The Walt Disney World Marathon in photos
The iconic Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Fla. provides one of the most picturesque backdrops for a road race. See why with these photos.
The mega-popular Walt Disney World race weekend was held from Thursday to Sunday in Bay Lake, Fla. including an originally-scheduled 5K, 10K, half-marathon and marathon. Three of the four main events went off without hitches though the half-marathon on Saturday was cancelled because of severe weather conditions.
RELATED: Walt Disney World Half-Marathon cancelled due to weather.
Though the half-marathon cancellation proved inconvenient for runners attempting the Dopey Challenge – running all four races on consecutive days – some ran a half-marathon on Saturday morning, unofficially. Runners still received the half-marathon medal as part of the Dopey Challenge.
Sunday morning’s marathon concluded race weekend.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that upwards of 50,000 runners were registered across all Walt Disney World races. The Walt Disney World Marathon took runners through all four major parks in central Florida including Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot as well as ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex.
Fredison Costa won the marathon for the fourth consecutive year running 2:23:14; his victory in 2017 is his sixth Walt Disney World title in seven years. Giovanna Martins won the women’s race in 2:48:07. Both winners are from Brazil. (Click here for full event results.) A Canadian, Natasha Yaremczuk, won the Walt Disney World Marathon in 2016.
The event, put on by runDisney, is a very popular destination race among Canadians. As many as 289 runners participating in the Dopey Challenge listed their hometowns as somewhere in Canada, just a small crop among those who ran in single events. The Dopey Challenge costs US$560 while the half-marathon and marathon events cost US$180.
@runDisney I've run some pretty cool marathons and this view ranks right up there. It truly was magical!
— Justin Kurek (@justinkurek) January 8, 2017
See some of the event and user-submitted photos as found on social media below.
Congrats to all of the #runDisney #WDWMarathon participants! pic.twitter.com/UIcpL4zsm8
— runDisney (@runDisney) January 8, 2017
Runners race through #ESPNWWOS at the @runDisney #WDWMarathon! pic.twitter.com/9GuradK0hr
— ESPN Wide World of Sports (@ESPNWWOS) January 8, 2017
That moment when you run through Cinderella Castle during the #runDisney #WDWMarathon… pic.twitter.com/CgHjBl16nK
— runDisney (@runDisney) January 8, 2017
It's time! 26.2 magical miles through @WaltDisneyWorld starts now at the #runDisney #WDWMarathon presented by @Cigna! pic.twitter.com/WytEBBKpKU
— runDisney (@runDisney) January 8, 2017
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
