I signed up to the 36k challenge, so I completed the 5k and and the 10k prior to the half. This was my first half marathon and I was aching by race morning but I was super excited to see what the race would bring today. I only got 1 character stop by this point so was keen to get some more. I set off in coral D so approximately set off around about 45min to an hour after the first wave. The races started at 7am. They had characters at the start wishing you well from the tannoy.
Along the course there were lots of character, this time however the lines were more varied, some with no line, some with still very long lines, maybe people doing the half just wanted to get a time or maybe it was because some of the characters were the same as the previous races, but this worked out well for me. The first part of the race takes you through both parks with character stops and of course that beautiful castle. With opportunity for a PhotoPass castle shot. What would have been better is if the photographer took a series of shots as I tried a jump shot but they literally took one picture, something maybe that could be considered for future races. There were cast members out on the course cheering and clapping you on. Just note that not all character or photo opportunity points had a photographer so take a phone or something you can ask someone to take with your phone for you. There is music playing around the park and generally a feel good atmosphere. There were wrist bands for cheer squad to come into Main Street but they ran out at the expo so quickly so if you have cheer squad coming and you want them there defo get in early. Once you leave the park you go out into the french villages, it’s very picturesque and the mile markers continue. There are no characters out but there a local bands, cheerleaders, there was a Dj and break dancers out playing music and keeping you entertained. The locals also came out to cheer and from their houses. This does seem like a long stretch as the course does eventually go back on itself and I feel like that’s when I realised I was actually running a half marathon. The last 5k took us around the back of the hotels and down the stretch towards Newport bay hotel and back up the other side of the lake, I got to 19k and my mum and dad were standing there ready to push me the last couple of km. the last 2km took you back into the back of the Stuidos park and the finish was near Tower of Terror. The medal was gorgeous. If doing the 31k or 36k you had to go back to the expo to collect your challenge medals. There was a photo pass photographer at the end and was happy to take one with family in it to. It was my slowest but most exciting half marathon. I can’t wait to do it again next year. The course again is relatively flat all the way around, again I can’t comment on parking as I didn’t use this service. I stayed at Sequoia Lodge and this was about a 10min walk to the expo and start line :)

Another great race weekend
Again I signed up for the 36k and was in Corral A for the race this year
The half marathon started at 7am
I started at around 7:10am
There was plenty of characters on the course, I was lucky that I was in A so I managed to stop for all characters bar one and that was only because I had a photo with them during the 10k
The course is nice and flat
There is music around the Park aspect of the course
I think we left the parks out in to the villages around 9/10k
Then we came back into back of the hotels and and Disney village and around the back and then to finish in the studios park
There was some race entertainment on the big screen in the corral area
Cast members were out cheering us on
The best but for me is to run through the castle
Spectators can get wrist bands to watch on Main Street or at the finish line from the expo
Was back in time for breakfast.
Collected challenge medals from the expo at the end of the half marathon.
One bib was used for the challenge (5/10/21k)
My favourite race weekend
There was plenty of photographers on the course
The medal is gorgeous!

The 2019 5k race was again a night race. It kicks off run weekend in Paris and it’s is a lot of fun
I planned to run with my patients, I was in A corral and they were in D so I had to drop back. Unfortunately this meant we couldn’t stop for any character photos as again like last year, by the time we set off around hour after the start the lines for characters was insane, like 45min wait times.
I’m not sure how it would have been if I’d started in A on the shorter race but they definitely had more characters out on the 5k this year than last year
The only disadvantage to the night race is your own photo quality. I have a pretty decent iPhone but with the spot lights and running in the dark my own photos did not come out well
The course was slightly different and I believe there was more time running in the park than last year which is great.
The theme was advertised as lion king with the medals etc but no lion kind characters out.
The medal was great, and I love the t-shirt. I’m a size 6-8 and ordered an XS and found this to be a true fit
I enjoyed the race, I wish the character lines were better organised so the lines were not as long, especially when you are paying for photo passes and if you are starting further back you essentially lose a race with photo opportunity but I understand this isn’t going to be a priority for every participant

Saturday morning 7 am 10k
My mum and I were in corral A which was great.
We arrived around 6am to the start. We set off about 7:15
I love the 10k, it’s my preferred race distance
I’m not sure there were more character stops this year than last year. I think there were some missed opportunity hit spot areas for character stops
As we started in A and I am a faster runner than my mum I was able to run ahead and get in character lines so we could have a joint photo.
We stopped for all but one character photo.
We had photos with Snow White, moana, Pocahontas
I think there were large Km gaps between characters. We went for at least 4K before the first stop and the line was already about 20 min long so we decided to keep going
After this the longest we queued was around 7min
There is definitely an advantage when it comes to photo stops being in A
Again this might not be everyone’s priority
So the actual course is nice and flat. A lot of it was in the park, my favourite is running through the castle. You pretty much cover all the different lands and it’s fun to run around the back lot and see behind the scenes. The race theme was princess and I like that the race weekend has a different theme for each race
Good amount of water stops and there were cast members cheering
Spectators could get a wrist band at the expo to watch on Main Street or at the finish line
The medal was great, but scratched very easily.
I love this race weekend so I highly recommend
One last thing in the photos, they allowed the photographer photo after scanning your bib or to take a selfie, the cast members wouldn’t take a photo like last year. Taking a selfie was really time consuming, watching people fumble and panic trying to take a photo. Again the character stops are something that need a bit of organising and steam lining

The 10k was my favourite race of the weekend. Starting early morning is coral D. The 10k gave opportunity to run through both parks in the day time. There were quite a lot of character stops. I only stopped at the Cheshire Cat, the queues again were pretty long and being my first Disney race weekend I was anxious to stay in the time, I now know I probably could have afforded a another stop or 2 if not more. Still, running the castle was beautiful, I was so distracted by my surroundings that it really didn’t feel like I was actually running a 10k. Again all the race was pretty much flat. The Mile markers are good photo stops with a fair number of photo pass cameras on the course. I have to say when I got my photos I was a little disappointed there wasn’t more. So more photographers out on the course and with the characters would be great for future races. A good number of water a Powerade stops for the distance. Again lots of cast members cheering. Spectators could watch in the parks at certain points but needed a wrist band for access which were all gone when we went to the expo.
The expo bib pick up in general was hassle free. Quite limited on merchandise variety, again something to build on for future races. The medal again was fun and huge. Big thumbs up from me