I’m a little late in covering this. However, the 2015 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Official Event Guide, waivers, and Corrals are up. We are less than a month away from running through Disneyland and California Adventure!

So, around a month ago, runDisney gave us a peek at the medal that will be awarded to the finishers. That’s just where the excitement starts. When the corrals are released and the event guide is up, you know race weekend is right around the corner. So, let’s look at some of the highlights of the official event guide for the 2015 Disneyland Half Marathon.

First up, it looks like the runDisney New Balance shoes that were sold at the Tinker Bell Half Marathon will be sold at the Disneyland Half Marathon as well. I do wonder if there will be a special Diamond Anniversary shoe for the Disneyland Half Marathon. No announcement yet on this.

So, the first bit of really useful information is the itinerary for the weekend. This page gives you all the hours that things will be happening.

This page gives you the specifics on the Expo hours. Notice that the Expo will not be open on Sunday of the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. There is also a note letting you know that everyone who is running in any of the races needs to pick up their own race packet at the Expo. This needs to be done BEFORE your race day. So, if you’re running the Disneyland Half Marathon only, you need to be at the Expo no later than closing on Saturday. If you’re in the Dumbo Double Dare or running the Disneyland 10K only, you need to be at the Expo no later than closing on Friday. If you’re running the Disneyland 5K, you need to be at the Expo on Thursday to get your gear. This includes your race bib, race shirt(s), and occasional extras that runDisney may choose to include.

There is a page where you can see the floor plan for the Expo’s lower hall. This is where you’ll be going to pick up your race bib, any commemorative items that were pre-ordered, theme park tickets that were pre-ordered, ChEAR Squad, tickets to Pasta in the Park Party and 10th Anniversary Party, Dooney and Bourke, and get your photo for the Dumbo Double Dare.

These are the instructions for those of you who are running the Dumbo Double Dare. I throw it in here (out-of-order) just to let you know what’s going on with that. There are also instructions on what you need to do at the end of the Disneyland Half Marathon to get your Dumbo Double Dare medal.

Also, these are the instructions about getting your Coast to Coast Race Challenge medal if you’ve qualified for that. You will get a wrist band when you pick up your race bib. The folks at runDisney suggest visiting the lower area first when you get to the Expo. It’s completely up to you. If you have no interest in Official runDisney Merchandise, then visiting the lower level first would be what I’d do. However, if you want the official merch, get to the Expo on Thursday morning before it opens and get in line. I would go there first. Get your official merchandise. Then, I’d head down to get your race bib.

Here is the floor plan for the upper hall at the Disneyland Hotel. If you’re one of those super organized types of people, make note of the various vendors that will be present and where they are located. This is the largest Expo for any runDisney race at the Disneyland Resort. Ever since the disaster that was the 2013 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend, runDisney has done a great job at keeping the lines for the Official runDisney Merchandise area organized. I want to say this again…if you want the official merchandise, arrive early on the first day to get the best selection of merchandise. A lot of merchandise tends to sell out by around noon to 1pm on day one.  

Now we get to the stuff us runners need. All the info about the races themselves. This is a map of where the starting corrals will line up for the Disneyland Half Marathon. As you can see the corrals go from A through G. So, how do you know what corral you are in? Click here first. Enter your last name and birth date and you’ll be taken to the waiver which you must print out and sign to get your bib. On the waiver is your bib number.

If you are running in the Dumbo Double Dare, match your bib number to the chart above to see what corral you are in.

If you’re running in the Disneyland Half Marathon (without the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge), match your number to the chart above to see which corral you are in. As you can see, the corrals are seeded by your proof of time that was submitted earlier this year. I’m in Corral D which has the largest gap in finish times.

Here is the map for the 2015 Disneyland Half Marathon. Upon first glance, I noticed that there is a slight change from the past couple years. This change is in the first 4 miles. We will not be turning up Katella Avenue this year. Instead, it looks like we’ll start this race the same way the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon started. We should be in backstage Disney California Adventure less than a half mile into the race! This is good news! Once we get out of Disneyland (at the end of mile 4), it’s all the same. If you’ve never run this race before, I’ve put together a guide for all the runDisney races at the Disneyland Resort in a tab above.

This is the finish area. Please run through the finish line. Do you see where the dashes curve past the finish? If you want a good finish line photo like this one…

Stop at the curve, by the fences and take the selfie there. As you can see, the picture will still get the finish line. Also, you’ll be out-of-the-way of all the finishers who want their photo-terrific moment.

Here are the Disneyland 10K corrals. To date, I have not found information about the seeding of the corrals for the Disneyland 10K. If you are running the Dumbo Double Dare, you might have two letters on your race bib. The first letter will be your placement for the Disneyland 10K and the second one will be for the Disneyland Half Marathon. Just because you have a letter for the Dumbo Double Dare, doesn’t mean that will be your corral for the 10K. So, check your bib when you get it.

Here is the Disneyland 10K map. It’s the same course from the previous two years. So, if you’ve run the race before, you know exactly what you will be running this time around.The finish area will be pretty much the same set up as posted above.

Here is what the starting corrals will look like for the Disneyland 5K. As you can see there are only 3 starting corrals. After my most recent 5K race, I really appreciate races for having corrals for their 5K’s. Like the Disneyland 10K, there is no seeding available.

Here is the map for the Disneyland 5K. Looks like a fun course!

Do you have friends and/or family who might want to watch you run? The folks at runDisney have offered their advice as to prime viewing locations. You might want to pass this information along to them and know where they plan on spectating. If you have people out to watch, knowing where they will be is a huge thing. That way you won’t miss them when you run by.

I will highlight this section each and every time I race with runDisney. I LOVE that they make sure give their runners the heads up as to proper running etiquette. Most folks will ignore this page in the event guide. The race announcers will highlight some of these tips before the races. Most folks won’t listen. At least runDisney tries to promote proper etiquette among their runners. If you are new to running, whether you are running the Disneyland Half Marathon or not, read these tips. They apply to each and every race you will run in. Promote the etiquette yourself. Knowledge is power people!

We runDisney runners have an amazing privilege to receive the advice of Olympian and running coach Jeff Galloway. He spends time writing up the training plans on the runDisney web site. He even offers advice to us in the race program. If you choose to give up some theme park time to hang out at the Expo in the later afternoon, Jeff will even be one of the guest speakers. He hangs out at the runDisney booth at every expo to meet the runners and offer advice and encouragement. If have any jitters about the race(s) you are running, take the time to visit the runDisney booth and chat with Jeff. He’s such a nice guy and wants the best for all of us runners.

Plus, you’ve got to stop by for the obligatory photo with Jeff. He sells his books at the booth. However, you don’t need to make a purchase to chat it up with Jeff.

Not only do you get tips from Jeff Galloway, but runDisney has put together some important medial information you will want to pay attention to.

Here’s the rest of the medial information.

Lastly, if you want to follow all things runDisney leading up to and during the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend, make sure you know all the hash tags and places to get information on social media. By the way, if you go to the runDisney you tube channel, make sure to go back in time with their videos. They used to put out more videos than they do currently that are oh so much fun. Lastly, as you get ready to run, make sure to use the hash tags on your training photos you post to Instagram and the posts about your training on Twitter. Plus, when you follow the hash tags, you might find inspiration as you come down the home stretch of your training.

The Dumbo Double Dare, Disneyland Half Marathon, Disneyland 10K, Disneyland 5K, and Disneyland Kid Races are less than 4 weeks away! It’s time to get excited! You can read the rest of the Official 2015 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Event Guide by clicking here. Are you guys ready to run through Disneyland?