runDisney Marathon Weekend 2026

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Marathon Weekend 2026

It's hard to believe I came home from Marathon Weekend one week ago already. By this time last week I had already flown back to my home airport, landed, arrived home and done a load of laundry, and was getting ready to work for the afternoon. Crazy! It's like a dream sequence sometimes....

This was my 13th Marathon Weekend. I started going in 2011 with my first Disney marathon (second marathon ever), took a couple years' hiatus, and then started back in 2015 with my first Goofy Challenge, and have come back every year since (should I count the 2021 virtual year?...I think so!). Aside from 2025 and 2026, I have always done either the Goofy Challenge, the Dopey Challenge (once), or the full marathon. These last two weekends I have done the Half Marathon only -- did I have some FOMO? Yes indeed. Was it an amazing experience to be able to spectate and support my friends in their marathon journeys? Emphatically yes. I don't think people realize how important it is to runners to be able to have that support and love along the course, especially when things get difficult. And I certainly never appreciated the logistical challenges of being in at least three different spots along the course to make sure to meet our runners! Thank goodness for the Monorail.

As usual, my friends and I stayed at the All Star Music Resort in a family suite (essentially two rooms together with a small kitchenette that has a full size fridge, sink, microwave, and counter space plus two full bathrooms). It's perfect for us. We love the time together but there's also room to move around. The All Stars are value resorts -- not fancy at all. But the food court works really well for us, and we aren't spending much time hanging out at the resort (although the pool is very big!) and the ... well, value...can't be beat. We have stayed at other resorts and enjoyed them (I'm looking at you, Island Tower at the Poly!) but honestly this does the job well. The bus service is frequent and the cast members are always super helpful.

We did our usual activities -- Expo, a couple park days, and our celebration dinner on Sunday night. This year we decided to do Epcot and Animal Kingdom (I also went to Magic Kingdom on my own on Sunday afternoon). Our first day (Friday) we rope dropped Guardians of the Galaxy successfully and had a great ride (Everybody Wants to Rule the World), then hit Test Track and Soarin' before the park even opened for non-resort guests. Early entry is a perk that I celebrate every time. There are lots of good reasons to stay on property but this is definitely high on the list! We had a nice day at Epcot. I got my maple popcorn in Canada and my friend and I went over to the Expo at ESPN in the middle of the day to grab our bibs and see if there was any merch we liked (not really...I did get my annual magnet but the one other thing I liked, a tank top, was unavailable in my size...I wish they would hold merchandise back to portion out over the days of the Expo but that's a gripe for another time...). A nice early day because we all were running the Half on Saturday and it was a 2 a.m. wakeup call.

The race was actually great. I didn't expect much from myself. I was undertrained due to injury and Celiac issues, and figured I'd take it slow and easy and try to enjoy it and not get swept. I was in Corral C (thanks to a good race time from late 2024) and that gave me lots of cushion as far as time. I honestly felt really good -- no stomach issues, and although my hip was low key bothersome, it didn't really hinder me too much. I did my run/walk intervals, stopped for lots of photos, enjoyed the run up Main Street and through the Castle (NEVER EVER gets old!), and ran across the finish line feeling like I redeemed myself a bit from the past couple years of difficulty. After the race we went back to All Star Music and I got my (gluten free/vegan) Mickey Waffle kids' meal and Diet Coke and was a very happy camper.

On Saturday, after the race, we decided to head over to Animal Kingdom. We really had the best Safari at Animal Kingdom that I've had in a while. It was a little surprising because it was in the afternoon (and generally the animals are more active in the morning), but Cora the baby elephant was out, as were the lions, hippos, rhinos, and of course lots of friendly and curious giraffes. This is one ride I try never to miss. It's always a different experience and you have plenty of time to appreciate the journey. I absolutely love it. Of course I can't miss Flight of Passage and under duress (well, influence anyway) I went on Everest. If you know me, you know that my being willing to even get on a coaster is a relatively recent evolution. I can deal with Everest (it's not my favorite - my favorites are Slinky Dog, Guardians, and Mine Train) but this time the coaster stopped. On the uphill. The big one. The 45 degree angle one. Where we were looking straight up at the sky. For more than a couple minutes. Let's just say that was plenty of time to freak me out and I will be taking a hiatus from Everest for a while.

Sunday, we woke early to support our friend who was running the full Marathon. We made it to Magic Kingdom in time to see her come up Main Street, then moseyed over to the Poly to grab some breakfast at Captain Cook's. After that, we took the Monorail back to Epcot and hung out there until she finished. As I have an Annual Pass, I was able to go into Epcot to cheer on some of the runners going through the park at the end of their races. Later that day, I headed over to Magic Kingdom. My main goal was to go to Beak and Barrel, the new pub/restaurant adjacent to Pirates of the Caribbean. I had heard great things about it. It's beautiful, amazingly well themed, and fun to be in. However, I unfortunately had no luck finding anything I could eat there. So I left, went and rode Haunted Mansion and the People Mover, got myself a gluten free/vegan peanut butter sundae at Plaza Ice Cream, and headed back to the hotel. That evening we had our celebration dinner at Wailulu Bar & Grill at the Island Tower in the Polynesian Resort -- our first time there. It was terrific. We loved the food, had a window seat where we could see the fireworks (they pipe in the music) and just really enjoyed ourselves.

I had the post Disney trip blues as soon as we boarded the airplane home on Monday morning, but I'm looking forward to some new adventures in April and in June....stay tuned! For now, registration for the next runDisney events is coming up soon!