Disney Princess Half Marathon

Last updated
Disney Princess Half Marathon
Location Walt Disney World
Event type Road
Distance Half Marathon
Primary sponsor Corkcicle
Established2009(16 years ago) (2009)
Official site Official website
Participants20,000 [1]

The Disney Princess Half Marathon is an annual half marathon held every February in Orlando, Florida by runDisney (a division of Disney Sports Enterprises). The race has been held since 2009. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

It is part of a weekend race series that also includes a 5K and a 10K, as well as the "Fairytale Challenge," which includes running both the half marathon and the 10k. [5]

History

The first marathon, run in February 2009, featured 11,000 runners. [4]

The 2021 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all registrants given the option of running the race virtually or obtaining a full refund (as long as they had a valid shipping address in the United States).

The medals change each year and are themed after different princesses. [6] [7] In 2024, the themes were: 5k - Ariel, 10k - Rapunzel, Half Marathon - Tiana, and Fairytale Challenge - Anna and Elsa. [8]

The races in the Disney Princess Marathon Weekend usually sell out within a few minutes of registration opening. [8]

Participants

Women generally make up about 91%-95% of the runners in the Princess Half Marathon, and for those women, on average, over 50% of them are running their first half marathon. [9] [10]

There have been three instances in which a woman has been the overall winner of the half-marathon, including at the 15th anniversary when Neely Gracey won against the first place male winner. [11] [12] [13]

Matt James, the first Black man to be Bachelor, finished in the top ten in 2024. [14] In 2025, that year's reigning Miss USA ran the half marathon. [15]

Several participants run the race to raise money for various charities including Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, [16] the American Cancer Society, [17] [18] and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. [19]

Course

Participants run through Disney theme parks before they open to the public. Additionally, Disney has music and other entertainment along the race course, including photo ops with Disney characters. [20] The course runs through Walt Disney World Resort, from Epcot to the Magic Kingdom and back. [21]

"Fairytale Challenge"

The Fairytale Challenge is a way for runners to earn an extra medal for doing the 10k on Saturday of the weekend and the half marathon on the Sunday. [21] People can also add an optional 5k on Friday, and take part in optional yoga on Monday morning after the half marathon. [22]

Winners

YearMen's winnerCityTimeWomen's winnerCityTimeRf.
2025Flag of the United States.svg Jorge Crz Orduna (USA)Buda, TX1:15:07Flag of the United States.svg Lisa Hart (USA)Winter Garden, FL1:19:21 [23]
2024Flag of the United States.svg Michael Fussner (USA)Saint Louis, MO1:15:11Flag of the United States.svg Shea Zablan (USA)Birmingham, AL1:28:18 [24]
2023Flag of the United States.svg Michael Fussner (USA)Saint Louis, MO1:16:02Flag of the United States.svg Neely Gracey (USA)Lafeyette, CO1:15:55 [25]
2022Flag of the United States.svg Brett Milden (USA)Mullica, Hill, NJ1:17:06Flag of the United States.svg Georganne Watson (USA)Lititz, PA1:20:34 [26]
2021 Virtual race only due to coronavirus pandemic [27]
2020Flag of the United States.svg Momo Picciotto (USA)Brooklyn, NY1:13:59Flag of the United States.svg Kelly Wehman (USA)Ringgold, GA1:24:26 [28]
2019Flag of the United States.svg Zackary Truitt (USA)Tyrone, GA1:20:28Flag of the United States.svg Jackie Pirtlehall (USA)Saint Charles, MO1:18:30 [29]
2018Flag of the United States.svg Victor Da Costa Mendoza (USA)Windermere, FL1:09:03Flag of the United States.svg Dani Cook (USA)Fort Collins, CO1:20:31 [30]
2017Flag of the United States.svg Jordan Desilets (USA)Pinckney, MI1:11:15Flag of the United States.svg Kaitlyn Johnson (USA)Westfield, NJ1:22:16 [31]

References

  1. ↑ Staff, WIRED. "Disney Princess Half Marathon - A Magical Weekend". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  2. ↑ WDW Planner (2009). "March Events". Walt Disney World Planner. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  3. ↑ Association of Road Racing Statisticians. "ARRS - Race: Inaugural Disney's Princess". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  4. 1 2 Sir George (2009-03-10). "11,000 Take Part in Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend". New England Runner. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  5. ↑ "2025 Disney Princess Fairytale Challenge presented by CORKCICLE® | Team Tourette - The Tourette Association of America". teamtourette.org. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  6. ↑ Taylor (2024-11-18). "2025 Princess Half Marathon Weekend Medals Revealed". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  7. ↑ Adams, Heather (2024-02-23). "Everything You Need to Know About the runDisney Princess Half Marathon". WDW Magazine. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  8. 1 2 McReynolds, Landon (2023-06-01). "RunDisney reveals themes for 2024 Princess Half Marathon". WKMG. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  9. ↑ Yannetta, Tiffany (2015-03-04). "Run Like a Princess, or the Story of the Disney Marathon Machine". Racked. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  10. ↑ Staff, WIRED. "Disney Princess Half Marathon - A Magical Weekend". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  11. ↑ Danielle (2023-02-28). "An Anniversary Weekend Filled With Fairy Tale Finishes During the runDisney 2023 Disney Princess Half Marathon!". Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  12. ↑ Morgan, Michelle (2025-02-21). "How chilly will it be for the Princess Half Marathon at Disney World? Here's what to know". WKMG. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  13. ↑ Caldwell, Brittany (2023-02-27). "Woman makes history at 2023 Disney Princess Half Marathon". WFTV. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  14. ↑ ABC 11 (2024-02-26). "Former Bachelor Matt James among top 10 in Disney's Princess Half Marathon". 6abc Philadelphia. Retrieved 2025-03-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Herndon, Dave (2025-02-23). "Michigan's own Miss USA competes in Disney Princess Half Marathon". FOX 2 Detroit. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  16. ↑ "Miracles at the Disney Princess Half Marathon – Children's Miracle Network Hospitals". childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  17. ↑ American Cancer Society. "Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend American Cancer Society". secure.acsevents.org. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  18. ↑ Suggs, Donnell (2024-02-25). "Why They Run 2024: Disney Princess Half Marathon is full of stories of prayer, power, and passion". The Atlanta Voice. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  19. ↑ National MS Society. "Disney Princess Race Details". National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  20. ↑ Runners World (2024-10-29). "Run the Disney Princess Half Marathon With Runner's World". Runner's World. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  21. 1 2 Uwumarogie, Victoria (2022-06-01). "The Disney Princess Half-Marathon Weekend Is Filled With Black Girl Magic". Essence. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  22. ↑ Tutten, James (2024-02-23). "Thousands of runners to gather for 2024 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend". WFTV. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  23. ↑ "2025 Disney Princess Results". www.trackshackresults.com. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  24. ↑ "2024 Disney Princess Results". www.trackshackresults.com. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  25. ↑ "2023 Disney Princess Results". www.trackshackresults.com. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  26. ↑ "2022 Disney Princess Race Results".
  27. ↑ "runDisney announces cancellation of 2021 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend". www.wdwmagic.com. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  28. ↑ "2020 Disney Princess Race Results". www.trackshackresults.com. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  29. ↑ "2019 Disney Princess Race Results". www.trackshackresults.com. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  30. ↑ "Disney Princess Race Results 2018". www.trackshackresults.com. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  31. ↑ "Disney Princess Race Results 2017". www.trackshackresults.com.
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