FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Celebrities and Wounded Veterans Join Record Disney Marathon Weekend
19th Annual Rundisney Event To Include New Marathon Relay Option And
Commemorative 15th Anniversary Half Marathon Medal;
Weekend Field To Top 56,000
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Jan. 3, 2012) – Reality TV stars and wounded
military soldiers are expected to be part of the more than 56,000 runners
participating in the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend presented by Cigna
this weekend.
Ethan Zohn (Survivor / Amazing Race), Jenna Morasca (Survivor / Amazing
Race) and Trista and Ryan Sutter (The Bachelor) are among the celebrities
entered in the weekend of events at Walt Disney World Resort. All are
running in the half marathon on Saturday along with four wounded veterans
who are part of the Achilles Freedom Team, which supports disabled runners.
Workout guru Tony Horton, founder of the P90X workout, will be on hand to
prepare runners for their race.
The marathon weekend also features a new relay option that gives runners
the opportunity to pair up and split the 26.2 mile journey through all four
Disney theme parks – Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood
Studios – and receive a special Chip and Dale medal. And to commemorate the
15th anniversary of the half marathon, all finishers will be awarded a
one-of-a-kind Donald Duck half marathon medal.
The 56,000 total runners – a new Disney marathon record – includes more
than 26,500 registered runners for the half marathon, 16,500 for the
marathon and 8,000 for the Family Fiesta 5K featuring the Three Caballeros
– 3,000 more runners than last year. Approximately 6,500 runners will
compete in Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge which involves running the
half marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday – 39.3 miles.
And about 3,000 young runners will join in the fun and participate in the
Mickey Mile and Marathon Kids Fest events on Friday and Saturday.
There's also a Health and Fitness Expo at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Thursday - Saturday. Vendors will showcase the latest running merchandise
and equipment, plus there will be seminars by leading health and fitness
authorities, including marathon training expert Jeff Galloway, the official
training consultant for runDisney.
For more information on the 2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend or
future runDisney events, visit www.rundisney.com. For coverage throughout
the event follow us on Twitter (@disneysports), on runDisney Facebook and
www.disneysportsnews.com.
About runDIsney
runDisney is a series of events providing runners unique opportunities to
run various distances through Disney theme parks. Race participants earn
Disney-themed medals, experience legendary Disney entertainment and guest
service and ultimately celebrate their accomplishments with a Disney
vacation. The original event in the series, the Walt Disney World Marathon
Weekend presented by CIGNA, takes place in January followed by the Disney
Princess Half Marathon Weekend in February, The Twilight Zone Tower of
Terror 10-Miler in September and the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon
Weekend in November. Disneyland hosts the Tinker Bell Half Marathon
Weekend in January and the Disneyland Half Marathon in September during
Labor Day Weekend. More than 100,000 running enthusiasts participate in
runDisney events each year. For more information, visit rundisney.com and
follow us on Facebook (runDisney) and Twitter @DisneySports.
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