So, you’ve seen the video and decided to join Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and all the other Star Wars characters out there for the Inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend at the Disneyland Resort. If you haven’t registered yet, that means that you fall into one or all of these categories…

• Not a Disneyland Annual Pass Holder
• Not a Walt Disney World Annual Pass Holder
• Not a Disney Vacation Club Member
• Didn’t get in for the pre-registration slots yesterday

Fear not…registration opens Tuesday, June 10th at 9am PDT/Noon EDT. So, you’ve got a few days to prepare. As the above photo says…preparation is the key in any combat strategy. With the growing popularity of the runDisney races, it’s essential for you to make your decisions about whether or not to register for a race BEFORE the registration day and be ready to register on that day. The Disneyland runDisney races sell out faster than the Millennium Falcon in light speed.

If you’re not prepared beforehand, you might encounter hyperdrive failure…

As I already linked you to on Tuesday, Patty has the short version covered…

Let’s look at the steps in a little more detail.

Step 1 – Create an Active.com account in advance and sign in before registration opens.

• Signing in will help save a few steps in registering for the race and get you to the payment screen quicker. The faster you get your payment submitted, the better your chance of getting in before it sells out.
• In the past, I’ve noticed that the runDisney races have opened their registration as much as 5-10 minutes before their scheduled time. So, being signed in early will help you get in to the race ahead of those who might wait until a little after the 9am/Noon sign in time.
• Another piece of advice, join the Team #runDisney Facebook group today (if you haven’t already done so). This group is awesome! They are full of people with varying running experience who all love to run at Disney. On registration days, you will find direct links to the registration page for the races. This also will save you some time in registering. They often have the links up before they go live. So, you won’t need to go to the runDisney web page first. You can skip that step by clicking on the link once it goes live. Trust me, someone will announce to this group that the link is live.

Step 2 – Have all the information ready to go: names, birth dates, addresses, shirt sizes, and proof of time for anyone who you are registering.

• If you have their information, you can register others for the races. You need to have all of the above ready to go for each individual. I would also add having their email addresses so they can get confirmation directly from Active of their registration.
• Proof of time is only needed if you wish to avoid the last starting corral and is only needed for the half marathon. For the 5K, they won’t ask for your time. For the 10K, they will give you options as to when you think you will finish. However, in the three 10K’s I’ve signed up for with runDisney, I have yet to find a place to submit a proof of time for this distance. For the half marathon, you need to have a time from a 10K race or longer as your proof of time. For the proof of time, you’ll need to know the date of the race, distance, the event name (ex. Rock n Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon), and the time you finished in.

Step 3 – Be prepared with credit card. I suggest memorizing the number if possible. This is going to go FAST.

• Keep in mind that while you’re filling out the information Active is asking you, many others are doing the same. The spots are filled once payment has been received. So, don’t assume that, because you got to the web page where you’re filling out your information that you’re automatically in and take your time. Think of this as a race against the clock. Until you submit your payment information, you are not in the race. So, having the credit card information ready BEFORE you register is going to save you some time.

Step 4 – Suggested order of registration: Rebel Challenge, 5K, 10K, and then the half. Rebel Challenge and 5K will be the fastest selling races.

• Keep in mind that if you are registering for the Star Wars Rebel Challenge, you only have ONE registration to make which will cover BOTH the Star Wars Half Marathon and the Star Wars 10K. Also, if you register for the Star Wars Half Marathon and then go back and register for the Star Wars 10K, you are NOT registered for the Star Wars Rebel Challenge. You will be registered for BOTH races. However, you won’t get the extra medal and race shirt because you are not officially doing the Star Wars Rebel Challenge.
• In its inaugural year, the Dumbo Double Dare sold out in around 40-50 minutes. It sold out in just over 40 minutes this year. So, the challenge races sell out quick.
• If you think that you can wait a few hours to sign up for the Star Wars Half Marathon because it’s listed last in priorities here, don’t. The Disneyland races keep selling out quicker and quicker. You might be okay to wait an hour or two. However, why take the chance?

One last consideration that wasn’t mentioned before….decide before you register if you want to purchase the extras. There are commemorative pins you can purchase in the neighborhood of $15 extra per pin. Some races also offer things like necklaces. Decide before the registration on these things because the last thing you want to be doing while registering is making this kind of decision. Those extra seconds/minutes could be the difference between getting in and having to wait until next year.

Honestly, the best advice I can give when registering for a runDisney race at Disneyland (whether it’s the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend, Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend, Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend, or the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend) is to be ready to go on your computer at least 15 minutes BEFORE registration starts. I would be signed on to Facebook and pay attention to the Team #runDisney group page. Once the first person chimes in that the registration is live, click on the link that Matt (the page’s owner) will have posted already and…

With runDisney at Disneyland, registration is the very first race. If you prepare ahead of time with Patty’s tips and show up on your computer before the registration time, you’ll find yourself saying…

Your credit card will hate you. However, you’ll be all set to join the other thousands of people who also got in. When the 2013 Dumbo Double Dare sold out in under an hour, I learned how vital it is to be ready to register right at the start of registration for a runDisney race at Disneyland. I write this today so those who want to run in the Star Wars races will have the weekend to get ready. Tuesday is not that far away.

***this advice can be applied to any of the runDisney races at the Disneyland Resort. So, even if you aren’t registering for the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend, keep these tips in mind for any of the runDisney races you might consider in the future at the Disneyland Resort.***