Race Report: 2012 Disneyland 1/2 Marathon

At the 2011 Disneyland 1/2 Marathon I shocked myself by finishing in 1:28:29 on little training. A PR of 13 minutes. This year I wanted to see what I could do if I focused on this half marathon. I trained hard for it. Unfortunately two weeks before the race I came down with a nasty cold that stuck with me and limited my ability to train. I decided to run anyways.

Start of the 2012 Disneyland 1/2 Marathon. I'm in green on the left.

Considering the way I had been feeling, my plan was to go out at the pace of my goal and hold on until it didn't feel comfortable at which point I would cut back 10 seconds a mile. The first two miles were fast. I tried to hold onto a group but it wasn't comfortable so I had to let go. The third mile I still pushed it because I wanted to break 20 minutes on the 5K which is something I haven't done since high school, largely in part because I don't race that distance.

• Mile 1 - 6:06
• Mile 2 - 6:04
• Mile 3 - 6:17
• 5K Split - 19:26

Around mile 4 I started feeling a little fatigued. I pulled the pace back as planned and held on. At this point of the race you're out of the parks and there is little to distract you so I focused on making sure to hit my tangents.

• Mile 4 - 6:33
• Mile 5 - 6:36
• Mile 6 - 6:27
• 10K Split - 39:38

 Historically the next few miles have been pretty boring and lonely but this year runDisney lined this section of the course with classic cars. Not only were the cars a welcome distraction but the car owners made great spectators.

• Mile 7 - 6:37
• Mile 8 - 6:31
• Mile 9 - 6:27
• 15K Split -  59:41

Mile 10 takes you through Angels Stadium and as an Oakland Athletics fan I could care less about this part of the course. After leaving the stadium the course gets pretty dull again until you reenter Disney property around mile 12.

• Mile 10 - 6:25
• Mile 11 - 6:33
• Mile 12 - 6:21
• Mile 13 - 6:33
• Finish - 1:24:33 PR!!

Finishing this year ended up being a little more dramatic than I'm used to. As I was approaching the finish line a runDisney official frantically waved me over so I would finish over to the side. It turns out Cindy Lynch, the female winner was coming in right behind me.

Everyone behind me rushing to set up the finish line for Cindy Lynch, the first female runner.

Aside from a time goal I also had a placing goal for this race. The top five in each age group get awards. After finishing seventh last year I was determined to place in the top five this year. In the last mile I was passed by one person in my age group but I was also able to pass one which landed me in 4th place in the 35-40 year old group!

Overall Place	26 / 14829
Gender Place	26 / 5489
Division Place	4 / 848