Hello! My kids and I are signed up to run the Never Land 5k together at Disneyland this weekend. The website claims that if your pace is slower than 16 minute miles, they may pull you off the course. Do they really do this? I haven't been able to train like I'd hoped, and am recovering from the flu, so I'm quite sure I will be run/walking at a pace slower than that. Anyone done these races before and have any insight?
The 5K isn't as strict as the other races, especially with kids running also. First of all, it isn't timed and second, I don't think the distance is 5K. When I ran it a while back, my Gramin showed 3.0mi.
Is it at night again? They will probably be less strict about the 16:00 pacing. The main reason they have it is so that they can re-open the park to paying guests.
The 5K isn't as strict as the other races, especially with kids running also. First of all, it isn't timed and second, I don't think the distance is 5K. When I ran it a while back, my Gramin showed 3.0mi.
Is it at night again? They will probably be less strict about the 16:00 pacing. The main reason they have it is so that they can re-open the park to paying guests.
Thanks for the input! This year it is in the morning (tomorrow) at 5:45. The kids race isn't until 9am and the park doesn't open until about the same time, so we'll see how strict they are. We're going to give it a shot. If they are going to pull us off the course, I'll let the kids sprint ahead and stay in the race (since I'm the limiting factor) and meet them at the finish. Should be a fun race either way!!!
I'm pretty certain they'll pull you off the course if you're below pace at certain checkpoints. There's usually a slight leeway since the timing of the cutoff pace starts is when the last person crosses the start line, plus or minus some grace periods, but if you're slow enough, they'll remove you from the course. You're probably looking at a 17 mile per minute pace to be in any real danger, which is pretty much walking, so you should be fine as long as you don't go too slow AND stop for every photo op.
I forgot to ever post a follow-up! The time limits were not an issue at all. They might be for the half mary, but not the 5k. We ran, walked, and stopped for pics, so we finished with the equivalent of 17 minute miles and tons of others did as well. About 20 minutes after we finished, people were still crossing the finish line, so I don't know if they ever made anyone stop. I guess they post that to try to discourage people...or encourage them to keep a faster pace. Either way, the race was a blast and I'm already signed up to do the Disneyland 5k in August with the kiddos!