Marathon Weekend 2025

[emilyann704]

I'm running my first RunDisney race (the 10K on Thursday of Marathon Week) and I'm trying to figure out how much time to allocate to picking up my bib at the Expo.

We're arriving Wednesday afternoon but I've read that the first day is the busiest since everyone running the 5K will be picking up that day. We'll have a park day on Thursday (early bedtime, of course) so I'd like to head over to the Expo closer to the end time of 7pm. I don't plan on buying any merch or really checking out the Expo, just need to pick up my bib/shirt/etc. We'll be taking Disney transportation there/back.

What time would you suggest arriving that would be towards the end of the session (12pm-7pm) and how much time should I expect to spend waiting for my bib and shirt?

 

[Herding_Cats]

I'm running my first RunDisney race (the 10K on Thursday of Marathon Week) and I'm trying to figure out how much time to allocate to picking up my bib at the Expo.

Just to amend your wording there, the 10k is on FRIDAY, and you could pick up your bib and shirt on Thursday if you want. The only people who *have* to pick up bibs on Wednesday are those running the 5k, and those who are running Dopey.

We're arriving Wednesday afternoon but I've read that the first day is the busiest since everyone running the 5K will be picking up that day.

Most of the busy-ness is associated with the rundisney merch. While there tends to be a queue for bibs on the first day, it moves steadily and doesn’t take overly long. Bibs and race shirts are in completely different buildings from the official rD merch. If all you wanted was your bib and your shirt, you could easily be in and out within an hour (at the longest IMO) if you went at the end of the day on Wednesday.

We'll have a park day on Thursday (early bedtime, of course) so I'd like to head over to the Expo closer to the end time of 7pm. I don't plan on buying any merch or really checking out the Expo, just need to pick up my bib/shirt/etc. We'll be taking Disney transportation there/back.

What time would you suggest arriving that would be towards the end of the session (12pm-7pm) and how much time should I expect to spend waiting for my bib and shirt?

Using the charter busses that Disney provides is going to be the biggest unknown for this. I’m not sure if they really have a set schedule for shuttling people to and from the resorts. Since I’m not super familiar with the busses, I’ll let someone else weight in on that.

 

[emilyann704]

Thank you! I did mean to write that the 10K is Friday and I was planning on going Thursday to pick up.

I'm glad to hear I can try to head over (maybe via Lyft to save time) around 6pm. It seems like as long as I'm in line before 7pm close time I should be good?

 

[kps7795]

It seems like as long as I'm in line before 7pm close time I should be good?

Assuming that it closes at 7:00, you will be fine. For W&D last year, my daughter and I got stuck in traffic on Florida's Turnpike and we got to WWoS at 6:55. We had a laugh with the CMs who told us to relax as we were panting having run from the parking lot to the Field House to get our bibs.

 

[GollyGadget]

I'm running my first RunDisney race (the 10K on Thursday of Marathon Week) and I'm trying to figure out how much time to allocate to picking up my bib at the Expo.

We're arriving Wednesday afternoon but I've read that the first day is the busiest since everyone running the 5K will be picking up that day. We'll have a park day on Thursday (early bedtime, of course) so I'd like to head over to the Expo closer to the end time of 7pm. I don't plan on buying any merch or really checking out the Expo, just need to pick up my bib/shirt/etc. We'll be taking Disney transportation there/back.

What time would you suggest arriving that would be towards the end of the session (12pm-7pm) and how much time should I expect to spend waiting for my bib and shirt?

I suggest going on Wednesday after you arrive so that you don't have to interrupt your park day or stay out too late.

Staying out late may be of less concern for a 10K, but for the marathon I aim to be at the resort by 5, dinner by 6, and in bed by 8 at the latest. This way I can at least pretend to get 6 hours of sleep.

Late Wednesday afternoon will not be overly busy at the expo. There's definitely a surge crowd for the first few hours, but once the merch folks get in and buy their treasures things calm down considerably. It's pretty much just walk in and grab your things. You could get in and out in 15 min if you really wanted.

 

[matt and beth]

First few hours expo opening Wednesday and that line is hella huge. It becomes pretty realistic after noon

 

[The Expert]

Usually by about 2pm on the first day the lines are reasonable and they've even stopped checking VQs for merch.

 

[LSUlakes]

WDW Marathon experts, I have a question. The process for all of this goes in the following type of order?

Run a POT Race within 1.5 years of the race day you want to do. (Not up to date on when you submit or if you can update before a certain date)
Race registration sometime around April
Book room ticket package when released (Which was unusually early in 2024)
Train for race
.
.
.
run the race!

Just trying to wrap my head around everything again.

 

[Naomeri]

WDW Marathon experts, I have a question. The process for all of this goes in the following type of order?

Run a POT Race within 1.5 years of the race day you want to do. (Not up to date on when you submit or if you can update before a certain date)
Race registration sometime around April
Book room ticket package when released (Which was unusually early in 2024)
Train for race
.
.
.
run the race!

Just trying to wrap my head around everything again.

That's pretty much it. The hotel reservations might move up in the list depending on if you are a DVC member/want to rent DVC.

Oh, and somewhere between registration and running the race, you have to add "choose outfit(s)/costume(s) for races"

 

[LSUlakes]

Oh, and somewhere between registration and running the race, you have to add "choose outfit(s)/costume(s) for races"

Yea... thats not gonna be part of my race day regiment lol. Just normal singlet and shorts for race day for me. I'm a creature of habit and don't like doing things much outside my norm for race day. The older I get, the stronger this desire becomes. I'm nearly at yelling at kids to get off my lawn stage these days.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Yea... thats not gonna be part of my race day regiment lol. Just normal singlet and shorts for race day for me. I'm a creature of habit and don't like doing things much outside my norm for race day. The older I get, the stronger this desire becomes. I'm nearly at yelling at kids to get off my lawn stage these days.

What is funny is for me.... not wearing a costume running would be the one out of habbit... lol I run my local races with costumes too, some times tone down but I cant help myself. It makes running more fun for me.

 

[GollyGadget]

Run a POT Race within 1.5 years of the race day you want to do. (Not up to date on when you submit or if you can update before a certain date)

The timing of PoT has changed a couple of times since your last rD event. If you’re thinking of running in 2026, you’ll want to plan for a spring 2025 or earlier PoT. Below are the details for this coming year. No more opportunity for a fall PoT right before the big event.

• Proof of time must be provided from an officially timed race on a USATF certified course reflecting results between January 1, 2022 and July 1, 2024, and must be one of the below listed distances.

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: I don’t especially care much about standardizing the courses (other than if that standard becomes bussing for a point-to-point race, which I despise). I DO very much care about what they do with a course. Give me a Bear Island Rd all day long if they fill it up with fun lights and sounds like the Battle for Endor overlay during a SW race! I could run up and down Osceola Pkwy a bunch of times if they give me big screens of cool videos and props for pics. I’m even down for 24 loops of the BB parking lot if it comes with talented live entertainment!

 

[LSUlakes]

The timing of PoT has changed a couple of times since your last rD event. If you’re thinking of running in 2026, you’ll want to plan for a spring 2025 or earlier PoT. Below are the details for this coming year. No more opportunity for a fall PoT right before the big event.

• Proof of time must be provided from an officially timed race on a USATF certified course reflecting results between January 1, 2022 and July 1, 2024, and must be one of the below listed distances.

Ahhh I did not realize the change in timing there. I think the last time I submitted a 10 mile time from a race in August and ran WDW marathon in January. So making a assumption here the 2026 POT window would potentially be anything from Jan 1 2023 to July 1 2025. This works for me. I have a 10 miler from August that would not do anything for POT, but I have one 10 miler in December, another in January 2025, a half marathon in January 2025, and if needed another half in March 2025 as potential races to submit. I am assuming they still take 10 milers for POT? Thanks for pointing this out to me!

 

[fatmanatee]

Ahhh I did not realize the change in timing there. I think the last time I submitted a 10 mile time from a race in August and ran WDW marathon in January. So making a assumption here the 2026 POT window would potentially be anything from Jan 1 2023 to July 1 2025. This works for me. I have a 10 miler from August that would not do anything for POT, but I have one 10 miler in December, another in January 2025, a half marathon in January 2025, and if needed another half in March 2025 as potential races to submit. I am assuming they still take 10 milers for POT? Thanks for pointing this out to me!

Yes.

 

[Naomeri]

I’m even down for 24 loops of the BB parking lot if it comes with talented live entertainment!

That's taking it a bit too far

 

[nancipants]

Has anyone run with a pace group at Disney but also stopped for photos/characters? I feel like running with a pace group would help for my first marathon, but I know I’m going to want to stop for a castle photo and possibly some characters depending on who’s out. And of course, bathroom stops and a fuel swap with my husband. I know the groups never stop, so I guess I could try to catch back up with them? Just trying to think of how it would work logistically, and how long the character lines/etc usually take at the marathon.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

Has anyone run with a pace group at Disney but also stopped for photos/characters? I feel like running with a pace group would help for my first marathon, but I know I’m going to want to stop for a castle photo and possibly some characters depending on who’s out. And of course, bathroom stops and a fuel swap with my husband. I know the groups never stop, so I guess I could try to catch back up with them? Just trying to think of how it would work logistically, and how long the character lines/etc usually take at the marathon.

You could certainly try and catch up with them but would need to be careful you don’t expend too much energy that you can’t keep up with them after you catch them again. That’s a mistake I would make - being so anxious that I overdo it just to get back to them. Other alternative, depending on what group your in, would be to make your stops, let them go, and potentially catch on to the next pacing group if/when they catch up to you if needed. If you make several stops, they will likely be near by and you can always speed ahead of them at the end if you’ve got the energy.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Has anyone run with a pace group at Disney but also stopped for photos/characters? I feel like running with a pace group would help for my first marathon, but I know I’m going to want to stop for a castle photo and possibly some characters depending on who’s out. And of course, bathroom stops and a fuel swap with my husband. I know the groups never stop, so I guess I could try to catch back up with them? Just trying to think of how it would work logistically, and how long the character lines/etc usually take at the marathon.

I haven’t run with a pace group, but I HAVE walked extra to get into a gap between pace groups because the leap-frogging (our intervals were different) was driving me insane. Joining a pace group is also going to depend on what corral you are in; do you know which one you are likely to be in? I absolutely agree with @GuinnessRunner about just maintaining pace and letting the next pace group catch up to you instead of trying to catch up to the previous one. Using a strategy where you try to lump a few stops together might work….for example stopping for a castle pic with a bathroom stop just before or after. Looking at past races, a castle pic usually takes about 4min, and bathroom stops depend on the line.

Character lines get shorter the further into the race you get. The first 10ish miles will be a lot like the lines in the 10k/HM. I feel like after MK, a lot of runners get into “let’s just finish this thing” mode and aside from rare or super popular characters (Jafar, Hades, etc) the lines get a lot shorter. We’re talking 10 people instead of 50. By HS, there are sometimes NO lines ime.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

You're hitting the nail on the head. I love runDisney because of the entertainment on the race course, namely the characters. As long as we get characters that we can't see in the parks, I'm a happy rD runner.

Agreed. When I did 2011 MW, it seemed they had ALL the characters out there. Cinderella's whole fam at the castle, Alice and the rabbit at the teacups, and then going into AK they had characters such as Zorro (on his horse), Davey Crockett, and other characters typically not seen in the parks. For some of them, I've never seen them anywhere before. LOVED that.