Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend 2024

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It never gets old.

This past weekend we participated in the inaugural Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon weekend. Presented here, in no particular order, are my thoughts on the weekend as a whole.

The elephant in the room. Let's get it out of the way up front and talk about it: Temperatures. To say it was warm would be a total understatement. It was hot. Hella hot. If you've been around this community for any amount of time, Labor day weekend was usually the time when the Disneyland Half Marathon events took place. The heat would have a dramatic effect on the races and even how we navigated the parks with Asher the whole weekend. Walking to the start line from the hotel I could already feel the heat and humidity. As runners, we know that extreme heat can be dangerous when racing especially for those who may be out on the course longer than others. Extra precaution must be taken.

Expo. It was smaller than I remember. Same location in the Disneyland Hotel but it seemed like there were less vendors than in years past. You can definitely sense that a post pandemic recovery is still in effect. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of merchandise for this weekend even though we're not ones to buy the themed race merch. The official merchandise area displayed a lot of the same products just spread out on different racks. I guess i'll chalk it up to it being the inaugural event. Here's to hoping that future races bring a wider variety of official race merchandise to the table.

Scroll through to see more pics

Disneyland Halloween 10k. My first RunDisney race since 2019 where I ran the Wine and Dine Half Marathon with Jacob in Walt Disney World. I was already hot and sweaty before the race because of the weather but also I was a bit late getting out so i had to briskly walk to the security area and find my corral. My bad! I had to wait outside of the corral because it was already too full. Which turned out to be a blessing because I'd hate to be packed in too tightly for too long. I even saw someone get taken out of the corral in a wheelchair before the race started. Hope they feel better!! Once the race started, it felt like old times running the Disneyland Half Marathon. The miles inside the Parks and backstage felt familiar and I couldn't help but smile that i was running here again. I ran the race with a couple of long time running friends Michael and Julie and we had a blast taking pics and catching up. The theme of the 10k race was the Haunted Mansion and the most popular picture spot was with the Hitchhiking Ghosts. Unfortunately the queue was closed (likely due to getting the park ready for opening) so i settled for a selfie just outside of their spot. We finished the race sweating but smiling. Whew!

Disneyland Halloween Half. I can't speak to this race too much since Asher and I were asleep the entire time Paula was running the race. She did an excellent job of staying extremely quiet while getting ready as to not wake Asher and he stayed asleep until she was already walking back to the hotel room. What she did tell me was that towards the end of the race, she felt that she stopped sweating - which is NEVER a good sign. Luckily she was able to hydrate post race and did not suffer any major illnesses. I'm proud of her and will always be her biggest cheerleader along with the boys whether we're there on the race course or not.

The time we spent not racing was spent playing in the Parks. As stated earlier, it was extremely hot the entire weekend and we promised ourselves that we would not get carried away trying to cram all of the things into each day. Ok, i know, having Magic Keys is a very first world problem and we are very fortunate to have them. We took advantage of this and each day we rode 1 or 2 attractions in the morning, took a break back at the hotel and then rode 1 attraction in the evening. And you know what? Asher did sooooo fine with that. And i even rode Radiator Springs Racers with him, accommodating his request. So fun. This routine allowed him to be in bed around his usual bedtime which helped keep him regulated a bit. Traveling home, we discussed how smoothly this trip went with Asher and his behaviors.

The weekend was a success. I toed the start line after a loooooong hiatus and I let some butterflies out of the old stomach. Paula kicked ass as usual and Asher had a good time in one of his favorite places. He'll remember this one for sure.

2015 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Recap

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It's been a week and we're just now coming down from the high that was the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. This will not be a full-on run of the mill race recap in the traditional sense since you can read about great ones HERE and HERE.

We met so many social media friends IRL (in real life) and we had a blast talking about Disney, running, kids, etc. which reminded us why we love this community so much.

Think of this as a photo recap of the fun times our family had this past weekend. Let's get to it!

Asher and Elias at the runDisney Kids Races. 

If you've ever wanted to know what it's like running the Disneyland Half Marathon, check the video out. Warning, spoiler alert!

2013 in Review

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5 medals each: WDW Marathon Weekend, Dumbo Double Dare, Disneyland 10k, Disneyland Half and Coast to Coast.

We started our year off with a bang right from the start. The races at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend were our first of the year and we even created our own hashtag: #oneraceamonth2013 to boot. I ran the Marathon, Paula the Half Marathon, our two oldest boys the Mickey Mile and our youngest (at the time) the Kids Dash. Did I mention that Paula was 4 months pregnant at the time of her Half?

Next up in February was the Super Bowl Sunday Run back here in our hometown of Sacramento, CA. This was a 10k race in which we ran a relay. In March we ran a fun race named the Veggie Chase 5k where runners tried to beat the pacers dressed up as vegetables. The two older boys' first 5k of the year was the Elk Grove Running of the Elk in April. We ran this race together as a family and had a blast. 

Another 5k family race came around in May which was the Cinco de Kilometros de Mayo (5k of May). We love running locally and especially supporting our local running store. At the end of June, my oldest son and I ran the Run for Independence 5k in very hot weather. I must say, i was very proud that day. A month later and about 6 weeks postpartum, Paula and I ran the Fab 40s 5k in which we ran sub 30 min. Again, she never ceases to amaze me with the things she is able to accomplish. 

August's race was the inaugural Disneyland 10k which was the first half of the new Dumbo Double Dare challenge that runDisney has created for Disneyland Resort's main race weekend. The very next day, September 1st, was the second race of the challenge, the Disneyland Half Marathon. We squeaked in two month's races in two days, see what we did there? That entire weekend deserves a recap of it's own. Can we say Coast to Coast?

Paula ran another half marathon, a Rock'n'Roll event, in early October. I was amazed at how organized this race was and it has lead me to sign up for more races with them.  More on that later on. I ran a cool race in Davis, CA called the Oktobrewfest 5k where the medals given out had a bottle opener integrated in the design. How cool is that?! In November, Paula and I ran a Turkey Trot Half Marathon where she achieved a PR in that distance. Last but not least, I ran another 5k this month in December, and achieved a PR myself. The following week Paula and friends ran a neat Santa run where everyone dressed up as Santa, beards and all, for a good cause. 

Whew! That was a lot of racing this year and it feels like we could have done even more. We figured that signing up for races is the hardest part next to getting that first step out the door. Once you commit by registering or signing up for the race, you feel a bit more obligated to train. It was a great year of running, especially getting our kids involved in the sport. They see and feel the benefit of staying active. We set goals, finish races and earn medals. All while having a good time. Together, as a family.