I liked the idea of Disney 100 going through each race, but that also took some weird turns. Celebrating 1964 Mary Poppins with the 10K running up through 1959 and then returning back to the 1960 movies before Mary Poppins the next day during the Half felt off.
I really didn't understand so many Disney Junior characters during the full. Although I did hear one runner who was excited, so clearly some people liked it. With the Disney 100 idea, I would have loved to see some Star Wars and Marvel (that they can use) along the course for the Marathon.
I had a great time. It's been quite the journey to this particular race weekend after being in the hospital in early October, so I felt more reflective and quiet than usual. Dopey corresponded to being in the hospital with a chest tube in and hooked up to oxygen 3 months earlier to the day, so I felt incredibly grateful to be able to participate at all. And finish.
Right now, I think I will take Marathon Weekend 2025 off. I enjoy the event immensely, but with
Disneyland races now back and the various ways that Marathon Weekend impacts my Disney World visits (a lot less park time) and my professional life, a bit of a break feels good right now. I still enjoy the distance, as challenging as it is, so I think I'll return to Marathon Weekend, but after running the last 5 in person Marathon weekends, I feel like it's time for a break.
In the same vein, I do not think I ever want to do back to back race weekends again. It wasn't so much the running, although I was certainly ready to be done with the early morning wakeups as it is how the back to back weekends impacted my time in Disneyland. Fortunately, I visit Disneyland multiple times a year so this really only effected this one visit, but there's still a lot I love to in Disneyland that I couldn't/didn't do this visit. And that's on top of how races impact Disney World visits as well.
I'm still reflecting on the entire experience. Part of me still can't quite believe I did it. It's unlike anything I've ever done before in running.