runDisney Race Season 2026 - 2027

[GimpYancIent]

I can remember the races not being so character focused in the mid 2000s. There were not set ups, character meets, and photo pass. I can remember Cruella and Gaston clapping and cheering for us off Osceola Pkwy during a Tower13K and nobody was stopping for a photo…bc we were all there to run. They were just on the side of the road cheering us on. Times have changed. 45mins you say?? Yikes!

Yes, times have changed. I consistently am a C corral runner though I have met the time / pace requirements for the B corral several times. Supposedly by having people with like running paces start in groups with the fastest pace groups of runners in front a smooth start and flow to the event will result. Also considering there is a two-minute space between corral starts. To my irritation, every event, for the first half mile it is an obstacle course of maneuvering / speeding up then suddenly slowing down to get around an assortment of Sloths, Turtles and Snails with A, B and C corral BIB's that should not have been any closer to the front than the E corral. If Disney is going to have a corral system with pace / time requirements for each corral with rules to how a person can get into said corrals, then how do so many (that do not meet the requirements) get into those early corrals? Hence, have a minimum pace requirement of 18 minutes per mile not the current 16 minutes per mile so there is reduced pressure on the Sloths, Turtles and Snails about completing the course (finishing) reducing the incentive for the slow runners and walkers to want to start from the front and be nothing more than mobile roadblocks. God bless all the participants for being out there, just want to see everyone enjoy the events being courteous, reasonable, fair and honest.

 

[Rteetz]

I am very interested to see how they go about the 5K being bigger. They are crowded enough already. Character lines unless running from A and even then get 20+ minutes long. Even on the 10K lines can get bad.

 

[Rteetz]

Hot take but 5k doesn't need more spots. All other distances should increase back to close to what they were before covid. Marathon and half used to be over 20,000 people. They reduced once they came back from covid. They should reduce the number of dopey bibs available (about 8,500) because that takes up a lot of 5k and 10k entries. Goofy (the original real challenge) now only has about 1,000 bibs. runDisney is already incredibly popular and promoting it like this and the constant influencers are not needed.

They can't go back to 20,000+ because of the current set up. They no longer start on the road which allowed them that extra space. Disney park ops wants minimal disruptions to the parks too. Epcot specifically has been raising a stink this year. They aren't going to reduce Dopey either when that sells out instantly all the time too. Back in 2018-ish when the races were 20,000+ Dopey had even more bibs then.

 

[GimpYancIent]

They can't go back to 20,000+ because of the current set up. They no longer start on the road which allowed them that extra space. Disney park ops wants minimal disruptions to the parks too. Epcot specifically has been raising a stink this year. They aren't going to reduce Dopey either when that sells out instantly all the time too. Back in 2018-ish when the races were 20,000+ Dopey had even more bibs then.

Do the races need to start at EPCOT? There is a tremendous amount of parking lot space where the now ancient history, NASCAR track, once was for example. There is plenty space for an expanded start area on property. Also, the first 1 - 2 miles of any course can be routed through a wide section of road, WDW has that availability also. A lack of initiative, motivation and creativity on the part of Disney seems to be the problem. WDW could handle 30,000 plus per event easily. Any single day disruption to routine park operations is negligible compared to the $$$$ (something corporate understands) to be made during said events. A refresh to the starts and routes would be a good thing.

 

[Rteetz]

Do the races need to start at EPCOT? There is a tremendous amount of parking lot space where the now ancient history, NASCAR track, once was for example. There is plenty space for an expanded start area on property. Also, the first 1 - 2 miles of any course can be routed through a wide section of road, WDW has that availability also. A lack of initiative, motivation and creativity on the part of Disney seems to be the problem. WDW could handle 30,000 plus per event easily. Any single day disruption to routine park operations is negligible compared to the $$$$ (something corporate understands) to be made during said events. A refresh to the starts and routes would be a good thing.

Do they need to? No. It is really wherever Disney will allow. The used to do point to point races with an MK start and Epcot finish. Again that’s more work. They seem to like to streamline as much as possible.

I will tell you runDisney has and is always looking at options. A lot comes down to what park ops allows. The whole selling point of runDisney races is running through the parks. People complain tons already about the non-park time.

runDisney is often the ugly step sister of the company. They don’t allow them to do what they may want or even need to at times. No matter the money they bring in.

 

[surfsupdon]

@Rteetz runDisney and the races from Disney Endurance Series were not streamlined in the past. The streamlining came around the late 20teens as I recall.

 

[Rteetz]

@Rteetz runDisney and the races from Disney Endurance Series were not streamlined in the past. The streamlining came around the late 20teens as I recall.

Yep, and the streamlining now helps them save on extra costs. I don't think they want to change that now but Epcot ops may force them to if Epcot continues to push them out.