2021 EVENT WILL BE VIRTUAL ONLY. *** Choose your side for the Star Wars Rival Run Weekend presented by OtterBox at Walt Disney World® Resort. It’s an epic race event featuring some of your favorite Star Wars rivalries from across the saga, with distances geared for all skill levels. You …
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2021 EVENT WILL BE VIRTUAL ONLY.
***
Choose your side for the Star Wars Rival Run Weekend presented by OtterBox at Walt Disney World® Resort. It’s an epic race event featuring some of your favorite Star Wars rivalries from across the saga, with distances geared for all skill levels. You won’t want to miss your chance to be a part of this unique Star Wars adventure where you’ll encounter characters from a galaxy far, far away along the course as you journey to the finish line to earn one-of-a-kind medals! Which side of the Force will you run for?
Take off at light speed on a 13.1-mile run!
Get ready for a Star Wars journey like no other. Whether you run for the light or run for the dark, you’ll feel the Force on this incredible course through Walt Disney World® Resort. You’ll meet some of your favorite Star Wars characters on course as you race to the epic finish to earn the coveted Star Wars Rival Run Half Marathon Medal.
Thrill to a 6.2-mile run through the galaxy!
There’s no escaping the fun and excitement of the Star Wars Rival Run 10K. This 6.2-mile course through the Walt Disney World® Resort includes thrilling sights, amazing surprises, Disney entertainment and plenty of Star Wars excitement. Take home a one-of-a-kind Star Wars Rival Run 10K Finisher Medal! It’s a breathtaking run and a perfect course for runners of all levels.
Test the power of the Force in the ultimate challenge!
Put the Force to work for you in this amazing test of strength and endurance that combines the Star Wars Rival Run 10K on Saturday with the Star Wars Rival Run Half Marathon on Sunday. Runners who finish both races are awarded the Star Wars Rival Run Challenge Finisher Medal in addition to the Half Marathon and 10K Finisher Medals. You must register for the Star Wars Rival Run Challenge in order to receive the Star Wars Rival Run Challenge Medal upon completion of the 10K and Half Marathon within the pacing requirements. Registering for the 10K and Half Marathon individually will not make you eligible to receive the Star Wars Rival Run Challenge Finisher Medal.
Family fun on a galactic run!
Bring the whole family for a fantastic Star Wars Rival Run 5K adventure through the Walt Disney World® Resort. You’ll encounter some of your favorite Star Wars characters along this 3.1-mile run chock full of spectacular sights, lots of surprises, Disney entertainment and plenty of Star Wars fun.
Every child rules the galaxy in the runDisney Kids Races!
It’s great fun for runners 13 years and younger at the runDisney Kids Races during Star Wars Rival Run Weekend. Encourage the young runners in your family to join the fun and sign up for any of the Kids Dashes or the One Mile Run. There’s even a Diaper Dash for the littlest participants. Every child who participates goes home with their own finisher medallion. Parents are allowed to run with their child. Any parents that participate with their child must sign a separate event waiver. Space is limited.
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Lots of fun, but crowded
With Disney, you get outstanding organization, good swag, lots of entertainment, great shuttles. You do pay for it. Only complaint is that the course gets way too crowded at many … MORE
With Disney, you get outstanding organization, good swag, lots of entertainment, great shuttles. You do pay for it.
Only complaint is that the course gets way too crowded at many points, with walkers or walk/joggers taking up the entire lane at a multitude of points, including the finish corral. Hint, people – if I’m passing you on the right, you may well be too far over on the left. Even as a walk/jogger, I don’t start walking until I’ve moved to the right.
Filled with Star Wars Theme
If you can’t get your fill of Star Wars in this race, you’re not trying. That being said, I see more opportunity for more Star Wars characters on the course. … MORE
If you can’t get your fill of Star Wars in this race, you’re not trying. That being said, I see more opportunity for more Star Wars characters on the course.
Like all Disney World races, the course winds through the Disney parks. Having run at Marathon Weekend, it was a nice change of pace to start at the Magic Kingdom parking lot and run through three other parks (Animal Kingdom, Disney Studios, and Epcot) in a Half Marathon course. There were the inevitable stretches outside of parks and sections where the course narrowed. With roughly 12,000 runners, those sections are the most frustrating.
There were Star Wars characters before the race and along the course. There were also a number of large screens showing Star Wars movie clips and Star Wars music coming from the sides of the course. There were also numerous amateur characters from the 501st organization. I just would like to have seen more “official” Star Wars characters and photo opportunities directly Disney.
Florida can be a challenging location for a race, whether in April like this race or January or February or November. The weather was warm and humid unfortunately which made the miles wear a little. However, Disney races are more about the experience, so there’s lots to see if you’re not trying for a PR. As it was, with stopping for some character photos and the humidity, this was one of my worst times for a Half.
Overall though, I enjoyed the race and hope to do this race again. Star Wars makes for a unique theme and the shirts and medals are fun reminders. The shirts were interesting, but not my favorites. Of the medals, the challenge medals were my favorites. I hope for improvement here as well, especially with some of those that have been awarded at Marathon Weekend lately.
Great Fun!
Disney puts on a great show with fantastic swag! If you’re a Disney fan you’ll love this experience. Getting a PR on the course can be challenging since you run … MORE
Disney puts on a great show with fantastic swag! If you’re a Disney fan you’ll love this experience. Getting a PR on the course can be challenging since you run through some tight areas in the parks. I was able to PR on the 10k and came close on the half, but also have been training hard. I would run Disney again but may opt to just do a comfortable pace and have fun. Lots of opportunities for pics with the characters!
Its Star Wars... Enough Said
I have now ran this race all three years. It is now my only RunDisney race weekend, and I am still currently a legacy runner of the event, doing every … MORE
I have now ran this race all three years. It is now my only RunDisney race weekend, and I am still currently a legacy runner of the event, doing every race. It was awesome as always. Great course, great characters on the course, great photos. I did the Kessel Run Challenge and First Order Challenge this year. 10k, half marathon in Florida, virtual half marathon for Disneyland since they canceled the race there.
Running in a Galaxy Far Far Away
This was my second Disney Run Weekend and they are well worth the trip. As obvious by the event name, this weekend was Star Wars themed. Four events, Half Marathon, … MORE
This was my second Disney Run Weekend and they are well worth the trip.
As obvious by the event name, this weekend was Star Wars themed. Four events, Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, and kids races. There was also a challenge to run the 10K on Saturday and the Half on Sunday. If they tell me “challenge” I am all in!
All Disney events start with an expo which is pretty good. You have to visit to pickup your bibs and race shirts. You get a race shirt for each event you ran.The 5K was a cotton shirt. The 10K, Half, and challenge shirt was a tech shirt.
This year Disney also offered a virtual Half Marathon that you would complete prior to the weekend to qualify for an additional challenge medal. So if you completed the virtual run and are running the half on Sunday, you pickup your virtual run medal at the expo.
The expo has the standard running vendors on site that are at most events but also has Run Disney where you can purchase event shirts as well as other Run Disney merchandise.
With all Disney runs they start at 5:30 in the morning. If you stay on Disney property they provide a shuttle bus to the start and from the finish as well as to and from the Expo. The bus to the starting line has an early show time. For the half you had to be on the bus by 3:30 AM, the other two runs were 4:00 AM. So sleep may elude you at a Disney event. I ran all three events so that was three days of getting up at 3:00 AM to run then spending the day at parks. I ran the Dopey two years ago, so I knew what I was getting myself into this time.
The starting area is well organized with a DJ playing music and and also at times there are hosts making announcements, trivia questions, “jokes”, interviewing runners, and just keeping the crowed entertained for the one to two hours you are waiting for the start. There were also several Star Wars characters available for photos. Everyone has to pass through security. If you have a bag or anything that appears to be a bag no matter the size you have to go through bag check to have it inspected. There is a gear check station to leave your stuff. There was also a food truck and a place where you could purchase some food/drinks (didnt visit so I dont know what was offered). There are lots of port-o-johns and some water available. I noticed someone filling there camel back from the water at the site, that was smart. the water out of the faucets has a funny taste or at least I thought it did. Teh water they handed out was bottled. They do use the corral start system and they also split the corrals into mini corrals so for the half there were 8 corrals but they had 20 starts. Each start began with fireworks.
The course is a combination of the roads outside the parks and also one or more of the parks. The 5K started in the Epcot parking lot then ran thru part of Epcot to then finish in the parking lot. The 10K started in the Magic Kingdom parking lot, run up the road to Hollywood Studios, ran thru part of the park, then to Disney Boardwalk, into Epcot and then finish in the parking lot of Epcot.
The Half started in the Magic Kingdom parking lot, ran to Animal Kingdom, thru that par, then to Hollywood Studios, thru the Boardwalk, thru Epcot and finish in the parking lot.
All courses are FLAT. The only thing that might qualify as an incline is when you have to circle around to go on the overpass over the highway. Lots of turns in the half course but it is an easy course and i am sure if you didnt stop for photos you would have a good result. I stopped about 20 times for photos and only added about 8 minutes above my PR. But I was in corral A so the lines for photos were only no to five runners deep so I never had to wait long. I did the 5K with my wife (started in corral D) and we walked most of it. We stopped for a picture with Chewbacca and it took about ten minutes to wait in line. On Half day, there was no one in line when i passed the same photo stop, but i started in Corral A that day. So the later corrals the lines for photos are longer. If you are running multiple events you can probably be choosy the first day and if the lines are long, catch them on the next day or Sunday since many were like me and if i passed one were i had already had a photo, i just kept running.
They also had star wars characters at various places on the course, large monitors showing star wars movies, speakers all over the course playing star wars music, and some props to stop for photos. The half also had about a quarter mile stretch where they had battle sounds playing, laser lights and strobes flashing, and flames making feel like a battle in Star Wars. At most character stops, Disney had photographers stationed to take pictures. They are also very willing to take them on your cell phone. I had purchased the photo pass prior to my visit ($30 savings) . You just link your bib to your photo pass and they photos will be available for you to download. Most of them were available that day but even today (2 days after) new photos are showing up. The photo pass will also give you photos in the park.
The finish line area, you finish, get your medal, cool towel, they have an aid station, pick up a snack box, banana, and then stop for a finisher photo. They also have characters available to take additional photos.
Disney runs are great fun events. Most don’t run them for a PR. I stopped for most every photo stop. The miles fly by even if you run at a casual pace due to to all of the photo stops and on course entertainment. Awesome volunteers, lots of water on all courses and powerade was on the half as were sport beans.
Swag – Great shirts, high quality themed medals, snack box, powerade, and a banana.
This was my second Run Disney event and I am already planning my next.
Highly recommended events. I am sure I forgot something but the if you are going and dont live locally, I recommend staying on Disney property so you can use the bus transportation to the races, expo, and parks. We flew in and used lyft and it was only $30 each way, big savings over renting a car.
Don't miss it if you are a star wars fan
The racing courses are around and in part of Disney world parks which offer you a special experience. You will get very well designed and high quality medals. MORE
The racing courses are around and in part of Disney world parks which offer you a special experience. You will get very well designed and high quality medals.
A Blast
Love the Disney races. The course, the photos, the expo... all top notch. Just be ready for crowds, long lines for just about everything and some course crowding. MORE
Love the Disney races. The course, the photos, the expo… all top notch. Just be ready for crowds, long lines for just about everything and some course crowding.
Who Says You Can't PR At Disney
This was a part of the Dark Side Challenge. I am a Star Wars Junkie, so this is now my annual RunDisney weekend. I set out on the race to … MORE
This was a part of the Dark Side Challenge. I am a Star Wars Junkie, so this is now my annual RunDisney weekend. I set out on the race to just run as hard as I could to try for a new PR since I had not done a 10K in 4 years. Mission Accomplished.
Dark Side Challenge
I am a Star Wars geek, so this has now become my annual RunDisney event. I did the Challenge this year. Set a PR on the new 10K course. Took … MORE
I am a Star Wars geek, so this has now become my annual RunDisney event. I did the Challenge this year. Set a PR on the new 10K course. Took my time and took pictures on the half marathon course. Loved the new route. Lots of support & entertainment.
Dark Side Challenge
Usual Disney race. For 2017 there were about 14,000 runner who participated in the 10K alone. Be prepared to get to the race early. Don't wait until the last minute. MORE
Usual Disney race. For 2017 there were about 14,000 runner who participated in the 10K alone. Be prepared to get to the race early. Don’t wait until the last minute.
Coast to coast
The expo for these events are awesome. Lots of cool stuff to browse and awesome guest speakers. The race it self is a blast. Tons of crowd support once you … MORE
The expo for these events are awesome. Lots of cool stuff to browse and awesome guest speakers. The race it self is a blast. Tons of crowd support once you leave the park. Can you say BLING.
Disney Races - Yay
Inaugural Star Wars. Great medals, great shirts and overall a great weekend. I'll most def run this again. Didn't love the long run into Animal Kingdom and the highway running … MORE
Inaugural Star Wars. Great medals, great shirts and overall a great weekend. I’ll most def run this again. Didn’t love the long run into Animal Kingdom and the highway running but overall good.
Loved This Race! Pricey, though.
runDisney did well with this race. There was plenty of room and water. Some of the elite may complain about the bottle-necking, but mid and back pack didn't see those … MORE
runDisney did well with this race. There was plenty of room and water. Some of the elite may complain about the bottle-necking, but mid and back pack didn’t see those issues. The course was fun and flat. There wasn’t any traffic to dodge, and the on-course entertainment (Start Wars characters) was fun.
Of the rD races I’ve done, this one is my favorite, and I’ll do it again.
After-race food was typical, terrible runDisney snack boxes. Give me back my coconut puffs.
Pre-race food/coffee was non-existent, and I really think rD could make this happen. People would be much happier running on real food. Transportation from Disney resorts was perfect.
This is my favorite medal, and I love the tech shirt. I think that some of the commemorative items should be part of our swag. Just give us the medal pins, magnets, and/or tumblers.
The cost is too high for what you get, but it’s Disney. You know you’re getting less than you deserve for your high entry fees. I get better swag from cheaper races.
10K best part
I am a big Star Wars geek. I was excited to run a Star Wars-themed race in Florida as I had done the Disneyland Star Wars race the year before. … MORE
I am a big Star Wars geek. I was excited to run a Star Wars-themed race in Florida as I had done the Disneyland Star Wars race the year before. I have to say I always find RunDisney California races are better than the Florida ones- I find there is more park time, less congested roads, and less crowding. This race was still fun and great, and the 10K was better than the half marathon. The half marathon unfortunately had long boring stretches and no real Disney character presence outside of the parks. Still it is always fun to run on Disney property. The shirts and medals were great- the course just needs improvement.
runDisney
Disney races are always super fun! Lots of photo stops along the course and great medal waiting at the end. I did all three races for the Dark Side weekend … MORE
Disney races are always super fun! Lots of photo stops along the course and great medal waiting at the end. I did all three races for the Dark Side weekend and earned a coast to coast for running the Light Side at Disneyland in Ca.
runDisney
Disney races are always super fun! Lots of photo stops along the course and great medal waiting at the end. I did all three races for the Dark Side weekend … MORE
Disney races are always super fun! Lots of photo stops along the course and great medal waiting at the end. I did all three races for the Dark Side weekend and earned a coast to coast for running the Light Side at Disneyland in Ca.
runDisney
Disney races are always super fun! Lots of photo stops along the course and great medal waiting at the end. I did all three races for the Dark Side weekend … MORE
Disney races are always super fun! Lots of photo stops along the course and great medal waiting at the end. I did all three races for the Dark Side weekend and earned a coast to coast for running the Light Side at Disneyland in Ca.
Disney fun + a lot of medal bling!
I'll readily admit that I'm a big runDisney fan! I know it will be an expensive weekend, but I always have fun. I got "sucked into" doing the Dark Side … MORE
I’ll readily admit that I’m a big runDisney fan! I know it will be an expensive weekend, but I always have fun.
I got “sucked into” doing the Dark Side Challenge in Walt Disney World in April after completing the Light Side Challenge in Disneyland in January. After completing two races at each event (the 10k and the half marathon), I received a total of 8 medals! One each for the 10k and half marathon races plus one each for completing the Light Side and Dark Side Challenges, one for completing both Light Side and Dark Side, and one for completing Disneyland and Walt Disney World races in the same calendar year. Disney knows how to entice the medal whores!
Disney World races are REALLY early – 5am start – and you need to start your journey to the start line no later than 3:30am, so that’s tough.
This course did not go through the Magic Kingdom, which was disappointing to me. But for the half marathon, you do go through the other 3 parks.
There were definitely course issues – too narrow for the number of runners plus bottlenecks with walkers. I run/walk/run, but stay to the right. There were definitely large groups of walkers that blocked the way for some runners.
There were opportunities to take photos with characters – but waits were 20 minutes+. Disney is hardly a race to do for time, but if you start in a later corral, you need to be aware of the course time limits.
It was quite hot and humid on both days. That was one good thing about the early start – getting some of the run in pre-sun rise.
I ran the 10k with Mom – which was a great experience. She wore a Princess Leia costume and I was Kylo Ren. For the half marathon, I was a Jedi.
Great weekend and great fun!
Great Family Adventure - Fun for All
Disclaimer: I am a Star Wars fanatic, a Nerd I signed up for the challenge for several reasons: 1. I'm a total nerd and I wanted my Kessel and C2C … MORE
Disclaimer: I am a Star Wars fanatic, a Nerd
I signed up for the challenge for several reasons:
1. I’m a total nerd and I wanted my Kessel and C2C medals.
2. My nerdy son in SC and family wanted to run their first Disney race together.
3. My granddaughters would be doing their first Kids race, and I cannot get enough of being around them.
This is so hard not to compare to the Light Side in CA, but I will do my best! Negatives: The Expo is really difficult, as far as picking up bibs and merchandise. If you have family that is doing different race distances, you have to go back and forth, out and then back, into long lines to get your bibs. For myself, I had one bib for the challenge, but my granddaughter was doing the 5k and Kids Dash, and my DIL was doing the 5k and 10k. Well, the 10k bib pickup was in a totally different area and they made us leave the Expo (yes, you read that correctly) then stand in another long line in the heat to get her other bib. Race merchandise area was a madhouse. People were pushing and shoving and reaching over to get items. Kind of crazy. One last thing, if you are planning on getting back to your hotel after the race, the line for the shuttles was VERY long. I also had little to no cell reception outside of the park (Verizon), so getting a call made to friends/family or Uber was tough. I’d say that was all the negative stuff that I experienced.
Positives: Loved the courses! I ran the 10k with my son, and it was awesome. It got a bit backed up at points with people walking, but I really enjoyed being with him out there. Being able to stay in the parks was so cool. We had a lot of photo stops, and Disney allowed the Cosplayer groups access for photo ops. They did not have a lot of characters during the race. It only took us about 20 minutes to get a photo with Chewy. AFTER the race though, they had a lot of characters available for photo ops. It was fun.
– HM course was awesome. Or, at least I thought so. I read a lot of complaints about it, but I loved it. I ran alone, and enjoyed the areas that opened up around Animal Kingdom. I basically ran from photo op to photo op, or mile marker to mile marker and tried to have as much fun as possible with being out there alone. I really enjoyed it. They had a lot more available for photo props on the HM course than the 10k.
– Kids’ races – OhEmGee, so much fun to watch! It was well organized, and I enjoyed watching all of them out there. What a great way to introduce kids to running!
The bling is off the hook! Kessel medal, C2C medal and the Challenge…I could go on and on about it and the shirts too. Well, I did say I was a nerd at the beginning.
One final thing. Uber can be your friend if you are travelling Coast to Coast. I used it, and it worked perfectly for me to get to the race start and back to the hotel.
It's Star Wars The Dark Side...
This was the inaugural race. I have done inaugurals at Disney before and been disappointed. This one did not disappoint. Excellent race, early start 5am, lots of characters, ran as … MORE
This was the inaugural race. I have done inaugurals at Disney before and been disappointed. This one did not disappoint. Excellent race, early start 5am, lots of characters, ran as a fun half and took pictures. Easy race.