January 7, 2001
By Elaine Riendeau
In 1995, I participated in the one and only Disneyland marathon. This
year, I decided to relive that experience by running in the Eighth Annual
Walt Disney World Marathon in Florida. Florida had a cold spell in early
January, and marathon day proved to be another cold morning. With temperatures
below freezing at the start of the marathon, runners huddled to stay warm.
We were herded like cattle to the start line. Following brief announcements
and a short fireworks display, Mickey Mouse started the race.
The first four miles of the marathon had two routes to allow the runners
to thin before we merged back together. Crowds were huge as we began by
running into Epcot. The parks weren't open at the start, so cast members
were there cheering us on.
The race went through all four parks--from Epcot to the Magic Kingdom
to the Animal Kingdom to MGM and back to Epcot. Running through Magic Kingdom
was a rush, especially going through Cinderella's castle. So many people
were cheering us on that we couldn't help get caught up in the excitement
and run faster.
Additional highlights of the marathon included slapping the hands of
Mickey, Minnie, Tip, Dale, and Buzz Lightyear.
Across the finish line were golden Mickey Mouse Ears. People who ran
the half-marathon were treated to Donald Duck medals. The day after the
race, marathon certificates were handed out. My official place was 2701
out of 8012. My gender place was 815 out of 3973. My age division place
was 172 out of 740. My net time was 4:26:42.
