Ranking RunDisney Race Weekends at Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World hosts four race weekends each year. Some are more popular than others and people definitely have their favorites. With the lack of RunDisney right now I thought I’d share mine ranked fourth to first and why I put them there. RunDisney race weekend basics consist of a 5k on Friday, a 10k on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday. Marathon weekend adds one more day starting on Thursday with the 5k and finishing with the full marathon on Sunday. If you want to know more about RunDisney races in general, check out my first blog post. It's got everything you need to know!

RunDisney races are THE BEST. This is my sister’s collection of bling after finishing the Dopey Challenge during the 2019 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend.

#4 Princess Half Marathon Weekend

While I’ve ran during this weekend MANY times (it was even my first RunDisney weekend), Princess Half Marathon Weekend is actually at the bottom of my list in terms of favorites. I know there are a lot of people who would argue with this but the main reason I’ve got it at the bottom is the crowds. This is an extremely popular race weekend due to the theme. The idea of running at Disney as a princess is obviously appealing with tiaras, tutus and sparkly things. I also know a lot of people pick it as their first half marathon. The course for the half has a lot of bottlenecks so when you combine that with the amount of people and it doesn’t make for a very magical experience. Also, the sections before and after Magic Kingdom are quite boring (running down Main Street and through the castle is certainly NOT boring though!). Princess weekend is always at the end of February, typically the very last weekend. While this is still winter in most places, in Florida it means the weather is the most unpredictable of all the races. Back in 2015 it was 40 degrees and in 2018 when I ran it, it was 85. You never know what you’re going to get. You also usually end up in between Epcot festivals - Festival of the Arts has ended and Flower and Garden hasn’t yet started so you don’t get any ‘bonuses’ while visiting. However, they typically already have some of the Flower & Garden topiaries out no matter what in preparation for that festival.

#3 Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend

This is usually at the bottom of people’s list due to the theme because there just aren’t as many Star Wars fans running races at Disney as there are Princess fans. However, I AM a Star Wars fan so I enjoy this weekend. And with the release of the new movies, there have been more characters added to the course. The first couple of years this race was held, a lot of the character stops were the same so it’s nice to have the added variety. The course also usually changes up from time to time so you don’t know what to expect until the course is released. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the course for this year since the race was canceled. I know everyone who was running the half was hoping that it was going to go through Galaxy’s Edge now that it was finally open. Star Wars weekend has always been in April but tends to change from early to late April depending on when Easter is. The bummer about this is it usually ends up the weekend after the Easter black out for Silver and Gold passholders. For example, this year, the race weekend began on Thursday, April 16th with the Expo. However, Silver and Gold passholders couldn’t go to a park until Saturday the 18th. The fluctuation in weekends can also make it hard to plan until you get the official announcement of dates from RunDisney. One thing that doesn’t fluctuate is the weather. It will always be warm and humid. Always. But as a bonus, it is always during the Flower & Garden festival, the most colorful time of the year to be at Epcot.

#2 Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend

When the Food & Wine Festival is on at Epcot, it’s always a fun time to go to Disney. Add a race weekend to that and you get two of my favorite things together. This race weekend was my first half marathon back in 2016 so due to that, it ranks high on my list. You’ll want to add some days on to your trip so you can fully experience the most popular Epcot festival without having to worry about running the next day (be sure to read my 10 Tips to make the most of your Food & Wine Festival Visit!). The course can change a bit each year as do the themes so it’s always fun to see what they come up with. Similar to Star Wars weekend it will be warm and humid. However two years in a row in 2014 and 2015, the half marathon courses were shortened due to thunder storms. That was when they were held in the evening and had an after party immediately following in Epcot. After that two year span, the half marathon was moved to Sunday morning and they added a 10k to Saturday. There is still an after party that is included with your registration, it is just Sunday night. I personally liked this as it gave us time to go back to your hotel room and nap. You’ll need the nap to stay up late after your 2am wake up call.

# 1 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend

My favorite RunDisney race weekend is by far Marathon Weekend. I’ve only run the marathon once and don’t plan to again - you can read about that experience in this blog post. It obviously attracts a lot of runners due to the wide choice of distances and multiple challenges but it also seems to attract a lot of runners who truly love running at Disney. And there really aren't a lot of other people visiting the parks then because it’s held right after New Year’s when the holidays have finished and everyone has gone back to work or school. This is also the longest RunDisney race weekend with the expo opening on Wednesday and the races starting on Thursday. So, you get more time at Disney! It is usually the best weather weekend, for running at least. You can get the occasional extremes (if anything it goes for cold over hot) but for the most part you get mild temperatures with highs in the 60’s or 70’s. This race weekend also is heavy on the inspiration (again see this blog post for more details on that). You see people finish the marathon when they didn’t think they could or even crazier, finishing the Dopey Challenge. The stories that come out of this race weekend are extremely inspiring and motivational. I love that when you run the marathon, you get to go to all four parks! And Disney always leaves the Christmas decorations up through that weekend so when you run down Main Street during the half or the full you can see the decorations and dream lights on the castle.

What is your favorite race weekend? I’d love to hear yours!

Looking for general tips on visiting Walt Disney World?
Check out my other blog posts on Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Disney Springs!

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