On Sunday, Feb. 24, Rachel Booth won Disney’s Princess Half Marathon at Walt Disney World Resort. This makes the second year in a row the 32-year-old runner from Mandeville, La. runner has won the race.
To make her victory taste even sweeter, Booth beat her own time for the event. Her 1:17:38 finish time for the 2013 Disney’s Princess Half Marathon was 33 seconds faster than In 2012, which also established a course record.
Booth finished comfortably ahead of 20-year-old Mia Elbon of Nashville, Tenn. who came in at 1:18:04. Megan Jaswell, 25, of Johnston, R.I., finished third in 1:26:47.
Michelle Chile, 46, of Rochester, N.Y., won the Women’s Masters Division with a finish time of 1:29:06.
“It never gets old, for sure,” said Booth, who was greeted at the finish line by her husband and two small children, in a media statement. “As I got to Mile 7 and 8 and through Mile 10, I got to see some people (cheering) and that definitely gave me extra incentive.”
Also participating in Disney’s Princess Half Marathon were celebrities Sean Astin (“Rudy,” “The Goonies” and “Lord of the Rings”) and Ali Vincent (former winner of “The Biggest Loser”).
Visit runDisney’s results page for complete list of finishers.
The runDisney weekend was a record-breaking weekend in several ways. Not only did Booth beat her own course record from a year ago; the victory established Booth as the only woman to win four runDisney races. In addition to her 2012 and 2013 victories at the Walt Disney World Resort event, Booth also has won two Disneyland Half Marathon races (in 2010 and 2011).
2013 also marked a record for the fifth Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend, with a record-setting 36,000 participants, mostly women, joining the various runDisney events.
The half marathon saw 26,000 athletes – ranging in age from 14 to 77 – toe up for the early 5:35 a.m. start, racing in what turned out to be unseasonably warm temperatures for February. Among those who registered for the race were 324 “perfect princesses,” athletes who had completed the previous four half marathons.
Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend also offered Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse Royal Family 5K run/walk and Kids’ Races. Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo showcased running merchandise, including official race merchandise, and, speaker series with running experts such as runDisney’s official training consultant Jeff Galloway.
Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend is one of seven annual runDisney events that take place at Walt Disney World Resort and at Disneyland Resort and the surrounding Anaheim, Calif. area.
Disney’s Princess weekend is one of two runDisney women-focused events (although men are welcome to participate). The other is the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend, which started in 2012 and takes place in January at Disneyland Resort. Both events are among the nation’s largest race weekends geared toward women.
Visit runDisney for more information on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler Weekend or other events or see this article: Running and walking Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
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