Marathon Weekend 2022

[Blue Caterpillar]

I've never been to Disney world, but just booked for marathon weekend at pop thru a travel agent for dopey. Crossing my fingers marathon weekend happens, but I may keep the reservation either way. I'm more intimidated by figuring out the planning then the multiple races in the same weekend, which I've also never done!

 

[wdwjoe13]

Hello everyone

Im after a little bit of advice please on MW 2022.

1) Im thinking of booking POP as it seems to be the cheaper end of the hotels but seems to have good links and plenty of food court options. Does anyone know if the skyliner will operate to take runners to epcot in readiness for the event? and would Disney still supply the free shuttle bus alongside the skyliner option (Or is it just one or the other?)

2) whats people thoughts on character stops? Do you think Disney will allow those again by January 2022? I must admit i spent a LONG time planning for MW 2021 and having never done a disney race before i was keen to get as many of these as i could. Im just concerned that although the races might be bought back, will all the "extras" that make this event so unique return alongside (I appreciate no one knows for sure, but thoughts and opinions are welcome!)

3) Does anyone know the approximate date of when registration will open (Based on previous years)? id like to know when to start looking out for more information

4) Anyone got any nice suggestions of where they go to have their photograph taken once they have all their medals. Im thinking the kind of obvious places (In front of the tree of life @ AK, Castle at MK, Golf Ball @ Epcot etc..) but id like a few perhaps lesser known but equally iconic kind of areas (perhaps ToT @ HS?)

Thanks everyone. Fingers crossed we will be there in January!

4. For Marathon trips, we always spend the most time at Epcot. So, our favorite tradition was to take our picture in each country with our medal. So, instead of drinking around the world, we took photos around the world. Found great spots in each country. Always did it in front of the statue of Grete Waitz in Norway.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Can all of you wonderfully experienced runners talk to me about SOLO rD trips? Sil and I just got back from our “princess weekend” trip and I could seriously take the money she’s paying me for her half of the trip and pay for most of a registration and room reservation. But I would 90% likely be going by myself (well, I would take the 2 year old and drop her at grandma and grandpa’s since they are about 2 hours from Orlando during the winter.)

Marathon day will be ON my birthday if they have in person races next year and that seems like a “well you obviously have to do that!” coincidence.

 

[Grabnar]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1364191062940614657

Disneyland Paris' Sept 2021 run has been delayed to 2022. Still cautiously optimistic about MW 2022, but I think this is a nail in the coffin for W&D here.

 

[camaker]

Can all of you wonderfully experienced runners talk to me about SOLO rD trips? Sil and I just got back from our “princess weekend” trip and I could seriously take the money she’s paying me for her half of the trip and pay for most of a registration and room reservation. But I would 90% likely be going by myself (well, I would take the 2 year old and drop her at grandma and grandpa’s since they are about 2 hours from Orlando during the winter.)

Marathon day will be ON my birthday if they have in person races next year and that seems like a “well you obviously have to do that!” coincidence.

I’ve made RunDisney trips both solo and with family. My preference is for solo trips. When you travel with a non-runner it gets complicated with the early morning wake up calls. The timing of eating and going to bed get thrown off and I feel like I’m impinging on their enjoyment of the trip with my altered schedule. When I go solo I can eat, nap, sleep and get up when I need to without the worry that I’m preventing someone else from fully enjoying their trip.

 

[camaker]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1364191062940614657

Disneyland Paris' Sept 2021 run has been delayed to 2022. Still cautiously optimistic about MW 2022, but I think this is a nail in the coffin for W&D here.

I‘m not going to say it looks good for W&D, but I don’t think this has any bearing on its likelihood at all. It‘s two separate organizations running the events in different countries with drastically different rules and regulations governing things. I’d look more to whether Boston, NYC and Boston maintain their plans for fall marathons for potentIal indicators than rD Paris.

 

[PrincessV]

Can all of you wonderfully experienced runners talk to me about SOLO rD trips?

I’ve made RunDisney trips both solo and with family. My preference is for solo trips. When you travel with a non-runner it gets complicated with the early morning wake up calls. The timing of eating and going to bed get thrown off and I feel like I’m impinging on their enjoyment of the trip with my altered schedule. When I go solo I can eat, nap, sleep and get up when I need to without the worry that I’m preventing someone else from fully enjoying their trip.

That, exactly. ^
Almost all of my rD (and lately, non-rD) trips to WDW are solo and I love it! I do meet up with running friends for some meals and time in the parks, but I want and need a room to myself for all of the reasons camaker listed above. Going solo means catering to your individual needs 100% of the time, which I find to be critical to my enjoyment of a race weekend.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Oh I can completely see the benefits of not waking your family up at 2am, and dealing with them wanting to go do all of the things when you are completely exhausted.....but it just seems....WEIRD to think about going on a "Disney trip" by myself. I feel like I would probably just stay in my room the whole time except for the race and to get food because I would feel too weird about being alone.

 

[lhermiston]

I've never been to Disney world, but just booked for marathon weekend at pop thru a travel agent for dopey. Crossing my fingers marathon weekend happens, but I may keep the reservation either way. I'm more intimidated by figuring out the planning then the multiple races in the same weekend, which I've also never done!

Folks on this board can help you with both planning and the joy of running multiple races. Some common words of wisdom I've seen around here:

- If you've trained up to be able to run a marathon, you can do Dopey (assuming good health)
- Bring multiple pairs of shoes (I don't necessarily subscribe to this advice, but many around here do)
- The hardest part about Dopey isn't the miles, it's getting up early each morning

Can all of you wonderfully experienced runners talk to me about SOLO rD trips? Sil and I just got back from our “princess weekend” trip and I could seriously take the money she’s paying me for her half of the trip and pay for most of a registration and room reservation. But I would 90% likely be going by myself (well, I would take the 2 year old and drop her at grandma and grandpa’s since they are about 2 hours from Orlando during the winter.)

Marathon day will be ON my birthday if they have in person races next year and that seems like a “well you obviously have to do that!” coincidence.

Like @camaker, I've done Marathon Weekend as a family trip (Dopey 2019) and a solo trip (Goofy Challenge + 10K). In my experience, a family runDisney trip involves having one leg in two worlds: the family vacation world and the running world. Can they co-exist? Totally. But it takes some juggling. In 2019, I was up at 2-2:30, ran my races, came back to the hotel, showered and then barnstormed the parks with my family. By the end of the week, I was beat, but I don't regret a second of it. I had a blast.

With my solo trip, everything - rides, meals, bedtimes, etc. - was on my schedule. If you've traveled to WDW with kids, you know how unique that is. So, it was freeing in a way. Without having to schedule breaks or time for rides like it's a small world and Peter Pan that I would only do with my kids, I found I had a lot more free time, which was okay.

For me, my solo trip didn't feel very "solo" at all. I watched fireworks from Top of the World my first night with @Princess KP. I ran all three races with people. I had parking lot beers after the races. I did the Hurricane Hanna's meetup we do each year and Monday was spent doing DATW. All of those meetups were arranged through these boards. So, a solo trip is really only as solo as you want it to be. FWIW, I really enjoyed myself, while also really missing my kids.

 

[lhermiston]

Oh I can completely see the benefits of not waking your family up at 2am, and dealing with them wanting to go do all of the things when you are completely exhausted.....but it just seems....WEIRD to think about going on a "Disney trip" by myself. I feel like I would probably just stay in my room the whole time except for the race and to get food because I would feel too weird about being alone.

See my comment above. The only time I was ever "alone" was when I was in my room and for a couple of meals - even then I struck up another conversation with another runner at 50s Prime. It's hard to feel alone in a park with thousands of other people.

There's certainly nothing "weird" about a solo trip.

 

[PrincessV]

Oh I can completely see the benefits of not waking your family up at 2am, and dealing with them wanting to go do all of the things when you are completely exhausted.....but it just seems....WEIRD to think about going on a "Disney trip" by myself. I feel like I would probably just stay in my room the whole time except for the race and to get food because I would feel too weird about being alone.

I go to WDW solo all the time: I promise, it's not weird - it's glorious!

 

[Kerry1957]

Oh I can completely see the benefits of not waking your family up at 2am, and dealing with them wanting to go do all of the things when you are completely exhausted.....but it just seems....WEIRD to think about going on a "Disney trip" by myself. I feel like I would probably just stay in my room the whole time except for the race and to get food because I would feel too weird about being alone.

I've done 5 rD weekends with my non-runner wife and it is a bit of a juggling act at times, but we always work it out just fine. I was in Orlando a few years ago and went to Disney by myself for a day. It was a bit weird at times, as I kept looking over my shoulder to comment about something cool at the Parks and there was nobody there. I still enjoyed the day and am glad I went.

If you decide to go solo, I hope that you attend the meetup at HHs and join us for DATW (even if you drink nothing stronger than iced tea) on Monday. Some of the group have become good friends and enjoy catching up with each other, but I have still found them to be very inviting to newcomers like me.

Edit..check out the group photo of DATW that I got from @ihermiston on page 32 of this thread. We are a pretty eclectic group of all ages, genders, sizes, and running abilities.

 

[jmasgat]

Oh I can completely see the benefits of not waking your family up at 2am, and dealing with them wanting to go do all of the things when you are completely exhausted.....but it just seems....WEIRD to think about going on a "Disney trip" by myself. I feel like I would probably just stay in my room the whole time except for the race and to get food because I would feel too weird about being alone.

I have done all but 1 RD trip solo, so 10 or so? I love it and am quite happy to be on my own. If I really want to socialize, there are plenty of other RD runners to meet up with and drink with. (But I rarely feel the need)

 

[SarahDisney]

Oh I can completely see the benefits of not waking your family up at 2am, and dealing with them wanting to go do all of the things when you are completely exhausted.....but it just seems....WEIRD to think about going on a "Disney trip" by myself. I feel like I would probably just stay in my room the whole time except for the race and to get food because I would feel too weird about being alone.

I'm going to give a different answer than most people and say it really depends on who you are as a person. If you're someone who is at their best in a group of close friends or family but doesn't do as well solo or making new friends, then it's going to be a struggle. If you do well solo or can make new friends and are happy to hang with them (I know many people on this thread are happy to make park and meal plans with other solo runners), then it can be a really fun trip. But it depends a lot on you as a person and in what situations you do best.

(I will say that I am the odd person who hated my solo trip, so take anything I say about solo vs group trips with a grain of salt. I did attend some of the meetups with this group on my solo trip and mostly regretted it, not because of the people I met (who were awesome) but because I just don't do well in situations with new people. So really, I do think it depends on you, but if you're okay with either alone time or meeting new people (or both), you can definitely have a fun solo experience.)

 

[Princess KP]

SAFD: Wolfgang Puck Express and The Polite Pig.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Oh I can completely see the benefits of not waking your family up at 2am, and dealing with them wanting to go do all of the things when you are completely exhausted.....but it just seems....WEIRD to think about going on a "Disney trip" by myself. I feel like I would probably just stay in my room the whole time except for the race and to get food because I would feel too weird about being alone.

I have done both solo and with the family during MW. I must also divulge that I am closer to introvert than extrovert. So I will own the first time I went solo I was a little intimidated to go into the parks alone and especially anxious about meals. But here is what happened - I had a blast! I did have to push myself to talk to people more than I normally would. But everyone was so friendly. My medals were conversation starters with people in line. And as others have shared everything was at my pace. I went on rides I wanted to go on, saw shows I wanted to see, ate when I was hungry and left when I was tired.

Yeah there were a few lonely moments when I did things I know my family loves. But all and all it was a great time. Oh, and for meals I brought a book and that worked great. I enjoyed it so much the first time I went solo that two years later I went solo again.

Also, this group usually holds preface meet ups, a Friday afternoon get together and the DATW on Monday after MW.

 

[Goofed98]

I love going with family, but also enjoy solo. I can happily engage in conversation with family and friends, but have no issue being alone, eating alone, etc. (I travel a lot for work, so plenty of solo time in airports, hotels, etc.).

I enjoy them both, and just focus on the great aspects each has to offer.

 

[MissLiss279]

I’ve gone to most rD weekends (or weeks) solo. At first it may have seemed a little weird. Eating at Table Service restaurants still feels a little weird, but it’s not too bad. I tend to read a lot when I’m at Disney - standing in line, eating, waiting... I think this past MW (I went and ran my virtual runs down there), I read six books - nothing too complex or long, but I don’t tend to read a lot throughout the year (just audio books and podcasts during commutes). It just makes for a relaxing time for me. If I don’t want to wait an hour for a ride, I don’t have to. I can do what I want, when I want.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I just word-vomited my entire plan to DH, and looked through the calendars, and if I don't "go" next year, I won't get to run ON my birthday during marathon weekend until I'm at least 40. I'm an extroverted introvert, if that makes sense. I like having my core group of people, but I will also talk to random strangers when the situation is right. We'll see. I'm not overly optimistic about it even happening in-person, and on the chance it does, getting a registration could be completely bonkers. I really appreciate your thoughts.

 

[mtnmjd]

Oh I can completely see the benefits of not waking your family up at 2am, and dealing with them wanting to go do all of the things when you are completely exhausted.....but it just seems....WEIRD to think about going on a "Disney trip" by myself. I feel like I would probably just stay in my room the whole time except for the race and to get food because I would feel too weird about being alone.

I have done both solo and with family for my RD trips, my first marathon was a solo trip to the World. While it is nice to have family to share some moments with I prefer to be solo for my running trips.
As everyone has already said, the early dinners, nights and ridiculous wake up calls are not pleasant for most non-runners.
Yes, there maybe be some "weird" moments. Being an introvert I certainly felt weird at points, I canceled a Jiko reservation because I didn't feel like a table service my first night by myself, I found myself skipping some attractions that I thought a grown man would look odd doing alone even if they were some of my families favorites. I did get sad for a minute after crossing the finish line of my first 26.2 without someone waiting for me at the end (but only a minute).
But 99% of the time it was GREAT! I ate where I wanted, when I wanted (first time trying Tangerine Cafe). I did Candelight processional package on a solo non-RD race trip because I knew it was something my kids wouldn't sit through. I took as much time as I wanted in One Man's Dream. I stayed until park close on the days after the races when normally my family tires out just before the night time show. Plus you move much much faster solo, only waiting for one person in the shower, to get dressed, to finished eating, scanning MG into a park , etc ...so you get a much more done.
I say if you have the chance to do it, go for it!
I am hoping for another solo trip for MW 2022 (Pop booked but not 100% certain I'll be going).