RunDisney has announced its calendar for June 2024 to April 2025. Here’s a look at the schedule:
runDisney Virtual Series - June 1 to August 31, 2024
Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend (NEW!) - September 5 to 8, 2024
Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend - October 31 to November 3, 2024
runDisney Virtual 12ks of Christmas - December 1 to December 31, 2024
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - January 8 to 12, 2025
Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend - January 30 to February 2, 2025
Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend - February 20 to 24, 2025
runDisney Springtime Surprise - April 3 to 6, 2025
and the general registration dates:
runDisney Virtual Series - March 26, 2024
Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend (NEW!) - February 13, 2024
Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend - March 12, 2024
runDisney Virtual 12ks of Christmas - July 9, 2024
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - April 9, 2024
Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend - June 18, 2024
Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend - July 20, 2024
runDisney Springtime Surprise - August 27, 2024
Club runDisney members can register for the in-person events one week earlier than the general public.
Commentary
The most notable thing on the schedule is the new Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend, held September 5 to 8, 2024. This is sure to be incredibly popular, and it’s good to see Disneyland expanding its race offerings.
Before I get to my gripes, I want to say that in our experience, the runDisney races are a ton of fun and I highly encourage anyone interested to sign up for one. The biggest downside is that if you’re new to running you’ll probably be more inclined to try a 5K or 10K, and the early start / long morning can often outweigh the enjoyment of these shorter distances.
Our longtime reader remembers that we were once big runDisney fans, and we’ve run the Dopey Challenge three times. After some time off, I’ve reinvigorated my running life and actually just set a personal best at the Chicago Marathon. And I’m telling myself that I’m finally going to properly train in hopes of reaching one of my bigger goals next year.
We dropped off the runDisney circuit because it was just to much of a hassle to register for these races. Races regularly sell out in the first hour or so.
Even Club runDisney, which would theoretically ease some of these difficulties (for a hefty price), is itself sold out as of this post.
To be clear, I think the popularity of these races is a good thing. RunDisney races are very popular for beginners, and if these races motivate people to get and stay active, I’m all for it.
Ultimately there’s no perfect way to handle excess demand. I don’t think “charge higher prices” is a good option. And I don’t think just setting a time and opening registration (the current method) is a good option. Defenders of this say some nonsense like “the people who really care will be ready to register,” as if you can’t both really want to run a runDisney race and be busy at the time registration opens.
Most major races uses lotteries for most slots, and that is my preferred method. Of course, I feel this way about rides, too, but the virtual queue system (basically a lottery restricted to people who can be up and on their phone with a good signal exactly at 6:59:59AM) has been Disney’s preference.
The other thing I feel obligated to point out is that runDisney is a lot more runDisney than runDisney. These races are good if meeting characters and running through parks appeals to you, but they’re far from the best race options for serious runners. The price alone should give serious runners pause, as you can usually run a hometown 5K for a lot less than Disney will charge you (and that’s before you add on the cost of a Disney vacation).
If you’re looking to set a personal best, you’re going to be skipping all the character greetings along the course. That’s fine, but then it’s a little tough to figure out what exactly you’re paying this premium for.
The courses also tend to be heavy on highways and parking lots. This will vary by race (use google to find recent course maps), but the 26.2-mile marathon is probably over 90% on highways. There just isn’t that much park space.
The weather is also tricker than you’d expect. In 15 races between the two of us, our coldest marathon was…a Disney World marathon! Held in early January, the temperatures might be perfect 50s, they might be 30s. They’ll often hit 70s, and could even hit 80s.
Will we try for a runDisney race next year?
First, let me again say that if you’re undecided, go for it! Just be sure to be prepared to register ASAP.
As for us…I’m unsure. I admit that I miss runDisney. But we’ve also already got a pretty full race calendar, and I don’t really like to lock in my Disney trips 6 or more months in advance. Hopefully we can pick one race and fit a trip around it without a lot of stress, but we’ll see.
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