Tinker Bell won the inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon on Sunday, January 29, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif. Well, maybe it wasn’t the real Tink, but with her green tutu, headband, and fairy wings, Kellie Nickerson was pixie perfect.
"It was so fun. My favorite part was running through the castle and seeing all the characters," Nickerson said after crossing the finish line in 1:27:52.
"My brother asked me if I was planning on being in the top three and I told him I just wanted to be in the top 25," the Albuquerque, N.M., resident said. "I didn't think I could win, so it was a great surprise."
Nickerson raced on the cross country team for the University of New Mexico, and was a standout runner at Sandia High School in Albuquerque.
Sharon Wilkinson of Winnetka, Calif., placed second at the Tinker Bell Half Marathon in 1:28:18, and Stacy Schafer of Carlsbad, Calif., was third in 1:28:54.
Check here for photos from the 2012 Tinker Bell Half Marathon.
While the race was aimed at women, with just over 9,000 participating, 822 men also crossed the finish line on Sunday morning.
Jesse Aston, 19, of Pleasant Hill, Calif., won the men's division in 1:25:36, beating the first woman by just over two minutes. Yutaka Shirai of Japan was second in 1:28:08, and Wesley Smith of Moorepark, Calif., placed third in 1:28:44.
The Tinker Bell Half Marathon drew runners from 10 different countries and 48 states. The event gave participants the unique opportunity to run through Disneyland before the park opened, passing through Fantasyland, Frontierland, and down Main Street.
With low humidity and a temperature of 52 degrees at the 5:45 a.m. start, runners were treated to near ideal racing conditions.
Check here for the complete searchable results of the 2012 Tinker Bell Half Marathon.
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