Oct
20
Written by:
chris
10/20/2010
Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend
I am in Orlando Florida at Walt Disney World to participate in the inaugural Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend…and to broadcast my radio shows live from Disney’s Hollywood Studios of course! And it is a very full and fun weekend, with much of the activities centred here at the amazing ESPN Wide World of Sports, close by Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Here I watched the Kids’ Races on Friday afternoon and toured the runners’ Expo. On Saturday morning I participated in Mickey’s Halloween Family Fun Run 5K race and in the evening I ran the new Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. A magical weekend of running as only Disney can conjure up!
Mickey’s Halloween Family Fun Run 5K
It’s early Saturday morning and there are Disney characters everywhere, both on the sidelines and also running in this 5km romp through the Magic Kingdom Park. Mickey and Minnie set us off and, as dawn broke on a cloudless day, we ran up Main Street, USA toward Cinderella Castle and through all parts of the Magic Kingdom to the finish line. Great fun for all the families taking part!
And there were many families at yesterdays’ Kids’ Races too - which were at times unbearably cute. Children under nine ran in races from the infant “Diaper dash” to 400m at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, ensuring that no one was left out of the weekend.
Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon
After the 5K run, it was off to Disney’s Hollywood Studios to interview renowned Olympic athlete and prolific marathon writer and coach, Jeff Galloway. Jeff gave me some valuable tips for this evening’s race, the inaugural Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon.
Starting at 10pm with 10,000 other runners, we ran through Disney’s Animal Kingdom (avoiding the lion enclosure – we’d be too much like fleeing prey!), in and around Disney’s Hollywood Studios (which were lit up like Tinsel Town), to the finish line at Epcot which most reached around midnight.
And there, after a quick recovery, we were able to indulge in a true Midnight Feast as we participated in the Finish Line Party and the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. A mouth-watering array of dishes and drinks from around the world were available to 3am – the perfect, if exhausting end to a memorable Disney weekend!