Mr. Drauer
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2016
Guardians
What do you mean by "the races have declined"? It's hard to give a definitive answer without some context there. I've run Marathon Weekend continuously since 2016 and I don't think the race experience itself has declined. I still enjoy the races just as much as I used to. Sure, there have been some course changes, but they really fall into the personal preference category for me. Some love the changes, some hate them.I need a little help from my fellow runners. I used to frequent these boards, mostly the running thread. I took a hiatus because I’m down on Disney with a lot of their changes, and I have had a series of injuries that had made running less than enjoyable. I have done the marathon twice and I have always wanted to do Goofy but have heard from a few friends that the races have declined in recent years. Last time I ran the marathon was 2018. I did ToT in 2022 and I was underwhelmed. For those of you that have been running for years, would you agree the races have declined? If I pay $450, or whatever it ends up being, will I be disappointed?
I need a little help from my fellow runners. I used to frequent these boards, mostly the running thread. I took a hiatus because I’m down on Disney with a lot of their changes, and I have had a series of injuries that had made running less than enjoyable. I have done the marathon twice and I have always wanted to do Goofy but have heard from a few friends that the races have declined in recent years. Last time I ran the marathon was 2018. I did ToT in 2022 and I was underwhelmed. For those of you that have been running for years, would you agree the races have declined? If I pay $450, or whatever it ends up being, will I be disappointed?
You kind of hit all my points. Price has gone up. The expo is less enjoyable than they used to be. My first RunDisney race was 2014 TOT. I got a decent bag of swag when I picked up my bib. My last race I got an empty bag for gear. The expo had a nice selection of stuff. The race was so awesome compared to 2022 TOT. As for the marathon I ran 2016. There were so many vendors at the expo they had them in the concourse for the baseball stadium. There was significantly less just two years later when I ran it in 2018. One major change in 2018 was no DJ on the bridge of the road headed to the Contemporary for example. I was disappointed when Rudy wasn’t brought back but the announcers are a small piece of the experience. I have watched recent videos and have seen the course changes. They are fine with me. Anything beats running through WWoS.What do you mean by "the races have declined"? It's hard to give a definitive answer without some context there. I've run Marathon Weekend continuously since 2016 and I don't think the race experience itself has declined. I still enjoy the races just as much as I used to. Sure, there have been some course changes, but they really fall into the personal preference category for me. Some love the changes, some hate them.
On the pre-race announcer/entertainment front, there was a big drop off when they didn't renew Rudy Novotny as their lead announcer. The early days of Carissa were... painful and strained. In my opinion, though, Carissa and supporting crew have grown into their roles and are, at the least, serviceable, if not pretty good, now.
Where I will say there's been a decline is in the area of swag and merch. Race costs have gone up steadily, but the quality of the race shirts has gone way down from the days of Champion, although to be fair the new shirts have their proponents, as well. The merchandise set up seems perpetually short of inventory and I hate having to deal with a virtual queue on day one of the expo just to get in and see if anything I like is left.
I think it really depends on what you're looking for out of your race experience.
ETA: I'm sure I've missed some things, so hopefully others will chime in with their experiences and fill in the gaps.
Goofy is about the challenge. Disney got me into running at a difficult time in my life (divorce) and helped me get through that period better than I could have thought. That first race was 10 years ago. I always wanted to do Goofy or Dopey just because of the challenge and do it at Disney. Just feels like a “full circle” type of thing ten years later. I don’t care about the characters either. I have never once stopped for a character at a Disney race.Answering the 2nd question first….Probably yes. As much because of your perception/expectations without even considering other factors. And I say this as someone who has done lots of Disney races since 2008 and feels similar in terms of “Disney then/Disney now”
The courses don’t change much-nothing new or fresh. Characters & entertainment—I’ve never been into that so can’t really comment (except for my opinion on the “gospel choir” which is a shadow of its former self)
Is your desire to do Goofy due to wanting to do a half/marathon challenge? What will make that experience a good one? Does it have to be Disney? What do you value in a race?
Disney races are $$ and add travel to that and they are $$$$, even more so than traveling for other races. You may get more enjoyment out of something new.
Come to Minnesota and do the Loony (10K & 5K on Saturday, 10 Miler on Sunday) or Ultra Loony (10K & 5K on Saturday, Marathon on Sunday) We’ve been voted the most beautiful urban marathon in the US. First weekend in October—which is mostly reasonable weather (except for last year, but we don’t talk about that )I have looked at other races that might have a similar challenge. I have yet to find one.
My DH says my idea of roughing it is continental breakfastSounds like my kinda camping! I would definitely do a “glamper” if we ever became campers. I’m not a roughing it kind of girl. I did enough tent camping when I was in Girl Scouts.
I’ve run at least one race at Marathon Weekend since my first in 2012. There is certainly a difference in the race experience and I think there are diminishing returns for any activity you do more than once. I’ll never have the experience I did finishing my first Half Marathon, first Marathon, and first Dopey again.I need a little help from my fellow runners. I used to frequent these boards, mostly the running thread. I took a hiatus because I’m down on Disney with a lot of their changes, and I have had a series of injuries that had made running less than enjoyable. I have done the marathon twice and I have always wanted to do Goofy but have heard from a few friends that the races have declined in recent years. Last time I ran the marathon was 2018. I did ToT in 2022 and I was underwhelmed. For those of you that have been running for years, would you agree the races have declined? If I pay $450, or whatever it ends up being, will I be disappointed?