Steps To Enter A Disney Race (Especially The Girl Ones)

First of all, you might be asking yourself the following questions - what and why? And even if you're not, I'm going to tell you.  First the "what."

Disney races are foot races held at Disney parks. The distances range from 5Ks to full marathons (26.2 miles). You can do them all, or any combination of them. The "girl races" are those that are focused on the females of the Disney empire - think Tinkerbell and Princesses (yes, men can do these races, but they are in the minority - even though some do dress in princess attire!).

Now the "why." BECAUSE THEY ARE FUN!! You get to run (or amble, as is my case) through the parks when no one is there (because they start at butt-crack dawn early in the morning). People are dressed in costume and the medals are awesome.

So now that you know these questions, let me tell you one more thing - they are a task to enter!! Why? BECAUSE EVERYONE WANTS TO ENTER THEM!!

For all the races, DVC members and AP holders (if you don't know what those are, then you really don't like Disney and needn't be concerned with what those are) get an early registration day, about two weeks before the actual registration day. But, it's just as crazy as the regular registration day, with people trying to register and the site crashing and people generally going crazy.  So, with that in mind, I thought I would give you a few pointers ...

First of all, have as many computers available as possible. Last year, a friend had two (at least) of her co-workers on their computers, and I understand they were running back and forth and screaming at each other down the hall (last year's Princess registration was particularly taxing - but she got in!). Why have so many computers open and ready? Because you never know which computer is going to decide not to work, or which browser will have a meltdown, or just what catastrophe may happen, so the more machines you have at your beck and call, the better.


Next, do some deep breathing. Because once registration opens, you will be on full-fledged alert. You will start about two minutes before the actual opening time (yes, you have a specific time that registration opens), refreshing the web page. Finally, once the actual registration page opens, you have to get busy - LIKE NOW!!!

Hopefully, like last week, you've already registered on Active.com and have an active account. This will be necessary because the new rules say you need an active account since only one person can register per active account (this prevents Jane Doe from registering 200 of her closest friends and family on her account, thus nabbing all the registrations and time and gumming up the computer system).

Anyhow, by now you should be logged on and ready to register. DO NOT LOLLYGAG OVER ALL THE RACES!! You should already know exactly which race you want to enter and/or which challenges you want to enter (now we're getting into technicalities, which are not important - just know what you are going to register for). AND START REGISTERING! Because you only have a few minutes before they decide you are too lazy and slow to enter their race and boot you off the system. In addition to having an active account, you also need to know your t-shirt size (enter what you really are, not what size you're hoping to be by race day), your gender, an approximate pace, and whether you are in the military or not. There is also merchandise to purchase, but skip it unless you really have money to burn - the clock is ticking!!

On the final page is payment. Now is not the time to locate your wallet to find your charge card. It should be right there, card number and expiry date and verification number ready. And if you did it all right - VIOLA!! You are ready for the race. Now it's time to think about training ...

Certainly worth all the trouble - don't you think!!

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Today is a gift because: Everley-sitting; Sounds game with Steve, Maribeth, and Everley; dinner with Everley, Sam, Lynnette, and Lindley to celebrate the end of Lindley's day-care career; getting Molly and I registered for 2016 Tinker Bell!