Photo Credit (c) Disney

Between the opportunity to run in Walt Disney World with runDisney (through Cinderella Castle!) and the Disney Princess collection, I knew right away that if I was going to run my first long distance race, it was going to be the Disney Princess Half Marathon. As a predominantly female race, it is an empowering, emotional and magical weekend.

The theming is perhaps what sets the weekend apart from the other runDisney races. Tutus, tiaras, fairy dust – if you can dream it, you can wear it (so long as you’re comfortable running 3.1 – 13.1 miles in it!) I first ran the race in 2016 when our host Princess was Ariel. 2015 was the first race weekend to have host princesses Anna and Elsa, in celebration of the wildly successful “Frozen” film. Before this though, the princess theme was fairly general.

This past February’s race was distinctly Beauty and the Beast themed, and the medals reflected the style and beauty (pun intended) of the film. Before each of the events during race weekend, runDisney helped roll out the Walt Disney Company’s new campaign, “Dream Big, Princess”, with a video “Be A Champion.” Check out the video here:

The “Dream Big, Princess” Campaign was launched in 2016 as a way to empower and inspire young girls AND boys. More than royalty who seek to fall in love and have a fairytale ending, these characters are strong, confident, full of truth and follow their hearts. In the spirit of the times, Disney is acknowledging how much children look up to these characters, and how they as a company can support and encourage this demographic more so than ever before. I believe this campaign was the catalyst for the rebrand of the 10th Anniversary 2018 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend.

Branding: You’ll notice an obvious difference from the 2016 branding to the 2017 and even 2018 logos. The 2017 and 2018 logos are extremely reminiscent of the Dream Big, Princess font.

Whether or not this means an individual princess or the entire cast will support the theme of this year’s race, time will tell. However, I think getting back to the roots of the race theme, while supporting this socially responsible endeavor will be wonderful. It is also important to note that the designated charity for the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend is the Children’s Miracle Hospital Network. I sincerely hope that the 2018 celebration is more empowering and uplifting than ever before.

I look forward to bringing you the latest news as it comes out! The race weekend sold out each of the events in what felt like record timing. While I didn’t register myself, I was certainly following along! I’m sad to say that I will not be participating this year, as I will likely still be recovering from the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, but I can’t wait to support and encourage Princesses from all over the world to participate in this incredible weekend.

—

PS: Dream, Big Princess is coming to an AMC Theater near you! As the Walt Disney Company has done since the history of motion picture, they will be re-releasing some of their most beloved classics to the movie theaters! Don’t miss your chance to see your favorites below:

Beauty and the Beast (1991) September 15 – 21
Mulan (1998) September 22 – 28
Tangled ( ) September 29 – October 5
The Princess and the Frog ( )  October 6 – 12
Brave ( ) October 13 – 19

Until next time, Dream Big, Princess!
Gina / Will Run for Disney