The signature event of the 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend took place on Jan. 13, marking the race's 20th anniversary. And fittingly, the winner was someone very familiar with the Disney marathon. Brazil’s Adriano Bastos, who had won seven previous Walt Disney World (WDW) Marathon races, reclaimed his title on the popular runDisney race.
Bastos, 34, had won six straight Disney marathons when he lost to countryman Fredison Costa, in 2011. And in 2012, Bastos finished a mere 14 seconds behind Costa.
At Sunday’s race, the stories were reversed. Bastos was the one who edged forward to claim the 2013 victory and his eighth win. To do so, he kicked up the pace in the last half-mile of the course with a late-race sprint, finishing in 2:21:16. His finish was just 16 seconds ahead of 35-year-old Costa (2:21:32).
Matt Hensley, 25, of Port St. Lucie, Fla. took third in the Disney Marathon with a finish time of 2:24:58.
Bastos told runDisney that his second-place finish the two previous years provided him withadditional motivation to reclaim the title, especially seeing as 2013 celebrates 20 years of the WDW Marathon.
“It was extra motivation, for sure,” Bastos said through an interpreter.
Bastos wasn’t the only repeat winner. Renee High, 31, of Virginia Beach, Va., won the women’s division for the second straight year. Despite the hot conditions for the race weekend, High finished in 2:48:30, three seconds faster than in 2012.
Brazilian Antonia Silva, 35, finished second in 2:59:30 with 35-year-old Claudia DuMont, also from Brazil, finishing six seconds later in 2:59:36.
In the wheelchair push-rim division, Krige Schabort, 49, of Cedartown, Ga., took the men’s title in 1:52:52. Jacqui Kapinowski, 51, of Tequesta, Fla., took first for the women’s push-rim division in 2:32:57.
See the full results for the 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon.
More than 25,000 runners, including former pop star Joey Fatone, joined the course for the 20th annual WDW Marathon. The race sold out less than five months after registration opened, in part due to several features runDisney has promoted as part of its anniversary celebration for the event.
runDisney marks 20 years of the WDW Marathon
To mark 20 years of the marathon, runDisney offered a new design for its Mickey Mouse finishers medal and added a post-race party at Downtown Disney on Sunday.
runDisney also introduced new course elements to this year’s WDW Marathon. In addition to taking runners and walkers through all four Disney theme parks, the 26.2 mile course had a portion on the Walt Disney World Speedway, a location that showcased both classic and Pixar cars, and took athletes to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and into Champion Stadium.
runDisney also promoted its surprise on-course entertainment mile 20, for the event’s 20th anniversary. The mile featured several costumed puppeteers operating stationary and over-sized Disney and Pixar characters. Similar to those seen in parades or stage shows at Walt Disney World Resort, the characters were available for photos. A stage with iconic Disney characters – including Mickey, Minnie and Pluto – provided another photo opportunity.
The marathon is the signature race of WDW Marathon Weekend. which in 2013 attracted more than 65,000 participants, a record, for its various events. In addition to the Mickey Marathon, the weekend offers the Donald Half Marathon, Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge (for participants who want to do both the Disney half marathon and the full marathon on consecutive days), a family fun run 5K, kids races and a Health & Fitness Expo.
For more information on Disney races, see this article: Running and walking Walt Disney World and Disneyland: 2013 – 2014 race schedule.
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