2018 Marathon

The 2018 Walt Disney World Marathon was super fun! N and I had a blast!! I did not complete the full 26.2 but I did go the farthest I’ve ever gone, 14.6 miles. N crossed the finish line for the second time. Hopefully next time I will cross it with him!

As always, the runDisney race was super well organized. We stayed the night before at the All Stars Music Disney resort, more here, while N’s parents watched the girls. We got about 4 hours of sleep. Then we had bagels and peanut butter and headed to the bus. The main reason we stayed at All Star Music was to get the race transportation.

We started off in the main race drop-off area. It was unusually cold and quite miserable. I had a sweater but no long pants so I grabbed a garbage bag and used it as a makeshift overskirt. N and I were wearing the same costume that we wore for the Princess Half Marathon, read more here and here.

We were super excited to find out that we were assigned to coral E. Last time we were in coral O out of P. So when we heard coral E were so excited. But then we found out that they changed things this year, and the corals only went up to F. Instead of extra corals, they did extra waves within each coral. So we ran to the coral as early as we could. And got a great spot at the front.

As always there were several highlights of the race.

The Race Markers

The race markers are super fun. They each have a Disney character on them, with a soundtrack playing according to the movie that the character is from. They also have a running clock so you know how your time is.

The Parks

Running through the parks is always a special joy. It is really something special to run through the castle. Running through the tollbooths is also a big highlight.

The Entertainment and Characters

There were many great characters. Sadly a few that N got pictures with last time and were looking forward to were not there this time. But there were still a lot of fun characters. For entertainment, there were bands, props, old ride vehicles and more.

The awesome costumes

There were many, many awesome costumes. I was only able to take pictures of a few of them. We saw a lot of people with customized shirts stating their first marathon, or a perfect 25 for having running all of the WDW Marathons since it started 25 years ago.

The Signs

A big highlight for us are the crowds that come to cheer on the runners. They make fabulous and funny signs which are a great inspiration. They always make us happy.

The Medals

N and I only got the medal for the full marathon. But there are several challenge medals as well. And we saw someone on the bus back to the resort who was kind enough to let me take photos of his medals from the 5K, 10K, 1/2 Marathon and Marathon as well as the Goofy Challenge (1/2 Marathon and Marathon) as well as the Dopey Challenge (all of the races).

The Snack Box

When you run across the finish line you receive a few things along with your medal. A drink such as Powerade, the famous snack box, and a banana. The snack box has a bunch of yummy treats and is a great way to refuel after a race.