Marathon Weekend 2024

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD: I was an adult onset runner and after a couple years running and doing a HM, I decided that I wanted to do a marathon "just once." That was when magazines were still a thing and I remember seeing the ad in Runners World of people running through the castle. At the time we only had two kids and already were going to WDW once or twice a year since we could drive from Atlanta pretty easily. I was pretty confident there was no way I could actually survive a marathon so figured what better place to go than WDW! Plus it gave an easy excuse to convince my family to come down to chear me on as well. While I finished, that first marathon didn't go according to plan, which led to me planning the next one, which led to planning the next one after that, etc.

What keeps me coming back? The only RD event I have done (other than the Race for the Taste 10-K back in the days before W&D) is MW and I will say that every time I run down main street for the half or full, it's like the first time all over again. I crave for that feeling again almost as soon as the weekend is over. I have done races in other places and while runners in general are a friendly bunch, there is something special about the runners at a Disney race as is evidenced by the people on this board. It has a feeling like extended family unlike any race I have ever been at. As the kids have gotten a little older, MW has mostly turned into a solo trip for me now and I cannot imagine doing that any place else.

 

[Jillfo]

SAFD: Disney (before there was runDisney) had a booth at the Peachtree Road Race expo in 1997 and was promoting the inaugural WDW half. My friend and I eventually registered for it, and I ran the half ten years in a row. I also ran the inaugural DL, Princess and Tinker Bell halves. After registering for the first Princess, I came across a now-defunct Disney forum, made a bunch of virtual friends who become IRL friends and would do Disney races on both coasts to meet up with them. It was that group that talked me into my first marathon (WDW 2010). WDW 2020 was my last (and 75th) marathon. I now rarely race, finding more joy in running just for the fun of it. Medals don't motivate me, I need no more shirts and I'd rather spend my money on things other than race entries. I do, however, still enjoy the atmosphere of a race weekend at Disney and often will schedule trips to coincide with them. And I read along here to keep current even though I'm unlikely to do any of the races.

 

[Cabius]

SAFD: I'd never run a mile in my life until after I signed up for the 2020 MW Half.

My family went to WDW for the first time in 2017, and I was hooked. I'd been to DL as a SoCal kid before, but I fell in love with the Disney bubble and was set to come back 1 or 2 or 5 times a year forever. I started devouring WDW books, blogs, podcasts... but my wife, not so much. She figured we'd go every 4 or 5 years, as our kids aged, but that was it.

Well I was listening to the WDW Radio podcast (from the beginning - man, it used to be good) and they did a recap of Marathon Weekend. The image of running up Main Street USA had me hooked -- and gave me an idea. I made a deal with my wife that we'd go back to WDW the next year, as long as I was actually going to run the Half.

My first run was less than a mile, and I'm sure I made every single mistake that it is possible for a runner to make. I'm grateful beyond measure for the support and advice of the folks on this board. Two 1/2s, two Marathons, and a DVC purchase (ha! I won her around!) later, I'm in the best shape of my life (albeit still relatively pearish), just ran a sub-5 marathon, and genuinely look forward to running. I've become a freak. I love it.

 

[AJruns]

SAFD: I was never a runner- and proud of it- until 6 years ago when a breakup and turning 35 hit me harder than I expected. Doing walk/run intervals on my gym's treadmill helped me cope, and in my typical go-big-or-go-home style on a whim I signed up for a 10 mile race that was 6 weeks away. At that point I hadn't run longer than a mile at a time, but I worked my way up to it and ran the whole thing it total disbelief and awe- I had no idea I was capable of that. A half followed shortly after because why not, but I thought that would be it. When I realized I wanted to keep running I joined a local group to help motivate/learn how to run outside, and kind of got sucked into the idea of a marathon (also on a whim when I saw the cost of my local Rock n Roll full was only a few more dollars than the half). I started realizing that I loved races for the atmosphere and camaraderie, not the actual racing part, and vaguely knew that runDisney existed and I would like it. It wasn't until a foot injury stopped my RnR training that I actually looked it up though, and something just clicked that I was meant to run there. I would have called myself a casual Disney fan- I've seen and love a lot of movies and have been to each park at least once as a kid and adult- but I'm particularly drawn to races that have gimmicks or courses that you can't run otherwise. And I've always been into costumes. So while I would prefer to not have been injured, I am *so* glad that Disney was my first marathon in 2019. I will always look back at that experience as one of my life highlights. And I do mean experience- when I try to describe to others what I like about it, I say that it's not just about the run, it's the whole weekend... the wakeups and corrals and costumes and castle and photo ops and volunteers and park medal pics and fireworks. It really is magical. I can't imagine walking to my local start line and back home after, and that being... it... 26.2 miles (and all of that training) is a big deal, and if I'm going to put my body through it I want more out of it than that! Luckily my body has cooperated and I've done each in person full since then, and don't plan on stopping I run continuously because of my knee arthritis, but I love knowing that when I can't run anymore I will still have a welcome home there. My closest friends are amazing people, but as runners skew towards the "Boston is life" mentality, and it sometimes messes with my head. I really appreciate the runDisney community and the wider variety of goals it brings. One thing I'm nervous about though is trying additional race weekends. Is MW so special to me because I only go once a year? I think if I "keep" that one for me, and try another one with friends it would be perfect. If anyone wants a future accountability/costume/park buddy let me know!

 

[DopeyRunner486]

SAFD: I was never a runner until runDisney. I played football in high school and running was of course punishment. I signed up for and ran the Walt Disney World 10K in 2015 and never looked back. I ran my first half the following year in 2016 and then Dopey including my first full in 2017. I have been Dopey ever since and just signed up for Chicago via charity. Running/runDisney has brought me so much and many of my closest friends.

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD: I've loved going to Disney for a long time, and we've taken our kids enough times that they are pretty unenthusiastic about it these days (minus the youngest because she's "only" gone 2x in her 3 years of life.) But for Christmas of 2017 (I think!) DH's whole family did a Disney trip. One of his sisters had terminal cancer, and it was basically a bucket list trip for them (we didn't know it was terminal at the time) so I started really going down the rabbit hole after discovering the disboards....and also how I picked my screen name since I was planning a trip for a group of 26.

ANYWAY.
DH and I had decided that we would stay an extra 5 days after everyone else left (to actually have a vacation) with the kids and we would stay at a disney resort as a surprise for our kids. We checked in on New Years day, and if anyone remembers, that was the year (2018) that the temperatures dropped into the 30s, with basically 1 day's notice. We ended up doing a lot more park days because the pools were closed the whole time we were there.
One morning when we were headed to grab breakfast and then grab a bus to a park we saw a guy walking back to his room in a full padded-muscles Mr Incredible costume and could not figure out WHY some guy would be walking around in that. (Obviously, it was his race costume.) He was too far away to see a medal, so we didn't really know why that was going on.

It may have been on the same trip, or one the next year and DH and BIL were joking about getting a drink in every country at epcot, and I for some reason that that is what the Dopey challenge was. So BIL looked it up on his phone and was like "NO. The Dopey Challenge is a thing at Disney where you run a 5k one day, then a 10k, and then a half marathon, and then a WHOLE marathon, for 4 days in a row!" And we all agreed that it sounded insane, and who would ever do something like that?

And then Covid happened, I found the rundisney section here, and have gone fully down the rabbit hole.

 

[garneska]

SAFD: I am an old timer (@Disney at Heart and DH have me beat, plus i want to know how Judd found out about this in 1993 ). I did my first disney marathon in 2003. I did my first marathon ever in Sep 1999. I was an athlete in high school and ran track. I ran after college to keep fit, kill time, and lose weight. I did not find out about the Disney Marathon until Feb 2001. Why then? That is when DH and I took our honeymoon to WDW. While i am a huge disney fan, this was only my second trip to WDW. We stayed in CL at the Yacht Club. I went out for a morning run. When I came back the concierge I asked if i did the marathon (which would have been the previous month). My eyes got big. I was like there is a marathon at disney. He said there was a half too. That is when i first heard about it. I did not sign up for Jan 2002. I wanted to but was not ready to commit. Plus i had to know to sign up in April of 2001. I missed it and figured it would be another time. Well work started to suck and I needed something to look forward to. In 2002, I decided I wanted to do the Marathon. I had seen that medal and was like "Oh Boy". I signed up when it was open and started training. I lived in PA at the time so training was hard from a cold perspective. I missed a few years after that but I moved to Atlanta in 2005. I have done every MW since 2007 minus covid year 2021.

 

[pluto377]

SAFD: I started running in 2001 after college. I can't remember how exactly I found out about Disney races. I've always been a Disney fan and had been to the parks a million times, so I probably just searched the internet to see if I could combine running and Disney and found out you can! I ran my first Disney marathon in 2009. Ran it again in 2010. Took a long hiatus because I had my three kids. Came back in 2017 to Princess weekend and have been at a race weekend every year since. I keep coming back because of the organization, the Disney connection and the fact that I don't feel bad about myself for running a slow race when I'm there. My local races are pretty competitive and it's depressing to always be in the last hundred finishers. I feel like at Disney none of that matters and everyone just does their thing and has a great time. Plus I've had so much fun getting to know everyone on this board!

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD: My local races are pretty competitive and it's depressing to always be in the last hundred finishers. I feel like at Disney none of that matters and everyone just does their thing and has a great time. Plus I've had so much fun getting to know everyone on this board!

ALL OF THIS.

 

[marty3d]

SAFD: I've loved going to Disney since I was a kid (DL was my "home park" as a kid) and really fell in love with WDW when we started going with our kids. I'd run in high school but life got in the way as an adult. When I started travelling extensively for work, the combination of less time to work out and more food and drink led me to start putting on a lot of weight for the first time in my life. Running seemed like something that I could also fit in to my travel schedule.

I'm not sure when I first heard of runDisney but it was likely on a podcast or forum. I set my sights on training and running for 2009 MW Half. At the time, that half was the hardest run of my life (poor training, wrong shoes - still a little too heavy) but the moment I turned onto Main Street I was hooked. I made the decision that day that I would get serious and run the full Marathon. I followed that up with the ToT 10 Miler in 2012, and finally the full in 2014. I've done a Goofy and 2 Dopeys since then. I'm going to set aside marathon distance for a while but I want to do at least one runDisney race a year until I try for my next Dopey in 2028 (the next anniversary year!).

 

[jmasgat]

SAFD: Late to the party since I am at ......WDW (Sipping coffee wine in an OKW 2BR right now). Anyway, my story is pretty typical, I guess.

The year I turned 50 (2008) I decided to take up running as a form of activity. My DH and 2 kids all ran (my DS, reluctantly) and I was the outlier. Given that I am a goal oriented person, I decided to sign up for a race--(one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life and that includes kids and going on Jeopard). And given that I was an "Adult-Onset Disney goer" (first went in 1992 with some of my siblings and kids) I picked the Minnie 15k in May. By then, the kids were HS/college and I was on my own, but I still liked going to Disney.

I found a plan to train for a 15k (a wonky distance) and finished the race (with what I now realize was ITB issue). From there, I did the half in 2009 and then the marathon in 2010. Since then, I have done races off and on, mainly as a reason to go to Disney. I have successfully killed off: Minnie 15k, Race for the Taste 10k, Chip and Dale Marathon Relay (one and only!) Weaning myself off Disney races now. The whole experience has become repetitive and expensive. But I am grateful for what it has already given me,

 

[nekonekoneko]

SAFD: My DW's always been a runner. Shorter distances, like between 5k-halfs, but she took to running when she could. On our Christmas 2014 trip with the family, somewhere, we overheard a couple of people talking about the Disney Marathon, and her ears perked up. I looked it up on my phone, and there was all the runDisney information right there. Oh the excitement on her face, she just knew she wanted to do this!

It took us about 3 years, but we made it to the 2018 Frozen Four Marathon Weekend, and it's been a mostly yearly thing ever since.

 

[Bree]

ATTQOTD: I really should go search my posts for the long version answer, but am lazy. Y’all are getting the cliff notes version.

- ran cross country in middle and high school
- ran on and off through college and when my kids were little
- saw something about princess themed races at Disney somewhere on the interwebz and had a lofty dream about someday running the 10K and the TOT 10 miler. We lived in MA at the time so never thought it would happen.
- DH gets transferred to FT Lauderdale in 2014. I sign up for 2015 Princess 10K thinking half marathoners are crazy.
- DH gets in a really bad accident January 2015 and I almost don’t make it to the race, but family rallied behind me and helped me get there.
- race is a complete blur, but I loved it. I sign up for 2016 Princess 5K and Glass Slipper Challenge.
- DH recovery is more taxing on family than expected. I defer my races to 2017.
- half training sucks. I’m never doing this again. Run with a pace group and loved it. I am doing this again next year, but marathoners are crazy.
- 2018 & many races later….I am signed up for 2019 Dopey
- 3 Dopey, 1 Goofy, 2 Chicago Marathon & 1 Florida marathon under my belt now and signing up with a personal coach to help me chase down a sub 4 marathon.
- ultra runners are crazy

 

[Cabius]

I decided to sign up for a race--(one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life and that includes kids and going on Jeopardy).

Well THAT sounds like an interesting story!

 

[superchime]

SAFD:
I was fairly athletic growing up. I danced, rode horses, never really enjoyed running though. I started running in 2015 as a low-cost (hah!) way to get back in shape after.... work, kids, life, etc derailed anything athletic I had been doing. I signed up for the 2016 half marathon, trained for it, did a local race for proof of time, got shin splints and deferred my registration to the 2017 race (remember when you could do that?!) The 2017 half ended up being cancelled, so I never actually ran that half. Life, kids, etc took over and I quit running.

Last year I decided to try again. I signed up for the half as a way to motivate myself to train, and actually completed it this time! Now I'm hooked and debating doing the full next January and Dopey in 2025 (with other Disney races in between). Fully appreciating the irony of my "low-cost" form of exercise resulting in multiple Disney trips.

I don't enjoy running local races. I live in an area with a ton of really fit, competitive people. I am slow. I am not competitive. They have closed the water stops by the time I shuffle by because all the other runners are long gone. Maybe one day I'll feel differently but, for now, I only want to do Disney races. I loved the atmosphere at Marathon weekend, I love that so many different types of people turn out for Disney races, I love the enablers on this board.

 

[BikeFan]

So many great, inspiring stories! I'm loving reading all this!

SAFD: My wife and I took the kids to Disney in 2003 and enjoyed it so much we bought into DVC and have averaged about a trip a year since then. Neither of us were runners then, but on one of our trips we saw the WDW Triathlon (long since dead) and the memory of sports events being held at WDW was planted. In 2011 or so, shortly after turning 40, I decided I needed to make more healthy choices in my life, and regular exercise was part of that. I had raced bikes a little before I got married (hence the username) but I didn't have the time to really return to that sport properly, so I started running instead.

I started signing up for races to stay motivated, and eventually moved up to the marathon because it seemed like such an epic challenge. I'd already signed up for my first marathon (Richmond in Nov. 2012) when I remembered something about Disney having races and such. Before I'd even finished my first marathon, I talked my triathlete brother into attempting the Goofy Challenge with me in January 2013. Why not, right? What could go wrong? That first Richmond marathon got me hooked on marathons, and that first Goofy got me hooked on runDisney. Eventually, I got other family members hooked as well, including my mom, who ran her first half marathon ever (and won her age division!) at age 76. My wife and I have done races at Disney parks in California, Florida, and France and have loved every one of them. We love the courses, the entertainment, the bling, and so many other things about rD events, but mostly we love the other runners - such a great group of people, so inspiring and supportive. I never would have guessed back in 2011 that running would've turned into this huge obsession for me, but 8 ultras, 42 marathons, and so many shorter races later, it still brings me a lot of joy, so here we are. Happy running, everyone!

 

[Disney at Heart]

SAFD: DH was just out of basics training when I first met him at college, and as he ran, I started riding my bike alongside him. I had played Jr. College basketball, so I was not totally out of shape. Marriage, two sons, and many miles later, I no longer biked along, but he was tinkering with the idea of running a marathon. We had been to Disney World with some of my siblings' families in 91 or 92 and really enjoyed it, so my "Running World" subscribing DH saw an article/ad that WDW was planning its first marathon in January 1994. He knew he could talk me into that! He filled out his paper registration, mailed if before the deadline, waited to receive his acceptance, and we planned our trip.
Thirty years later, we have attended all but 3 marathon weekends and many other running weekends, with me joining him for my first runDisney race (after the boys were grown up and I retired from teaching HS English), the 2013 Tower of Terror 10 Miler. DH helped me train, so I had a great advantage there. Now with all the meetups, I have met many of you and feel very supported by a wonderful group.

 

[Novatrix]

SAFD:
I was never a runner nor an athlete.

For a variety of reasons, with no running background, I decided to set my 2017 New Year’s resolution as running a half marathon in an effort to lose weight and get in shape.

During that initial week of starting the C25K plan (started 1/9/17), I came across the fact that not only does Disney have running races, but registration for one (Wine and Dine) was going to happen soon. I figured the race would be the perfect motivation to keep me training and help me achieve my New Year’s resolution.

I registered for the Wine and Dine half on 1/14/17, at a time during which a run for me meant I was doing 1 min run/1 min walk, was beet red in the face and coughing and wheezing afterwards.

I gradually improved throughout the year, even ran a 10k in April (my first race ever!) that qualified me for D corral for the half. I was so surprised and ecstatic at how I did during that race, I signed up for the Princess Challenge 2018. Also, I started eying the gorgeous designs released for the 2018 Disney marathon and decided that if I kept up training through the summer, I’d run a half marathon before the POT cut-off for Marathon Weekend. If that race was fast enough to qualify me for a POT corral, and there were still spaces available, I’d sign up for my “one and done marathon.” I did, and there were, which is how I found myself signed up for 3 rundisney race weekends before I’d even run my 1st!

I absolutely loved that Wine and Dine half course, so much better than any of my local running. That first marathon was painful, but I did it, and the next year I came back for Dopey with a vengeance. The energy at Princess Weekend was magnetic and chatting with all my fellow female runners on the buses/while waiting in the corrals was so much fun.

Growing up, I went to Disney A LOT. My family were original DVC members (as in our resort was the “Disney Vacation Club Resort” and we had the included passes until the millennium.) We were never particularly park people but enjoyed spending time down in the Florida sunshine. Nowadays, most of my trips to Disney revolve around race weekends. These races have really helped me capture joy in these Disney trips and I have no doubt without them I wouldn’t have kept running to this day.

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

SAFD: I was not a runner AT ALL until I needed to lose weight to join the Navy in 2010. I signed up for a 5K Turkey Trot for Thanksgiving that year in Houston and I was hooked. I did the 10K the next year at the same race, and signed up for a few other races in Houston and my first duty station, New Orleans. I got the bug to run longer distances and signed up for the Rock N Roll half in New Orleans in 2012. I did it again in 2013 and finally convinced myself I could run a full marathon. I set a goal to run a sub 4-hour marathon at the Austin Marathon in February of 2014 and I did it. After that, I basically gave up on running because I felt like I had peaked and lost interest for several years.

In 2020, I had a co-worker who had run the Princess Half Marathon and she convinced me to sign up for the 2021 Full Marathon to help pace her through her first marathon. As we all know, MW got cancelled in 2021 so it never happened. 2022 did not work out for several reasons, but I decided last year that I was going to do Dopey for 2023. I was one of the many who did not survive registration day, but I did manage to snag Goofy before it sold out. I found this DIS group on registration day last year and it has become such a fun part of my daily/weekly routine to check in and stay motivated for race weekend. I successfully completed Goofy a few weeks ago at MW, and I am going to do everything I can to get registered for Dopey this year. I plan to make runDisney races a regular thing for me now, because I have renewed my love of running races and because it gives me a great excuse to visit Disney World often. And because, well, the bling.

 

[FFigawi]

SAFD: My wife ran the half during marathon weekend while we were dating. It was the old combined course where the half runners turned off for the finish and the ones doing the full had to watch them leave and keep going for another 13 miles. Fast forward a few years to when we returned to the US from an assignment in Russia. Our house in the US is about an hour from Disney, and we figured we'd give marathon weekend another shot. I was intrigued by the Goofy challenge and signed myself up for that and her for the half again. The rest, as they say, is history, even with my first Goofy being Disney on Ice.