NEW YORK, January 24, 2013 — Disney running races are officially more popular than ever. The Disneyland Half Marathon, Disneyland 10K and Dumbo Double Dare sold out in 26 hours.
It’s the fastest any runDisney race has sold out. In 2012, it took a month for the Disneyland Half Marathon to reach capacity. But in 2013, the new 10K and Dumbo Dare sold out in less than a day, with the half-marathon closing just a few hours later.
The Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend from August 30, 2013 to September 1, 2013 at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., has now joined events like the Marine Corps Marathon and Boston Marathon that reach capacity within hours, instead of days or months. Even the 2012 Chicago Marathon took a full six days to fill up.
“Runner response to the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend is overwhelming,” said Disney Sports Marketing and Communication Director Faron Kelley. “This points to the growing popularity of runDisney events and runner demand for two-day, back-to-back race challenges, along with the ever popular 10K distance.”
No doubt, the addition of the new 10K and Dumbo Double Dare to the weekend’s existing events was part of the registration frenzy.
Also a likely factor is the Coast-to-Coast Race Challenge, which dares runners to complete a marathon or half-marathon at both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California in the same calendar year. With only two race weekends at Disneyland—the Tinker Bell Half Marathon and Disneyland Half Marathon—runners looking to complete Coast-to-Coast have fewer races to choose from. Whereas Walt Disney World hosts four races that qualify runners.
Yet another factor is the continuing popularity of running. Year after year, Americans are turning to running in record numbers, according to Running USA. In 2011, the number of people who ran more than 110 days in the year increased almost 25 percent over participation numbers in 2010. A record 13.9 million people finished a road race in America in 2011, compared with just 5.2 million in 1991. In fact, the number of road race finishers in the U.S. has climbed eight years in a row. As more people turn to the sport, races sell-out faster.
In those 26 hours, more than 25,000 runners registered for the Disneyland events: 17,5000 will run the Disneyland Half Marathon, 8,000 will join the new Disneyland 10K and 5,000 will tackle both as part of the new Dumbo Double Dare, which challenges runners to complete both the 10K on Saturday and half-marathon on Sunday.
Disneyland Half Marathon Entries Though Charity and Travel Groups
If you had your heart set on competing but missed the registration window, you’ve still got a few chances to run. A limited number of spots are available for the Disneyland Half Marathon and 10K through charity partners:
One final option runners have is booking through one of the race’s preferred travel groups:
More information is available at the Disneyland Half Marathon tab of rundisney.com.
Registration is still open for the Family Fun Run 5K and runDisney Kids Races during Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend, but those races are also filling quickly.
Karla Bruning is host of On The Run, New York Road Runner’s weekly lifestyle web show about running. She has completed six marathons, two triathlons and trains with the New York Harriers. Follow Karla’s “Notes From a Running Nerd” at RunKarlaRun.com, Facebook and Twitter@KBruning.
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