Dangit, runDisney, you got me again!
Despite my self-avowed wariness of challenges (which I have admittedly reneged on a lot), and despite my desire to save a little money for other things, runDisney just had to do it to me: for 2023, the Two Course Challenge is themed to FIGMENT. Figment!! I love Figment!!!!!
Which is how, stupidly, I found myself anxiously hovering over two separate computers yesterday morning, frowning furiously at multiple browsers that informed me that it would be, at best, 53 minutes in the queue before I would reach race registration.
The short version of this story is that I got through in time and was able to successfully register for the challenge. That Figment medal shall be MINE!*
* The events of the past several years caution me to knock on wood.
The long version of this story is that I got myself all in a tizzy over registration. You know me and my tizzies. But the funny thing is, things really weren’t as crazy as I feared they would be. When my first browser let me through to registration, all races and challenges were still available. And when my last browser made it through about an hour later – I let it run specifically to see this – everything but the 10K was still available.
Don’t get me wrong – if you want the best, fighting-est chance to register for the race you want, you should definitely plan to be on your computer the second a runDisney race weekend opens for registrants. Even then, there are no guarantees.
All the same, as is so often the case with me, I think my brain has blown the whole thing out of proportion. In case your brain has similar tendencies, here are some things I intend to remind myself for the next registration weekend.
IT’S CALLED runDISNEY, NOT panicDISNEY: THINGS TO REMEMBER FOR NEXT REGISTRATION DAY
1. Having multiple browsers open to improve your odds of pulling a good queue positions is still smart. Keep doing that.
2. Disney tech is notoriously glitchy. In this particular registration round, the 5K registration button popped up about 15 minutes before the rest, but only redirected you back to the homepage if you clicked it. Both the 5K and 10K briefly showed as sold out before the big dance even started. Out of whack is Disney web’s normal. If it seems off, it’s probably just an aberration and Disney will fix it.
3. As a corollary to that remark, runDisney social media is your friend! Odds are someone else sees the same glitch as you, or also has an inauspicious queue wait time, or found out some new info first. Search #rundisney on your social media platform of choice and let your misery love company. (I recommend Team runDisney on Facebook – they also have a service that will ping you if any new bibs open up on the off chance you don’t get what you want.)
4. Once you’re in the queue, remember that the amount of time you’re given to wait is only an estimate. My best initial estimate was 55 minutes, and I wound up getting in after around 25 minutes. It all depends on how quickly the people ahead of you move.
5. Even if all your queue numbers are hella high, you’re not necessarily SOL. As I said above, all but the 10K was still available after 90 minutes.
6. Remember – proof of time, merchandise add-ons, and other info can be edited after the fact. Do not waste precious time filling it in while registering; your registration is NOT saved until your transaction is complete. Secure the bag, then go back and make any modifications.
7. It won’t always be that nuts. Yeah, the days when I registered for the Princess Half Marathon in November are probably gone for good, but not every runDisney race sells out immediately. Indeed, there have been years – even recently – where even Wine & Dine didn’t sell out in the first 24 hours or more. This just happens to be a special year; in addition to Figment, I hear people are v. excited about Encanto as the theme for the half. Demand waxes and wanes.
8. If you don’t get what you want… them’s the breaks. 🙁 But there is recourse! Charity bibs are still a thing, right? And like I said above, there are services that will ping you if runDisney drops any additional bibs. It’s happened before. Where there’s life, there’s hope!
All of this is to say: I will see you all next month for WDW Marathon Weekend registration. And if I don’t manage to register for the Goofy Challenge, I will CRY. 😂 😭
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!
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