Marathon Weekend 2025

[DHSsenior007]

My first rD race was in 2016 when my husband, my parents, and I did the MW 5K. My husband and I signed up for the half but we all know what happened to that one, so we transferred our registration to the W&D later that fall. We had a great time and then I came back in 2018 for the W&D challenge with a couple of friends. Ended up taking a lot of time off from rD races (COVID, pregnancy, etc.) so excited to be back!

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

SAFD:
Disneyland 2016 10k
Princess 2022 fairytale challenge
Marathon weekend 2023 marathon
Disneyland 2024 Dumbo Dare Challenge

My fav so far is princess! I love everything being female focused. Love the atmosphere and everything about it. Also it proved I could run a half marathon and gave me the courage that I could do a marathon.

My fav medals are Disneyland Dumbo Dare Challenge set!
Love the big D in the half and the Dumbo is soo cute. The 10k is very retro. They did such a great job on these medals.

 

[Barca33Runner]

SAFD: All of my races are in my signature. Marathon Weekend has been my primary source of RunDisney races, I have completed at least one race in every year since my first in 2012. The only other race weekend I’ve done was Dark Side in 2017; it was very fun (and very warm) and I’d love to do some other rD weekends in the future but vacation time and funds are limited so January fits to get my rD fix each year.

Favorite race weekend is easy. The inaugural Dopey Challenge in 2014. Having only completed my first marathon the year before (with the plan to do Goofy in 2014) the addition of the 10k and Dopey Challenge in the lead up to registration put all kinds of excitement into that Weekend. I was confident I would be able to run the full 48.6 but it was the first time I was ever running races back to back (let alone back to back to back to back). As the Weekend went on my confidence grew and it felt so cool being in the first group of people experiencing the four races in four days phenomenon.

Favorite medal is also easy. It’s the 2013 20th Anniversary Marathon medal (wasn’t close to mine so I grabbed a pic from the internet):
It was my first Marathon and remains the best executed use of spinners/movement on any of the medals I’ve seen at Disney. It’s the one that the reward really feels like it matched the achievement. (ETA: It has also, to a certain extent, spoiled me to all future medal reveals. From the moment that one went around my neck I’ve kind of felt like, “Yup, they did it. This is what a RunDisney medal is supposed to be.”)

 

[luv2cheer92]

SAFD:
2015: Goofy Challenge (my first full!)
2017: Princess Half
2018: Dopey Challenge
2019: W&D 5K + Two Course Challenge
2020: Princess Fairy Tale Challenge, was signed up for Star Wars 5K + Challenge + Kessel Run Challenge, but... we all know how that went
2022: Dopey Challenge and Springtime 10K and 10 Miler
2023: Dopey Challenge and Springtime Challenge
2024: Disneyland Dumbo and signed up for Springtime Challenge. May decide to do W&D depending on the theme

My favorite medals are the full and Dopey from 2018, that whole set was just perfection.

 

[fatmanatee]

SAFD:

- Star Wars Half 2016
- Light Side 10k 2017
- Dark Side Challenge 2017
- Dopey Challenge 2022
- Springtime Surprise Challenge 2023
- Unofficial Dumbo Double Dare 2024

Favorite medal is a tossup between the first, which is RD's take on the Medal of Yavin, and the 2022 MW full medal.

 

[LorrieAnn5]

SAFD: My runDisney History...
My first and therefore favorite is Disneyland Half Marathon 2024. I do really like that classic gold D though. They did well with that one.

I also trained for Castaway Cay 5k for a cruise in 2022, but DS tested + before we left for the airport so I haven't been able to run that yet.

 

[Ariel484]

SAFD

What's your history with RunDisney? What races weekends have you run and which were your favorites? Do you have a favorite medal? Pictures are encouraged.

My first race weekend was Princess in 2011, most recent was Marathon Weekend in 2023.

Princess: 2011 half, 2017 5K + Glass Slipper Challenge
Marathon Weekend: 2012 marathon, 2013 5K + Goofy, 2015 Dopey, 2017 Dopey Grumpy, 2023 10K + Marathon
Wine & Dine: 2013 5K + half, 2014 5K + half, 2016 5K + 2-course challenge
Disneyland: 2015 5K + Dumbo
Tink: 2016 5K + 10K, 2017 5K + Pixie Dust Challenge
Plus Castaway Cay 5K a few times if that counts…

Favorite weekend: Marathon Weekend
Favorite race courses: marathon, any 10K at Disneyland (ALL THAT PARK TIME!), the WDW 10K course that goes through Epcot and the Epcot resort area, the nighttime Wine & Dine course (RIP )

Medals…apologies for the poor lighting.

The first two aren’t favorites but I think it’s funny to look at. My first (2011 Princess) and most recent (2023 marathon) runDisney medals…man have they changed. The Princess lanyard even has embroidery on it!

And my favorites: the 10th anniversary coast-to-coast and the 2017 marathon. I thought the older marathon medals with the Mickey ear silhouette were so iconic and was a little disappointed that mine weren’t like that in 2012, 2013 (that 20th anniversary medal though…. ) and 2015, so I was very excited to get that with a retro twist in 2017.

 

[JulieODC]

SAFD:

I’ve done:
Princess 2017
Tinkerbell 2017
Marathon Weekend 2019
Marathon Weekend 2020
Princess 2023

I have to give my proudest, most memorable medal to marathon 2020 - my first marathon, and the HEAT!!

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: I've been around runDisney for a while, but I didn't do my first event until 2010.

My dad took a random long weekend trip from Boston to Disney when I was in high school and it happened to be Marathon Weekend. He did the half the next year, the year after that he talked my mom into doing the half with him, and between them, they did halfs and Goofy the next couple years. This whole time I said I'd never do long distance running

2010: Mickey's Not So Scary 5k (went through MK)
2012: Princess half
2014: Injured and walked all of the MW half
2016:Tinkerbell 10K
2019: Princess 10K
2022: MW 10K
2023: Princess 5K and 10K, Toy Story 10-miler
2024: Disneyland 10K. Princess 5K and 10K scheduled

My favorite medal is the Tinkerbell 10K. I had such a bad case of ITBS hit 2013, and after walking the MW half, I took the time to focus on PT and trying to fix the issue because I couldn't run without shooting pain on the outside of my knee. I was on the sidelines for two years and Tink was my comeback.

 

[disneyrunnergrl]

SAFD:

My first race was Princess Half Marathon in 2014!

Marathon Weekend: 2022, 2023, 2024
Princess: 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022
Star Wars: 2019
Springtime Surprise: 2022, 2023
Wine & Dine: 2019, 2021
Disneyland: 2024

My favorite medals are the 2022 Dopey set! Both because they were absolutely beautiful and it was my first/only Dopey. String second for the virtual 2021 Virtual Marathon because running 26.2 miles around my neighborhood was insane.

Princess was my favorite weekend for a long time, but marathon weekend has replaced it. There’s just something about the marathon. I’ll probably run the full every year for as long as I can.

 

[Baloo in MI]

SAFD:

My first runDisney event was in 2015, I ran the Goofy Challenge at Marathon Weekend. I had wanted to run Dopey but did not understand how fast the races sold out. I waited until I got home from work to register…. Yep, so it was Goofy for me that year. Since, and including the 2021 virtual year, I have run the Dopey Challenge each year. Well, except 2019 because I was dealing with a ruptured peroneal tendon at the time. I was super excited when runDisney announced the Spring Surprise Weekends because I thought it would be a chance to chase a perfect status, but I have heard that runDIsney is not counting Spring Surprise for perfect status - to which I say boooooo! But I have completed the first two SS Challnges in 22, 23 and will again this April.

My favorite medals:

The 2017 Marathon Medal. I love the shape and it is just a classic!


The 2017 Half-Marathon Medal. This was the cancelled race due to a very bad storm. But the medal is a memory of the incredible spirit of runDisney and everyone running on their own that morning. I ran my 13.1 at Hourglass Lake and it was incredible seeing all the runners, supporters, and even water tables and a character stop (a family that came out in Disney costumes that some runners where getting pictures with!)

The 2018 Dopey medal. I just love it. I wore it on medal Monday, Tuesday at the airport and Wednesday at home!

 

[GreatLakes]

SAFD:

Here are my Disney Races:

2006: MW Half and Inaugural Disneyland Half.. Coast to coast before it was a thing so no medal for me.
2008: MW Half and Kidney foundation 5K though Epcot (non RunDisney race)
2010: Inaugural Wine & Dine half
2011: MW Full
2018: W&D Two Course Challenge
2022: MW Full
2024: MW Half 7 miler

My favorite race was hands down the inaugural W&D. I really regret not getting down there for a few more of those while it was a night time race. There is nothing that comes close to finishing the race at the park and then hanging around late into the night in Epcot.

That is also my favorite medal. Spaceship Earth is my favorite Disney attraction and I like the simplicity of the medal. I don't need spinners and even a bunch of colors. My Disney medals are all packed away in preparation for a move that I hope comes in the next few months but here is one from the Internet.

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD:
2022 MW--Goofy
2022 SS--10k
2023 MW--Dopey
2024 MW--Dopey

(And "virtuals" of all of the cancelled 2021 PW races, 2021 SW 5k, 2021 Summer, all of the 2022 PW races , 2022 Summer)
Favorite medal is probably 2022 Marathon just because it's so pretty.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD:

Here are my Disney races, all of which but one have been at MW weekend:

2008: Marathon
2009: Race for the Taste 10-K (pre-cursor to Wine and Dine)
2010: Marathon (Disney on Ice year)
2013: Marathon
2015: Goofy
2019: 5-K & 10-K (supposed to have done Dopey but injured in training)
2020: Dopey (Hot as Hades Marathon year)
2023: Goofy
2024: Goofy (33.3)

So other than Race for the Taste back in the day, I have never done any other race weekend, so I have nothing to compare the experiences to. I had planned to change that by running Star Wars in 2021, but alas it became a virtual and then went away. While I'm always jealous when Wine & Dine comes around, I really love the challenge of the marathon and it's hard for me to justify being away from the family for two race weekends especially now when I travel so much for work. I suspect some time in the not too distant future I will want to retire from the marathon distance and so maybe then I will give one of the other race weekends a shot but still not sure I could give up the feeling of running down Main Street.

As for my favorite race, it's hard. As for the race itself, despite the cold and ice, I really did like 2010 and it remains my marathon PR despite the conditions. Running a great race despite the bad conditions is pretty awesome. However, 2020 holds the top spot in my heart. I ran the 5-K with by two oldest DDs and it turns out it was the last event my one DD was able to do before her condition (undiagnosed at the time) took her mobility to point that 5-K isn't possible for her right now. While I'm hopeful we might get to do it again sometime if she wants to try Roll Disney, I will be forever grateful the three of us got the chance to share those 3.1 miles together.

As for medals, well this is a bit of sacrilege on these boards, but once the race weekend is over, I don't really care about the medals. I do have my first marathon, Goofy and Dopey medals framed, but have donated may of the others and need to do so again with the ones that have built up again. I've got the memories and figure someone else might get more out of the medals themselves then I will just seeing them hang on the medal hanger in our exercise room.

 

[nancipants]

runDisney races:
2016 Star Wars 5k - was not a runner at a time, but I am a Star War, so I had to sign up for this race. I really wish I'd become a runner while the SW races were still going on, or that they were still doing them now. Alas.
2022 Princess 5k - a group of friends suckered me into signing up. The rest is history.
2023 Princess 10k - the first race that I actually "ran." So far, this remains my favorite race because it's what solidified that I actually enjoy running and racing and want to keep doing this.
2024 MW 10k - My 5k and 10k PR. First time I met DISers before the race. I actually "raced" it, too, which is probably the first and last time I'll attempt that at Disney (unless I ever get a POT, ha).

I am also registered for the Princess half and Springtime Surprise 10 miler. I'm running Princess half with a friend and have a list of goals that have nothing to do with time, so that will hopefully go to the top of my favorite races list.

Favorite medal is the 2024 10k because I love Chip and Dale!

 

[marty3d]

SAFD:
runDisney Races:
MW: 2 x Half, 1 Marathon, 1 Goofy (the 2017 version) and 2 Dopeys
2012 Tower of Terror 10 Miler
W&D 2 Course Challenge
Disneyland Half and the Coast to Coast

My labourite race is hard to choose as each one has so many mostly good memories associated with them as each was a first in some way. If I have to choose it would be finishing my first Dopey in 2022 as my first in person race after the world shut down. So many emotions associated with that entire weekend,

For medals it would be tough to choose a favourite (it's like picking your favourite child!) so I have to go with this one because it's also one of my favourite attractions!

 

[pinkxray]

2012 TOT 10miler -was my first Rundisney run (which was horrible for me. I had just gotten off a week long cruise that morning. That plus the heat made me so sick after the run. Since it was when I just started doing longer runs, I had no idea about how to prepare for the heat.)

2013 Princess Half Marathon

had a couple of kids. Signed up for at least 3 half marathon between 2013-2020 and something ended up happening, Pregnancy, injury, sickenss,etc

2020- WDW 1/2 marathon

2022 Princess 10k signed up for and trained but massive ice storm cancelled our flights

Hoping for the 2025 10k or half

One day I would love to do something for the Food and Wine Rundisney weekend. I’ve registered for the half 2 times. One time I ended up being pregnant and canceled the whole trip. 2019 I had a bunch of health issues that wouldn’t let me run, but we still went down for the week. Maybe I need to aim for the 5k that weekend.

 

[marty3d]

2012 TOT 10miler -was my first Rundisney run (which was horrible for me. I had just gotten off a week long cruise that morning. That plus the heat made me so sick after the run. Since it was when I just started doing longer runs, I had no idea about how to prepare for the heat.)

The humidity that night was brutal - close to 100% if I remember correctly.

 

[Naomeri]

Man, some of these “old school” medals are wicked cool. I wouldn’t mind a return to that style, as long as they could keep finding new designs for each year

 

[The Expert]

SAFD:
My rD history is jam packed!

2016 Princess 5K 2016
2017 Princess 5K, 10K, Half Marathon
2017 Tinkerbell 10K, Half Marathon (Pink + Blue Coast-to-Coast)
2017 Disneyland Paris 10K, Half Marathon (Castle-to-Chateau)
2018 Princess 10K
2018 Star Wars 5K, 10K, Half Marathon (Kessel Run)
2019 Star Wars 5K, 10K, Half Marathon
2020 Marathon Weekend 10K, Full Marathon
2022 Dopey Challenge (Marathon Weekend 5K, 10K, Half & Full)
2022 Princess 5K
2022 Spring Surprise 5K
2022 Wine & Dine 5K
2023 Dopey Challenge
2024 WDW 5K + 10K + Half
2024 Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare + 5K

My favorite medals are the Kessel Run (since it is really what lead me to want to do more races after that first 5K), the 2020 marathon (my first full and it was SO HOT), and my first C2C. But the prettiest ones and the ones I'd display if I had room for no others are the 2017 Tink challenge and the Castle to Chateau:



My favorite ever medal photo (which a CM helped me with in 2017 -- they no longer allow this, sadly):


And I'm so glad I waited in line after the 2018 Princess 10K for the Merida meet-and-greet, where she signed my medal!