Runners and walkers who enjoy combining travel with race events, live entertainment, enthusiastic spectator support, and scenic courses can register for several Disney races held throughout the year. Hosted by ESPN Wide World of Sports, and part of runDisney (formerly called Disney's Endurance Series), these events include a variety of distances and especially the 5K short distance, the half marathon, and marathon.
An Overview of 2011 Disney Race Events
Disney races feature flat courses and walker-friendly pace requirements, usually 15 minutes per mile for shorter distances and 16 minutes per mile for longer distances. Disney’s event weekends include family fun-run/walk 5K races, which aren’t officially timed, and kids’ events with shorter distances. For some events, Disney also offers post-race celebrations that are open only to participants and their family and friends.
2011 Disney Race Schedule
- Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend: Jan. 6 – 9, 2011 (Jan. 5 – 8, 2012)
- Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend at Disneyland: Jan. 27 – 27, 2012 (new race)
- Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend: Feb. 25 – 27, 2011 (Feb. 24 – 26, 2012)
- ESPN The Weekend Champion 5K: March 5, 2011 (2012 date TBD)
- Expedition Everest Challenge: May 7, 2011 (2012 date TBD)
- Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend: Sept. 2 – 4, 2011
- Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend: Sept. 30 – Oct 1, 2011
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend
The largest of the Disney race weekends, with over 55,000 participants, is Disney’s marathon weekend. Distance events include Saturday's Half Marathon (called the Donald), Sunday’s Full Marathon (called the Mickey) that goes through all four theme parks, and Goofy's Race-and-a-Half Challenge (in which participants complete the half and the full marathon on consecutive days). The weekend includes a 5K and kids' races. New to 2012 is the Chip and Dale two-person relay option for the marathon, with each person completing a half marathon.
Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend
Disneyland Resort and the Anaheim area are the locations for this second Disneyland race. The weekend, like Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend, focuses on women although the races are open to men (who may not compete for prizes). The weekend includes a night-time 5K and kids' races. The inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend will be held in 2012.
Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend
Like the Donald, the Princess Half Marathon course goes through Epcot and the Magic Kingdom, and includes other areas of Walt Disney World Resort. Although marketed to women, the Princess Half Marathon is open to male participants – although they do not compete for prizes. The half marathon also includes a two-person team option (mother/daughter, sister/sister, friends, co-ed teams) in which both participants complete the entire course. The race weekend includes a 5K and kids' races.
ESPN The Weekend Champion 5K
Part of the ESPN The Weekend, an event that allows sports fans to meet athletes and ESPN personalities, this 5K goes through Disney’s Hollywood Studios and ESPN Wide World of Sports areas.
Expedition Everest Challenge
A 5K adventure race, Expedition Everest is a dusk event that takes place insides Disney’s Animal Kingdom, touring its various lands, and past its namesake attraction. The 5K challenge is part obstacle course and part trivia-based scavenger hunt. This timed event is open to individual participants as well as two-person teams.
Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend
The Disneyland Half Marathon is aptly marketed as “The Happiest Race on Earth!” Its course tours the Anaheim area around the Disney resort, with highlights including Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle and Matterhorn attractions and Disney California Adventure theme park. The race weekend includes a 5K and kids' races.
Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend
Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon, which celebrated its inaugural year in 2010, is a night event that takes place in conjunction with the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. It features a new half marathon course, unlike those offered for the Donald and Princess. The Wine and dine begins at ESPN Wide World of Sports, travels through Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios, and finishes at Epcot.
This event also includes a two-person relay option, with the first participant completing 4.8 miles ( ~ 7.72 K), handing off the race to the second person at Animal Kingdom for a run of 8.3 miles ( ~ 13.36 K).
Serious Disney Runners Can Earn the Coast to Coast Race Medal
A special incentive is offered to athletes who complete the Disneyland Half Marathon and any one of the following races during the same calendar year: The Donald Half Marathon, the Princess Half Marathon, or the Mickey Full Marathon. In addition to the finisher’s medals for those races, participants will receive an additional race medal called the “Coast to Coast.”
Registration for a Disney event, whether as a destination race or part of an extended vacation, can be considered the ultimate park-hopper ticket. For runners and walkers who enjoy them, Disney races offer a great way to see the theme parks without standing in line and allow participants to earn unique souvenirs – their race medals – in the process. Athletes can learn more about these events or to register for them online at runDisney.
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Sources:
- runDisney. ESPN Wide World of Sports. Disney. Accessed June 24, 2011.
- Disney Running.com. Accessed June 24, 2011.
Last update: June 24, 2011.
Debra Peterson - A freelance writer and scholar, Debra Peterson specializes in Disney Studies, with particular interests in Walt Disney World and ...
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