DisneyRunning.Com

2008 Walt Disney World Marathon Photos: Paula Masterson

Racers were advised to wear something bright and different so that the people who came to see them could find them in the pack. Obviously, this lady took that advice to heart!! There were several runners dressed for fun, but most were more serious. Heading back out onto the course after hugs, kisses and lots of well-wishes. Looking good!! From here on, the course disappears into the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Winning form, no doubt ... :-) The national Leukemia and Lymphoma Society sponsors training groups for events like this all across the country - they are the runners you see in the purple shirts. This lady was a part of the crowd waiting with us for the finish. I was just struck by her shirt, as well as by another one that said, "If you think running a marathon is tough, try chemotherapy". Makes you stop to think, huh? Finally, we see her again!! Looking good, but tired and determined to finish!! There's only a little bit of course left to go!! The kids celebrate a successful end to Lindsay's long effort and hard work!! The medal is quite large and heavy. Our son's girl-friend ran the Disney marathon this morning, so we went down to cheer her on. Early in the race, runners pass by the Ticket&Transportation Hub - most were still fired-up, as you can see from this man trying to excite the crowd. Moving on to the next spectator viewing point, we waited for Lindsay to come by. The race starts in the main Epcot parking lots and the course follows a path along roads outside of the main theme parks area. It then enters the parks and, unless you buy an admission to the park that day, you lose sight of the runners until the end, when the course exits Epcot and returns to the staging area. There were about 18,000 runners so there was always something to watch!! Fortunately for the athletes, the morning was mostly cool and cloudy, tho a bit humid. While we waited, these four sisters stopped to allow their family, sitting next to me on the curb, to snap a picture. As you can tell, there were all ages competing, or just trying to finish .... Back to the starting area to await the end of the race, which would be a long while. We amused ourselves all ways. This is the Epcot geodesic dome, a little hard to shoot from where were sitting. A group of runners in their purple shirts, from a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society training group , nears the finish. Notice the guy on the far right - is he happy to be done?? We finally catch up to Lindsay outside the seeding tent, sitting on the ground and looking none-the-worse-for wear, which we were all relieved to see. She's wearing her medal and the Dri-Fit shirt each finisher received in a bag of goodies from Disney.