Marathon Weekend 2026

[fatmanatee]

Do NOT bring an umbrella. I had a mini umbrella as part of a costume last year, and it was fine out on the course where we had room to spread out, but anywhere else (ESPECIALLY the corrals) it was just too crowded to put it up without risking injuring someone. For potential rain, bring something to sit on (mylar, an extra poncho, even a plastic bag) and cover yourself with a throw-away poncho (or a garbage bag will work in a pinch). @camaker had a mylar poncho last year that was pretty brilliant for the cold, too!

That rain this year was coming in sideways anyway, it was super windy and an umbrella would have made things worse because you'd just be struggling to keep it together. So yeah, buy disposable ponchos.

 

[lilmc]

I bought a 4 pack of these on Amazon for pretty cheap in case I needed them for NYC.

The link is just taking me to the Amazon homepage. Which do you like?

 

[jrsharp21]

These are the mylar ponchos I bought.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRRK79GK?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

 

[fatmanatee]

Question, has anyone ever had any luck getting some type of refund or deferral from rD for an injury? My friend who does the marathon every year, hurt his achilles doing a half marathon race. He has been trying to push through it so he can do the marathon, but he says after 3 miles it is too much. He had basically given in to the fact he was out the registration cost. I told him he would never know unless he tried to ask them for some options. I know that they don't usually issue any type of compensation, but has anyone ever had any luck?

No refund or deferral, but people have gotten Disney credit. Not a guarantee though, just have to email them and hope for the best.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

SAFD: My screen name is from one of my favorite Pixar/Disney movies, plus my body shape more resembled that of the office Parr before he returned to action. And I literally had the office cubical with a pillar in it in a past job. The avatar is me; the photo is from 2025 SS, or maybe 2024. I don't get to do any cosplaying (busy with other stuff), but do so for races and like going for high-fidelity to the character, as opposed to bounding. A couple of races ago, I went to HS post-race, still dressed as Mr I, and had a young lady who was sure I was him, so I did do a photo. She had some level of learning disability, so be darned if I was doing to tell her otherwise. I think it made both our days. Then I went down the alley for a pic with Mr and Mrs I, and they saw me coming and started jumping around and pointing. They seemed to be as excited to see me as I was to see them. Took a bunch of pictures and had a blast doing so.

Rain: I ordered Tyvek jackets off Amazon. They are wind-proof and surprisingly good as rain coats as well.

Injury: Due to the unfortunate disconnection of my hamstring from my backside last year, I was not going to be able to do MW 2025. I contacted rD, told them the details and that my race number absolutely would not be used, and they sent me a partial refund in the form of a Disney gift card (digital). Which was then used as part of paying for Pop at SS. So make your case to them and see what happens.
YMMV

 

[sandam1]

Hi! Trying to over prepare for the weather. If it is raining, do you bring an umbrella for the corrals? Anything else?

As others have mentioned, ponchos are ideal. In the cold rain this past January, I used a regular rain poncho plus an mylar blanket underneath which was awkward, but worked for the most part. I've since bought one of the thermal ponchos (I got it at my local Walmart) because they looked perfect.

One thing that I really wished that I had was something to cover my legs and feet (a trash bag probably would have been ideal) and something to sit on that would keep my butt dry (a towel or blanket?). I spent A LOT more time standing in the corrals that morning than I usually do and it took a toll on my feet.

When running in the rain, a hat is important equipment to have (it keeps the rain out of your eyes) and, for longer distances, consider carrying a dry pair of socks to change into.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Definitely a rain poncho at a minimum. Umbrellas can be tricky because the corrals get very tight and crowded. Everyone seems to take the "fill in all available space" extremely seriously the instant A corral starts to move, even when you're back in D or E and won't be going anywhere for another 40 minutes.
View attachment 1030098
This was us waiting in the corrals for the HM in January this year. It sucked. Anyone who didn't have a poncho or mylar got absolutely drenched. And then the rain stopped and it didn't rain while we ran. Typical Florida.

Ahh yes, the race where I lost my phone in the staging area and didn't realize until I was in the corrals, and was running around like a crazy person looking for it in the pouring rain (I luckily found it at lost & found)

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

One thing that I really wished that I had was something to cover my legs and feet (a trash bag probably would have been ideal) and something to sit on that would keep my butt dry (a towel or blanket?). I spent A LOT more time standing in the corrals that morning than I usually do and it took a toll on my feet.

After one year where I stood in the corral for an extended period of time, I said to heck with doing that again. It led to a lot of fatigue before the race even began. I now bring a thick towel or cheap throw pillow from Wally World, find one of the fences to lean back on, and sit down for as long as possible. It makes a *huge* difference. Ditto for bringing earplugs if your hearing is more on the sensitive side. This wasn't a problem back when we lined up along the road outside of Epcot, but is now with the more recent staging area with the giant speakers and noise.

>> and was running around like a crazy person
Some of us don't even need to lose something to resemble this....

 

[pluto377]

SAFD- My screen name is my favorite character and my birth month and year. Though maybe I should stop admitting the year part. Avatar is me after the 2025 half. I should update though since I've lost 35 pounds!

 

[jrsharp21]

I think on marathon day, I saw a couple of people that had foldable camping stools in the corral. Not a bad idea for one of the races as you can find these for like $10. But if you are doing Dopey, hard to throw $40 down the drain for all the races (we like to throw money down the drain on other things at WDW, LOL).

 

[KCO5988]

Good morning RunDisney All-Stars! Welcome to this week's edition of Sundays are for Disney (SAFD). Population of the Marathon Weekend DIS spreadsheet is well underway and the weekend meet-ups are being planned and discussed where a lot of us will meet face to face. We tend to know each other primarily by screen name and/or avatar, so let's expand on that. What does your screen name and/or avatar represent? Is there any particular significance in either?

SAFD: My screen name comes from my early career in medical device R&D. I started my career making medical grade cyanoacrylates (CAs, aka super glue) so I was a camaker. If you've ever had a cut or incision closed with Dermabond, I developed the initial manufacturing process for it. It was developed at a very small company in Raleigh, NC before J&J bought it, sending my career in a different direction. The screen name has stuck, though.

My avatar is our first dog, Owen the English bulldog. He was a great dog and we had 9 wonderful years with him, even if the NC State Vet School has a wing named in his honor after all the time and money we spent there! We've had more bulldogs since, but he's got a special place in the heart as the first.

My C-section scar thanks you! hahaha

My screen name is boring - just my initials and birthday. I created it to lurk after finding the board googling rundisney advice after signing up for wine and dine 2024. I would change it to something more fun but now I feel like it's too late. I need to actually add an avatar one of these days.

 

[PrincessV]

Hi! Trying to over prepare for the weather. If it is raining, do you bring an umbrella for the corrals? Anything else? I've raced in very cold but never rain. Thanks!
And SAFD: Clearly I joined at the height of Frozen with two toddler girls

As usual, I’ll chime in with an opinion different than the majority…

Yes, I’ve used a cheap, old umbrella whilst waiting in the rain before a race. But I hang back away from the crowd so there was no danger involved in being dangerously close to others. But an umbrella alone isn’t good enough for serious rain. Not a fan of ponchos, but I found disposable rain coats online that snap up the front and include a hood with drawstring - they’re great in the rain! Coupled with an umbrella, it was perfect. At some point you will have to merge into the sea of humans to get from your corral to the start line, and that’s when the umbrella will be problematic, but that’s a short period of time and then you get moving, anyway.

My#1 piece of rain running advice is to bring newspaper for soaked shoes: pull out the insoles to dry separately, and stuff the shoes with newspaper. Swap out for more dry paper after a few hours. Speeds drying time way up!

 

[HockeySteve]

Is the 4:30 am marathon start time new? I remember RunDisney going from 5:30 am to 5:00 am start post-pandemic for the marathon but didn't realize they pushed it up more (along with moving the other races to 5:00 am starts).

 

[jrsharp21]

Is the 4:30 am marathon start time new? I remember RunDisney going from 5:30 am to 5:00 am start post-pandemic for the marathon but didn't realize they pushed it up more (along with moving the other races to 5:00 am starts).

That started with this past MW.

 

[Novatrix]

Question, has anyone ever had any luck getting some type of refund or deferral from rD for an injury? My friend who does the marathon every year, hurt his achilles doing a half marathon race. He has been trying to push through it so he can do the marathon, but he says after 3 miles it is too much. He had basically given in to the fact he was out the registration cost. I told him he would never know unless he tried to ask them for some options. I know that they don't usually issue any type of compensation, but has anyone ever had any luck?

Not a personal medical issue, but I was fully refunded to a Disney gift card when I needed to drop out of a race 2 weeks prior due to a family medical emergency, even though I didn't expect to get anything.

It never hurts to ask and I suspect rundisney might be more lenient with repeat runners based on some of the reports I've read than with first timers.

 

[fatmanatee]

Is the 4:30 am marathon start time new? I remember RunDisney going from 5:30 am to 5:00 am start post-pandemic for the marathon but didn't realize they pushed it up more (along with moving the other races to 5:00 am starts).

As mentioned above, started last year, and not only that, they changed the course so that less time is spent in Epcot at the end (the WS loop happens at the beginning now, they also sold it as having more time in MK). Put two and two together, basically the major reason for the changes is that park ops wants athletes done earlier and with less interference for parks guests.

 

[WDW 4 ME]

Ahh yes, the race where I lost my phone in the staging area and didn't realize until I was in the corrals, and was running around like a crazy person looking for it in the pouring rain (I luckily found it at lost & found)

This would send me over the edge

 

[The Expert]

I don't actually mind the earlier start. As a slower runner, it gives me more time in cooler temps before the sun comes up, and a better chance at going through the castle in the dark with it all lit up. It's not like I'm getting a ton of sleep that night anyway.

 

[dobball23]

I don't actually mind the earlier start. As a slower runner, it gives me more time in cooler temps before the sun comes up, and a better chance at going through the castle in the dark with it all lit up. It's not like I'm getting a ton of sleep that night anyway.

I dislike the 30 minutes less of recovery. But in the grand scheme of things, it probably doesn't matter much.

 

[fatmanatee]

Just came across this wild pic of the marathon held during the 25th anniversary celebration of WDW (1997?). Would love to see a map of this one… the reverse castle route! Bright daylight!