Does runDisney refund if you’re injured?
You’re wondering if you can get a refund from runDisney if you’re injured. It’s a common question on social media since you have to sign up so far in advance for runDisney races and you don’t anticipate being injured when the race comes up. Keep reading to learn about runDisney’s refund policy and the steps to take.
RunDisney’s refund policy
runDisney’s official refund policy is no refunds. On their website in the FAQ section they indicate that race entries are non-refundable and non-transferrable.
What others says
If you go searching in some of the Facebook groups for runDisney, (note these are not official runDisney groups) you will see that on a rare occasion someone was able to get at least a partial refund. It seems this typically goes back to a gift card.
How do you get a refund?
Based on information I’ve seen in groups it looks like it’s luck of the draw. When you sign up for a runDisney race you do have to check a box stating you understand this is a non-refundable race, but sometimes, under special circumstances it seems you could get lucky. But, really it seems like it’s luck.
What to do:
So if you’re in the unfortunate situation that you’re injured and looking at potentially bowing out and losing all that registration money take a look at these steps and see if they’d work for your situation.
I will note: these steps are particular to someone who doesn’t have a broken bone or had surgery. If you’re in the category that 80% those with running injuries are in, and don’t have one of those types, or similar injuries, then keep reading.
Walk the race
runDisney races are notably walker friendly. The majority of runDisney racers do a combination of run walk to complete the race, and if you’re a fast walker you could walk the race. I know some of my clients have done this in the past. You just have to make sure you’re keeping ahead of the sweepers and the unofficial pace keepers, The Balloon Ladies. I’ve seen racers wearing those walking boots doing the half marathon, and I’m sure other races, I just didn’t see.
Go back to the training beginning
If you’re injured and have some time, ie: the race is more than a few weeks away, tone down your training.
80% of running injuries are caused by overtraining, doing too much too soon.
What’s the last distance you could run without the pain? Go back to that distance and start from there and follow 10PEFT (more on that in a second).
At some point in your training you did more than your body could handle and something had to give… and that’s where injury creeps in. So there is probably a distance that is more comfortable for you, go back to that distance. If you can’t think of a distance that’s comfortable you can go all the way back to the beginning and start at 1 mile or less and jumpstart your training all over again.
10% rule… and then some
I mentioned above 10PEFT. If you’re new to me you probably haven’t heard of this. It’s my take on the 10% rule. The 10% rule is the rule to follow to not get injured, 10PEFT is the rule to follow if you’re already injured.
The 10% states to not run more than 10% more each week in distance (or pace) and when you follow this rule you won’t get injured.
But, if you’re already injured you do need to go a step beyond. That’s 10PEFT. It stands for 10%, Every Fifth [week] Taper.
This is how I organize my client’s training plans so they continue to increase their mileage, but they take a little out every 5 weeks so their body adjusts to the new training load. The way I work it out you continue to progress slowly over time.
It’s like when you have a glass of water and you’re adding more water to it. You can only add so much before the water overflows. Just like when you’re training with an injury, you can only train so much before your body overflows and gets injured again. So in order to keep adding more water you need to take some water out and then you add some more. Same with your training, every once in a while you take a little distance off so you can add more distance later.
Work on Cross Training
While you’re healing work on cross training. This is any type of cardio activity that isn’t running (or walking if you’re doing run walk method).
This could be swimming, elliptical, riding a bike outside, spin class, ice skating, etc. Something that can get your heart pumping to improve your endurance.
By doing cross training you can improve your endurance while not aggravating your injury. The key is to keep your heart rate up as if you were running, this way your body gets used to extended time doing activities so when you’re ready to go back out for a run your heart and lungs can handle it, and your muscles because they’ve also been working, just in a different way than running.
Shoes & Equipment
You may be thinking you can just buy some new shoes and be good as new. Shoes are definitely important, don’t get me wrong. But, shoes didn’t cause your problem so new shoes only won’t fix your problem.
So if you’re getting new shoes, definitely make sure they fit you well, and also go back to the beginning in your training.
Strength training
Strength exercises are important in your overall fitness, but when done incorrectly you can make your injury worse, and when done correctly but not for adequate time you won’t see any results.
Strength training takes 12+ weeks to notice a difference, and if you’re strength training the wrong thing you can make the problem worse.
For example, if you have runner’s knee and you do exercises to strengthen your quads you can actually make runner’s knee worse because runner’s knee is caused by an overuse of those muscles.
So by doing more exercises for your quads, like squats and lunges, you’re actually adding more stress and work to your quads, which keep them injured.
Working with a professional to know which exercises you should be doing so you can facilitate healing is important.
Rest & recovery
You may be thinking you just need more rest and that’ll heal your injury. I beg you, don’t rest more than 2 weeks if you don’t have a broken bone or haven’t had surgery or a major accident. 80% of running injuries are caused by overtraining, doing too much. And when you are on either end of the spectrum: too much or too little you can do more harm than good. A big mistake injured runners make is they rest too much and then pick up where they left off. Not only is this too much rest, it’s also putting you at risk for a worse injury.
When you rest and recover from an injury, if it feels better within 2 weeks that’s normal, so if it’s not feeling better yet in that time frame you need more than just rest. But, also, when it feels better, tone down your training. If you ran 5 miles and your knee pain flared up so you rest for 2 weeks, and you hop back into your running routine which says 6 miles as your next run you’re eventually going to feel the pain again. Instead, go back at least 1 month of training, if not all the way back to the beginning.
And if you’re worried about losing fitness, no worries, I gotchu. In the meantime do some cross training that isn’t painful so you can keep up with your cardiovascular endurance. So if you can’t run 5 or 6 miles like the plan states but you can run 1 mile and you can ride a bike: go out for a 1 mile run and come back and ride your bike for the equivalent time it would take you to run the other 4 or 5 miles, and keep your heart rate up to the same amount it would’ve been if you had ran.
Stretching
Stretching is definitely an important part of an overall balanced plan. Some injuries should be stretched out and that will help the situation, and other injuries should not be stretched out because that makes them worse. Like any kind of tendonitis worsens with too much stretching.
So when you’re choosing stretching to heal your injury make sure to work with a professional to make sure you’re stretching for the right reasons. In general, stretching helps relieve soreness and tightness when done in moderation. But, there are some injuries, like I said, that are made worse with more stretching.
Fueling & Nutrition
Fueling and nutrition can help support your overall training and there are definitely nutrients that can support you on your healing journey. Like, protein and collagen. If you have a muscle or a tendon injury protein and collagen provide the building blocks to repair these injured tissues.
If you have a joint issue like arthritis and have inflammation adding nutrients don’t tend to help, instead taking away certain foods, like sugar and processed foods, help. Again, working with a professional to know what type of injury you have, so you can support your body with the right nutrients is important.
So, although you may not be able to get a refund from runDisney for the race you’re signed up for even though you’re injured, you may still be able to do the race. Of course, listen to your healthcare provider if they say you have an injury that means no running or activity for a certain amount of time, listen. But, if you are one of those people with a common running injury, it’s likely it’s not a rest-for-months type of injury and you may be able to finish this next race of yours.
If this info made sense and you’re looking for more specific help from a coach that helps injured runDisney runners check out the ways we can work together by clicking the button below.
