Back in 1996, when we started this newswire, the Walt Disney World marathon was the only real destination marathon in North America. Race Director Jon Hughes and the Disney team created an event that has been innovative in the sport while providing the athletes with the quality event that is expected when the Disney name is attached.

However, Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend has become much more. The true experimentation, from eliminating elite athletes to putting the half marathon on one day and marathon on the other, to the Team Goofy medal, for finishing both events, is pure Disney. And each part of the package is re-examined each and every year.

According to brand researchers, when the average person thinks of Disney, the first thing that they think of is: cleanliness. The story goes that once, during the 3 p.m. parade, a little girl drops her ice cream and begins to cry. A Disney employee whisks her up and gets her a new ice cream while several other Disney employees quickly clean up the offending melted ice cream. The image is key to the branding of Disney.

Walking the parks this weekend, both young and old are enthralled with the Disney experience. That is part of the Disney that runners, walkers and their families buy into, and it is part of the image that Disney sells with the Marathon Weekend.

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Next year, Disney will celebrate its fifteenth anniversary. Anniversaries are a big thing, and while it is not the 100th of the historic BAA Boston Marathon, WDW has seen a huge amount of changes in our sport. The proliferation of the running chip is one of the largest changes, insuring accurate timing and placement for the running masses. The amount of runners and walkers who are running for a cause, through training groups, has totally changed the sport. Many of the largest races in the world look to the huge numbers brought to our sport by the training groups as part of their economic success. In fact, over the past fifteen years, many of the new destination marathons owe their early financial survival to the large numbers brought in by the training groups.

Marathons are big business. Any weekend activity that can bring in millions of dollars in terms of hotel rooms, restaurant meals, running product and general shopping purchases, and with the large ones, tens of millions of dollars over a four day visit is part the economic fuel that charges the metro economic machine. Consider this for one moment: Marathon entry-average of $50, couple comes to town two days before race, hotel is $150 a night, stays 3 nites-$450, add then meals each day, at $100 a day for two, now at $750, then add some shopping for official products and you are at least a $1,000 spender over four days. Then multiply $1,000 by 40,000 at say, the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, and you have some serious economic impact.

The big city marathon has the effect that huge trade convention has on a city economy---hotels, restaurants, retail, movies all prosper. The funny thing is, this economic firepower is not used by many of the races in our sport. Or, they just use it with the converted. Economic impact, in a world where everything seems to be valued by how much money in involved, gives the running community an opportunity to communicate to new potential sponsors and the financial media, with the end results being that running goes mainstream.

Mainstream Running
Among the other champions are walkers who are now, 10 to 20 percent of many large races fields. One of my favorite store owners (who shall remain nameless) was accosted one afternoon by an over enthusiastic training group member. " I need a pair of marathon shoes," said the new participant. " How fast are you planning to run?" said the store owner. The new participant replied, glowingly, " Seven to eight hours." " My dear, " said the store owner, " four hours is a marathon, seven to eight hours is a hike, and let's get you some boots."

In our diverse running community, the performance runner, who is focused on improving his or her time is lost in the fascination with fitness runners, training group runners, and mostly, the millions who run as their major fitness activity but do not consider themselves runners. Where do they fit in?

In 2006, with running footwear sales reaching over $7 billion in the U.S., the majority of footwear sales in running are under $65. The king there, without question, is Nike, with nearly $2.6 billion of that $5 billion business. Go to the very top of the pyramid, the performance running shoes, from $85-90 and up, and you have the $900 million cream of the business. At this level, where margins are high, and over 700 local running stores rule the roost, the food chain is ASICS, Brooks, New balance, Mizuno, Saucony, Nike, adidas, Reebok, FILA, PUMA, Etonic, and several new boutique brands.

In 2006, the biggest winners were Saucony, New Balance, Nike and FILA. Saucony, because the product and experience of Tom Carleo and Pat O'Malley have come to be seen, and Saucony product is being received much better than in the past. New Balance, due to their absolute support of the local retailer and the 767, and Nike and FILA for a few interesting reasons. Nike is reorganizing running under general managers, with Kate Delhagen named the GM for North America and Leslie Lane named the global GM. Nike is realizing that for a company founded on performance running to have lost its way in running does not make corporate sense. FILA, who has been through several reorgs, has product that is giving it a chance to truly get on performance walls.

Probably the most unheralded change in 2007 will be the addition of Fred Doyle, a Nike lifer, who is now Saucony's Sales deity. Doyle is loved in the local running store culture and will change how stores view Saucony.

Two other brands to watch---adidas and Reebok, owned by adidas, but who are taking very different approaches to growing their business. Adrian Leek is back on board in adidas and Reebok has had a complete management shake up. The scary thing is that large companies, like adidas, Reebok and Nike have the infrastructure to decimate competition. They are also very large and at times, making a large company change is near impossible.

But all one has to do is look at ASICS and New Balance, two companies who focus on what they do well, running footwear as the model. To paraphrase the movie line, if you build great shoes, and deliver great shoes, runners will buy them.

Running is big business.

My very crude footwear count, done at both the half marathon and marathon this weekend had ASICS, Brooks as tops with Saucony, New Balance and Nike next up. Lots of Brooks Beasts.

What is a marathon?

The history and the challenge of a marathon are all part of people finding something new about themselves. Can they hack the training? Can they sacrifice the time from their normal day to focus on something for 22-30 weeks? The marathon is all about self-discovery.

Two years ago, when my son, Adam and I visited Olympia, Greece, I jogged a stadia-198 meters from one end of the stadium seats to the other. In this stadium, many great ancient Greek athletes ran and battled their self doubt, and their bodies, for the Olympic ideal. The ancient Greeks put down their weapons during an Olympic celebration, which they realized was more than a celebration of who was the fastest, who could jump the longest, or who could throw the farthest. Sport, athletikos, was a combination of the spiritual and the physical.

It is something the late Dr. George Sheehan, the philosopher king of the sport of running, wrote about often. At first, serious runners looked at him askance. They did not want the purity or the simplicity of their sport put into some ersatz religious terms. For many, running was their escape from rather mundane lives, for many, running was, and is, the only thing that they can control in their hectic, modern lives.

The first three waves of the running revolution were all about the 'club'. The mystery of the marathon was that your neighbor would say, "Gosh, you ran 26. 2 miles, well, heck, I can't even drive that far." Now, that same neighbor might say, "Well, I have been using the Galloway program and I have five more weeks 'til my marathon debut. I am planning on a five minute walking break each twenty minutes!"

The marathon has slowed down, but that is allowing many folks who have NEVER done anything physical to take the challenge and maybe walk the half marathon. Next year, maybe they will run it. The idea is to welcome activity, to encourage the new runners and help them find support within the running community, not to scare them away!

The key is to keep these new runners involved. Now that they have attained their Mount Everest, why not get fit enough to run the distance? Why not run it faster? Those are questions that do not seem to come into many of the participant's minds here.

Women's Marathon: 12,571 for half, 11,500 for the marathon
For the record, this writer is quite pleased with the growth of the half marathon. This year, 12,571 runners finished the half marathon and that was good. The weather was humid, with a bit of overcast, but the humidity was the key to the story.

On the men's side, Jarrod Shoemaker, the 20th ranked triathlete in the world (Olympic distance), third ranked in the U.S., ran his first half marathon in a fine 1:10.29. From Sudbury, MA, Jarrod noted that his mother and uncle had run the race before. This year, however, Jarrod had other reasons for being at the WDW: "I am getting married here on Monday. Twenty in my wedding party and my wife to be running today! You all are invited Monday to our wedding (laughing)."

Jarrod told this writer that the humidity did affect him, "I was running 1:07 pace through seven or eight miles when it just got too hot."

In third place overall was 48-year-old Robert Winn, who ran 1:16:48, to defend his master's title from last year.

In second place---none other than Melissa White, one of the five Brooks Hanson's women who ran on Saturday. Melissa ran 1:15:41 for second overall and first women.

"Early in the race, I went up to Jarrod and asked him how fast he planned on running. When he said probably 1:09, I dropped back a bit, as it was a little faster than my plan," noted Melissa.

Brooks Hanson, a distance project funded by Brooks and Saturn automobiles, has had a team of men or women at the WDW the past three or four years. The women are training for the 2007 USATF Marathon Championships, to be held at the BAA Boston Marathon this year." This will be the last long race for the women 'til Boston," noted Keith Hanson, who along with his brother, Kevin, both ran the half marathon.

The BH project has now developed a strong group of women who are training together. Dot McMahan, the second women and fifth overall noted, " We run all of our runs together, but the competition stays down as Keith and Kevin focus us so much on pace that we really focus on that instead of pushing the pace. At races, we have goals to reach and we then discuss them with Keith and Kevin. I like the set up, because we finally have people to train with."

In spending some time at the finish line during the half marathon, we noted that nearly 6,000 had finished when the clock was at 3:10, and the rest finished between then and five hours. The announcing cuts off at 4:10.

The rest of the day, half marathoners wore their medals with pride, a site seen all over Orlando the rest of the weekend.

Why we are here
For ten years now, the Running Network has had their national meetings here. The Disney sports team offered RN publications a chance to hold a national meeting in return for helping promote the races and covering the events for our various magazines. It has not only become the place where our growing group of publications meets every year, but it is a great way for our publishers and editors to start off the year at one of the sports major events. Special thanks to Courtney Ware and her team and as always, Jon Hughes and his event team.

Running Network partners who ran the half marathon included Brook Gardner (Race Center Northwest), Brenda Barrera (Running Network Web site), John Craig (Athletics) and Tim Dreiling (Oklahoma Runner & Triathlete). Mr. Dreiling would come back to run the marathon the next day.

John Craig, editor of Athletics magazine, ran with his sons Josh and Noah, who have run with him for years. "It was nice seeing the torch passed on to another generation of runners," noted Craig. Track fans will remember John and his twin brother, both Canadian internationalists, who cracked 3:38 at 1,500 in the seventies.

The marathon day
Marathoners are up at the start around 3:30 a.m. and the buses stop around 5 a.m. The effort in getting to the start is a marathon in itself, but, it is the name of the game now for most large marathons. Transporting groups larger than many Midwest towns requires buses, clear roads, and plenty of time.

Jon Hughes, the race director was seen on marathon day, bright and cheery. When this writer noted that Hughes looked great, even after his system of one hour of sleep for the two nights before the marathon, he replied, "Oh, no, I got two hours last night! I feel great!"

As the Running Network media contingent, along with photographers Victor Sailer and Lisa Coniglio (www.PhotoRun.net), ventured to the bus around 6 a.m. we all noted the heat had already arrived. But so thankfully, we noted that there was alot of fog, and that could help the marathoners.

Over 11,500 marathoners ran on Sunday through the WDW course. There are more than eleven thousand five hundred different stories, as this race is not about the elite runners at the top of the field, but about the individual battles of each runner.

The marathon
The WDW finish line is a festive affair with spectator stands the last half mile and Disney characters entertaining everyone and music booming as well as eight hours of announcing, WDW keep the VIPS, media, and fans on their toes.

Adriano Bastos, of Sao Paolo, Brazil, has become the Peter Frampton of the WDW marathon. Bastos had won three races before 2007. A 2:16 marathoner, Bastos has been well received here and in January 2006, after his third victory, had two Disney character tatoos placed on his legs. Tall and wiry, like a triathlete, Bastos owns this race. The long rock star hair was festooned with braids the colors of the Brazilian flag.

Bastos knew what he wanted today. Hitting five miles in 26:39, he had a three minute lead on the field. Bastos hit ten miles in 53:09, and the half in 1:09:38. By twenty, hit in 1:45:44, he knew he had it and cruised in the last 10k in 34 minutes. As he approached the finish, he did somersaults, jumped up and showed us a vertical leap that most athletes would be happy with who did not run the WDW marathon. "I love the Disney marathon and the fans love me." noted Mr. Bastos on his fourth win, in humid conditions, finishing in 2:19:24. Afterward he said, "I felt the pressure from the people who expect me to run well. I had also run a marathon last month. At mile 15, I had a bad patch, and then I worked out of the bad patch. This is my fourth victory, I will come back to make it five."

Listen to your coach . . . Mathew Dobson, coach at West Florida, and a previous winner, ran conservatively, hitting five miles in 29 minutes, ten in 58 minutes and not grabbing second till twenty two miles. His finish time was 2:32:23. Dobson, from Jay, FL, noted that "I ran for place today. A lot of foreign runners think that they can handle the heat. Forget about time, go for position. I did do a negative split, second half was twenty seconds faster."

Dobson caught Roy Vargas, of Heredia, Costa Rica. Vargas held on for third in 2:33:42. Vargas had this to say after his race, "This is my very first marathon. It is unforgettable and now that I have done it, I will come back to improve on my position."

On the women's side, it was a race of new marathoners, and that provided some excitement.

Gabriela Trana, of Alajuela, Costa Rica, burst to the lead at 22 miles and won by 22 seconds. "I finished hard because it was my first race over 42 kilometers. I thought I could win at finish. I felt very good and ran very hard. Running second half better than first half. " noted Trana. Gabriela is intent to qualifying to represent Costa Rica in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

Christa Benton, a top local runner took second, also in her first marathon. "This was my first marathon. I thank God for my endurance and for my ability to finish for the first time," she said. Benton ran the first ten miles in 65 minutes, hit 20 in 2 hours and twelve and finished twenty two seconds down from Trana. A local reporter told us a story about Christa---she recently graduated from college and had won a 5k that morning, changed in her car and made the graduation by ten minutes!

Elizabete Cruz of Sao Paulo, Brazil, finished third overall. She is also a new marathoner and she ran a sub-three hour race finishing in 2:59:38.

As we watched the finishers come in, we were intent on finding Tim Dreiling, publisher of Oklahoma Runner & Triathlete, pursuing his Team Goofy medal. At just under 4:03, he came running by, looking pretty good for having completed 39.3 miles for the weekend! " It was really hot in the Animal Kingdom, but I am fine now," he exclaimed after his weekend of running.

The fog had cleared about three hours, and for the next five hours it was hot and humid. The runners came across the line, collecting their medals, telling their stories and planning for next year.

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The WDW marathon continues to grow, as do most of the well-run and well-executed marathons. Next weekend is the RNR Arizona event as well as the USATF half marathon championships at Houston!

See you on the road!

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Again, a very special thanks to the staffs at Walt Disney World who have made the last ten years of marathons (actually we have been down here for 13 years now) a lot of fun. We especially thank Courtney Ware and her team for all of their hard work.

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atf newswire is produced by shooting star media, inc, represented by the Running Network, LLC. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Special thanks to Brenda Barrera, web editor, and Brian Eder, newswire manager.

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