After the Disney Princess Half Marathon course record was clipped the past two years, three-time Olympian Kim Smith essentially shredded it Sunday, winning the event in a blistering 1:11:49.
Smith, a 32-year-old New Zealand native who lives in Rhode Island, lowered the event record by nearly six minutes, easily erasing Rachel Booth’s previous mark of 1:17:38 from last year.
Smith’s record-setting performance wasn’t unexpected. She ran a 1:07:36 in 2011, which still stands as the fastest half marathon run by a woman in the U.S.
The Disney Princess Half Marathon presented by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals was basically a warm up run for Smith, who used the 13.1-mile trek through Epcot and Magic Kingdom – her first runDisney race – as a training run in preparation for the London Marathon in April.
“Running through the Magic Kingdom was probably the best part of the race. The crowds there were great and everyone is cheering you on,” Smith said. “It’s just a fun event and pretty low-key for an elite athlete to do. But definitely a lot of fun and I’d recommend it to people out there.”
Smith, who was greeted at the finish line by Miss America Nina Davuluri, finished ahead of more than 24,000 mostly women runners. Two sisters from Columbia, SC – Kimberly Ruck and Alyssa Kulik – finished together in second and third place, respectively, (1:26:15), nearly 15 minutes behind Smith.
In all, more than 40,000 runners competed in various events during the weekend. The weekend included the Cinderella Royal Family 5K, the Disney Princess Enchanted 10K, runDisney Kids Races and the inaugural Glass Slipper Challenge, which involved runners completing the 10K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday.
The weekend event also included the Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo which featured the latest running apparel and equipment, plus a speaker series involving running experts such as runDisney’s official training consultant Jeff Galloway.
The Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend is one of seven annual runDisney events and the second women-focused event. The other is the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend, which takes place in May at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA. Both events are designed to celebrate and promote women’s empowerment, women’s health and an active lifestyle. And both are among the nation’s largest race weekends geared towards women.
About runDisney
runDisney is a series of events providing runners unique opportunities to run various distances through Disney theme parks. Race participants earn Disney-themed medals, experience legendary Disney entertainment and guest service and ultimately celebrate their accomplishments with a Disney vacation. The original event in the series, the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, takes place in January followed by the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend presented by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in February, Expedition Everest Challenge in May, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler in September and the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend in November. Disneyland hosts the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend in May and the Disneyland Half Marathon during Labor Day Weekend. More than 163,900 running enthusiasts participate in runDisney events each year. For more information, visit runDisney.com and follow us on Facebook (runDisney) and Twitter @runDisney.
