What to Wear to a runDisney Race: Costumes, Costume Rules, Florida Weather, and Race Day Gear

One of the things that makes runDisney different from just about any other race is the costumes. In the Parks, guests 14 and older typically can’t dress in costume outside of a few special events like the Halloween parties. At the races, you can. runDisney still doesn’t want anyone to be mistaken for a working Cast Member or to start drawing lines for character photos, but otherwise the community pretty much takes that permission and runs with it. (Pun intended.)

Costumes and gear go hand in hand on the course, so below I’ll walk through both: whether you need to dress up at all, the whole range from DisneyBounding to going all out, the costume rules, what Florida weather can throw at you, how gear check works, and what goes on your feet.

Do you have to wear a costume to a runDisney race?

No. If dressing up isn’t your thing, just run in whatever you’d wear to any other race. There are as many people doing that as there are people in costume, so you won’t feel out of place either way.

You might leave your first race a little inspired to have fun with it next time. And if not, consider it some of the best people-watching you’ll ever do.

From DisneyBounding to going all out

If you do want to have a little fun with it, there’s a huge range of what you can do.

DisneyBounding is costuming light. You use colors and shapes that call to mind a character, in what could be your normal running gear. A red top and yellow bottoms for Pooh. A blue dress and white or silver sneakers for Cinderella, maybe with a little black choker. It started with people who wanted to dress up on regular park days, when full costumes aren’t allowed for guests over 13, so they’d get into the spirit by channeling a character this way. It works really well for running because you can wear your regular running gear in the right colors, add a few little details, and be completely comfortable on the course while still being in the spirit.

Going all out is the other end of the spectrum. Within some mostly common sense rules (more on those below), you can go about as big as you want, and people do. There are so many incredibly creative runners in this community. My friend Michael Gabriel (@runthesmallworld) will sometimes run as one character and then head into the Parks later in the day as a dapper version of the same character.

My friends Mike and Mindy Berceli (@berceli_runstheworld and @pixiedustrunner) and their friends have turned runDisney costuming into an art form all its own. Over the years Mike has been an intricate version of the Maleficent float from Festival of Fantasy, been painted in henna as the Tree of Life, and been a human version of “it’s a small world” with some of their friends.

There are even regulars who dress as the same character every race weekend and are basically runDisney famous for it. If you’ve ever seen Jogging Jack Sparrow (@joggingjacksparrow) out there, you know. He’s also one of the fastest people on the course.

For your own ideas, look at the theme of your race, your favorite characters, a group costume if you’re running with friends, or a clever mashup, like the Princess Leia I once saw carrying a frying pan with flowers in her hair.

Where to find runDisney costumes

Pinterest is a great place to browse for ideas, and plenty of people DIY their costumes entirely. There are also a few companies that really cater to the runDisney community.

One of my absolute favorites is Sparkle Athletic, a woman-owned company started by a small group of runner and triathlete friends. They’re best known for their sparkle skirts, which are just a simple piece of sparkly fabric with an elastic waist, so you can wear one comfortably over whatever you’d usually run in. They also make visors, bows, sleeves, wings, face and body glitter that stays put, and really nice leggings with pockets. I’m a leggings girl when I run, and their leggings are some of my favorites because they feel just like regular, comfortable running leggings. I have a mermaid pair and a Minnie polka dot pair, and I’m hoping they bring their themed leggings back.

At Wine & Dine this year they launched bedazzling kits at the Expo, so you can bedazzle your shoes, your bib, or whatever you like. I did my sneakers for the half marathon and my challenge bib, and I got so many compliments, especially on the bib. I’m sure they’ll bring the kits back for Marathon Weekend. You can shop Sparkle on their site, and they’re at the Expo if you want to see things in person or add a little last-minute sparkle before your race.

And in the interest of not gatekeeping, one of my very favorite go-to DisneyBounding pieces is this running dress from Amazon. It has support built in that’s completely sufficient for me, which is a really big deal, and it comes with a pair of shorts underneath that have a pocket for your phone. It’s crazy hard to find running shorts that aren’t long and still have somewhere to put your phone, so I’ve worn those shorts under other costumes too.

I’ve worn this dress in so many colors over the years for so many different costumes. Friends of mine will laugh that I’m sharing it, because they’ve seen it so many times. It was blue for Alice in Wonderland, black for Plumette, the feather duster from Beauty and the Beast, and it also comes in white, so you can dye it when you need a color it doesn’t come in. It takes color really well. I dyed it brown one year for a Chip and Dale costume at the Marathon Weekend 10K. You order a million things on Amazon to find the one that works, and this is the one that works.

If your outfit doesn’t have a pocket, I also use a super inexpensive stretchy belt that holds my phone and anything else I need. There’s nothing magical about the design, and I’ve seen versions of it in a lot of places, but this one was reasonably priced and it’s the one that worked for me. The dress and the belt are both on my Amazon list at thecastlerun.com/gear, along with a lot of other things I found the same way, through plenty of trial and error.

Always test your costume first

Whatever you choose to run in, do a test run in it during training. You want to find out that your skirt rides up, or that your leggings slowly slide down while you run, well before race day. And if the lace on your DIY costume chafes, it’s much better to learn that on a training run than at mile 17 of the marathon.

What are the runDisney costume rules?

runDisney has a handful of rules about what you can wear on the course, and they’re mostly common sense for a big crowd of people running together. Here’s the gist:

• Costumes should be family friendly, and nothing obstructive, offensive, or violent.
• No full costume masks for runners 14 and older.
• If you dress as a character, no posing for photos or signing autographs as though you’re a Cast Member.
• Nothing that drags on the ground, and capes no lower than the waist.
• Nothing sharp, and nothing that looks like a real weapon. So if you’re King Triton, leave the sharp trident at home.
• No layered costumes that don’t follow the natural shape of your body, like ball gowns. Layers that do follow your body are fine, including tutus, skirts over running shorts, and cold-weather gear.
• Nothing that surrounds your whole body, nothing inflatable, and nothing that physically connects you to other runners. So those cute Slinky Dog groups you’ve seen out there? Technically not allowed.
• Tutus, see-through wings, and headwear are fine as long as they don’t cover your face.

The rules can change, so give the current version a quick read on rundisney.com before your race. runDisney typically emails them out ahead of race weekend too. And since guests 14 and older can’t wear costumes in the Parks during regular hours, plan to change before you head in after your race.

Plan for Florida weather

This is Central Florida, so whatever you plan to wear has to allow for the weather. Like they say, if you don’t like the weather here, wait 15 minutes. (And if you do like it, also wait 15 minutes.) It can be cold, hot, or rainy in the dark hours before and during these races, and a cold start can turn hot and humid by late morning, especially on the longer courses. Marathon Weekend in particular can be all over the map, from temperatures near freezing at the start to real heat later in the day.

Cold hits differently here. I know my blood has thinned since I moved down, but the mid-50s with wet air and wind can cut right through you, especially when you’re standing in your corral for a long time before the start. I keep a few basics around at all times: Mylar blankets, hand warmers, and inexpensive gloves. If it looks like it’s going to be really chilly, I’ll grab an inexpensive blanket or warmer layers from Goodwill.

Drop your Mylar before you cross the start line, because it can interfere with the timing chip on your bib. Other layers you can shed before the start or along the course. runDisney collects, launders, and donates what runners leave behind, so it all goes to a good cause.

Rain usually doesn’t sit over us for long, but it passes through a lot. I buy clear ponchos by the dozen. Clear means you can use your phone right through it, and I always get the kind with a drawstring hood so it stays up in the wind. If rain is even a possibility, one goes in my pocket next to my Mylar, and I just drop it before the start if I don’t need it. A poncho will also hold in some body heat, so in a pinch it can stand in for a Mylar on a chilly morning.

Whatever you’re layering, attach your bib to something you plan to keep on, where it will stay visible the whole time. My Amazon list at thecastlerun.com/gear has a lot of these weather basics in one place.

How gear check works at runDisney

Anything you want before or after the race but don’t want to carry while you run goes in gear check. The clear drawstring bag your race shirt comes in at the Expo is your gear check bag. If you lose track of it, don’t panic, because there are bags available on race morning too, but reuse that one if you can.

My trick is to pack everything in a small backpack that fits inside the clear bag, then drop the whole thing in when I’m ready to check it. Those skinny drawstrings cut into your shoulders as the bag gets heavier, especially after the race, so having real straps makes a big difference.

When you’re ready, head to the gear check area. It’s clearly marked, with all of the trucks lined up. Write your bib name and number in the white box on the bag with one of the markers they provide, and hand it to a volunteer at the trucks. They’ll give you a sticker for the back of your bib with your truck and bag number. After the race, you walk right through the same area on your way out, so you can’t miss it. Find your truck, get your bag, and you’re on your way in less than a minute.

What to bring on race morning

Here’s roughly what’s in my bag on a typical race morning.

Before the race: Mylar and a poncho if the weather looks iffy, Hot Hands and warmer layers if it’s really chilly, and a disposable bottle of water with my pre-race fuel to sip on before the start.

During the race:

• Headphones and my running watch
• BibBoards BibSnaps, to attach my bib to my costume (or pricier running gear) without poking holes in it the way safety pins do. I like to set my bib up on my outfit the night before, so it’s one less thing to do on race morning.
• Hair elastics. I like Teleties because they’re gentle on your hair and don’t tangle.
• Travel anti-chafe. I use Squirrel’s Nut Butter, which has four all-natural ingredients and feels like cocoa butter instead of wax. My favorite thing is that it comes in little single-use packets you can carry, so if you feel a hot spot forming on the course, you can deal with it right away. So much nicer than the Vaseline at the medical stations.

After the race:

• My other medals from the weekend, for pictures, if it’s the last race of a challenge
• ID, a credit card, and my keys
• A phone charger
• Extra Mylar, just in case
• Dry clothes for the longer races
• A bag for anything wet I take off
• Body wipes
• The race weekend cup, if they’re selling one at the Expo, since it can get you discounted drinks after the race

Running shoes: get fitted, then break them in

What goes on your feet is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your training. The one thing I’ll say about shoes is to get fitted at a proper running store before you start training, so someone can look at your stride. It’s probably the single easiest thing you can do to stay injury free through the season, and any reputable running store will take the time to work with you.

If you’re looking for a good spot, Fit2Run, who I’m proud to call a partner of The Castle Run, has a store at Disney Springs with a complimentary Fit Experience that starts with a 3D scan of your feet to help runners and walkers find the right fit. My mom actually went the last time she was in town, and she’s thrilled with her new shoes.

Whatever you end up with, break your shoes in during training and replace them on schedule. Nothing new on race day, especially not your shoes. And keep in mind that what you want on your feet for the 48.6 miles of the Dopey Challenge might be different from what you’d want to PR a 5K. Some shoes are built more for comfort, some more for speed, and plenty fall somewhere in between, so buy for the plan you’re actually following.

Socks and blister prevention

And last but not least, there’s what goes under your shoes. This is totally trial and error and very much a personal preference. For years I ran anything over 10 miles in toe socks. They worked beautifully and I never got blisters, but getting my toes into those funny little socks was my least favorite part of race morning, and I dreaded it every time.

In the last year or so I’ve switched almost completely to Wrightsock, a small, family-owned business in North Carolina. Their double-layer socks have an inner layer that stays still against your foot and an outer layer that moves with your shoe and absorbs the friction. It sounds somewhere between witchcraft and too simple to work, but it works beautifully. They even offer a blister-free guarantee (the terms are on their site), and I have yet to get a blister in them at any distance. They just put out a fun new line too, with castles and polka dots.

If you want a little extra backup, Squirrel’s Nut Butter also makes Happy Toes, an anti-blister and skin repair balm with peppermint and tea tree oil that comes in the same travel packets. Put a little on blister-prone spots, like the backs of your heels or between your toes, and it goes a long way. (It also smells so good.)

Sparkle Athletic, BibBoards, Squirrel’s Nut Butter, and Wrightsock are all founding partners of my book. I reached out to them after I finished writing it because I already used and loved what they make. They’re smaller businesses started by really inspiring people and families, and what they make is usually better than what’s mass-produced for big box store shelves.

Your race day gear guide

So that’s costumes and gear in a nutshell: dress up or don’t, but either way, test your gear first, check the rules, plan for whatever weather Florida decides to throw at you, and take care of your feet, because they’ll take care of you.

If you’d like all of this on one page, I made a free printable for it. The Race Day Gear Guide is in my printables library at thecastlerun.com/printables. Sign up below and you’ll get access to the whole library, including this one.

Want to dive deeper?

All of this and more is in Chapter VI of The runDisney Companion, along with my partners’ entries in Appendix C. You can get a copy at thecastlerun.com/book or on Amazon.

I talk through all of this on The Castle Run Podcast, where we’re working through the book one chapter at a time. If you watch the video version of this episode, you’ll see the gear I’m talking about and a lot more costume photos from over the years. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Next week, we’re getting into the logistics of race week: everything from the moment your plane lands in Orlando to the moment your alarm goes off on race morning.

This article shares my own experience for general information. Costume rules and race details can change, so confirm on rundisney.com before you plan. Links to my Amazon list and the Amazon products mentioned here are affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This site, The runDisney Companion, and The Castle Run Podcast are independently written and produced and are not affiliated with or endorsed by runDisney or The Walt Disney Company.