Walt Disney World Marathon 2020 Recap: A First Timers Perspective

As promised, here is my Walt Disney World Marathon 2020 Recap!

I largely have runDisney to blame for my love of racing. I even wrote one of my first blog posts about it here. Back when I first started running, I NEVER thought I’d run a marathon! Yet, here we are, and I just completed my seventh! It’s crazy to me that I have run so many marathons. Each one has been its own individual journey. I think that journey is why folks get hooked on marathons, they want to see what their next race experience will be. I’ve had some fun races and not so fun races but let me tell you, the Walt Disney World Marathon is an absolutely unique marathon experience. Spoiler alert (but if you follow me on Facebook and Instagram you already know), I LOVED IT!

Hotel

We stayed in the brand-new Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs. (Keep an eye out for my full review of our stay in the coming weeks!) The logistics from the tower to the expo and race buses were easy to navigate. Everything was clearly marked, and the cast members were all very helpful and friendly. I was nervous about staying at a hotel that seemed further removed from the main action of the race, but we had no issues, and everything ran smoothly.

Something offered at our hotel were race snack-boxes. They include a few snacks like a bagel, peanut butter, water, and a banana. These are great for race morning eats! I believe most Disney resorts will carry these.     

Expo

The day before the marathon we headed to the Expo at the ESPN Sports Complex. We went early to be there when they opened.

Getting my bib was easy, and we loved all the photo opportunities within the Expo. I even got a free pair of gloves from Cigna for filling out a questionnaire. They also took a photo in front of a screen of the “finish line” and gave me a glossy photo souvenir.

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The rest of the Expo was in a separate building across the ESPN complex. There we found vendors, running gear, shoes, and food. The runDisney specific merchandise was in yet another building closer to the buses.   

A word of caution: since Marathon Weekend is a total of four races (one per day) and the Expo starts the day before the 5k, specialty merchandise went quickly. By the time I checked out the runDisney shop, they were completely out of the special runDisney “ears”. Go earlier in the week if you want something specifically from the Expo!

Overall the Expo had many helpful cast members who answered all our questions, and some cute race-specific merchandise. I am partial to the Princess Weekend Expo (I mean how can you beat running and Princess branded EVERYTHING), but the Walt Disney World Marathon Expo was still pretty cool!   

Race Day

This marathon starts EARLY, which was a good thing this year! The weather was predicted to be 70 degrees Fahrenheit at the 5 am start and reach into the 80s later that day. I woke up at 2 am (go to bed early folks! Get those zzz’s!) and got ready. I put on my Belle running costume, while my friend donned her Elsa costume. She created both of our outfits which were so cute! Once we were ready, we headed to the bus at 3 am.

We got to Epcot around 3:30 am and walked over to the bag drop off and character meet and greet area. There was energy in the air despite the sleepy runners, and we chose to stand in line to meet Mickey since we had time to kill before the race. We were barely able to get a picture with the main Mouse (the character lines are LONG in the morning!) before we made our way to the corrals.

The walk to the corrals is long! I wasn’t expecting such a long haul, but we used it as a shake-out jog. We made it to the B corral, then left to go wait in line for the port-a-potties. It was a long wait. Luckily, we made it back to our corral with a few minutes to spare.

The race started a little late. I was extra cautious about my nutrition for this marathon and decided to take a gel while we waited. I also had a handheld water bottle full of Nuun since I knew the race was going to be HOT. I’ve experienced almost passing out during a marathon due to high temperatures and I was DETERMINED not to let that happen again!  

We started about 30 minutes late, but the entertainment from the hosts and the energy of the crowd kept me buzzing and ready to take off. Once we were released, the course was very crowded and hard to navigate for the first few miles. I ran and chatted with my friend for three miles which was fun and something I’ve never done in a race before!

After the initial miles the crowd spread out, making maneuvering much easier. We ran through Epcot first. I remember the Norway cast-members cheering us on; I shouted at them that I would see them later for School bread (which I totally got that afternoon 😉).

Disney is amazing at creating entertainment, and that is true during their runDisney races! There are constant photo opportunities with characters, sets, music playing, random Disney cartoons being projected on huge screens, and water/Powerade stops every mile and a half. I will be the first to admit that I am not a character person, but during the marathon, I stopped for a few pictures! It’s less awkward than most character encounters because you quickly jump into the picture and run out. I only took a few this time, but if I do the marathon again, I’d love to take more!

The photo stop in front of the castle is a must!  It’s great that they let you capture that magical moment.

My favorite memory of the race was running down Main Street, U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom and seeing the Christmas tree and Christmas decorations lit up. I have never smiled so big during a race, I was awe-struck! This was my first time seeing the Magic Kingdom during Christmas time, so everything was new to me. The castle was gorgeous and running through it was even more magical with the amazing Christmas lights all aglow! The photo stop in front of the castle is a must!  It’s great that they let you capture that magical moment.   

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After the Magic Kingdom, you run all the way down to Animal Kingdom. They had a few animals out to say hello, I thought the tortoise was a nice touch.

I was doing lots of nutrition and hydration to keep my energy up. I snacked on some Sports Beans that were handed out earlier in the race. Beware, Sports Beans taste like children’s vitamins! If you’ve never tried them (like me), make sure you like them before the race. I did a big no-no and tried something new on race day! Luckily, I just didn’t enjoy the taste and ended up tossing them after forcing a few down.

One particularly fond memory I have during the race was a Goofy encounter! He had a photo stop somewhere on the course in his football garb. I smiled as I ran towards him, and then he started running beside me, cheering me on, arms waving! This is why we runDisney folks! Special magical moments when Goofy is your cheer squad! Gotta love it! =)

This is why we runDisney folks! Special magical moments when Goofy is your cheer squad!

During the entire race, but especially towards the end, hearing the cast members and spectators cheer me on kept my spirits sky-high! It was awesome wearing a costume that was recognizable and having everyone shout “Go, Belle! You’re my favorite!”. Every time I heard someone cheer for me, I automatically smiled, even when I was exhausted. If you do a runDisney event you gotta wear a costume! It makes the experience just that much more memorable.

If you do a runDisney event you gotta wear a costume! It makes the experience just that much more memorable.

Once we got to Blizzard Beach, I was pretty done. It was really hot by that time and the run in and out of the water park wasn’t particularly enjoyable. I wasn’t the only one hurting during that stretch, all the folks around me were in the same boat. Later that day they cut that section of the race due to runners over-heating. I’m glad I was able to get the full race in, but it was definitely tough!

The homestretch of the race was a long (probably felt longer than it was) haul to Hollywood Studios, then back through Epcot to the finish line. In Hollywood Studios, we ran down the main drag and out the front gate. There were tons of spectators lining the street, which was great since I needed it then! It was fun and a bit odd running past guests as they entered the park. The guests didn’t slow the runners down, it just felt strange seeing normal people going about their day as we slogged through the final miles sweat-soaked and exhausted.  

Running around the Boardwalk and into the World Showcase in Epcot was incredible. Physically my legs were over the whole “running” thing, but mentally I was strong and loving the race! We cruised into Epcot and saw more guests starting their park day. I was stoked at that point knowing the finish was coming up. There were plenty of photographers around to capture the last leg of our marathon journey.

Every finish line is special, but Disney makes sure you feel like a superstar!

Crossing the finish line with the characters and everyone cheering was spectacular! Every finish line is special, but Disney makes sure you feel like a superstar! I smiled as I crossed the line and thanked my legs for letting me complete another incredible race.    

Post Race

My husband spotted me as I crossed the finish line and caught my attention as I got my medal. I shouted a gleeful “Husband!” as I staggered through the finish chute. There were tons of runDisney snack boxes, Powerade and water. I didn’t take a photo of the boxes since I was a tad bit out of it, but they were pretty standard. I ate a granola bar and chips from the box and kept the rest of the goodies for later that day.

There were photo spots scattered around the reunion area. I took a few pictures, then grabbed my checked bag and changed into dry clothes. You could purchase more food and get any last-minute souvenirs at the finish area as well. I considered taking a look but decided that my feet wanted nothing to do with more walking. We hopped on a bus headed back to our hotel.

Conclusion

This was the most fun and well-organized marathon I have run and I have run some really great marathons! The difference was the amazing care and attention that runDisney gives to their runners. Days before the race began, Disney was texting us about race conditions. They reminded us to hydrate and take it easy on race day due to HOT temps forecasted. For any new runner who is a bit leery about racing, rest easy knowing that runDisney will take good care of you! When I ran the Boston Marathon a few years ago and it was going to be in the high 70s F for my race, they didn’t tell us anything. I suppose Boston figures that if you are running their race, you better be tough as nails. I’m not knocking Boston AT ALL, but runDisney was ON TOP of making sure everyone had a GREAT day!

Another huge bonus about runDisney is the Photopass photographers! Usually, race photos are TERRIBLE (I know I’ve had some awful ones), but with the photographers being EVERYWHERE for runDisney races you are sure to get a few excellent ones! If you purchase Photopass or Memory Maker during your trip you get all your race photos. As you can see, I took full advantage of Memory Maker!

I don’t always finish a race and think to myself, “I totally want to run that again”, but with this one I did! After years of being SUPER competitive with myself, this was the first race that I stopped beating myself up about my finish time. I’m not gonna lie, I wanted to run sub 4 hours, and I even had the mile pace calculations done in my head to achieve that. What I didn’t account for was the extra distance the photo stops would add. So, I did run the pace I trained for and would have gotten my goal if it weren’t for the photo stops. BUT that wasn’t the point of the race, and it’s NOT the reason I do Disney races! It was good for me to have a “slower” race and enjoy it, finally realizing that racing doesn’t have to be about hitting a goal pace. I LOVED my race and have absolutely no regrets about finishing in 4 hours and 2 minutes!

Overall, I would highly recommend this race, especially for anyone who loves Disney, or first-time marathoners wanting to tackle the full 26.2 miles! The race support, cast members, magical park miles and entertainment make this race one I will not soon forget.

After the race, I kept commenting on how amazing the runners were who completed the Dopey Challenge (all four race distances, one each day, ending with the full marathon). My husband has mentioned a few times that I need to do the Dopey in the future. Initially, I thought he was nuts for suggesting it… but the more I think about it the more I want to do it. Who knows, stay tuned to Running-Disney-Travel and see if I take up the challenge!

If you are interested in what races I have run or plan on running in the future, check out my Race page!

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