Disney Princess Half Marathon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Jason P.
Stafford, VA

  (04-22-2010)

"So there are three advantages to running a race that is marketed primarily to women - I found this out first hand during the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando Florida which had over 12,500 runners - 426 of them men. This was the second year that Disney Sports sponsored the Princess Half which starts right outside of Epcot goes through the Magic Kingdom and finishes up after running through Epcot. The field was divided into 5 start brackets with seven minutes between. This brings me to advantage number one - very polite running field. During the course when the course would crowd up the runners, the Princesses were all so very nice, "please, go ahead" or "excuse me" was said many times on on the course. A proper Princess would never behave in such rude fashion. I was in the second bracket and was told that since the sponsor, Lady Foot Locker, wanted to ensure that a Princess won the Princess Half Marathon there were no men in the first bracket and a seven minute head start was plenty to ensure a Princess would win. Which brings me to advantage number two - I was passing Princesses left and right by mile three I had passed all of the Princesses in bracket two and was catching some of the slower Princesses in the first wave. I felt like an elite runner knocking off the competition - however my finish time didn't break my personal best so I wasn't running any faster it just felt like a was. Along the course all of the Disney Princesses were out cheering on the runners along with almost all of the Disney Characters. About every quarter mile there was a character on the side of the course that you could stop and snap a quick picture with - wait a minute stop to take pictures? - hey ladies this is a race right? Well after I passed a few characters, I began to stop as well - hey it was just fun. Disney puts on a great race with plenty logistically suport and get this - at the water points (every two miles)Disney had people handing out water and picking up the discarded cups - at every water point no cup was on the ground for more than a couple seconds. Remember there is no such thing as trash in the Magic Kingdom, everything is clean, clean, clean. Which brings me to my final advantage to running an all Princess race - no pee on the seats in the port-a-johns - awesome. My final time was 2:08:06 finishing 90th among the men and yes I got beat on the course by plenty of Princesses - way to go ladies - I would highly recommend this race. On a final note it appears that I made national news as the Princess Half Marathon was picked up by the Weather Channel from the local news due to the cold Central Florida Weather - 43 degrees at the start and I'm seen running with all of the Princesses - Thanks Ryan Lilly for pointing that out. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Heather G.
Myrtle Beach, SC

  (03-25-2010)

"This is a race to run for FUN and not for time. Bring your camera and your cheesiest princess outfit! Tutus and tiaras are a must. Disney puts on a fantastic race, with characters along the route and Disney employees ready to take pictures of you and the characters with your camera Great shirts, and beautiful medals.

The down side? The 2 hour wait in the parking lot before the race. Oh, and while I don't blame Disney (though I thought they had some sort of magic they could have worked...) it was SO COLD at the start!!! NOT the Florida in March weather I was anticipating.

"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Tracey K.
Tonganoxie, KS

  (03-16-2010)

"This was a fun race. I ran it with a group and we just had a blast. The Expo had a lot of things to check out but was pretty crowed. There were about 15,000 people signed up to run this weekend so everything was crowed. Disney required us to get out to the race location VERY early and the temps were cold which pretty much sucked. They did sell coffee and hot coco at the race location, but it cost $3.00 for a very small cup. The actual race was mostly between Epcot and Magic Kingdom so there is not a whole lot to see, but Disney had characters and bands lined up to keep us entertained.
My recommendations for this race are. 1) Don’t race for time, there are way too many people to get a PR 2) Bring a camera, you will never get pictures with so many characters at the parks. 3) Run this with friends, it is a fun race if you just relax and don’t look at your watch!
"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Jenna O.
Sarasota, FL

  (03-10-2010)

"This is a very fun race. A great race for a first time half marathon runner or a repeat runner. The expo offers lots of shopping opportunities. One of the down sides to this race is that you have to get there at least an hour and a half early and in your corral a half hour early. I understand why, because there are 15,000 runners, but when it's cold, then it's no fun to be standing around for so long.
The course along the roads leading to the different parks can be boring, but there are Disney Characters every once in a while to liven things up. I brought my camera this year and stopped 9 times for photos. It made the race go by much faster. The best part of the race is running through Magic Kingdom. down Main Street and through Cinderella's Castle. Lots of water stations and even a fuel station around mile 8. Beautiful finishers medals.
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Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2010

Heidi H.
Sparks, NV

  (03-10-2010)

"A bunch of us decided to do this race as a celebration of a family friend's 60th birthday. We had a great weekend, but I'm not sure I would do the race again. Transportation to the race start was disorganized, we were there 1.5 hours early and stood in freezing temps. The course is kind of boring until you get into Magic Kingdom, which was the best part. The volunteers were excellent all along the way, which helped - especially the local marching bands. It's fun to say I did it, but I would probably pick a different women's race in the future. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010