Disneyland's Half-Marathon expects 12,000 participants.
Over the past half-century, Disneyland has hosted world leaders, Olympians, movie premiers and even a few political protests. On Sunday morning at 6 a.m., the "Happiest Place on Earth" becomes one of the fittest places on Earth as 12,000 distance runners invade the park to compete in the inaugural Disneyland Half Marathon.
The 13.1-mile course winds through Disney's California Adventure, around the Angel Stadium playing field and through the streets of Anaheim and Downtown Disney.
In the third mile, competitors will jog past Space Mountain, the Matterhorn and through Sleeping Beauty Castle. During their journey, runners will be entertained by Disney characters, street performers and bands.
The event, which sold out six months ago, has attracted runners and Disneyland fanatics from 49 states and 15 countries.
One of them is Christina Nickerson, a 32-year-old mother of four from Tucson and an annual pass-holder.
Nickerson, who has battled asthma and her weight most of her life, will be running her first half-marathon. She recently dropped 75 pounds, some of it during training.
"It's important to me that such an accomplishment in my life takes place at Disneyland, my favorite place in the world," she said. "I think it'll be emotional, especially going around Main Street and coming through the castle."
"The half-marathon is a great way to attract visitors to Anaheim and to our park at a down time for tourism in Southern California," said Claire Bilby, Disneyland's vice president of sales and distribution marketing.
She said the early morning event, which will be held before the rides open, will provide a boost for the park and surrounding community.
"Once the kids go back to school, it really slows down," Bilby said. "It's also a great way to bring families together. Some family members can run the half-marathon, some can run the 5K and some who don't run can play at the park."
Anaheim officials said the Disneyland half-marathon weekend, which includes a 5K run Saturday morning at 7 a.m., ties in with their strategy of becoming a mecca for amateur sports.
The major league baseball Angels and the Mighty Ducks professional hockey team have been fixtures in Anaheim for a long time.
But in the last few years, the state's 10th-largest city has been building its amateur sports resume by attracting the World Badminton Championships, the World Gymnastics Championships and the U.S. Men's Volleyball team, which recently moved its headquarters from Colorado Springs, Colo.
"Pro sports is cool and it gets a lot of focus," said Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle.
"But youth sports raises the profile of the community and it really fits in our business model by helping increase bed tax and tourism dollars."
Long distance running events are nothing new to Walt Disney World, where 13 marathons and nine half-marathons have been held since the early 1990s on the park's 220-acre sports facility in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Disneyland has hosted only one previous running event, a marathon in 1995. Disney officials have already committed to another half-marathon, moving next year's event up to Labor Day weekend, and they are exploring the possibility of having shorter endurance runs.
courtesy by david.mckibben@latimes.com
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