Marathon Weekend 2027

[Disney at Heart]

SAFD: Disney races
1. 2013 ToT 10 miler, night race - extremely hot, and they were blasting pyrotechnic flames into the air

2. W&D Splash and Dash and Half of a Half, also night races

3. Star Wars 5k, we evacuated to EPCOT and waited until the chaos of “everyone just go”

4. MW half marathon (what year?) when there was no chance of rain until I was in front of CR and the flood started, I ran down Main Street in ankle deep water because the water couldn’t drain as fast as it was coming down

5. My first Dopey, 2017, when the half was cancelled and we ran it around Hourglass lake with the best group of people to ever “make lemonade”

6. 2020 marathon, heat wave


Otherwise interesting:
1. 5k trail race in nice fluffy snow in Anderson, SC.

2. Peach Tree Road Race thunderstorm with 60,000 running friends. DH was finished in Piedmont Park which was evacuated, DS and DIL hadn’t started yet and were evacuated into Phipps Plaza, and me at about mile three. When I asked a race volunteer, “What should I do?” The answer was “Run faster!” So I did.

3. 2025 ATL Thanksgiving half was in freezing wind chills with 25 mph winds

 

[camaker]

SAFD: Disney races
1. 2013 ToT 10 miler, night race - extremely hot, and they were blasting pyrotechnic flames into the air

2. W&D Splash and Dash and Half of a Half, also night races

3. Star Wars 5k, we evacuated to EPCOT and waited until the chaos of “everyone just go”

4. MW half marathon (what year?) when there was no chance of rain until I was in front of CR and the flood started, I ran down Main Street in ankle deep water because the water couldn’t drain as fast as it was coming down

5. My first Dopey, 2017, when the half was cancelled and we ran it around Hourglass lake with the best group of people to ever “make lemonade”

6. 2020 marathon, heat wave


Otherwise interesting:
1. 5k trail race in nice fluffy snow in Anderson, SC.

2. Peach Tree Road Race thunderstorm with 60,000 running friends. DH was finished in Piedmont Park which was evacuated, DS and DIL hadn’t started yet and were evacuated into Phipps Plaza, and me at about mile three. When I asked a race volunteer, “What should I do?” The answer was “Run faster!” So I did.

3. 2025 ATL Thanksgiving half was in freezing wind chills with 25 mph winds

You post a list like this when you're trying to lure me down to the Dam Run? This makes it sound like you might be the lightning rod for bad conditions...

 

[lhermiston]

That is unhinged!

I actually appreciated the sentiment. The race directors were in a tough spot and it was probably a lose/lose situation in some respects.

But he was right. We were adults, we signed a waiver and no one was forced to run.

I’m exceedingly glad I ran that race.

 

[GollyGadget]

SAFD: due to recency bias and my lousy memory, my pick is this past December’s Santa Run. It was single digits with a wind chill of -10F and several inches of snow on the ground. But honestly it didn’t feel all that bad. I did have to break out my fleece tights for under the Santa suit but I don’t remember being cold at all. Below is an after photo and I certainly don’t look miserable





Reading all of your replies reminded me that I do have one more contender. The race weather was fine but conditions were not ideal. It was a trail race in the winter, I don’t even remember how far but there were loops involved so I’m guessing 10K. The first loop had a section that was at least 100m of pure ice. I basically just scurried from tree to tree, trying to stay upright. For the second loop, the temps had unfortunately warmed and I had to run through shin deep freezing water. Somehow I survived and had blocked that from my memory until now. Thanks y’all

 

[Barca33Runner]

SAFD: Every race I’ve run I deemed the weather as good enough to go beforehand; so, generally, I don’t really think about the weather during or after a race and very little comes to mind.

There was a Turkey Trot 10k about 10 years ago that was run after a couple inches of overnight snow and a course that had some spots that were just straight patches of ice. I remember wishing I had signed up for the 5k instead after the first time I almost slipped. Fortunately, came out of it unscathed but my legs hurt for the next week worse than any Marathon I’ve ever run. I believe because of all the extra effort expended to maintain stability in the conditions.

 

[Kerry1957]

SAFD: My first marathon around 7 years ago, The Des Plaines River Trail in suburban Chicago. The weather on race day (mid October) was actually pretty nice; low 50s and overcast. But the course....

We experienced much greater than usual rain in the days and weeks before race day, and the course was flooded. We had the option to cut the course to around 20 miles or defer to next year. It was my first marathon so how could I do either of those?

The worst spot was where the river had flooded the trail, and it was about knee deep for 30-40 yards. It was difficult to know where the trail ended and the river began. Unfortunately it was at mile 1 point something, and part of the only short out and back on the course. So twice in the first 5 miles I waded through. The water was filled with suspended sand and gunk so after exiting the water the first time I hade to sit down and try to rinse the sand out of my shoes and socks. I was a bit smarter the second time and took of my shoes and socks and waded barefoot.

I kept thinking...only 20 miles to go and I can feel sand in my shoes I couldn't wash out. What could go wrong?

I finished with very tender and irritated feet but it was still the most satisfying race of my running "career".

 

[lookingforsunshine]

SAFD: I am having a hard time remembering- most of my rough weather encounters have been on the bike. But I definitely did a trail race series in Memphis where it was icy and I fell down a few times because of it lol. I’m sure I have had worse weather experiences, but I can’t think of them right now.

 

[BigEeyore]

MCM2019 - Nonstop heavy rain until I hit about mile 20 and the sun came out and it was a sauna! The mall was flooded - I was ankle deep for a couple of miles sloshing through it. There was a ground stop at Reagan Airport the weather was so bad. I keep thinking about going back and doing it again and hoping for better weather, but I still have PTSD from that one.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

MCM2019 - Nonstop heavy rain until I hit about mile 20 and the sun came out and it was a sauna! The mall was flooded - I was ankle deep for a couple of miles sloshing through it. There was a ground stop at Reagan Airport the weather was so bad. I keep thinking about going back and doing it again and hoping for better weather, but I still have PTSD from that one.

I was there for that one too and think I blocked it out when I read the question! I remember the water being so high on the blue mile down by the river. When the sun came out I was just past the mall and came so close to calling it quits and just jumping on the metro. That was my only marathon outside of Disney and certainly has impacted my thought process every time I think of signing up for something besides MW!

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: after 35 years of running in FL, “crazy” inclement weather incidents no longer register as “crazy” to me - they’re basically commonplace, lol! “Snow” (sleet - it was sleet) in 2010. The 2014 W&D we renamed Splash n Dash and the hypothermia immediately afterward. 2015(?) W&D, aka the inaugural Half of a Half, complete with full evacuation of the entire field into WWOS buildings for a hour or more. 2017 canceled half and frigid full. 2023 WDW half cut short due to weather. Running ahead of, through, and after too many named storms to count. Scariest incident was probably a perfectly normal late summer run when I thought I was safe, but got caught out by a storm that dropped ankle-deep rain in minutes, pelted me with hail, and drove me under the portico of a closed nursing home, from where I watched lightning strike the baseball field across the street as I squatted down into a full tuck and hoped not to get electrocuted.

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: Disney races
1. 2013 ToT 10 miler, night race - extremely hot, and they were blasting pyrotechnic flames into the air

That was nuts! I remember basically the entire field around me, and myself included, issuing various sweaty sentiments as that giant fireball roasted us in passing! Who thought THAT was a great idea lol?!

 

[drummerwife]

Virginia Beach Wicked 10k Oct 2012. Hurricane Sandy was just off the coast when the race was run and the winds were terrible. Thankfully I don’t remember any rain, but, the finish was on the boardwalk and with the winds it felt like you were being sandblasted for the last 1/4 mile. I remember any skin that was exposed was very tender for the next few days.

 

[accm]

SAFD: Since I have a treadmill at home I'll use it any time the weather is questionable. So the only borderline answer I have is the 2024 MW half of a half. I finished the actual race pretty early before it started raining, but it had started up by the time I got back to our resort. I went out to finish the missing miles, and got completely drenched. The whole time I was running I kept an eye out for the boats on Seven Seas Lagoon, since I knew if they were still running, I was fine to be outside. I ended up finishing my 13.1 miles right in front of Magic Kingdom!

 

[marty3d]

That was nuts! I remember basically the entire field around me, and myself included, issuing various sweaty sentiments as that giant fireball roasted us in passing! Who thought THAT was a great idea lol?!

I ran it in 2012 and it was just as bad. 95% humidity at the start. That year the recovery area was the fantasmic theater and I lay on one of those metal benches for 30 minutes after the race. I might have to replace my SAFD answer because I’d forgotten about that race.

 

[jrsharp21]

SAFD: Wow. I really don't have any weather stories compared to all of yours. Really, mine was yesterday. Did a 10 mile run in 26 degrees. I felt it was like running on Hoth. LOL. But I guess it really was tame compared to some of the snow and cold weather you guys run in.

 

[lhermiston]

MCM2019 - Nonstop heavy rain until I hit about mile 20 and the sun came out and it was a sauna! The mall was flooded - I was ankle deep for a couple of miles sloshing through it. There was a ground stop at Reagan Airport the weather was so bad. I keep thinking about going back and doing it again and hoping for better weather, but I still have PTSD from that one.

Give MCM another chance! I ran it this past October and it was a perfect day.

Oorah!

 

[nancipants]

I don't have any crazy weather stories - yet. It might be this weekend.

 

[MissLiss279]

MCM2019 - Nonstop heavy rain until I hit about mile 20 and the sun came out and it was a sauna! The mall was flooded - I was ankle deep for a couple of miles sloshing through it. There was a ground stop at Reagan Airport the weather was so bad. I keep thinking about going back and doing it again and hoping for better weather, but I still have PTSD from that one.

I was there for that one too and think I blocked it out when I read the question! I remember the water being so high on the blue mile down by the river. When the sun came out I was just past the mall and came so close to calling it quits and just jumping on the metro. That was my only marathon outside of Disney and certainly has impacted my thought process every time I think of signing up for something besides MW!

I ran the 50k that year. It was crazy! Pouring ankle deep water in the blue mile area for me too, and then sauna around mile marker 20ish.

ETA: and then I wasn’t sure where the finish line was, because the inflatable arch was down, there were a whole bunch of marines encroaching on the final little section. I crossed a timing mat, and I was like, is that the finish line?? Do I stop my watch?? But then it was almost an immediate stoppage with no room to move, so I guessed that I had crossed the finish line.
I would like to go back some day and run the marathon to give it a better chance.

 

[princesspirateandrunner]

SAFD: I have quite a few, though most are from a good while ago. I’m less inclined to run in extreme weather these days.

We were at several of these already mentioned—the W&D Splash and Dash and the W&D half of a half, and the 2020 Marathon that was blazing hot (and it turned out that I ran with the flu—not recommended, but I did finish the full thing). I also ran the Peachtree the year of that horrible storm. I was already on the course before they started holding start groups, and I remember the huge bolts of lightning. We also did the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half one year when it was 23 degrees and all the water stations were frozen. Our younger son ran that as his first half, and decided not to do another for a long time after that one!

Two others that come to mind:

1. The Jackson MS half that was cold and pouring rain for the entire time. There were a bunch of potholes in the roads that you couldn’t really see well, and they were filled with cold water.

2. The 2017 Hound Dog Half in Elkmont, Alabama. We were on our way to visit our older son in Memphis, and had signed up to get a half in Alabama, as we were collecting states at that time and were running at least a half every month that year. That race became semi-famous because the year before, a hound named Ludavine escaped her yard and ran the entire course without her owners knowing that she’d joined in. They gave her a medal, and there was nationwide news coverage (I believe Ludavine crossed the line as the seventh runner that year). The race was renamed the Hound Dog Half, and Ludavine was there for photos when we were there.

Unfortunately, the weather took a turn in 2017, and tornadoes were a strong possibility so the race organizers didn’t feel great about it. Many of us were from out-of-town, and couldn’t be back for the rescheduled event so they told us that if we wanted to run it unofficially, we could, and they would give us all the race swag and support they could. Quite a few of us did, although the course went through some pretty rural roads far from the little town of Elkmont. Some of the locals ran, too, and one lady even told us that we could come to her house to shower afterwards if we wanted. They made us some fantastic hot brunswick stew and homemade cookies, and gave us the medals, a hat, a quarter zip, and coffee mugs. It was really a terrific experience, and we got photos with Ludavine afterwards.

 

[PrincessV]

I ran it in 2012 and it was just as bad. 95% humidity at the start. That year the recovery area was the fantasmic theater and I lay on one of those metal benches for 30 minutes after the race. I might have to replace my SAFD answer because I’d forgotten about that race.

Yep, that was gnarly. Physically, I was fine: easily 10x better conditions than what I’d been training in, thanks to at least not having the sun in the mix. But the scene afterward was crazy - like a mass triage of people down and medics everywhere.