15,000 head to Disneyland Half Marathon events
Festivities draw runners from around the world.
"It's the inaugural one. And, I wanted the medal for my scrapbook," said the Mickey Mouse-veiled Heidi Lewis, as the couple stood in line for a pin to add to Alex Lewis' collection of about 4,000.
About 15,000 people, like the Lewises, are expected to participate in the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend, starting with a expo that opened today. The 12,000 runners hail from 15 countries and every state except West Virginia.
Streets will shut down from roughly 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday, along the route through Disney property and streets as far away as Angel Stadium.
Disneyland hosted a marathon once in 1995. After learning from 13 years of marathons in Disney World, Disneyland decided to try out the half marathon as the 50th anniversary celebration ends this month.
The race, which was announced last October, was booked by late March.
"We were very confident that it would sell out ahead of time," said Jon Hughes, the race director. "It's half the distance. So, that means a lot more people can do it. But it's still long enough that people need to train for it."
Anaheim couple Alan and Grace Young were the first ones to sign up. Because Alan Young ran in all previous Disney World marathons, he was given the chance to register early.
The Youngs, who live just blocks away, train by running around the periphery of both theme parks, usually six days a week.
"You can run through Disneyland and California Adventure. It's just magical," said Alan Young, 53.