Marathon Weekend 2020

[Sleepless Knight]

SAFD: Remember Dreams Come True Fireworks Spectacular from Disneyland's 50th Anniversary. For those that didn't see the show, they encapsulated the park history in fireworks and recreated some iconic park attractions both past and present in pyrotechnic form.

I have seen Disney put on some great fireworks shows since then, but they have yet to even equal Remember Dreams Come True in my mind.

I hope it’s because it’s a rendering and we aren’t seeing any cool details like sparkly paint or raised designs. That said - not holding my breath and hoping to be surprised tomorrow and through the rest of the week during the reveals.

I have mixed feelings about the designs. I kind of liked them in the video runDisney posted, but not so much when I see the screencap of the medals themselves something feels off.

As always I'll wait until I see the medals in person because sometimes in person is so much better than a photo.

Definitely in the camp that wants a really nice Goofy medal.

The trick with medals is that it's too easy to come up with what I hope is on the medal and then compare my hope to reality. And as always, I can absolutely love a design and somebody else will dislike that same design for their own reasons.

 

[roxymama]

The great thing about medals is that I always end up liking them much better after I've finished the race. Even ones I liked prior, I end up loving...because of what they symbolize.
Even my dumb little turkey one from W&D 5k a few years back that made no sense...I love that little guy now because he reminds me of that race.

 

[camaker]

I really don’t get what people want to see with the medals? You’re entitled to your opinion, but it’s just constant complaining every time there’s a release. I don’t think there is anything wrong with these. Pluto is cute, and Oswald has got an interesting color scheme going on. A medal is meant to symbolize and acknowledge an accomplishment, and regardless of what it looks like, it holds the same meaning, doesn’t it?

It will be interesting to see what these look like in person, since I didn’t expect just artwork. I’m anxious to see the rest.

I can only speak for myself, but I would like to see a medal design with thought, depth and detail commensurate with RunDisney’s status (if only self-assigned) as a top tier and high $$$ running event. Not to mention Disney as a whole’s reputation for detail. What I don’t expect is a medal that looks cartoony and has less apparent detail than most local low budget races.

Now, it’s entirely possible that these artist renderings do not accuracy display the quality and detail of the medals. I certainly hope that’s the case! But even if it is, it raises the concern as to what RunDisney is smoking putting out something in this format that undersells its product in an attempt to boost demand.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I can only speak for myself, but I would like to see a medal design with thought, depth and detail commensurate with RunDisney’s status (if only self-assigned) as a top tier and high $$$ running event. Not to mention Disney as a whole’s reputation for detail. What I don’t expect is a medal that looks cartoony and has less apparent detail than most local low budget races.

Great point. I ran a local 5K recently that had a better detailed Star Wars medal even though they could not use any characters, et all than the 2017 Rebel Challenge medal that Disney charged a lot of money to earn. People saw the runDisney medal and said "I think that's C-3PO." At that price point, the outline of a character is not enough. One of runDisney's best selling points to justify the higher cost is the medal.

Now that said, the characters are clearly Pluto and Oswald on these medals. Depending on what we see later this week, I'm tentatively thinking that maybe waiting until you have a medal in hand to reveal is better than showing us art of what the final design will look like.

Because medals are the tangible reminder of what the race held on that day, it's natural for us to want medals that we enjoy. While it's impossible to make everyone happy, we can at least hopefully see that they put some thought and effort into the medal design even if in the end we don't like the design.

Now, it’s entirely possible that these artist renderings do not accuracy display the quality and detail of the medals. I certainly hope that’s the case!

Me too. While there have been races where I didn't like the medal, most of the time I think they put some genuine effort into it. Hopefully the rest of the week will be better.

 

[Barca33Runner]

I really don’t get what people want to see with the medals? You’re entitled to your opinion, but it’s just constant complaining every time there’s a release. I don’t think there is anything wrong with these. Pluto is cute, and Oswald has got an interesting color scheme going on. A medal is meant to symbolize and acknowledge an accomplishment, and regardless of what it looks like, it holds the same meaning, doesn’t it?

I'll preface this by saying that I see where you're coming from and don't necessarily disagree.

However, as one of the complainers in this case I can give my perspective. I'd run these races regardless of whether we received medals of any kind; I love the experience and the motivation it gives me to keep a relatively healthy lifestyle. Despite the price of these races I'm under no illusions that Disney passes that premium along to spend more on the medals. I know I'm getting the cheapest hunk of metal with which they can reasonably meet expectations and that all of the medals that I have accumulated (from Disney or any race) hold no real value beyond the sentimental value I ascribe to them. Having said that, many of the rD medals I have manage to achieve a suspension of disbelief for me. They may not actually be anything special, but they certainly look and feel like it in the moment I received them and I get that same feeling when I look back at them. It's just an initial impression, but these ones didn't achieve that suspension of disbelief.

As many others have said, I'm sure they will look better when they are more than just artist renderings. I'm sure I'll be glad to have them after I've run the races.

 

[rteetz]

I really don’t get what people want to see with the medals? You’re entitled to your opinion, but it’s just constant complaining every time there’s a release. I don’t think there is anything wrong with these. Pluto is cute, and Oswald has got an interesting color scheme going on. A medal is meant to symbolize and acknowledge an accomplishment, and regardless of what it looks like, it holds the same meaning, doesn’t it?

It will be interesting to see what these look like in person, since I didn’t expect just artwork. I’m anxious to see the rest.

Totally get what you’re saying but it seems they’ve been less grand or special these last couple race weekends. I love what they are doing with the Paris medals each year and wish they would bring that to the US. For something like Wine and Dine I think they would be better with just some added color. My favorite marathon weekend I’ve done remains 2018. I just hope they don’t screw up Goofy like the Donald 20th.

 

[Skigirlwv]

OK - hate to do it, but I'm going to call LAST CALL for anyone that wants to book our Group Rate at Pop Century for Marathon Weekend ... we have only two rooms left and after that, they're not going to let me have any additional standard rooms at Pop at our contracted rate.

I do still have a few rooms left at Caribbean Beach at our discounted group rate in case anyone is interested!

And for those who have asked, I'm working on Princess and Star Wars race weekends as well but may not get official booking information until next week.

I’m late to the game, but any chance you still have rooms left at Pop?

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Having said that, many of the rD medals I have manage to achieve a suspension of disbelief for me. They may not actually be anything special, but they certainly look and feel like it in the moment I received them and I get that same feeling when I look back at them.

I think this is why medal reveals are always met with complaints when they're revealed. If the particular race weekend in question is special for whatever reason, the runner wants the medal to live up to that hype and energy. It can get magnified if a particular race is going to be a one and done for whatever reason.

I just hope they don’t screw up Goofy like the Donald 20th.

So I just looked the medals up from that year and words fail me. I'm not sure if any of those medals are very good. I really hope that Goofy at least turns out great this year.

 

[rteetz]

So I just looked the medals up from that year and words fail me. I'm not sure if any of those medals are very good. I really hope that Goofy at least turns out great this year.

Oh I love that marathon medal from 2017. It was a great throwback to the one and only Disneyland marathon.

 

[camaker]

So I just looked the medals up from that year and words fail me. I'm not sure if any of those medals are very good. I really hope that Goofy at least turns out great this year.

It's almost like nature agreed and conspired to prevent those medals from seeing the light of day...

Agree with @rteetz on the marathon medal, though, it's a classic throwback and one of my favorites.

 

[dvcterry]

Hello everyone, jumping in as this will be my bucket list 2020 marathon. Second marathon -Marine Corps was the first last year, didn't make it to Disney Princess half bc of flight cancellation last year so looking so forward to this!

 

[merrunner]

I really don’t get what people want to see with the medals? You’re entitled to your opinion, but it’s just constant complaining every time there’s a release. I don’t think there is anything wrong with these. Pluto is cute, and Oswald has got an interesting color scheme going on. A medal is meant to symbolize and acknowledge an accomplishment, and regardless of what it looks like, it holds the same meaning, doesn’t it?

It will be interesting to see what these look like in person, since I didn’t expect just artwork. I’m anxious to see the rest.

I wholeheartedly agree. First, look at any artist's rendering of ANYTHING (a building, a dress, a shoe) and it does not capture the color or 3D nature of the end product. We also still have 4 medals to go, for those doing the half, marathon, Goofy or Dopey.

Second, it's never crossed my mind to truly care about the medal (or even if they have a medal at all - some races are moving towards pint glasses or a box of donuts instead!)...it's always been about the months of training and dedication, process, camaraderie, race day energy, safety and experience of the event - all of which Disney delivers on. In the end, the medal is worn at the park (maybe) and put up or away.

Let's all focus on the positive (there is a lot of positive to focus on) and be excited that we are under 6 months to race weekend!!

 

[baxter24]

SAFD: Happily Ever After is really starting to grow on me but I'm a sucker for Illuminations. I understand that its time for a new show but I'm going to miss it. I was lucky enough to catch it back in December and got a spot right on the bridge between the Uk and France and it was awesome. And add me to the list of those who misses Spectromagic!

Marathon weekend medals: I'm not sure what to think of them yet. There have been a lot of times that I thought I didn't like the shirt or the medals until I saw them in person so I'm going to wait and see.

 

[BikeFan]

I just hope they don’t screw up Goofy like the Donald 20th.

I recognize that I'm very likely in the minority with my opinion, but I appreciate the uniqueness of the Donald 20th medal design. At the very least, the stacked "XX" design was a break from the "variations on circles" theme we usually see with so many other race medals, Disney or non-Disney. My last 50K in April was part of a national series and featured a generic medal which was specific to neither the event nor the distance - only the lanyard varied by event/distance. There's no way Disney can disappoint me as much as that one did!

 

[Professor_Cookie]

I recognize that I'm very likely in the minority with my opinion, but I appreciate the uniqueness of the Donald 20th medal design. At the very least, the stacked "XX" design was a break from the "variations on circles" theme we usually see with so many other race medals, Disney or non-Disney. My last 50K in April was part of a national series and featured a generic medal which was specific to neither the event nor the distance - only the lanyard varied by event/distance. There's no way Disney can disappoint me as much as that one did!

That. Sucks.

 

[camaker]

I recognize that I'm very likely in the minority with my opinion, but I appreciate the uniqueness of the Donald 20th medal design. At the very least, the stacked "XX" design was a break from the "variations on circles" theme we usually see with so many other race medals, Disney or non-Disney. My last 50K in April was part of a national series and featured a generic medal which was specific to neither the event nor the distance - only the lanyard varied by event/distance. There's no way Disney can disappoint me as much as that one did!

I'll go one better on disappointing bling for you. I ran my first 50 miler this year and was looking forward to having something nice to commemorate the accomplishment. In the late stages I was wondering if it was going to be a belt buckle or a medal, either of which would've looked great with the race logo. When I crossed the finish line, I was handed a plain, crude "mug" from a local pottery shop with the race logo stamped carelessly into the unfinished bottom of the vessel! There's nothing on the visible surface of it to indicate that it was in any way associated with a race, much less a 50 miler. Talk about a letdown.

 

[BikeFan]

I'll go one better on disappointing bling for you. I ran my first 50 miler this year and was looking forward to having something nice to commemorate the accomplishment. In the late stages I was wondering if it was going to be a belt buckle or a medal, either of which would've looked great with the race logo. When I crossed the finish line, I was handed a plain, crude "mug" from a local pottery shop with the race logo stamped carelessly into the unfinished bottom of the vessel! There's nothing on the visible surface of it to indicate that it was in any way associated with a race, much less a 50 miler. Talk about a letdown.

Wow! Congrats on your first 50, but too bad on the mug! I'd feel the exact same way.

 

[Barca33Runner]

I'll go one better on disappointing bling for you. I ran my first 50 miler this year and was looking forward to having something nice to commemorate the accomplishment. In the late stages I was wondering if it was going to be a belt buckle or a medal, either of which would've looked great with the race logo. When I crossed the finish line, I was handed a plain, crude "mug" from a local pottery shop with the race logo stamped carelessly into the unfinished bottom of the vessel! There's nothing on the visible surface of it to indicate that it was in any way associated with a race, much less a 50 miler. Talk about a letdown.

Funny thing is, the race organizers probably spent more on the mugs (making an assumption based on buying local from a business that doesn’t specialize in event merch, not quality necessarily) than they would’ve on a decent medal or almost any other type of usual keepsake. May have been good intentions gone wrong.

 

[courtneybeth]

As long as the 2020 WDW Marathon medal is better than the Paris Marathon medal from this year I'll be ecstatic.

 

[steph0808]

For the amount of money we pay (both for the race registrations and for the hotel/tickets/flights to participate in the races), I think we can all have an opinion on the medals.

To be honest, I'm going to wear it and cherish it either way, but I definitely have medal preferences. I definitely prefer my WDW marathon medals over the fairly generic one I got for a local marathon. And the local race is my current PR.

My favorite "medals" are actually painted railroad spikes from a local race that are given out for age group awards.