Upon a Star Agent Cliff Anstey was able to assist his sister with her booking for the 2025 marathon in January. She shares her experience here and then answers some frequently asked questions for this article.

I will start by saying I am not a runner! If you see me running by, you should probably keep up because something is chasing me. However, the runs at Disney looks really fun.

Checking in and picking up my marathon gear!

Disney Marathon weekend runs every January, and goes Thursday through Sunday. They have something for everyone. The 5K is an easy run for even the most novice of runners (or walkers). Then there is the full marathon that runs on Sunday. 26.1 miles of cool morning Florida air.

The marathon week schedule goes like this:

Wednesday: You pick up your race packet
Thursday: The 5K
Friday: The 10K
Saturday: The Half-Marathon
Sunday: The Marathon

You can register and run any of the races you would like.

Then there is the Dopey Run. This is another registered event in which you sign up to run all of the races. This is for those who run daily.

(Cliff asked his followers on his social media pages for questions to ask his sister about her running experience - and here are the questions and her answers!)

What the heck were you thinking?

Oh, no, I wasn’t thinking. I was being the same impulsive person I have been my entire life!

Did you dress up?

I wore one of six Disney running skirts I brought. It was not warm enough for me three of the four mornings.

What was your favorite costume you saw on the course?

The guy that dressed as Cruella and had a pack of Dalmatians running with him.

What did training entail?

I was supposed to train? Mostly I was winging it.

What are your favorite sneakers to run in?

Topos

Does you listen to music or do you like silence as you run?

Both, I train with music. At Disney, I wanted the full experience so no ear buds.

If you listen to music, what’s on your running track?

Almost anything depending on my mood. A lot of classic rock!

What happens if you aren't fast enough?

Don’t care! Part of the adventure. I am not fast!!

Hold them up for the pictures - but wear with caution!
Those things are heavy!!!

How many medals do you get?

Six medals this time.

Are there characters, and is it okay to stop and meet them (or keep running??)

Yes, I did not stop because I didn’t want to wait in line. Fun to see the characters! Especially Pooh Bear and Chewbacca!

What if you only want to do one of the races and not all of them? Can you do that?

Certainly, but how could you pick just one?

How early do you get up every day for the races?

3 am for 5k, 10k and Half Marathon. 2:30 am for the Full Marathon.

How does that corral thing work?

Huddling together as a crowd to stay warm and dry. Making new friends. Cheering on the corrals released before yours. And waiting… Worth every minute.

Did you go to the Parks after the Runs and were they crowded?

Went to the parks all four days, and they were not crowded.

What advice would you give others who want to play in the parks after getting up early and running the races?

Have a plan. We did not, but it worked out and we had fun!

What was the best part of the trip?

Traveling with my niece, the absolute magic of Disney, and running through the castle.

What was the worst part of the trip?

Lines and sleep deprivation.

Would you do it again?

Absolutely! Can’t wait.

Thanks to Cliff and his sister for sharing!

Registration for the January 2026 Disney Marathon Weekend begins March 4 for Club runDisney Gold and Platinum, and March 11th for general registration.

Upon a Star Agents are unable to register guests for the race, but it is highly recommended to book your travel package with resort and tickets as soon as possible — contact your favorite Upon a Star Travel Advisor today!

After a week of hiatus (apologies!), our blog is back in action with a report about this year's Walt Disney World® Marathon Weekend presented by Cigna! I had the honor of running during race weekend for the 3rd year in a row, and it was my husband's 4th year in a row.

As usual, it was such fun! We always like to have some days in the parks both before and after the races, so we truly were able to enjoy the full experience. We started off with a bang by going through the Expo, touring the new Disney Springs area, and we followed it up with a treat: the last night of the Osborne Lights. I will be dedicating blogs to both of these last 2 topics in the coming weeks (it's just too much for one post!)

When running a race in WDW, if you stay on property, you can always be assured that there will be transportation to the event; that being said, we aren't fans of having to wake up super early to avoid the traffic when riding a bus. We decided to stay on the monorail for quick access to and from the event. In the past, we have always been proponents of using the Race Retreat, but with this year's good forecast, we made the decision to forego it. This allowed us to sleep 'til 3am rather than rising at 2am.

We were to Epcot in fairly short order, but due to the heightened security, we ended up waiting in the line to have our bags searched for quite sometime. This resulted in our jogging to our corral (E)... so at least we got a bit of a warm up in! We heard the National Anthem being sung and knew we had to hustle. We arrived about 5 minutes before the first corral released. Close one! My advice for future races is to not bring a bag if it can be avoided. If you do, arrive early to avoid arrive to your corral late.

Weather this time around was a bit chilly for the majority of the trip, but for our Half Marathon, it was absolutely perfect. We had intended not to stop for any pictures, but ... well, who can resist when lines are short for characters you've never had a photo with? All told, we met our goal time-wise even with the stops!

Entertainment throughout the course was fun as always, and each year I feel like the corral releases are more organized. This year was no exception. Throughout the run I tried to take some video clips. Considering I was running throughout most of them, I'm impressed with my camera work (hahaha!). I've compiled everything into a little video so you can appreciate the fun of a runDisney event.