Back to Disney World Marathon Information & Reviews
R. W. from Bradenton, FL
(1/9/2006)
"Great but could improve" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My first marathon and definitely enjoyed it. The brief loops through the parks are definitely the highlight... particularly running up Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. For a "flat" course, there were a lot of hills - small ones, but still painful for an ITBS sufferer. There were some pretty long stretches of boring course, but school bands and other spectator groups help make it interesting. Overall it was great though, and I will definitely run it again. | |
C. J. from Highland, NY
(12/31/2005)
"AWESOME" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon I have ever run and only the second race I had ever run. From the moment I signed up to the moment I was back on the plane to come home from completing this journey, it was so incredible! The staff, the competitors, and the spectators were so awesome. This was the third best memory of my life (marriage and children were first and second). I can't say it enough: if you're thinking about possibly embarking on this journey and need a kick to do it, let this be the reason, you'll truly find it to be one of the most self-rewarding moments in your life. Do this for YOU!!!! You will regret it if you don't. What an experience!!! | |
J. M. from Avondale, Pa
(10/13/2005)
"Disney Touch" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a great Marathon. Great organization and course. You do see all the parks! Runners of all levels. My wife ran the half-marathon and my son the 5k. A great family running trip. | |
H. A. from Princeton, NJ
(10/3/2005)
"Nice flat course - excellent for first marathon" (about: 2003)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Race begins too early! They want you out there at 4AM! Having cast members all along the course in all the parks was fabulous. | |
A. F. from Gainesville, FL
(8/20/2005)
"This is a hassle-free, enjoyable race." (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Disney World Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I ran the half in 2004 and the full in 2005. Each time was a excellent experience! There are plenty of distractions on the course, including every character I could think of, high school bands, a wacky group of people in Hawaiian shirts playing 'Who Let The Dogs Out," and a glorious gospel choir at mile 26. There were water stations everywhere, lots of candy, gel, and salt opportunities, and a beautiful course to run on. I participated in Team in Training both times and found their support and organization to be an asset for my training and race readiness. It was a great day! | |
C. J. from Morgan City La.
(7/22/2005)
"Wonderful first marathon!!!" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The marathon was great! I enjoyed my time at Disney World before the marathon. I had nothing to compare it to, but have since run the Mardi Marathon in New Orleans, so looking back it was pretty good running through Epcot Center and Cinderella's castle. The course on the roads was kind of boring at times, but I was really concentrating on running and making it to the end. We're going back for 2006, and my husband's running it with me this year - it'll be great!!! CJ | |
C. K. from Chicago, IL
(5/3/2005)
"Great Easy Marathon Except for Last 4 Miles" (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and for the most part everything ran smoothly. Extremely well organized, lots of volunteers and a variety of water, Gatorade, gels, fruit, and candy to consume during the course. I would rank the scenery as OK, there was a long stretch where we ran along the outskirts of the park where it was kind of boring and lacked spectators. I picked this marathon because I expected it to be flat; however, the last few miles were challenging and uphill for longer than I would have liked. Starting early in the a.m. when it is dark is a plus because the weather is so mild. | |
S. P. from Kansas City, MO
(4/20/2005)
"Will be back to run this again " (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I really enjoyed this for my first marathon. It was great going through the parks and getting to see the backside of the parks. It was very uplifting to see the characters along the way and getting high-fives from them. The aid workers and other participants were very encouraging. The only thing that was difficult was for spectators to get around. Other than that, it was great and I will absolutely be back to run this again. Also a great time to plan a small vacation. | |
S. G. from Connecticut
(4/12/2005)
"Fun race, but probably won't do it again." (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon and I was disappointed by many things...First was the expo, it was very small and cramped, I got there on the first day and it was very hard to move around the floor. The shirts were great, a big improvement over last year's I hear, and the medal, of course, is unbelievable. I was disapponted in the course itself; the fist 1/2 marathon was great, running through the parks and around spectators, but then you hit mile 18-23 which were awful, running by the sewage treatment plant and on the highway with very few spectator or characters there to cheer you on. My friends who came to cheer me on got to see me once at mile 25 because I out ran them. The had to take Disney Transportation around the parks and couldn't make it in time to see me. Overall I would recommend Disney to anyone who is into seeing the park and running a flat course, but unless the course is changed I highly doubt that I will be back to run the race again. | |
J. M. from Chicago, IL
(3/30/2005)
"Run it for the Disney Magic" (about: 2005)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Disney World Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Having run the Chicago marathon twice, I ran Disney in 2005 to experience something different. While the 'Disney Magic' alone made it worthwhile (great to see the parks, take pictures with characters, get an awesome medal), it did seem 'small' by comparison. I saw very few spectators other than at the entrances to the parks (but maybe it was just that there were fewer participants, too?), and the expo didn't have very many booths, giveaways, or varied merchandise. The technical shirt was great, but it would have been nice if the goodie bag had something else in it, too. Surely Disney could get PowerBar or others to contribute? The flat, fast course was well-laid out with characters, bands, or something interesting every mile or so. Cool, inspirational mile markers and trivia billboards, and more than enough water stations, first aid tents, and porta-potties. Sponges were definitely appreciated! The pre-race entertainment was a great way to pass the time between 4am arrival and 6am start. The post-race reuinion area was very well organized, but not a lot going on in the way of food or entertainment to make you want to linger in the parking lot. There seems to be a large number of first-time runners/walkers in this race - I'm wondering if that's why the organizers didn't think we'd be interested in getting split times with race results? On the flip side, I was placed in a corral near the front of the pack with just an average pace in previous races - it was nice to not have to fight crowds in the early miles (or really, anywhere on the course - even on very narrow paths in the parks). A family member doing their first half marathon also found the race to be very walker-friendly. Our spectators had a difficult time using Disney transportation to watch the race, but I found the buses really easy to use for registration, race start, and back to the hotel after finishing. I definitely would recommend this race to others looking for a 'fun race' and plan to run it again in the future. |
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