Marathon Weekend 2025

[DisneyGamer11]

1) If you pre-order merch online, do you get your AP Discount (expecting answer to be no)?
2) If you pre-order merch online, can you return at pick-up if you change your mind (assuming yes)?

 

[pinkxray]

I have a stupid question. I haven’t done a RunDisney run since 2020. I am on the RunDisney website and I don’t see anywhere to just log in? I can’t log in unless I am clicking on an event to purchase. Am I missing something?

 

[pinkxray]

I am so nervous! I registered for multiple races but it has been a few years. This is the first time I have to register someone besides myself too. Dh has agreed to do the 10k with me.

 

[runwithperseverence7]

I am on the RunDisney website and I don’t see anywhere to just log in? I can’t log in unless I am clicking on an event to purchase. Am I missing something?

Only place I have found to log in is the link that says manage account. It’s under the help and support drop down. I’m a newbie so there may be somewhere else.

 

[GollyGadget]

1) If you pre-order merch online, do you get your AP Discount (expecting answer to be no)?
2) If you pre-order merch online, can you return at pick-up if you change your mind (assuming yes)?

I believe the answer is no to both.

I have a stupid question. I haven’t done a RunDisney run since 2020. I am on the RunDisney website and I don’t see anywhere to just log in? I can’t log in unless I am clicking on an event to purchase. Am I missing something?

The best way I have found is selecting Manage Account under the Help & Support menu.


When you select it, the website gets cranky that you aren't signed in and provides the option to do so.

You got this!

 

[GollyGadget]

SAFD: like others have said, open multiple browsers and stay connected to this board. I'm going to try this auto filler extension and hope it speeds my entry: https://teamrundisney.com/chrome-rundisautofill

 

[flav]

Thank you @camaker for this new perspective on attractions and why we like them! Looking forward to ride them soon.

 

[jmasgat]

I have a stupid question. I haven’t done a RunDisney run since 2020. I am on the RunDisney website and I don’t see anywhere to just log in? I can’t log in unless I am clicking on an event to purchase. Am I missing something?

On the RunDisney website, scroll to the very bottom on the page. Under Help and Support "Manage Account" is the last item. If you are on a laptop browser, it should look like the pic below.

 

[Bree]

1) If you pre-order merch online, do you get your AP Discount (expecting answer to be no)?
2) If you pre-order merch online, can you return at pick-up if you change your mind (assuming yes)?

MW, DL and Princess did not allow any discounts or any returns for preorders. The only thing they might let you do is exchange for a different size if that size was available.

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD: (Thanks for the fun bracket!) I have nothing new to add. I will say to just be patient and try not to panic because as has been already stated, it seems they have throttled back how many people can be registering (IN the registration page, not the queue) at a time.

 

[jrsharp21]

Came into work this morning all refreshed from the weekend. Then caught up on all the posts about registration tomorrow. Now I am all sorts of a nervous wreck. Ready to rumble tomorrow morning!

 

[Herding_Cats]

Looking for some thoughts about the race weekend and balancing races/parks, and also a question for the more-experienced DVC'ers.

I thought I had a good sense of what DH would want to sign up for. I also had pretty much written off BIL/SIL coming down to join us for the weekend. And then yesterday they came over to hang out with us for the afternoon and somehow DH convinced BIL that they should come down. (I think the main point was "You don't have to run any of the races dude.") I'm waiting for them to walk that back this evening since SIL is a teacher and taking days off the week after break can be difficult, and DH originally told BIL it was during the end of Christmas/NY break. So if they don't back out, I'm working under the assumption that they'll be there Thursday or Friday through Sunday. This is the DVC part of the question. The 7mo mark is going to be in June. Anyway, how long do you think is safe to wait for booking a 2br for the weekend days? I have a week booked for us already in a studio, but I don't want to force everyone to wake up on Saturday/Sunday, and extra bathrooms are really nice to have. We "own" as SSR and I'm also fine with staying at OKW. And then AKV would be the 3rd choice (just based on how many points I have to work with here.) I'm going to have to borrow, and what I do NOT want to happen is to borrow a year's worth of points and then have them back out and be "stuck" with a 2BR for 2 people.

And now for the race/vacation part of the question, that's not really a question, but more 'am I enormously over-thinking this? Because I'm a mega-planner for this stuff.' I will preface this with, BIL/SIL are really hard to get to commit to stuff early. SIL, as of yesterday, was on the fence about registering for anything, but I think if she DOES sign up, it'll be for the half. However, this morning DH texts me that if BIL/SIL come down, he'll probably just do the 5k and 10k. Did you hear that? That's the sound of my plan flying out the window. See, I figured if he was going to cut back, it would be to only register for the half and nothing else. And I would do Goofy, and that makes for a shorter trip (which HE wanted) and less wakeups for everyone. But if DH is going to do the 5 and 10, I may as well sign up for Dopey (because he said 3 years ago that running those by himself was kind of boring.) But doing Dopey means that *I* will be the downer for the weekend wanting to go to bed early, needing a nap, and I have absolutely no idea if anyone wants to do park days. (DH and I had kind of agreed to not do much for parks for this trip when we talked about it in February.) Help?

 

[PrincessV]

24.5 hours out and I don’t know if I want to register for the 10K, Half, or nothing at all. My emotion regarding this MW can best be described as ambivalent lol! Priority is helping my friend get into Goofy, and even if I don’t do any races, I’ll still be there to spectate and socialize. But will I be disappointed later if I don’t register for anything???

 

[kps7795]

Depends on what your goal for race weekend is. I've completed the Dopey Challenge five times (2014-2018), and the goal was the same all five attempts. Try to PR in all four races in consecutive days, and then have a full day's Disney vacation with the family in-between the races. I always succeeded on the vacation side of it (as was my wife's expectation), and came the closest in 2018 to PR'ing all four races consecutively with PRs at 5k (20:06), 10k (39:54), HM (1:30:35) and missing the M by less than 2 min (3:15:59). What's more incredible to me is that six years later and 30+ races later, those 2018 Dopey race performances still rank 1st, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in terms of all time official PRs. Some true Disney magic that weekend.

My advice for race weekend is to train for what kind of weekend you want before the weekend comes. A good rule of thumb when it comes to setting expectations for the marathon is realistic marathon pace for a standalone race + 10%. The other three races can be taken as slow or as fast as you want within your own fitness profile as long as you appropriately train for it.

My goal for the marathon is to run as fast as I can between picture stops and try to time it so that I reach AK when the park opens in order to maximize my chances at riding Everest. Nonetheless, my focus (and the reason that I posed the question in the first place) is not having a repeat of my Goofy Challenge experience in 2023. I had a wonderful half marathon with my daughter using run-walk at her pace, so it wasn't very fast. Nonetheless, I woke up the next morning with a sore ankle and I hoped that it wouldn't bother me too much during the marathon. By Mile 15/16, I couldn't run more than a few feet without feeling terrible pain on the bottom of my foot. It was so bad that I was afraid that I might have a fracture, yet I could still walk with minimal discomfort. Hence, I walked the remainder of the race (except for a few feet whenever I saw a Photopass photographer).

After a lot of soul and sole searching, I believe that the foot pain was caused by not being properly trained for the Challenge. I might have been fine for the HM or even the full marathon, but not the combined two day event. For my last HM, I used the Hanson's method and I believe that the cumulative fatigue prepared my feet and legs to withstand the miles. This was the impetus for my question in the first place. How fast can I go in the HM without risking a repeat of my Goofy Challenge experience.

At this point, my plan is to run the 5K and the 10K at my easy pace and the HM at my Long Run pace. I looked over my training logs and I did a 12 mile Long Run while we were at Universal Orlando in December and then walked an additional ten miles at the parks that day. I distinctly remember not having any discomfort at all that day or the following day. I believe that it's all about the proper pacing and having your body prepared for the miles.

I appreciate your thoughts regarding this plan of attack. Do you think that I could race the 5K and/or 10K without risking putting too much stress on my feet? I am frankly feeling a tremendous amount of anxiety (nine months out!) about a repeat of my Goofy Challenge debacle. So, I have the angel on one shoulder telling me to focus on the marathon experience and play it safe while the devil is saying to go for it and minimize my wait times for pictures by running faster than easy pace.

 

[Cabius]

After a lot of soul and sole searching, I believe that the foot pain was caused by...

I just wanted to make sure this line doesn't go unacknowledged. Excellent work!

 

[pluto377]

@Herding_Cats Would you consider doing just the 5, 10 and Half? Taking the marathon out of the equation means you could have a much more enjoyable weekend spending time with family and leaves time for the parks if you choose. I did just those three in 2023 and it was a great balance of running and vacation. Just a thought...

 

[Smooth_Whiskey]

If I am able to secure a spot in the dopey challenge my goal is to PR all four races with the marathon going just under 4hr. Big ask from my legs i know but I'm planning on never doing this again so gotta go big!

 

[kps7795]

I just wanted to make sure this line doesn't go unacknowledged. Excellent work!

Thank you.

 

[dobball23]

I've run at Marathon Weekend every year it has been held since 2018, other than 2019. But I think, regretfully, I am going to miss 2025. But I hope to return in 2026 for my sixth Dopey! I'll keep following and participating in this thread, though.

We have some other vacations that are taking funds from our Marathon Weekend budget, plus the timing of some of those aren't great with regards to training and traveling. We live in PA and it would be a little too much back and forth to Florida to make it work.

I've done five marathons -- all at Disney World -- is this the year I try my first elsewhere? Or do I lay off the marathons until Dopey 2026?

 

[ukplymshaun]

I'm hoping to get a place in the marathon tomorrow for my first MW. I am adequately prepared with 3 laptops (6/7 different browsers) one iPad and one phone Hopefully this will be enough!