Ian Bordelon of Orlando wins second straight time; top female finisher has fast run along with her husband; runners toast their accomplishments during post-race party at EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival 

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Nov. 5, 2023) – No one has to convince Ian Bordelon that Walt Disney World Resort is indeed The Most Magical Place on Earth. The Orlando runner lives only minutes from the Disney resort and Sunday he made the short drive to EPCOT where he won the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon for the second straight year. 

And just like last year, he won it easily, cruising to the finish line nearly two minutes ahead of the rest of the field. In fact, his winning time of 1:11:38 is only about a minute off from the race record of 1:10:24 set by Jason Simpson in 2016. 

“Yeah, it’s a blast,’’ Bordelon said of racing at Disney. “You train really hard. And so to come to an event like this where you can kind of relax a little bit and let loose and have a little bit of fun with all the other runners here, it’s a blast and a blessing to be able to finish first.’’ 

For the top female finisher, Renee Kearns, the 13.1-mile race was a family affair. Not only was she the first woman to cross the finish line (1:23:55), but her husband, Ryan Kearns (1:13:12), finished second among the men. Plus, they brought along their toddler son with them from their Littleton, Colorado home, making this his first trip to Walt Disney World. Now, they plan to spend Monday celebrating her win on her husband’s birthday. 

“It feels amazing,’’ Kearns said of winning with her family along for the ride. “It’s just good feelings all around.’’ 

Kearns said after the race that she didn’t come to Disney expecting to win because, frankly, she had spent the last couple of days having a ball in the parks, experiencing attraction after attraction. 

“We’ve been hitting the parks hard this week, so the legs are little sore,’’ Kearns said. “But I had a good feeling around mile 4 that it was a potential for me.’’ 

In the wheelchair division, Heather Sealover from Bossier City, Louisiana finished first with a time of 1:02:33, while Nicholas McCoy of Boerne, Texas was the first male finisher at 1:10:34. 

Sunday’s half marathon was themed around the Disney animated film “Encanto.’’ The course took runners from EPCOT to Disney’s Hollywood Studios before finishing back at EPCOT. This evening, the runners will toast their achievements at an exclusive post-race party at the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival.  

Next up in the runDisney race series is its signature event – the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend (Jan. 3-7, 2024). The event features a 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon, plus the Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge (half marathon and full marathon) and the Dopey Challenge (5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon). 

The following week the runDisney race series returns to Disneyland Resort in California for the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend (Jan. 11-14, 2024). That event includes a 5K, 10K, half marathon and the Dumbo Double Dare (10K and the half marathon), plus kids’ races, yoga and a health and fitness expo.