inaugural Tower of Terror 10 miler thread. September 29, 2012

[minniebeth]

Congratulations to everyone who completed the race!
I'll write a more detailed report when I get home.
I was still so sick but determined to at least try to complete the race. I walked the whole way. Man, the humidity was brutal. But finished feeling well but sweaty.
Favorite part was going through Wide World of Sports.
I agree it was well organized!
Loved the snack boxes at the end.
We saw a LOT of sick people getting medical attention and 3 being taken by stretcher with EMS. I'm thinking people just did not slow down their pace to adjust to the heat and humidity.
Stayed at DHS until 3:45. Finally got to bed around 4:45.
Epcot Food and Wine Festival here we come!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Congrats to everyone! The DH and I finished, which was our #1 goal! We came in just a tad over 2 1/2 hours. He and I both agree about the on course entertainment leaving something to be desired! I have to say though that I felt a lot more trained for this race and though the humidity was bad, it wasn't as hard as I'd imagined. Not having to worry about the sweepers was such a relief, and something that I've never experienced before!

 

[PrincessV]

I am SOOOOOOOOOOO proud of you all - congratulations! Speaking as a Floridian who trained all summer in weather like last night's, I can't fathom running that race having trained up north. Yes, it was business as usual for me, weather-wise, but that didn't make it any more comfortable, lol!

Happy to say I finished! Really disappointed with an average pace over 16:00. Super happy that I pulled off negative splits the last couple miles! Kinda regretting putting undue extra strain on my IT band. Thrilled pain staved off until 3.5 miles! Frustrated that when it did hit, I was hobbled to waking more than half the distance... with so little entertainment to distract me. Stairs for bag check made me cry.

Heading to EP for slow strolling and food and wine, sans medal - too hot to wear it!

 

[Yogamama]

Oh my word, if that were my first Disney race, I'd be so disappointed. I found that true to Disney form, there was lots of standing/walking around pre-race, which was really awful. We were able to start out strong toward the front right of our corral...I had to jump back to D, since that's where my friends were.

I found the course to be disappointing in the fact that it was a really physically demanding course - the embankments, dirt road, steep turns...I expected that at Expedition Everest, but not to much for a long run. My IT band on my right was killing me and by about mile 4, I wanted to give up. When we circled around to the WWOS, my friend looked at me and said she wanted to walk to the car, and I was like, "hell no...just keep moving forward".

By the end of mile 6, my knees and hips were killing me and I wasn't sure I was going to finish. I felt confident because the balloon lady was still WAY back there, but it seemed as though a few short minutes later, I passed the mile 7 marker and looked behind me to still see a sea of people. But a minute or two into mile 7, I looked back and thought perhaps I really had entered the twilight zone, because everyone was gone and the balloon lady was right behind me. She yelled out - "make it to 8, you can do it, just get there before me, you're so close to finishing". I can only imagine how tough her job is.

I was disappointed that there wan't more pizzazz at the finish line. It was sparse on cheerers and no characters anywhere. Also, along the course there wasn't much in the way of audio entertainment. I was wishing I had my tunes with me. I could have kissed the person that put on some 80's tunes somewhere in the last couple of miles. I just needed a beat to keep moving forward.

I also wasn't crazy about the strobe light towards the end. I was already dizzy and I had a hard time with my footing during that time. I didn't like how it was aimed at us.

I hate to sound like a complainer. We made it to the end, and had a pretty good time with it, because we were friends. I realize we did not train as well for this as we thought we had...and my lesson learned is to make sure I can really do the distance before signing up for my next long run.

A huge shout-out to the medical personnel. My friend passed out on the floor in the bathroom after the race and I was standing outside getting some air, so the racers that ran out to get me were fabulous. We ended up missing out on the after-party because she was being observed for a bit, then I took her home.

I was so glad we had glow headbands and bracelets to be able to see each other in the sea of people.

Our shirts for those of you that were hanging out in the back with us... https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...0165328832147.308189.639247146&type=1&theater

 

[AnotherPrincess]

My thoughts:

I was surprised at how efficient the buses were at Wide World of Sports, I thought it was going to be a madhouse but they were so organized.

That was a super long wait in good ol' corral D, we did a lot of sitting around.

I was kind of surprised we had so much lining up and waiting to do before we got to the start line (this was our first race ever, so maybe this always happens).

We did pretty well for our level of training (we never went more than 5 miles in a single training run). Ran for about the first 3 miles straight. What really messed me up was the Wide World of Sports. We had a pretty good pace set, then we hit that dirt trail. There was only space for about 4 people wide, and everyone just started walking. It was super hard to get around anyone, much less a whole trail of walking people. We ended up just walking most of it with everyone else, then when we hit the track it was hard to get back up to speed.

We did much better once we hit the road again, but my feet were starting to hurt really bad at this point. It got easier once we hit that Mile 9, but I really wish they had had little half mile or 1/4 mile markers so I could better pace myself.

I think we finished in about 2 hours and 20 minutes, which I don't think is bad at all for our first official race. I still think we woulda had a better time if it hadn't been for that dirt path, but oh well.

Does anyone remember all the photo ops? I think there was one per mile....the only ones I remember are:

-the AK parade float
-the pirate ship
-Dr. Facillier
-Big Bad Wolf
-the hyenas and Scar (so mad about this one, didn't notice Scar as we ran by and were only told later by another runner in Gaston's line at the party, totally woulda stopped for pictures if we'd seen Scar)

I don't remember any more...my mind does have a few blank spots from the race.

The After party was super fun, we were exhausted but still got pictures with Darth Vader, Jafar and Gaston.

We had walk on rides on ST, RR, TOT and we had about a 20 minute wait for TSMM.

Oh, one more thing. It was really weird, when we hit mile 2 it looked like they were already clearing out the water/powerade station. There were only about 2 tables still open and it was super crowded. I thought that was weird because we were keeping a pretty good pace then (9 minutes per mile), so even though we were in the last corral, there were still a lot coming.

I noticed the same thing about the mile 2 water station. They actually announced they were all out which I thought was completely unacceptable. Then a few paces up there was 1 table with a few cups. I was scared at that point thinking if that was a sign of things to come, they would have people dropping of dehydration left and right. I was completely drenched by that point and knew I needed water. Luckily that was the only poorly stocked water stop.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I noticed the same thing about the mile 2 water station. They actually announced they were all out which I thought was completely unacceptable. Then a few paces up there was 1 table with a few cups. I was scared at that point thinking if that was a sign of things to come, they would have people dropping of dehydration left and right. I was completely drenched by that point and knew I needed water. Luckily that was the only poorly stocked water stop.

Yeah that part really scared me, first off cause I thought we wouldn't have enough water, and second because I assumed we were maybe near the back since they were cleaning up.

I'm glad someone else thought the course was super physically demanding, I had no idea that the roads around Disney were all uphill and never downhill

 

[jimandami]

Let me just say that I am super jealous of all you guys at Food & Wine...we are on our way home from the airport already . But I will say the weather here is sunny and in the 60s so that's something! Now to look forward to January!

 

[jimandami]

Oh and I am also jealous that apparently you guys live and train in flat areas! We run up so many hills just in our neighborhood that last night, I never thought we went uphill...lol!

 

[CALIFLADY]

I didn't run last night, but make this observation:

Had the schedule from the past two years held, last night would have been the running of the W&D Half. Sounds like weather-wise, last night was MUCH worse than the last two years. Can you imagine running another 5K on top of what you ran last night in that heat and humidity?

Maybe Disney did a smart thing in moving the W&D Half out by six weeks. Those of us running in November may survive the weather a bit better.

 

[Qltrgrl2]

I noticed the same thing about the mile 2 water station. They actually announced they were all out which I thought was completely unacceptable. Then a few paces up there was 1 table with a few cups. I was scared at that point thinking if that was a sign of things to come, they would have people dropping of dehydration left and right. I was completely drenched by that point and knew I needed water. Luckily that was the only poorly stocked water stop.

The water stations at a Disney race should have enough for double the number of runners. You pay a high race entry fee, and the amenities should reflect that. So glad to hear that was the only problem with hydration along the route. The medals look awesome and hopefully the after party was great fun!

 

[J Powel]

Tough race for sure, cramped up around mile 6.thought I would have to quit or walk the whole way.walked to mile7 and felt better.did a walk run to the finish line.hoped to make it in 1:50 but did 2:04. Pretty sure I had heat stroke ended up skipping the party, crowds were to big and it seemed like such a gong show.

 

[BlazerFan]

Although moving the date for the Wine & Dine 1/2 marathon messed with my schedule this year, I'm happy for the move based on the sounds of the weather. Wine & Dine will be my first night race. I have a question for those of you who ran/walked last night. Do you think I should have a headlamp or knuckle lights? Did you have problems with it being too dark to see?

 

[jimandami]

Although moving the date for the Wine & Dine 1/2 marathon messed with my schedule this year, I'm happy for the move based on the sounds of the weather. Wine & Dine will be my first night race. I have a question for those of you who ran/walked last night. Do you think I should have a headlamp or knuckle lights? Did you have problems with it being too dark to see?

I thought it was pretty well lit and didn't need any sort of light, even in the "trail" parts!

 

[AnotherPrincess]

I also thought it was well lit. Perfect, in fact.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

All the feedback is very interesting, yet helpful. I love a villains theme, but the date worried me a lot. I've lived in the south long enough to know late September does not automatically equal good running weather. If they were cleaning up water stations so soon, and people needing medical help, I'm very happy I passed on this race. I do hope everyone who ran it is doing OK and recovering.

 

[OhhBother]

Well, we survived. DH finished, and I made it seven miles before getting swept. I honestly didn't think I stood any chance of making it that far, so I'm proud of myself today.

We really gave up on our training several weeks ago when DH got a job in a different state, and we have had to adjust to living apart. The longest distance I'd done before last night was four mies, so I'm pretty happy with seven.

DH and I agree with everyone that we expected more entertainment along the course. Last night, he and I both swore we'd never attempt a distance race again. But this morning, we're already talking about what we could do if we actually trained...

I suspect we'll do another Disney race soon -- just not another one in the humidity of September! Congrats to all!

 

[AnotherPrincess]

Well, we survived. DH finished, and I made it seven miles before getting swept. I honestly didn't think I stood any chance of making it that far, so I'm proud of myself today.

We really gave up on our training several weeks ago when DH got a job in a different state, and we have had to adjust to living apart. The longest distance I'd done before last night was four mies, so I'm pretty happy with seven.

DH and I agree with everyone that we expected more entertainment along the course. Last night, he and I both swore we'd never attempt a distance race again. But this morning, we're already talking about what we could do if we actually trained...

I suspect we'll do another Disney race soon -- just not another one in the humidity of September! Congrats to all!

Out of curiosity because this question comes up frequently, did you get the medal? Could you describe the sweeping experience during and after? Great job on getting that far! I was almost swept at that point too. They cut it off not far behind me.

 

[OhhBother]

Out of curiosity because this question comes up frequently, did you get the medal? Could you describe the sweeping experience during and after? Great job on getting that far! I was almost swept at that point too. They cut it off not far behind me.

Sure thing. Right as I got to mile marker seven, guys on bikes blocked the road. One of them said, "I'm sorry, folks, but we're going to have to end it here. You're jut too far behind pace." I'm not sure how off pace we were, but the race results estimated I would have finished 30 minutes after my husband, and he finished with a 16:15 pace.

There were several racers who were stopped at that point, and I know there were still a good number of people behind us. One woman started sobbing uncontrollably, but everybody else seemed OK. I just kept thinking I'd set a new personal distance record, and I was OK with that. A few years ago, I weighed 368 pounds and could barely walk down the street in my neighborhood, so this is progress!

We then got on one of three or four waiting buses, where we were offered water and Powerade. We were driven behind TOT, and we walked in right past the finish line. We were handed our medals as we walked in. We then walked through the queue with everyone else for bananas, water, etc.

All in all, it was handled really well. The Disney folks were very kind to us, and I liked that we subtly re-entered the post-finish area with everyone else. I didn't feel "conspicuous" if that makes sense.

I'm proudly wearing my medal today, because it symbolizes an accomplishment for me.

 

[WDWDancer]

Happy to say all of "Team Ashley" made it This was our first Disney run and first distance run. The humidity and heat were crazy....took water and a swish of powerade at all the stations starting out.

Our average pace the first 6 miles was 13:24 I was feeling good....until mile 7. I thought it was the powerade I started feeling nauseous my heart rate started spiking in the 200's we walked most of that mile and I was so thankful for all my fellow runners who encouraged me on. I was able to do some slow slow jog/walks I wasn't sure what was wrong never experienced anything like it in training but i knew I could do the distance. We made it across the finish line in 2:34!!

i went straight to medical "heat exhaustion" was the word. I probably should have stayed at medical longer because 15 min after leaving I got violently ill....happy to say this morning at 9 am I felt good and am eagerly looking for my next run

Our team was all new "Run Disney" folks and thought it was a great event ....challenging but fun and a great group of fellow runners!! Thanks All

 

[AnotherPrincess]

Thanks for the debrief OhhBother! Sounds like Disney handles sweeping with dignity. Again, congrats on your accomplishment and good luck to your hubby on his new job!