Marathon Weekend 2025

Erica10021, I hope you are doing well. Sounds like your break is more serious than mine. I see the doc tomorrow. I second Disney’s wonderful response to medical emergencies. I went to the front desk at the resort, and 20 minutes later had a van waiting to take us to urgent care.

After a delightful DATW, I was hit by that stomach bug Monday night. Sorry to hear I wasn’t the only one to pick that up. We were able to keep the same room and delay our flights for a day. I love Disney, but I was never so happy to be home!

Now looking forward to the runDisney friends we will see at Princess!

Sorry to hear about your injury! Good luck at the doctor. And yes the medical staff at Disney was so amazing that I want to make sure any future injuries are only at Disney. :)
 
I finally had time to unpack yesterday and as I put away the few unused throwaway items, thought about all our prep and talk for cold weather and how it actually played out. How did everyone do? Did you feel adequately prepared, over-prepared, under?

I “only” did the half and was VERY glad I’d brought a gazillion options, even though I didn’t use all of them. I wound up in capris, a short sleeve tee, and a jacket as my race outfit and it was just right. Pre-race I also had on a throwaway hoodie, disposable raincoat, Mylar, and knit gloves. Yes, I skipped the disposable rain pants - the raincoat was so long, they were unnecessary. The only item that wasn’t great was the gloves, which were soaked before I ever got near a corral. In retrospect, I should’ve put bags over my shoes, as they were soaked through bay the time I got to the corrals, too, and my feet were very, very cold. The raincoat was amazing: I stayed perfectly dry under that! But not great for heat retention: the Mylar was a nice plus wrapped around my waist under the raincoat. I had a fleece jacket in my checked bag and was gad I had it for the walk back to my car - I got cold fast.

I passed off a fleece blanket and pair of rain pants to a friend, so I managed to get rid of those without actually using them.

I went with my cold weather running pants for spectating the full and hanging around EP and MK Sunday and wow - they were just right!
 
I finally had time to unpack yesterday and as I put away the few unused throwaway items, thought about all our prep and talk for cold weather and how it actually played out. How did everyone do? Did you feel adequately prepared, over-prepared, under?

I “only” did the half and was VERY glad I’d brought a gazillion options, even though I didn’t use all of them. I wound up in capris, a short sleeve tee, and a jacket as my race outfit and it was just right. Pre-race I also had on a throwaway hoodie, disposable raincoat, Mylar, and knit gloves. Yes, I skipped the disposable rain pants - the raincoat was so long, they were unnecessary. The only item that wasn’t great was the gloves, which were soaked before I ever got near a corral. In retrospect, I should’ve put bags over my shoes, as they were soaked through bay the time I got to the corrals, too, and my feet were very, very cold. The raincoat was amazing: I stayed perfectly dry under that! But not great for heat retention: the Mylar was a nice plus wrapped around my waist under the raincoat. I had a fleece jacket in my checked bag and was gad I had it for the walk back to my car - I got cold fast.

I passed off a fleece blanket and pair of rain pants to a friend, so I managed to get rid of those without actually using them.

I went with my cold weather running pants for spectating the full and hanging around EP and MK Sunday and wow - they were just right!
I ended up coming back with a couple of unused jackets ($9.99 at Costco so they are now stored for next year) and a lot of hand/ toe warmers however I don't feel I over prepared. This weekend threw everything at us except for the really high temps. Glad I brought everything I did even if a bunch of it came home with me.

I added 2 new things to my race weekend routine - one was the hand warmers - I'd never used these and they will now come with me to every race weekend - what a difference in the corrals with and without these. Second, I was completely against gear check before but now I'm a convert. Having a warm jacket, another pair of gloves and change of shoes (for the marathon) has convinced me it's worth the extra few minutes. Thanks @Fischstick and @Z-Knight for the crash course in bag checking!
 
Last weekend I ran my first runDisney race AND my first 10K. I had figured this was a one-and-done experience since the race was cutting into a lot of our trip (very early bedtime, morning co-opted by the race, etc.) but guess what, I'm hooked! I'm hoping to get into the half marathon for Princess weekend in 2026.

I wanted to shout out everyone on these boards for being so helpful with answering questions from a newbie - and the people in person I spoke to in the parks were just wonderful. The man from Mississippi running Dopey who assured me Thursday morning in line for Slinky that I'd nail the 10K and promised it wouldn't be my last race here -- you were right. And helped calm my nerves more than you could know!

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Welcome to the rundisney addiction :)


Man everyone is talking about getting a cold soo far we are safe... I think it helps that the weak points in our family ( my son, my husband and my dad) all got a bad cold before the trip over the holidays ( not covid we tested)... so that may be the one that is traveling around in WDW too. I am also a history teacher sooo my immunome system is great now ... and the whole family wore mask in the airports too. Also it probably helped we spent a lot of time away from people in our cabin... man was that spoiling... Soo looks like we got away with no disney curd... *knock on wood*
 
I finally had time to unpack yesterday and as I put away the few unused throwaway items, thought about all our prep and talk for cold weather and how it actually played out. How did everyone do? Did you feel adequately prepared, over-prepared, under?

I “only” did the half and was VERY glad I’d brought a gazillion options, even though I didn’t use all of them. I wound up in capris, a short sleeve tee, and a jacket as my race outfit and it was just right. Pre-race I also had on a throwaway hoodie, disposable raincoat, Mylar, and knit gloves. Yes, I skipped the disposable rain pants - the raincoat was so long, they were unnecessary. The only item that wasn’t great was the gloves, which were soaked before I ever got near a corral. In retrospect, I should’ve put bags over my shoes, as they were soaked through bay the time I got to the corrals, too, and my feet were very, very cold. The raincoat was amazing: I stayed perfectly dry under that! But not great for heat retention: the Mylar was a nice plus wrapped around my waist under the raincoat. I had a fleece jacket in my checked bag and was gad I had it for the walk back to my car - I got cold fast.

I passed off a fleece blanket and pair of rain pants to a friend, so I managed to get rid of those without actually using them.

I went with my cold weather running pants for spectating the full and hanging around EP and MK Sunday and wow - they were just right!
I was pretty happy with how my packing worked out. I brought two UA base layers and tights (both used), two pairs of sweatpants and sweatshirts (didn't use one pair of sweatpants, will donate). Biggest mistake was not having another lighter long sleeve layer, I don't have have anything of decent quality for races and I used my quarter zip, which I didn't want to dispose, for the coldest race. I ended up using the Goofy shirt we all were complaining about and I thought I would end up disposing of it but because it was kinda chilly I ended up wearing that dumb shirt the whole race lol.

Oh, I didn't use the toe warmers either but I can probably find a use for them somewhere down the line.
 
I finally had time to unpack yesterday and as I put away the few unused throwaway items, thought about all our prep and talk for cold weather and how it actually played out. How did everyone do? Did you feel adequately prepared, over-prepared, under?

I “only” did the half and was VERY glad I’d brought a gazillion options, even though I didn’t use all of them. I wound up in capris, a short sleeve tee, and a jacket as my race outfit and it was just right. Pre-race I also had on a throwaway hoodie, disposable raincoat, Mylar, and knit gloves. Yes, I skipped the disposable rain pants - the raincoat was so long, they were unnecessary. The only item that wasn’t great was the gloves, which were soaked before I ever got near a corral. In retrospect, I should’ve put bags over my shoes, as they were soaked through bay the time I got to the corrals, too, and my feet were very, very cold. The raincoat was amazing: I stayed perfectly dry under that! But not great for heat retention: the Mylar was a nice plus wrapped around my waist under the raincoat. I had a fleece jacket in my checked bag and was gad I had it for the walk back to my car - I got cold fast.

I passed off a fleece blanket and pair of rain pants to a friend, so I managed to get rid of those without actually using them.

I went with my cold weather running pants for spectating the full and hanging around EP and MK Sunday and wow - they were just right!
I used both my throw away shirts, and was happy that I bought some cheap gloves and gaiters that could cover my ears. I took off the gloves no more than a mile into each race because my hands warm up fast, but they were great in the corrals. I even wore most of the park clothes I packed and had very little clean clothes to put away, except for some spare leggings and a couple long sleeve tees that I had for layering.
 
After another magical marathon weekend, I'm finally catching up on life and this thread. I had a really great race and the weather was perfect for me. I was actually surprised how many folks were wearing pants and long sleeves on Sunday. I was sweating through my shorts and tee. ⛄️ I was happy to have my trusty throw away Santa suit in the corrals but the gloves weren't really necessary. I barely made it to mile 2 before those ended up on the side of the course. They were just cheap gloves but I was trying to hold onto them until I saw my mom at MK.

Sorry to hear so many folks had issues during the race weekend. I know many were beyond your control but for those issues that aren't, I've realized that's part of what I like about the marathon distance. It's a constant problem solving exercise. How do I alleviate this cramp? Why are my legs already tired? Am I going too fast for my capability? The list goes on....

Also sorry to miss everyone at the meetup AGAIN. When the race start got moved to 4:30, I decided I was no longer a first bus person and slept until 2:30. By the time I made it to the staging area, the group was gone. I would like to echo others' sentiments though. Despite never meeting in person, I do value each of your contributions. This has been a great place to stay informed and share excitement leading up to race day.

I'm not planning to be back next year. The whole event is feeling a bit stale and I'm ready for a new experience. I know those are famous last words, so I guess we'll see how I feel in a couple of months. 😅
 
How did everyone do? Did you feel adequately prepared, over-prepared, under?
I ended up using every single thing I brought and only tossed one item. I was pretty cold in the corrals after the rain pre-half, and I was hesitant to put on another poncho (peeling the first one off for the group photo I realized it was taking some of my flower vinyl decals off my costume too), I ended up huddling under my tiny costume umbrella and just gutting it out. Once the rain stopped and we were moving, I was much warmer. I had DH at Bay Lake with extra shoes and socks but by that time my feet were dry and I ended up just handing him my gloves and headband.

Second, I was completely against gear check before but now I'm a convert.
YES! New team gear check member here too! With the colder weather it was nice to have some extra layers to put back on after the races. And it was so easy! I don't know why I was so hesitant before.
 
YES! New team gear check member here too! With the colder weather it was nice to have some extra layers to put back on after the races. And it was so easy! I don't know why I was so hesitant before.
My only issue with the gear check was I didn't pay attention to the sticker they gave me at the 5k so when I returned and gave them my bib number they were a bit annoyed, guessing they got a lot of that that day. I wasn't used to the system! After that it was smooth sailing.
 
Just finally starting to getting around unpacking some of my bags. Just pulled out the custom challenge coin from Z-Knight. How awesome is this thing! I pulled it out of the protective cover and noticed the little magnet medal on the front. Then I turned it over. Holy cow. All the little medals and the icons from the four parks. This is so awesome! Z-Knight, thank you again. Such a cool memento from the weekend!


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My only issue with the gear check was I didn't pay attention to the sticker they gave me at the 5k so when I returned and gave them my bib number they were a bit annoyed, guessing they got a lot of that that day. I wasn't used to the system! After that it was smooth sailing.
In your defense, it is kind of a weird system. Every other race I've done just uses your bib number for gear check.
 



















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