Marathon Weekend 2025

[Let's Get Kronk]

The reason for the “wear both bibs” directive was likely due to the fact that they knew only one of the pair was likely to be inactive, but the corral assignments were different between the two sets of races. They couldn’t just have people wear only the 5k/10k bib for the marathon, as they would’ve potentially been in the wrong corral. So the 5k/10k bib was needed to provide the active chip and the half/full bib was needed to provide the corral.

Well, I know this type of thing is generally unpopular on here, but my running bestie was in the affected bib range and wore her 5K/10K bib OVER her half/full bib because the 5K/10K bib was for the A corral and her other one was for B corral. It worked as the person checking didn't look that closely and we were able to start together since I was in A for all the races.

 

[fatmanatee]

Has rD done any sort of make good for anyone?

They're letting people submit screenshots of their races via running apps and they'll update results.

Is there going to be any consequence for Track Shack?

That we know of? Nope. Maybe RD gets a refund or a more favorable deal in the future I guess.

 

[Zutroy]

I think it’s a bit simpler explanation. I don’t think there’s a differentiation between races for the chips themselves for Dopey. You have two chips, each encoded with the bib number, with one on each bib. That’s why people who inadvertently wear the wrong bib on the wrong day still get recorded correctly, at least in the instances I’ve heard of. Some of the chips were just inactive due to a manufacturing error.

My thinking is that there isn’t activated/deactivated for RFID. It’s like a hotel key card. It gets imprinted with information and then read by the timing mat. For thousands of bibs to leave the printers without any information being put on the chips seems far fetched. I think a more reasonable scenario is something like the hotel clerk punching in room 312 on the key card instead of 321, and the door not being able to read it. This begs the question—why would bibs that don’t register for the 5k and 10k be used to register time for the marathon? I don’t put stock in “what are the odds that both would be defective,” because what are the odds such a huge screw up would go undetected until race day?

 

[FFigawi]

I think it’s a bit simpler explanation. I don’t think there’s a differentiation between races for the chips themselves for Dopey. You have two chips, each encoded with the bib number, with one on each bib. That’s why people who inadvertently wear the wrong bib on the wrong day still get recorded correctly, at least in the instances I’ve heard of. Some of the chips were just inactive due to a manufacturing error.

The reason for the “wear both bibs” directive was likely due to the fact that they knew only one of the pair was likely to be inactive, but the corral assignments were different between the two sets of races. They couldn’t just have people wear only the 5k/10k bib for the marathon, as they would’ve potentially been in the wrong corral. So the 5k/10k bib was needed to provide the active chip and the half/full bib was needed to provide the corral.

For my n=1 data point, I wore my half/full bib for the 10k, the half, and the full, and it gave me results for all three races. I don’t think there’s a differentiation between the bibs and their chips either.

 

[Naomeri]

My thinking is that there isn’t activated/deactivated for RFID. It’s like a hotel key card. It gets imprinted with information and then read by the timing mat. For thousands of bibs to leave the printers without any information being put on the chips seems far fetched. I think a more reasonable scenario is something like the hotel clerk punching in room 312 on the key card instead of 321, and the door not being able to read it. This begs the question—why would bibs that don’t register for the 5k and 10k be used to register time for the marathon? I don’t put stock in “what are the odds that both would be defective,” because what are the odds such a huge screw up would go undetected until race day?

My 5K/10K Dopey bib had a functioning chip, and I have times for those races. My Half/Full bib had a nonfunctioning chip, and I have no time for the half. I have a time for the full because I had my 5K/10K bib underneath my Half/Full bib and that worked for tracking me. I don't think the double-bib solution for the full was offered to people who had bad chips for the 5K/10K.

 

[The Expert]

My 5K/10K Dopey bib had a functioning chip, and I have times for those races. My Half/Full bib had a nonfunctioning chip, and I have no time for the half. I have a time for the full because I had my 5K/10K bib underneath my Half/Full bib and that worked for tracking me.

Same exact scenario for me.

 

[Zutroy]

My 5K/10K Dopey bib had a functioning chip, and I have times for those races. My Half/Full bib had a nonfunctioning chip, and I have no time for the half. I have a time for the full because I had my 5K/10K bib underneath my Half/Full bib and that worked for tracking me. I don't think the double-bib solution for the full was offered to people who had bad chips for the 5K/10K.

When I was walking to the marathon, there were people checking every Dopey participant to make sure they were double-bibbed. What’s interesting is that the results are literally all over the map. It’s hard to make rhyme or reason for the pattern of the Dopey results. Some people have no 5k/10k times, some people have the half register and nothing else. I’d love for Disney to actually explain how this all went so wrong.

 

[Tall Todd]

This is obviously a suboptimal outcome for everyone involved and affected. Has rD done any sort of make good for anyone? Is there going to be any consequence for Track Shack?

Zero make good here.... 90 minutes wasted on Friday. Which might not be a big deal but it was the nicest day and we could have used the water park for free. Decided against it due to the wasted time all around.

 

[DianaMB333]

Just finally starting to getting around unpacking some of my bags. Just pulled out the custom challenge coin from Z-Knight. How awesome is this thing! I pulled it out of the protective cover and noticed the little magnet medal on the front. Then I turned it over. Holy cow. All the little medals and the icons from the four parks. This is so awesome! Z-Knight, thank you again. Such a cool memento from the weekend!


View attachment 930266

@Z-Knight I echo this comment, this coin is amazing!! So full of details, I love it!! Thank you so much!!

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

Sadly in the airport. It was a great weekend! I'm glad I made it to the morning meetups, it really helped my spirits and the time go faster. Thanks to this board for all the fun, and looking forward to seeing everyone next year. (Or a Disneyland Halloween)

 

[garneska]

There are no results because RD did not publish any results (without explanation as far as I can tell). Is there anyone who just ran the 10K that can confirm that their bib didn’t track? The top three winners all had Dopey bibs.

DH and I both only ran the 10k. Neither one of us have times.

 

[fatmanatee]

So umm... a comparison. O_O



I have to say this went much better than expected. I was very nervous about what sort of impact two marathons in a short period would have, and was kind of prepared to punt on Dopey (at least the marathon portion) if I was too overwhelmed by the time that came around, but I think it helped to have the one I was setting a PR goal first. After that was done my focus was just about getting the miles in as best as I could, and although this was difficult during the week with work, I could at least carve out time to do the longer runs and that was enough to keep up my fitness for Dopey. It helps that I've gone through the RD challenge thing a few times, have a much better grasp of what I need to do to feel good on the final race day. It also helped to see that a few people here have done similar back-to-backs, gave me more confidence that this was doable.

I doubt I'm doing this again though! I'll be on the other side of the barricades for NYC in November and no plans to qualify in 2026. As for Dopey, good chance I flip back and forth between the DL and WDW weekends.

 

[runwithperseverence7]

Just wanted to share that I brought a cold back with me. Not sure if it’s what my son had when we first got to FL or something different. And I’ve been drinking Emergen-C everyday since November and avoided what colds my kids had then.

Also, I ended up using all my throwaways. Tried giving one of my blankets to an older man in my corral that was in shorts and shivering on Sunday but he didn’t want it. I got warm during the 10k and I wanted to ditch my layers but was afraid to because I didn’t want to get cold. The full weather was perfect! I kept my throwaway jacket tied around my waist until the halfway point and then tossed it because I was warm and was tired of carrying it.

I had so much fun and hope that one day I’ll be back! Just can’t be anytime soon. Also, I’m feeling great after all the running. I’m even contemplating whether I want to do my local marathon in March.

 

[camaker]

I finally had time to unpack yesterday and as I put away the few unused throwaway items, thought about all our prep and talk for cold weather and how it actually played out. How did everyone do? Did you feel adequately prepared, over-prepared, under?

All in all, I felt adequately prepared. I don't think bringing anything extra would've really helped. I will say that I'm a convert to Mylar ponchos over Mylar blankets after this race weekend, especially with the wind that we had. It was so nice not to have to worry about getting the Mylar wrapped around me so that it covered everything and didn't turn into a cape in the wind. The poncho format was particularly nice in the rain. The hood was very useful for trapping warmth and/or keeping rain out, as well. I'll be using them for all race weekends going forward.

Using bag check also made a big difference post-race, too. I don't normally check a bag, but this weekend it was nice to have a pair of pants and down jacket to pull on in the chilly conditions. It was especially useful as, for some inexplicable reason, the buses I kept getting on weren't running their heaters!

 

[Barca33Runner]

Just remembered I took some pictures during the After Hours on Monday. I think I got a couple decent ones:


First was some very serendipitous timing during Happily Ever After. Second, was as we were walking out at about 12:25.

Hard to beat the double fireworks. Particularly being able to stand well more than arms length from other people in the hub for Enchantment. I’ve done a dessert party before and it paled in comparison to the viewpoints easily available during an After Hours event. Would have loved for all of the attractions to have been open; but we left when we did because we had done basically every ride available (a few more than once) and had done everything we hoped to do (if sleep wasn’t an issue, I would have gladly shut MK down).

 

[nekonekoneko]

Just wanted to share that I brought a cold back with me.

I had to go see a medical specialist today because I felt so crummy.

Disney "flu!"

I can remove the quotes. I got the full on flu

 

[Naomeri]

Just remembered I took some pictures during the After Hours on Monday. I think I got a couple decent ones:
View attachment 930706View attachment 930707

First was some very serendipitous timing during Happily Ever After. Second, was as we were walking out at about 12:25.

Hard to beat the double fireworks. Particularly being able to stand well more than arms length from other people in the hub for Enchantment. I’ve done a dessert party before and it paled in comparison to the viewpoints easily available during an After Hours event. Would have loved for all of the attractions to have been open; but we left when we did because we had done basically every ride available (a few more than once) and had done everything we hoped to do (if sleep wasn’t an issue, I would have gladly shut MK down).

Yeah, you really can't beat front and center for fireworks. I watched the fireworks of HEA from my usual spot at the tables in front of Gaston's (which had the bonus of dry seating since the stools were under the table's umbrella, and my poncho fit over the whole thing once I sat down) but for Enchantment, I went to the hub to see projections for a change. I probably could've gotten some good pictures, but I decided to just be totally in the moment.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Yeah, you really can't beat front and center for fireworks. I watched the fireworks of HEA from my usual spot at the tables in front of Gaston's (which had the bonus of dry seating since the stools were under the table's umbrella, and my poncho fit over the whole thing once I sat down) but for Enchantment, I went to the hub to see projections for a change. I probably could've gotten some good pictures, but I decided to just be totally in the moment.

View attachment 930776

I had taken photos of Enchantment before but this is the first time I had a chance to take some pictures during HEA. Enchantment was somewhat surreal given there were so few people relative to every other MK fireworks show I’ve seen. Even though Enchantment doesn’t hit me that same way HEA does, it was still really cool to see a show under nearly ideal conditions for once.

 

[huskies90]

I did fine with the cold and layers. I only ended up throwing away one item during the marathon.

We were down in FL early and as the race week approached, I started to feel a bit under prepared. The place we were staying offsite allowed free / easy Amazon deliver so I ordered two extra plain sweatshirts that would go with my 5K and 10K costumes.

I am big on warm compression when I run, and I thought just wearing compression shirts under my costume shirts would be enough - plus, using the Mylar blankets in the corral. We did the 5K and 10K so slowly run/walk that I was able to stay warm in the corral and just keep all my layers on for the race. By the end of the 10K with the sun coming up, I started to get warm and probably could have ditched my sweatshirt but I just hung on to it for the rest of the race.

For the half, it was warm enough to run in a sleeveless shirt and I just used Mylar blankets and a disposable poncho when it started raining (lifesaver!!). I also checked a bag for the half because I wasn’t sure how cold it was going to be at the end of the race but that proved unnecessary as the Mylar at the end was fine.

For the marathon I was in the corral with my UA Captain America shirt, a warm compression shirt and one of the Amazon sweatshirts. My wife was spectating at the start so I handed her my sweatshirt as I crossed the start line. And I purposely started the race with the warm compression shirt OVER my UA shirt because I was pretty sure I was going to get warm and ditch it - which I did just as we were leaving EPCOT at mile 3. I was fine the rest of the way in essentially shorts and a t shirt.

I did check a bag with tons of warm stuff (& my crocs) for after the marathon as I knew I would be hanging at the finish line waiting for my daughters to finish.

 

[sunshine girl]

I haven't contributed much to this thread because I was superstitious. I signed up for several Disney races the past few years, only to have to cancel for personal/family reasons every time. It's been depressing. Pre-pandemic, I did 1-3 Disney races per year.

But now, after a 5-year Disney World and runDisney hiatus, I finally made it back!! I did the half and it was so much fun.

I have many thoughts, but I'll say up front what others have already said: this thread and community has been so helpful and supportive, even to semi-lurkers like me. I appreciate you all more than I can say. Thank you!

I originally registered for the marathon, but was able to grab of one of the last brief registration re-openings to transfer to the half via the "transfer" button in my runDisney account. Still amazed that worked out.

The race was so fun! The pre-race sideways rain was atrocious, lol. I was trying to gear-check in the downpour and was getting drenched, the sharpie markers weren't working, everything was wet, stuff was blowing everywhere, it was comical.

The start/finish chute banner was so cute this year, also! Loved the overall weekend theming. Love the half medal with Spaceship Earth!

I was in corral C and had a great experience without real bottlenecks along the course. However, I'm not super into stopping for character photos so that always helps me move along. I wish the course had far more parks/Epcot time at the end, but I've always preferred the Wine & Dine half course to this one.

My one tip: I bought a pair of Brooks Ghost GTX (gore-tex) shoes for winter training, and let me tell you, they WORKED for the rainy half. My feet stayed bone dry. I usually run in regular Ghosts, so it was a seamless transition and they've been great for winter. (I did sit cross-legged in the corral under my poncho for a bit, which also helped.) I recommend those GTX shoes highly.

I have so many other thoughts but this is too long already! Thank you all, again, for everything!