Princess Half Marathon This Weekend!
The fifth annual Princess Half Marathon takes place this Sunday, but Saturday also features a family 5k and child race as more than 28,000 participants are expected to take part in the female-oriented event.
The Princess Half Marathon began in 2009 with about 7,500 runners and this weekend more than 26,000 runners are slated to run the course on Sunday. Partipants, the majority of which are women, often dress in costume as they run the 13.1-mile course that begins at Epcot, travels through the Magic Kingdom including a pass through Cinderella Castle and ends back at Epcot.
The marathon begins at 5:35 a.m. and the course should be clear by 9 a.m. by the time both parks open up to the public.
Runners from all 50 states and 32 countries will take part. The oldest runner is 78. The youngest runner is 14. The weekend also features the Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo, which is open to the public, at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort on Friday and Saturday.
The family races will be run on Saturday. 8,000 participants are slated to take part in the Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse Royal Family 5K, which starts at 6:30 a.m. at Epcot. The runDisney Kids Races, with 1,700 participants, begin at 8:45 a.m.
This is the second running event at Walt Disney World this year. The Disney Marathon weekend and Half Marathon took place in January. The parks will also host the Expedition Everest Challenge in May, the The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler Weekend in October and the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend in November.
