Marathon Weekend 2025

[Herding_Cats]

And I'm so glad I waited in line after the 2018 Princess 10K for the Merida meet-and-greet, where she signed my medal!
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I am big jealous! Bring back Merida to Princess Weekend!

 

[azrivest]

I am big jealous! Bring back Merida to Princess Weekend!

+1 for this!

 

[Dopey 2020]

SAFD My runDisney history is extensive (and expensive) but I’m not about to add them all up, I’d cry. Started with Castaway 5K then
2017 Princess 5K
2017 Star Wars 5K, 10K
2017 Wine and Dine 5K, 10K, HM
2018 Princess 10K
2018 Star Wars, Wine and Dine - all of them
2019 MW full
2019 Princess 10K
2019 Star Wars, Wine and Dine - all of them
2020 First Dopey!
2020 Princess Challenge
Covid virtuals
2021 Wine and Dine challenge
2022 Dopey
2022 Springtime surprise challenge
2022 Wine and Dine challenge
2023 Dopey
2023 Wine and Dine Challenge
2024 Dopey
I’ve cut back to my to favorite weekends as Disney cost vs experience has gone in the wrong direction but still really enjoy both running and Disney. My favorite has been and still is Wine and Dine, a little less crowded, better weather, just the time of year I enjoy at Disney. When we’re really lucky we get the end of Halloween and the start of Christmas. My favorite medals are the 2017 Wine and Dine half (it was my first and I got an actual runners high at the finish) and 2019 MW full (also my first) that is such a perfect classic medal. A cast member actually showed me something with it - one side of the spinner is Mickey looking like he’s standing, the other looks like full stride, when you spin it fast you see an animated Mickey Mouse running!

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: How many rD races? Um… a lot. I don’t have it in me to list them all - if anyone really wants to know, they're in my signature!

Favorite race weekends: STAR WARS DARK SIDE FOREVER. #PerfectSith even if rD refuses to acknowledge it.

Favorite medals: I‘m really not into medals - they’re relatively meaningless to me and I’d happily keep racing without them. But I do have a fondness for those Inaugural SW DS medals, especially the TIE Fighter and Vader/Palpatine ones. I do really like the simple grace of my first marathon’s medal, WDW 2016, too.

 

[3princesandaprincess]

Wow!! Some very cool medals! Congrats to all of you!
While I have numerous races under my belt, I’m hoping the ‘25 marathon will be my first runDisney race! Can’t wait!

 

[lahobbs4]

SAFD:

2017: Marathon (deferred from the cancelled half)
2017: Wine and Dine 5K & 10K
2019: Dopey
2020: Dopey
and a Castaway Cay 5K in there somewhere (which we had to run on the running track. Hurricane Irma had just come through and our ship was HOURS late to dock...I don't recommend it)

Favorite race: Wine and Dine 5K (NOT 10k, edited to change that) 2017 - had the best course because we ran through Pandora in the dark! I had not seen the land since it opened and I just remember the lights all over the ground. Gorgeous!

Favorite medal: 2017 marathon, hands down. I loved it the second I saw it!

 

[1lilspark]

SAFD:

2017: Marathon (deferred from the cancelled half)
2017: Wine and Dine 5K & 10K
2019: Dopey
2020: Dopey
and a Castaway Cay 5K in there somewhere (which we had to run on the running track. Hurricane Irma had just come through and our ship was HOURS late to dock...I don't recommend it)

Favorite race: Wine and Dine 10k 2017 - had the best course because we ran through Pandora in the dark! I had not seen the land since it opened and I just remember the lights all over the ground. Gorgeous!

Favorite medal: 2017 marathon, hands down. I loved it the second I saw it!
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I’ve ran all the Wine & Dine 10ks and they have only ever went through Epcot & Studios… I know the 5k that year was still being run at DAK though as those didn’t move to Epcot till 2019 (and were still being listed as being through animal kingdom when they had done AP/DVC early registration)

 

[flav]

I’ve ran all the Wine & Dine 10ks and they have only ever went through Epcot & Studios… I know the 5k that year was still being run at DAK though as those didn’t move to Epcot till 2019 (and were still being listed as being through animal kingdom when they had done AP/DVC early registration)

It is the 2017 HM that went through AK-Pandora. Hence why it is my favourite course. Three parks for one HM.

 

[MissLiss279]

SAFD (or Tuesday):

Marathon Weekend: 2015 Half, 2016 Dopey, 2017 Dopey, 2018 Dopey, 2020 Dopey, 2021 Virtual Goofy (at WDW), 2022 Dopey, 2023 Dopey, 2024 Dopey
Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend: 2015 5k + Dumbo Double Dare
Wine and Dine: 2015 Jingle Jungle 5k + Half (of half) Marathon, 2019 5k + Challenge
Star Wars Dark Side: 2016 Challenge, 2017 5k + Challenge, 2018 5k + Challenge, 2019 5k + Challenge
Princess Weekend: 2022 5k + Challenge (HM PR!!)
Springtime Surprise Weekend: 2022 Challenge, 2023 Challenge, 2024 Challenge (pending)

Marathon weekend is my favorite. But Star Wars DS was so fun! So are all the other weekends. Like others have said, Marathon Weekend seems more runner focused, and the others just fun! Princess surprised me. I’m not really a princess person, but I really enjoyed it. It’s too close to MW for me to justify doing it that often though.

I think the 2017 Marathon medal that others have shown (Mickey Ears) is my favorite, but the inaugural Star Wars DS 10k Tie Fighter was pretty great too. I had a few people ask me where I got it when I was wearing it around later.

 

[pluto377]

SAFD- late as always lol

2009- Marathon
2010- Marathon
2017- Princess 5K
2018- Princess Challenge
2019- Dopey
2020- MW 5K and 10K
2021- MW Virtual 5K and 10K
2022- Dopey - DNF Marathon :-(
2023- MW 5K, 10K, Half
2024- MW 10K, Half; DL 10K, Half
2025- ????

List does not include Virtual Summer Series/Christmas Series.

My favorite medals are probably the 2022 set. I just love the rainbow and how cohesive they are. I really like the Snow White apple one from Princess 2018 too.

I can't think of a favorite race because honestly I remember nothing about my races once they're over.

Here's some throwback pics from 2009 and 2010:

Remember those overhead finish photos!? Such a better view! I'm in the pink tank, black skirt in the center.



2009, me and the hubby (I was so thin back then!!)



2010 Disney on Ice brrrrrrr



Here's one from 2018 with the apple medal

 

[emilyann704]

Is the 10K generally on Thursday of Marathon weekend?

 

[Cabius]

Is the 10K generally on Thursday of Marathon weekend?

Thursday: 5k
Friday: 10k
Saturday: Half
Sunday: Full

 

[camaker]

Is the 10K generally on Thursday of Marathon weekend?

It's always on Friday during Marathon Weekend.

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

SAFD:

Marathon Weekend 2023: Goofy Challenge
Wine & Dine 2023: 5K + Two Course Challenge
Marathon Weekend 2024: Dopey Challenge
Disneyland HM Weekend 2024: 5K + Dumbo

My first attempt at doing a runDisney race was signing up for the 2021 marathon in May of 2020 and we all know how that went down. I kind of put it out of my mind and just survived through the pandemic and gained a bunch of weight and got super unhealthy so I decided to sign up for Dopey for 2023. I got locked out but was able to grab Goofy before it sold out (and even signed up for Dopey with a charity and began raising money before I found out they didn't actually have a bib for me due to a registration glitch) so I trained (poorly) and ran Goofy last year as my first runDisney race experience. I've been totally hooked since. The only thing stopping me from registering for every race is money and that my job would most likely fire me. Lol.

My favorite medal so far is probably the Figment medal from W&D this past year. I've always loved Figment and I love the design of his horns and the fact that you can literally start "one little spark" and light it up. Not the best picture of the medal, but Sorcerer Mickey is my favorite one so I love this picture.

 

[Novatrix]

SAFD:

2017 W&D Half Marathon is literally the first running race I ever signed up for. Stumbled across it when researching what half marathon to do in order to fulfill my New Years resolution of "run a half marathon." I figured, "hey, I go to Disney often. Seems like a good fit!"

My Tallys

W&D - Half 2017 Challenge - 2019, 2023

Marathon Weekend - Marathon - 2018 (supposed to be one and done, hah!) Dopey - 2019, 2023 Goofy - 2022, 2024

Princess Weekend Challenge - 2018, 2022

Disneyland Paris 36k Challenge (aka 5k, 10k + half) - 2018

Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend 5k + Dumbo DD - 2024

Spring Surprise 10 miler - 2024?

Not listed are the canceled MW 2021 and SWs weekend 2020 and 2021 that I was registered for.

Favorite runDisney Medal

Has to be my first marathon, the 2018 25th Anniversary Marathon Medal


Honorable Mentions
Figment is my favorite character. I remember being so disappointed when signing up for 2017 W&D that the KIDS races were the one that got the Figment medal. I had to run 2023 after I saw who the challenge was themed after...


The entire set of 2018 Disneyland Paris Medals were gorgeous. The half, 36k and castle to chateau medals are all tied in my mind.

 

[Desdemona924]

SAFD (on a Tuesday)
2015: W&D aka the half of a half (perhaps the OG). Loved running it at night through the Osborne Lights. A lot of personal stuff happened right before the trip that meant it almost didn't happen, but I'm glad I got to experience that.
2016: Avengers challenge. We signed up because we'd never been to DL before and thought why not? While at the airport, waiting to fly home, we decided to come back again the next year to do it again. That was also when I decided that I had just managed to do a challenge so why not sign up for the marathon - leading to -
2017: Marathon Weekend. Conquering the marathon and hearing about everyone doing Goofy & Dopey and thinking they were crazy (that will come back up again). My plan was to get through this one marathon at Disney because if I was ended up only doing one marathon, it was going to be there. Everything hurt when it was over, but I was on the phone with my husband that night and said, I might have to come back next year because it's the 25th anniversary of the marathon and wouldn't it be cool to do that? It's crazy now to think that I was able to register for that race at the end of November/beginning of December.
2017: We did also go back to DL for Disneyland half weekend in September, where I earned Coast to Coast. And I seriously toyed with the idea of going back in November to do the final DL race for the foreseeable future. I ended up skipping that to be a responsible adult.
2018: Marathon Weekend marathon, dragging the husband for his first marathon. I bought an AP that year, because my sister wanted to do a sister trip to Disney, so why not...
2018: Wine & Dine half. Went off without a hitch for the actual race and poured through a chunk of the party. Had an amazing time and have some excellent pictures with Remy and Emile and a friend I made at the party that remains a friend. The power of rD.
2019: Marathon weekend. Remember those people I thought were crazy back in 2017? I joined them and did the Goofy Challenge this year. That marathon is actually my PR.
2020: Marathon weekend. Goofy again - running for charity. I put off signing up for this one since Goofy 'never sells out'. Was on vacation in October 2019 when it actually did. I loved running for charity though and have done again since and hope to again soon.
2020: W&D virtually on property. We decided to keep the trip we had booked during MW (gotta love that guaranteed bib) and ran the distances while we were there.
2021: Skipped out on races this year. Both because of 'rona and because I got diagnosed with cancer in 12/2020 and ended up going through treatment and surgery in '21.
2022: Marathon Weekend. Triumphant return with the 10k.
2022: Springtime Surprise Challenge. Another thwarted nighttime race. But I loved the Tower of Terror race (which is what my husband I intended to signed up way back in 2015 for before it was cancelled)
2023: Marathon Weekend. Again, remember the crazies in 2017? Joined them again to do Dopey for charity. Somewhere before cancer diagnosis and treatment, I decided that I would run Dopey in 2023 for charity since it was the anniversary for both the marathon and Dopey. Going through treatment, that idea was solidified. I won't say it got me through treatment or anything, but during those races I remembered what I'd gone through and what I will continue to have to go through and they didn't seem so bad. (That's a lie. I hated it and everyone who does multiple Dopeys is a nutjob. I said back then that I'd never do another Dopey, and that has not changed once since then)
2024: Disneyland Half challenge. I loved being back at DL, even if it wasn't without its problems.

As for the rest of 2024, I'm signed up for Springtime challenge and might try for the DL Halloween races - count us as people who were going to skip, but we got lured in by the themes. Why must Chip n Dale be so cute? And if it was plain Hocus Pocus and not the girls dressed as the Sandersons, I would have skipped. I don't like movie.

People, particularly my family, think it's ridiculous to go to Disney so much to run and 'waste' our money. I know that I don't know how long I will be able to do this for and will enjoy it for every second that I can. I will stop to hug Mickey and pet goats in the middle of a marathon (no Everest again though, that was an amazing experience when I did it, but it makes me too dizzy now) and I will wear fun, ridiculous costumes to do it.

Oh, and my favorite medals are the 2016 Avengers 10k - Dr. Strange Eye of Agamatto and Marathon 2017 that others have shared.

 

[lahobbs4]

I’ve ran all the Wine & Dine 10ks and they have only ever went through Epcot & Studios… I know the 5k that year was still being run at DAK though as those didn’t move to Epcot till 2019 (and were still being listed as being through animal kingdom when they had done AP/DVC early registration)

Thank you! It was the 5K... It's been a minute

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD:
MW:
2013 - my 1st marathon!
2016- Dopey
2018-Dopey
2019-Goofy
2020-Goofy
2021-Goofy (virtual)
2022-Goofy
2023-Dopey
2024- Goofy

Princess:
2012 - my 1st half!
2018 - 10k/half

W&D:
2018- two course challenge

Star Wars: dark side
2016-2019 - 10k/half

Star Wars: light side
2017 -10k/half (also earned the C2C medal)

Favorite medal is the 2013 marathon- it is perfection! Honorable mention for the Kessel run and C2C medals.

 

[NYC_MW]

SAFD: First race ever was 2016 MW Donald half. Other rD races = 2016 Tink half, 2023 MW 4-race challenge, 2023 Princess Fairytale challenge. 2023MW may have been the favorite just with getting to do all the things, but they're all pretty special.

Favorite medal is 2016 Tink half, but those 2022 MW medals you all have posted make me jealous.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

SAFD: I started rD in 2013, after DH told me about PW (a couple of his coworkers were running it). My list:

2013 Princess Half
2014 Glass Slipper Challenge (Inaugural)
2018 Princess Enchanted 10k
2022 Princess Half
2023 Princess Half
and registered for 2024 Fairy Tale Challenge

2016 Marathon
2019 Marathon
2020 Marathon
2022 Half Marathon (was registered for Goofy, but got my only DNF ever in the marathon)
2023 Half Marathon

2014 Wine and Dine Half (Splash and Dash year)
2015 Wine and Dine Half (cut short because of lightning)

2024 Disneyland Half

My favorite medals are from my first couple of Princess races. Those were really pretty designs, with the tiaras and “jewels.” I also really like the Glass Slipper one, as you can tell from my avatar.