With the addition of new races, new challenges, anniversary races, and new courses, this was a year of ups and downs for runDisney. We sadly said goodbye to the last remaining night runDisney race as Wine & Dine transitioned to a morning half marathon and we all now know how to spell "inaugural". It was also a year in which runDisney expanded its reach both virtually as well as internationally with the addition of the Virtual Running Shorts series of races and the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Weekend.
Tinker Bell Half Marathon Winner Sets Course Record
Download: https://urlgoal.com/2vI48T
Saturday's WDW Half Marathon was a cool and foggy 13.1 miles from Epcot to the Magic Kingdom and back. WDW 10K men's winner Joao Marcello Avelar made it two for two as he again won the men's division in 1:10:17. Megan Curham of Warren, New Jersey won the women's division in 1:14:29. Over 21,000 finisher's completed the course making the WDW Half Marathon the largest runDisney half marathon in 2016.
Sunday morning over 20,000 race participants finished the 13.1-mile course including the roughly 250 or so "Perfect Princesses" who have completed every Princess Half Marathon. With perfect (cool and low humidity) weather, conditions were ideal for personal records and memorable first half marathons. Shannon Crawford, New Rochelle, New York was the first princess across the finish line in 1:24:49.
The Disneyland Paris Half Marathon, which started at 7:00 a.m. instead of the usual oh-dark-ugly of the U.S. races, was also segmented into three corrals which then broke down into multiple start waves in each corral. The first section of the race ran through Walt Disney Studios and Disneyland Paris where almost ten character stops were crammed in the first few miles. The next few miles took runners through the local countryside before ending at the Disney Village. Over 8500 race participants registered for the inaugural race with 2300 hoping to collect the Castle to Chateau medal. Nicholas Dalmasso won the inaugural Disneyland Paris half marathon in a time of 1:13:51. Marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe won the women's race in 1:24:05.
Sunday brought an extra hour of sleep as Daylight Savings set the clocks back early that morning. Given all the construction in Disney Hollywood Studios, the new Wine & Dine Half Marathon course avoided the park completely, as fewer than four of the 13.1 half marathon miles were spent in Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot. While expected, the lack of park time needs to be addressed before 2017, as the race lacked much of the runDisney charm we expect (and pay for). Over 12,000 race participants completed the half marathon course with an estimated 173 returning "Perfect Spatulas" who have completed every Wine & Dine Half Marathon. Jason Simpson from Boulder, Colorado finished first overall in 1:10:24, with Giovanna Martins from Brazil coming in at 1:20:20 on the women's side.
Just over 7,700 race participants earned their 2016 Super Heroes Half Marathon finishers medal. Nicholas Arciniaga from Flagstaff, Arizona completed the race in a new course record of 1:09:28, taking nearly two minutes off the previous finish and coming in over five minutes faster than the second place finisher. This was his fourth runDisney half marathon victory at the Disneyland Resort. Lindsey Carter from nearby Huntington Beach was the first woman across the finish line, in 1:25:01.
Construction will continue at Disney Hollywood Studios, which will continue to play havoc with the WDW Marathon and Star Wars and Wine & Dine half marathon courses. Hopefully runDisney will be able to do something with to improve the race participant experience without resorting to the old standby course currently used by the WDW & Princess Half Marathons.
On April 18, 2011, Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya ran the fastest marathon ever in a time of 2 hours 3 minutes 2 seconds at the 2011 Boston Marathon, but the mark will not be recognized as a world record since the Boston course fails the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) criteria for world record eligibility (due to the elevation drop and point to point measurements).
I started running races locally in 2011, but I ran track in high school. I have completed 18 half marathons, four being the News and Sentinel Half Marathon. I set my personal record of 1:56:06 in Anaheim, California in the Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland.
The first of these thousands of runners to complete the 13.1 mile course was Jimmy Grabow of Running Springs, CA, who set a new record for the race with his time of 1:05:29. The first woman to finish was Cindy Lynch of Cardif, CA, who finished with a time of 1:24:45. Right behind her was Tinker Bell Half Marathon winner Kellie Nickerson, finishing in 1:26:29.
Tammy had some great insights when I asked her what sets Run Disney half marathon events so popular that lead to sold out races of over 20,000 runners. She attributes the success of Run Disney events to the fact that people feel safe running at Disney, not just physically, but emotionally as well.
Half marathons are my favorite races!! My new favorite half marathon was the Runners World Half Marathon this fall. It had a great vibe, lots of course support, beautiful fall foliage, and challenging hills to keep the boredom away!
My favorite race is the half marathon. I have come to make Fort Wayne Indiana my hometown. Each year I look forward to their fall 1/2 marathon. It has become a race where the community comes together to support health and fitness. It starts and finishes in the baseball stadium where lots of people come out to cheer. The radio station plays music and announces every ones names as they cross the finish line. There is such a great show of support on the course and off. I am proud to be a part of this community.
I love a half marathon. The training is challenging, but doable and the race itself is exhilirating! I did one in Vancouver, BC this past summer and the course was along the ocean for about 15km and it was soooo beautiful. That may become an annual event.
My favorite race distance is half marathon. The amount of time it takes to train is perfect and I can still deal with the rest of my life. My favorite race was a trail run I did last Thanksgiving weekend. It was a very challenging course and weather conditions. I felt very accomplished crossing that finish line.
This race's take-charge name alone makes it a winner. We also love the 10-mile distance, eliminating that final 5K of a half-marathon when the wheels too often fall off our proverbial bus. There's also a 5K option and a 1-mile girls' race. The loop course mostly hugs the banks of the mighty Mississippi as it moves from Minneapolis over to St. Paul and back again.
Race weekend opportunities like 10K-plus-half-marathon challenges (which are more expensive, as you're registering for two races), kid races and dashes, and even a 5K if you're up for a quick three-mile jaunt. Courses vary per event, but the half-marathons go through Disneyland's and Disney California Adventure, making for an exciting and nostalgic course.
One year ago I ran my very first runDisney race and little did I know that this 5K race would be the beginning of a path that would lead me to the West Coast and back, running not one but two half marathons within six weeks' time. Not that I had been idle in between. After the 5K I had decided that while visiting my son in Los Angeles in August that I would try out a 10K race, and eventually I cranked it up a notch, running the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler held in October back in Orlando. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was back in Los Angeles running the Tinkerbell Half Marathon this past January. 2ff7e9595c
Comments