Disney Half Marathon or Princess Half Marathon.....which to do for a first Half M with my teens??

[escriven75]

I'm (fingers crossed) running the W&D 10k with my teens this November. I've only done one runDisney race previously, the W&D half marathon in 2016. I LOVED it. I want to follow up our Nov 10k with plans to do a half together so it will be my teens first half marathon (they will be 17 (daughter) and 15 (son) yo). I'm asking for your opinion on which half marathon series to do first with them? The timing is a tad better for the WDW half but both are doable. And nothing about the princess theme detracts from my son wanting to participate. So those that have done both, which would you recommend and why? We will LOVE either one but I'd like their continued training to really pay off so I'm looking to you, the experts!

 

[The Expert]

How cool that they want to do this all together! I've done both of those HMs and if I'm choosing based on the energy of the weekend, I'd definitely go Marathon Weekend. There's just an atmosphere that doesn't exist for any other race weekend -- it's really the focus that week where on other weekends it's not unusual for other visitors to not even know a race is going on.

That said, there are other considerations. It's pretty much guaranteed that the MW half will be some sort of Donald/Daisy theme. For the Princess Half, it'll obviously be a princess. Assuming they continue to reveal the themes for virtual registration, you will know what princess it is before registration, but you may not know before you'd have to register for MW. So if theme is important, consider that.

I would also normally say crowds and pricing should come into play, but with MW so close after NYE this coming year and Princess always being during a busy week, I'm not sure that will make a huge difference. It's likely to be busy for both, and weather will likely be similar.

Think about training, too. The peak of training for MW happens over the holidays. For Princess, the heavy load would be a little later. Consider whether you can commit to the longer runs during the holidays.

Good luck with the decision, but I'm not sure there is a wrong answer here.

 

[GollyGadget]

I agree that there is no wrong answer. They will have the same course so that is a non factor. One of differences you may want to consider is that the half in January will be on a Saturday and the Princess half will be on a Sunday. Likewise, the half is the capstone of Princess weekend but obviously not for marathon weekend. I’m typically not too bothered by this but I was very jealous of everyone’s Mickey finisher ears this past January.
The themes don’t play too heavily into what characters will be out on course but imo they do skew more towards princesses, princes, and villains in February. That’s not to say you won’t see any of these in January or that you will only see those in February but you may notice less clarabelle cow and some of those type characters in February.
Either way, no wrong choice, just a few things to think about when making your decision.

 

[camaker]

I LOVE Marathon Weekend and plan on it every year. The atmosphere for running is wonderful, BUT...

I would highly recommend Princess (or W&D) as a first standalone half marathon. The half marathons get much more focus during the smaller race weekends and I don't feel like they get overshadowed much, if at all, by the challenges that are run during the weekends.

Marathon Weekend is just the opposite, with a heavy focus on Dopey and, to a lesser extent, the marathon. It's the only place you routinely hear "I'm just running a marathon". The half marathon gets pushed far down the pecking order during Marathon Weekend.

Do you want their first half marathon to be run in an environment where the accomplishment is overshadowed by the Dopey and marathon focus? That's why I would suggest Princess weekend where they're running the marquee race for the weekend and are part of the atmosphere around it.

 

[escriven75]

I LOVE Marathon Weekend and plan on it every year. The atmosphere for running is wonderful, BUT...

I would highly recommend Princess (or W&D) as a first standalone half marathon. The half marathons get much more focus during the smaller race weekends and I don't feel like they get overshadowed much, if at all, by the challenges that are run during the weekends.

Marathon Weekend is just the opposite, with a heavy focus on Dopey and, to a lesser extent, the marathon. It's the only place you routinely hear "I'm just running a marathon". The half marathon gets pushed far down the pecking order during Marathon Weekend.

Do you want their first half marathon to be run in an environment where the accomplishment is overshadowed by the Dopey and marathon focus? That's why I would suggest Princess weekend where they're running the marquee race for the weekend and part of the atmosphere around it.

This is a REALLY good suggestion for just that reason. I want them leaving with a feeling of personal pride and you're right, that feeling might be stronger running the "big" race of the weekend. Who knows maybe eventually they'll want to do the WDW Marathon!!

 

[kps7795]

I'm (fingers crossed) running the W&D 10k with my teens this November. I've only done one runDisney race previously, the W&D half marathon in 2016. I LOVED it. I want to follow up our Nov 10k with plans to do a half together so it will be my teens first half marathon (they will be 17 (daughter) and 15 (son) yo). I'm asking for your opinion on which half marathon series to do first with them? The timing is a tad better for the WDW half but both are doable. And nothing about the princess theme detracts from my son wanting to participate. So those that have done both, which would you recommend and why? We will LOVE either one but I'd like their continued training to really pay off so I'm looking to you, the experts!

One thing to consider is the timing of the actual races. At WDW Marathon Weekend, the HM is on Saturday morning while the Princess HM is on Sunday. Also, you might consider what kind of medals you and your children want to earn. Some might brush this off as superfluous, but it's something to consider. For my 15 y/o daughter, she can push through difficult training by visualizing the course as well as the finisher medal that she will be earning. We're currently training for the Tower of Terror Ten Miler.

 

[escriven75]

One thing to consider is the timing of the actual races. At WDW Marathon Weekend, the HM is on Saturday morning while the Princess HM is on Sunday. Also, you might consider what kind of medals you and your children want to earn. Some might brush this off as superfluous, but it's something to consider. For my 15 y/o daughter, she can push through difficult training by visualizing the course as well as the finisher medal that she will be earning. We're currently training for the Tower of Terror Ten Miler.

I'm really regretting not signing us up for one of the springtime surprise races. The ToT one looks really cool and the nighttime everest 5k would have been super fun for their first runDis experience! I think my costume for W&D is going to be Yeti. I decided that before the springtime race themes. So I'm looking forward to seeing all of the yeti costumes coming up for ideas to use in the fall!! You're going to have such a fun time doing the ToT 10 miler!!

 

[kps7795]

I'm really regretting not signing us up for one of the springtime surprise races. The ToT one looks really cool and the nighttime everest 5k would have been super fun for their first runDis experience! I think my costume for W&D is going to be Yeti. I decided that before the springtime race themes. So I'm looking forward to seeing all of the yeti costumes coming up for ideas to use in the fall!! You're going to have such a fun time doing the ToT 10 miler!!

I'm not creative in the slightest bit, but I loved wearing a costume of sorts during the marathon (Donald Duck). Hence, I got Tower of Terror bellhop running shirts for us to wear from Etsy.

 

[The Expert]

I'm really regretting not signing us up for one of the springtime surprise races. The ToT one looks really cool and the nighttime everest 5k would have been super fun for their first runDis experience! I think my costume for W&D is going to be Yeti. I decided that before the springtime race themes. So I'm looking forward to seeing all of the yeti costumes coming up for ideas to use in the fall!! You're going to have such a fun time doing the ToT 10 miler!!

I'm doing the Everest 5K as Disco Yeti! Costume pics to come when I do my test run in the next week or so.

 

[escriven75]

I'm doing the Everest 5K as Disco Yeti! Costume pics to come when I do my test run in the next week or so.

YES! Please post pics! I think I'm most excited about my costume and all I have so far is a pair of cute Yeti ears from Etsy!