Marathon Weekend 2025

[jmasgat]

@Baloo in MI and @camaker Thanks for what you've done and will do. In the words of Shirley Maclaine's character from The Apartment...

"Ring out the old year, ring in the new, ring a ding ding."

 

[marty3d]

@Baloo in MI Thanks for all the SAFDs over the last 2 years! @camaker Looking forward to this year’s SAFDs! Thanks for volunteering to keep up the tradition!

 

[camaker]

Good morning RunDisney All-Stars! It looks like I'll be your host and in-flight entertainment as we wing our way towards Marathon Weekend 2025. If you have any topics or questions that you'd like to see here, please send them over via DM and I'll be sure to get them in the lineup. Otherwise, you're going to be hostage to my creativity and imagination for the next 50 weeks or so, and I don't think anyone wants that! Anyway, let's get on with the show.

Let's go back to the beginning, the chicken and egg question, if you will. How did you find and get involved in RunDisney? Were you a runner who came across RunDisney looking for cool races? Were you a Disney fan who got drawn into running by the siren song of running through the parks? Were you both runner and Disney fan with RunDisney providing the chocolate and peanut butter combination of your two hobbies? Everyone loves an origin story, so what's yours?

SAFD:
I've been a Disney fan my entire life. Running was never something that crossed my mind as an enjoyable pastime. It just seemed like it would be incredibly boring, so I spent my athletic time chasing balls or frisbees like a near hairless golden retriever, with Ultimate Frisbee being my adult activity of choice. That all changed in January, 2015, though. My PT, who was also a huge Disney fan, asked me to run the W&D half marathon with him that year. I thought that was a crazy idea and that I was crazy to even consider it. I reluctantly agreed and started training for a 10k PoT race.

To my great surprise, I found I loved running. I ran my first 10k that April and was hooked! Unfortunately, we weren't able to get into W&D that year, but I continued running anyway, running my first half in June. As a consolation, I registered myself for the 10k and half at MW 2016, then over the summer I got the ill-conceived idea to register for the marathon, too, "just to see if I could do it" as a one-time bucket list item.

The atmosphere at MW was absolutely intoxicating and I knew I had to do Dopey at some point after hearing all the hype around it. The early races went well, but I was terrified in the corral for the marathon and almost stepped out of the corral and bailed a couple of times. Being undertrained due to an injury and hearing Jeff Galloway on stage taking about respecting the distance didn't help my mental state. My legs were dead at the start, but warmed up and were feeling better by MK. When I got to the halfway point in AK I started to believe I could finish it. By the time DHS and the World Showcase rolled around, I was positively giddy. It's still the only race I've ever really experienced a runner's high in.

I was hooked and have done every MW since either as Dopey (7x) or Goofy (2x). Oh, and that "one-time, bucket list marathon"? Last weekend's MW was my 15th...

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD: (because I'm sure I'll be able to wear down convince my husband to go again (because it's my birthday week.)
As an elder millenial, I grew up on the Golden Age of Disney...lion king, aladdin, etc. So the Disney love has been longstanding.

I always thought running was stupid. Some days I still do. I had spent a fair amount of time on the disboards in the TPAS section, which I originally lurked HARD in while planning a Christmas trip for 20+ people in 2017. That's where the screenname came from. Anyhow, one day I scrolled alllllllll the way down and noticed a "runDisney" section and curiosity got the better of me. I skimmed briefly but didn't linger.

SIL tried to get me to run a half for HER birthday in 2019, and I told her she was nuts. Fast forward to 2021 which was the year they cancelled Princess weekend. SIL and I both had babies (1 and almost 1yo) and had convinced our husbands that we should go on a 4 day girls-trip to WDW to run the princess 10k. A 10k isn't tooooo long, and I figured I could probably handle 6mi without too much training. We got our bibs really late, through a TA (*sigh*) and started running. The race weekend, of course, was cancelled. We still went on our trip, and ran a 5k around CBR/Riv passing runners (some in FULL costume!) doing the same. SIL and both switched to the virtual challenge+5k and those medals absolutely hooked me. I was all-in on doing a "real" Disney race now. I jumping into training in full-force (ran my first race, a HM in May that year, signed up for Goofy 2022, ran my first full in October locally, and convinced DH to sign up for the 5k and 10k.

I got TONS of support here on the boards, help with training, a lot of help with what NOT to do, and a good dose of "if you can dream it you can do it" but you need to do the training.

I'll also add, having done 4 race weekends now as a proud member of Team Not So Fast, that Disney races are the only ones (at this point, I haven't done many other races and they're usually under 200 people total) that I don't feel out of place. Or like I'm holding up the race-workers with my pace. And everyone is celebrated for starting and finishing, or just doing they best they can on that day.

(2x Dopey, 1x Goofy, 1x SS 10k, lots of virtuals.)

 

[Dopey 2020]

SAFD Add me to what will most likely be a long one of people who thought running was not in any way fun. For me I found runDisney first and then became a runner. Rewind to 2015 and me being sidelined from work and play for a year with back to back shoulder surgery. At the start of recovery the only exercise I could do was stretching and walking. With our 20th anniversary coming in the summer of ’16 and a cruise scheduled on the Dream we started looking at excursions and came across the Cataway Cay 5K. My first thoughts were who in their right mind would run, especially on vacation but then thought I already walk that, why not start picking up the pace. We ended up doing that race as a family and it was fun, and while we were waiting at the start people were talking about running through the parks. What, what, what?! This was a real thing? As huge Disney fans we looked into this immediately and a short while later were registered for the princess 5K followed by Star Wars. What happened next surprised me, we ran princess and DW and DD said eh, not for me while I said I think I can do a 10K. Luckily I found a 10k bib available through a travel agent for Star Wars at short notice. They walked the 5K with me and I ran my first 10. Well if two races were good, three must be better, right? Sounds like my cue to sign up for Wine and Dine weekend and go all in. 2017 became my first half and I experienced runners high crossing the finish. I will never forget it and I was hooked. A little over a year later I did my first marathon, something I said I’d never do, and followed that up with dopey the following year. Fast forward to now, 5 dopeys and 10 marathons later I’m looking for local and destination races to put on the calendar, and running 5 days a week.

Not sure if I should thank runDisney or swear at them

@Baloo in MI Thank you for your time at the helm
@camaker Thank you for continuing the adventure

 

[RuntheMouse]

SAFD: Huge Disney fan here! Disney has been an incredibly important piece of me since I was a child. I met my DH because of Disney (he was blissfully unaware of Disney life) and we got engaged here, married here, celebrated bithdays here and have taken more vacations than I can count here. After COVID hit, I lurked on these boards to get any info I could on reopening and that’s when I found the RunDisney board. I.am.not.a.runner. When all the talk about races returning to WDW came about, I was intrigued. Then.she.starts.running. Did my first runDisney race with DH at W&D in 2021 and we were hooked. We did all the race weekends that first year and now have found our spot with MW. We love it and plan on doing it in some capacity until we can’t anymore.

 

[2girlsR2good]

SAFD:
I came into RunDisney via the Disney part, not the Run part. I was 48 and 11/12's and thinking about my 50th birthday with some trepidation. We'd been to Disney for birthdays for my spouse and kids before, but never mine (it's early Jan, so usually everyone is in "back to work/school" mode). I was poking around on Disney's website and realized that the marathon was on my actual birthday. And I had a year to prepare--to go from a non-runner to a marathoner. I was an exerciser already at least. I was certain this would be a one and done, but here I am now with two Disney marathons, a Dopey (so 3 marathons), a two course challenge, and I ran the last Disneyland half back in 2017. I've also run two other marathons and a couple dozen half marathons in my region, joined a local running club and became a team lead for a slower group, volunteer with local races at water stops/medal handouts, and look for fun races in places I'd like to visit with DH who will definitely not run. So that first RunDisney changed my life and part of my definition of who I am--I'm a runner. I've made great friends and am so grateful.

 

[jmasgat]

SAFD: I was a Disney fan (I will admit now that is not the case anymore), but only came to Disney as an adult and mostly because of my sister buying DVC the first year. By the time I was going to turn 50 (big birthdays DO seem to have a role!), I had been going to Disney 1-2x/yr for about 15 years, nearly always with kids (except a solo trip to F&W for my 40th birthday)

So that same year, in an attempt to shake up my exercise routine, I decided to take up running; and the motivation/sheer terror of doing a 15k race at Disney was the carrot. RIP Minnie 15k: you were my gateway drug. Also, my DH has no use for Disney (still), so at the time, it was also an excuse to be able to keep going there, since my kids were off to college then.

I still run, I still occasionally (after temporary amnesia) go to WDW. But I have moved on from it being the focal point of my running, let alone my vacationing. That's okay--it had a good run (no pun intended), and I will always be grateful to RunDisney for getting me on the road.

 

[2girlsR2good]

I got TONS of support here on the boards, help with training, a lot of help with what NOT to do, and a good dose of "if you can dream it you can do it" but you need to do the training.

Agreed--though mostly as a lurker. I've been on the boards since my first trip to Disney in 2008 and followed the advice of others religiously, even though most of you don't know how much you've influenced my journey. Every race, even the ones that took over 7 hours, I've been ready for. I worried about getting swept that first marathon, was grateful for a corral placement that was randomly given to me that allowed me to finish, and can share that training diligently pays off.

Actually, that is making me wonder based on a friend's experience this year, does RunDisney often do that for first-time marathoners? I now get appropriately placed in the second to last or last corral every time. Doesn't worry me, because I know I'm a 6:30 marathoner.

My goal this year is to break 2:30 for a half--my PR is 2:39. Seems doable. Those of us who don't start running until late in life can still PR in our 50's!

 

[amazingact21]

How did you find and get involved in RunDisney?

I kind of fell into Disney and runDisney at the same time. Back when my husband and I were dating, he'd come home from a deployment and wanted to take a vacation. His family lived near Disney, so I thought it would be nice to kill two birds with one stone, visit relatives and spend a few days at a theme park.
We went, became big Disney fans, the rest was history. Then, about two months after we got back, my partner was at work and saw somebody with a runDisney shirt. He asked about it and learned all about the Disney races.

This was about 6 weeks before the 2011 Expedition Everest 5K Challenge.

He convinced me to sign up 5 weeks beforehand.
I had always enjoyed running and staying fit was/is an important part of my husband's career, so runDisney, for me, was like the perfect combination. I enjoy the parks, I enjoy running, runDisney marries the two.

Fast forward past the 2012 EE Challenge, the 2019 Disneyland Paris Half Marathon, and the 2023 Springtime Surprise Challenge, I've grown and realized that a marathon is something I want to reach for once in my lifetime. I finally feel like I'm at a place in my life, with my physical endurance, my parenthood stage, my mental confidence, that I feel like I can accomplish such a feat.

So long as I get in at registration.

 

[nancipants]

SAFD: similar to others, I was never a runner, always hated running. I ran as part of sports when I was a kid but was always a sprinter. I also wasn’t a huge Disney fan as a kid. I lived about 1.5 hours away and went a few times, and watched the early Renaissance movies, but that’s it. I worked at Universal CityWalk in college so I went there a lot more often.

I was, however, always a Star Wars fan, and went to Star Wars Weekends a few times in early 2000s, and again in 2011 when they reopened Star Tours. Around that time I had moved to my current town which was only 20-30 minutes from Disney. I also frequented Pleasure Island a lot in the mid 2000s until it closed in 2008. I also bought some of the Florida resident 4-day ticket deals, and was considering an AP, but my ex-husband was not a fan.

Then we got divorced, and I bought an AP before Star Wars Weekends in 2012 and went every single weekend. (This continued through the end of SWW in 2015.) Later that year, Disney bought Lucasfilm, solidifying that I would never get rid of my AP.

As for running, my first runDisney race was, big surprise, the first Star Wars 5k in 2016. I knew nothing about rD and still hated running but Star Wars! I became familiar with rD when my friend started doing the Princess half in memory of her daughter who was stillborn. Some other friends started doing Princess in 2020, and I had just had a baby so was in no shape to join them. Fast forward two years later, Princess weekend came back and so did they, so I did the 5k with rhem (meaning I walked most of the race and ran a bit at the end). Then we started talking about doing a 10k. We weren’t able to sign up for Marathon Weekend, so we signed up for the Princess 10k in 2023. I knew I needed to train in order to not be swept. I found the Galloway method, as well as this board (I was already posting mostly in TPAS and the DCL boards), and started running in earnest in January 2023. And to my surprise, I realized I actually liked running, and even more, I loved runDisney. A year later, I’m signed up for the Princess Half and want to do the 2025 marathon on my birthday.

 

[MissLiss279]

SAFD:
I was a Disney fan before I found runDisney, but I had probably only made it to Disney World three times before - not many excuses to go. I started running in 2014, after hating running previously. I had found an app that told me to slow down. And once I did that, I realized running wasn’t too bad. I had joined a training group to train for my first half marathon. During one of the group runs, I heard someone mention runDisney. I had no idea Disney had races!! I immediately looked into it - this was probably in the summer. And of course Marathon Weekend was sold out. I randomly looked again a few weeks later, and there were spots available for the half! I messaged my sister to see if she and my BIL would want to go. She said maybe, that was all I needed to register! I happened to catch when they opened more registrations as part of the ‘Goofy Gives Back’ promotion in 2014 for the 2015 MW races. My Sister and BIL did end up joining me. I arrived for the races the day before the half. Before the race, I hadn’t entered a Disney park in a few years, so turning that corner onto Main Street and seeing the castle… was amazing, and hooked me right away. Since then I have ran a runDisney weekend (or more) every year. I didn't run MW 2019, but missed it so much, I decided that it would be the one that I would try to run every year.

 

[matt and beth]

SAFD: I was runner before RunDisney. Our oldest son had a brain tumor when he was 4. We decided to run the charity Noah’s Light, now Dragon Master Initiative, to help raise funds and awareness for new cancer treatments in children during the Princess half 2014.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD: My DW and I were Disney fans before I really started running. Like others I experienced adult-onset running back around 2004/2005. I soon realized that I needed races on the schedule to keep me motivated and running. I remember seeing an advertisement for the marathon in Runners World (back when magazines were a thing) and it put the idea in my head. I convinced my brother (who got me started with running) that we should do one marathon and what better place than Disney since the family could go too and make it a vacation. So we signed up and I did my first Disney Marathon in 2008. I ended up with bad ITB right before the race, but completed it. However, I was disappointed in my time and thought I should try it "just one more time" to see how I could do if I wasn't injured...

So now I've completed 8 marathons at Disney, including 1 as part of Dopey and 3 as part of Goofy (and 1 Race for the Taste 10-K which became Wine and Dine). I really don't do a lot of races outside of Marathon weekend anymore (other than to gauge fitness and get a POT). Our family has grown to 4 kids now and the oldest who was 5 when I ran my first is 21 now. We all still love to head down to WDW, but more often than not, it works better for our family trips to be other times of the year, so I come down solo or with my oldest DD. Part of the allure for the races for me, is all the great family memories it stirs as I run through the parks. Our 18 y/o DD was diagnosed a couple years ago with a rare genetic disease that means most of the time she's with us at Disney now she has to use a wheelchair. I count as one of the best races of my life the 5-K for my Dopey when both she and our oldest DD ran with me. I'm so glad she got to experience that before her condition started to impact here where she can't run/walk that more. Every time I head down main street I end up with tears thinking about those memories and it's part of what always brings me back!

 

[DIS-OH]

SAFD

My older daughter wanted to do something special to celebrate her college graduation…and that was to run the 2010 Princess Half Marathon with me.

DD ran XC and track in high school and college. I was an overweight, nonathletic couch potato, but I said “ok” and started training because running thru the castle sounded awesome.

Thought it would be “one and done”…but have now done a RunDisney race every year since, except 2021. Completed multiple PHM, two WDW HM, one DL HM, several Glass Slipper/Fairy Tale Challenges, and two Springtime Surprise Challenges. Currently training for third Springtime Surprise Challenge.

Also way too many local 5K, 10K, Quarter Marathons and Half Marathons to count.

And my daughter? Completed two PHMs and then she quit running!

 

[DHSsenior007]

SAFD: I grew up going to Disney World with my family, so life-long Disney fan here. I started running in grad school for my health and slowly increased my race distances until I was doing halfs. My parents, my husband and I were planning a trip to Disney in Jan 2017 and when I realized that was marathon weekend, I convinced my husband to sign up to do the half with me and all 4 of us decided to do the 5k. We had a blast at the 5k and unfortunately the half was cancelled that year. My husband and I still did the half (along with several others) along the Epcot resort area, and then we did the 2017 W&D half. I loved them all and I went back to do the W&D challenge in 2018 with some friends. I haven't done any Disney races since then, but I am excited to get back to it with the 2025 marathon (hopefully)!

 

[1lilspark]

SAFD: we knew of RunDisney before being an active member of the community however our first experience came in 2016 when a friend of my sisters fiancé at the time (now husband) tried to talk us into signing up for the Wine & Dine Half… at the time we’d only ever done a 5K distance and the thought of going from 3.1 to 13.1 miles in seven months while avoiding injuries due to a wedding being two weeks later was a rough pill to swallow….

Well as long time RunDisney family know registration was delayed and the weekend retooled with the half moving to daytime and the addition of the 10k and challenge being added

Well.. adding 3.1 miles was much more attainable then adding 10 …

Still haven’t done a half distance at Disney though I did try the 10 miler in April and it was fun

 

[lahobbs4]

SAFD:

We have similar stories! I was NOT a runner. DH had been running for about 10 years and I was reading his Runner's World magazine - saw the ad and was shocked that you could run through the castle! I was/am a huge Disney fan and it was the first thing that ever made me want to run.

That was April-ish 2016, we did the MW 2017 (I was signed up for the ill-fated half and opted to do the full marathon) and I've been running ever since! 3 marathons, 2 Dopeys, more half-marathons, trail races, and other 5k and 10Ks. But thinking about rD is what keeps me motivated to this day.

 

[Baloo in MI]

SAFD:
First - thank @camaker for taking on SAFD!

I have been a runner most of my life. My father and uncles were all high schools track and cross country runners. My older siblings and cousins were all runners, so even though I don’t think it was expected of me, I really wanted to be a runner too. I started at 9 running on a track club and eventually ran in the junior Olympics/HS track and cross-country and then track in college. I was at one time (before the invention of the wheel, but after fire was discovered) a pretty fast 400/800 mid-distance runner. I only share that because it really messed me up as I got older. I just always assumed I would stay in shape and be an elite runner. Post college life got in the way and I stopped running. Anytime I would start up I would quickly get discouraged because I was out of shape and not able to do what I thought I should be able to do. I did this on and off thing with running until my early 40’s. I finally let ego go and just accepted that I was older, slower but running. Have not stopped since.

As for Disney, I grew up going to Disneyland as a child and as an adult going at least once a year. In 2009 I took a job in Michigan and annual trips to Disney moved as well; to Disney World. I learned about runDisney through a trip report of a blogger who was talking about the inaugural Dopey. I remember thinking “they have races at Disney!” I was too late for that year and new nothing about registration so the next year which was 2015 I missed Dopey but was able to sign up for Goofy. I absolutely loved it! MW became our annual trip and since I have completed 8 Dopeys and 2 Spring Surprise Challenges. I am planning to keep doing these two weekends until my legs fall off!

 

[Naomeri]

SAFD: I was a casual Disney World fan who was looking to get more active in order to become a more hardcore Disney World fan, and I came across the Lion King summer 5K series during Covid. That led to doing W&D virtually, originally planned for the 5K and 10K, but then decided to be crazy and try for the Half, so I ended up with the W&D challenge for my first virtual race weekend. Then I did the 5, 10, and half virtually for MW 2022, on back-to-back-to-back days in preparation for my first live weekend: Princess 2022. I did all 3 races, and the inaugural yoga event. I had a lot of mixed feelings, but I was definitely hooked. Now I’m planning for my first Dopey in 2025.