Today's news confirms what so many of us feared. The Walt Disney Company's race organization, RunDisney has made the official announcement! West Coast Races for 2018 at the Disneyland Resort have been cancelled until further notice. The social pages were full of speculation and rumors as deadlines for race registrations came and went without any information. While races at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris will continue their schedule for 2018, the construction of the Star Wars Land: Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland will affect local races. Along with the new four diamond hotel coming to the Downtown Disney area and the addition of the Eastern Gateway, the surrounding area around the Disneyland Resort which also includes residential homes, the need to cancel the races makes sense from a logistical point of view. But for the over 25,000 that participate in one or more of the four yearly events who train and work so hard, the cancellation is a huge blow. As is the approximate $30 million dollars in revenue the races bring to the city of Anaheim and its surrounding areas.
For me the Disneyland Races hold a special place in my life. The Tinkerbell Race in 2015 was the first attempt after my weight loss to participate in an organized event. I registered and completed my first 5K, 10K and Half Marathon during Mother's Day weekend in 2015. The following year, I completed the Tinkerbell races (with my right arm in a cast) as well as the Disneyland Half Marathon, where I again in my madness, completed the 5K, 10K and half marathon. On a personal level, the races were my inspiration to exercise while earning the "Bling". Now sadly I will have to return to the dreaded treadmill at the gym.
The Marathon friends I have made in the last few years are one of a kind each with their own story for competing. We will all keep our fingers crossed that once all the construction is complete, RunDisney will reinstate the Disneyland Races. I need to add to my "bling".
The Disneyland Resort will host its last runDisney event, the Super Heroes Half Marathon on Nov. 9 -12, 2017.
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