runDisney Half Marathon at the End of Two-week Vacation?

[LenetteUK]

My partner and I are planning our first trip to WDW and would love to add a runDisney half marathon to the experience. However, with the dates we're looking at, it looks like the race will fall at the end of the vacation.

We're coming over from across the pond and probably won't be going again until several years after this trip, so on one hand we feel like it's something we'd be sad to miss. On the other, we really want to enjoy our vacation and not have to think about training and eating and saving our legs from long days in the parks, and just take it all in.

We wouldn't be looking to do a pb - we'd just love to run through the parks, experience the atmosphere, and be able to say we did a runDisney half. Of course we'd put in the work before the vacation so that we knew we could do the miles under normal circumstances.

Do you think we'd be able to enjoy our holiday with a half marathon coming up? And how much would a two week full stop to preparations and long park days affect our chances of completing the race?

Has anyone done something similar? Any thoughts are welcome!

 

[BikeFan]

It really depends on your experience level as a runner, and how comfortable you are with the mileage of a half-marathon. Assuming you've done a half before and you just want to finish the Disney half, you should have no problem enjoying your vacation and then running the half marathon at the end. I've combined Disney races with park days, and it wasn't really an issue. Certainly, none of my Disney races were all that fast, but I finished them without too much difficulty. Disney races are great events - I'd say go for it!

 

[GrandAdmiralStrife]

I did Dopey at Marathon Weekend 2016. We went for 7 days and I did the races at the end of the trip; I had no issues hitting the parks each day after the 5k/10k, and went in the later afternoon/early evening after the half marathon. Wasn't going to try going to the parks after the full but managed to drag myself out to Magic Kingdom to get some character pics with my Dopey medal just because in the evening

So my advice would be do the races at the end, don't worry about training at the parks; you'll be doing enough walking to cover that.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

In 2012, I ran the Wine & Dine Half near the end of a week long vacation to Disney World. On top of that, I got sick the week before leaving for Disney World and got very little running in at all.

So less than a week after being sick and then traveling to Disney World and running around the parks like I normally do, I finished the half just a few minutes slower than the Disneyland Half a couple months earlier.

I think your normal park touring should be sufficient to maintain the fitness needed to complete a half. Your time may suffer, but if you're focused on finishing and are sufficiently prepared before the race, you should be able to enjoy the experience. You may want to build in some down time especially closer to the race to make sure your legs aren't destroyed for the race itself given you're there for 2 weeks, but I don't think the race itself will be a problem provided you're sufficiently trained before you leave.

 

[LenetteUK]

Thank you all for the inputs! We'll definitely be getting tickets then

 

[hotblooded]

If you’re willing to phone it in, you’ll feel right at home, surrounded by thousands of other runners doing it for fun. I run the January half marathon every year and it’s not competitive at all for most of the people in attendance. I spent three weeks on vacation in Asia prior to the race this year and did fine despite vacation mode eating and less training.

 

[tigger536]

You'll be fine, it sounds like you have race experience. Disney is for fun anyway, not time goals, IMO. Also, in case you do want to run some before your race, at Disney, most of the hotels have great running trails. Its always more fun to run at Disney.

 

[cavepig]

I think you'll be fine running it at the end. I would just keep eating/types of restaurants in check some as the race day approaches to make sure it's stuff you are used to and not something exotic you've never had just a a few days/or day before. Otherwise, you'll be getting plenty of walking in to keep yourself loose or could easily do a couple short runs around your resort just to shake out a little if you're worried. Many people do run Disney for time as it is a race, but you will find many do not as other's have said. It will be a great way to cap off your trip!

 

[tigger536]

I think you'll be fine running it at the end. I would just keep eating/types of restaurants in check some as the race day approaches to make sure it's stuff you are used to and not something exotic you've never had just a a few days/or day before. Otherwise, you'll be getting plenty of walking in to keep yourself loose or could easily do a couple short runs around your resort just to shake out a little if you're worried. Many people do run Disney for time as it is a race, but you will find many do not as other's have said. It will be a great way to cap off your trip!

Like maybe no guac from Pecos Bills, perhaps?

Good point on running for time, I know people that have Boston qualified in the Disney marathon. I run a lot of races for time elsewhere (though not at BQ times - ha) so I like to use Disney for fun and character pictures. But its a flat and fast course if you are running for time.

 

[cavepig]

Like maybe no guac from Pecos Bills, perhaps?

Good point on running for time, I know people that have Boston qualified in the Disney marathon. I run a lot of races for time elsewhere (though not at BQ times - ha) so I like to use Disney for fun and character pictures. But its a flat and fast course if you are running for time.

Ha, I should put that in my signature - no Pecos Bills guac! I would love to BQ but Goofy is calling my name next time so yeah not gonna happen at WDW most likely and if I didn't get any character pics I think I would feel I didn't get my money's worth. But like my brother got age group plaques at Wine & Dine in the 10k & Half I'm slightly jealous of. But yeah Disney is great for all no matter what the goal

 

[Sleepless Knight]

My first Disney race also remains the only Disney race in which I did not stop for a single photo. I didn't even take a camera because I feared that photo stops would cause me to get swept. I wound up finishing roughly 10 minutes ahead of what I had trained at so I could have stopped for some photos. But I don't regret those cool missed photos. I knew my goal and accomplished it. And achieving that goal set the stage for much more enjoyable races in the future that I would not have ran if I failed in my first ever race.

 

[tigger536]

Ha, I should put that in my signature - no Pecos Bills guac! I would love to BQ but Goofy is calling my name next time so yeah not gonna happen at WDW most likely and if I didn't get any character pics I think I would feel I didn't get my money's worth. But like my brother got age group plaques at Wine & Dine in the 10k & Half I'm slightly jealous of. But yeah Disney is great for all no matter what the goal

That's the way I feel! What other races have characters and rides? Lol. I would feel like I'm missing out.