Woman makes history at 2023 Disney Princess Half Marathon

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — One woman ran into the record books at the Disney Princess Half Marathon this weekend.

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Neely Gracey, from Colorado, marks the third time a woman has been the overall winner of a race in runDisney history.

Gracey joins Giovanna Martins and Jackie Pirtlehall, who won the 2017 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon and the 2019 Disney Princess Half Marathon, respectively.

Photos: Woman makes history at Disney Princess Half Marathon

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Woman makes history at Disney Princess Half Marathon (Feb. 26, 2023) Runners crossed the finish line at the Disney Princess Half Marathon presented by CORKCICLE at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., the final event during the four-day race weekend. The women-inspired event featured thousands of runners, plus entertainment and themes geared toward women throughout the weekend. (Elisa White, photographer) (Elisa White/Elisa White, photographer)

The festivities started with the runDisney Health and Fitness Expo at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and a yoga event at Magic Kingdom.

There was also a 5K race on Friday, with Sunday’s half marathon marking the end of the race weekend.

In addition to the half marathon, Gracey ran in the Disney Princess 10K on Saturday and logged about 20 miles across the two days.

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Gracey said she had never done back-to-back races, but she relied on her past experiences to cross the finish line and did so ahead of the other runners. She beat the entire field at Sunday’s race.

“I had to utilize some strategies that I’ve learned over my almost 20 years of running to really make sure that I was able to finish strong today, and it paid off,” Gracey said.

The next runDisney event will be the Springtime Surprise Weekend, from April 13 through April 16, which will be the last runDisney event of the 2022-2023 season.

Video: Runners step up for 2023 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend Visitors at Walt Disney World may see some royalty running around this weekend. (James Tutten, WFTV.com/WFTV)

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