Thousands of runners descended on Anaheim and the Disneyland Resort for the 2024 Disneyland Resort Half Marathon. Peter Banks of Henderson, Nevada, was the overall winner of the 2024 Disneyland Half Marathon. He crossed the finish line with a time of 1:15:02. Jennifer Masamitsu of Denver, Colorado, claimed the women’s title of the Disneyland Half Marathon with a time of 1:23:38 shortly after. They led thousands of others who ran, walked, and rolled their way through the 13.1 mile course that took participants through Disney California Adventure Park, Disneyland Park, the streets of Anaheim past Angel Stadium, and back to Manchester lot next to where the half marathon began.
The Disneyland Half Marathon began shortly after 5:00 AM on Disney Drive right between the Manchester Parking Lot and Anaheim GardenWalk. The people who were rolling started first, followed by waves and waves of runners. The Daps Magic Cheer Team started the day out at the corner of Harbor Blvd and Katella Ave, cheering the runDisney participants as they made their way by. There were plenty of fun racers to cheer on. Many people had themed outfits or Disney bounds as they made their way through the course. There were plenty of people dressed as Dumbo along the course as participated in the Dumbo Double Dare (competed in both the 10K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday). There were also other fun characters represented that ranged from Steamboat Willie to Emperor Kuzko to The Mandalorian.
After the racers all passed the the Harbor Blvd and Katella Ave intersection, the Daps Magic Cheer Team moved to the finish of the race to cheer on the racers as they ended their run. As the team moved to the end of the course, racers moved through the Disney parks and experienced cast members and characters cheering them on.
At the end of the course, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse were both on hand, along with plenty of people to cheer the racers on as they made their way to the finish line. The racers kept coming and coming and coming. There were many different expressions and emotions as they came around the last bend and could see the finish line in front of them. Some people got great big grins and began running faster, others burst into tears as they realized they had accomplished this incredible feat. It was beautiful seeing the different ways people reacted to reaching the end of the Disneyland Half Marathon. They were also encouraged by DJ Clark and other announcers at the finish line.
The Disneyland Half Marathon was the final of a weekend of races at the Disneyland Resort that included kids’ races, a 5K and the 10K. This was the first runDisney race at the Disneyland Resort since 2017. Its return was quite welcome by the participants. The next one will be Halloween-themed on the weekend of September 5-8, 2024. The Halloween Half-Marathon weekend registration opens February 13, 2024, at rundisney.com. Daps Magic will be putting a cheer team together for that half marathon as well.
Congratulations all of those who ran in the Disneyland Half Marathon and other events throughout the course of the weekend!
