ORLANDO, Florida — Greater than 100,000 racers and spectators are descending on Disney World for a giant milestone. It is the thirtieth annual Walt Disney World Marathon weekend.

“I’ve by no means cherished working and I got here right here and I simply fell in love with it,” she stated of her expertise doing Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. The journey began 10 years in the past, when Hannah Brookes, of West Chester, Pa., was turning 21 years outdated.

“For my twenty first birthday, my dad and mom bought me concerned with runDisney,” stated Brookes who was a collegiate subject hockey participant at Widener College.

runDisney is without doubt one of the largest race organizers in the USA by way of the variety of runners with as many as 168,000 runners taking part in Run Disney occasions every race season. That season consists of 5 races. The Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend is one in every of them.

“You are working down Primary Avenue and also you see the lights and chateau,” stated Brookes of her experiences working in Magic Kingdom with stops alongside the way in which to take photographs with characters and even journey the teacups.

She’s now working her tenth Walt Disney World Marathon along with her signature working wardrobe primarily based on costumes of Disney characters. Among the many 4 working outfits she introduced this weekend: Daisy Duck.

“The spectators, you run by and so they’re like ‘Go, Daisy! You are doing nice, Daisy Duck!’ and I am like ‘That is me, I am Daisy!’” she stated.

Brookes wore the Daisy Duck costume as she competed within the half-marathon Saturday morning. She does that race along with three others throughout Disney Marathon Weekend. It is what’s generally known as the Dopey Problem, during which contributors run the 5K, 10K, half-marathon and full marathon all in the identical weekend.

“(It provides as much as) 48.6 magical miles,” smiled Brookes.

Brookes is what they name a Dopey Good, finishing the problem for all 10 years that it has been round, and he or she’s bought the medals to show it. However it’s actually about greater than a medal.

“I am so grateful to have a variety of household right here. My mother and pop are right here this 12 months,” she stated.

Brookes can also be impressed by the youngsters she helps as a pediatric oncology nurse at Nemours Youngsters’s Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.

“They encourage me. I inform them about our races,” she stated of the youngsters. “I inform them about Disney World and I believe how blessed am I to have the ability to be right here?”

Brookes now has her personal little inspiration and coaching associate: her son who is sort of 4 months outdated. She ran up till the day she gave delivery, however Brookes admits child Nathan’s delivery was a cute little interruption to her coaching plan.

“I used to be on the treadmill rocking the stroller forwards and backwards to attempt to get him to sleep,” she recalled of her marathon coaching as a brand new mother.

Having already made his first journey to Disney World, Nathan is already watching his mother run these magical miles with many extra to return.

“It is fairly cool that he will get to develop up watching me run,” she stated.

runDisney pegs itself as the proper occasion for each new and skilled runners, with these doing their first full or half-marathon dealing with no required qualifying occasions. For extra data on runDisney, together with the newly-released 2023-24 race season schedule, click on right here: https://www.rundisney.com/