Seven months ago, we signed up for the runDisney Wine & Dine two-course challenge! Five months ago, we started the training, and now, at last, we have finished the Wine & Dine Two-Course Challenge! 19.3 miles (31.06 km) were ran in two days.
This challenge takes a lot of time and, dedication, and, of course, running! runDisney events are meant to be fun but make no mistake, the challenges should not be taken lightly. Not only do you run 19.3 miles in two days, but you get to wake up at least at 2:30 a.m. EST to do it as well.
The main point of this article will be broken up into the two events and what type of runner can join them. While not everyone can accept the commitment of training for runDisney challenges, there are events for you to join and have fun. runDisney events are entertaining events to the core, and if you are curious about them, go for one of them, but choose wisely!
runDisney Health & Wellness Expo
First, we need to pick up our bib which is at the runDisney Health and Wellness Expo. This is at ESPN Wide World of Sports which is at Walt Disney World. Here you grab your bib and of course all the merchandise and photo opportunities you can imagine for the weekend.
runDisney 10k Wine & Dine Two-Course Challenge
To start the Wine & Dine Two-Course Challenge, you are met with the 10k run. Anyone who asks me about my running journey will often hear me tell the tale of when I was severely overweight and I joined a 5k. Following Jeff Galloway’s run-walk-run training method, I could conquer 5k races easily, and trust me, you can too! The link to the training programs is here. These are the training programs we still use to this day.
As you can see above, 10k at Disney World is just a quick trip through EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. runDisney does ask you to keep a 16-minute-per-mile pace as you do their events, but for the 5k, they are more relaxed than the rest of the events. They don’t even have the dreaded balloon ladies chasing you for the 5k! For those who don’t know, the balloon ladies represent you being swept off the Disney course if you don’t keep pace. If you don’t finish, you do not get your challenge medals, so train to keep pace!
I caution people not to take 10ks lightly, and you must train. Also, starting to form your training habits for a 10k will help you graduate on to your first Half Marathon. If you follow Jeff Galloway’s program as we did, you will beat these 5/10ks relatively quickly, but you must be consistent with training or get hurt. Also, one cool thing to mention about running these races through the parks is you get access to photos with characters! Usually, rare characters come out for runDisney races like the Three Caballeros or, in this case, the two Caballeros!
runDisney 21k Wine & Dine Two-Course Challenge
Day 2 of the Wine & Dine Two-Course Challenge is the half marathon. Half Marathons are where running events get real. Our advice to anyone wanting to do one is to sign up for a 5k/10k event on an actual road course so that you can feel what it is like to run on a course with pacing requirements. 13.1 miles or 21k is a long way, and you can only hurt yourself if you aren’t prepared for the distance that comes with training and habits you have formed from doing 5/10ks. It took me three years of training and dieting to get to a point where I could run half marathons consistently starting in 2014.
As you can see, a half marathon course is quite long. Anyone who has been to Walt Disney World knows how far this map is. If you are comfortable with 10ks, you should consider a half marathon. Finishing one of these gives you a high and a sense of accomplishment. If you want to test out what 13.1 miles feel like, you can always sign up for a virtual event where pacing isn’t enforced, but remember, on road courses, you need to maintain a pace at whatever the event sets. runDisney pacing requirement is 16 minutes per mile, so when training, try to be faster than that by at least a minute.
At the end of all of this, what do you get? Why do you get bling? We love our medals because every time we look at them, we remember all the hard work that goes into getting them. Below are the two sets of medals we received for completing the challenge. Check them out!
Post Race Party
Part of the Wine and Dine Half Marathon weekend also comes with a post-race party. This is a chance for you to celebrate crossing the finish line. If you sign up for the half marathon or the two-course challenge, admission to EPCOT to attend the post-race party is included. On top of that, each runner gets 15 dollars to spend, which is suitable for the entire marketplace for the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival.
During the party you get access to, select EPCOT attractions: Test Track, Soarin’, Journey Into Imagination, Frozen Ever After, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Also there are rare characters out for you to grab a picture with like the The Caballeros pictured above! Also being able to go on Guardians of the Galaxy without dealing with the Virtual Queue is a plus.
Final Thoughts on the Wine & Dine Two-Course Challenge
As you can see, there is a massive commitment to running runDisney races, especially the challenges. I can’t stress enough that you shouldn’t be scared to try this if you like running; however, take the training seriously. Also, for anyone who may be scared off by all of this, keep in mind that you should start with a 5k race. This way, you can find out if it is something you enjoy. Running isn’t everyone’s forte, and that is fine too.
As for us, we will continue to do runDisney events as they are so much fun. We enjoy the Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend event in November and the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend in January. We will continue to do half marathons and occasional marathons as we progress through our personal trainings.
As this article comes to a close, I want to reiterate that if you are interested in running, there is a race out there for you. If running has been on your list of things to try, we hope you found some pointers in this article to help you begin your journey. Please let me know what your thoughts are. Will you be signing up for a runDisney event or any event in the future? Let us know in the comments.
Lots of good information
Thanks for reading!