Disneyland Half Marathon 2024

[sandam1]

So I have a rental car booked but I’m trying to decide if I need it? I’m flying into LAX so I feel like it’ll be easier to go to the expo straight from there and the to my hotel (which seems to be a long walk to DLH). But I guess I could just Lyft both places? When I leave I have a super late flight so I was just going to park at Toy Story and leave from there instead of having to get back to my hotel collect my bag and the get a Lyft. Am I overthink ling this? How bad is it really driving around? I’m from Long Island so I’m no stranger to traffic and crowded roads.

Personally, we are only using Uber/Lyft to get around. We are staying at the Clementine.

I figure that the cost of the rides to and from the airport (we are flying into Burbank and out of Long Beach) equals about the rental car price. Then any rides that we wind up doing to/from DL or the Expo equals the parking either at the hotel or at DL (have you seen what they charge there?). Plus I don't have to worry about paying for gas or returning a rental car. I figure that we will walk most places (I'm still trying to process how close everything is), but always have the option of ride share.

 

[jmasgat]

Thanks for the replies on this! I'm staying at the Candlewood Suites, which seems perfect for the races, but maybe not so perfect for the parks and Expo in particular.

All this talk about quick starts is getting me super worried about the half. My last long run was terrific in terms of pace, but I feel like with being at DW the week before and flying cross country on Friday I'm not going to be at my best. It's sounding like I won't have time for characters and even a bathroom stop might not be practical.

I tell you these Disneyland races are giving me so much stress I'm this close to canceling the whole thing. I've kind of been regretting it ever since I booked it and all these last minute details just might kill me. I'm so looking forward to arriving at Pop and being at DW in two weeks and all I feel about DL is dread. Ugh...

Also at the Candlewood Suites. I will say that I have stayed in that area before for a race weekend (at the old Residence Inn, now Clementine) and it never really bothered me distance-wise./walking.

As for stress/motivation/etc, I hear you. I'm on the fence about going. I'm only there for the 10k, and have no doubts about the race. But I am still recovering from a herniated cervical disc and will likely do no running before then (since prior to Thanksgiving). It seems like a long way to go for a weekend.

I'm not even going to think about it til after Christmas.

 

[RunWI1265]

Suspected but now confirmed that Magic Happens won’t be back in time for race weekend.

 

[AZMermaid]

As far as the races, I have this gut feeling that rD west is making this up as they go along. A lot of decisions seem very last-minute and are questionable (at best).

All of that being said, I'm trying to go into this with an open mind. I expect that there will be some bumps in the road. I'm hoping that they aren't catastrophic, but I'm planning on being completely self-supported for the runs and leave PLENTY of extra time (and patience) for the race mornings. My motto is "well, let's see what happens" and I'm trying not to pre-judge anything. I'm hoping that I will feel that Disney magic when I get there and be saying "I can't wait to come back next year" when I leave. And worst comes to worst, I've been on vacation for a week, got to meet up with some old friends and make some new ones, and have crazy stories to tell.

i agree! I think the more we expect that it might be messy the more room there is to be pleasantly surprised. I realize it’s not fun to think this is going to be a hot mess…. But it might be!

 

[LorrieAnn5]

If this is your first half, then yes, you've never run this much. This is why we train--to be ready. Sounds like your training has gone pretty well, and if you finish it off, you will be ready to go the distance (pardon the Hercules pun). So don't let fear keep you from trying.

That said, there is no one (other than you) that can decide how to complete the race. You get to set the expectations for what you want out of the race. If "running a half marathon" is one of those, then fine. Give it your best shot-- you won't know if you don't try. If "completing the distance any way I can" is one, and so you decide to run/walk, that's fine too.

As for recovery--racing can be/is hard, and it will take time for your body to recover. Doesn't mean it's bad, just means you put out a strong effort.

Good use of the Hercules pun!!!
I'm not one to think that RWR doesn't count as "running". I've only ever done a virtual half marathon during the pandemic. I'm not really afraid of the distance per se.....My goal is to cross the finish line as quickly as I personally can, and hopefully not feeling like complete crud when I get there.....What's making me nervous and second guessing everything is that I always hear "nothing new on race day"....well, I've never run with this many people so that'll be new! I'm afraid with so many people, plus going through the (narrow) parks, it's going to be so dense that I won't have the option to run my own pace. And now the math from DopeyBadger suggests that they have never started this many people so quickly before!!! It's just a lot and we've all worked hard for months so I'm feeling the pressure.
I know can do it....I just might not be too excited to text my family back home to tell them about it.
Am I reaching for the stars with short arms here?!?

 

[Naomeri]

Good use of the Hercules pun!!!
I'm not one to think that RWR doesn't count as "running". I've only ever done a virtual half marathon during the pandemic. I'm not really afraid of the distance per se.....My goal is to cross the finish line as quickly as I personally can, and hopefully not feeling like complete crud when I get there.....What's making me nervous and second guessing everything is that I always hear "nothing new on race day"....well, I've never run with this many people so that'll be new! I'm afraid with so many people, plus going through the (narrow) parks, it's going to be so dense that I won't have the option to run my own pace. And now the math from DopeyBadger suggests that they have never started this many people so quickly before!!! It's just a lot and we've all worked hard for months so I'm feeling the pressure.
I know can do it....I just might not be too excited to text my family back home to tell them about it.
Am I reaching for the stars with short arms here?!?

There will absolutely be places that you can’t run your own pace in the parks, so I would consider just planning to go slower there so you can take in the atmosphere and awesomeness of running through a Disney park. Once we get out on the streets, everything will open up, and your legs will be warmed up from the slower park mileage, so you can really let go and run how you want.

As far as never running with this many people, just ignore that. You really won’t even notice that there’s thousands of people in the race, because they spread out and you just have to worry about the few dozen people around you at any given time.

 

[Novatrix]

So I have a rental car booked but I’m trying to decide if I need it? I’m flying into LAX so I feel like it’ll be easier to go to the expo straight from there and the to my hotel (which seems to be a long walk to DLH). But I guess I could just Lyft both places? When I leave I have a super late flight so I was just going to park at Toy Story and leave from there instead of having to get back to my hotel collect my bag and the get a Lyft. Am I overthink ling this? How bad is it really driving around? I’m from Long Island so I’m no stranger to traffic and crowded roads.

Wanted to chime in as a fellow NYC area driver. Honestly, I think the stories surrounding LA traffic being bad are overblown. Yes, the 8 lane highways are large and crowded, and it can be a bit tricky when you have a right hand on ramp and then need to get across for a left-hand exit, but traffic is significantly slower and less aggressive than you'll be used to. I encountered multiple Californian's doing the speed limit in the left-hand lane in the middle of the night on their major highways! 80 mph is for the MIDDLE lane on the NJ turnpike.

Personally, I'm booking a rental car for flexibility, since it's only $100 more than the total for roundtrip with uber. However, my hotels for the week have parking included and I have a discounted booking rate through work, so YMMV.

 

[Marebear_runs]

So I have a rental car booked but I’m trying to decide if I need it? I’m flying into LAX so I feel like it’ll be easier to go to the expo straight from there and the to my hotel (which seems to be a long walk to DLH). But I guess I could just Lyft both places? When I leave I have a super late flight so I was just going to park at Toy Story and leave from there instead of having to get back to my hotel collect my bag and the get a Lyft. Am I overthink ling this? How bad is it really driving around? I’m from Long Island so I’m no stranger to traffic and crowded roads.

LAX is almost always a nightmare, but if you have a rental car, you’ll need to take a shuttle. The up side of that is that you’ll miss the worst of the LAX traffic. Getting out of the airport area will depend on where your rental car company is located—some are farther out than others.

LA traffic is really more of an issue because you’re crawling or sitting still. So for me at least, it’s more frustrating than stressful. It definitely depends on time of day though. Driving in Anaheim is easy.

The Uber/Lyft lot at LAX may also require a shuttle, depending on your terminal. I have only ever used it from Terminal 1, and it’s an easy walk from there.

 

[EmilyIrene]

Hello! I am new to the disboards, I am so excited to be running in the 5k in January. It’s my first runDisney event as well as my first organized run of any kind so I am a definite newbie. I have a question I’ve tried to search the forum for answers and I can’t find… I am staying at Tropicana and I am wondering if the dashed line on the 5k route along Harbor means there is a way to cross the route to get to the park entrance? To me the guide is unclear it didn’t give much information on where to gather, just mentions parking in Mickey and Friends to be taken to the gathering area but it doesn’t really specify where that is either. Is anyone able to explain this part for me? Will we need to Uber over to the other side of the park to enter from the parking garage? Or is the Harbor side going to be accessible despite crossing the route? So sorry this is probably a silly question. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[nekonekoneko]

I am wondering if the dashed line on the 5k route along Harbor means there is a way to cross the route to get to the park entrance?

From what the Disneyland rD people have said, the dashed line is a Cast Member tunnel which goes under the bus area. So the walkways from the Harbor hotels to Disneyland should be unaffected. The other bit of information is that a lot of the public buses to Disneyland will be running early that morning. The area by the dashed line is the bus depot, so that path would need to be open.

 

[StarGirl11]

Hello! I am new to the disboards, I am so excited to be running in the 5k in January. It’s my first runDisney event as well as my first organized run of any kind so I am a definite newbie. I have a question I’ve tried to search the forum for answers and I can’t find… I am staying at Tropicana and I am wondering if the dashed line on the 5k route along Harbor means there is a way to cross the route to get to the park entrance? To me the guide is unclear it didn’t give much information on where to gather, just mentions parking in Mickey and Friends to be taken to the gathering area but it doesn’t really specify where that is either. Is anyone able to explain this part for me? Will we need to Uber over to the other side of the park to enter from the parking garage? Or is the Harbor side going to be accessible despite crossing the route? So sorry this is probably a silly question. Thank you so much for your help!

From what the Disneyland rD people have said, the dashed line is a Cast Member tunnel which goes under the bus area. So the walkways from the Harbor hotels to Disneyland should be unaffected. The other bit of information is that a lot of the public buses to Disneyland will be running early that morning. The area by the dashed line is the bus depot, so that path would need to be open.

And even then even if we weren't going through the tunnel. When the races cross through high traffic areas where they still need to be able let people through. They have ways to move people in and around. The only kind of things that can't cross a route during a race are vehicles. Usually. Sometimes races have only partial road closures instead of full. Anyway point is people, as long as their safe and follow directions, are fine to cross to get to and from the start area..

 

[StarGirl11]

So I was just looking at the course map again for the half and realized out of the blue something I had missed. We're hitting mile 10 on the Santa Ana Trail. Which doesn't seem like a big deal at first. But here's the thing with the fall races the ones that went through Angels Stadium we always hit mile 10 as we exited the parking lot onto gene autry way. Right at the intersection of it and State College Blvd if I remember right.

Which is the point I started suspecting something but I needed to find the old course maps. And while I couldn't find every year. I was able to find four of them (2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017) and they all are consistent on saying the same thing.

We used to enter the parks around mile 1 and exits the parks around mile 4 for the half. But this year? This year were exiting at mile 5. Meaning were actually getting more park mileage this year than we have in the past when it comes to this race weekend.

 

[thndrmatt]

We used to enter the parks around mile 1 and exits the parks around mile 4 for the half. But this year? This year were exiting at mile 5. Meaning were actually getting more park mileage this year than we have in the past when it comes to this race weekend.

The start line is further away from the parks this time so it takes us longer to get in. They changed the park mileage basically every year because of various kinds of construction (Galaxy's Edge, Cars Land, etc) Looking at my Strava routes which reach back to 2011 the park mileage was:
2017-2.7 (miles 0.7-3.4 or so)
2016-2.4
2015-2.6
2014-1.8
2013-1.8
2012 (no data for some reason)
2011-2.3
In 2024 according to google maps distance measurement we don't enter the parks til 1.75 or so, exiting around 4.75, so you're right, maybe 3.0 total.

We'd probably all rather have the park miles from 10-13.1 anyway if we had the choice, so maybe later entry is better either way.

I'm mourning the 1.25 mile walk to the start from VDH, and the same walk back afterward... and the downgrade from screaming fans inside Angels Stadium to tour de both Pond and Stadium parking lots...

 

[AJruns]

Kids registration/expo question- I thought I had seen this asked before but none of the keywords I used pulled anything up, so here’s what I’d love confirmation on: I registered my friend’s kid for the kids race, but we are going to the expo separately. Can my friend, the child’s mother, pick up her kid’s race bib? Or do I need to write rD to have her daughter’s registration profile transferred to her first? Thanks!

 

[AZMermaid]

I’m cancelling Oga’s for Sunday 1/14 at 2:30 for 4 people. Does anyone want to coordinate to try to grab it?

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Reading all the concerns about how slow the start of the races may be reminds me that exactly is often the case for Disneyland races. There were years in which I wanted to run much faster than the crowd of humanity would safely allow for.

So two reminders. Number one, pack your patience. Number two is for those worried about being swept. You will receive plenty of warnings if you are even remotely close to being swept. A race official will not suddenly come up to you and sweep you. Nor will your race suddenly end in a sweep without you knowing that it's coming.

They will warn you where you are in relation to the sweep with about 1-2 minutes if running and 5-10 minutes if you're in line for a photo. I spent this year's Walt Disney World Half Marathon 2-3 minutes ahead of the sweep through the Magic Kingdom and heard plenty of warnings about where I was in relation to the next sweep, including in 2-3 character photo lines I got in knowing where I was in relation to the sweep.

 

[nekonekoneko]

First look at the weekend merch

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...disneyland-half-marathon-weekend-event-merch/

 

[sandam1]

So two reminders. Number one, pack your patience. Number two is for those worried about being swept. You will receive plenty of warnings if you are even remotely close to being swept. A race official will not suddenly come up to you and sweep you. Nor will your race suddenly end in a sweep without you knowing that it's coming.

Back when I did my first 10K (Princess 2020) at Disney, I had a frustrating experience with the sweepers and not having any space to run.

I was in physical therapy at the time and my PT wanted me to take the start pretty slow and get properly warmed up. By mile 2ish, I was near the balloon ladies. The runDisney bikers kept telling the crowd that they were in danger of being swept (so yes, they will tell you this information repeatedly), but there was literally nowhere to run. I had plenty of energy and wanted to GO at that point, but it was a wall of people. It was so incredibly frustrating! I finished the race (IIRC it opened up a bit at the end), but it made those highway miles to the Magic Kingdom the next day like a dream come true. Sadly, I suspect that DL is going to be the same scenario. The good news that - knock wood - for both races I can take the first 1.5 miles that are outside of the park fast-ish and then plan for the slow down as we enter the parks.

 

[sandam1]

First look at the weekend merch

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...disneyland-half-marathon-weekend-event-merch/

OMG, I want at least one of those jackets!!!

 

[fatmanatee]

I don't recall my previous ventures in DL being that bad as far as the start goes but I had only done the 10k and half. The 5k is going to be very interesting!