Disneyland Paris Run Disney 2018 medals - first thoughts

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Hey guys!

Well, I didn't expect to be writing this today! It's currently Thursday June 28th and Disneyland Paris have just released the first images of this year's run Disney medals. For those of you who aren't in the know about these things, run Disney is a series of race weekends held across the different Disney parks, they encourage participants of all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities to get involved and get moving, the reward? Incredible Disney medals and character meets along the route to keep you going.

Now if you follow this blog, you'll probably know that I am a huge advocate for run Disney! I love everything the event promotes, I am proud to say that I have participated in and completed every eligible race since the event came to Paris in 2016 (believe me, I'd run the kids race too if they let me) and I'm signed up for all 3 races again this year.

So if you're not up to date, here are the main things you need to know so far. The magical run weekend takes place in Disneyland Paris from September 20th to September 24th inclusive. The weekend includes an Expo which runs in one of the event tents in the Disney village, this is where runners can collect their bibs and t-shirts etc, this is also where run Disney specific merchandise is sold, and the venue is also used to host a number of talks and demos over the weekend starting from Thursday afternoon.

The first race of the weekend is the 5Km which is held on Friday evening at 8pm, this race is entirely in the Studios park and anyone who is aged 5 or older on the day of the race can enter. This year the theme for the 5 KM is Marvel and the medal features Thanos and the infinity stones, this is the 2nd year that the 5 KM medals have been metal, having previously been rubber. I do like this design, I think it was the best choice for the chosen theme, however, my favourite 5 KM medal so far is the Ratatouille one from 2016.



The next race is the 10 KM, this is held on Saturday morning at 7 am, the race takes place across both the Studios and Disneyland Park and is open to runners 14 or older on race day. This is only the second year a 10 KM race has been held and the theme this time is evil sidekicks. I'm actually really really excited for this theme and cannot wait to see which characters are out, the medal features Pain and Panic from Hercules and personally, this is one of my favourite medals out of the lot. I'm really really hoping this is an indication they are going to be out on the course and if they are you can bet I'll be stopping for them! Last years medal was the 3 fairies from sleeping beauty, and right now, I couldn't choose a favourite between the two.



The kid's races are next, these are also held on Saturday, but start a fair bit later at 11am, and are held around Lake Disney. I really love the kids races, they are open to children aged 1-12 on race day, with different distances for each age group, I think it's super cute to see all the little ones in their costumes and I love that Disney is promoting fitness and a healthy lifestyle in kids of such a young age. The medals for the children's races are now the only run Disney medals to still be rubber, and they come in some of the most colourful and fun designs, truth be told I'm slightly jealous of this years and wish I could get one for myself. The medal is the same across all distances, and this is especially nice if you have more than 1 child and your children are running in different age categories, no arguments if they're all the same! This year's design features our favourite blue troublemaker, Stitch!



The final race is the half marathon, which is held on Sunday at 7 am, the route covers both parks as well as some of Val d'Europe and is open to runners aged 18 or over on the day of the race. This year the theme is villains, again a theme I am excited for as I know there are plenty of villains who don't appear over the Halloween season that could well come out to spook runners! The half marathon medal is slightly different in that the main mould stays the same each year, usually having a slight facelift or colour change, this means it does not represent the theme of the race. I know for some this will be a real disappointment, especially if villains are your thing, but actually, I really love the mould, I also have a real soft spot for Mickey's Sorcerer's Apprentice outfit, so this medal gets joint-favourite for me!



Now I'm probably going to confuse matters here because there are still three more medals to show you. You see although there are only 4 different race categories over the weekend, there are actually up to 7 different medals to collect, the other three all represent various challenges. Challenges require participants to take part in a series of pre-defined races in order to bag themselves some extra bling on top of increased bragging rights. Two of these are specific to the Paris events, the 31 and 36 KM challenges are awarded to anyone who completes either the 10 km and half marathon, or the 5 KM, 10 KM and Half marathon respectively. The final challenge is the Castle to Chateau which requires runners to complete a half marathon both in Paris and in Florida (there are currently no races scheduled in California at this time) in the same calendar year.

The Castle to Chateau medal is similar to the half marathon one, in that the design doesn't change much year on year, regardless I personally think owning one is such a huge achievement that I would be honoured to collect one each year even with an unchanged design. The 31 KM challenge is new for this year and the medal features a portrait of Maleficent in her human form, she is probably up there as one of my favourite villains, and I guess with Paris' castle being from Sleeping Beauty it does make sense that she would feature, but personally I was hoping for a more obscure villain in the hope that this would indicate who would be on the course. The 36 KM medal is also Maleficent but this time in her dragon form, I think I prefer this one, but at this point, it's a little bit too much Maleficent for me and I would happily have traded one for another villain to be represented.



So that's a rundown of the 2018 medals for the Magical Run weekend at Disneyland Paris, what do you think and which is your favourite? Drop me a comment below! If you'd like to know more about the events you can check out the Magical Run website, or you can find all my previous run Disney posts in one handy link. Maybe I'll see you at the start line?

Finally, thank you to @Ed92 on twitter for allowing me to use their close up images of the medals! 

Hoodsie xx

1 comment:

  1. […] So by the time this post goes up July will be almost over, and before we know it Run Disney will be upon us in Paris! Run Disney events are a great way to get active, while meeting some pretty awesome Disney characters along the way, and that’s without even discussing those medals! […]

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