Springtime Surprise 2026 (Apr 16-20)

[Naomeri]

My biggest tips would be:

For race strategy -
1. Walk the 5K. This race isn't timed so go as slow as you want to (within reason, of course). Take the photos and have fun.
2. Do the 10K as easy as you can without getting in trouble with the balloon ladies. Have fun, but not too much fun. Immediately after you finish, go into recovery mode. Get some food, re-hydrate (it's likely to be hot and humid so drink, drink, and drink some more), and get off your feet as soon as you can.

In general -
- Respect what you are doing. My friend/travel partner says that, when I'm doing a challenge, it is a running weekend with a side of vacation until I'm finished running. That means that what I need to do to feel good about running takes priority. If that means skipping the standing in long ride lines or not eating my favorite rich dessert or being in bed at 7 p.m., so be it.
- Do some back to back to back days in training. There are things that happen to your body when doing multiple days in a row and you don't want to have them pop up for the first time on race weekend.
- Have a plan for everything going into the weekend and stick with that plan. It's very easy to get distracted by things at Disney and suddenly find yourself doing something that you didn't do in training. Repeat after me "nothing new on race day." But that being said, don't be afraid to throw that plan out if it isn't working for you. At least twice on race weekends, I've found myself telling my travel partner, after two hours of park time, that I was done and going to head back to the hotel room.

I hope this helps!

I will add to the post-10K recovery suggestions: get a ticket to a water park and hang out in the lazy river in one of the chair tubes so you can kick your legs to move around, but not have any weight on them. I did it in 2023 when they had cheap water park entry for runners and it felt so good. The Typhoon Lagoon post race party in 2024 was good for recovery at the end of the challenge too.

 

[KCO5988]

Not over doing it during the day, getting enough rest and finding basic healthy food for the first 4 days since I have a sensitive stomach. It is also just never experiencing three early run days in a row. I am hoping to do more challenges in the future if this goes well.

I have a very sensitive stomach too and celiac disease, I can give you basic healthy food recs depending on where you'll be those first 4 days! (They'll be all gluten free, but most places have a normal version of whatever they have that is gluten free!) And I'm sure other people on here have recommendations they will share with you as well.

 

[5xdisneyfans]

My biggest tips would be:

For race strategy -
1. Walk the 5K. This race isn't timed so go as slow as you want to (within reason, of course). Take the photos and have fun.
2. Do the 10K as easy as you can without getting in trouble with the balloon ladies. Have fun, but not too much fun. Immediately after you finish, go into recovery mode. Get some food, re-hydrate (it's likely to be hot and humid so drink, drink, and drink some more), and get off your feet as soon as you can.

In general -
- Respect what you are doing. My friend/travel partner says that, when I'm doing a challenge, it is a running weekend with a side of vacation until I'm finished running. That means that what I need to do to feel good about running takes priority. If that means skipping the standing in long ride lines or not eating my favorite rich dessert or being in bed at 7 p.m., so be it.
- Do some back to back to back days in training. There are things that happen to your body when doing multiple days in a row and you don't want to have them pop up for the first time on race weekend.
- Have a plan for everything going into the weekend and stick with that plan. It's very easy to get distracted by things at Disney and suddenly find yourself doing something that you didn't do in training. Repeat after me "nothing new on race day." But that being said, don't be afraid to throw that plan out if it isn't working for you. At least twice on race weekends, I've found myself telling my travel partner, after two hours of park time, that I was done and going to head back to the hotel room.

I hope this helps!

Thanks for your tips. I am going to follow the running plan from RunDisney which has back to back days worked in which will be a new experience for me but takes the guess work out of doing the planning.

 

[5xdisneyfans]

I have a very sensitive stomach too and celiac disease, I can give you basic healthy food recs depending on where you'll be those first 4 days! (They'll be all gluten free, but most places have a normal version of whatever they have that is gluten free!) And I'm sure other people on here have recommendations they will share with you as well.

I will be sure to ask once I have better idea where I will be on those days but to start I am staying at Coronado Springs. Thanks