So I'm intrigued to find out what you think runDisney do to appeal to all abilities and ensure they're an inclusive race.
runDisney is already very appealing to runners of all abilities. They offer an enticing destination to many people and their courses usually have a lot of entertainment and plenty of support.
Alternatively, what you think they should do to be even more inclusive to all those wishing to take on the challenge!
Absolutely nothing!!!! RunDisney already offers a generous required minimum pace of 16 minutes per mile. With proper training and dedication beforehand, it is very possible for most people to complete the event. Fresh off the marathon high, I looked at other marathons closer to home. And I discovered the San Francisco Marathon with a time limit of 6 hours, which is 1 hour faster than what runDisney offers. I am running the San Francisco Giant Race Half Marathon in September. That race advertises itself as being one of the friendliest races for new runners, with its 3 hour and 15 minute time limit, which is 15 minutes faster than what runDisney requires for the half marathon distance. RunDisney is already very welcoming to new runners.
Running is not easy. It requires time, dedication, and effort. If a prospective runner really wants to finish a runDisney race, they will very likely do so if they put in the time and effort to prepare for that race
in the weeks or months leading up to the race itself. We all toe the line as runners although some may be much faster than others.
In general I find Disney to be runner friendly but I don't know that it's possible to guarantee that someone along the course won't mock a runner.
It probably isn't. I've read stories about angry guests behaving very rudely to runners after the race because that race somehow ruined their Disney vacation. While a race can control things such as aid stations, etc., it's not possible for the race to have control over spectator behavior. At best they can remove spectators if they catch bad behavior happening. And maybe it's easy for me to say this, but I would truly hope that any runner of any size would understand that their effort to get out there and run the race means they're doing something that day that any obnoxious spectators did not do that day.
7:30 is 30 Minutes longer than Disney offers for the full. I don't see them lengthening the time because they have to get the parks cleared of runners
Honestly, they do not need to lengthen the time. I would in fact argue they are even more generous because they allow the races, especially the marathon to go through their already open theme parks and possibly impact the experience of non runner paying guests. Let's assume the balloon ladies start the marathon at 6:15am. At pace, they will finish at 1:15pm, 4+ hours after every theme park has opened for the day. Runners go through a good portion of Epcot, including almost all of World Showcase and quite a few, if not most of them probably do so after World Showcase opens 2 hours after the rest of Epcot.
I think they do a great job, not everyone is meant to run/walk a marathon/race.
Agreed. RunDisney offers a pace generous enough to allow a slow runner or walker sufficient time to finish the race while also having a pace just enough to likely require that the participant train for the race in order to finish. I came close to withdrawing from my first race less than half a mile into the race. I fear I would have if I had known that all I had to do to receive the medal was start the race. But I believed I had to finish. So I slowed down and did my best on that day. It turned out to be plenty fast enough to finish. If I had simply gotten the medal for showing up, I know I would have never ran another race again. And lost countless opportunities to learn more about myself, including my ability to accomplish things I once believed impossible. At the same time, I cannot will another person to start the race and cross that finish line. They have to want to do that for themselves. I will help and encourage as able, but ultimately it's up to each runner to put in the work themselves. And runDisney offers a good path for a beginner to undertake the effort and see how they like it.