Calgary woman breaks the tape at Disney Marathon 5K

It was a milestone weekend for runners at the 30th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend in Orlando, Fla., and a special day for Calgary runner and modern pentathlete Kelly Fitzsimmons, who broke the tape to win the runDisney 5K on Thursday in 18:55.

The race drew in 100,000 runners and spectators from around the world, who lace up their shoes for the four signature runDisney events, featuring the marathon, half-marathon, 10K and 5K, plus the Dopey Challenge (which involves runners completing all four races, across four days). 

ChEARs to 30 yEARs! 🎉 Congratulations to runners of the #runDisney 2023 Walt Disney World Marathon presented by @StateFarm! Take a look at a few highlights from this morning’s event: https://t.co/jzjbsfIO0N pic.twitter.com/VemNe05swY

— runDisney (@runDisney) January 9, 2023

Fitzsimmons says she was surprised to break the tape after a last-minute registration while on holiday: “I have never broken a tape before, so I feel I pulled a newbie mistake by slowing down instead of running right through,” she laughs. “But I was entranced by the moment!” 

“It was a fun experience getting to run through the Disney parks with all the characters cheering you on,” says Fitzsimmons.

The race started at 5 a.m. on Thursday, Jan 5.

Fitzsimmons is a modern pentathlete who represented Canada at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru. The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of five events: fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian (show jumping), pistol shooting and cross-country running.

She is currently training for a spot on Team Canada for the 2023 Pan-American Games in Santiago, Chile, this October.

The first place winners of the @WaltDisneyWorld marathon are in!

Men’s Finisher:
Brazilian Daniel Dos Santos @ 2:26:51

Women’s Finisher:
Katherine Cargiulo @ 3:00:13 pic.twitter.com/JLRrUrium3

— Kirstin Delgado (@KirstinWFTV) January 8, 2023

In the marathon, Daniel Dos Santos of Brazil and Katherine Cargiulo of Salem, N.H., were the winners on the men’s and women’s sides. Dos Santos won the race in 2:26:51, 33 seconds ahead of his Brazil compatriot Vanilson Neves (2:27:24). Cargiulo finished five minutes ahead of the second-place finisher in 3:00:13. McKenna Jackson of Sarnia, Ont., was the top Canadian in the marathon, with a sixth place finish (3:11:31). 

Disney’s inaugural marathon weekend started in 1994, and to celebrate the race’s 30th year, runners dressed in 90s spirit with themed merchandise, entertainment, medals and characters on the course.