Recap of Today’s Disneyland Half Marathon
According to the OC Register’s Around Disney blog:
It’s not everyday a runner does their warm up stretches to the dulcet tones of a barbershop quartet. On Saturday, though, 4,000 runners did.
This weekend is the Half Marathon Weekend at the Disneyland Resort. The Family Fun Run 5K and Kids’ Races took place Saturday. Themed as Mickey’s Main Street, U.S.A., the race kicked off with the Dapper Dans singing a medley of Disney tunes.
For an amateur runner like myself, who was running this year’s 5K in hopes of breaking a nine-minute mile pace, the festive atmosphere was welcomed.
This year marked the 4th Annual Disneyland Half Marathon weekend, and like always, the 5K course wound through the Disneyland Resort. The peppy spirit squad from the High School Musical Pep Rally cheered on runners near the beginning of the course. Near the first mile mark, runners raced through California Adventure, getting a glimpse of the future Cars Land as they ran around the park’s rim. Then, the course weaved in and out of Disneyland, from the capricious Toontown to the intriguing backstage area.
For the first year ever, the 5K race course ended inside Disneyland. Appropriately themed to conclude on Main Street, U.S.A., the whimsical finish left racers in high spirits. At least I felt that way. Or maybe that was just because I set a new personal record for myself at 23:40.
Either way, the Disneyland Family 5K Fun Run was a success. I, along with countless other runners, am looking forward to next year’s race.
More on 2009’s Disneyland Half Marathon can be found at www.ocregister.com/anaheim. Also, registration for 2010’s Half Marathon is now open! You can find more information on registering HERE.