WDW Daily News

In his first attempt at running a half marathon, Chris Sorrick of Tampa raced away with the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon on Saturday night at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.

With a winning time of 1:17:39, Sorrick, 21, finished more than a minute ahead of second-place finisher Cliff Gerber of East Brunswick, NJ (1:18:55) and nearly two minutes in front of third-place finisher Jerry Lawson of Jacksonville, FL. The only challenge Sorrick faced was a steady rain that made the 13.1-mile course a little slick.

“It was pretty slippery in some areas so you had to be really careful,’’ Sorrick. “But I just kept going and going.’’

Jenn Berry of Denver was the first female finisher with a time of 1:27:59. It was Berry’s third straight runDisney victory after winning the 10K and half marathon during the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend this summer. Keara Thomas of Chapel Hill, NC was second (1:28:28) and Nicole Downin (1:28:58) was third.

The Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon, the second runDisney night race this year, capped a sold-out weekend of events that featured more than 18,000 runners, including more than 13,000 that ran the 13.1-mile race through multiple Disney theme parks. The runners celebrated their accomplishment with an exclusive after-hours Finish Line Party at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, featuring more than 25 kiosks offering fine cuisine and wine, plus Disney characters, musical performances and the opportunity to ride signature Epcot attractions.

The race began at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and weaved through Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios before finishing at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. All finishers received a one-time-only fifth annual medal.

Registration for the 2015 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon starts on March 17, 2015. The half marathon weekend will take place Nov. 6-7.

Start Time: 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

Course Information: Participants begin the race at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and run 13.1 miles through Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios before ending their night at Epcot. Following the race, runners celebrate at a post-race party that is part of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival that features more than 25 kiosks offering fine cuisine and wine, plus Disney characters, musical performances and an opportunity to ride signature Epcot attractions.

Registration Numbers:

18,888* participants in the fifth annual Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend

13,326* participants in the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon

4,401* participants in the Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K

1,161* participants in the runDisney Kids Races

Demographics:

34% male participants / 66% female participants

5 Facts About 5 Years Running

• Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon began on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010. It was the 1st runDisney event held at night and the first to involve a relay option.
• Justin Scheid (Sparta, NJ), who finished first in 2013, is the course record-holder with a time of 1:11:47. Scheid beat the previous record (1:13:14) by almost 2 minutes.
• The half marathon course takes runners through 3 night-lit Disney Parks. The course begins at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, runs through Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and finishes at Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival.
• Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend is one of the original 4 races in runDisney’s profile. Other races included the Disneyland Half Marathon, the Walt Disney World Marathon presented by Cigna and Disney’s Princess Half Marathon.
• Finishers will receive a commemorative 5 year anniversary medal complete with a unique spinning element

runDisney announced on-sale dates for each of its eight popular race weekends between May 2015 and May 2016. The 2015-16 runDisney race season opens with the Expedition Everest Challenge Weekend on May 1-2, 2015 at Walt Disney World Resort and runs through the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend presented by PANDORA Jewelry on May 5-8, 2016 at Disneyland Resort. Registration for those races begins Dec. 16, 2014 when the Expedition Everest Challenge Weekend goes on sale (full list of race weekend on-sale dates below).

In recent years, runners nationwide and internationally have clamored to sign up for runDisney events at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort, often times filling up race fields within days, sometimes even hours. Nearly every runDisney race weekend experienced growth in the number of race registrations in 2013 compared to the previous year and virtually every 2014 race weekend sold out in record time. Most notably, the 2014 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend sold out in just over 12 hours while the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon and the Star Wars Half Marathon each sold out in about two hours.

For more detailed event information, visit www.runDisney.com and follow along on Facebook and Twitter (@runDisney) for the latest race announcements.

 

Event Schedule:

Expedition Everest Challenge WeekendMay 1-2, 2015 │ Walt Disney World Resort On Sale: Dec. 16, 2014

Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekendpresented by PANDORA Jewelry May 7-10, 2015 │ Disneyland Resort Sold Out

Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend presented by Cigna September 3-6, 2015 │ Disneyland Resort On Sale: Feb. 10, 2015

Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon WeekendNov. 6-7, 2015 │ Walt Disney World Resort On Sale: March 17, 2015

Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon WeekendNov. 12-15, 2015 │ Disneyland Resort On Sale: April 7, 2015

Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend presented by Cigna Jan. 6-10, 2016 │ Walt Disney World Resort On Sale: April 28, 2015

Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend presented by Sierra Nevada Corporation Jan. 14-17, 2016 │ Disneyland Resort On Sale: June 16, 2015

Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekendpresented by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Feb. 18-21, 2016 │ Walt Disney World Resort On Sale: July 14, 2015

Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekendpresented by PANDORA Jewelry May 5-8, 2016 │ Disneyland Resort On Sale: Aug. 11, 2015

Marc Burget from Jacksonville, Fla. (56:53) out ran more than 15,000 runners and many of Disney’s scariest villains to win The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler race at Walt Disney World Resort on Saturday night. Lynn Baione from Jensen Beach, Fla. captured the women’s title, finishing with a time of 1:04:19 Saturday night.

The legions of brave runners navigated their way along a course from Disney’s Hollywood Studios to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and then back again to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Along the way, runners trotted past the Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show, along the New York Street on the backlot, past Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat at the top of Hollywood Boulevard, and then on to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction.

Finishers received a specially-designed The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler medal featuring The Hollywood Tower Hotel that not only glows in the dark, but has an elevator on it that moves up and down. Runners celebrated their success at a Disney Villains Hollywood Bash post-race party with family and friends. Guests enjoyed live music and characters and had exclusive access to select attractions.

Other weekend events included the Disney Happy Haunted 5K Trail Run, runDisney Kids’ Races and the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

The next nighttime race in the runDisney series is the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, Nov. 7-9, during the final weekend of Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival.

The Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend will take place Jan. 7-11, 2015 at Walt Disney World Resort. All new is the Disney Castaway Cay Challenge, an ultimate running adventure that combines one Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend race event with a Castaway Cay 5K on Disney Cruise Lines’ private island in the Bahamas during the 4-night Disney Dream cruise itinerary that sets sail Jan. 12, 2015 from Port Canaveral, Fla.

The final race of Marathon Weekend is a 26.2-mile run through Walt Disney World theme parks and is preceded by the runDisney Kids’ Races, Disney Family Fun Run 5K and the Walt Disney World Half Marathon. Runners also have an opportunity to conquer the Dopey Challenge, in which participants run the 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon to complete 48.6 miles over four days. Or Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge which combines Saturday’s half marathon with Sunday’s full marathon. More details, including registration information and booking procedures, are available now on runDisney.com