With the excitement of the recent Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and the Disneyland Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend, the forums are lit up with people excited about the possibility of running a runDisney race in the future. Many people do not realize that the actual act of registering for the race is an endurance event itself and these races have been known to sell out within minutes!
Image (c) runDisney
The first step is to decide which race you want to register for. The chart above lists the upcoming races with their registration dates. You will want to consider which theme and coast you will want to run. If you really want to go all out, give the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon a try!
Once you have decided which race weekend you will want to register for, you will consider which distances (5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Full Marathon) you will want to run along with if you plan to participate in any challenges. For example, during the Princess Half Marathon weekend, there are 3 distances available: a 5K on Friday, a 10K on Saturday, and a Half Marathon on Sunday. If you choose to run both the 10K and the Half Marathon that weekend, you would be completing the Glass Slipper Challenge (earning yourself a bonus shirt and medal). There are also kids races available in different distances based on age.
The day of registration you will want to be ready to go in front of your computer 15 minutes early. I personally take off of work that day so that I won’t get interrupted in the process of registration or have to miss it for a meeting.
If you are registering for multiple people or for multiple races, you will want to have multiple browser windows open or use multiple devices so that you can get into the registration queues for all of them at once. You will want to have your important information (and for anyone else that you are registering) gathered together – full name, birthdate, address, credit card information, emergency contact and shirt size. Some people like to have this information already typed out in a document that they can just copy and paste from.
Once it is noon, eastern time, the registration link will go live on runDisney’s website and you will be able to click it to take you to the registration page hosted by Active. You will select your distance (or appropriate challenge) and the form will let you know if it is sold out or not. If not, you may be directed to register or you may be directed to the queue. If you get directed to the queue, do not panic, that just means that there are lots of people registering and that you will have to wait just a bit. (Sorry! No FastPasses available here!) Once it is your turn to enter the registration, you will start entering in your information. If appropriate, you will want to make sure you check if you plan to participate in the military, push rim, hand cycle, or disability divisions.
The form will then ask you about your expected finish times. For the Half Marathon and Full Marathon distances, you will want to follow the instructions to submit a Proof of Time, if applicable.
Check your form over carefully, then hit that SUBMIT button and you are finished!
There is no time to celebrate though because you’ve got to start training!
Should you find yourself in a position that the race you want is sold out, consider running for a charity organization. runDisney partners with many charities for each race giving you entrance to the race in exchange for fundraising.
What race will you be registering for this year?
