LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Oct. 26, 2025) – Josh Baden of Lawrence, Kansas was thrilled Sunday to win the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon, but he was just as excited about being at Walt Disney World. His passion for Disney runs just as deep as his love of running.
“I just love Disney in general. I mean, Disney is amazing,’’ Baden said after the race that took runners along an entertainment-filled 13.1-mile course through EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. “My wife and I are huge Disney fans. We’re raising Disney kids now and we are annual passholders so we come back as much as we can.’’
Baden, who easily held off Logan Holmes of Florence, Kentucky to win the race in 1:15:57, said he has been experiencing all that Disney has to offer this weekend, including taking his family to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
Diana Bogantes Gonzalez of Costa Rica was the first woman to cross the finish line, clocking a time of 1:19:25, followed by Samantha Svidesskis of Oceanside, California (1:28:50) and Heather Schulz of Orlando, Florida (1:31:13).
Sunday’s half marathon capped off a magical weekend of racing that included a 5K on Friday and a 10K on Saturday before the half marathon Sunday. In between racing, runners had the opportunity to experience Disney’s four theme parks, shop at the race expo for the hugely popular runDisney merchandise and celebrate their running triumphs at an exclusive post-race party inside EPCOT, which featured food and beverages from the beloved EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival that runs through November 22.
There’s more runDisney racing excitement still to come. Next up is the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend in early January, followed by the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend later that same month, then the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend in February and the runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend in April.
For more information on runDisney races, visit www.rundisney.com. For news releases, photos and video of runDisney races, visit www.disneysportsnews.com.