Marathon Weekend 2025

[FFigawi]

I got a margarita in Mexico and I have photopass photos running in Epcot + finish line with it in my hand. I stopped for a photo backstage with Starlord and I had to sit it down out of the photo. Maybe because it was a character? I didn’t stop for any of the non charachter photo stops, but if you can’t have it in the picture they’ll just have you sit it on the ground.

Supposedly, you’re not allowed to have alcohol in character photos, but sometimes the character plays to type and rolls with it.

 

[jrsharp21]

Question for everyone - what's your go to dinner the night before the marathon? I've done plenty of half's at WDW, but this will be my first marathon - first Dopey! We will be at the new Poly Tower that weekend, so I'll have a kitchen. Not sure if I want to make my own dinner to have control, or if we should go out (I'd rather eat out.. prob at 4:30!)

I like a simple pasta dinner the night before a race. But there's no good pasta options on the monorail loop - do I really want Tony's Town Square at MK? Yikes.

Just stay away from the Grand Floridian Cafe the night before a run. You may not make it to the run the next morning. LOL.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Bit of a random question, I "plan" on grabbing a beer to finish with upon entering Epcot towards the end. Any suggestions for the best place to pick one up and also, the final official photo op in front of Spaceship Earth, would I be able to have my photo with my beer? I didn't know if Disney had any rules around official photos with alcohol? Might be a silly question, but as my first RunDisney event, I'm actually full of little questions, but trying to research as much as possible without asking in here.

I had my mom get a margarita for me, so I did not have to wait in the line. The lines can be long (and it was that day) and then I had her pass it to me.
I had my margarita in every pic after that point including the finish line. The hardest part though is not drinking it all. I think I am going to ask my mom for 2 margaritas so I have one to drink and one to hold on too for pics, lol. I did not have a pic with it at the official photo op though... I think that is where they get strict cause they have a table to the side and have you put your drinks there.

 

[Naomeri]

Just to add to everyone’s temptation to do the MK AH on the Monday after the Marathon, they will be running Enchantment fireworks just for the AH event.

 

[sandam1]

There is an after hours at Magic Kingdom on the 13th after the marathon. But the ticket price is pretty high 175-185. Has anyone done this? What was it like?

We did an AH at MK after Princess 2020 (right before the world shut down) and we had a great time. For me, the hardest part of doing the parks post-race is standing in line. I'm okay when I'm moving but standing still is rough. So AH was great because there really were no lines except for SDMT. It was also the perfect indulgence of ice cream, pop (which I very rarely drink) and popcorn.

My best friend actually asked about if there was a possibility of doing an AH event this year so I'm thrilled that they are offering one that will fit into our travel plans. I'm pretty sure that we're going to do it.

The most important question there is: Do nighttime medal pics "come out" in MK?

These are my night photos, taken at the very end of the event (there was almost no one left in the park, which was very cool). I also have some taken in front of the train station, but they aren't on this computer.

 

[Baloo in MI]

My wife and I did AH at the end of Spring Surprise last year at MK. It was expensive, and really you can only eat so many Mickey Premium Bars in an effort to make it worth the money - I gave it a solid effort though!

But I will say the reduced ppl made for the absolute best fireworks viewing spot I have ever experienced. And we only had to claim our spot about 10-15 minutes before the show. That alone made it worth the money for me.

 

[disneyrunnergrl]

Supposedly, you’re not allowed to have alcohol in character photos, but sometimes the character plays to type and rolls with it.

View attachment 889994

This is a great photo!

 

[fatmanatee]

There is an after hours at Magic Kingdom on the 13th after the marathon. But the ticket price is pretty high 175-185. Has anyone done this? What was it like?

Ooh this is tempting. Everything on standby for these, right? Including Tron and Tiana? Never done one of these and I'm expecting to have to work from the hotel that day so this would be a nice way to get some park time in and the potential to do the aforementioned rides multiple times without dealing with VQ/ILL (at night!) would be great.

 

[matt and beth]

My wife and I did AH at the end of Spring Surprise last year at MK. It was expensive, and really you can only eat so many Mickey Premium Bars in an effort to make it worth the money - I gave it a solid effort though!

But I will say the reduced ppl made for the absolute best fireworks viewing spot I have ever experienced. And we only had to claim our spot about 10-15 minutes before the show. That alone made it worth the money for me.

Two years ago for the Marathon Weekend we did the HS AH. We grabbed extra Mickey bars at the carts and were handing them out to cast members along the way. Who doesn’t like a Mickey bar?

 

[camaker]

Good morning RunDisney All-Stars! Welcome to September and this week's edition of Sundays are for Disney (SAFD). As training ramps up and the miles increase, how do you keep yourself entertained as the runs get longer and longer? Do you rock out to your favorite playlists, Disney or otherwise? (@Herding_Cats we just know you've got that Meow Mix playlist on repeat!) Are podcasts or audiobooks your distraction of choice? Or are you a treadmill video warrior committed to Netflix and not quite so chill? Do you take the same approach for training runs and races?

SAFD: I tried the music playlist route early in my running career. Unfortunately, I quickly found out that I got tired of hearing the same playlist over and over again, not to mention that when I started using @DopeyBadger training plans the tempo of the music interfered with my ability to manage my pace. I've found that audiobooks are the perfect accompaniment to my running. I put on a good book, usually sci-fi or fantasy, and let my mind get lost in the story while my body ticks off the miles. The downside is the resultant bite Audible takes out of my budget!

Audiobooks are for training only, though. I typically race with nothing other than the voices in my head. I prefer to be tuned in to my body and focused on the moment on race day. The exception to this is if I'm running an ultra where I have access to support, I'll often have my headphones ready to go, if needed. I've found that I can use upbeat music to give myself a surge of energy late in a race and that can be a lifesaver.

 

[jmasgat]

SAFD: I listen to the wind rushing through the vast chasms of my brain, broken up by the occasional stream of consciousness dialogue full of witty puns, non sequiturs, 60-70's tv and radio jingles and thoughts of what I'm going to eat when I'm done. Works for me.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

SAFD: I'm definitely a podcast person. On runs I particularly like to listen to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, the Running Channel, Fated Mates, the Running Explained Podcast, Nobody Asked Us, Rational Security, Checks and Balance, Tread Lightly...though mostly it's just whatever is next on my playlist. I save music for big workouts or races when I need a boost.

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD:
I have a few playlists based on bpm/cadence but have a few other ones when I don’t want to concern myself with that. I have a few podcasts I listen too, depending on my mood and how carefully I want to listen. They include: “Some Work All Play,” “The Real Science of Sport,” “3, 2, 1 Go!,” “Rise and Run,” “Nobody Asked Us with Des and Kara,” “The Crowned Refs Podcast,” (which is mostly about game management) the occasional “This American Life,” and I’ve mostly stopped listening to “Marathon Training Academy” because there’s too many sponsor plugs.

For treadmilling I like to pick a series that I only watch while running (Gray’s Anatomy is the most recent) but for the really long, multiple-hour runs I like to put on a YouTube “live” someone did during one of the race weekends. “Travel with Josh & Taylor” is the channel I usually use for that….it used to have a different name but I can’t remember what it was.

 

[SheHulk]

SAFD: Podcasts! Unlike music, they let me say slow on my easy days.I like The Running Channel, Rise & Run, Will Run For, and some comedy ones like Handsome and Conan Needs a Friend. Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus is also good if you're an older lady like me. Fall is true crime season for me: I like running through the changing leaves and bare trees, & getting a little scared. It puts me in the fall mood.

I agree with @camaker that the same playlists can get boring, but I decided to revisit my oldies this training cycle, when I need a little more oomph. Music definitely puts more zip in my step than listening to people talking, no matter how interesting the people are.

 

[stitchnj]

SAFD: I am a music person with a new playlist every year. This year though I’ve made a playlist that I only listen to on long runs in an attempt not to get bored. And it has everything from classical to rap on it. However, this is my first full marathon attempt and once the runs go over 14 miles that’s new territory for me. I downloaded an audiobook to try and combat the boredom. I will say that I’ve tried a few podcasts and found the chummy conversations annoying.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: I'm definitely a music girl. I build playlists for each race an I definitely have my standards. I'll throw in special songs depending on the season, and of course Disney races get Disney songs.

I do also workout to Peloton so I don't get bored of my playlists. It's really nice to have that encouraging voice to get me through long or tough runs. As long as I don't have to talk back. If I have to use the treadmill, I pick a movie I know is long enough.

 

[matt and beth]

SAFD: treadmill warrior here. I’ll watch either Star Wars or Marvel in timeline order depending on the season.

 

[MissLiss279]

SAFD:
I don’t listen to anything except my surroundings. Ha!
When I first started to run, I did listen to music. Then, I joined a training group with pace groups and we just talked the entire run, so I got used to running without any headphones/earbuds. Then COVID. I still have a training group, but since I am following my own plan (and now run/walking) I don’t exactly run next to someone my entire run. But I still don’t listen to anything. I have gotten used to it, and I use getting to my next mile as my goal.
If I have to run on the indoor track or treadmill, I will listen to podcasts or audiobooks or watch a series on TV. It’s harder to keep my mind occupied when there isn’t a change in scenery for the whole run.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD: For most easy runs I listen to podcasts or an audiobook as well. I do like music but typcially save it for harder workout days like tempo runs or intervals. For long runs I still need to mix it up. So I will generally change between audiobook and podcasts at about the half way point. I also will switch to music for the last mile just to give me a bit more energy to close out the run. Typically it's the Disney Favorites station on Amazon Music for that.

 

[marty3d]

SAFD: Definitely a music person here. I've tried podcasts/ eBooks but I find it too distracting as I have a tendency to let my mind wander a bit and I realize I've missed the last 10 minutes....

I used to build running specific playlist but now I just use a smart playlist that contains the last 4 hours of music I've added to my library AND favourite. Also always on shuffle. This gives me a nice continuously updated stream of music to run by