My Favorite Stories from the 2015 Disneyland Half-Marathon

This past weekend I had the privilege of volunteering as a SAG cyclist for the Disneyland 10K and Half-Marathon. I'd volunteered in other events throughout my life, but I have never enjoyed the work nearly as much as this. I was on a bike, but biking isn't necessarily the point. It's only a means in which to do the job. Before I get to the stories, you should probably know what that job is.


The SAG Cycle Team in all our glory.

What is SAG?

The most positive spin on SAG (and the one Disney uses) is as an acronym for Support, Assistance, and Gear, and that's exactly what SAG provides. In practice, we enforce the pace. Marathon runners agree to keep a certain pace when they register. In this case, at least 16 minutes per mile starting after the last runner crosses the starting line. If runners were allowed to continue behind pace, the city streets would remain closed for much longer than local residents would tolerate. That's where the SAG team comes in. We maintain the schedule by alerting participants of their pace, and we remove, or "SAG," the ones who lag behind for too long. Some are grateful to see us, ready to be done. Others can get very upset, claiming they could have made it in time if we could just let them go. Unfortunately we cannot. Life must go on for the rest of the city.

All the cyclists had their roles. Mine was biking to even or odd mile markers and calling out the pace to the runners. "You're two minutes ahead of pace! Good job!" "You're a minute and a half behind pace! Try to step it up!" Often, runners get behind pace if they stop to take too many pictures or breaks, and in a Disneyland Half-Marathon, there are many opportunities for pictures. They not only get to run through Disneyland, but Angel's Stadium, past musical or dance performances, and even car clubs who volunteer their time to line the race with their cars for over a mile.



This... for a mile.

I'd bike to the mile markers to call out the runners' pace. Once the last runner passed my mile marker, I'd bike to my next marker two miles away and do it again. I also watched for runners who may need assistance as well as provided some cheering as I rode past, trying to keep their energy and spirits up. Because we don't start the time until the last runner crosses the start line, we primarily stick with the rear of the pack. By the last mile, anyone still in it was pretty much out of gas, but they still managed to find the energy to trudge across the finish line. This seemed a good time to speak to some of them, and I took advantage of that. Here are my favorite stories.

1. Parenting Tip

There was a boy, probably about 12 years old, who was acting a bit crazy here and there and seemed to be having a great time. This kid had enough energy to run a full marathon if he'd wanted! I asked him why he likes to run, and he said, "I don't. I hate running."
You don't look like you hate it.
"Well, I like all the music and stuff. But I still hate running."
Then why are you in this race?
"My mom is making me do it."
Now, I'm all for a parent requiring their children to be active, but running a half-marathon did seem a bit much. That is, until I heard a female's voice behind us say, "Tell him why!"
Abashedly, the kid then said, "Because I didn't do my chores. I can't have my video games back unless I do the race."
"That's right!" said the woman proudly.
So this kid, rather than doing his chores while his mom was away, got too caught up in his video games. As "punishment," she had him running with her every day until they competed in this race! That's just a new kind of awesome right there.
 


Meanwhile, Dad saw his opportunity...

2. Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

Book #1

I saw a woman walking toward the finish line in Downtown Disney who completely obliterated any mental links I had between someone's size and their ability to run a marathon. I'd noticed her a few times earlier, mainly because she always responded pleasantly to any motivation I tried to provide. Seeing she was about to finish the race, I biked over and asked how many marathons she'd been in. "This is my first," she said. "I've always admired runners, and decided at some point that I want to be one." She said she weighs about 230 pounds now, but had tipped the scales at over 500! She proudly told me how she lost the weight with the help of a trainer and no surgery, which I found incredible! But at this point she was having a difficult time in the race. She was now going on pure adrenaline, and was actually disappointed in herself for not being able to jog past the line for her trainer could see. "What?!" I told her. "You have to know how ridiculously improbable it must seem for any 500-pound person to even think about participating in a half-marathon, much less finish one!" I reminded her to think of what motivated her to lose the weight, and to remember that she could make that kind of difference to someone else. The change that came over her was tangible, as she allowed that small, positive message to add just a bit more energy to her step that carried her all the way to Downtown Disney, where she smiled as the crowd cheered her on!

Book #2

As I mentioned earlier there are car clubs that line their cars up along the way for an entire mile. I'd heard about it previously, and figured it would only be those vintage cars that the old guys like to show off. Well, they were certainly there with their classic Mustangs, Chevys, Woodys, and others. There were also the not-so-old guys with their flashy Ferraris and Porshes. The vans were also cool, as they were all painted with themes like Star Wars and other classic movies. I was also surprised to see Asian car clubs there with their flashy drag racers, and the Mexican car clubs were with their bombs and low riders. It's from one of the Mexican clubs that I got the biggest surprise. While many of the car owners were sitting in chairs holding their homemade motivational signs, the (literally) biggest and most vocal supporter was this HUGE Mexican guy, probably about 6'5" and nearing 300 pounts with tattoos covering his skin. This guy completely looked the part. And as I rode by, I heard his voice booming over the others. "You're all looking great!" "Hey Chica, you're almost at the 8th mile!" "Come on, Vato! You got this!" "You're all awesome!"

No, Vato... YOU are awesome!


These guys just want world peace. Probably.

3. There Are Humans, and There Are Super Humans

Super Human #1

Many runners wear all kinds of things to motivate or amuse themselves. The man wearing the Flash cape was no different. That is, until I spoke to him. I first noticed him jogging very slowly with a noticeable limp around mile 6. I asked if he was doing ok, and he assured me he was. I figured he’d be taken from the race at the next hard SAG sweep, but I continued to see him limping along, all the way past mile 12 (half-marathon is 13.1 miles). After the last remaining racers passed the marker, I biked ahead and saw him approaching Downtown Disney. I called out, “Hey Flash, you’re gonna limp your way to the finish!” He told me, “I’ll take this limp any day over my wheelchair.” He then told me he was in a wheelchair for over 20 years, with doctors telling him he wouldn’t walk again. His family had been running in the Disneyland Half-Marathon the last few years and wanted him to join as a wheelchair participant, but he had no interest in that. Instead, he worked and worked and worked... all the way out of his chair and participating in the half-marathon as a jogger. They waited for him at the finish line, and watching him cross gave me chills in the best way.

Oh, and the Flash reference? A nickname he got as a child, running through his neighborhood delivering newspapers. He hadn't been called that in over 20 years.

Super Humans #2 & #3 

I don't need to spend many words here. This picture is of two Wounded Warriors nearing the finish line of the Disneyland 10K.

4. Peace At Last

I spoke with an ex-marine who looked a bit pained as he slowly trotted toward the end. I asked if he was ok, and he laughed and said he was perfectly fine. He only wished his best friend, who’d joined him in the military, could have raced with him. He himself never cared for running, but his friend did, and specifically wanted to run the Disneyland Half-Marathon when he got home. I may have choked up a bit as he told me his friend never made it out of Afghanistan, so he was running in his place. I then understood why he was near tears heading toward mile 12. I can’t even imagine what he must have been feeling as he saw the finish line.

5. My Story

So mine isn't a story of inspiration or beating the odds like these others. It's one of admission and learning. We all have many lessons to share, and we know how to be good people. But even with these lessons, we don't always follow them. Something as simple as "Don't judge a book by its cover" is an example of something we all know and try to follow, but we still might do it without even realizing it. In my participation of these events, I realized how guilty I am of this. However, I will do my best to never again assume I can know if another human being's ability simply by looking at them. You may think this is obvious, but this fault can really sneak up on you and you may not even notice. But if we allow ourselves to judge others in this way, we are doing nothing to lift them up over the limitations we have placed on them.

I used to wonder why people would run a marathon. I never understood it. Why pay to do something you can do anytime, anywhere, that doesn't even sound fun? What I've learned is that everybody runs marathons for their own reasons. Many simply enjoy the fun of being a part of a large event, and there's a lot to be said for that. But so many others have deeper, untold stories we may never hear. I've told just some of the ones I heard that weekend. I'm sad that I didn't catch any of their names, but I'll never forget what they taught me. I look forward to continuing my participation in these events that mean so much to so many.


I didn't earn these the same way the runners did, but I'm proud to have them as tokens of my participation.