26.2 Magical Miles: Your Guide To The Disney Marathon Course

Getting ready for your first full marathon is an exciting process! It’s especially exciting if you plan to run the marathon at Walt Disney World, one of the signature runDisney events. This race is hands down the most challenging part of the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. Planning ahead and learning everything you can about the Disney Marathon course will help get you to the finish line! Here’s what you need to know about the most magical 26.2 miles you’ll ever run on the Disney Marathon course.

Table of Contents

What Is runDisney?

The runDisney weekends are special events held at Walt Disney World every year. And races will resume at Disneyland in 2024!

runDisney is where you can get your fitness on, along with a healthy dose of pixie dust!

Most race weekends at Walt Disney World consist of a 5K, 10K, and half marathon. There are also special medals you can earn by completing half challenge races (if you run the 10 Km race and half marathon back to back).

Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Challenge Races

If running one race isn’t a big enough challenge for you, Walt Disney World has more options.

During Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend you can earn the Goofy Challenge medal or the Dopey Challenge medal, both of which require back-to-back races throughout the weekend.

Goofy’s Race Challenge: run the half marathon on Saturday and the marathon on Sunday.
Dopey Challenge: run the 5K on Thursday, 10K on Friday, the half marathon on Saturday and the marathon on Sunday.

You will earn the Goofy Challenge when you complete the Dopey Challenge, which means in the end you’ll score 7 huge medals as a Dopey runner during the marathon weekend races!

If you’ve signed up for the races next year but need help getting to the start line, look no further.

We have loads of information to help you navigate these special race weekends.

Check out these resources for more detailed information to help you have the best time during the runDisney races.

From learning about the character stops to pouring over the past race course maps to putting together a DIY running costume, we think planning for these races is almost as much fun as actually participating in them!

In this post, you’ll find pictures and descriptions of the course map to help you envision running throughout the Walt Disney World resort.

Disney Marathon Course

Let’s get into the specifics about the most magical place on earth and the 26.2 miles you’ll cover during this runDisney weekend.

Where Does The Full Disney Marathon Start and End?

The marathon weekend races are all staged in the same place.

You’ll start and finish all runDisney races during the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend in the Epcot parking lot.

All runners and spectators will go through Epcot’s security lines before returning to the race staging area.

And be warned: there is a long walk just to get to the start of the race. Both the Walt Disney World half marathon and the full marathon are staged to start about a mile from the parking lot.

Padding 25-30 minutes is not a bad idea when planning when you want to arrive at the race.

real bathrooms on the rundisney race course

Can You Walk To The Start Of The runDisney Races?

You cannot walk to the start of the Disney marathon course from your hotel. Or any of the Disney World runDisney races for that matter. Disneyland races, however, are another story.

You will need to take bus transportation from your hotel, which is provided free of charge by runDisney. In some cases, runners can take the monorail to Epcot.

If you don’t want to take the buses, you’ll need to take Uber or Lyft to the start line or drive your own car and park in the parking lot on race morning. Be aware that road closures will affect your arrival, so pay attention to Disney’s warnings on when you must be in the parking lot or on a race bus.

Even if you are staying at a nearby hotel (Port Orleans French Quarter or Boardwalk Inn, for example), you cannot walk to the start of the Disney marathon.

Disney Marathon Course Map (2024)

The 2024 marathon course map will appear in the event guide, which typically comes online 2-4 weeks before the race.

We will update with that information as soon as we have it.

But the basic Marathon course hasn’t changed at Disney too terribly much in the past years, minus the removal of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Here are a few of the previous course maps you can check out while waiting for the 2024 map.

We suspect the 2024 map will look similar to 2023, but hoping some changes could be made inside Epcot since we know the Moana water feature construction is now completed and the Epcot Walls have been removed.

As you can see, you will run the entire race through Disney property, including all 4 Disney theme parks. This is a fairly flat course as well, which means it can be a fast course as well.

EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom will see some miles. And yes, running down Main Street, USA, in Magic Kingdom Park is as incredible an experience as you imagine!

Bonus: you’ll run through the parking lot of one of the water parks, Blizzard Beach. Though, this really isn’t much of a bonus and is usually the biggest complaint of the course.

ride expedition everest during disney marathon course.

Highlights of the Marathon Course

Everyone will have their favorite moments on the Disney marathon course, but some of the top moments to look forward to include:

running through Cinderella Castle
seeing family members on Main Street cheering you on
jumping in line and riding a roller coaster (Expedition Everest) in the middle of your marathon. Yes, this is a thing and runners do it every year! Some even drop in on Tower of Terror or Rock N Roll Roller Coaster.
taking a victory lap through World Showcase
finishing your race with a Disney margarita or beer or Mickey pretzel that you pick up in Epcot

marathon margaritas kim and gail. two women running and holding up margaritas on the disney marathon course.

Disney Marathon Course: Water, Powerade, and Food Station Mile Markers

You may be wondering if you need to bring your own food or drinks to the runDisney Marathon.

The answer is that depends.

There will be food and drink along the course, and Disney does keep you well-stocked.

The course offers POWERADE drink, sports beans, bananas, & chocolate.

But if you are training with alternate nutrition, we recommend you bring your own food.

Remember the runner’s creed: nothing new on race day!

Food On The Disney Marathon Course

There will be six food stops on the Marathon Course.

Mile 9-10 Honey Stinger Chews
Mile 11.5 Bananas
Mile 15.4 Sports Beans
Mile 18.3 Bananas
Mile 19.4 Sports Beans
Mile 22.3 Chocolate (typically- could change from year to year)

As a reminder: you absolutely can bring your own food to the course.

Water And Powerade on the Disney Marathon Course

At all water stops, you’ll run by volunteers who will hold out cups of water. Grab one and keep moving along!

Water stops on the runDisney Marathon course:

Mile 1
Mile 2.5
Mile 6.25
Mile 7.5
Mile 9
Mile 11
Mile 12
Mile 13
Mile 14
Mile 15.5
Mile 17.5
Mile 19
Mile 20.2
Mile 21
Mile 22.8
Mile 24
Mile 24.5.

You’ll also have a chance to add some electrolytes with Powerade on the course. Typically, it will be either blue or lemon-lime flavors.

Not all water stops will offer Powerade; you can generally plan to see that at every other water stop.

funny runDisney race signs on the disney marathon course.

Bathrooms On the Disney Marathon Course

There are plenty of port-o-potties and real bathrooms along the Disney Marathon Course.

The real bathrooms, to be honest, are the major perk of running this marathon.

Check out this post for details on where you’ll find the real bathrooms on the Marathon course inside each of the Walt Disney World theme parks.

epcot-united-kingdom-bathrooms on the disney marathon course. runners going past a building.

Live Entertainment On The Course

The Disney Marathon will have plenty of entertainment along the entire race course.

Many runners don’t even bother with headphones because they know they’ll be pretty well entertained between character stops, live bands, and cast member cheer squads.

We’re team “better safe than sorry” so we always suggest bringing entertainment with you if you train that way.

But honestly, there’s nothing like a runDisney race weekend when it comes to entertainment and distractions!

Finish line characters on the disney marathon course.

Be sure to have a great time and jump in line for a character or two, ensuring your bib number is front and center for the PhotoPass photographers.

And come join us in the Facebook group to talk all things runDisney and Disney parks!

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