NEWS: runDisney Celebrates 10 Years of Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend
The Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend is celebrating 10 years of running this weekend when an expected 48,000 participants descend upon Walt Disney World this weekend for the race weekend. This race weekend is extremely popular and sold out very quickly this year. Here are some top moments and fun facts about this year’s Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend powered by Aftershokz.
1 – The Race Has Grown in Size
Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon began on Saturday, October 2, 2010, and was the first runDisney event held at night and the first to involve a relay option. Since then the race has grown from 11,000 runners in 2010 to the more than 48,000 expected participants this year, including 145 “perfect” runners (runners who will have participated in every Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon).
2 – Events for All Ages
The race weekend includes events for participants of all ages and skill levels, includingrunDisney Kids Races, a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon, as well as the Disney Two Course Challenge (the 10K and Half Marathon). The weekend will also feature a Health & Fitness Expo at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, including exclusive merchandise and gadgets to inspire fitness and nutrition.
This year 15,000 people are registered for the half marathon, 14,000 for the 10k, 8,000 for the 5k, and there are another 8,000 challenge runners! 68% of the runners are female, while 32% of the runners are male.
3 – 10 Years of Food, Fun, & Fitness
The race weekend is celebrating 10 years of food, fun, and fitness. To commemorate the milestone, runDisney has revealed its Top 10 Moments in Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend history.
- 2010: Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon began on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010. At the time, it was the first runDisney event held at night and the first to involve a relay option.
- 2010-2012: Anton Van Zyle is one of two people in runDisney race history to win three consecutive half marathons. He won the first three Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathons in 2010, 2011 and 2012, also making him the only male to have won the race more than once.
- 2014: Chris Sorrick became the youngest participant to win the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon at the age of 21.
- 2016: For the first time in event history, the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon started in the morning.
- 2016: runDisney began serving up some new flavors, expanding to a four-day event that included that additions of the 10K race and a new challenge event – Lumiere’s Two Course Challenge.
- 2016: Jason Simpson from Boulder, Colorado set the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon course record with a time of 1:10:24.
- 2016: We met Walter Beckman, the determined blind runner from Pensacola who completed Lumiere’s Challenge and is returning to run during the 10th anniversary weekend.
- 2017: Brazilian runner Giovanna Martins made history as the first woman to be the overall winner of a runDisney half marathon race (1:19:22).
- 2017: For the first time, runDisney race participants had the chance to run through Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, with both the 5K and Half Marathon courses crossing through the land.
- 2017: For the first time in event history, runDisney used the Cast of the Adventurer’s Club both on-course and during the Post-Race Party.
4 – More Fun Facts About Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon
- Brazilian runner Giovanna Martins made history in 2017 during the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend as the first woman to be the overall winner of a runDisney race (1:19:22)
- In 2016 Jason Simpson from Boulder, Colorado set the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon course record with a time of 1:10:24.
- Anton Van Zyle is one of two people in runDisney history to win three consecutive half marathons – he won the first three Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon races. (2010, 2011 and 2012)
- In 2014, Chris Sorrick became the youngest participant to win the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon at the age of 21.
- 361 runners will be celebrating a birthday with us for the 2019 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend.
- 145 Perfects (runners who have participated in every Disney Wine & Dine race weekend) will be running this 2019 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend.
- 14,000 cones will be used over the course of the 2019 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend.
12.5 miles of fencing and bike racks will be used over the course of the 2019 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, that’s more miles than the 5K and 10 K combined. - Following the 2018 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, runDisney donated more than 1700 pounds in produce and dry goods to Second Harvest Food Bank, which will return as this year’s celebrated charity.
Good luck to all the runners participating in this year’s event!
For a no obligation, FREE Quote on a Disney vacation package, please contact our travel partner Magical Vacation Planner at 407-442-0227 (407-442-0215 for Spanish). You can also request a FREE quote online by Clicking HERE.