This past April I ran my first 10k since having baby #2! I ran the Springtime Surprise 10k at Walt Disney World and had a wonderful time. It was so nice running just one race and having it NOT be a long one! Some people might have differing opinions on this (I’m looking at you random lady in the check out line at Magic Kingdom!), but running a single race during a runDisney weekend is honestly bliss. You are less tired, still get to enjoy the race magic, and you can last longer at the parks during the day! After having another baby in May 2025, my physical recovery has been slow and my running is nowhere near what it used to be. But with the help of my new virtual running group, and my training, I was able to set a reasonable goal and nearly achieve it! Read on to see how running the 2026 Springtime Surprise 10k at Walt Disney World went and why I chose not to hit my goal time!
Read all about my last runDisney race experience in my 2024 Fairytale Challenge Recap HERE!
Pre-Race and Expo
The days before the race my sleep was even worse than normal, which is something since my sleep is never “good”. The day before the race I was feeling pretty off. I explored Animal Kingdom in the morning, did the expo in the afternoon, then went back to Epcot for dinner. At Animal Kingdom I felt awful right before I went to the Expo, I got too dehydrated and hungry and was struggling. It was a long day and I felt like I was just trying to stay hydrated in the Florida heat and eat enough electrolytes to not pass out.
I went to the Expo and EVERYTHING was sold out, I was so disappointed! I was there on the second day of the expo and all the cute merch that I had seen online was completely gone. This was pretty sad because I love Winnie the Pooh, that is partially why I signed up for the 10k, and I only ended up with the race shirt that came with my registration. I bought an overpriced water bottle and an ornament because I wanted a few things to commemorate the race by. After my very long day of parks, Expo, more parks and dinner, I was very apprehensive about the race the next day! I just hoped Disney magic would make me feel better and finish the race!
Race Morning
Early Saturday morning (2:30 am) I got up and headed to the race! Per usual I barely slept, but that is normal for runDisney races and me. I was in the “C” corral which I had never been in. I know this sounds silly, but I’ve always been in the “A” corral and I didn’t know what to expect starting later. The race starts at 5 am, though the rest of the corrals start later as they go through the start line in waves. There were corrals up to F, it’s a huge race! That race anticipation really builds up as you see everyone taking off ahead of you. I was in the front of my half of the “C” corral, so I could take off without lots of people in front of me. I ended up starting around 5:15 am, so it wasn’t terrible.
Race Time!
The biggest differences I noticed starting later in the race was the character picture lines were LONG. I like taking a few photos during the race, but it typically only adds a few seconds to my time. This would have been 10-20 mins if I stopped for any of the picture lines, so I just kept running past all of them. Corral “C” was a more crowded corral, so I had to weave around more people. Overall, it wasn’t too bad starting in “C”, but I was a bit bummed about the character stops. Even without those early charecter stops runDisney is something special. It feels magical running through the parks and seeing the joy in everyone around you. I was in heaven and smiling the whole time. =)
Miles 1-4
I was feeling ok at the start, though after a few miles I settled into my race and felt pretty good! It was HOT which I wasn’t used to, but I had been trying to be on top of hydration and nutrition the day before the race since I felt so bad. I must have nailed it because I wasn’t sweating buckets and didn’t feel like I was “crashing “ at any point! That’s also the beauty of racing a 10k, it’s not long enough to really hit a wall. It was so nice! I saw the Winnie the Pooh characters and said “I’ll see you later!” since we had Crystal Palace reservations for brunch that day.
Miles 5-6
By mile 5 I realized the race was almost over and I hadn’t gotten any character photos! I had a choice, there was a stop coming up with a few people in it for a picture. If I didn’t stop I would easily get my sub 1 hr goal, but I wanted character pictures! That’s why we run Disney! So I stopped and snapped a photo, and then a tiny bit later there was another stop with only one person in line, so I stopped for that too! In the end I got two pictures with characters and ended up finishing the race at 1 hr 2 mins. It was worth the detour and I’m so proud of my race! I did hammer my last bit of the race trying to see if I could still get under an hour, but I didn’t and that’s ok; I put in a great effort and had so much fun! I felt strong and proud and that’s exactly what I wanted.
Post-Race
The runDisney finish line is the best out there in my opinion. So many photos, confetti, charecters, smiles, and some tears. I love my medal, it’s one of my favorites I’ve ever gotten. I grabbed my snack box, relaxed in the post race area for a bit and soaked up all the vibes. It was so nice to be back running with runDisney! =)
Later that day my friend and I went to brunch in the Magic Kingdom at the Crystal Palace. It was tasty (especially the CHURRO WAFFLES! omg, so amazing) and having the photos with the charecters was awesome! It was a popular spot that day since lots of the 10k finishers had the same idea. So much fun!
Overall Thoughts
I LOVE runDisney and (obviously) running. It was a great race and just reinforced my devotion to my beloved hobby. I can’t wait to run another race! And I hope to be able to register for another runDisney race soon! It’s getting SO HARD to register, these races are popular! But I know I will have an amazing time when I do, there is just nothing else in the world like runDisney! And YES you can “just run the 10k” and have an amazing time!
Please follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest! Don’t forget to share “Running the 2026 Springtime Surprise 10k at Walt Disney World” on Pinterest!
Check out a list of all my past races HERE!
