Ep 87: Friendship, Character Stops, & My Favorite 10-Miler Yet - runDisney Springtime Surprise 2026 Recap, with Coach Michelle Quirk of Mindful Marathon

About this episode

Michelle Quirk recaps her experiences at runDisney's Springtime Surprise Weekend 2026, discussing race strategies and the importance of enjoyment in running.

On this week’s episode of the Mindful Marathon Podcast, I’m recapping my weekend at runDisney’s Springtime Surprise Weekend 2026. In this episode, I share my best takeaways from the weekend including why an adults-only run-cation with running friends can feel so restorative, why we chose to skip the parks entirely this trip, how I approached race strategy differently for the 10k vs the 10-Miler, the mindset shift that finally allowed me to stop for character photos during a Disney race for the first time ever in ten years of running Disney, and why letting go of pace and productivity actually made the experience more meaningful and fun. Plus, we look ahead to runDisney's Wine & Dine Weekend this October. We discuss the upcoming Proof of Time deadline, why proof of time matters for corrals and race strategy, and upcoming Wine & Dine specific, Mindful Marathon training plans that are coming soon. Links to older episodes mentioned in this episode: Episode 41: Running After Organ Donation - A Story of Courage & Comeback with Aly Giampapa Episode 78: Planning Ahead for runDisney's Wine & Dine Race Weekend - A Quick Proof of Time Guide Whether you’re training for your…

People in this episode

Host: Michelle Quirk

Topics covered

• running
• race strategy
• mindset
• friendship
• Disney races
• training plans

Keywords

• runDisney
• Springtime Surprise
• 10-Miler
• race strategy
• character photos
• mindset shift
• Wine & Dine

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: runDisney

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