Springtime Surprise 2026 (Apr 16-20)

[Dopey 2020]

What is helpful, though, is ice. And med stations will have bags of ice available. Just holding ice in your hand is good. So is rubbing it on the inside of wrists and elbows, back of neck, or tucking under a hat.

Did exactly this at a super hot and sunny marathon before, filled a pocket in my hat with ice at every water stop and it was a godsend. Cooled my head and melted down the back of my neck.

 

[Zutroy]

As a Floridian, I find no value in “cooling” towels for dealing with heat. My skin and clothes are already soaked with sweat - what’s a wet piece of cloth doing for me?! The only time I find using water topically helpful is when said water is cold - at least colder than the air temp… and the bottles used at water stations at WDW are staged outdoors days before: they’re not going to be cold if the air is hot.

What is helpful, though, is ice. And med stations will have bags of ice available. Just holding ice in your hand is good. So is rubbing it on the inside of wrists and elbows, back of neck, or tucking under a hat.

But also the bulk of these races will be in the dark: it may still be warmer than you’re used to, but you won’t have the sun beating down, which helps a lot.

The problem is that cooling towels work through evaporative cooling—the evaporation of water from the wet towel takes heat from your skin, similar to how sweat cools the body. But in high-humidity environments the evaporation slows down because of all the moisture in the air, making cooling towels less effective. Guess what Florida has tons of during Springtime Surprise . . .

That said, when I go to Disney during the summer I will bring along a couple towels anyway. Mainly because I’ll have a jug of ice water that I soak them in, and that brings some temporary relief to Florida in July.

 

[5xdisneyfans]

Ever since we are under the 6 month mark my excitement is growing. I feel like the countdown is truly on its way. I guess because it will be 5 years since my last rundisney event. Just needed to share where people get it.

 

[Disney102015]

Ever since we are under the 6 month mark my excitement is growing. I feel like the countdown is truly on its way

Me too!! My sister and I were strategizing over Thanksgiving yesterday about our travel plans. It’s definitely going to sneak up! I just had a baby so I’m counting the weeks til I can really start training.

 

[5xdisneyfans]

Me too!! My sister and I were strategizing over Thanksgiving yesterday about our travel plans. It’s definitely going to sneak up! I just had a baby so I’m counting the weeks til I can really start training.

Congratulations! I am doing it solo as usual so just me to strategize I have my flight down but not home and keep joking I may not come back. Haha

 

[MissLiss279]

I wanted to post this here, since everyone may not be following the MW thread. I was looking for course maps and noticed that there was a new one for a 10 Miler posted.

I just looked at the USATF site and it looks like the 10k is labeled ‘2025 runDisney 10k’.
It also looks like the measured a ‘runDisney 2025 10 Miler’ that was measured in September - so maybe for next year’s Springtime Surprise?? The actual maps don’t load on my phone, just the certificate part of it. Can anyone else see the maps?

https://certifiedroadraces.com/search/

crappy screenshot, but this is what the 10 miler course looks like:
View attachment 1028512

 

[accm]

Here's a direct link to the certification!
https://certifiedroadraces.com/certificate/?type=r&id=9460

 

[5xdisneyfans]

My training plan started this week. Anyone else? A training plan starting in the middle of winter is commitment. Snow, snow and more snow. I feel like I am checking the weather app all the time. Happy training to everyone else who is starting.

 

[tx911]

My training plan started this week. Anyone else? A training plan starting in the middle of winter is commitment. Snow, snow and more snow. I feel like I am checking the weather app all the time. Happy training to everyone else who is starting.

I'm planning on starting second week of January.

 

[rick1zoo2]

Proof of Time is due TODAY.

 

[5xdisneyfans]

Double digits dance today! 99 days until check in for race weekend for me.

 

[Naomeri]

Double digits dance today! 99 days until check in for race weekend for me.

Same!!

 

[ximfinity]

Going to be going for my first RunDisney race for the 10 miler. Just got back from a family trip so i snagged my bounce back offer for race weekend.

Aside from the tips that apply to everyone regarding busses or bib pickup, Anyone have any first time specific tips?

 

[jmasgat]

Going to be going for my first RunDisney race for the 10 miler. Just got back from a family trip so i snagged my bounce back offer for race weekend.

Aside from the tips that apply to everyone regarding busses or bib pickup, Anyone have any first time specific tips?

First tip….figure out what your expectations are for the race, i.e time to complete, interest in characters, etc. Cause that not only impacts how you approach race day, but also the rest of your trip.

 

[radiodome21]

We did a family trip for the Wine & Dine HF run in October and we all ran the 5k together. My wife and I did the HF too. She and I did the Springtime Surprise last year so it wasn’t our first runDisney races either. Here’s what I told my two teenage kids.

1. Have fun. It’s something you’ve never seen before. Take it all in. Hit pause on your earbuds occasionally, especially in Epcot. You’ll thank me later. (They did).
2. Expect congestion at times and prepare to be disappointed that not everyone adheres to the run on the left and walk on the right.
3. Use the bathrooms in the theme parks and not on the portapotties on the highway at the start of the run.
4. If the ballon ladies sweep you then you’re on your own for food for the trip. (There’s no ballon ladies for the 5k but they didn’t know that).

 

[emilyann704]

Going to be going for my first RunDisney race for the 10 miler. Just got back from a family trip so i snagged my bounce back offer for race weekend.

Aside from the tips that apply to everyone regarding busses or bib pickup, Anyone have any first time specific tips?

I ran my first runDisney race AND 10K last year over Marathon Week. I'm running the 5K in April.

The advice above about determining what kind of race you'd like to complete is important so you set your expectations ahead of time. My goal for the 10K was to complete it without walking and I did that but even with that broad goal it was frustrating at times since I often came dangerously close to walking because of people walking in groups across the whole path.

Also keep in mind how this run will affect your trip. You need to wake up at 2:30am the day of the race so you probably can't spend the day prior going hard in the parks and having some cocktails at dinner. And the day of the race your body will likely be quite tired after little sleep and a 10 mile run.

 

[chicagodisfan]

Going to be going for my first RunDisney race for the 10 miler. Just got back from a family trip so i snagged my bounce back offer for race weekend.

Aside from the tips that apply to everyone regarding busses or bib pickup, Anyone have any first time specific tips?

If you are interested in character pictures (they are awesome and there are a bunch on the longer races), it’s a good idea to be mindful of your pace and corral relative to the balloon ladies. They are the last ones to start and keep a 16 min. per mile pace. So as a buffer for pictures, you’ll have (for each mile) 16 minutes - your pace. And then add to that whatever amount of time you start before them from your corral. In some of the FB groups I’ve seen people post a “where are the balloon ladies” chart with times they would be at each mile. I saved it and made it my phone background for each race. It was super helpful to see at a glance where they were supposed to be relative to where I was and made the stops and race overall more fun and less stressful. There are groups on Telegram and ******* that watch them too and post updates.