The WDW Half Marathon starts at Epcot and takes you up to the Magic Kingdom and then back and it's full of character experiences and theme park magic. If you want to see some backstage areas in the Magic Kingdom (MK), this will show you some of that.

The first 5 miles take you from Epcot, through the MK tollbooths, through the parking lot, past the Contemporary and then into MK. You enter MK near the Chapeau shop and then you run up Main st before turning into Tomorrowland. You go through Tomorrowland and into Fantasyland where you get to run through the castle (this can be a major course bottleneck). You then turn right into Liberty Sq and exit MK through Frontierland. Once outside the park you run on roads past the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian and then it's back to Epcot. You make a quick loop in Epcot and finish outside the park.

The race highlight is always running up Main St for me. There are tons of people cheering and the castle is lit up with it's icicle lights. It's a truly magical moment for any runner!

There are characters every mile or so, there are more in MK, and aid stations every 1.5 miles with water and powerade. There are also frequent medical tents so you can get the assistance you need.

Every runner gets a long sleeve tech tee (the WDW shirts are some of my favorites to do training runs in) and a Donald Duck themed medal when you finish. The course is pretty flat other than a dip when you go under the water bridge before getting to the contemporary (about mile 4.5) and then an overpass when you are going back to Epcot (about mile 10-11). Other than that it's really flat.

As for all runDisney races, be sure to read the Event Guide to figure out transportation and open roads to get to and from the race. If you are driving, DO NOT rely on GPS since you may run into closed roads. I always recommend staying at a host resort and taking Disney transportation.

This is a great race and super well organized. While runDisney events are expensive, in general, they are totally worth it since the support and organization are top notch!