2024 Disneyland Half Marathon Report & Review: runDisney Returns After 7 Years Away!
After a 7-year hiatus, runDisney returned to California and I returned to running with the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon. I’ll share photos and thoughts in this race report–including my take on events at Walt Disney World vs. Disneyland, plans to run the 2024 Halloween Half Marathon or 2025 WDW Marathon, and more.
When I say that this marked my return to running, I mean that in the since that I haven’t done a runDisney event since the last Disneyland Half Marathon. I was registered for the Walt Disney World Marathon when that returned, but something came up that prevented me from running. Other attempts at race registrations failed when the events sold out. I was actually fairly lucky to get a spot in the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon–it filled up within minutes after I scored my spot.
This also more or less marks my return to running–not just racing. Longtime readers might be familiar with my training regimen, which is more or less don’t. I mention this up front because I know runDisney has a fervent fan following, and some of you might be running zealots. This race report is not for you. It emphasizes the Disney in runDisney, rather than the run.
I am not a runner. I have never gone for more than a 5-mile run outside of a runDisney event. Literally not once, ever. While I did some neighborhood running out of boredom back in 2020, I can’t even remember the last time I ran more than 2 miles prior to the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon. It was probably 2020, maybe early 2021.
With that said, I did some kinda-sorta training. Sarah has a Peloton bike, so I used that 4 times in the lead-up to the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon. I even did an 11-mile ride one time, which I’m told is totally the same as running 13.1 miles. I also refrained from eating at In-N-Out Burger for about 4 weeks before the race. But I did have a lot of ice cream, assorted meats, and other unhealthy foods during that time frame. Whoever schedules these flagship runDisney races right after the heart of the holiday eating season is just plain cruel.
While this lackluster training has more or less worked for me in the past, I was nervous going into the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon. Although I generally have a healthy diet and am reasonably active, my body has also aged 7 years since my last run of any appreciable distance. Not only that, but I have been eating less healthy and been less active than normal in the last ~11 months.
But we’ll circle back to all of this in the closing remarks at the end of the race report…
Not knowing where the start or finish would be, we opted to hedge our bets and book a hotel months ago that would (hopefully) be relatively convenient–or at least not inconvenient–to either potential option. With that in mind, we booked the Westin Anaheim as soon as race registration opened and before prices skyrocketed.
For those planning to do future runDisney races at Disneyland, making reservations ASAP is the way to go. Most ‘real world’ Anaheim hotels raise their rates based dynamically based on demand and supply, and there simply is not enough inventory for Disneyland plus runDisney plus Anaheim Convention Center.
The day you register for the race should be the day you reserve your room. Book something refundable in case the map comes out and you’re not happy with the location, but get something. (If the start line stays in the same spot for future races, there are a ton of affordable options with better locations than the on-site hotels.)
We just wrapped up a stay at the Villas at Disneyland Hotel (see Our Stay in Disney’s Smallest Hotel Room) last week, but I didn’t want to pick up my race bib or do the expo (both indoors) in a congested and slow-moving environment. I also figured it would be a bit of a cluster, so I waited until 3 p.m. on Saturday.
This was the perfect plan. Instead of the lengthy line and long wait that other runners reported, I encountered zero wait whatsoever. It took me 5 minutes total, and that included a quick pass through the store to see if there was anything worth purchasing. I actually really liked some of the race merchandise…until I saw the price tags!
On the plus side, there was a ton of stuff left at the end of the expo, so perhaps it’ll end up at the outlets. Half price on some of those shirts is closer to my range. I do want to give props to the runDisney design team, as the graphics and merchandise for several recent events have been phenomenal. No wonder runDisney has become so popular!
I was hyped to be in Corral C for the race, but this was a good and bad thing. The good thing about being so far up in the corrals was that I started about ~10 minutes after the race itself. In past runDisney events, I haven’t crossed the starting line until 30-45 minutes after the event started.
There’s also the reality that even in the longer distance events, Disney races draw a more “casual” crowd. RunDisney has gotten pretty good about sharing “race etiquette,” but a lot of people assume that doesn’t apply to them. Suffice to say, there’s definitely something to be said for not having to dodge hordes of people walking 5-wide for the first 2 miles of the event. It’s also nice being in the home stretch by the time the sun comes up.
The downside is the contrasting “energies” at the back of the pack versus the front. Like a mullet, runDisney corrals are business in the front, party in the back. There are way more Disney fans wearing costumes, excitement, and general hijinks in the back, as compared to people who are very serious about completing this race as quickly as possible to achieve a new PR. You can’t have it all, though, so this is admittedly a stupid complaint. It’s either a smoother run early on or having fun with fans–not both.
The opening act of the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon was a good one. The first mile was on Harbor and Katella, heading back towards Downtown Disney before cutting onto a backstage road behind Avengers Campus and Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, and then into Hollywood Land right around the second mile marker.
Following that, the course weaved through just about land in DCA–over a full mile just in that park–before heading across the Esplanade to Disneyland. This was another hearty stretch of the race, starting with the quintessential run down Main Street USA before weaving through Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and coming back through Sleeping Beauty Castle.
The race then continued to the Rivers of America and, for the first time, through Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toontown before exiting backstage and heading past the Team Disney Anaheim offices. This wrapped up the first 5 miles (roughly) of the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon. It was a very strong start to the event.
Every Disneyland Half Marathon that I’ve ever done has begun in the parks. While I would personally prefer to backload the race with running through Disneyland and Disney California Adventure when I need more motivation and, ahem, magic to finish, I get why they do it this way. Have to clear the parks before they open for the day!
My only real complaint with the in-park portion was the lack of characters. I really liked when runDisney introduced the elevated selfie stations a number of years ago with characters on elevated platforms. For whatever reason, those are now gone and meet & greets are back…and not nearly as many of them. It also was a really perplexing decision to put Dumbo so close to the start of the race in the Hollywood Backlot–his line was already cut by the time I got there, and I arrived fairly early!
Nevertheless, the biggest positive of the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon was that the first 5 miles or so of the run were knocked out inside Disneyland Resort. Previous races I’ve done in California entered the parks slightly earlier and were out before mile 4. Getting an extra mile in the parks was huge.
But that’s because the bulk of the race is through the streets of Anaheim, and this is consistently the worst portion of any runDisney race I’ve ever run anywhere. It’s like the interminably long part of the Walt Disney World events that head out to the ESPN Wide World of Sports, except in this case, well over half the race.
This was basically the same stretch of road as prior Disneyland Half Marathons, except even worse than normal. For those who are unfamiliar with this infamous portion of the course, it largely runs through the Anaheim Business Campus, which is a very industrial portion of town. It’s basically the real world inspiration for Avengers Campus–but minus the super heroes. Just boring building after boring building in a neverending office park.
Normally, this is punctuated with a run through Angel Stadium. Even as you’re trudging through the boring portions, there’s that to look forward to. For whatever reason, that didn’t happen this year. I am inclined to blame the biggest villain in Southern California now that Bob Chapek has been dethroned: Arte Moreno.
The course went through the parking lot at Angel Stadium, around Angel Stadium, but not inside Angel Stadium. It was really bittersweet to be right there but not go inside. Almost like we were being teased.
On the plus side, we did circle the exterior of the Honda Center, and that was more lively than normal. I don’t recall ever seeing Wild Wing during one of the previous Disneyland Half Marathons–that was one of the highlights of the entire run for me!
The other big blow was a lot less on-course entertainment during the Anaheim portion of the race. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been Disney entertainment during this portion of the race. I assume that’s because it’s a non-Disney environment and the company has strict character integrity rules (and probably doesn’t want to attract crowds of non-runners), all of which makes complete sense. That’s not my complaint, though.
For the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon, there was also less entertainment and visual interest, period. Granted, it’s been ~7 years and my memory isn’t perfect–but I have a huge catalog of photos and video from previous races. During prior events, there were lengthy stretches featuring cultural groups (flamenco dancers, etc.), high school bands, and more.
In the past, there were literally mile-plus stretches of classic cars. This year, it was a blink-and-you-missed-it lineup of a few dozen vehicles. There’s no getting around the Anaheim portion of the course being boring. It is what it is. Not having much of anything to help fill those lulls made it even worse.
It also felt like there were far fewer spectators along the Anaheim stretch of the course. I don’t have photo ‘evidence’ of this and even if I did, it’s not like that would be the fault of runDisney.
If anything, I’m guessing that the frigid weather kept a decent number of people away who otherwise would’ve been there. But it’s hard to be mad about the weather (who would you even get mad at, anyway?) since I’d far prefer to run in cold temperatures than hot ones.
There were other issues with the race, but I’m willing to grant some grace and attribute that to hiccups after a 7-year hiatus. I do think that it would’ve been wise for runDisney to not run its two flagship events at Walt Disney World and Disneyland on back-to-back weekends so they could’ve better prepared for both. Perhaps their options were limited and this was the weekend the City of Anaheim wanted. So I’ll even be forgiving of that. The lack of entertainment wasn’t a simple mistake, though; it was a conscious decision.
As for my personal performance in the race, my “goal” was to finish the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon in under 2 hours, but that was a goal I set the morning of the race after reviewing my previous results (from 7+ years ago), so it’s not like I had my mind set on this or spent months training to achieve it. To the contrary, I hadn’t trained at all (save for those few Peloton rides).
Through the first 10K, I wasn’t doing too terribly, with a time of 1:02:38. That would’ve put me within striking range of the 2 hour mark, assuming I could improve my time in the back half of the race. In the past, I’ve done exactly that–since I’m stopping for photos quite frequently in the front half, my times tended to get better outside the parks.
Not so this time around! This is where my lack of training and age caught up with me. In order to maintain a reasonable running pace, I started cheating on my mechanics and landing on my heels instead of the balls of my feet at around 7-8 miles. Shortly after that, I had terrible knee pain–precisely why I worked on changing my stride to avoid heel strikes over a decade ago in the first place! The final few miles were painful, and I had to walk on several occasions not because I was tired, but because running hurt.
Obviously, this is my own stupid fault. It’s not the lack of running as training; I haven’t been as active in the last year as normal. I should’ve seen the red flag last August when I was tired after only a week of 30,000 steps days in the parks–but I assumed it was the heat.
I ended up with a total time of 2:23:16. I know a lot of people would be very happy with this, and I probably should be one of them. It’s not that I’m unhappy with it–I didn’t deserve anything better–but more that I’m disappointed in myself. I feel a kick in the pants to do better next time. Being healthy is incredibly important to me, especially now that we have a daughter, and I want to do the work to actually earn better results, if that makes sense.
With that in mind, I’m left wondering when and where I’ll want to do another runDisney event. Honestly, I was losing interest in the Disneyland events before they went on hiatus, and I probably would’ve stopped running them had the decision not been taken out of my hands.
I started doing runDisney events in 2012, and really ‘peaked’ on them in 2015-2016. After that, things started going downhill for me, which was presumably due to a combination of diminishing returns (subjectively) and less entertainment (objectively).
Even back then, I remember singing the praises of on-course entertainment and the fabled “Disney Difference” in my race recaps and to first-timers on the fence about the races. Longtime runDisney friends basically said in response, “you should’ve seen it ___ years ago, it was even better!”
My hope was that several years away would result in runDisney hitting reset and the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon feeling fresh. To be sure, it was awesome running through Disneyland and Disney California Adventure again, but I did not get the sense that anything was reinvigorated.
It felt like more or less the same trajectory as before. To the extent that it felt more magical than last time, it was because I hadn’t done it in 7 years. Objectively speaking, the 2024 was not as good as the Disneyland Half Marathons I did from 2015 to 2017. The in-park course was longer, so that was nice, but just about everything else was inferior.
Honestly, it’s difficult to fault them given that runDisney events have been more popular than ever in the last few years. Sure, there’s been an element of pent-up demand, which would be doubly true at Disneyland where races went on hiatus for the construction of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Even at Walt Disney World, though, events seem to be selling out faster than ever.
(With that said, I can remember writing at length about declining demand for runDisney back in 2017, and how runDisney’s “solution” to slower sales was to cut corners. So it would seem that high demand is an excuse to reduce entertainment…and so is low demand. Not really sure what that leaves?)
In any case, I’m already eager to run another runDisney event to ‘remedy’ my results from this half marathon and achieve some sort of vindication. Even though I’m already “over” the regular Disneyland Half Marathon once again, I find myself tempted by the Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon.
For one thing, it’s an inaugural race and, like all Disney fans, I love the first of anything. The Disneyland races are also closer and more convenient to us, and I prefer the comparative predictability of Southern California weather. By contrast, the next Walt Disney World race I could do is the Wine & Dine Half Marathon, and Florida weather in early November feels like playing with fire.
Perhaps I’ll just wait until the 2025 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. I’ve loved that flagship event in the past, and have really wanted to do it again for the last few years. When setting weather aside–which I think you can do for the January races–the Walt Disney World events are better.
This isn’t really a California vs. Florida thing, just the practical reality of Walt Disney World having complete control over its courses thanks to 43 square miles of size. Disneyland Resort does not have that same luxury due to being the size of a postage stamp and having to work with the surrounding City of Anaheim. (Normally, I think the compact layout is mostly advantageous for Disneyland–but not for running!)
This isn’t to say there aren’t boring stretches in the Walt Disney World races–there definitely are–but none of it goes past office parks and due to all of it being on-property, there’s more themed entertainment even when you’re just running on boring ole roadways. The park sections are also just as good, and typically spaced out better–since there’s more than just an Esplanade separating them. And hey, maybe if I actually train, I could do the Dopey Challenge again!
Wrapping things up, we headed to In-N-Out Burger for the fourth not-so-annual “Disneyland Half Marathon Double Double Meat-Up.” Per tradition, none of you showed up to the event (thanks a lot, everyone). Granted, I didn’t tell any of you about it, but I expect the wise readers of this blog to always be stationed at In-N-Out Burger, ready to protect our nation’s greatest treasures.
Devouring two Double Doubles immediately after underperforming in the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon probably isn’t the best way to say that I’m serious about healthy living, but this post-race recovery meal was needed to replenish vital nutrients and so forth. Perhaps the In-N-Out celebratory meal is the best reason of all to continue the runDisney tradition in California. As much as I love Sonny Eclipse, Cosmic Ray’s just doesn’t hit the same way!
If you’re planning on getting into runDisney, read my comprehensive planning & prep post, “The Idiot’s Guide to runDisney” for everything to know: training, what to pack, recommended races, the registration process, and more. If you want my first-hand accounts from past events, check out my runDisney Race Reports. Also be sure to check out my runDisney Packing Tips post for what you should use to train, and what to carry on race day. For more Disney tips, special offers, and news, subscribe to our newsletter!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Do those of you who ran the race have anything to add? Do you agree or disagree with my perception of a quality-decline in the entertainment of this year’s Disneyland Half Marathon? Are you considering the 2024 Disneyland Halloween Half, 2025 Disneyland Half Marathon, or a different runDisney event at Walt Disney World? Hearing from you is half the fun, so please share any questions, tips, or additional thoughts you have in the comments!
I ran Dopey and then all 3 DL races and I think the DL 10k is hands down the best race of all the Disney races I’ve done because they can essentially get 6 fulls miles in parks which is a blast. The 5k starting inside Disneyland was also a really lovely unique aspect of the race. That being said I think they had some really clear safety misses that seem super obvious. Tracks, turns, and metal lips without warnings, just cast members trying to tell runners. They have audio blaring at WDW seems like they could have done more there. I was ahead of the water back up but friends weren’t and described it as actually a little scary so hopefully they fix that too. They could have had more medics out on the road portion. A woman went down in the industrial district and it was a good .3-.5 miles before we could even tell anyone and it still was just a RD employee not a medic, bikes had plenty of room to ride up and down and I saw no one. Having just run the dreaded Blizzard Beach the parking lot stretch did make me laugh. Also cast members really had no idea on most things. For who knows what reason I was in the second to last corral for the 10k (I have POT and am always in B for half) and nobody knew how to get to it. Some of that I give grace to – in WDW everyone runners and staff have been doing it and just know. But it was frustrating for runners and cast members who always want to help. I will get back out to DL and run again there were definite perks but part of RD is seeing my friends in the parking lot post party etc and that is uniquely WDW.
The Inaugural Tinker Bell was my very first race ever and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve since told people that RunDisney events are some of my most “pure fun” memories as a grown up. I had such high hopes for the return of DL events…but it was a little more “meh” than I expected. I did the WDW “half of a half” last week too, which was a bit of a let down also, so I’m still undecided if my feelings are because I had too high of expectations, if it was all just a fluke, or if the good ol’ days really are behind us 🙁 At this point, I’m still undecided if I want to run a Halloween event in 80+ degree weather in September or not…
Good recap. It’s Monster Truck Weekend at Angel Stadium; there isn’t even a baseball field, grass, warning track around it… it’s all full of dirt mounds…. Probably part of why you couldn’t run through it this year. September will be baseball season.
That completely explains it–I didn’t realize that. Thanks!
(I’m still going to blame Arte Moreno, just because.)
My first time running a runDisney race in Cali – the mile three bottle neck was awful! A complete standstill for several minutes! I did like the fact that even after starting in corral F, my friend and I were crossing the starting line about 20 minutes after the first wave went out. Way better than waiting the 45-60 minutes I have waited in the past at WDW races. Though I disliked being so far away from the pre race entertainment. Couldn’t hear a thing Carrissa was saying… Hoping to get into Wine and Dine to complete my first ever Coast to Coast challenge this year. If I’m successful, I’m not sure I’d come back to Cali to run again. I definitely prefer the races in Florida.
I’d take a close look at the recent WDW races before expecting park magic at their races. It’s less and less with Hollywood studios being a shocking in and out during Wine and Dine. At first it was easy to blame the Epcot construction, but now it’s an overall curtailment. I suspect it costs Disney more to run athletes through the parks than their roadways and parking lots which is driving the loss of park time.
Congratulations on a great race and an enviable time! Seriously. A successful race is one where you’re not swept. Wait until you’re older and racing with Megatron and learn to fear the Balloon Ladies ;). And I’ll never understand the PRers at RunDisney — they should save that for a relatively boring city race. The point of a RunDisney race is the fun which you’ll miss if you’re running at your redline.
But please do think about joining us in Florida! The biggest benefit I see in Disneyworld is that corrals are divided into multiple waves instead of being released all at once. That not only helps control the congestion some other commenters were mentioning, but it gives you a much bigger head start on the balloon ladies so you have time to enjoy the characters, entertainment, atmosphere, etc., without fear of being swept.
As for Wine & Dine versus Marathon Weekend, the weather is a toss up — because Florida. This season, the half at W&D was the most beautiful day you could ask for, while we froze at the MW 10k and had rain for a lot of the half. Marathon Weekend has a bigger energy to it, I think because of the mania/panic of the Dopey challengers — they make it awesome. But Wine & Dine has that really cool after-party in Epcot and the half-marathoners get a ticket included with their registration.
We’re going to give the Disneyland Halloween race weekend a go this year and I’m hopeful that a lot of the concerns folks had after the Half-Marathon weekend will be resolved well.
Congratulations Tom! I’ve always aspired to be one of those in a tutu run-walking in the back of the race just to experience the event in our favorite place. Maybe you and Sarah and Megatron can visit us in Arizona and run the PF Chang’s half some day. It’s a fun race and there are bands playing the entire way. Nothing beats “ Born to be Wild” as you come in to the last mile. And we have an In & Out AND the famous Tempe Chuckbox.
Love your posts and I’m so happy for your beautiful family!
To say that I am envious is an understatement!
As a former runner in a veteran of four marathons (New York City was a highlight and I understand what you mean about a challenge for registration) I don’t think Disney even dreamed about having a vet like this in the early 1980s. when my kids were young and our first trips to Disneyland were during the peak of my training times. I gained an appreciation of how small Disneyland really was. In a relative sense, as a runner.
regardless, I’m envious that they now offer these events, but I understand what your referring to regarding the entertainment, people traveling in groups of five across and dead spot along the course of the race.
But, oh my! what I would give to have a double-double from In and Out after half marathon!
Not to mention the finishers medal!
I was born about 30 years too late. Lol!
Thanks for this article, as well as the others that you write! Memories, always!
I did all of the races all of the races at both wdw and DL over the past two weeks. First time running in DL. The bottleneck at th water stop going into DL caused a complete standstill. I feel like there is a lot of improvements to be made and I’m seeing a lot of the athletes with disabilities had a lot of issues with RunDisney staff. I’m willing to give DL races another try but I think I’ll stick to wdw races.
Way too expensive per mile and near impossible to get a registration unless you maybe pay the multiple hundreds for RunDisney membership to get priority registration. I’ll stick to running trails in the wilderness, much more fun and free, with no crowd and less money hijacking from Disney. It’s not about the kids anymore, it’s about the almighty dollar
Congrats, Tom! I was running behind you a bit in corral E. It still wasn’t too bad except for a few bottle necks inside the parks ( but that was to be expected; I wasn’t shocked). We both seem to have similar history with the runs and years we have done this race. I agree with your review…it echoes what I thought. I still had fun running close to home and in the beautiful CA weather!!!! I love your shirt btw that you raced in.
The picture of you with your medal and the burgers is the best!
Our family did the 5k and really enjoyed it – probably because everything was on Disney property. My daughter in particular loved taking a picture with the Moana parade float and Heihei and my personal favorite was getting a picture with one of the security dogs!
My husband did the 10k and half as well (also in corral C!). This was his first runDisney so he didn’t have much to compare it to, but he did enjoy the folks who came out to cheer off-property. Apparently a lumber company was handing out red vines, there was a group of Storm Troopers with a “This is not the race you’re looking for – Bring back the Star Wars half” banner, and a poster with a pic of Steamboat Willie and “run like your copyright is going to expire”
As frequent Disneyland visitors, it was very odd to see so many people from WDW there. We met a lot of runners who had done the WDW marathon the weekend before and then flew out for this. For the most part they seemed rather underwhelmed. I heard a lot of comments about no bussing to the corrals, the weather (yes, it *was* cold) and the course. It definitely makes us want to do a runDisney race in Florida eventually.
Anyway, I guess I’m really glad it’s back (I ran in the last half 7 years ago) but I’m hoping for some improvement as well for the Halloween one… which I’ve already got a room booked at the Grand Cal DVC. Fingers crossed we get in!
Congrats! I’ve been a one-and-done on runDisney because of the cost and the interminable ESPN and empty roads sections of the marathon. I much prefer marquee big city marathons for the spirit and vibe, and always encourage other Disney-loving runners to consider other races. Your post makes me wonder if I just missed the “good” years.
I’m considering returning to runDisney for the 2025 WDW marathon but my understanding is that registration is brutal these days. If you have a “fast fingers” strategy for runDisney, I’d love to read that kind of post!
“If you have a ‘fast fingers’ strategy for runDisney, I’d love to read that kind of post!”
Multiple devices would be my recommendation, but that’s speaking from the experience of my own failures. I’ve been shut out of two races in the last few years, and barely made it into this one!
At the height of my runDisney racing, I wanted to do a big city and/or National Parks marathon. I’m not sure I still have that desire, but your recommendation seems like a good one. I’d imagine running through Los Angeles, Boston, Tokyo, etc., would be more interesting than empty roadway in Orlando or office parks in Anaheim.
I have run a bunch of runDisney races as well as several city races. I have stopped city races because of air quality. What really brought it home was the Avenue of the Giants Marathon. Best race ever and only one that was better looking than Disney. 26 miles in the redwoods was amazing. The only time we crossed a road I noticed the exhaust smell, ugh.
Anyway, Tom, u guys need to do Avenue of the Giants, they offer 10k, half and full.
Congrats on the race Tom!!
Your thoughts echo alot of what I posted of my review for the race over on Facebook.
Here is what I thought of the race:
-The course needs some work to help with the bottleneck that happened going from DCA to the Esplanade.
Maybe move the water station either before that corridor or eliminate it all together. For the race to come to a complete standstill there was really bad and people were getting angry.
-The lack of characters inside DCA and Disneyland.
My guess is they wanted runners out of the parks ASAP but it really made the course feel dead in many spots in the park. I couldn’t believe they didn’t have anyone out at Avengers Campus!!
-Lack of photopass photographers on the course and post race.
In previous years you’d get pictures all over the park. This time I only counted a few in the parks and I don’t think any on the course outside at all, though I could be wrong. The post race photo ops were a mess too as before they’d have multiple “booths” to take your post race photos with photographers and this time there was only one backdrop per race.
-Lack of entertainment when you were outside the park.
I get it, there only so much they can do being out in the public but there was very little entertainment once you left Disney property.
Even the Long Beach Half Marathon last October had a “party zone” at mile 10. Something like that at Angel Stadium would’ve been great instead of just a lonely DJ trying to hype the runners up.
At least the Honda Center had some energy going.
All in all I still enjoyed doing the race and I hope we get more events here in California now. It was their first race back after so many years away, so I’m hopeful they will tweak things a bit for the Halloween Time race in September and continue to improve!!
“-The course needs some work to help with the bottleneck that happened going from DCA to the Esplanade.
Maybe move the water station either before that corridor or eliminate it all together. For the race to come to a complete standstill there was really bad and people were getting angry.”
Can you elaborate on this? I also just saw someone mention this in response to my Facebook post, and this is literally the first (and second) time I’ve heard about this at all. If I’m reading this correctly…it sounds downright dangerous.
It was very dangerous!! I was in corral F and was trying to make up for lost time and got to the last water station in DCA (next to Soarin) before heading out into the esplanade and there a large crowd of runners trying to grab water/Powerade and also trying to just get by. At first it was slowly moving but then the crowd just stopped and nobody was moving. People started yelling at other runners ahead to just go but nobody was budging. If I had to guess I got stuck there for about 4-5 minutes before I made it through and out.
They really need to rethink that aid station if they use the same course in September.
Perfect timing for this post! I just got the bug to try the WDW Half Marathon next year and have been scouring YouTube and the internet for information. I check out your blog everyday and I trust your commentary on everything Disney, so loved getting your perspective. I can’t wait to run up through Main St USA and through Cinderella’s Castle. Thanks for a great report!
I love that DL races are back and I plan on doing races at both parks. I did the 10K this past weekend and I’m going to Princess with my cousins. We all plan to have fun. I was able to push my pace a bit because it was perfect running weather and the 10K field was small compared to WDW. My goals for these two 10K’s depend on the weather and crowds. This DL weekend wins in those categories.
I do agree about the lack of characters. They need more, and not just going on theme. I like how the 5K had Cruella in with the dog theme, but there weren’t many duck characters. I passed one outside GE and had no clue who it was. Turns out the duck is from Chicken Little, which I’ve never seen.
I looked at a couple reports from the 10K, and I could swear that there were more characters and things of visual interest (parade floats, etc.) for that than during the Half!
How did you end up in corral C if you have not done any recent races? They have always required recent proof of time for the earlier corrals.
No clue. I provided a time estimate upon registration (IIRC) and that was probably a bit too charitable to myself, but I did not submit any proof of time.
Since the WDW races restarted after the pandemic RunDisney has reduced the number of corrals for half marathons and now requires proof of time for the A corral only (2:15 and under).
I appreciate the Double Double-Double post race meal. Congrats on completing the half marathon!
Thanks!