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Ep 38 - Telegram alerts and charity bibs (with special guest, Matt from Team #runDis)
837 Plays16 days ago
Did you miss out on runDisney registration? Don't hang up your running shoes just yet! In this episode, we're diving into two options for snagging a sold-out runDisney bib. First, we sit down with Matt from Team #runDis to discuss his legendary Telegram alert system that notifies you the second registration spots become available between now and race day. Matt shares expert tips on how to prepare for grabbing a spot when those spots become available.
We're also joined by our friend Stefanie Shimansky who clues us in on the rewarding feeling that comes with running on behalf of a charity a charity. Whether you want to lock in your spot early or add more purpose to your miles, Stephanie clarifies what it actually takes to join a charity team.
Be sure to check out teamrundis.com to learn more about the telegram alerts, available charity bibs and so much more. To take our podcast feedback survey, be sure to visit ajanderika.com. Thank you for taking the time to let us know how we can improve the podcast.
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Transcript
Introduction to Run Disney Challenges
00:00:00
Speaker
Run Disney registration is so stressful, and if you weren't able to get the marathon weekend races you were hoping for, we understand how frustrating that can be. Today we have two special guests on the podcast that can help. First, Matt from Team Run Diz has created an online tool that can let us know when Run Disney registration spots open up.
00:00:17
Speaker
Plus, we're talking with our new friend Stephanie, who has run on behalf of a charity a ton of times. She's going to help clarify what it means to run for a charity. Music
00:00:33
Speaker
Hey there, friends. Welcome to episode number 38 of One More Run, the podcast. My name's AJ, this is Erica, and as always, June is in the studio. How old is June now? She's- I don't know. She's almost three months old, I think. Right. She's a puppy.
00:00:47
Speaker
and That, she's that. Yep. And still hanging out with us in the studio. She's still small enough to sit in the chair with you, which is nice. If you are new here, the goal of our podcast is to be helpful. Right. And that is what today's podcast episode is all about. Yeah. Right. Like we're going to literally introduce you to some tools that you either may have heard of and aren't exactly sure what that means or you've never heard of. and you're like, oh my gosh, thank you. Yeah. You want to know
Post-Registration Reflections
00:01:12
Speaker
about these things. Right. so registration day was yesterday and some people are on cloud nine right now and can't wait for marathon weekend. And some people are devastated because they just weren't able to get what they were hoping for. Yeah. And so today is really for those that, that second group, those folks that are like, okay, now what do I do? Cause I really had my sights set on it. yeah Right. You and I did, we missed out on a wine and dine registration and that was really hard, you know? yeah And so these tools are that our friends from team run dis developed are, are here to help with that.
00:01:44
Speaker
Right. Yeah. Yeah. So that's the episode that's coming up. This terrible transition, but I don't really care. We keep the bloopers. So let's go ahead and read a review, Erica. yeah We pull these from Apple Podcasts. We're so grateful when you guys leave a review and let us know what you love about the show.
00:02:00
Speaker
So Erica, what you got? So today's review comes from Jenny Renning and it's titled Love, Love, Love. I just found this podcast and have been ecstatically binging it ever since. I'm running my first ever run Disney events and my first ever half marathon at the 2026 Disneyland half marathon weekend in just a few weeks. This pod is the perfect accompaniment for my training runs and driving in the car and folding the laundry, et etc cetera, et cetera.
00:02:25
Speaker
Erica and AJ are fantastic hosts and have such a wealth of knowledge. And best of all, their enthusiasm for Run Disney is absolutely contagious. I'm even more excited for my race weekend than I was before finding this podcast. My one request, all caps, please keep making the pod after marathon weekend. Pretty pleased with pixie dust on top. yes That was very sweet. We are so glad that our love for Run Disney is contagious. yeah um And we are definitely going to keep doing the podcast. Yeah, I have two thoughts. One, she said enthusiasm for Run Disney. I think what she meant was obsession with Run Disney. Right, yes, that. And second of all, she may have left this review before we said whether or not we were going to continue the podcast. And we weren't trying to leave y'all hanging on that. No. Like we just hadn't decided, yeah you know, what we were going to do. and Turns out we had a third studio member to join us, which is June the dog. That's right. So yes, we're excited to be doing this. Yes. Before we dive into the interview, if you guys don't mind, we posted on socials yesterday and on our on our website a survey about the podcast, right? i think it's what?
00:03:26
Speaker
A dozen questions, yeah maybe 10 questions. Yeah. Just asking you what you love, what you, you know, areas for improvement, how you would, you know, how you would rate whatever, you know, whats what's been your favorite. And then also just talking about the future of the podcast stuff. So, you know, if we did this, how would you feel about this? So if you guys don't mind, AJandErica.com is the website. You can find the survey there and we'd love your feedback. It'd be really great. So, Eric, I don't want to waste any time. I really want to just like get into today's episode yeah because i feel like it's all going to be super helpful. So i let's just dive right into it today.
Origins of Team Run Diz
00:03:57
Speaker
We actually have two guests. First, we have Matt from Team Run Diz. And after that, we're going to have ah our new friend, Stephanie. Yes. Right. And she's going to talk to us all about running on behalf of a charity. So if you've got two different kind of ways into a race now that registration is closed or registration does happen, and these guests are going to help us with that. So first up is Matt.
00:04:21
Speaker
All right, friends, this is pretty exciting. I reached out and asked somebody if they'd be willing to come on the podcast and and he said yes. And I, again, had that like shock to like, oh my gosh, Erica. Yeah.
00:04:32
Speaker
Can you believe it? You're not going to believe who said yes. So I came to you and I said, hey, you know Team Run Diz and you, of course, you're like, oh yeah. oh yeah. i said, Matt, who runs it, started it, all that, whatever, said he'd be willing to come on the podcast. Yeah. And the reason we brought Matt on is because you and i have gotten into races that were closed because of the tools he developed. yes And so we have, we like have personal investment in thanking Matt for getting us into races that we would not have been in if it weren't for the tools he developed. And today's goal is to like literally introduce you guys to those so that you know what they are. So Matt, welcome to the one more run podcast.
00:05:06
Speaker
Thank you guys for having me. And I absolutely love hearing that you've been able to use the tools to get into races. i i love hearing when people have that experience. Yes, we use them a lot. And you're going to find that out in like our questions we're going to ask you is we're very familiar with with the things you provided. Can you tell us like for someone who just, I mean, I'm sure everybody does, but like they don't know what Team Run Diz is. Can you give us either like the 30 second history or just what it is, you know, so that everyone kind of understands, you know, kind of the what? Absolutely. ah So we started off. ah
00:05:37
Speaker
It was a group of people that on Twitter started talking using the Run Disney hashtag going back a long time at this point. um And it was hard to talk to one another through Twitter because conversations would get lost. So we built a Facebook community and that's where it all started. Um, you know, there were maybe like 60 of us when we first started the group, uh, way back in 2012. And as a time progressed, more and more people grew and came in and saw what run Disney was and run Disney itself started evolving. So as run Disney changed, we changed, we would grow with it, um
00:06:13
Speaker
You know, people in the group would experience everything that Run Disney had to offer, which also included a lot of the stuff that was like the registration day nightmares, not getting into races, the disappointments that would come with it. oh yeah yeah And a lot of that helped evolve to what it is now with trying to get the tools for people so that they can actually get to the starting line of a race um and to try and help them get to that point.
00:06:36
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome. And so helpful. um So Matt, tell us what is the why behind TeamRind is and not just why you started it, but why do you keep doing it and adding to it? For me, I just love the experience of running at Disney. And it's something that so many people want to be able to do. And I want to be able to help them have that experience because I've had it so many times myself. um And seeing people try and have that experience and fall short or get frustrated and not be able to do it or have a bad experience. I hate seeing that part of it. And so we want to be able to put a positive spin on it for people.
00:07:10
Speaker
Um, so if that means just giving advice to how to get into a race or advice on how do I get to a race, you know, how do I get from my hotel to the starting line or what kind of training do I have to do? Trying to help get any of those questions so that people can go from the point of not knowing anything to the point of being an experienced Disney runner, um, is why we do it. Cause I want to share that experience with people and let them have that magic of running from Disney.
00:07:38
Speaker
Yeah. That's awesome. We're we're really grateful that yeah that you do it. It's awesome. um So we're going to talk specifically today about two tools that you've built and and you offer, you know, to basically help us all get a run Disney bib. But there's so much more on the website. Like, is there anything on the website that you love that maybe people don't talk about enough? Because you're going to hear the word telegram a lot and everybody knows you for that. But is there anything else that you that you have on on the website that you're like, you know what, this is really cool.
00:08:03
Speaker
For me, it's definitely the medals. Like I am so about run Disney and the medals. Like I'm not going to lie. i I run the races for the medals. I love them. um And on the website, we've actually got medal gallery that pulls together. um It's not just run Disney medals.
00:08:19
Speaker
I'm trying to pull together all of the Disney history of medals. Yeah, we've got the ones on there from like triathlons. We've got ones on there from cast member races. um Cool. We've got the ones on there from the inline roller skating marathons that they used to have there. Right. And it's just such a cool little like history to go down and just be able to click through and see, you know, how medals have evolved over time. Sure. to Disney influence on it. And I love that part of
Matt's Run Disney Journey
00:08:46
Speaker
it. And, you know, being able to see that myself. Yeah. How far back does that go? i know I've browsed through it before. How far back does that go?
00:08:52
Speaker
That gallery? Yeah. I want to say, I think one of the oldest ones I have in there might be from the late 70s. Whoa. I think there was some, yeah, there was some like cast member race that was held in the late 70s, if I'm not mistaken.
00:09:07
Speaker
um And so I was able to find an image of that medal. And then there's some definitely from the early 80s that are in there as well before racing at Disney was even a thing. That's cool. That's so cool. Um, what's your run Disney experience, right? Like how'd that get started? you know, I, I mean, you continue to run, right? Like what, what's your story?
00:09:24
Speaker
I do. Um, and I actually, I fell into run Disney just kind of by a mistake. Um, there was a race going on, um, on a trip that I had planned, uh, and I was actually able to find out about it.
00:09:35
Speaker
Um, just from looking online to see what was going on during our trip. And I saw, oh, wine and dine half marathon. Let me, uh, let me see what this is about. And I was able to register for it. Like, I think a couple months before the race actually was happening.
00:09:50
Speaker
Yeah. they Back in those days. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We never got to experience any of that. It was great. i You could just sign up and go. was wonderful. So, yeah, so i ran the second Wine and Dine half marathon was my first time doing a run Disney race. And I just I loved it that running through the parks at night, seeing everything lit up. um Then I ended up registering for the marathon the next year and doing actually goofy that year.
00:10:14
Speaker
And was like, okay, this is fun. i can I can see myself doing this again. And I did, Goofy the next year. And then they started with Dopey. And i was like, all right, I'll do that one time. And ah now it's been 13 times. No way. What? yeah That's awesome. why like Wow. how How close to that is perfect? like That's got to be close to perfect. That is perfect. It is. okay Oh my gosh.
00:10:38
Speaker
I've done every one of those. That's awesome. So why do you continue to run? Like run, run Disney. Why do why do you keep doing it? Is it just for the medals? Part of it. I mean, you know, they're nice that they change it all the time, yeah ah but part of it is the experience. It's, it's always different. Like no matter what, like even if the course is the same, the experience changes every time. like Um, you know, you see the different characters, you see the different bands that are performing. um you know, just everything about it changes every single time. And it just keeps pulling me back in year after year.
00:11:07
Speaker
That's awesome. Okay. So going to go off script for a second because Erica and I were talking to a new friend we met at, um, princess weekend this week. And I said, Hey, any topic suggestions? And she said, yeah, it'd be really cool if you talk to someone who was perfect dopey. And I was like, oh, well I'll have to find somebody. Yes. And literally I'm looking at you like, holy cow. So I'm putting this down there right now. Like I'd love to have you back on the podcast. You know what mean? Uh, cause we don't have time to talk about it. I want to talk about all the pros and cons of, of dopey. So can we, I'm putting you on the spot, but I'd like to have you back absolutely for a totally different time. What's next for you? I'm assuming dopey, right? But what's what's next for you?
00:11:45
Speaker
I actually, I'll be doing the 10 miler at springtime coming up just a few weeks here. Good. Yeah. Very cool. Looking forward to that. Good. Okay. So I feel like I maybe already know the answer to this next question, but what is your favorite race weekend and why?
00:11:59
Speaker
It's marathon weekend without a doubt. Of course. Um, yeah, I mean, yeah i love getting to see all the parks and being able to run through all four of them. Um, and especially the marathon, like, you know, waking up on that fourth morning and I think I'm awake most of the fourth mornings. Um, and then just hitting that finish line and being done. It's just the best feeling ever. I'm sure. I just love that. Yeah. So is goofy. I'm sorry. Not goofy. is Dopey is dopey. Your favorite, like, um, challenger yes challenge or whatever like, do you have another distance? That's your favorite.
00:12:29
Speaker
and Yeah, I would probably say Dopey is probably the the favorite. yeah Although I don't mind like just having a one-off weekend where you just do like one race and not do a challenge and not wake up four mornings in a row. yeah Yeah, we just got back from Princess. We only did the half, you know? And it was really nice to just take the rest of the weekend and just kind of go spectate. Yeah, do one thing. Sleep in on Saturday. Like it was really nice. So we totally get that. Yeah.
00:12:52
Speaker
I was watching your Instagram post there from you guys spectating there. And it looks like it's a lot more relaxing when you get those first few mornings where you can just kind of kick back and watch. It is. It was very chill. We enjoyed it. We enjoyed it. Okay. So we ask, would you rather questions on our podcast, Matt? So usually three or four would you rathers. And it's kind of like our way to kind of see where you sit on stuff. And I already know the answer to this one. We already know the first one. We ask everybody on the podcast, every guest that comes on who has run down Main Street gets this question. And we're kind of like keeping score. So I'm really excited that you're about to join my team on this, I'm pretty sure. And the question is, would you rather on a Disney half marathon run down Main Street or get a finisher medal for that half, but you're only have one of those, right? Which one would you choose?
00:13:39
Speaker
I'm going with the medal. Yes, my team is growing so fast. I love it. Erica had all the emotional folks talking about you know running down Main Street. So I'm glad. Welcome to the right team. How many have picked Main Street? I'm curious. Oh, unfortunately it was very like, it was something like eight to two for a while, but then now I'm slowly creeping up. I'm, I think it's more like probably like eight to five at this point. yeah think so So if you haven't run down main street as a, you know, as a guest, we can't ask the question. It's balancing out. Yeah. Honestly, at this point, I feel like we need to like amend the question oh because the more times I ran down Main Street, the more I'm like, maybe the finisher medal. But the first time that I ran down Main Street, I mean, that's. Yeah, that is kind of one of our things we're thinking about changing the question to. If it was your first Disney, you know, a half, would you rather have the, you know, the medal or the Main Street? So we'll see. Either way, I'm going to win this whole thing at the end of it. Like it doesn't really matter. It's your mission in life. Yeah. You can amend the question all you want, but we're going to.
00:14:39
Speaker
All right. We know you're a cruise person because of your Instagram, right? So that's where this next Would You Rather comes from. Yes. So would you rather do a four-day run Disney race weekend, a four-night Disney cruise, or a four-night Walt Disney World parks vacation?
00:14:53
Speaker
As much as I do love a good run Disney weekend, I will go with a Disney cruise on this one over the run Disney weekend. yep yeah That's like hands down. I can. That has been standard for everybody. Like everybody. That or Alani, I think.
00:15:06
Speaker
Yeah. So, yeah. Okay, so here's a question. Disney Marathon, no headphones or no Garmin, you know, or your watch or whatever. Which one would you rather go without? I'm going to go without the Garmin.
00:15:17
Speaker
um I know how far I'm running, but I can't do it without music. Yeah, yeah, yeah. have to have music. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, 100%. I'm the same way. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I can't stand the sound of just hearing myself running and ah without the music in the background. No, the the music, I feel like I'm really running fast. you know And as soon as it's quiet, all I hear is myself breathing that's you know and like suffocating. And I'm like, okay, never mind. Turn that music back on.
00:15:43
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Oh, man. Okay, which one would you rather have to eat? The plastic cheese or the sports beans? I'm going with the cheese all the way on this one. um Yeah, those sports beans, have bad memories of, oh man, Blizzard Beach parking lot one year, they had them and I was like, oh, this looks great right now. I'm 21 miles in.
00:16:03
Speaker
Yeah, no, it was not good. Oh, it messed you up? The cheese tasted great. Oh, it was so bad. i couldn't. i I don't know what it was. It just it looks so much better than it ended up being. Yeah. Yeah. No, the sports beans are gross. Do you like the cheese or is it just like the the lesser of the two evils?
00:16:21
Speaker
Only after a race. For some reason, yeah that cheese is magic after a finish line. But any other time, like they give it to you with the pretzels and the parks. It's horrible. Like I can't. But after a race with the chips. Yeah. hot It's great. I love it.
00:16:36
Speaker
Well, Matt, was nice talking to you. on the total opposite of you. So we're going to go ahead and sign off here. This is the end of the podcast. I told Erica recently, I said, you know what it is? I like it with a pretzel. I don't like it with the chips. when it's And so it's so funny that you and I are flipped on that. That's really funny.
00:16:49
Speaker
um ah Sometimes they they stick it in there with the ah animal crackers, too. Oh, yeah, that doesn't make any sense. I heard them on Rise and Run maybe talking about at some point there was hummus or something in the box. Did you ever experience that? We may we never experienced that.
00:17:04
Speaker
That was not, that was not a good year. yeah but Yeah. Oh gosh. It's like one and done. Yeah. Yes. Okay. All right. Here's your, here's your last. Would you rather, it's another snack question. Would you rather rely on the encore snack, but you've never heard of it, right? Never heard of the brand. You've never had it or a disgusting gel flavor that you hate, but you know, it doesn't mess you up. Which way would you rather go?
00:17:24
Speaker
I'm going with nothing new on race day, so I'm sticking with the disgusting gel. Yeah. yeah And what would that flavor be? That's a question. Anything mocha. I can't stand the mocha flavor ones that they have. They're so chalky.
00:17:36
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What would yours, Erica? Like, is there a nasty flavor that you'd be like, no thanks? um i'm not a huge fan of like like berry of any kind really yeah which is kind of a bummer because the um honey stinger uh chews they give you i do like those or like a berry i do like those yeah oh you're okay with that yeah but not like a not a goo i got you yeah yeah it's a different texture yeah yeah yeah thanks thanks for playing uh would you rather with us that's that's fun i'm glad you're on team team finisher metal um Okay. So now we actually have to provide like actual helpful information, not just, you know, ah playing games. Yeah. debate The debate over plastic cheese.
00:18:12
Speaker
um So for our listeners who may be new to run Disney or just haven't experienced it, like registration is only like an option. for a very short amount of time. Like i imagine getting Taylor Swift era's tour tickets. Like that's kind of how i've I've said that before. It's like an hour and a half on one day.
00:18:29
Speaker
you're lucky. Yeah. You know, so if you don't, you're not able to get a spot, like it's, it's deflating any advice, Matt, that you would give on how we should handle that, like, like initial disappointment. And the reason I bring it up is marathon registration was yesterday. Some of some folks are gonna be real happy and they're like, yeah, I get to do this again. And some people are really upset with the internet. Like how do any advice on how we handled that like disappointment?
00:18:52
Speaker
So one of the big things to keep in mind is Disney holds a registration so far out from the race day, which is nice because that means you have time. You know, there's time for to find other options. You know, there's the charity route where lots of charities have openings um and more will come within the next few days because they tend to release them a little bit after the registration period.
00:19:16
Speaker
Then the other part of it is the alerts and the open spots. You know, there's lots of time to be able to get in through one of those. So while it might be an initial disappointment, once that kind of passes, you still have a chance. You're not shut out completely. So there's that hope to kind of hold on to until, you know, everything is done.
00:19:38
Speaker
Yeah. So you'll read in the Facebook groups that people say things like telegram is always an option. So for our friends that don't know what is telegram, what does that mean? Telegram is a messaging service. It's just like a Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. And what I've done is used ah Telegram to build an alert system that people can sign up for for free. um You download the app, you put in either your phone number, your email address, and then you can get push notifications whenever a message gets sent out through the app.
00:20:10
Speaker
They can either sign up to get notifications for all of the races if any race weekends open, or they can sign up to get individual race weekend notifications if they just want one specific set of alerts.
00:20:23
Speaker
It's really easy to use. We have all the links on our website that people can find and then just click in. It'll take you right to where you have to go to download the app. And then again, it'll take you right into the channel that you need to join.
00:20:36
Speaker
Perfect. What do we need to know about these alerts, right? Is there anything we need to know, you know, about, about how this is, is happening or is it just magic? And we're just like thankful that they came in, you know, like what, anything we need to know about them?
00:20:47
Speaker
Pretty much the way it is is that there's a system that's watching run Disney's registration system all the time. um You know, instead of somebody having to sit at their computer and hit refresh all day long, this is essentially doing that for them. um it It falls within a 30-second window of when an opening drops and then within a 30-second window of when that closes. okay um So it'll send out the alert. It'll have the link right inside of the alert so that you don't have to go and try and figure out, okay, do I go to rundisney.com? Do I go to the registration? Where do I go? Um, all the information is there you to list all the races. It'll show which ones are open and closed. So everything is right there for you for convenience purposes.
00:21:25
Speaker
Um, if we're going to try and get a spot, right? Like an alert comes through on my phone or on my computer, if I've got it set up, you know, on my Mac or whatever, like what advice do you have for us to increase our luck with that? Like as soon as that thing comes in, what do what do we need to do?
00:21:38
Speaker
The first thing is If you're trying to get into a specific race within a weekend and you see another race open up within that weekend, click on the link and open the page up. Because a lot of times what happens is if you want like the half marathon and you see an alert for the 5K, the half marathon probably will open up within a short period of time. That'll get you into the system and hopefully at least get you through a cube, which sometimes will pop up.
00:22:03
Speaker
A lot of people get frustrated by that. They open up, they see the back in a virtual queue again, and it's like, oh, no. um So you want to take as much time away from waiting as you possibly can, and that's a great way to do it.
00:22:14
Speaker
Another thing you should probably try to do, and I don't know how much this works for people, desktop computers are your friend. Phones are definitely your enemy when it comes to trying to register for any of the sites.
00:22:26
Speaker
The more that you have to type in, the less of a chance you're going to have. um you know If you use your computer, um make sure your run Disney account's updated because then it's going to autofill a lot of your information for you and it's a lot less typing that you have to do. yeah um And also browsers like Google Chrome and stuff, those have autofill on them as well. So it's just less typing that you're going to have to do.
00:22:48
Speaker
Do i remember that, and I don't know if it was you that provided this resource. I'm pretty sure it was. It had some sort of like, I filled out some really complicated looking form thing and it auto filled everything. And that's how I got into a race one time. Is that still a thing? And was that you?
00:23:04
Speaker
That was me. It is not still a thing right now. Got it. It so happened to coincide with a point where people were having issues with the shirt dropdown where they would click on it and they couldn't select a shirt and people were getting frustrated thinking it was the auto filler doing that. And so I was like, well, let me just stop this for right now. I know it's not, but let me just hold off on it.
00:23:26
Speaker
I'm trying to get something else like that working again. Yep. I ended up getting myself banned from the registration site the last time I tested it out. So it needs a little more work. Okay. All right. Well, thank you for putting your your neck on the line for us. Sorry. Sorry. You're dealing with that.
00:23:41
Speaker
Yes. um So we've kind of already talked about when an alert comes in, usually have minutes, sometimes less than two to try and snag it. um You mentioned like autofill. Is there any other way that people can prepare for that in any way?
00:23:53
Speaker
One of the best ones, know your run Disney login information. um When that alert hits, the panic that tends to go through, you forget passwords, really easy. You forget email addresses, really easy. So make sure that you've got that available. Another thing that you can do is type up all your information into Word document or a notepad or some kind of electric spreadsheet that you can copy and paste your info instead of typing. And that way you reduce the risk of having any typos that'll come across.
00:24:22
Speaker
um We actually do have a workbook people can fill out that has all the fields that they're going to have to fill out and they can have it all set and write in order and they can just copy and paste back and forth if they want.
00:24:34
Speaker
That way it just saves your time from any mistakes. awesome AJ doesn't know anything about typos,
Inside Run Disney Registrations
00:24:39
Speaker
right? I have, I'm the world's worst typo, whatever. Like I post our stuff on Instagram and Erica's like, Hey Jay. I'm like texting him from work. Um, I don't know what you meant to say here, but she's like, how'd you spell marathon incorrectly? Oh my gosh. Yep. I know all about it. Okay. So I've had success on the computer, right? So we've gotten in twice. I 100% agree. If you have the ability to beat computer like that, anytime I would get an alert, I remember like I was mowing the lawn and I like got an alert and I like pulled over and tried to do it. No chance. You know what I mean? I've found both times it was successful for me. it was on my computer. um ah I don't know if this, like if you have, I mean, I know you don't have any inside information, but both times we got in was when there was like a day
00:25:27
Speaker
Where the registration opened for a long period of time, not the two minute window thing, any insight on that? I know you don't have secret information, but like that seems to be, there's a day for every race, right? yes what What, what, what can you tell us about that?
00:25:42
Speaker
I don't know what it is either. A lot of people say that it's charities returning bibs. um But you're right. There's definitely least one day where it'll stay you'll see one alert and for one race and then another one is open and then another one's open and soon all of them are open. And like you said, it's for a really good amount of time yeah and people are able to grab those up like crazy. I don't know what it is, but it is very consistent that every race weekend has one of those days, if not more. Sometimes they have a couple.
00:26:07
Speaker
and um i But I don't know why. For the two races that happened for us, it was about three two and a half, three months out. Is that pretty consistent or no? that Yeah, the time is pretty consistent. ah Princess did it right like about like two days before the race weekend really closed off completely. Yeah, there was one point where everything opened up and people were able to grab some slots really close to race weekend.
00:26:30
Speaker
So they do play around with it a little bit, it seems like. But usually, yeah, a couple months out, you'll get it. Yeah. Okay. um Any other tips? I know that this exists, or at least it used to, or whatever, on threads, on X, right? But everybody says Telegram. Like, is there and is one better than the other? Do you say, you know, steer away from this? Like, what what do you think?
00:26:52
Speaker
I say steer away from X. um That tends to be the slowest because of the way that it's built to go through. um It has to take a little bit longer. um Telegram is definitely the fastest and most consistent. um I've almost never had a problem with any of the alerts going through there. um So if people can use it, but you we're on Discord, Slack, and we just added Blue Sky as well. okay All these new social media sites. Whenever one pops up, I try and put it on there for people so they have wherever they go.
00:27:20
Speaker
I'm reaching that age where a new social media platform comes out and I'm like, I can't with this anymore. Instagram is like where I'm stopping. I'm still trying to figure out TikTok. Yeah, exactly. Awesome. Before we move on, this is totally not a helpful thing. This is just an opinion question. Wine and Dine was a rough registration, right? I'm sure you know all about that. And I've noticed, as of the point of us recording this, that it has not opened up at all since the minute it closed on registration day, which my experience, and I don't know if everyone knows, Like at least a few alerts come in on another, on a registration day on a princess or whatever throughout the day. Oh, the is open. Now it's closed. Yoga is open. Now it's closed right throughout the day. And then, you know, we'll see whatever over the coming weeks. It's been weeks since wine and dine and we have not seen one single thing. Do you have any opinion on that?
00:28:14
Speaker
It's driving me nuts. I'll be honest, because I hate when I don't see alerts for a while, because I'm always like, man, did they change something? Did something switch up? But it does happen from time to time. want to say it was back in August. I think we went the entire month without a single alert going through. Yeah.
00:28:28
Speaker
And I'm just thinking that at this point, they're probably still trying to sort. I don't think they anticipated having the response that Wine and Nine had between the general registration and the charity registration selling out so fast. So I'm confident that there will be more alerts. I do have like a few different ways of watching to see if anything changes somewhere to make sure that the alerts are covered. So I think it's just a matter of time for them.
00:28:53
Speaker
yeah Yeah. Wine and Dine just seems to be this, what in the world is going on at Red Disney right now? yeah know Yeah. I mean, the charities, especially, I've never seen anything sell out as fast as it did. I was on your website. I think there's one charity with one bib or you know one, ah whatever, for a five for the 5K or something. And I'm like, how in the world is this even happening right now? yeah And then it's gone. I know exactly what you're talking Really? It's already gone? The other day. oh my gosh. It's gone. Okay. Yep. Wow. Wow.
00:29:19
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Yeah. Well, Matt, thank you for developing and providing this amazing tool for us. Like AJ said, we have utilized it before. Um, we would love to get your thoughts on another way you can secure run Disney bib.
00:29:31
Speaker
Like we were just talking about, and that is through a charity. Can you tell our friends who are new to running and run Disney, what running through a charity means? So running through a charity, there are several different charitable organizations that contract with Run Disney.
00:29:45
Speaker
um They have a set amount of bibs that they'll allocate for each race. um The goal is to try and help raise funds towards whatever cause that charity aims towards. And at the same time, the runner...
00:29:59
Speaker
will receive ah entry into the race that they choose. The manner in which they do it is different for each charity. um Some, your registration fee is covered by the amount that you fundraise. Others have you pay the registration fee as a separate fee. um But the money is all going to help really good causes in the end for that. Yeah.
00:30:19
Speaker
Can you give us an example for someone who, you know, so like a marathon registration this year was $242, right? Like that's not the amount of money you're raising for charity, right? Like, can you give someone just ah an average example of what that like fundraising requirement is like most likely going to be like?
00:30:35
Speaker
So something for like a marathon, i think usually tends to go between about $1,000 to $1,500 for the actual fundraising amount that a person has to do. And then depending on the charity, it'll either be with the $242 included. So your fundra if you want to pay for your own registration, you can and then lower your fundraising amount or you pay it separate and then still have the fundraising amount on top. Right. um You know, as you go up, something like a dopey is going to be a lot more expensive than 5K. Right. Yeah.
00:31:03
Speaker
And some people, and we've said this before in the podcast, they choose to run in a charity because they want to support a charity, right? Like this isn't just a backup option. Like, know, the reason it exists really is to raise awareness for a charity, support the charity, run for for a good cause. um But then there's this, you know, some people find that, hey, this is the only way I can get into the race. Mm-hmm.
00:31:23
Speaker
Who, who would you say? And I think the answer is kind of what I even just said a second ago. Like, you know, so if you really believe in something like Erica and I might you know want to run one day for autism speaks, right? Like that would, that would be important to us. Um, or poison girls clubs of America is an organization we love, right? So we might want to support it or his total backup option. We couldn't get into the race and we, all our friends are running it. Like those are two categories of people, anybody else that might want to consider running with a charity.
00:31:47
Speaker
I mean, that's usually the two main categories of, you know, charity runner that you tend to see. yeah um So on the website, right on the team run dis website, which I believe is team run dis.com. Correct me if I'm wrong. yeah That's correct. works yeah You have a list of charities with available bibs. And I think that is like super awesome to go one place and see it.
00:32:06
Speaker
How accurate is that list? Right? Like it seems really helpful. You can click straight into the charity, which is awesome. Like how accurate is that list? It's getting even more accurate as time goes on. We're finding more and more charities are reaching out. You know, I'm getting messages a lot more from charities to be added to the list. And a lot of them don't appear on run Disney site. Even, um on top of that, I try and have an automated system to go in and, and keep tabs on what charities have available according to their websites for bibs. So the people don't have to be clicking through a hundred different websites just to figure out where they can find a registration, um, So I'm always looking to try and improve that. I constantly go in and check to make sure that the availability on my website's matching what the charities have. And then, you know, other charities will message me directly just to let me know their availability so that it stays updated. So it's definitely as accurate as I could possibly get it.
00:32:56
Speaker
It seems like it. I love it. It's so good that it's like green is yes, red, you know, it's no. Like, it's just like, no you know, and then, you oh, this one is, you know click on it. You know what i mean i love how how easy it is. Thank you for making that for us.
00:33:09
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So before we let you go, there's one other tool that I personally love, and that is tracking the balloon ladies during run Disney race. We joke that I could run a seven minute mile and I'd still be like, we're the balloon ladies. I like to stop and take photos. I want to know exactly how much of a buffer I have. So can you tell us how to access that and how that works?
00:33:30
Speaker
So the balloon lady notifications are set up pretty similar to the race notifications. We have those on Telegram, um Discord, and all the other platforms there. It works very similar in that you get the push notifications, but the way that it works is it pulls the information directly from the runner tracking. So with the way that they're runner tracking set up, either you have to go in and manually sit there and look at the website and keep refreshing to figure out, okay, where are they? Mile one, they hit the five k yet.
00:33:59
Speaker
This will actually watch to see when they hit mile points and when they hit the split points according to what's on the runner tracking so that you don't have to be looking at your phone, looking over your shoulder. You can just focus on what's ahead of you and then just get the little alert on your, hopefully on your watch to let you know where they are.
00:34:14
Speaker
That's awesome. Where'd that come from? Like, was that your idea? Did someone say, hey, can you figure this out for me? Cause I'm freaking out. Like, where'd that come from? It actually started, they used to have in the runner tracking, you used to be able to get text messages and Twitter notifications that could be sent out. and Somebody used the Twitter notifications to create a tracker account that would just automatically send the split updates. yeah And so Run Disney stopped using that those features. um So I decided to try and see if I could kind of recreate it um using the same method that I do for the race alerts. yeah
00:34:49
Speaker
And eventually I was just able to kind of tweak it using the information they had there to just kind of send it out to people and be like, hey, here you go. Here's where they are. Do you have the ability, and if you have if this is inside information you don't want to share, then just say so, but do you have the ability to see like how many people are subscribed to
Balloon Lady Notifications and Tools
00:35:05
Speaker
that? like like is it ah like Is everybody freaking out as much as we are, or or is it or is it not? right like like Any idea on number usage or not really? I can tell you, i think the last time I looked, the balloon lady one jumped up a lot during Princess on Telegram. yeah um I want to say that may have passed over 7,000 people. Wow. Okay. Yeah. I believe just on that one alone. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah
00:35:31
Speaker
But I mean, then there's people that are sitting at home and they just want to so be like, Hey, where are they right now? Just, uh, I'm safe, but they're okay. I don't want to know where they are at any time. yeah i don't want to be sitting at home thinking about the balloon ladies. in No way.
00:35:43
Speaker
Anything else about that? That would be helpful to know, um, about the balloon lady tracker. I think it's an amazing tool that you provided, but anything else about that we need to know. No, I mean, it's pretty straightforward. It you know just tells you everything as to where they are. And hopefully that way it keeps you moving and keeps you away from them. Yeah. What I love is that your tools are so simple. So like we're asking you these questions. And really, this is more of an awareness thing than a how because they're so simple, right? Easy to figure out. We tell people how to register and it takes us an hour to tell them how to register. know mean? Your tools are so simple that it's just like we our friends really just need to know they exist, that they're just that good. Yeah. I do. I know Erica said before we let you go, but i have one more thing and that is that people can tag and submit their race photos, right? To be shared on the team run Diz accounts, like the social accounts, Facebook, Instagram, whatever. Can you tell us the story behind like where that idea came from and and why do y'all do that?
00:36:32
Speaker
That came from the early days of our Facebook group. um When we first started the group, we had a couple of admins that were in there. And one of them, Catherine, came up with the idea of having an Instagram account where we could share everybody's race experiences so that, you know, those of us that weren't running the races could follow along and we could see their experience. And as our following kind of grew,
00:36:54
Speaker
It was like, well, hey, everybody share your experiences and we'll share them with other people so that that way, you know, if you're not running a race weekend, you could still be cheering along for everybody and you can see what they're doing and kind of get that motivation and inspiration to sign up for the next race weekend and get to experience it for yourself. Yeah, that's awesome. Anything we need to know about that? like Obviously, we you um when you post it, my understanding, you you include the hashtag Team Run Diz, right? like Is there anything else that we need to know about about that like ah at all?
00:37:23
Speaker
People are welcome to tag in stories and reels, anything they want. We're constantly going through and looking, sharing every day, year rounds. ah We love seeing anything there is, training. race experiences, any experiences. And we just kind of freestyle it and put it out there as the mood strikes. awesome It feels genuine, which I really like. You know what i mean? it It doesn't feel self-serving for anything. Like it just feels like what you said, like, hey, this person just did this. Let's, you know, how about that? You know, like, which is pretty cool. So thank you for doing those. Those are awesome.
00:37:56
Speaker
Absolutely. We love sharing people's experiences there. Yeah. Thank you for joining us, Matt, on the podcast. It was truly an honor for us to get to chat through all this stuff and really bring an awareness to the tools you you provided. Like it's so great that you do it. and We know it takes a lot of work and a lot of effort and a lot of upkeep and all that stuff. And we're just, we're so grateful that you, you literally have done that. Is there team run? Is, is the, is the name, right? Like on all the things, right? Like if, if we search team run, is.com on Facebook, we search on Facebook, Instagram, all the things that's where we're going find it. Right.
00:38:27
Speaker
All the things, yes. And then from there, you can go and you can find any of the alerts that we've been talking about and all the other different things that we have. You can find it one location there. That's awesome. Anything we missed that you want to talk about? Anything at all? Open mic time, I guess. No, that's all. Thank you guys so much. Man, it was awesome having you. Thank you so much.
00:38:49
Speaker
And that was awesome. It was so great to have Matt on. And we're just really grateful for Team Rundiz. They helped us secure a spot for the Disneyland half marathon a couple years back. We would ah we would not have had our coast to coast challenge medals. They would not be sitting on this wall yeah if it weren't for Matt. Yeah. Also, uh, my marathon spot, I think, uh, your goofy registration. I was able to get one, but you were not. Yep. I was that terrible registration day. We just, yeah where the site wasn't working and all that. Yeah. And a couple months later, I got you in yeah because of, of the telegram alerts. Yep. So it's awesome. Yeah, we're super grateful. Thank you. That's a resource. Thank you for providing that. And take advantage of it. I mean, they're it's a free resource. Yeah. you know like Totally. if you're If you're feeling kind of down in the dumps about not getting marathon, it's not guaranteed, right? Right. But it is an option. yeah know it's It's your next best option. Yeah. um Again, that website is teamrundiz.com. That points to everything. Make sure you join their Facebook group too for lots of inspiration. And you can ask questions and see questions and all that stuff in there too.
00:39:54
Speaker
Yeah.
00:39:57
Speaker
right, Erica, this is so exciting because I got into editing on this episode after our conversation with Matt, yeah which was super
Exploring Charity Runs
00:40:03
Speaker
awesome. And we talked to charities and running with a charity. But as I was editing this episode and I was doing his interview, I realize i realized that um we really need to dive deeper into running with a charity. And you and I don't have personal experience with it. And lots of people have asked us like, Hey, how do you run with a charity? How do you register? How do you whatever? yeah And you and I just don't know yeah because we've never done it, right? And so I reached back out to Matt after his interview and said, hey, I need some help.
00:40:27
Speaker
yeah You know what I And he said, oh, I know the exact person you need to talk to. you And so he introduced us to a new friend. He connected us with Stephanie. yeah And literally I sent her a message, said, hey, would you be willing to come on the podcast? She said, yes. And she's got so much charity experience that we're about to get like- bombarded with all the things. And so we're super excited to have Stephanie on the podcast. Stephanie Shemansky, we are so excited to have you on the podcast. Thanks for being here, my friend. I'm so excited to be here and excited to talk charities because do have quite a bit of experience with it. So happy to help however I can and answer any questions today and beyond that to help people raise money.
00:41:02
Speaker
Awesome. Thank you so much. So obviously we want to ask you about running with a charity, but first we want to get to know you a little bit. So what is your running or run Disney history? Yeah, I could ah go on forever about this one, but I'll try and keep it concise. So I started running in 2011.
00:41:20
Speaker
I hated running my entire life. I played basketball. So it was always my punishment, which I feel like is is common for people. yeah And then it was just walking through my college campus, saw a free half marathon training.
00:41:32
Speaker
and was like, why not? Let's give it a shot. um I hated my first half marathon, but I was already registered for the 2012 Princess Half Marathon. So I was like, well, I got to do another one. And I also did not enjoy it.
00:41:46
Speaker
um But I had registered for a third one because that's just kind of how I am. Just kind of dive right into things. And so I did the third one. And somewhere along the lines, I decided to embrace it. And it's just kind of who I am now. So I've been running Disney since 2012 and I've done 10 dopies now.
00:42:07
Speaker
um I've done coast to coast a few times, Tinkerbell, Star Wars, all the ones that we we miss. So kind of have an extensive knowledge when it comes to run Disney as well. um But yeah, it's always going to have a special place in my heart for sure. But you also run other stuff, right? Like, I mean, this is not just a run Disney obsession, right? Like you're a runner. I'm four marathons deep now into the majors. So I just need ah Tokyo and I'll do Berlin in September. oh that's so cool. So after after berlin Berlin, just Tokyo for the official world marathon majors and then obviously Sydney, but who knows if I'll get there. But yeah, it's a ah kind of an all over the place, all distances kind of obsession at this point.
00:42:48
Speaker
That's awesome. And i don't know if you know this, Erica, but she's fast. Yeah, I'm assuming, yes. Uh, we're so excited to have you on here. How many of that, like, you know, obviously I'm sure some of it's charity, some of it's not right. Like what's the, how much charity experience do you have?
00:43:03
Speaker
So I've raised over $35,000, since 2013, um, charities. since two thousand thirteen awesome were over fifteen different charities That is so cool.
00:43:13
Speaker
That is awesome. And is most of that with run Disney or is it any of that outside of run Disney? what What's it? Most of it is. So the the first marathon that um or the first race that I raised money for was New York City Marathon. I decided, well, you know, let's just start at the top.
00:43:29
Speaker
um And so that was the first one at the time. That was 2013. And yeah, I've done Boston. I've raised money for that one was the most. um But mostly run Disney is where my charity experience comes from.
00:43:43
Speaker
Perfect. um So before we go on and and dive into charity stuff, we ask everyone that has um it has experience running down Main Street, we ask them this question, every guest on the podcast. And so if you've if you've heard our podcast, you know Erica and I are split on this. So I i prefer a finisher medal over Main Street. She prefers running Main Street. rather I mean, we love both, right? like Let's just be clear. We'd like both. Right. If you had to choose, that's our question to you is if you had to choose on a Disney half marathon between the metal or main street, which one would you choose?
00:44:14
Speaker
My immediate instinct was metal. Um, but I'm a core memory kind of person and there's nothing like main street. And I love marathon weekend main street, just seeing that Christmas tree. There is nothing like, and then you get past the tree and the people are screaming i I don't usually pull out my phone during races, but I have a video actually from this year's Dopey just running down Main Street because it's unreal. So it has to be Main Street. I respect that, but i'm I'm trying to gather people on my team. And so earlier and earlier in the episode, matt Matt is on my team. So it's it's all good. we're this We walk away and even wash on this one. Yes, yes, yes.
00:44:54
Speaker
um So your furt you mentioned when you're first, it was New York, right? That one's kind of obvious that the why behind that one is probably because getting into New York is impossible. Whenever you ran your first run to Disney Universe, why was that?
00:45:06
Speaker
for Like when you did the charity, why was that? Why did you do charity? I think after running new York, I was just hooked. I just saw the... the experience as a whole um and how much more meaningful it meant to cross the finish line with a charity on the front of your shirt.
00:45:22
Speaker
I mean, crossing a finish line is amazing no matter what, but when you've done it for ah a greater cause and a bigger purpose, it means a lot more. So I think Just I got hooked. um Quite honestly, it's challenging and its it's frustrating at times and it's stressful and it adds on to already hectic race training, but there's just nothing like it. And so I kind of after that first marathon that I ran, I was like, I i need to keep doing this just to kind of satisfy that feeling that it's just like that runner's high, but even better. Yeah.
00:45:54
Speaker
Wow.
The Impact of Charity on Running Experience
00:45:55
Speaker
That's awesome. That's awesome. Can we transition to the how, right? Like that's kind of the why, like, what are some important things we need to know if we're going to sign up and run on behalf of a charity? What do we need to know? There are so many great resources out there and so many people that are willing to help um you figure it out. So you're not you're never going to be on your own, whether it's from the charity directly. Most of them will give you some kind of material that will give you ideas on how to fundraise or tell you about the mission statement of the charity and their why and their purpose. um Being able to tell a story and and connect your personal why on why you run
00:46:30
Speaker
to why you want to run for this charity is going to help kind of gain that engagement with people and make you feel more passionate about it rather than like, I just wanted to run this race. And so I, you know, signed up with this charity and they they're giving me a bib, like having that like true connection where you feel driven.
00:46:47
Speaker
to raise money, it's going to help not only motivate you to raise the money, but also to continue continue training hard in your running. It's kind of a win-win scenario where it's going to draw you in and want you to raise the money, but also run well.
00:47:02
Speaker
Any advice for that person that they're looking at a charity because they couldn't get in? Their their why is not strong yet, and it probably will be once they've done it, right? But they're just looking for a bib. Any advice for that person that's kind of coming out it out of a necessity?
00:47:16
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, and there's going to be those times where you are you just want to run that race so bad that it you're going to sign up with anyone. And there's nothing wrong with that because at the end of the day, you're still raising money for the charity.
00:47:27
Speaker
The great thing with Disney is there are so many opportunities and so many charities that – Whatever one you choose, they're all great. And so you're going to be able to find that connection and that that why regardless. it It just might take a little bit more research like, oh, wait, I didn't even realize that they did this. I didn't even realize that by raising X amount, it's going to help fund this.
00:47:49
Speaker
So somewhere along the lines, the more you dive into it, you're going to find you're going to find a reason and a purpose. Awesome. That's so good. um A lot of people are really nervous about the fundraising requirements. Do you have any insight on how they can overcome that fear or insecurity?
00:48:03
Speaker
I kind of changed them flip the mindset on it, right? Because at the end of the day, my insecurity and my fear means nothing compared to what the people I'm raising money for are going through. I get to raise money. but um I'm scared to raise the money. I'm scared to go to the start line. I'm scared to do all these things. But That's a choice. That's something that I'm using to do.
00:48:22
Speaker
And the people that you're helping support, they don't have that choice. They're scared too. And and so realizing that it's bigger than yourself, um at the end of the day, all you have to do is raise money and ask people to make donations.
00:48:36
Speaker
And you're helping other people. love it. That's awesome. Another thing people seem really nervous about is like the, how everything connects to run Disney, right? Like the literal logistics of how do I get my, my registration? I can't see it. You know what i mean? Or how do I get my check-in pass? How do I sign my waiver? All that stuff. Any, any insight on that you can tell us on how that works. And it might be different for each charity, but like, can you tell us how that works?
00:48:59
Speaker
Yeah. So I think technology has definitely helped a lot here um because I remember it being a lot more stressful. And now you go through the same registration page and and process that you would registering for any Disney race. You'll get an email um with the link to register. And it's the same exact process and website. um You're just, you know, some some of the charities do cover your registration fee and others don't. So that's really the only difference.
00:49:25
Speaker
But everything else, I mean, you're going through the same exact steps that you would if you were just registering on registration day. Can you clarify for me what you mean by some, reg you know, some charities cover your registration fee? What does that mean?
00:49:37
Speaker
It'll really vary by charity. So for example, I just raced Dopey this year for charity and my my fundraising minimum was $1,400. I did not have to pay for my bib.
00:49:49
Speaker
um some ah So there's there's different processes here. Some of them, you just have to raise the minimum. Other ones, you have to make a donation and then that's how much you have to pay for your bib. So you yourself make a donation and that's the the the bib price.
00:50:04
Speaker
Other ones, you do have to raise a minimum and you also um do have to pay for your full amount for your bib. So that's just something to also look into. Each of these charities will have like either a website or a Facebook or something that, you know, you can message the person and clarify what what their standard is, but it does vary by charity. Awesome. What is it like at the race when you're part of a charity team? Is there anything special or unique about the experience?
00:50:30
Speaker
Yeah. So again, this is something that um is also going to vary by charity, but some of them will do a like a pasta dinner the night before your race or the night before the race, the races begin.
00:50:42
Speaker
So they'll bring out, you know, the characters and Nikki or Minnie or whoever will be there. And it's just kind of a way to connect with the charity and meet other people that also raise money for the charity for that race.
00:50:53
Speaker
um So those are a lot of fun. Some of them, they, you know, you give you, you get your shirt and you race in your shirt and it just helps the camaraderie during the race. They'll have spectators along the course and they'll see you and they'll they'll start screaming for you or you'll see, you know, a fellow fundraiser on the course.
00:51:09
Speaker
um And it's it's a great way to connect. So it does. I'm a solo runner for the most part. I don't train with anybody. i don't. run with anybody. I don't race with anybody. So it's kind of a way for, you know, to have those hands on your back and have that support without necessarily running with someone else. yeah That's because no one can keep up with her. That's, yeah um, is there, is there like, uh, we'll be spectating, right? So we'll be standing there and then we'll see like a chair, a group of charity. Like they'll have like a flag and their cowbells and whatever. Like, can you clue us in on like, what is happening there? Right. Like on the, on the sidelines of the race.
00:51:45
Speaker
I think Kelsey's is probably the one everyone's thinking of in team and training are, um, two of the ones that I see at every race and they, I mean, obviously they're cheering for everybody, yeah but when they see somebody, you know, that has their shirt on, they're going to scream louder. And again, it's just another way to kind of, to get out, get out of your head and, and out of the race and the mindset of, I don't, I don't want to do this. This is hard. I'm you know running for X amount of miles.
00:52:09
Speaker
their support from charity to charity throughout the course is, is another great way to, to get really get into the race. And again, just feel like you have that support team without necessarily running next to somebody. Yeah. Perfect. How would you compare the charity experience at run Disney versus the charity experience? I'm talking at the race, right? Charity experience with run Disney versus non run Disney events. Is it pretty much the same? Is it what is one more hyper or or meaningful or whatever than the other?
00:52:36
Speaker
I feel like the run Disney community in general, um, is pretty tight knit compared to other races. Um, you kind of just see the same faces, get to know this, the same people, whether it's through seeing them in the corrals or at the races or meeting them on Facebook.
00:52:52
Speaker
Um, the run Disney community in general is just different. So it does feel different racing for a charity, ah but Disney. Awesome. Erica, do you have any other questions?
00:53:02
Speaker
No, I'm just like, we need to this now. kind of, yeah. You know, what's funny, Stephanie, is we just spectated for the first time. We've done, Erica just crossed her 20th run Disney finish line, right? And we do a bunch of other races too, but like we just spectated this year for the first time and now we're hooked. mean? We're like, if we're not running, but we're there, we're spectating. You know, now I feel little bit. I'm like, need to do a charity. Now I kind of feel like I need to run for charity too. You know, so thank you for. It's true. It's truly life-changing. Like I said, mean, crossing the finish line with a charity on, on your chest is it's like I said, it's bigger than yourself and it we makes the miles a lot more meaningful. Well, I appreciate you giving us the confidence too, because of kind of what, you know, going back five minutes ago whatever, talking about like you're doing like, yes, fundraising seems hard, but it's not hard in comparison to what the person you're fundraising for is dealing with. So thank you for that perspective. That was the most meaningful thing I got out of this whole thing. So thank you for that.
00:53:55
Speaker
Totally. um Anything we missed? Anything we missed that you want to share, talk about, ask? like Anything at all that you... It's open mic, I guess, if you if you want it. I would just say have fun with it. Like I said, it gets stressful and it's frustrating and you're like, why aren't people donating? and And, you know, like I had this great idea, you know, be vulnerable, let people see that, you know, this is hard. This is hard for you. This isn't easy.
00:54:16
Speaker
um And don't necessarily bombard people. Let it be organic um and, you know, be genuine and post about it. um And it'll happen. It'll come and it'll feel amazing to reach it all.
00:54:28
Speaker
Awesome. Where can our friends find you online? um Because we'd love to follow, you know especially like if you're running for charity and you're posting about it and wherever, we'd love to watch that process and learn more from you. Where can our friends find you?
00:54:39
Speaker
Yeah, I'm on Instagram at Steph Shim. It's S-T-E-F-S-H-I-M. Awesome. Thank you so much for joining us today. We really appreciate you helping us out. And this is going to mean a lot to our friends. So thank you very much.
00:54:50
Speaker
Thank you. I appreciate it.
00:54:55
Speaker
These conversations with Matt and Stephanie have been so helpful. oh yeah Hopefully this helps some of our listeners possibly secure a spot in an upcoming race. Yeah. I'm hoping that, or at least the goal for today was that like, if you're bummed out about registration yeah yesterday, yeah Didn't get what you wanted. Maybe you got one thing, but not all the things, or you just didn't get anything you wanted because registration didn't fall in your favor. yeah I'm hoping this was helpful, right? Because we've gotten in through the tools that Team RunDiz and Matt, you know, they developed. and We've not run a charity, but I've got to be honest with Kind of inspired to do that now. Yeah. i Really? Yeah. You know, so. Absolutely.
00:55:31
Speaker
So consider that, right? Like if you don't want to wait on the telegram notifications and all that, you just want to lock it in yeah and do it with, you know with meaning, right? Put some purpose behind it. Yeah. Consider, consider that. So whichever route you choose, hopefully it was helpful. Hopefully you're not quite as stressed out as you were, right you know, yesterday and and all that.
00:55:48
Speaker
Hopefully you're feeling inspired with, ah with these options. So. Thank you all for joining us for this episode of the podcast. We're so glad that you guys joined us today. Hopefully these resources that Matt has created at Team Run Diz are helpful. Hopefully you can take advantage of that. If you don't mind, please leave us a review on the podcast. That really helps people find the show. yeah You can always follow us on social media. Instagram is where we're the most active and we'd love to engage with you there.
00:56:11
Speaker
Thank you all for joining us today. This was great. And we'll catch you next week for another episode of One More Run.
00:56:22
Speaker
Thanks for joining us for this episode of One More Run, the podcast. If you like what we're up to, be sure to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and follow us on Instagram. You can find links to all of that at AJandErica.com.