runDisney

runDisney (stylized as runDisney, formerly Disney Endurance Series and The Endurance Series at Walt Disney World Resort), is the road race division of Disney Sports Enterprises, a unit of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a segment and subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The division is designed to get runners to plan a "runcation", a vacation planned to coincide with the race they signed up for.[1]

runDisney

Formerly	Disney Endurance Series
Type	Division of a whole owned subsidiary of a public conglomerate
Industry	Sports
Headquarters	ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Kissimmee, Florida , US
Areas served	US, France
Services	road races
Owner	Disney Sports Enterprises (Disney Parks, Experiences and Products)
Website	rundisney.com

runDisney consists of 26 individual races with 163,000 runners.[2]

History

In 1994, Disney held the Walt Disney World Marathon, its first road race while adding addition races later.[3] There were only 5,588 runners at this inaugural race of what became the Disney Endurance Series.[4]

Disneyland Marathon and 5K were run in 1995 three weeks after the LA Marathon on March 26, 1995. The marathon included Anaheim Stadium and a loop around The Pond of Anaheim, while its 5K stuck to Disneyland taking in six of seven of the theme lands.[5]

By 1998, Williams was named Vice President of Disney Sports Attractions, overseeing a newly created sports & recreation division including its races.[6] In 1998, the first Donald Half Marathon is run at the same day as the WDW Marathon.[4] The first 10K Disney Classic race on October 3, 1999 kicked off Disney World's 15-month Millennium Celebration.[7]

On March 30, 2003, Sports Attractions held the first Disney Inline Marathon at the request of the International Inline Skating Association.[8] By 2005, a half marathon was added to this weekend.[9]

In 2004, Florida Half-Ironman Triathlon and Family Festival was started by Ironman North America and Disney Sports Attraction and was schedule only for two years. The festival was held May 22 to 23 which include the Florida Half-Ironman, a Kids Race, and an expo.[10]

Disney's 10K Classic was renamed the Race for the Taste 10K in 2005 and moved to October 9 to coincide with the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, which then ran from September 30 to November 13. The Race for the Cure 5K was schedule for October 8 with proceeds benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Foundation while the Disney's Cross Country Classic was schedule on the seventh.[9]

In 2006, the Goofy race challenge was inaugurated[4] as the half and marathon were scheduled for separated days for the first time at the World Weekend. 3,000 runners applied for the challenge. By that year, a Fun Run 5K and Kids’ Races were added on Saturday, while a Health and Fitness Expo was held Thursday to Friday at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.[11]

From May 5 to 7, 2006, the inaugural Disney Minnie Marathon Weekend was held but no race was a marathon.[12] The Champion 5K and Fun Runs were added to the ESPN the Weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2009.[13] The first Wine & Dine Half-Marathon was run in 2010.[4]

The 2014 World Marathon Weekend added the Walt Disney World 10K plus the Dopey Challenge for completing all four weekend races.[14] An additional race, Castaway Cay Challenge, was added to the weekend series in 2015 with the 5K race taking place on Disney Cruise Line's Castaway Cay.[15] The first international runDisney weekend was Disneyland Paris Half Marathon in September 2016.[3]

In September 2016 Disneyland Resort Paris held its first races at the DLP Val d’ Europe Half-Marathon.

RunDisney canceled all Disneyland Resort based races beginning in 2018 due to major ongoing construction projects (e.g. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the Disneyland Eastern Gateway and a new Downtown Disney hotel).[16] The Theme Park Insider blog speculated that Disney may be using the loss of revenue to the City of Anaheim and nearby business as leverage to expedite project approval.[17]

In the 2017 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon, which took place on November 5, 2017, a runner collapsed and died near the finish line in the Epcot parking lot. No other details were initially disclosed.[18]

Weekend series

Weekend series[19][20]	month	location	Inaugurated	Discontinued
Walt Disney World Marathon	January	Disney World	1994[3]	N/A
Princess Half-Marathon	February		2009[21]	N/A
Star Wars Half Marathon — The Dark Side	April		2016[21]	N/A
Walt Disney World Inline	March/April		2003[8][9]	2007
Florida Half-Ironman Triathlon and Family Festival	May		2004	2005[10]
Tri-America Series Finale[10]
Danskin Women's Triathlon Series[10]
Minnie Marathon Weekend	May		2006[12]	2008
Expedition Everest Challenge	May	Disney's Animal Kingdom	2012	2015[22]
Walt Disney World Triathlon	September[12]	Disney World
Wine & Dine Half Marathon	November		2010[4]	N/A
Star Wars Half Marathon — The Light Side	January	Disneyland	2015[3]	N/A
Tinker Bell Half-Marathon	May		2012[4]	N/A
Disneyland Half-Marathon	September (Labor Day weekend)			N/A
Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon	November		2014[3]	N/A
Disneyland Paris Half Marathon	September	Disneyland Paris	2016[3]	N/A
Virtual Running Shorts Series	May–June	virtual/anywhere	2016	N/A

Races

Race [19][20]	Weekend	Inaugurated	Discontinued	Additional info
Walt Disney World Marathon	Walt Disney World Marathon	1994[3]	N/A
WDW Half Marathon		1998	N/A	originally called the Donald Half Marathon[4]
Family Fun Run 5-K[14]			N/A
Walt Disney World 10K		2014[14]	N/A
Castaway Cay Challenge 5K		2015[15]	N/A
Inline Marathon	WDW Inline	2003[8][9]	2007
Inline Half Marathon		by 2005[9]	2007
Florida Half-Ironman Triathlon	Florida Half-Ironman Triathlon and Family Festival	2004	2005 [10]
Kids Race
National Kidney Foundation of Florida Gift of Life 5K Fun Run/Walk[10]	N/A	N/A	N/A
Women Run the World 15K	Minnie Marathon Weekend	2006[12]	2008
Go Red For Women 5K
one-mile
Champion 5K	ESPN the Weekend	Disney's Hollywood Studios	2009[13]	2011
Fun Run
Princess Half-Marathon	Princess Half-Marathon	2009[21]	N/A
Enchanted 10K			N/A
Princess 5K			N/A
Kids Dashes & One Mile			N/A
Star Wars Half Marathon	Star Wars Half Marathon — The Dark Side	2016[21]	N/A
Star Wars 10K			N/A
Star Wars 5K			N/A
runDisney Kids Races			N/A
Race for the Taste 10K	Race for the Taste/Food & Wine Festival (October)	1999	2009	originally the 10K Disney Classic until 2005,[7][9] replaced by Wine & Dine Half
Disney's Cross Country Classic[9]
Wine & Dine Half-Marathon	Wine & Dine Half Marathon/ Food & Wine Festival	2010[4]	N/A
Wine & Dine 10K		2016	N/A
Disney Fall Feast 5K		2005	N/A	formerly Race for the Cure 5K,[9] Mickey's Holiday 5K (-2016), Halloween 5K and Jingle Jungle 5K; ran in Animal Kingdom
runDisney Kids Races		N/A	N/A
Half Marathon	Tinker Bell Half-Marathon	2012	N/A
Tinker Bell 10K		N/A	N/A
Never Land 5K		N/A	N/A
Kids Races		N/A	N/A
DL Half Marathon	Disneyland Half-Marathon	2006	N/A
Disneyland 10K		2013 [23]	N/A
5K		N/A	N/A
Kids Races		N/A	N/A
Half Marathon	Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon	2015[3]	N/A
Thor 10K		N/A	N/A	formerly Dr. Strange 10K
Spider-Man 5K		N/A	N/A	formerly Captain America 5K
Kids Races		N/A	N/A
Half Marathon	Star Wars Half Marathon — The Light Side	2015[3]	N/A	- the Light Side appended in 2016 with the additional of the Disney World base Star Wars Half Marathon - The Dark Side
Star Wars 10K		N/A	N/A
Star Wars 5K		N/A	N/A
Kids Races		N/A	N/A
DLP Val d’ Europe Half-Marathon	Disneyland Paris (DLP) Half Marathon[24]	2016[3]	N/A
Paris 5K Family Run		2016	N/A
Paris 10K		2017	N/A	[25]
runDisney Kids Races		2016	N/A
Expedition Everest Challenge		2012	2015	nighttime 5K: part race, part obstacle course, and part scavenger hunt. The hunt clues lead to after race party.[22]
Yellow Shoes 5K	Virtual Running Shorts Series	2016	N/A
Red Pants 5K			N/A
White Glove 5K			N/A

Race for the Taste

The Race for the Taste, formerly Disney Classic, was a 10K route that started at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, then went through Disney-MGM Studios' new attraction, Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, then went along Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, and finished at the World Showcase in Epcot, where the Food and Wine Festival is taking place. A ceremonial toast kicked off the race while music and entertainment lined the route. Runners were required to maintain a 15-minute mile.[9]

Athletes enjoyed a ceremonial toast to start the race. During the run, participants were entertained by festive music and entertainment. A "Go the Distance" Expo was held October 7–8 which in 2005 had a special wine debut, Miles of Magic, a California Syrah wine.[9]

Race Challenges

Earn additional medals for completing multiple races.

• Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend
  • Fairy Tale Challenge: run the 10K and half marathon[26]
• Walt Disney World Weekend
  • Goofy Challenge: run the half and full marathons[14]
  • Dopey Challenge: run all four Disney World weekend races[14]
• Disneyland Half-Marathon Weekend
  • Dumbo Double Dare (2013—) running the 10K and the half marathon[23]
  • Coast-to-Coast: run a half marathon in Orlando and in Anaheim in a single calendar year[23]
• Disneyland Paris (DLP) Half Marathon Weekend
  • Castle to Chateau Challenge (2016-) in the same calendar year run one of the half marathon at Disneyland, the halfmarathon at Walt Disney World or the marathon at Walt Disney World plus run the half marathon at Disneyland Paris [24]
  • Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo Cinderella (2017-) run both Paris 10K and a half marathon races[25]
• Wine & Dine Half Marathon
  • Disney Two Course Challenge [27]

References

1. Jesdanun, Anick (April 15, 2016). ""Runcation" at Disney World: Come to run, stay for the Disney magic". Denver Post. Digital First Media. AP. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
2. Bruning, Karla. "Why runDisney Races Are Such a Big Deal". Shape. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
3. Sylt, Christian (January 7, 2016). "Disney's Runaway Success". Forbes. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
4. "runDisney: Then & Now". grandlegacyhotel.com. Grand Legacy At The Park. April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
5. VanderKnyff, Rick (March 23, 1995). "Disneyland's Magical Marathon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
6. Solano, Javier (March 27, 1998). "Directing Sports Of Disney". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
7. Carroll, Frank (September 24, 1999). "Disney Classic 10k Is Oct. 3". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
8. "Putting together skate event was a marathon itself". SportsBusiness Journal (October 14–20, 2002). American City Business Journals. October 14, 2002. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
9. "Disney Sports Attractions hosts Race for the Taste 10K". e-Sports. e-Sports Media Group, Inc. Disney Sports Attractions. September 3, 2005. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
10. "New Florida Half-Ironman Set For Walt Disney World in May". Ironman.com. World Triathlon Corporation. November 11, 2003. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
11. "Disney's 2006 Marathon registration closed". e-Sport. e-Sport Media Group. Disney Sports Attractions. October 11, 2005. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
12. "Disney Sports opens registration for Minnie Marathon Weekend". e-Sports. eSports Media Group, Inc. Disney Sports Attractions. October 15, 2005. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
13. "ESPN The Weekend to be held at Hollywood Studios and newly renamed sports complex". Attractions Magazine. Dream Together Media. February 20, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
14. McGoldrick, Hannah (March 22, 2013). "Disney Announces New Race". Runners World. Rodale Inc. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
15. Mauney, Matt (January 14, 2015). "Disney's private island hosts inaugural 5K challenge". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
16. Pimentel, Joseph (October 18, 2017). "Disneyland half marathon officially cancelled, along with other runDisney races, in 2018". Orange County Register. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
17. Niles, Robert (October 18, 2017). "Disneyland cancels its 2018 runDisney schedule, future events". Theme Park Insider. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
18. Ruiter, Jason (November 5, 2017). "Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon runner collapses and dies, Disney says". Orlando Sentinel.
19. "Event Preview – RunDisney". Endurance Magazine. November 21, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
20. "runDisney". rundisney.com. Disney Sports Enterprises. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
21. Ruiz, Stephen (April 17, 2016). "Runners from Wisconsin, New York conquer Star Wars Half Marathon at Disney". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
22. Levine, Arthur (April 20, 2015). "Run around the World: Marathons and more at Disney". USA Today Travel. Gannett. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
23. "A look at Disneyland's Half Marathon Weekend 2013". Attractions Magazine. Dream Together Media, LLC. September 2, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
24. Scanlon, Shane (January 26, 2017). "Disneyland Paris: Run a half-marathon in Mickey's magical kingdom? Absolutely! - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
25. "New Experiences Coming For Runners In 2nd Annual Disneyland Paris – Val d'Europe Half Marathon Weekend". Disney Sports News (Press release). Disney Sports. June 7, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
26. "Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend presented by Children's Miracle Network Hospitals | Official Site | runDisney". runDisney.com. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
27. "Run Disney". www.rundisney.com. Retrieved 3 September 2019.

External links

• rundisney.com, official website