Marathon Weekend 2027

[smileyanna]

I've been thinking only the marathon for 2027 so that I can prioritize rides over photo ops, and then maybe Dopey in 2028 for the anniversary year. YMMV

Yeah, this is also a way to keep the experiences fresh... MW's are similar but doing a different suite of races makes the annual experience unique.

Would you feel like you've missed out on those if you do Goofy?

I definitely missed the 5k and 10k, but I was pleasantly surprised that the pride/finish line feeling from Goofy was 100% on par!

I had to switch to Dopey again this year because of a charity snafu, but had it gone well (i.e. I wasn't injured this year) I probably would have gone back to Goofy this year, But now I want "revenge" so back to Dopey I go.

Redemption Tour - 100%

2 early mornings are so much better than 4. Oh and the late visit to expo, the best!

Yup - watching Wednesday expo day from afar made me very happy to be doing Goofy

Thanks everyone. Leaning more Goofy right now! But wait a few minutes...

 

[camaker]

I am having trouble deciding between Goofy and Dopey for 2027, and will need to let my charity know pretty soon. I'd love your advice. Background: Longtime marathon runner, just recently (re)started runDisney. Ran Dopey in 2025 and Goofy in 2026.

Pros of Dopey:
- It's the Everest of runDisney events.
- So much camaraderie. More meetups. The podcasts I listen to focus on that week's Dopey training and I like feeling a part of that. I was shocked how it felt like my entire corral was running Dopey and not the standalone Marathon/Half/Goofy!
- The 5k and 10k are my favorite races. My least favorite course is the half marathon. Marathon weekend is my only runDisney event for the year, and I like these morning run experiences
- Forces an extra long vacation, and I'd go to the parks on 5k and 10k day.

Pros of Goofy
- I call it "The Working Man's Dopey," in that you get almost all of the challenge in a fairly efficient weekend. The training is almost identical. The feeling of accomplishment was the same for me.
- Much less Disney hangover - I found reentry to real life MUCH easier this year.
- It was great getting to the corrals on half marathon morning this year fresh and excited, and not feeling like "oh, this again?!" Dopey is awesome but also a slog
- Cheaper, less time away from family
- I can avoid the expo on the first day
- Rumor has it that 2028 is a good year for Dopey (anniversary?). So if I am really torn, I can hold back for 2027 and then return to Dopey in 2028

I think it depends on your personality. You've already done both, so you should be in a good position to make an educated decision already. I have a "do it all or don't do it at all" personality. After running 10k + Goofy in 2016 followed by Dopey in 2017 & 2018, I decided to do Goofy in 2019 for most of the reasons you outlined. I did not enjoy it. I constantly felt like I was missing out on part of the experience. It's been Dopey every year since and I've not regretted a minute of it.