Disney World Half Marathon Race Recap & Photos

Here’s the Disney World Half Marathon Race Recap aka the third race of the Dopey Challenge! Let’s goooooo!! For this race I dressed like a traditional Mousekateer. I thought it was a super original idea until one of the Team Sparkle girls said there was a big group of runners dressing like Mousekateers.

I stayed at the Dolphin Resort for the first few nights and switched to the Coronado Springs Resort the night before the half marathon. So… I had to pack up my entire life and check-in to new digs (somehow my suitcase EXPLODED and my things were thrown all around the room).

More on the hotel situation in a separate post.

I mentioned the hotel switch-up because it made race morning a lil stressful. After running the 5K and 10K I knew where the race shuttle pick-up was from my last hotel. Now I had to navigate a new hotel and it stresses me out a lil bit. I found the shuttle at Coronado Springs no problemo, but our driver did have a lil trouble since the road he took before was closed.

I’m happy to report I got to the start with plenty of time to drop off my gear, take a few pics and go to the restroom. I got into my corral just in time.

I was excited about the half the most out of all the races because it’s my favorite distance and the course hits all the best parts of Disney World (without having to run 26.2 miles). I took a lot of video for a full vlog recap, but most of it was very dark. The race starts at 5a.m. and the sun rises around 7:15a.m. and a lot of the miles are on roads that aren’t very well lit.

I posted a super short recap video on Instagram @RunEatRepeat but I need to figure out how to make it work for a full recap video.

Outside of the less than ideal lighting situation – the race was a blast and I loved it!

The course runs through the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and finishes in the Epcot parking lot.

Just like with all Run Disney races there are character stops throughout the course. There’s also a photo stop in front of the castle. You have to jump off the course to get this photo, but there are several cast members directing you to the left if you want a picture in front of the castle or to the right to keep running.

The castle photo line moves quickly because there are several photographers. There’s also an ‘X’ on the ground so you know where to stand. They snap a pic and get back to running. Done and done.

The mile markers are lit up, play music and tons of people stop to take a picture or selfie in front of it.

The half marathon course is pretty flat and if you get into an early corral you can run it pretty fast. I was in the last section of my corral so there was some traffic at first, but runners spread out after a few miles.

I stopped for a few character photos and this is my favorite. This was in Epcot towards the end of the race.

The best race sign was spotted near the Boardwalk – this meme inspired half marathon joke. ‘If Kim and Pete can be a couple you can finish this half marathon’.

The last part of the course is through Epcot with the finish just outside the park. The crowd and music was super hyped here and it was a blast. I ran it in recording most of the last mile, hence the way I’m holding my phone.

I stopped a lot for photos, video and in lines for character photos so I was not checking my time at all. I knew that if I worried about time I’d feel guilty for stopping to get photos – which would take the fun out of it. These races are very pricey so I wanted to get all the pics and enjoy all the magic and that’s not something you can do by running for time.

Thinking about it now.. I’m really happy I took this approach for all the races. I don’t think I’d do the Dopey Challenge again (cost, travel, logistics, etc – it’s a lot). So, I’m grateful I have a bunch of race photos and memories now.

Overall the race course was flat and had a good amount of sights and character stops, the Run Disney community is friendly and fun – so it gets rave reviews.

After the race I got my gear check bag, took a picture with my medal and then went to find the bus back to the hotel. They switched it up a lil bit from the previous days, but there were plenty of cast members standing around ready to help. Anytime I had a question – it was easy to find a cast member to ask and they were all very helpful.

Post-race I got breakfast from one of the restaurants at Coronado Springs. Again, this place is huge and has several options for grab and go food or sit-down meals.

Then… I relaxed like it was my job for a few hours. I discovered the show Nora from Queens (on HBO Max) and watched a lot of episodes while trying to figure out my last running costume. (I had one but was going back and forth on switching up one part of it.)

Okay – full marathon race recap up next!