Because the Princess Half marathon was my first race attempt 5 years ago, many of the running friends I have made on FB are connected to that race. Because of that, my feed is flooded with posts about registration opening up today. In years past, I was posting about it too. Now I find myself fighting a feeling of disgust and anger every time I see something about that race. It used to be a race that brought up nerves and excitement and now it doesn't.
When I attempted Princess in 2011, there were something like 11,000 runners in the half. I never felt crowded and ended up being completely alone just before I was swept. There was a feeling of community and acceptance with everyone there. As the years went by that changed. In 2012, when I completed my first Princess, there were around 19,000 runners I think. It was a little more crowded but still manageable. It was still a good time but the attitudes seemed to be shifting. The last several years they have been allowing 26,000 runners to participate in the half. It is way too crowded, especially in the back corrals and unless you are fast enough to be in the first corrals, you will never find yourself alone on a stretch.
The attitudes I run into on the course have also gotten horrible. There is pushing and shoving, yelling and cursing and it is just not fun. I admit I have a mouth like a sailor, especially once I an hurting and get tired, but I rarely direct it at anyone. It is usually just a random word thrown out to relieve some frustration so I can continue forward. People yelling at walkers or bitching about other runners is never an uplifting thing. Sure, you still find some people that are encouraging and supportive but they are being drowned out by they bad. Runners that do not submit a proof of time(your fault, not mine) and end up ion the last corral try to shove there way through the slower runners and they are not nice about it at all. Just because you screwed up and didn't do what you were supposed to do does not give you the right to belittle the people that are right where they should be.
Don't even consider the expo to be a fun and easy experience either. That is where the claws really come out. WDW races have not gotten their act together and started doing it like they do in California. There, you have a designated area where a line forms and they give out wrist bands so you can't jump the line completely. Then they allow small groups of shoppers into the official merch area so you can still see what is going on and get your things. As shoppers go to check out, they let more in. It is calm and civil and much easier to get what you want as long as you go early enough to get in line. At WDW races, it is chaos. There is a line but once they open the doors, it is a free for all. Then the lines for checkout become insane and it just doesn't make since. They have a system that works very well on the west coast, they need to figure out how to use it in Florida.
Nothing about it is fun anymore. The hotels that weekend cost a ton of money, the crowds in the parks and at the races are crazy and people are just getting mean. It costs too much to go and have a miserable time so I have pretty much sworn the race off entirely. I may do the 10k once in a while and if I ever get fast enough to end up in one of the earlier corrals, I may attempt the half again, but for now, I am done. I love the California races and I would much rather spend my money on flying out there than going to Florida and being miserable.
Days like today always leave me with conflicting emotions. I see people that I love and miss signing up and part of me wants to be there and do it with them. But then I remember how horrible it was this year and I never want to run it again. I'm sure one day I will actually do it again, but I hope some things change before that day comes.
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