Monday, November 7, 2011

Rock n Roll vs. Disney

Just got back from Savannah and it was really an AMAZING experience with my hubs (Dave). I really thought a lot about this post but I am just going to hit the highlights and write something a little more in depth in the future.
You all KNOW I am a Disney girl. Up until this point all races that they have, except the marathon, I have ran in. (I really wish they would bring back the Tower of Terror 13K- My favorite of all time!!!) So, Disney was all I really had to compare this Rock n' Roll Series to and there were some things that Disney could really learn from this organization.

Packet Pickup: Well, we got to Savannah early enough that we didn't really get to experience the crazy crazy traffic going to the expo. When you have 23,000 runner plus their families, you really shouldn't make packet pick up over a bridge with limited (and i mean limited- parking). With that disclaimer out of the way...my expo experience was flawless. I had already printed out my waiver and walked right up to my pick up my number...NO LINE AT ALL. Every Disney race I have done I have had to wait in line JUST to get my number then another line to get my shirt and goody bag. I had none of that with this race. I also had to change my corral which literally took me 10 seconds. I asked if I could move to Dave's corral and she gave me a sticker to move and that was that. No questions, nothing- and I was very impressed!!!

Expo: The expo was fun as always. There were a lot more name brands at this one compared to Disney but I would have to say that the vendors were evenly matched in this category.

Pre-Race Corralling: This one goes to RnRSav as well. My major pet peeve with Disney is having to be at a 5:30 race at 3:30 am just to go sit in a parking lot for 2 hours. We left our hotel at 7 and walked to the start line and our corral left at 7:45ish. I also liked that they sent the corrals off at 30 sec. to 2 min intervals instead of every 5 minutes. I also liked that the people monitoring the corrals weren't crazy like the volunteers at Disney. If a few people move corrals it should not be a HUGE deal like they make it at Disney.

Race start: Even though I told Dave I DID NOT want to be at the front- we ended up there. And it wasn't that bad. Where as Disney races starts are always jammed with people and the first mile is AWFUL, this race was on a wide road where I felt extremely comfortable the whole time.

Race: I thought that they did a great job of having some sort of band at every mile. The people of Savannah cheering us on throughout the race was really a nice surprise too. I liked (although Dave didn't) that they clock was easy to read at every mile marker. I also thought they did a good job of providing water and sports drink along the way too. My only major complaint is about the course. I was truly looking forward to running through beautiful Savannah- and that really wasn't what I got. We ran through VERY URBAN areas which turned out ok because there were people all around cheering us on BUT I really didn't get to see the downtown Savannah area with all the
pretty houses.
Finish and Medal: Medal goes to DISNEY- honestly the ugliest medal ever!!!! I thought the finish was really not that bad. I was nervous that I wouldn't break off from the full and that thought freaked me out a bit but all went well and I finished the half in 2:16:23.
NEXT UP: Tough Mudder- December 3rd and hopefully RAGNAR!!!!

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