I Ran In The First runDisney Race at Disneyland Since 2017. Here’s What It Was Like.

runDisney is back at Disneyland for the first time since 2017. After sharing my experience participating in the recent Disneyland Half Marathon weekend on social media I wanted to provide a way more in depth look at what running in a race through the Disneyland Resort theme parks is like.

The Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend took place January 11-4, 2023 and consisted of kids races, a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon. I ran the Disneyland 10K race and have a full look at my documented experience running the race below.

Due to the fact that there have not been runDisney races at Disneyland for a number of years I'll also spend some time talking about the logistics of a race for you to consider. I'll also dive into when the next Disneyland runDisney race is happening and if the experience is worth it. This was my personal first runDisney race, but one of our contributors is a big runner and put together a whole guide to runDisney.

Why Do People Do runDisney?

After posting about my runDisney experience participating in the runDisney event at Disneyland I got a number of questions that I have made sure to answer here or incorporate in my writing below. See our posts on Facebook and Instagram where we got the questions.

When is the next runDisney race at Disneyland? Disney has announced that another runDisney race is coming to Disneyland for Halloween and gave a date for tickets going on sale. It's very soon. You can see that date and details for the event here. If you want to attend that event, you have to be totally on it to register the day that it releases.

Is this runDisney Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend every year? We have not yet received an announcement for another Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend but I would anticipate that this offering will return next year around this same time.

What is the route for the runDisney Disneyland race? You can see all of the route maps for the Disneyland runDisney Half Marathon Weekend in our guide. I have also added the route for the specific race that we ran below.

What is the purpose of runDisney? Unlike the Disneyland CHOC Walk, this is not inherently a charity event though some do raise money for charity. It is an experience like any other major running event around the country where you sign up to participate. People love runDisney events because of the great atmosphere to run through and general combination of Disney with running. It is also a much less intimidating first race experience than some other more intense races around the country. It provides a very nice race environment for both seasoned and new runner/walkers. The races serve both those who want to try running and those who are just interested in a new way to experience Disney. It's an electric atmosphere with tons of great costumes (like one of my favorites above – Mary Poppins and Mrs. Banks).

What time do runDisney races start at Disneyland? Our runDisney race started at 5 am. This means we had a VERY early wakeup call. It makes sense that the wake ups need to be this early because they try to avoid the races impacting the Disneyland park hours.

Do you have to run (vs walk) the runDisney races? You do not have to run the runDisney races but you do have to stay ahead of a specific speed marker for the race. For the Disneyland 10K race, it was required that all runners maintain at least an average 16 minute mile pace or risk not being able to finish the race.

Is it really all just fitness people or are people walking the race? Anyone can enjoy a runDisney race. The first and second corrals where we were positioned were filled with runners that were capable of keeping a faster pace, but anyone can register and fit into the starting group that matches their ability. If you have an interest in the runDisney races anyone that can make it through a full day walking through the parks at Disneyland could definitely make it through one of the runDisney races. I would suggest starting with one of the shorter distances – maybe just the 5K and then if you like it work up from there. There are plenty of people walking these races. If you can maintain a comfortable pace that is less than a mile every 16 minutes you can make it through this.

How fast were you? I ran the 10K very quickly and maintained a quick pace going through the course in sections that didn't have any interesting characters or were just on the streets. You can see my pace below. You can definitely go much slower than this if you are not a runner.

Now that we have set the scene a little bit with what the runDisney races were like let's give into what the actual on the ground experience is like.

Day Before Disneyland 10K

Once the race weekend rolls around here's what the commitments look like. Before you can run one of the runDisney races you have to visit the Health and Fitness expo the day before to pickup your race day bib and shirt. While there you'll also have the opportunity to shop for merchandise and visit different booths relating to running and Disney.

Picking up the bibs was a very smooth process. The room was setup for big lines but we arrived with no problems. Here's the bib!

From there we wandered through the expo looking at the different booths. We lined up for merchandise.

We went in on Friday and walked through the store section. Most designs were quite bold and colorful. I chose a simple hat that I thought I would wear more often.

From there we wandered and looked through a couple of other stops in the area before heading back into the parks for a few more hours. We then headed back to the hotel for a “nap”. We were staying at the Element By Westin which is right across the street from the parking lot where the race is staged. It was perfectly located to hop down and get into the race area the next day. We were hosted for this Element stay but do highly recommend the hotel and have future trips planned.

Here's What the Disneyland runDisney 10K is Like

On race day we arrived to the security line at 4:20 am and it took almost 25 minutes to get in through security (see the massive line above). We immediately went over to our assigned corral. The first group of runners were released onto the course at 5 am. Corrals are released in waves onto the race course. Five minutes after corral A was released onto the course, our corral B was released to start running.

The first mile of the course was all on city streets and so we ran quite fast here to get ahead of our group and into the parks where we knew we wanted to have more time ahead of the thicker crowds. At that point we slowed down dramatically to enjoy the fun of getting to run through the theme parks. Here's a look at our overall splits from Strava running the race. It's interesting to match up our mile times with the interests for each mile in the map. As the miles were more interesting you can see that we slowed down.

You can see below the route for the 10K race. The race weaved through Disney California Adventure and then up through Disneyland Park.

When we turned into Disney California Adventure park we immediately started to see covered ride vehicles. The coolest part of this area was getting to see in the warehouse where some of the cars character vehicles were stored and into the machine shop for Radiator Springs Racers with all of those cars lined up.

Once we ran on stage near Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! we reached our first characters. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were greeting guests in one location.

If we had known that there weren't going to be that many characters along the route we probably would've stopped to get a photo here. Running further it was super cool to round the corner into Avengers Campus. Surprisingly there were not Marvel characters stationed in the area.

Coming out of Cars Land we saw Goofy near San Fransokyo and stopped for a photo with him. At this moment it was impressive to see how everyone in line for the characters knew that it was a race and kept it all moving smoothly. There were multiple Cast Members ready to take smart phones to grab photos.

We then headed up the course towards Pixar Pier. Then, we wound through Grizzly Peak. There was a Cast Member out in the old outfits from the Minnie's Fly Girls show that used to take place across from the entrance to Soarin'. This Cast Member was a very lively addition. Very fun to hear her talking to runners.

LaunchPad McQuack was greeting guests at the Soarin' character station when were there. Scrooge McDuck was just walking away from this spot when we were arriving. It looked like some other runner's photos had multiple characters here.

We then ran out of Buena Vista Street. Looking back down the course towards Guardians we could already see the bigger groups of people behind us.

From here it was time for my favorite part of the experience. We ran across the esplanade and into Disneyland Park. It was incredible rounding the corner to see the castle. I paused to capture this moment in the video that I shared below:

Here's the reverse shot of me slowing down my pace to be able to capture the video heading down Main Street.

From there we headed into the rest of Disneyland Park. We spotted Clarabelle Cow up on the balcony above Pirates of the Caribbean.

From there we ran all the way through Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Again, no specific characters here which was a bit of a surprise. I thought we'd get Kylo Ren out or even Darth Vader as a special surprise. We then turned out of Galaxy's Edge and spotted the duck from Chicken Little. We didn't even stop for a photo. Quite a random character to have out.

Then, another iconic moment. We ran through the castle and into Fantasyland. This was incredible! We then looped up through Small World. We grabbed a photo with Chip ‘n' Dale and then into Toontown. I knew that these were our final moments in the parks before heading backstage and onto the street so I slowed down here a little bit. The photo below is an example of a PhotoPass photo from the race course. The photos are then linked to your account using your bib number.

We then headed backstage and had a number of very cool moments. There were two floats out from Magic Happens. We talked with some other runners in line the day before that said that there were actually two different floats out for the 5K the morning before. Kind of nice that they swap them out to keep it interesting for those doing multiple races during the weekend.

Here's the Coco float from the parade.

Another amazing view was a look into a back warehouse where you could see the old sign for the Tower of Terror.

My other favorite detail which was difficult to capture in photos was the Disneyland Railroad and Monorail Barn. I could feel the energy as the trains/monorails were gearing up for the day.

Then, we ran out and down under the bus area in a big tunnel that connects the two parks. This was cool because I had always heard about it as a secret connector. If you look at the map at the top of this article you can see it is where the dashed line is. We saw one last cool backstage moment – these Bug's Life statue that were moved backstage when Bug's Land was switched over to Avengers Campus.

From there we rounded the corner and went back on to the streets of Anaheim to finish out the race. Here's a look at the race finish line.

The post race festivities at the finish line were somewhat limited. We got out medal, disposable mylar blanket, a box of snacks, and a banana. The medal is included with the price of the race.

Then we took some photos. From there we were able to hop back to our super conveniently located hotel. The Element By Westin is literally located across the street from the starting line area and showered. We then enjoyed the hotel's great breakfast. We actually went back up to our room after the race and could see the entire finish line from there as you can see in the photo below.

Here I am back in the room with my medal. The race finish line is behind me.

Also, here's more of a look at the Element By Westin room which had two queen beds and a pull out couch. This is a different configuration than most of their rooms. A majority of their rooms are suites.

From there it was fun to bring the medal with us into the parks for the day. There were so many people wearing their runDisney shirts we were given from the races or carrying their medals around. It was a very nice atmosphere that created commonality with other guests.

Characters During runDisney Races

We also got a number of questions about the amount of characters at the Disneyland runDisney races. Generally I was surprised that there were fewer characters than I had anticipated based on photos and details on the Walt Disney World races. I think this was the same sentiment from others running the race. They also stuck to a specific “ducks” theme for the race and a majority – but not all – of the characters were duck related. I was a bit disappointed that there was not big Avengers Campus reveal or Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge reveal of characters. My friend that I was running with made the comment as we were headed into Galaxy's Edge that it will be so cool to see what character they have out and then we were a bit perplexed when they didn't have one.

During these Disneyland races it really felt like the parks were the star and the characters themselves weren't that interesting or held up to be the highlight. My favorite parts of the race was just the feeling of excitement running through the park and the opportunity to see Disneyland in a different light.

Should You Do a Disneyland runDisney Race

Generally I think that the runDisney weekend is something that all Disneyland fans will enjoy and should consider. The distance of the races is not further than most fans walk in a day. You could easily participate in a 5K or 10K race and see if you enjoy it before jumping up to the bigger race distances. You can walk or run these races. Though the name “runDisney” may intimidate some, you can definitely walk these races and enjoy them at your own pace. They really are more of an experience than a race because even I as a pretty good runner was slowing way down to enjoy the parks.

I was thrilled to participate in the race if only because it was something that I have never done before at Disneyland and that in itself is a novelty for me. Going backstage and getting to see into the various storage asepcts of the park is also always very cool for me.

When looking at the races and deciding which race you want to participate in its also interesting to look at the different route maps for this race. In the instance of this weekend the runners who participated in the 10K race got to see the same amount of Disneyland that runners in the Disneyland Half Marathon course got to see. From the reports we received the second half of the Disneyland Half Marathon race was actually quite dull and lacked entertainment as runners looped out to the Angels Stadium parking before heading back. Previously we know that there used to be way more entertainment along the street with local car clubs pulling up and bands. I didn't see any reports of that for the Half Marathon. A reader on Facebook shared that she ran the Half Marathon and that there were car clubs and bands during the Half Marathon. There was none of that for the 10K to my knowledge.

As someone who wanted to run this race for the Disney experience and not for the goal of running a half marathon I was very pleased that I chose the 10K because I still got to see almost all of the same amount of stuff that the runners during the half marathon did. It was interesting to talk with runners familiar with the Walt Disney World runDisney events. They shared that the offerings at Disneyland generally had less hype around them and fewer characters. Some of this can likely be connected to the fact that this is the first year back for the races in Anaheim and also because Disney just controls less of the area around the parks.

Generally I would recommend checking out the next Disneyland runDisney race. I think that the 10K is a great sweet spot where you'll get a great parks experience without the extra running distance outside the parks.

Disney did host my runDisney experience for this trip to get the word out about runDisney being back at Disneyland but I would return again in the future for another race.

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