Star Wars Half Marathon Comes To Disneyland In 2015
Star Wars Half Marathon Comes to Disneyland. (Photo: Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, Calif.)
After teasing out details via social media with the hashtag #LetTheWookieWin, runDisney has announced today its newest race: Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend presented by Sierra Nevada Corporation slated for January 15-18, 2015 at Disneyland Resort in California.
Get your Star Wars costumes ready. (Photo: Preston Mack / WDW)
The race weekend will include the title Star Wars Half Marathon, Star Wars 10K, Star Wars 5K and runDisney Kids Races, plus the two-race Star Wars Rebel Challenge following in the footsteps of the popular Dumbo Double Dare at Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. Runners who register for the challenge and complete the 10K and half marathon on back-to-back days will earn a special challenge medal. The weekend will also feature a Health and Fitness Expo, Star Wars Wookie Welcome Party, and more Star Wars and Disney-themed entertainment.
Lucasfilm and runDisney have teamed up with presenting sponsor Sierra Nevada Corporation, an aerospace company best known for its Dream Chaser spacecraft to sponsor the event. Course maps have yet to be released, but the races will run through Disney California Adventure Park, Disneyland Park, Downtown Disney and the streets of Anaheim, Calif.
May the course be with you. (Photo: runDisney)
Disney Sports hopes the new Star Wars weekend will “appeal to an increasingly wider range of runners across the country and beyond,” said Maribeth Bisienere, senior vice president of Disney Sports Enterprises. “This melding of the iconic Star Wars franchise and the runDisney brand creates an ideal race experience that will resonate with core running groups as well as attract new runners to the sport.’’
When news broke in 2012 that Disney was buying Lucasfilm for $4 billion, including the entire Star Wars franchise, it didn’t take long for rumors to begin swirling that a Star Wars-themed runDisney race would follow closely behind.
Mickey Mouse & friends at the 2011 Star Tours 5K. (Photo: runDisney)
“This is an ideal intersection of family, fitness and Star Wars fun for our global, cross-generational audience and runDisney fans’’ said Howard Roffman, executive vice president of Franchise Management at Lucasfilm. “Star Wars is all about reaching deep within to realize your true potential and runDisney embodies that message in a very real way.”
Many runners thought a potential Star Wars race would take place at Walt Disney World in Florida during Disney’s Hollywood Studios Star Wars Weekends in May and June. But Disney test-drove a Star Wars race at Disneyland in September 2011 with the Star Tours 5K, which took place shortly after the Star Tours attraction debuted at the theme park.
Plus, Disney’s running branch has been in expansion mode in Disneyland. With the new Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon debuting in November 2014, runDisney doubled the number of races in the park since 2013.
Runners will storm Disneyland Jan. 15-18, 2015. (Photo: runDisney)
Five of the eight race weekends in runDisney’s 2014 lineup take place at Walt Disney World. Only three run in California: Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend, Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend and Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend. With the new Star Wars race, Disneyland will have four of the nine runDisney events.
Not to mention that Disneyland races tend to sell-out fastest, possibly due to the fact that there are fewer of them. The Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon sold out in less than two hours.
How fast will the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend sell-out? Faster than the Millennium Falcon can travel 6.8323E-13 parsecs (that’s 13.1-miles).
Registration begins noon EDT on June 10 at www.runDisney.com.
UPDATE: All Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend races are now sold out. If you want to run the Disney half marathon or any of the other Star Wars races, charity and tour groups have entries available.
Read more: Star Wars Disney Race Bibs Available Via Charity + Tour
As a member of the running media, Disney sometimes provides me with complimentary race entry, hotel, park tickets, and some meals for runDisney events. But as always, all posts and opinions are purely my own. For more information read my Disclosure Policy.
About Karla Bruning
Karla Bruning is a race announcer at the TCS New York City Marathon + other major events, TV host for the New York City Triathlon + contributor to Shape, Redbook, Runner's World + other publications. She used to report for Newsweek but spent her free time squeezing in workouts. Now it's her job. She's run 8 marathons, 30 halves, 10 triathlons + open water swims. When she's not running, talking about running or writing about running, she's snuggling her baby, spoiling her dog + compulsively traveling.
I have a feeling this one is going to be a record sell out. Since I’m doing Dopey in January I’ll probably end up going in 2016 but I can’t wait to see all the merch and medals that will be revealed in the coming months!
My guess is this will be the fastest sell-out yet. Doubt it will even last an hour. The medals will be really fun!
Karla Bruning recently posted..Star Wars Half Marathon Comes To Disneyland In 2015
I LOVE Star Wars and I was really hoping the rumors of a January race weren’t true, because I love and am committed to the WDW Marathon Weekend! Since I’m doing Dopey in 2015, this is in no way feasible … maybe in 2016 though!
Katherine recently posted..Un Nouvel Semi-Marathon
Methinks there will be many 2015 WDW Marathoners at Star Wars in 2016!
Karla Bruning recently posted..Star Wars Half Marathon Comes To Disneyland In 2015
I LOVE Star Wars
You’re not alone!
Karla Bruning recently posted..Star Wars Half Marathon Comes To Disneyland In 2015
I love Star Wars and would totally run this race in costume!
Jojo @ RunFastEatLots recently posted..Weekend Eats- Memorial Day Vineyard Picnic
So many fun costumes to choose from!
Karla Bruning recently posted..Star Wars Half Marathon Comes To Disneyland In 2015
OK…I may have to go back to my original plan and NOT defer the Avengers Half so that I can do this in 2016 because I don’t think I want to die attempting this the week after Goofy. Damn you RunDisney and your horrible scheduling! Damn you!!!!!
Kellie recently posted..OK, Now RunDisney is REALLY Trying to Kill Me!
Kellie, you crack me up! So many races to run. It’s a good problem to have
Karla Bruning recently posted..Star Wars Half Marathon Comes To Disneyland In 2015
I absolutely expect this to sellout faster than the Avengers weekend. Now I’m just waiting for Disney to release the original editions of New Hope, Empire and Jedi.
Lesley recently posted..Sangria
Totally agree. This will be the fastest sellout yet. That Disney vault is locked up tight!
Karla Bruning recently posted..Star Wars Half Marathon Comes To Disneyland In 2015
I’m still up in the air about this. Disney and Star Wars don’t seem to be a match in my mind, but I do love the Star Tours ride, so maybe I need to get over that! Hopefully this will get some more ‘nerds’ running!!!
Scott recently posted..Rock the Block 10k Recap (Subtitle: Making Little Girls Cry)
I LOVE the Star Tours ride! I’ve never gotten the same story twice. I get that on the surface, Disney and Star wars may not be a match, but deep down, I think their appeal is the same: character-driven blockbusters based in fantasy worlds that transcend the eras in which they were made to appeal to every generation, boys and girls, men and women alike…and produce massive amounts of merchandising. Like Joseph Campbell’s Hero With A Thousand Faces, Disney and Star Wars are different versions of the same story, in a sense.
Karla Bruning recently posted..Star Wars Half Marathon Comes To Disneyland In 2015
Lucky for me neither Star Wars of Avengers really appeals to me so I’ve not even been a little tempted by their last few race announcements – yay for my wallet! : )
Danielle recently posted..Weekly Training Recap
Expanding past Disney franchises means that’ll happen for some Disney fans. On the flip side, there are probably folks who were never interested in Disney races before who suddenly are! And I guess that’s the idea. I’m not as big a Star Wars fan as I am Disney fan, but then again Star Tours is one of my absolute favorite rides there and I love me some R2D2. Yes, I had a stuffed Ewok growing up
Karla Bruning recently posted..Star Wars Half Marathon Comes To Disneyland In 2015
I think I picked the wrong weekend to take my family to Disneyland!