The 2017 Star Wars – Light Side – Half Marathon Weekend event guide went live back on Friday. With the Christmas weekend happening, I didn’t have time to delve into this guide until this week. Like I’ve done in the past, let’s look at the highlights of this guide. Of course, to view the entire guide for yourself, click here.

One of the things I love about the new way runDisney is doing their event guides is the graphics are so much better! If you have’t heard, runDisney is no longer going to publish their event guide in a hard copy at the Expo. So, please be sure to check out the information BEFORE you leave for the races. You’ll be glad you did.

Every runDisney race begins with a Health and Fitness Expo. The 2017 Star Wars Light Side Half Marathon Weekend is no exception. In the guide, you’ll find all the info about the expo hours. One bummer is that, as of this writing, the map of the Expo floors is not available. So, I can’t make any highlights. The lower level will probably look like this…

To be honest, there is usually not much changing on how the lower level is laid out. Above is the lower level map for the Expo from the 2016 Star Wars Light Side Half Marathon Weekend at Disneyland.

There will be a carpet like this leading you downstairs…

You’ll come down and it will look somewhat like this. The folks at runDisney want you to start off here. On the lower level, you’ll be able to get your race bib, pre-ordered merchandise, travel agent things, and…

 

You’ll also get information you need about the challenges you might be running. If you’re running the Star Wars Rebel Challenge…

There will be this little area for you to go to right behind picking up your bib. They will take your picture. It’s this picture they use at the end of the half marathon to make sure you actually finished both the 10K and the half marathon.

After picking up all the things you need downstairs, you’ll head back up to the big, fun entrance.

Taking photos is alright!

From there, you’ll enter the main expo floor. Again, there is no map of what exhibitors will be there.

However, you’ll probably want to make your way to the official runDisney merchandise booth. If you’re overly concerned with having the best options available to you when you arrive at the official merchandise area, you’ll want to start here vs. going downstairs first.

Each of the past two years, there has been a large room where they hold those that arrive hours before the expo opens. In that room, they’ve played the original Star Wars trilogy movies! So, if you are already planning on arriving early, you might as well arrive early. There is an escalator next to Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland hotel that you’ll want to find. From there, you’ll find Disney cast members to direct you to where this holding room is. The first day, the expo opens at 10am. There are usually folks arriving as early as 7am or earlier.

With the Expo behind you, the next thing you’ll want to pay attention to is the start times for every race you’ll be running. After all, you will not want to be late.

In the event guide, you’ll find this handy map of the finish area. This map is quite useful if you are planning on meeting up with your friends and/or family who have come out to watch you run. You can circle off an area to meet up after the race. This map is good for all races.

Here is the map for the 2017 Star Wars 5K race. For a larger version of this map, click here.

This is how the corrals will line up for the 2017 Star Wars 5K race. As you can see, there are 4 corrals for the 5K. You’ll find out which corral you are in when you pick up your race bib for the 5K. There will be a letter on that bib. If you are running with friends, you can all start together. However, you must be in the corral of the person who is furthest back. For example, if you’re in corral B and you are running with a friend in corral C, you can start in corral C, but your friend can’t start in corral B. Make sense? It’s this way for each race.

Here is the 2017 Star Wars 10K map. As I mentioned last week, this race map shows that the 10K will be pretty different from last year. To see a larger version of this map, click here.

Here’s how the corrals will line up for the 2017 Star Wars 10K. If you are running the Star Wars Rebel Challenge, this is your first race. Check your race bib when you pick it up. You might have 2 letters on your Rebel Challenge bib. The first one is your corral for the 10K. This might be different from your corral for the Star Wars Half Marathon.

This year, my boy will be doing the Diaper Dash. So, this part of the event guide has brand new meaning for me. If you have kids running in the kid races, here is a map of where each race begins. Note that all races finish at the same place.

Also, here is when each race is scheduled to start. Of course, all start times are subject to change.

The last map to share is the 2017 Star Wars Light Side Half Marathon. For a larger version of this map, click here. As I mentioned last week, this course hasn’t changed too much from the previous two years. The main difference is time in the parks.

Here is how the corrals will line up for the Star Wars Half Marathon. Notice that the corrals go up to “I” for the half marathon and only went up to “F” for the 10K. So, again, pay attention to the letter(s) on your bib.

Now, if you’re interested in where you placed for the Star Wars Half Marathon/Star Wars Rebel Challenge, here’s how the corrals break down for the half marathon.

If you’re running the Star Wars Half Marathon (outside of the Rebel Challenge), here’s how the corrals break down. The only difference is the bib number range. You’ll notice that the time range is the same as the range for the Star Wars Rebel Challenge. How do you know what your bib number is for the races? Click here to get to your waivers. You’ll need to print these out ahead of time to be turned in when you get your bib.

Another point of interest in the event guide is information about how to retrieve your official race photos. It used to be that Marathonfoto ran this part of the weekend. Now, runDisney uses the Disney PhotoPass Photographers. So, this part of the guide tells you how to retrieve your photos. I think I’m not alone in saying this, but the PhotoPass Cast Members take much better photos that Marathonfoto. Plus, the photos are cheaper!

Another slide in the guide talks about the VIP Experiences offered for purchase. Keep in mind, the price is quite steep to be a VIP. I wanted to post this because we’ll likely not see our beloved race announcer Rudy this year. Way to go runDisney! Remind us of the race announcer we will not get to see.

Another section to pay attention to is the Race Etiquette section. It used to be that I could put up the entire list. However, with the digital version of this guide, each mention comes up separately. So, I’m highlighting the ones I think are most important.

This is the one that drives me the most crazy. Pay attention to those around you as you run. Even if you’re running 2 abreast, make sure that you’re not coming in line with another group of 1 or more. In doing so, you’d be creating a running line of more than 2. Also, please don’t be offended if some says “on your left (or right)” or “coming through.” Those runners are practicing good etiquette. Move to the side and let them go.

One tip I would like to offer with this etiquette matter is that there are several tables of water and Gatoraide. You don’t have to stop at the first one. I like to make my way to the last table before grabbing some liquid. Run through the center if you’re not taking on the water or Gatoraide to be uninterrupted.

 

The event guide also contains information about costume regulations. Please read this before you leave for the race.

Guys, if you are planning on wearing a costume, you really don’t want to be told on race-day that you can’t wear part of it. A lot of this comes with safety in mind.

As we get ready to run the 2017 Star Wars Light Side Half Marathon Weekend races, keep these hash tags in mind when posting on online. Make sure to follow runDisney on Twitter if you’re not already doing so. You’ll find that they post a lot of great information during the race weekends you might not want to miss out on. I know that the only official hash tags given are #StarWarsHalf and #runDisney. However, there are some other acceptable hash tags for the weekend you’ll see online. They are #StarWars5K, #StarWars10K, #StarWarsRebelChallenge.

Other items in the guide that I did not highlight this time are the Jeff Galloway tips and the tips from Runners World Magazine as well. Unfortunately, with the digital event guide, what was once on one page that was easy to clip in the old PDF versions of the event guides. Both sets of tips are awesome to review. Whether you’re a seasoned runner or a newbie, I think that the advise given by both Jeff and Runners World would be helpful. I didn’t include them because this post is already really long.

The 2017 Star Wars Light Side Half Marathon Weekend will be here before we know it. I seriously can’t wait to earn this beautiful Star Wars 10K BB-8 medal!