Expedition Everest Challenge - May 4, 2013

[Melanie]

Expedition Everest Challenge - May 4, 2013, 10 p.m.

A 5K trek through Animal Kingdom Park, with obstacles along the way, and scavenger hunt to finish. Finishers receive a special edition compass medal.

As of 4/12/13:
Everest Challenge - SOLD OUT
Everest Challenge Family Edition - SOLD OUT
runDisney Kids Races - 55% full

Event Cost:
Individual Registration
$110 between December 11, 2012 – January 29, 2013
$120 between January 30 – March 20, 2013
$130 between March 21 – May 4, 2013

Team Registration
$220 between December 11, 2012 – January 29, 2013
$240 between January 30 – March 20, 2013
$260 between March 21 – May 4, 2013

Official Page here

[Christine]

I'm signed up! Who's with me?

[Melanie]

This is coming up soon! Anyone else in besides Christine? I do think this is definitely one that is more of a draw for the locals.

I did this one last year, and enjoyed it, but it's definitely more than a 5K, with the scavenger hunt and extra distance involved for that to finish. But it's incredible being in AK at night, and riding Everest in the dark.

[Christine]

Crickets chirping- looks like it's just me & my family Mel?
It is indeed disguised as a 5k, but is really a 10 as you have to repeat the course a second time for the scavenger hunt. The good part? You get a party and a little more "meat" to the event. Sometimes the 5ks are done on 30 min and it's like- "ok, guess I'll go home!"
Don't get me wrong - I thoroughly enjoy the 5Ks but I like how this one is a long event.

Mel, remember back by the tire obstacle how it was backstage and you had to be really quiet bc the animals were sleeping?! I kept wondering how am I supposed to curse quietly when I'm falling over tires!?

[whymsycalwitch]

Any last minute tips, tricks or hidden secrets you can tell me about this race? This will be me & my mom's first runDisney event.

[Melanie]

Any last minute tips, tricks or hidden secrets you can tell me about this race? This will be me & my mom's first runDisney event.

One thing I can say is that it's not your typical 5K, like I mentioned above. If you haven't done the race before, you may not be aware of what all is involved AFTER you finish the running portion. The scavenger hunt is no joke, and has you starting outside the park, going back through Camp Minnie Mickey and ultimately finishing by Everest.

I'm certainly glad I did it last year, but it's not one I'll repeat. I'll stick to straight out 5Ks from now on. For seasoned runners (like Christine), the extra 'meat' as she says, is welcome. I certainly get that.

Good luck and beware of the Yeti!

[whymsycalwitch]

I have no fear of the Yeti, since the Yeti is down.....

I'm looking forward to the hunt part. It's nice to have something else to do after the racing is done. I think it will give me somewhere to focus that "runners high" energy. And make me feel like I'm getting my moneys worth.

I'm looking forward to just being there are getting a feel for how this whole race thing in Disney is done. I'm signed up for my 1st half in Jan 2014. I'm hoping this race will help calm my fears of the unknown for the Jan race a little bit.

[BriarRose0708]

Have an awesome time everyone!

I'm looking forward to just being there are getting a feel for how this whole race thing in Disney is done. I'm signed up for my 1st half in Jan 2014. I'm hoping this race will help calm my fears of the unknown for the Jan race a little bit.

Are you doing the half during WDW Marathon weekend? Hope you can join us for some fun #runICOT meets in January!

[Melanie]

I'm looking forward to just being there are getting a feel for how this whole race thing in Disney is done. I'm signed up for my 1st half in Jan 2014. I'm hoping this race will help calm my fears of the unknown for the Jan race a little bit.

This will certainly help! I will say though, this race has a bit of a different feel than any of the others. Kind of hard to single out exactly why. I think of it as more of a 'locals' race, and it has a much smaller capacity runner-wise, although the race area itself still felt crowded (a common complaint with other WDW races).

But yes, it will give you a very good idea of how things are done by runDisney. Overall, such a wonderful experience!

[whymsycalwitch]

Are you doing the half during WDW Marathon weekend? Hope you can join us for some fun #runICOT meets in January!

Yes I am! I'm so excited & nervous & all sorts of other feelings about it. I plan on joining the #runICOT fun! I'm sort of running alone...

(DH is going with me but will only be at the finish line. He isn't a "Disney" guy and doesn't know his way around that well. Plus, he isn't a big crowd kind of guy, so asking him to go to MK to cheer me on as I come down Main St is out of the question. I'm ok with it because I want to focus on the race & not worry about him)

...so I wil be looking for support everywhere.

[BriarRose0708]

Yes I am! I'm so excited & nervous & all sorts of other feelings about it. I plan on joining the #runICOT fun! I'm sort of running alone...

(DH is going with me but will only be at the finish line. He isn't a "Disney" guy and doesn't know his way around that well. Plus, he isn't a big crowd kind of guy, so asking him to go to MK to cheer me on as I come down Main St is out of the question. I'm ok with it because I want to focus on the race & not worry about him)

...so I wil be looking for support everywhere.

Yay! My sister and I are running the half and a couple other INTERCOTees are, plus we'll have a cheering section your DH can join if he likes. Looking forward to seeing you!

[whymsycalwitch]

Do you know how the corral assignments work for the Everest 5K? Are they based on time, past Disney races experience? When you signed up? Completely random?

I signed up on the first day you could and mom & I are in corral G. A friend signed up with his wife, not to long before it was sold out. He is in corral E & she is in G with us. This is the first Disney race for all of us.

Just curious if there is a rythm or reason to it.

[awaggett]

Curious to hear how the event went? Definitely interested in this if it happens next year.

Thanks.

[Christine]

Last year's event was better, entertainment- wise. This one was more organized though.
There were no characters at the start line. Only one character area in the whole course. No puppets or animals along course as was the case last year. Boring.

The obstacles were the same. The course was different (finish line was not at EE this time but it worked better)

Clues were really hard for scavenger hunt holy moly! I thought we'd never finish!

I'm done with this race. If you've never done it, it'd be fun to do once as this one has more than running. If you have done it already (& remember the prior ones with more to see) I wouldn't recommend it. It was backstage, a few trailers with a decoration on it, and maybe 4 chEAR folks every half mile encouraging you on.

Made me sad

[Melanie]

Last year's event was better, entertainment- wise. This one was more organized though.
There were no characters at the start line. Only one character area in the whole course. No puppets or animals along course as was the case last year. Boring.

The obstacles were the same. The course was different (finish line was not at EE this time but it worked better)

Clues were really hard for scavenger hunt holy moly! I thought we'd never finish!

I'm done with this race. If you've never done it, it'd be fun to do once as this one has more than running. If you have done it already (& remember the prior ones with more to see) I wouldn't recommend it. It was backstage, a few trailers with a decoration on it, and maybe 4 chEAR folks every half mile encouraging you on.

Made me sad

Wow. That bad, huh? No characters really, no puppets? Wonder what prompted the change? And I thought the clues were hard last year.

[whymsycalwitch]

Being my first runDisney event I'm glad I did it. Will I do this race again? Probably not. The only thing of interest I saw during the run was King Louis but I didn't bother to stop. During the hunt part I saw Donald, Chip & Dale, Rafaki & Baloo. And then we saw Pluto & Goofy at the after party. I was hoping to see animals or floats or something else exciting that I heard about in race pasts. The clues were hard but not impossible and the volunteers were very helpful until the last clue. Then there seemed to be no rhyme or reason or direction on how to solve it.

Starting 36 mins after the first group, I also had an issue with no real organization as to runners & clue solvers in the park & on the paths at the same time. Myself & about 6 other runners were sent in the wrong direction during the race part because we were told “runners stay left clue solvers stay right” when we really needed to go right & clue solvers left. This added a lot of time to the clock for us. And don’t even get me started on race etiquette. There should be a mandatory session at the expo laying out the rules & just runner friendly advice & etiquette.

I enjoyed riding Everest at night in the dark. The corrals were entertaining. The snow was a really nice touch. The pictures came out great. The medal is really cool. But this race is a one and done for me. I’m hoping the Donald Half in Jan is better.

[GMRO]

Sorry to hear the lack of effort from the Disney Co. for this event. Wife and I always like to hear the updates on the podcasts from you folks about all the runDisney stuff. SHAME this one sort of tanked...

We just did our first runDisney 5K at Castaway Cay this May2013 while aboard our 4th cruise with the DCL. This was our 3rd trip on the DREAM – love that ship. Far as the 5K, we had a blast. We always use deck 4 on the ship and I think deck on the Wonder…while we cruise. Nothing like taking a walk/run in the middle of the ocean!!!

Castaway Cay 5K – sure no characters...but the feeling of doing a sort of official run, vs. our self at home runs...really made us feel proud. PLUS hey we bought the shirt after the event – got a big and a sea medal too!!! And we also upon return home got a hold of JG's Easy5K app. WOW he makes it a lot of fun to run. We both want to improve our times. We did very well, me at just over 28 mins and wife at 43 mins, better than expected in the heat but we want to better ourselves more. THANKS for all the words and input on things you all have done with this board and runDisney area. We would have never even known who JG was if not for the podcasts etc.

Well in the future we hope to attend an official runDisney type of event. ToT event to us would be a great thing!!!

THANKS for all the input and making us feel like we were there - at each of these events thru your great coverage.

[Christine]

Thanks for the feedback and congrats on the castaway 5K! My family and I did this on our cruise in April and boy you're right-it was HOT!

I hope you all continue to train and that we see you at a runDisney / runICOT event soon! Are you considering running with us in January?

[GMRO]

Thanks for the feedback and congrats on the castaway 5K! My family and I did this on our cruise in April and boy you're right-it was HOT!

I hope you all continue to train and that we see you at a runDisney / runICOT event soon! Are you considering running with us in January?

We are certainly enjoying the training/running under JG's program for sure. BUT our vacation time is at a premium. We burn 1/2 the month of May when we take our Anniversary/Vacation to the WORLD while also taking DCL voyage during the trip. This pretty much wipes out OFF time for travel. For this year into next, we use fiscal calendar not yearly, we are out of time. BUT we have already thought of our 2015 vacation since it's a BIG year for us, 20 yr anniversary. Hence we are thinking Alaskan <sp> cruise with Disney. This will use less days vs. our normal vacation and we want to plan to attend the ToT 10K the same year, if that's what it's called.

Do you have to already have completed a 10K with stats to enter a Disney 10K? Is the TOT a 10K - right? What time of year is it? I do hope they keep the MAGIC in that event vs. what you reported on the Everest event.

THANKS!

[Christine]

The tower of Terror is 10 miles . You don't have to have run any races to enter any races.
Boy do I hear you on burning vaca time! It goes so quickly- I always have more plans/ideas than I do time.

Your Alaska idea sounds great! DH and I hit 25years in 2018 and hope to be in Alauni for that!