runDisney 2022 - 2023 Race Information

Calling all mouseketeers, princesses, villains, and running fans!   runDisney marked the return of in person racing during the 2021-2022 race season and, just as the tutus and pixie dust of the 2022 runDisney Princess Half Marathon Weekend is beginning to cover those magical miles, we have some race dates releasing for 2022-2023!

For the upcoming 2022-2023 running season, we so far have dates for Wine & Dine as well as Marathon weekends.  There are no changes to race offerings or typical weekends with these. Dates are as follows:

Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend - Image from www.rundisney.com

runDisney Wine & Dine Weekend - General Registration Opens March 22, 2022

• Disney Wine & Dine 5K - November 4, 2022
• Disney Wine & Dine 10K - November 5, 2022
• Disney Wine & Dine Half-Marathon - November 6, 2022
• Disney Two Course Challenge - November 5-6, 2022
• Post-Race Party - November 6, 2022

Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - Image from www.rundisney.com

runDisney Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - General Registration Opens April 19, 2022

• Walt Disney World 5K - January 5, 2023
• Walt Disney World 10K - January 6, 2023
• Walt Disney World Half Marathon - January 7, 2023
• Walt Disney World Marathon - January 8, 2023
• Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge - January 7-8, 2023
• Dopey Challenge - January 5-8, 2023

While a lot remains similar to past weekends, there are a few notable changes.  The past two Wine & Dine weekends have been incredibly popular with their villains theme. . .but this year we get something new - an "unforgettable showcase celebration."  Drawing of the popularity of EPCOT's International Food & Wine Festival, Wine & Dine weekend will this year showcase Disney favorites from around the world - representing the global community of runDisney including themes from Coco, Aladdin, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Soul.

Virtual race options also return in 2022-2023 for race weekends.  I'm glad to see runDisney continuing to offer these options for runners who can't make the trek to Walt Disney World Resort during a race weekend.  I always wondered why they didn't offer these and it's one change from COVID that I hope continues to stay.

Read all about my virtual runDisney Star Wars 10K in 2021!

Keep checking back as more information will be added for the 2023 runDisney Princess Half Marathon and 2023 Springtime Surprise Weekend as it is released!  

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My Top 5 Posts of 2016

In what has now become an annual tradition on the blog (I think I can call it that if I've done it two years in a row, right?), here is a countdown of my top 5 posts from the past year.  Thanks to everyone who stops by to check out my posts and I can't wait to share more memories and magic in 2017!

5. Why We Won't Be Going to MNSSHP - Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has been on my Disney bucket list for a long time now and we were finally taking a Fall trip that would put us there not only during some of the party dates, but actually on Halloween.  So why did we decide not to go? Find out here!

4. runDisney Inaugural Wine & Dine 10K - The inaugural runDisney Wine & Dine 10K was an amazing race.  Hosted by Chef Remy, the race featured a familiar course through Epcot and around the Boardwalk with some great characters and all the runDisney fun that you expect from their events.

3.  A Beginner's Guide to Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival - One of the most popular events in Walt Disney World can be overwhelming when you don't know what to expect.  We attended for the first time in 2015 and I used my experiences to write some tips that I learned which might benefit other first timers.

2.  Best Bets for Preschoolers in Epcot - Traveling with the little guys to Walt Disney World has meant seeing the parks through the eyes of my kids.  Epcot gets a bad reputation sometimes as not being a kid-friendly park.  This post highlights some of our favorite things to do around Future World and World Showcase!

1.  Things that May Terrify Your Kids in Walt Disney World - My husband will probably laugh out loud that this is my top post of the year.  His biggest complaint about Disney is that our kids are scared of some of the things there.  It's a true statement.  I don't think that ruins a family vacation - just review some of these experiences that might terrify your kids.  Moral of the story, there is so much to see and do in Disney; do what makes your family happy rather than trying to push through things that scare them.

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runDisney Inaugural Wine & Dine 10K

After running my first runDisney races in 2015, I was hooked and couldn't wait to plan a 2016 race getaway.  We ended up planning a weeklong family vacation that would end on Wine & Dine weekend once again.  And with a new menu of racing choices including the addition of a 10K and Lumiere's Two Course Challenge there was a lot of excitement in the air during the months leading up to the event.  Due to our travel schedule, I wasn't able to do the half marathon so the inaugural challenge was out for me, but I was thrilled to be part of the Ratatouille themed 10K.

The 10K was set to run on Saturday morning with the typically early runDisney start time of 5:30AM.  I was staying offsite at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek so I had to provide my own race transportation, which I did via taxi service to the start line at Epcot.  I arrived right around 4AM and couldn't be more excited to be at the party that greets runners.  Characters, concession sales, and a DJ all provide a fantastic atmosphere to get pumped up for the race.  Since I didn't have much else to do until the start time and I was by myself, I hopped in the very long line to meet Remy and Emile from Ratatouille.  The DJ kept announcing that the characters would leave at 5AM and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it.  Remy disappeared about 4:45, but I remained in line for Emile and ended up being the last person who got to meet him before the race started.

After meeting Emile, I headed over towards the corrals.  runDisney is nothing if not efficient at getting their races off and running on time.  By the time I made a stop to use the bathroom, corral A had already headed to the starting line and my corral, corral B, was already opened up to follow.  With the typical runDisney fanfare including music and fireworks, the first corral started promptly at 5:30 and corral B was off about 10 minutes later.

This was my first runDisney 10K and, although this was an inaugural race for Wine & Dine weekend, my understanding is that it was a familiar course.  The first 3 miles were on the roads out and around Epcot.  There were two character stops along the road including the penguins from Mary Poppins and  Flik and Princess Atta from A Bug's Life.  I was feeling energized and neither stop was overly appealing to me, so I kept on running past those characters.  Shortly after the mile 3 marker, runners enter Epcot through a backstage area and burst into World Showcase inside the Norway Pavilion.  The cast members inside World Showcase were phenomenal - cheering runners on in languages native to each country!  This also led to the next few character stops which included Geppetto and Pinocchio in Germany and the Genie in Morocco.  I was feeling like I needed some character interaction as I was already past the halfway point so I stopped for each of these.  Runners then continued out of Epcot via the International Gateway to circle Disney's Boardwalk and the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts.  Chip and Dale greeted runners at the ESPN Club and there were a lot of spectators out in the resort areas to cheer everyone on.  As we re-entered Epcot, a large Sebastian met us and the party continued into the United Kingdom.  We exited the park after running through Future World and accepted the inaugural bling in the parking lot near where we started.  As always, the course was flat and fast.

I have to say that once again I was incredibly impressed with runDisney.  Everything was organized, well-supported, and fun.  I can't say that any other races I've run have come close to the experience of runDisney.  I was also really pleased with the runner's etiquette on display this week.  Many runDisney runners follow Galloway's run/walk intervals.  Everyone I encountered on the course was signaling breaks and not walking in large groups.  I would definitely come back for another Wine & Dine 10K and can't wait for the Glass Slipper Challenge in about 100 days!!

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