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.
Pre Paris Marathon 2016
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The race weekend started off on Thursday with the WDW 5K and a wind chill advisory that provided cool but comfortable running conditions. Friday's WDW 10K, (nicknamed the Drowned Rat 10K) featured marathon champion Paula Radcliffe as well as rainy skies that tested everyone's ability at puddle dodging. The rainy conditions didn't seem to impact the top men's finisher, Joao Marcello Avelar of San Paulo who won the men's division in 32:35 and Sydney Leiher of Beaver Creek, OH who broke the tape in 37:41.
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.
By Sunday, the weather had changed yet again with unseasonably warm temperatures and high humidity making the 26.2 miles of the WDW Marathon even more of a challenge. However, close to 20,000 runners and walkers were able to cross the finish line and collect their marathon medal. Fredison Costa of Piedade, Brazil finished in 2:33:24, winning the Marathon for the fifth time in six years; Natasha Yaremczuk, Montverde, Florida, won the women's division in 2:52:23.
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 fifth annual Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend was held over Mother's Day weekend in May 2016. Although it was expected as an anniversary race to sell out, only the Tinker Bell 10K and Never Land 5K reached capacity; the half marathon (and the newer Pixie Dust Challenge) did not. Part of the slow sell may have been due to the fact unlike previous runDisney anniversary medals which were always very unique and different from previous versions, the fifth anniversary Tinker Bell Half medal was essentially the same medal as the first four years with a bit of white "pixie dust" added for bling.
As part of the fifth anniversary celebration, Legacy Tinker Bells (or Perfect Pixies, as they are also known) were first recognized; over 1,000 race participants received a small compact mirror commemorative gift, and had their name included on a Legacy wall at packet pickup. Unfortunately due to a lack of pre-race communication from runDisney, many Legacy were unaware of the special lanyard given to Legacies upon completion of the half marathon and were missed in the crowds as they finished. Not exactly a great way to celebrate five years of dedication.
Over 13,000 race participants completed the 2016 Tinker Bell Half Marathon cheered on by over 700 Red Hat Ladies. Jen Serna (Fullerton, California) took top honors with a finish of 1:25:49 followed by Kellie Nickerson, who finished second in 1:29:41.
Between the dog days of summer (the long months between Tinker Bell and Disneyland half marathon weekends), runDisney decided to move into the popular virtual running space with the inaugural Virtual Running Shorts races. Open world-wide, runners and walkers could sign up for one to three virtual 5K races that were to be completed anytime from June through August 2016. The question was, what would be the demand for virtual races and would anyone sign up without seeing the medals first?
The 11th annual Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend was held over Labor Day weekend and as always, the weather was hot, the races were fun, and the medals were awesome. In a first for runDisney, the weekend race themes (Disney duos) were revealed prior to registration opening. Even with the question of Country Bears, who have been out of Disneyland for over ten years, being appropriate for the 5K, there was still enough excitement to sell out all events within one-and-a-half-hours except for the half marathon during early AP/DVC. While open registration didn't quite translate similar results with both the half and challenge not selling out prior to race weekend, the remaining events were gone within days.
One of the most debated changes implemented during registration was the change in proof-of-time requirements to 2:45 or better estimated half marathon time. Proof-of-time is used to determine corral placement and with the change from 3:15 to 2:45, it meant that those with slower times that previously could have placed them towards the back but not necessarily in the final corral now could conceivably be in any of the last corrals.
The Disneyland 10K, with Aladdin and the Genie as a theme, took place Saturday morning. Adam Henry, who won the 2016 Tinker Bell Half Marathon, repeated his win in 34:27. Momoko Tanaka from Japan came in first in the women's division in 36:55 followed by runDisney regular Kellie Nickerson, in 39:19.
Running with the Mouse went international with the inaugural Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Weekend. Race participants had a chance to earn not only two race medals but if a 2016 runDisney race in the U.S. was in the plans, they would also earn the incredible Castle-to-Chateau medal as well.
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.
You could say the changes to the 2016 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend made it as different as night and day as the race, which for the past six years has been run Saturday night through WDW became a Sunday morning half marathon. If that wasn't enough of a change, a 10K was added on Saturday as well as Lumiere's Two-Course Challenge which gave race participants eight runDisney challenge race weekends. To top off the weekend schedule, Mickey's Holiday 5K (formerly Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K) was renamed and moved to Friday morning.
The change to morning for the half marathon was initially not well received as many past participants bowed out of returning. While one segment was less than thrilled, another segment was beyond happy and within less than three hours, all 2016 Wine & Dine events were sold out during open registration.
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.
The final 2016 runDisney race of the year was the third annual Super Heroes Half Marathon held over Veteran's Day Weekend in Disneyland. This race event, the smallest of all runDisney races, seems to struggle for participants; spots for both the 2016 Infinity Gauntlet Challenge and Super Heroes Half Marathon were even available at the weekend expo, which is unheard of over the past several years of runDisney events selling out in mere hours.
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.
Overall it was still a pretty amazing year for runDisney. 219,459 race participants crossed a U.S.-based runDisney 10K, half marathon, or marathon finish line in 2016 (runDisney 5K are not timed and finisher information is not available). The largest 10K in 2016 was the inaugural Star Wars Dark Side 10K, with 12,173 finishers, and the largest half marathon was the WDW Half, with 21,506 finishers. The smallest 10K (8,246) and half marathon (7,737) were Super Heroes Weekend events. Roughly 44,000 earned challenge medals from Dopey and Goofy in January through Infinity Gauntlet in November. Women continued to outnumber men in all race distances
There are two anniversary races in 2017: the 20th anniversary WDW Half Marathon in January and the 5th anniversary Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare in September. While the Disneyland 10K will also be turning five this year, runDisney at this time does not recognize legacy runners for races less than a half marathon. And are there any Perfect WDW Half Marathoners out there? 2ff7e9595c
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