Hi Elizabeth!
Thank you for bringing your question to the Disney Parks Moms Panel!
This is a great question and one that I frequently get asked. I wrote a couple of blog posts about it for the runDisney Blog, basically giving pros and cons for visiting before and after race events. You can find them here:
*Vacation before a runDisney race blog *Vacation after a runDisney race blog If it can be worked out with my schedule, I would always choose to vacation after a race. I enjoy being at the parks a lot and trying different foods...that doesn't always work well with a long-distance race coming up!
Personally, after a marathon, I enjoy taking a long nap, lounging by the pool and then going out for a nice celebratory dinner. I know many runners who can take a shower and head out to the parks. I think it all depends on how much you've trained and how ready your body is to run that far and still function later! I enjoy hitting the parks after a half marathon, but the full marathon distance usually makes me want to nap, or at least lay by the pool.
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions.