Well the rumor everyone has been talking about is true. RunDisney is cancelling their races until further notice. The last race weekend to take place in Disneyland is the Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend November 9-12, 2018. I wish I was registered for this weekend since I have not participated in this race weekend in Disneyland yet.
What does this mean for the West Coast?
This is the statement that was released by runDisney today:
We have heard from many of you over the past few months regarding registration for runDisney race weekends at Disneyland Resort. We greatly appreciate your loyalty and dedication to our runDisney race events and want to share the following update with you.
Given the level of construction to support the ongoing Disneyland Resort expansion, we have been working hard to determine how we can continue providing our West Coast participants with the best possible runDisney experience, which is designed around the ability to run throughout our resorts while enjoying entertainment offerings and characters.
After careful consideration and weighing all possibilities, we have made the very difficult decision to place all runDisney race weekends at Disneyland Resort on hiatus beginning in 2018. This includes the associated Coast to Coast Race Challenges.
Anyone who has registered for one of these races will be contacted directly by runDisney today by email and will receive a full refund for registration fees and for any commemorative items they may have purchased.
How do you feel about runDisney cancelling the races?
I am glad that I ran the races during the Labor Day weekend which they had changed from the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge to the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Pixar Challenge. The only events I ever ran in Disneyland were the Disneyland Half marathon weekends for five years in a row in an effort to get my Dumbo Double Dare legacy medal, which I did receive despite the name change for the race challenge.
We all knew this was coming. There was talk of it during the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend stating that the construction of a new hotel in the parking lot where the runners are staged prior to and after the event would cause a problem. There was also the fact that when you asked runDisney about what is happening there wasn’t an answer given. The Star Wars Light Side proof of time date came and went with nothing said at that point either.
Having stated that they are placing the races on hiatus, I am hopeful that when the construction ends and there are new areas and attractions changing in the parks that this means the races will be extra spectacular when they are completed. The races I ran this past September were great. I always loved the race courses in Disneyland. You spend a lot of time in the parks for the 10K and for at least the first 4 miles of the half marathon. This year I also had the opportunity to run the 5K. It was the one and only time I did the 5K in Disneyland and I am so glad I had the opportunity. It really was a lot of fun. I enjoyed every minute of that course.
Are you disappointed to hear of this hiatus? How do you feel about the change? I’d love to read your comments.