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 Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, 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.
runDisney consists of 26 individual races with 163,000 runners.
Video RunDisney
History
In 1994, Disney held the Walt Disney World Marathon, its first road race while adding addition races later. There were only 5,588 runners at this inaugural race of what became the Disney Endurance Series.
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.
By 1998, Williams was named Vice President of Disney Sports Attractions, overseeing a newly created sports & recreation division including its races. In 1998, the first Donald Half Marathon is run at the same day as the WDW Marathon. The first 10K Disney Classic race on October 3, 1999 kicked off Disney World's 15-month Millennium Celebration.
On March 30, 2003, Sports Attractions held the first Disney Inline Marathon at the request of the International Inline Skating Association. By 2005, a half marathon was added to this weekend.
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.
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.
In 2006, the Goofy race challenge was inaugurated 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.
From May 5 to 7, 2006, the inaugural Disney Minnie Marathon Weekend was held but no race was a marathon. The first Wine & Dine Half-Marathon was run in 2010.
The 2014 World Marathon Weekend added the Walt Disney World 10K plus the Dopey Challenge for completing all four weekend races. 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. The first international runDisney weekend was Disneyland Paris Half Marathon in September 2016.
RunDisney canceled all Disneyland Resort based races beginning in 2018 due to construction in both parks (Star Wars Land: Galaxy's Edge) and nearby (The Disneyland Eastern Gateway and a new Downtown Disney hotel). With the races not going through Galaxy's Edge and none of the other projects started or stalled and the races going through Anheim, Disney may be using the loss of revenue to the city and nearby business as leverage to get the projects back on track.
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.
Maps RunDisney
Weekend series
Races
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.
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.
Race Challenges
Earn addition medals for completing multiple races.
- Walt Disney World Weekend
- Goofy Challenge: run the half and full marathons
- Dopey Challenge: run all four Disney World weekend races
- Disneyland Half-Marathon Weekend
- Dumbo Double Dare (2013--) running the 10K and the half marathon
- Coast-to-Coast: run a half marathon in Orlando and in Anaheim in a single calendar year
- 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
- Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo Cinderella (2017-) run both Paris 10K and a half marathon races
References
External links
- rundisney
.com, official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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