FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Costa Wins Annual Rivalry at Walt Disney World Marathon
Fredison Costa Easily Defeats Injured Countryman Adriano Bastos for His
Third Disney Title; Angela Brito of Ecuador Claims Her First Women's Crown;
More than 50,000 Participate in Five-day runDisney Event
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Jan. 12, 2014) – The friendly rivalry between
Brazilian runners Fredison Costa and Adriano Bastos took another dramatic
twist Sunday when Costa upstaged the defending champion Bastos to win the
Walt Disney World Marathon presented by Cigna.
After relinquishing the Disney Marathon title to Bastos last year, Costa
reclaimed the crown, his third in the past four years and the 10th straight
for Brazilian runners who said they worked together Sunday to help Costa
win.
"It was really hard and the other runners were really good, but at about
(Mile 22) I knew that I could win the race," Costa said through an
interpreter. "This was the most important race in my life."
Bastos, who had won eight previous Disney Marathons, said he injured his
left leg during an October race which slowed his training, leaving him
unable to seriously challenge Costa this time. Costa, 36, sprinted the 26.2
miles through the four Disney theme parks, the Disney Speedway and the ESPN
Wide World of Sports Complex in 2:21:39. Bastos, 35, was second at 2:22:55
and Alfredo Arevalo of Guatemala was third at 2:23:19.
Asked if he was eager to try to regain the title from Costa next year,
Bastos said with a sly smile: "For sure."
Angela Brito of Ecuador came to Disney World for the first time to win the
women's division and easily checked that off her bucket list. She crossed
the line in 2:47:44, nearly seven minutes ahead of second-place finisher
Brittney Christianson of Minot, ND. Julie Northrup of Jacksonville was
third at 2:59:08.
In the men's Masters division, Ronnie Holassie of Miramar, Fla., won for
the second straight year (2:36:54) and Bo Franz took the women's Masters
crown with a time of 3:11:26.
In the wheelchair division, Krige Schabort of Cedartown, Ga., repeated as
the men's champion (1:51:51) as did Jacqui Kapinowski of Tequesta, Fla., in
the women's division (2:42:04).
In all, more than 26,000 runners competed in the Disney Marathon presented
by Cigna on Sunday. Roughly 7,000 of those runners ran in all four weekend
events – the 5K, the 10K, the half marathon and the marathon, completing
the new and hugely popular "Dopey Challenge" (48.6 miles).
The Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend presented by Cigna kicked off the
2014 runDisney series, which includes seven weekend events at Walt Disney
World and Disneyland. The Disney Marathon featured events for the entire
family such as runDisney Kids' Races, the Family Fun Run 5K on Thursday,
the Walt Disney World 10K on Friday, the Half Marathon on Saturday and the
Marathon on Sunday. A Health and Fitness Expo ran throughout the weekend at
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and featured the latest in running
technology and fashion, as well as renowned running experts such as Jeff
Galloway, the official training consultant for runDisney, and Tara Gidus,
the official runDisney nutritionist.
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, Expedition Everest Challenge in
May, 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 163,900 running enthusiasts
participate in runDisney events each year. For more information, visit
runDisney.com and follow us on Facebook (runDisney) and Twitter @runDisney.
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