There were tears and hugs as runners crossed the finish line.
Like many of the thousands of runners in the Sunday Nov. 11 Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon, racing events organized by runDisney at the Disneyland Resort are finished – for now.
Some 7,500 runners – many in costume as their favorite super hero such as Hulk, Thor, and Spiderman – trekked 13.1 miles in and around Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and nearby surface streets for runDisney’s last half marathon.
The runners were among the 24,000 who participated in the superhero-themed weekend running event, which included a kid’s race, 5K, and 10K.
Disney announced earlier this month that runDisney will go on hiatus after Sunday due to pending construction projects in the Disneyland Resort.
Soon Disney will begin construction on two new parking structures and a four-diamond hotel on the west side of the Downtown Disney district in preparation for the crush of visitors expected for Disneyland’s Star Wars-themed land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, in 2019.
Officials expect construction on the new projects to begin in 2018 and the hotel to be completed sometime in 2021.
Disney officials have previously said runDisney races may return in the future at Disneyland Resort but gave no indication when. Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris will continue hosting racing events.
Many runners after the race shared their thoughts of the bittersweet moment on Facebook and other social media sites.
“I’m so sad,” wrote Karolyne Stokely, on runDisneyrun, a runDisney fan-made Facebook site. Stokely shared a photo of herself and friends with a Spiderman mascot. “Last Disneyland race. I hope it comes back.”