Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend

Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend

Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend

( 18 reviews )
100% of reviewers recommend this race
  • Anaheim,
    California,
    United States
  • August
  • 3 miles/5K, 6 miles/10K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Karl

Funafuti, Tuvalu
3 9
2016
"My first Disney race. Meh"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Karl 's thoughts:

This was my first Disney race - and I decided to go into the Double Dare challenge of a 10k and a half marathon. After hemorrhaging money for race fees and a hotel, I arrived in Anaheim.

Race expo/bib pickup: Bib pickup was a bit chaotic with a lot of waiting in line. All half marathoners needed to get their photos taken, which was a bit odd. I assume it was security paranoia, but you never know. But the line moved somewhat fast and I was able to get my bags for both the 10k and the half (and 3 shirts, yay.)

10k: The 10k involved getting up early and going to the park even earlier. I sort of figured going in that this race wouldn't involve a good pace at all, but I was looking forward to running through the park. There was a heavy security presence at the start, and we gathered into our corrals. The race went off fairly smoothly, with the typical Disney sunshine injection before most of us had our coffees.

The race itself was nice - lots of twists and turns and generally slower runners and there were characters for you to stop and take photos with. Most of them were the newer Disney characters and I didn't see Goofy. I mean, c'mon. Goofy was MIA. Must have been on vacation. Ample enough water stops and they shot you out quickly after the race because the park has to open.

The Half: Same - early morning rise, early morning start and we were organized fairly well - it's no Chicago marathon in terms of clearing the sheer volume of runners, but it worked ok. The course was fairly nice through the streets of Anaheim. The highlight for me was running through Angels Stadium and seeing the cheering crowds of children. That was pretty fun. The rows of classic cars were nice too - some beautiful ones were in the midst and I tried to avoid them because I was worried I'd accidentally trip and damage a car that's worth than my condo. After the race, you finish in downtown Disney, got your medals and headed to the nearest bar.

One minor gripe: C'mon Disney - hook up runners with a slight discount for park admission.

Overall? I'm glad I did it, but could go without doing another Disney race (despite doing the Disneyland Paris half marathon) again. But they, like the Rock N Roll series, do a good job at medaling you to death.. I can see why people love these races and there's something to be said about the Disney experience but I just felt ambivalent about it.

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