So I’ve created a post for each of the marathon weekend events that I completed, but as I signed up to the multi-day challenge, I thought I’d do one post with my summary of the whole weekend.
All the medals! It was definitely the done thing to take your medals into the parks after and take photos with them- such nice mementos.
Before
First up, if you are at all interested in any Run Disney event, know that they sell out super quickly. This was a decision we made at the start of 2025, and the day they went on sale Andy had to be online and logged in and ready to go (as I was at work). Secondly, they are super expensive. While we’ve done other Run Disney events (DLP half marathon, and a 5k and 10k in WDW in 2018 and 2019) doing the marathon was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, which is partly why we did the challenge at the same time- in for a penny as they say. You do get a race shirt included (plus one for any challenge) and of course the medals, and all the race photos (and there are loads of photographers out and they take really good photos) but it is very expensive. However, you get to run through the parks which is definitely more interesting than running along a dual carriageway.
The expo was a bit manic- a lot of people do the Dopey challenge (I think around 7000 looking at the results) and as you have to collect everything on the first day it opens, it’s busy.
Thoughts of the challenge also dominated the holiday a bit- we flew out fairly early, to allow for weather disruptions (but also it was the cheapest day to fly), and although we enjoyed going to the parks before the races, in the back of my mind the whole time the race weekend loomed. I think if I was doing the first 3 races I would have been OK, but the marathon at the end was really distracting. We were both so conscious of trying to stay hydrated, acclimatise to the heat and humidity and not do too many steps. Disney only do the marathon at this time of year as the rest of the year it would be too hot, but this meant that all our training was in the autumn and winter and so we were not used to running in the heat.
I did a parkrun the weekend before (in Florida) and had a run around the grounds of our hotel, and both of those helped me to feel less anxious about the heat as it was manageable. I think being there for a week before did help to get used to the weather a bit, whereas it would have been a real shock to the system to come straight from the UK and then start running there.
Because the races started so early (5am for the first 3 then 4:30am for the marathon) and you need to be there around an hour before, we got up at 3:20am and 2:50am for the marathon. We were a bit jet lagged anyway and that was our friend as we were waking up fairly early, but we were sensible and set the alarm at 7am on the Monday, 6am on the Tuesday and 5am on the Wednesday. This helped us to get used to the early starts. We had dinner around 5pm, and were going to bed at 8pm so we got some solid hours of sleep beforehand. This did mean we couldn’t stay for the fireworks in the parks on those days before which was a bit of a shame, but we knew we had time after for that, and we were in Disney for the races and not for the fireworks.
Finish line photos from 10k, half, marathon- looking increasingly tired!
During
The actual race experiences were brilliant, and one thing that I really liked was that the race village was the same every day. I get a bit anxious the night before a race (or a new parkrun…), worrying about the car parking, how long security will take, where the bag drop will be, how long the walk to the corral is and so on, but after the 5k and doing all of this once, I was far less worried for the subsequent days. Knowing how short the drive was and knowing that we had about a mile walk meant we could easily work out timings and not be at all rushed. After the first race we saw how the character meets worked, and could then look up to see who might be at the next race to decide if we would stop or not.
The run-walk strategy worked perfectly- I was more ad hoc whereas Andy did set intervals, but this meant that although we were tired, we were not shattered and could keep going. I got progressively slower but as I stopped for more characters later on it’s not easy to compare, and as I have said many many times, this challenge was about finishing it and enjoying it, not about any sort of time goal.
5K- 36:58- ran this gently and didn’t stop for characters but took a few photos ourselves
10K- 1:20:30- ran gently, walked mile markers and water stops, stopped for a few photos
Half marathon- 2:49:40- walked mile markers, water stops and any big motorway ramps, stopped for quite a few characters
Marathon- 6:01:53- walked mile markers, water stops and big ramps, stopped for loads of characters
A few mid race photos and then my Dopey medal and Goofy top at the very end
We also sussed out how the bag drop worked (as we didn’t use it for the 5k but did the following days- as Andy started and finished ahead of me, so he did it so he could collect the bag once finished), and found a meeting place for each race which worked well.
We stayed in Bonnet Creek, which was a pretty perfect location (it’s within the WDW boundary but not Disney owned hotels)- it was less than a 10 minute drive into Epcot, where all the races started and finished. As we had a kitchenette we could make breakfast when we got back, we had a washing machine so could wash our kit, had a bath so we could use that for recovery, and it gave us a bit more space to chill out when we got back.
As your race bibs had on them that you were doing the Dopey challenge, all the cast members and volunteers said to you “see you tomorrow” for each race, and it was a great feeling to be a part of such a big challenge that so many people were doing.
A few character photos in the race village at the finish- Duffy always, and then Dopey because it’s his fault this challenge was invented!
After
5k and 10k finish area photos – finishing in the dark for the 5k and just before sunrise for the 10k (index finger for race 1 etc):
Half and marathon finish area photos- definitely daytime now:
Immediately after each race we met up close to the finish, next to where the characters were meeting people. There were food trucks and a coffee truck (and even a beer truck) so you could hang about if you wanted to. A few times we stayed a bit to meet characters, but as the days went on we mainly wanted to get back for a shower and some food. But great that the option was there.
We had booked dinner at Sebastian’s (at Caribbean Beach hotel) which was a set three course meal where they bring food to your table- definitely booking something was the way to go, but there are so many good options in Disney so you are spoilt for choice for your post marathon meal.
A few medal photos- the light on that day in Magic Kingdom was so gorgeous
What was fabulous was that the culture there is to wear your medal or race shirt etc in the parks after, so you’d see so many people with their medals on, and cast members would congratulate you or ask you how it went (and this was the same for the 5k as it was for the marathon medal).
A Magic Shot with Mickey and Minnie in their running gear, and a photo from the People Mover- trying to get the castle in the background!
Lots of the photo pass spots in the park had run weekend props you could use if you wanted to, and when I had some photos taken the photo pass people would suggest various poses and take their time arranging the medals for you. There were even some fun Magic Shots (these are photos where they ask you to pose, and then they add a character to the photo- you never know who it will be though so it’s quite fun looking in the app later to look at the photo).
I loved the timing of this photo with the bird flying in the background!
Usually after a race the medal is off as soon as you travel home and that’s it- here you do get use from the medal after. Although carrying six medals about is heavy! When I put them all on to wear for a photo the ribbon dug into my neck so you had to take them off, and then I had to wrap them up in fabric as I was worried they’d scratch each other.
More pretty medal photos
I had a sore ankle the evening of the marathon (which came on quite suddenly after we’d been to dinner and walked around Epcot)- however the next morning once I got moving about it was OK. My legs were a bit stiff getting into the car (or sitting in a ride) but again once I moved a few steps I was OK. We heard the phrase “motion is lotion” and I felt that for sure- walking around the parks the days after just meant you were not stiff. I am glad we didn’t travel home straight after, as I think sitting on a plane would have been tough, and it was nice to enjoy some holiday without a marathon looming over us.
So, would I do it again? First of all, I am so glad that we did this (and it was special that the two of us did the challenge together), and I loved it. Although I was really anxious about it, it’s something amazing to look back on. However, I do not think marathons are for me. I’ve done 3, and that’s plenty. I’m a slow runner and the training just takes so much time- doing a 4 hour run each week is just hard. So I don’t think I’d do the Dopey again.
However, if we were to go to Disney during a different run weekend (as the rest of the year they are 5k Friday, 10k Saturday and half marathon on the Sunday) I would be really tempted to do the challenge and do the whole weekend again. The year we did the 10k, the 5k theming was Frozen and it was such a nice medal and shirt, and of course we missed out- you don’t know the designs until after you’ve signed up. Plus once you are in the swing of getting up early, you may as well just keep going. However if Andy didn’t want to, I think that would be tricky as it would be hard for me to expect him to get up so early, go to bed so early and miss out on the evenings in the parks on those days.
All in all, I absolutely loved it and am so glad that we did the challenge. It was so special and such an achievement and I have so many happy memories from the race weekend and from that trip.
Now I just need to decide how to display the medals at home- any ideas are welcome!
