Looking back over the Disney weekend, I pondered why people drop tons of money to compete and complete their races. What motivates people, especially those who travel from outside of Florida and/or California to participate? Is it the medal? Is it the parks? Reward to the family for putting up with this running nonsense? Charity running? I know that for me, I originally picked Disney for some type of weird compensation to my husband and daughters for putting up with my running hobby and to get the Mickey medal. However, there are a lot of people who run these races every year and complete the Coast to Coast challenge numerous times as well. There were 135 participants who had run every Goofy Challenge. There were others that had run every Walt Disney World marathon. That's a lot of cash to be putting out. I started comparing the Disney runs with the Rock 'n Roll series of races. The similarity of the races are that they both offer specific, unique benefits/experiences to participants, they can be pricey, they attract a large group of participants, many of them first timers or charity runners. Why run Disney over Rock 'n Roll?
I have run many Rock 'n Roll events, mostly Virginia Beach over Labor Day (a half) and Rock 'n Roll Philadelphia (formerly the Philadelphia Distance Festival), but I also ran Rock 'n Roll events in Phoenix, San Antonio, and New Orleans. For Phoenix, I ran as a Charity Runner for Team in Training. I really liked the first few Rock 'n Roll events--they were a lot of fun, not too crowded, the bands were fun, the atmosphere was fun. There were a few refreshments, but the medal was great and it was relatively laid back. As the popularity of the series increased, so did the crowds and my enjoyment for the events dwindled. I can handle crowds, but it gets to be a drag waiting an hour or more for your corral to hit the start line. The courses are what they are, but towards the end, especially if you are a slow runner, the bands aren't always playing and the aid stations run out of supplies. There usually isn't any food at the end and you're battling more people than at the start. And even getting to the start can be problematic. We ran San Antonio the first year it was a Rock 'n Roll and we caught a bus within about 15 minutes of starting out. We were some of the lucky ones. The race start was delayed almost an hour waiting for buses to reach the start. It was a mess, though to be fair, it was the first year. New Orleans was a little bit dicey as well as we had to catch a cab to the start because the bus that was supposed to stop near our hotel didn't show up. The series runs in some cool locales like Montreal, Seattle, Dublin, but the runs get canceled if the enrollment doesn't reach a certain threshold and the cancellation can be close to race date. I haven't been caught up in that, but I remember reading in some of the running pages how disappointed people were to have their races cancelled in Pittsburgh and Providence. In many cases, if people are traveling, they might have booked flights, etc. Hotels and rental cars are a little easier to cancel usually, but flights can be dicey. I ran Rock 'n Roll DC in 2014--originally I was going to run the full, but decided not to tempt fate (i.e. the cut off) and downsized to the half. It was okay--the course was reasonable, but it was crowded and not much in the way of food at the end. When I finished, I told my husband that unless I needed the location for one of my arcane quests or it promised to be a great run, I didn't think I would complete another Rock 'n Roll event. I know that there are many people who swear by the events, but for the amount of money, I could run several smaller events or plan a trip to either Anaheim or Orlando.
What does Disney offer that Rock 'n Roll does not? If you stay on property, transportation is available through their transportation service which is remarkably reliable. The runner has to get moving early, but your transportation is pretty much guaranteed. Once you get to the starting area, in typical Disney fashion, there are some lines, but organization is a given. There is some cheesy entertainment, but also some photo ops with some of the lesser Disney personages--can anyone say "Army Commander." The course in Orlando is on property and to get some of that mileage in, the scenery and smell is not fantastic, but to make the mundane palatable, there are additional photo ops. The course for the marathon has changed for the better, by including Wide World of Sports features. The courses in Anaheim are taken into the city which wasn't so bad--I only remember some of the commercial areas to be honest and those areas were clean. The finish area was a little confusing, but there has been a great improvement with the food and drink areas--the challenge verification is better, but it was confusing this year with the photographs and the tents at the end. It's unlikely that Disney would cancel an advertised event--if an event registration didn't sell out within a month or so, the race might be cancelled the following year, but it would be out of character (ha ha!) for Disney corporate to risk disappointing people by cancelling an event at the last minute. I know that the date for the 2016 WDW Marathon weekend were announced either at beginning of the 2015 weekend or at least by Sunday. I like the medals I have received for the events I have completed and while there is only one more event that I want to add to my Disney collection, it is easier to get my family to agree to a Disney vacation than say, Cleveland.
I am not one of these people that truly love Disney--when I was a kid, I didn't ooh and ahhh over the princesses and it wasn't one of my dreams to visit the parks, but I will say that I have a certain amount of respect for Disney's business acumen. The RunDisney events have been around for 20 years, tapping into the second wave of running. They have associated themselves with proven athletes--Jeff Galloway, former Olympian and popularizer of the Galloway run/walk method of running. The feedback received from participants is incorporated into improved courses and amenities and into new events. I say that when I complete the Dumbo Dare, I would be done with Disney runs, but I know that there is more than likely a chance I will be sucked in by a bright, shiny medal of some character like Ursula or Cruella de Ville.
I will say though that I am a small venue/event kind of girl. I truly love events like Marathon to Marathon in Iowa, the Newport Marathon in Newport Oregon, First Light in Mobile--these cozy events embody what I love most about the running community--friendship, community, sportsmanship. The siren call of big events is a strong one, but one that I can usually ignore.
Carry on.
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