Changes are afoot for the 2020 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. Among the changes are course alterations, a new start time, and new ChEAR Squad packages.
Starting in 2020, the marathon will start at 5 AM, which is 30 minutes earlier than the previous start time of 5:30 AM. In addition, runners will now traverse through Blizzard Beach Water Park.
In an effort to reduce the amount of time runners spend on the roadways, the course will include more time in Epcot. Specific details of the course layout haven’t been announced as of yet, so stay tuned for that.
New this year, runDisney is offering a new outdoor exclusive area for runners and ChEAR Squad packages for spectators. The exclusive area for runners will be utilized to take photos, pick up their gear, stretch, and recover. ChEAR Squad packages will allow spectators to access to the finish line, popular Magic Kingdom viewing location, and other amenities. It is important to note the ChEAR Squad packages will not include access to the outdoor exclusive area for runners.
To see more information about the 2020 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend visit http://www.rundisney.com/.
Stay tuned to WDWNT for more information on the 2020 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend as details become available.
As someone who has run the last 7 marathons…LOL at the start time change. That would mean a 2AM wake up call instead of 2:30. And how much more can they put in Epcot? They already come in by the UK then take the long way around WS and out the front.
I was thinking the same thing…there isn’t anything they could add inside EPCOT, and with all the new construction some parts will need to be rerouted. And the starting time is just ridiculous….no other marathon starts anywhere near so early, and Disney wants to push it ever earlier? I had already decided to not run any more Disney events because of the diminishing return, and this just confirms my decision. Add it to the other negative changes….no night time races, fewer races overall, very few characters compared to earlier years, eliminating deferrals (no matter the circumstance), not allowing packet pick up by others, etc.
Exactly. Who is God’s name asked for an earlier start???? I swear, the morons at Disney sit around and brainstorm about what people want the least, and then “plus it.”
They used to tun the whole round the world loop at the start of the race. So that will probably get added back in. This change isn’t surprisingly. When we were down there a couple weeks ago I was wondering if they were going to do this. The new entrance for Hollywood studios uses the road that everyone too to/from ESPN so they are probably going to cut the ESPN part out and and then turn you up towards blizzard beach after animal kingdom. It’s actually the only thing that makes sense with the new Hollywood Studios entrance.
Those of us that have been running the marathon a long time have seen many changes. This isn’t the first time through Blizzard Beach and years ago we ran through EPCOT at the start and at the end. What this shows is that Disney is finding the marathon as more of an inconvenience than a room filler. I hope it never gets to the point where they consider ending this classic run.