Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend 2026

[The Expert]

Screenshots incoming!

 

[The Expert]

Time selection for 5K and 10K:


POT and selection for HM and Challenge:

 

[The Expert]

Preorder merch is all pins and PANDORA charms!

 

[sandam1]

Do the off-property hotels have race transportation? I'm not sure I want to be walking to the parks at three in the morning if they don't.

Just so you know, if things run as they have in the past, the 5K is the only race that starts IN the parks. The 10K and half start on Disney Way near the intersection with S. Clementine. So actually, some of the off-site hotels are closer to the start than the Disney hotels (which are on the other side of the parks).

We stayed at the Clementine Hotel and it was perfect for the races as the corrals were on the other side of the fence from the hotel. It was about a two block walk to the parks, but there was almost always other people around, particularly at park close.

 

[StarGirl11]

Now I wonder if this was the cause of the delay in officially announcing this weekend. Thought it was just a matter of hammering out a weekend that would be agreeable to both the park and RD, but what if it's because there was some concern that they wouldn't be able to hold it at all?

Yeah that’s my guess as well. That the construction start date still being hammered out was causing them to delay their announcement. Once they knew it was after the race weekend they could go ahead. But I’m guessing something is starting between Jan and when Halloween is.

 

[The Expert]

Closer photos of the merch. The Pandora charms are super cute!

 

[Disneyhanna]

The Fairfield Anaheim (Marriott) rate is super good for staying 5 nights as they have a long term stay rate for their 1 King room. 2 queen room is a fair bit more expensive.

 

[fatmanatee]

Time selection for 5K and 10K:
View attachment 959158

Going to be really interesting to see what happens with the <7 min group. In theory I don't think you should have more than 100 people in that corral, but we know how this generally goes.

 

[The Expert]

Going to be really interesting to see what happens with the <7 min group. In theory I don't think you should have more than 100 people in that corral, but we know how this generally goes.

That option has been showing up for at least the last few registrations, so I think we may see the results at W&D.

 

[Disneyhanna]

That option has been showing up for at least the last few registrations, so I think we may see the results at W&D.

Dreading this...if you have POT, I feel like you should be guaranteed at least the same placement for the non-POT races. But I have a feeling I'll end up back in D or E because of everyone inevitably putting under 7

I forget for W&D, is that the single corral for challenge or the separate corrals for 10k/half? I don't know why rD is so inconsistent with that, I can't keep it straight. When I did DL back in Jan 2024 I remember separate corrals for 10k/half for challenge bibs, but Princess was a single corral for challenge bibs

 

[The Expert]

I forget for W&D, is that the single corral for challenge or the separate corrals for 10k/half?

iirc there are two bib designations on the challenge bib (like B/C) where the first is for the 10K and second for the HM.

 

[fatmanatee]

Dreading this...if you have POT, I feel like you should be guaranteed at least the same placement for the non-POT races. But I have a feeling I'll end up back in D or E because of everyone inevitably putting under 7

I forget for W&D, is that the single corral for challenge or the separate corrals for 10k/half? I don't know why rD is so inconsistent with that, I can't keep it straight. When I did DL back in Jan 2024 I remember separate corrals for 10k/half for challenge bibs, but Princess was a single corral for challenge bibs

I think it's separate corrals for DL vs. one for WDW for the most part, I'm expecting separate for DL next year (and W&D should be one). And I'm strongly considering just listing myself as 7-8 min. This year's MW was the last straw for me. Fairly worried about the impact of splitting that <8 min corral.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

It really feels like rD is solving the wrong problem here. Like, they think the problem is "wow, we have so many fast people that we need a new category" but actually the problem is "too many people lie about their expected pace." If they actually looked at the results and compared them with what people claimed they were going to run, they would probably realize this.

Solution to the actual problem: allow POT for the 10K! I'd actually like to run a standalone 10K at Disney, but I probably won't because it would be a crapshoot where I'd end up (and I say that even though I would legitimately select <7 min/mile as my pace).

 

[nekonekoneko]

"too many people lie about their expected pace."

But that is where POT should come in. POTs should be required for all but the last corral. But, for some reason or another, rD can't (or won't) check everyone's timing, so they "have to take our word for it"

 

[mmm_texas]

Just so you know, if things run as they have in the past, the 5K is the only race that starts IN the parks. The 10K and half start on Disney Way near the intersection with S. Clementine. So actually, some of the off-site hotels are closer to the start than the Disney hotels (which are on the other side of the parks).

We stayed at the Clementine Hotel and it was perfect for the races as the corrals were on the other side of the fence from the hotel. It was about a two block walk to the parks, but there was almost always other people around, particularly at park close.

This. We stayed at the JW Marriott for the 2024 weekend, and it was less than a block from the start/finish of the 10K and half.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

I’m hoping to sign up for the 10K and unsure about the half right now. If I decide later to pickup a charity bib for the half is there anyway to get the challenge bib or does it not count then?

Also a bit confused on the rD race year…will the 2026 half marathon count for the 2025 coast to coast or 2026 rD year? Because I should already be getting the 2025 one with the Halloween + W&D challenges this year but wondering if I should just do the 2026 half marathon anyway to get coast to coast for next year too since I’ll likely pick up a WDW race at some point next year….idk if any of that makes sense so thanks for any clarification

 

[Naomeri]

I’m hoping to sign up for the 10K and unsure about the half right now. If I decide later to pickup a charity bib for the half is there anyway to get the challenge bib or does it not count then?

Also a bit confused on the rD race year…will the 2026 half marathon count for the 2025 coast to coast or 2026 rD year? Because I should already be getting the 2025 one with the Halloween + W&D challenges this year but wondering if I should just do the 2026 half marathon anyway to get coast to coast for next year too since I’ll likely pick up a WDW race at some point next year….idk if any of that makes sense so thanks for any clarification

Coast to Coast is by calendar year, not runDisney season (which is definitely confusing)

 

[fatmanatee]

But that is where POT should come in. POTs should be required for all but the last corral. But, for some reason or another, rD can't (or won't) check everyone's timing, so they "have to take our word for it"

They probably don't have the time, which is fine. But there are ways to work around that. You could take the POTs submitted for one race and just apply that corral placement to the rest of the races someone's signed up for. You could also use prior timed results to help seed corrals (NYRR does it this way, I don't submit POT for them anymore because it always updates with my best result). Personally I think they should just do POT plus CrD for corral A-C for all races and then seed the rest based on estimates but who knows, maybe they don't like the spread of corrals if they'd do that.

I’m hoping to sign up for the 10K and unsure about the half right now. If I decide later to pickup a charity bib for the half is there anyway to get the challenge bib or does it not count then?

Also a bit confused on the rD race year…will the 2026 half marathon count for the 2025 coast to coast or 2026 rD year? Because I should already be getting the 2025 one with the Halloween + W&D challenges this year but wondering if I should just do the 2026 half marathon anyway to get coast to coast for next year too since I’ll likely pick up a WDW race at some point next year….idk if any of that makes sense so thanks for any clarification

1. No, separate signups for the 10k and half don't get you a challenge medal. I would say that you'd have to find a way to sign up for the challenge and then request a refund for the 10k and half but signing up for those through separate means (charity for one but not both) complicates things. Not sure they would do anything for that.

2. Coast to coast only applies to applicable races done in the same calendar year. So a race in 2025 wouldn't be combined with one in 2026, even if they're technically happening within 365 days of each other.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

Coast to Coast is by calendar year, not runDisney season (which is definitely confusing)

Of course, why would Disney do anything other than make things slightly confusing

1. No, separate signups for the 10k and half don't get you a challenge medal. I would say that you'd have to find a way to sign up for the challenge and then request a refund for the 10k and half but signing up for those through separate means (charity for one but not both) complicates things. Not sure they would do anything for that.

Ah ok, it makes sense that it would make it more complicated. Maybe I’ll just sign up for the challenge and just DNS the half if I don’t want to go through with it (I will most definitely just go through with it)

2. Coast to coast only applies to applicable races done in the same calendar year. So a race in 2025 wouldn't be combined with one in 2026, even if they're technically happening within 365 days of each other.

Right, so the 2026 C2C will be different from the one I should be getting after W&D this year and likely the last one for a few years. Damn. As a very new runner I shouldn’t care but..the medals

 

[The Expert]

Right, so the 2026 C2C will be different from the one I should be getting after W&D this year and likely the last one for a few years. Damn. As a very new runner I shouldn’t care but..the medals

It may not be. The C2C prior to Disneyland races going away was the same design each year (with a pink variation for those who did Princess and Tink).