Running disney??

[runnergirl97]

Has anyone ran a Disney marathon, half, or 5k? I've never done one but I want to! If you have, which one do you recommend?

 

[Handbag Lady]

Has anyone ran a Disney marathon, half, or 5k? I've never done one but I want to! If you have, which one do you recommend?

You should TOTALLY do the Goofy.




(Says the girl who hasn't run since 10th grade.)


Honeslty, start with the Princess. My friend did that and is now at marathon level.

 

[kwelch10377]

I haven't, but I am hoping to be able to go and do the Food and Wine half marathon next year. I know a few people who have done the Princess one and they highly recommend it.

 

[MoonFaerie]

You should TOTALLY do the Goofy.

I haven't yet, but I'm doing the Princess Half in Feb. It seems to be a good first one to do.

 

[dizdad223]

I ran the half marathon with my sister a few years ago. Despite the icy roads and occasional sleet we still had a great time. Goes to show it doesn't matter which race you run at Disney, they are all a blast!

 

[freepixie]

I have done the Princess and it was FABULOUS!!!

Now I'm gearing up for the TOT 10-Miler

You should seriously look over at the WISH section of the Dis- under "Events and Competition" there is a wealth of info and support for every race Disney has

 

[runnergirl97]

You should TOTALLY do the Goofy.

(Says the girl who hasn't run since 10th grade.)

Honeslty, start with the Princess. My friend did that and is now at marathon level.

Lol! I'm definitely gonna go for the princess first!

 

[FireDancer]

I've done the January half twice, the January full once, the Wine & Dine once, and the Disneyland half once. Of them all the best event is the Wine & Dine.

The WISH boards have an events sub-board and each race gets their own discussion thread. Check it out.

 

[Buckalew11]

I've done the 1/2 marathon in January and the 5K the next year.

I'm planning on the 1/2 marathon in 2013. But let me be honest, I'm not a runner. I am really having to train from scratch for this. So, if anyone thinks they can't--they can. Or try at least!

DH is doing the 1/2 with me. He usually does the Goofy but he says it just takes up too much of your weekend getting up at 3 a.m. 2 days in a row.

I really want to do the nighttime 10 miler. I'm a night owl so this appeals to me.

If you are a runner, you will love a Disney race. Expensive but fun.

 

[SandrA9810]

Some of the people I worked for did the half marathons and shorter, even though they weren't runners. The other consideration is the weather. They're held all year round, most people underestimate how cold it can get in January during the full marathon.

There's actually quite a few other events as well held on property. I think there's a rollerblade one, a few bicycles, and an iron man event. I think there's a weekend of activities at the Wide World of Sports (but I don't remember if that's a cast only thing).

 

[MrsDuck]

I've done the Princess 5k and the Expedition Everest Challenge (with a broken foot!). Both were a BLAST and I'd recommend both!!

Once you Run Disney, you'll be hooked!

 

[Allison]

Not yet but I want to. It will probably be the Princess. I might consider making my first trip to Disneyland and doing something there but I think I want to stay with the familiar for the first one.

 

[Ariel484]

You should TOTALLY do the Goofy.




(Says the girl who hasn't run since 10th grade.)


Honeslty, start with the Princess. My friend did that and is now at marathon level.

This is what I did. Princess Half in 2011, full WDW Marathon in 2012. My recommendation would be to decide what distance you want to do (5K, 10 miles, half marathon or full marathon) and, from there, start researching the different races. Google race reports and decide what time of year you want to go, if you like the idea of a night race (ToT 10-miler, Wine & Dine Half) vs. a race that starts in the morning, WDW vs. Disneyland, what theme you like (princesses, more sporty marathon weekend, food & wine) and go from there. Lots of great options!

 

[runnergirl97]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions!

 

[timmac]

My first question would be, what type/length of events have you run that aren't Disney?

I'll be a bit of a dissenter, in a sense, and say that a disney race should definitely not be one of the first anyone does. First, learn to enjoy the running, then enjoy it even more when you're in Disney. Having experience in a few events that have less participants is also a good prerequesite for the basic process and etiquette.

While it's not everyone, by any means, too often I hear about people running Disney events, and it's clear they're only doing it because it's in Disney.... they don't enjoy running, aren't properly trained/prepared, aren't sure if they can even finish under the time limit... and it's as if the whole thing is a 13 mile death march for them (in spite of enjoying being in Disney for it)

All of that said, I've done the goofy, and can say that both the half and full marathon courses were great, and a lot of fun. My only advice is to please please please take the event seriously, and don't just do the minimum to barely finish under the time limit. To be clear, finishing time itself doesn't matter, but rather is preparedness that I'm getting at. Even though the event is at Disney, it's no less serious an athletic endeavor than any other race, and really needs to be treated as such.

 

[runnergirl97]

My first question would be, what type/length of events have you run that aren't Disney?

I'll be a bit of a dissenter, in a sense, and say that a disney race should definitely not be one of the first anyone does. First, learn to enjoy the running, then enjoy it even more when you're in Disney. Having experience in a few events that have less participants is also a good prerequesite for the basic process and etiquette.

While it's not everyone, by any means, too often I hear about people running Disney events, and it's clear they're only doing it because it's in Disney.... they don't enjoy running, aren't properly trained/prepared, aren't sure if they can even finish under the time limit... and it's as if the whole thing is a 13 mile death march for them (in spite of enjoying being in Disney for it)

All of that said, I've done the goofy, and can say that both the half and full marathon courses were great, and a lot of fun. My only advice is to please please please take the event seriously, and don't just do the minimum to barely finish under the time limit. To be clear, finishing time itself doesn't matter, but rather is preparedness that I'm getting at. Even though the event is at Disney, it's no less serious an athletic endeavor than any other race, and really needs to be treated as such.

I'm a cross country runner and run anywhere from 4 to 8 miles a day, but I would love to do a 10k and eventually a half marathon. I genuinely do love running and have done countless 5k's, so I'm not just doing it because it's Disney. I think you have a great point though, no one should force themselves to run simply because it's at Disney world.

 

[Syrreal]

I signed up for the Jingle Jungle 5K this November.

 

[Disney Doll]

I have walked the WDW 1/2 a number of times, the WDW full once, the ToT 13K once, and Disney's 5K a number of times. Additionally I have done numerous 5Ks locally.

Disney's races are fun, but I would echo the PP who said that you have to train. 13.1 miles is a damn long way to go on foot and 26.2 miles is even longer. As a walker, I don't break any land speed records....usually come in anywhere from 3:20-3:30 in a 1/2 Marathon, but, because I train, I have no ill effects. The full took me the full 7 hours but again, other than a little muscle stiffness the next day, no ill effects because of my training schedule.

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

I have run last year's Wine and Dine 1/2 marathon, Walt Disney World relay (half of the full marathon with a partner) in January, and the Princess in February.

I have the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 miler, Wine and Dine, and Goofy Challenge all coming up in the next few months.

 

[Buckalew11]

My first question would be, what type/length of events have you run that aren't Disney?

I'll be a bit of a dissenter, in a sense, and say that a disney race should definitely not be one of the first anyone does. First, learn to enjoy the running, then enjoy it even more when you're in Disney. Having experience in a few events that have less participants is also a good prerequesite for the basic process and etiquette.

While it's not everyone, by any means, too often I hear about people running Disney events, and it's clear they're only doing it because it's in Disney.... they don't enjoy running, aren't properly trained/prepared, aren't sure if they can even finish under the time limit... and it's as if the whole thing is a 13 mile death march for them (in spite of enjoying being in Disney for it)

All of that said, I've done the goofy, and can say that both the half and full marathon courses were great, and a lot of fun. My only advice is to please please please take the event seriously, and don't just do the minimum to barely finish under the time limit. To be clear, finishing time itself doesn't matter, but rather is preparedness that I'm getting at. Even though the event is at Disney, it's no less serious an athletic endeavor than any other race, and really needs to be treated as such.

I totally agree with this. Since DH is a runner, he ran it with me and told me the ins and outs of racing (I use that term lightly for myself! lol).

I mean, a WDW race is crowded and you do not stop running in the middle of the road! You move to the side and then walk.I can't tell you how many times people just stopped in the middle of the road!

Of course, the same things happens in WDW...you'll be walking along and BAM! Someone stops right in the middle of the road to check the stroller, look at their map, etc. etc. Ugh.

I think a lot of people do it who have never run before. I was one of them and left on my own, I might of reeked havoc but I had some direction from my trainer.

I'm a cross country runner and run anywhere from 4 to 8 miles a day, but I would love to do a 10k and eventually a half marathon. I genuinely do love running and have done countless 5k's, so I'm not just doing it because it's Disney. I think you have a great point though, no one should force themselves to run simply because it's at Disney world.

If you run 8 miles, you can *easily* do a 1/2. I mean, what's 5.1 more miles? When I trained for the 1/2, the farthest I went was either 8 or 9 so I "knew" I could go the 8 or 9. But could I do more? I remember seeing the 8 or 9 mile marker and sort of having a panic because I really was venturing into the unknown. DH kept saying, "If you can do 8, you can do 9. If you can do 9, you can do 10. If you can do 10, you can do 11..."

Of course, he's completed a full Ironman race (140.6 miles). But, he had me convinced. Same way he had me convinced I push that baby out.