Run, Karla, Run!

Runners cross the starting line of the Tinker Bell Half Marathon. Photo courtesy of runDisney.

With a little bit of faith, trust and pixie dust, the inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon got off to a flying start on Sunday, Jan. 29 at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. More than 10,200 runners finished the debut event aimed at celebrating women and fitness.

The race marked my first trip to Disneyland, unless you count the time my mother says I went as a 4-month-old. So I decided to do it right. I willed my 5-foot-8-inch frame into a child’s XL Tinker Bell costume, wings and all, and lined up in the all-women’s corral A for the 5:45 a.m. start.

As I shivered in the 50-degree air waiting for the race to begin, I noticed I wasn’t the only one doing as the Romans do. A sea of fairies, princesses and tutus surrounded me. I saw runners dressed as Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Alice, Tiger Lily, Peter Pan, and, of course, Tinker Bell. It’s safe to say that half the runners wore something other than regular running gear, be it fairy wings, a sparkle skirt, or a full-fledged costume. Read the rest of this entry →

Kellie Nickerson of Albuquerque, N.M., won the inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon in 1:27:52. Photo courtesy runDisney.

The half-marathon is the fastest growing distance in the U.S. It’s also runners’ favorite distance to race according to Running USA’s National Runner Survey. Who is driving this phenomenon? Women.

It’s no wonder that when runDisney decided to add another flagship race to their series, they opted for a women-focused half-marathon. The Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend enjoyed its inaugural run at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 29. More 17,000 runners participated in three major running events over the course of the weekend: 12,000 runners tackled the Tinker Bell Half Marathon, 4,000 jogged the Never Land Family Fun Run 5K, and 1,300 tykes tried the runDisney Kid’s Races.

Women-only or women-focused races are a growing segment of the running industry, fuelled largely by an influx of women into the sport. And while races welcome men as well—920 men lined up at the start of the Tinker Bell Half along with 11,080 women—race directors are luring women with extra perks like preferred placement at the start, ladies cut race T-shirts, and expanded awards for women only. Read the rest of this entry →

Runners wait for the start of the Never Land Family Fun Run 5K. Photo by Karla Bruning.

The inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend kicked off on Friday with the Never Land Family Fun Run 5K. An estimated 4,000 runners lined up for the 10:30 p.m. start of the very first nighttime race ever held at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. I was on hand to take in all the action and run the debut event.

The atmosphere was more like a party than a race. A DJ dressed as a fairy helped runners warm-up with Top 40 hits under the lights of Main Street USA and Sleeping Beauty Castle in the Disneyland Park.

Who better to kick off the evening than Tinker Bell herself? The famous fairy swooped down from the sky and flew over Sleeping Beauty Castle, sprinkling pixie dust just before the start of the race. The spectacle drew audible gasps and applause from the runners in the corrals. Read the rest of this entry →

Racers run through Cinderella's Castle during the Walt Disney World Half Marathon. Photo courtesy of runDisney/Todd Anderson.

I like a good challenge. The Runner’s World Holiday Running Streak? Check. Four hours on an elliptical machine? Dunzo. My first triathlon? In the bag.

So I’m making my first goal of 2012 another challenge—runDisney’s Coast to Coast Race Challenge. Runners who finish a half marathon or marathon at both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California in the same calendar year receive a third medal to mark the occasion. I do like a nice medal. Read the rest of this entry →

The Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon

What does it take to put on a race in the happiest place on earth? A little bit of magic and a whole lot of teamwork. More than 50,000 runners planned to participate in the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend from Jan. 6 to Jan. 8, culminating in the Walt Disney World Marathon today. But shuttling 50,000 runners, plus their families who have come to watch them, through six race events over the course of three days is no simple task. Working year-round, runDisney aims to make these racing events fun for the whole family, while maintaining the regular Disney magic for the thousands of other park and resort guests enjoying a dream vacation.

“The biggest challenge is trying to put a half-marathon or marathon in Walt Disney World when you have on any given day 50,000 to 100,000 day guests,” says John Phelan, entertainment show director for Disney Sports.  “The logistics are one of the key challenges of doing all of this.”

Jon Hughes, race director for the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and other runDisney events couldn’t agree more. Read the rest of this entry →

Karla runs Central Park on New Year's Day. Photo by Anne Hospod.

40 days, 40 runs, 100 miles. Snow, slush, sub-freezing temps. Treadmills, trails, roads, sidewalks. I’ve run them all as part of the Runner’s World Holiday Running Streak. On Thanksgiving, I set out to run at least a mile a day every single day through New Year’s Day. It wasn’t always easy; squeezing in even a mile on some days was surprisingly difficult. But somehow I stuck with it, and I’m happy to throw my arms up in victory and say: I did it! I finished my last day in style: 7.75 miles in New York City’s resplendent Central Park.

At the start, I told Runner’s World’s “Training Daily” blog my reasons for attempting the streak: “My winter training is usually erratic, unfocused, and lackluster. And that’s putting it nicely. For once, I’d love to start spring training with a healthy base. I also like to eat—a lot. But when I run better, I eat better. So here’s hoping the streak will help keep my holiday sweet tooth in check.” Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by Phil Hospod

With 34 days down, my Runner’s World Holiday Running Streak officially rocked around the Christmas tree. Forget laughing all the way, I’m running all the way, logging at least a mile a day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. I’ve made it through two of the big three holidays I celebrate: Thanksgiving and Christmas (with a little Hanukkah thrown in for my Jewish family and friends). There’s just one more holiday and five days to go. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo courtesy of runDisney

Yesterday runDisney unveiled a new race weekend for 2012. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler Weekend will debut in September 2012 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida. The race is a re-imagination of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 13K last run in 2009.

The main event of the weekend is a nighttime 10-mile race, scheduled for Sept. 29. The course will run through the set of Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show, past Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat and finish near The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In true Disney fashion, the race will culminate in a villain-themed post-race party with live music, characters—including your favorite Disney villains, of course—and exclusive access to attractions like The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, Star Tours and Toy Story Mania. Read the rest of this entry →

Karla runs on a trail in the snow. Photo by Phil Hospod.

When I accepted the challenge of the Runner’s World holiday running streak—running at least a mile a day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day—I sincerely thought I’d have a slim chance of making it very far. But after three weeks, my streak is still alive. Not only that, it’s alive and well, and has started to change how I think about running. Read the rest of this entry →

Karla and Cinderella run in the snow. Photo by Phil Hospod.

It was a cold and snowy Thanksgiving morning in rural Quebec, where I spent my holiday. The night before, a snowstorm blanketed the farmland around me, and a haze of flurries continued to drift down. It was white as far as the eye could see from the hilltop where I was perched. But I had to do it. I had to go for a run.

I’d pledged to run at least a mile a day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day as part of the Runner’s World Holiday Running Streak. A little Canadian snow wasn’t going to stop me. Now two weeks in, my streak is still going strong.

I can’t believe I’ve made it this far. This streak represents the most days I’ve ever run consecutively, my previous record being a measly—and more normal—six days in a row. It’s been a smooth ride for the most part, but there have been a few close calls. Like the night I ran home from dinner—at 10 p.m. and in street clothes with steak and creamed spinach jiggling in my stomach—because I had completely forgotten to run earlier in the day. Whoops! But I was determined to keep the streak alive, so I did what must be done. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by Graham Horn

Oh winter. It’s my least favorite time of year. I know, the holidays are magical with the twinkle lights and the parties and the food. Mmm, the food. But the holidays can be challenging for a runner, especially if you live in the northern half of the country, or the world, for that matter. Temperatures drop, snow accumulates, days darken, parties are plentiful, and the reasons not to head out for a run become pretty easy to come by.

So the folks over at Runner’s World have cooked up a cure. Meghan G. Loftus, who writes the RW Training Daily blog, is leading the charge with a Holiday Running Streak. She’s pledging to run at least a mile a day, every day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. And she’s looking for runners to join her. Read the rest of this entry →

Runners in Brooklyn's Prospoect Park. Photo by Karla Bruning.

Brooklyn is toeing the line. The inaugural Brooklyn Marathon kicks off on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 8 a.m. in Prospect Park. In the tradition of New York City marathons, this one has humble roots. The race is capped at 350 runners and the course is contained entirely in Prospect Park, the crown jewel of the borough’s park system. But founder Steve Lastoe hopes it’s just the beginning for this fledgling race.

“I want a race that’s organically part of Brooklyn,” Lastoe said on The New York Running Show, a podcast where I’m, at times, a panelist. “I want this race to be loved by Brooklyn.”

New York City could certainly use another marathon. The ING New York City marathon, the largest in the world, had more than 148,000 applicants for its 45,000 spots in the 2011 race. The demand amongst runners is plentiful, but the supply isn’t. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo courtesy of New York Road Runners.

The ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 6 gave us two truly exciting races in both the men’s and women’s competitions. Three runners shattered—and I mean shattered—the course record in the men’s competition. And one runner gave a guts-on-the-floor performance that likely cost her the race in the women’s competition. Scroll down for athlete interviews, stats and more as I was ringside in the Timex Media Center at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Columbus Circle, giving a behind the scenes play-by-play of what it’s like in the press room as a New York Road Runners Social Media Reporter. Here’s how it went:

8:30 am: Good morning! I’m here in the Timex Media Center at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City. We are one minute away from the wheelchair start of the 2011 ING New York City Marathon! Read the rest of this entry →

The start of the ING New York City Marathon. Photo by Fergal Carr.

For the first time since 2007, I’m not running a marathon. It feels a little odd, especially as the ING New York City Marathon approaches on Sunday, Nov. 6. I’ve run the race three times—each to a personal best. When I ran Chicago instead in 2009, I was out on the course cheering for my friends who were running the Big Apple.

Not one to idly let the marathon pass me by, I’ll still be participating in another way this year. New York Road Runners recruited me to be one of their Social Media Reporters. I’m teaming up with NYRR TV’s The Daily Cool Down hosted by Olympian Carrie Tollefson—a daily recap show of all the hustle and bustle surrounding marathon week—on Friday night and Saturday, tweeting as they run around the city capturing the excitement of marathon weekend. Then on race day, I’ll be blogging live from the marathon media center, sharing what’s really going on behind the scenes of the world’s biggest marathon. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo courtesy of runDisney.

8,268 finishers. 13.1 miles. Three theme parks. And one magical race. This self-proclaimed Disney girl—my dog’s name is Cinderella after all—finally did it. I ran my first runDisney race. Disney’s Wine & Dine Half Marathon on Oct. 1 did not disappoint. It was everything the little girl in me hoped it would be.

Leading up to the race, I’d taken my training rather seriously; running a personal best was definitely on my mind. But other runners who had done Disney races warned me otherwise. Disney races are too much fun, they said. You’ll want to stop and have your photo taken with characters, they said. You’ll be too taken-in by the music and spirit on the course, they said.

Well, they were right. Read the rest of this entry →