So race registration opened and then closed just about as fast as it opened huh? Did you miss out on your chance to get into one of the popular races? Or if you are like me and you went to a race and got totally hooked and want to go to another one but it is all sold out already? There are other ways you can get into a race. You can go through a charity group or you can contact one of the travel providers located in the Registration area of the race event on the runDisney.com site.
After running the Tower of Terror race last October I knew that I wanted to sign up for Princess. I want to run as many races as I can this year. I was late getting on board for the Princess Half Marathon so I contacted several of the providers. I got lucky when I called Russ from Stayfit Usa and he was able to secure me the last possible bib for the Glass Slipper challenge! However, I didn’t get off cheap for this race. I had to pay the most because I waited so long. As a race registration opens, it is cheapest when you register right away. The longer you wait, the price does increase.
Registering through a travel provider is a little different than doing it yourself. Your registration and hotel reservation will be managed by the travel provider. Most travel providers require that you purchase your bib and then also book a hotel room and purchase a park pass. But they do have great discounted prices on rooms and park passes.
Like I said, I have worked with Russ from StayFit USA and I am looking forward to meeting him in person at the Princess Half Marathon weekend. I have kept in touch with Russ since I first contacted him last fall. I had several questions throughout the months prior to the race for other races such as the marathon weekend. I wanted to see if he could provide me park passes for my parents so they could purchase them through his company for marathon weekend. He was so helpful and friendly to me. And because of our love of running we already had that in common so we would talk about the races we were both involved in.
So a word of advice, register when the race registrations open up. You can always defer if you cannot make it to a race. However, if by chance you didn’t get in to a race, like Dumbo, which sold out in under 45 minutes! You can always contact Russ at www.stayfitusa.com or 470-299-6331 and obtain a bib, room and park pass through him. He told me he will always have the race bibs.
If you want to even bypass the race registration on registration day, you can go directly to him and get your registration squared away. On another note, he does have race bibs for all the races, not just the Disney Races. Contact him today and tell him Pam Frost sent you. He knows me by name now!
This is GREAT to know….sometimes we are late planners! Thanks!
Good info Pam! Would the benefit of registering through him be that you get a discount on room AND park tickets (even if you have to pay more for the race?) Does the race always cost more through him, or only once they sell out?
Yes, that is a benefit of booking through Russ. You only pay more for the races if you are past the pricing tier deadline date. I think this mostly applies to marathon weekend because that doesn’t sell out the same day that registration opens.
Definitely a great option if you miss an ever-shrinking registration window! Thanks for the new contact!
Wow, I didn’t know he actually had bibs for other races, is this the norm with Travel Providers?
I do not know if that is normal; but it is a great resource for me to have now. I really like that. He said he gets them for all the majors. I should ask him out of curiosity if he has them for NYC.
Good information. I didn’t know you could get race entry from travel providers, I thought it was only from charity groups!
I didn’t know that either! So I was glad to come across it!
What a terrific tip Pamela! I’ve never gone this route (yet), but it is great to now have a “connection”. (Wink, wink.) Thank you so much again for lending your runner talents to the Virtual runDisney Blog Hops!!
Great information. I think sometimes people are a bit nervous booking with a travel provider they’ve never heard of, so it’s wonderful to have this hearty recommendation.
Great to have last minute options sometimes, because it can be tough to plan out so far in advance. Thanks for the info!
Yea now I have the race registration opening dates set in my calendar since they sell out so fast!
This is great! I have a small group of ladies I need to sign up and make arrangements for, so this could be super helpful for 2015!
~Lisa
Hopefully Russ can hook you up with a great deal!
I hope so, too! 🙂
SO great to know — I snagged my sister a last-minute spot in the 10K through Jim Stone, and I got my boyfriend into the WDW Half via Marathon Tours, so tour providers really are a great option!
Great info! I’m thinking about using a travel provider for Wine and Dine for the first time. I’ll have to look into it now!
Please be sure to tell Russ that I referred you. I don’t get anything for it but would like to see the business come his way.
The runDIsney events are getting so popular, you can count on them selling out fast. Great to know there may be other options to make that dream race come true!
Thank you for the great info! I love “one stop shops” it makes planning a RACEcation a bit easier!
I’ve heard of runners getting into races through travel partners but didn’t know how it worked until now! Great post, thanks Pam!!
Good to know, Pam! I have worked with travel providers before, but I never have any luck. Will definitely look into Russ. Thanks again!
Be wary of this guy, we booked through him and showed up for the race and had no reservations yet my credit card had been charged!!!!
I know! I am going to rewrite. Bad things happened this weekend for me also! I am still waiting for my refund!!
Can u email me directly? Did you get a refund for it yet? I want to know what happened and I have an email address to give you to help. Pamela.frost@comcast.net
Yes, I am aware. I was ripped off. I am going to do a follow up on this story. It was NOT the experience I was hoping for!
I was ripped off too on princess weekend!! booked theme park tickets…never got them…never got a refund!! Been back and forth with Russ on email and on the phone but he has done nothing…
Things are being fixed in my situation. I have spoken to Russ often so we are working it out. He is in a big bind with Disney so please stay in touch with him. It’s not all his fault. It’s a very long story, but he tried to serve everyone in a way that bent rules a bit in regards to Disney’s contract.