Hi there, Allison! Welcome to planDisney.
The
runDisney Walt Disney World Marathon is on my bucket list! I'm so excited for you...and just a teeny bit jealous. How awesome that you are planning to sign up for the 2022 marathon - I've heard that every mile is magic!
Yes, I do recommend
making a reservation at a Disney Resorts Collection hotel before marathon registration if at all possible. Booking early gives you the best availability, and if you know you want to stay on property (and I highly recommend you do!), there's no harm in making your reservation well in advance. Before getting sidelined for an injury in 2019, I was registered for the marathon, and my husband and I were all set to stay at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. I picked this hotel intentionally because it has a gorgeous pool, good-sized hot tub, plus poolside nachos and margaritas. I know what's important to me!
Value resorts at the Walt Disney World Resort do not have gyms, Allison. However, Disney's Art of Animation Resort and Disney's Pop Century Resort share a very nice running trail around Hourglass Lake. There's also a jogging trail connecting all three of Disney's All-Star Resorts.
You can see a full list of Jogging and Running Trails at the Disney Resort hotels on this helpful website. In January, you'll find nice cool morning temperatures and gorgeous cotton candy sunrises if you want to wake up your legs first thing.
If it's important to you that your resort hotel has a fitness center,
this list of Spas & Health Clubs might be helpful in your planning. As part of the phased reopening of the Walt Disney World Resort,
spa services are currently unavailable, but the fitness centers are operational in most resort hotels. This is subject to change as the reopening progresses, and hopefully, spa services will be back by January! (A post-race massage sounds like some top-notch pixie dust!)
Allison, I'm crossing my fingers and sending pixie-dusted wishes that your runDisney registration process is smooth and easy! I hope your training is amazing, that you feel strong and stay healthy, and that you have so much fun out on the marathon course. As you run your miles and dream about the big day, we're chEARing for you here at planDisney, and we're happy to coach you through every step of planning your run-cation.
Wishing you 26.2 miles of magic,
Robyn