With the big announcement yesterday that Disney was launching a super hero themed half marathon and social media going nuts over it, it got me thinking: are there rules for the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon weekend?
Quick rundown (pun totally intended):
- Disney announced a new Half Marathon built around The Avengers
- Typically, the races have revolved around all Disney characters (which include Marvel Comics and Star Wars), but mostly the Princesses and staples such as Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, and now Pixar have received most of the attention.
- The Avengers movies out now include: Capt. America, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow and more, but that’s the all-star cast
Run Disney even uses the words:
Join the Avengers team of Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Tony Stark for the Inaugural Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend at the Disneyland® Resort November 14-16, 2014. See promo page here.
But the current movies include characters that are based on comics by Marvel dating back to the 60s. Over time, The Avengers comics have included a much larger list of members, including Spider-Man, several X-Men and others. My question then becomes:
Who can you dress up as?
Clearly the big names above (Capt. America, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk) are up for grabs. I’ve even dressed as The Hulk for a half before (see photos here), so I know how fun (and hard) that can be. But that is a short list of characters for ALL the runners. Are all women going to go as Scarlet Johansson as Black Widow?
So, for the sake of having some fun with this (and please don’t take this as FACTUAL evidence of anything other than I’m a giant pop culture nerd), I wanted to take a poll.
[poll id=”2″]
OK. In order to show my true nerd, I wanted to include this question. Marvel vs. DC. For those of you unfamiliar, there essentially are two sides to the comic world. One is Marvel (Iron Man, Capt. America, X-Men, Spider-Man, Hulk) and the other is DC Comics (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash)… they are separate and you must choose a side. LOL. Think Pixar vs. Dreamworks… yes, they both make animation, but Shrek is way different then Monsters, Inc… Make sense? Go with it.
[poll id=”3″]
And this one is mostly because in the comic world, there are not that many female super heros. There are some, don’t get me wrong… some great ones. But the list of well-knowns goes pretty quickly. I’m actually interested to see how the female runners treat this race.
[poll id=”4″]
And just because I’m “that kinda crazy” there is always this thought (shout out to @pointonemiles and @dvtilinfinity as they messaged me early on with the same thought):
#Disney2LV
Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend is the same weekend as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half/Full Marathon, Nov. 17.
Sunday: Disney Avengers Half Marathon at 5:30 am
Sunday: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half/Full Marathon at 4:30 pm
Note: There is a Disney 5k on Saturday so you could do 3 races. There is also a 1/2 of the half in Vegas that starts at 3:30
So that idea is floating around my head and I know plenty of peeps on social who are thinking the same thing and trying to figure out details. Either way, we have a few weeks to decide as registration for the Avengers Half opens March 25. Decisions, decisions. I mean, I essentially did this last year with #SA2LV, now the travel time is less, so that makes it easier, right?
Are you excited about the latest addition to the Disney race series?
I normally run in my running tiara – I may have to work out how to make it shoot fire or something. Or, my theory is Avengers is now linked to Joss Weedon. Ergo I’m going as Buffy!
Yup, your nerd side was on firing with this one! ;-)
I’m not that into the comics, but it seems like a cool race to spectate. SEe some interesting costumes lol
i WISH i COULD MAKE IT THERE FOR THIS ONE!!
Had no idea! Interesting to know though! I want to run a Disney race someday, and I tell myself I will just run it to enjoy it and take in the fun…..but not sure I will be able to manage that when I get into race mode. I definitely need to wait until my running career is on the way down. Right now when I race it is serious business, qualifications for national teams are on the line! Thanks for the information, and I enjoyed the survey, good fun :) Who would you dress as?
I have always wanted to do a Disney race. I might have to wait till the kids get a little older and make it a family event. :) Oh and I’m sure you can get to both. Someone out there on the West coast must have a plane you can rent.
Your nerd is definitely showing!! This is a race my hubby could get into! I think it’s a fun idea. Disney has several races dedicated to all things tulle and glitter…why not change it up and be super?
So I was totally feeling you on this post today because my husband is a HUGE comic/superhero fan. In our house it is mostly DC, but some Marvel.
But my favorite thing about this post is the fact that I now know of a race that my husband MIGHT want to do in the future!
I’m grinning like a fool. This is some excellent food for thought, Pavey, and thank you for bringing the tough questions to the attention of the running community. ; )
I just want to run as Wonder Woman, just once. This may be my only chance.
One of my bucket list items is to run a Disney race! I would love to run the marathon one day but ANY race would work for me. Hopefully we move closer here soon and I have that option :)
Personally, I think for a race like this, anything Marvel Superhero-themed is valid. *queue nerd-speak* There’s enough that you don’t really need to dig into regular Disney characters or DC characters. If you’re female, you’ve got (obviously) Black Widow from the movies, but Marvel includes a lot more than what’s in the movies. There’s all the characters from the X-men universe: Storm, Rogue, Jubilee, Scarlet Witch, Kitty Pryde, Jean Grey, Mystique; ones from the Fantastic Four group: Susan Storm, She-Hulk; and the Spider-Man series: Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy and Aunt May would be somewhat “normal” looking costumes, but then there’s also Black Cat, Ms. Marvel/Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (who also fits in with the Avengers) or Spider-Woman.
And really, that’s just the tip of the iceberg: http://marvel.wikia.com/Category:Female_Characters
They’re all owned by Marvel and are thus owned by Disney, even though Disney may not have the movie rights to most of them (not yet, anyway).
You totally should do #Disney2LV. That’s totally doable…I mean, for you of course. Not me :-)
Damn, now my Green Lantern halloween costume is going to go to waste.
Disney and Las Vegas sounds really tempting! I guess I have some time to think about it…
Maybe I’m in the minority as far as Disney races go, but I’m getting sick of princesses. Being a superhero, on the other hand, is something I fantasized about as a kid. There may be some armchair psychological meaning behind girls/women wanting to be princesses versus superheroes…looking for love versus saving the world? I don’t know.
Having grown up in a very Marvel-dominated family with a brother and uncles who regularly updated each other on various storylines during family get-togethers, I’d never dress as a DC character in an Avengers themed race. I would dip into the history of the title and find a character that I didn’t think everyone else was going to dress as. Also…just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I have to dress as a female character. I just did Captain America for a Halloween race last year.
I’m with Christine, #Disney2LV has your name written all over it. #runalltheracesyo
I’ve been trying to avoid the social media flurry for this since it falls on my daughter’s birthday, but dang, it’s sounding better and better by the minute. Of course I’d have to go as She Hulk. Boom. :)
This was actually a topic of debate in our house last year – does it count if you dress up as Tony Stark? The mr. claims it doesn’t count because he’s not a super hero without the suit.
5 avengers, 1 is female; seems balanced. Black Widow’s costume is basic black. How do you pull that off so you’re recognizable? Moving on to heroes that tie-in, Ms Marvel or X-Men. #GeekLevelIntermediate
It sounds awesome! It says join the Avengers which I think means be whatever Superhero you wanna be (which can yourself!). Because you are totally a super hero PR!
If my head to costume wasn’t so hot to wear, I’d wear my Dark Phoenix costume no matter what the trend was supposed to be for the Avengers Half. I’m curious how this Disney Half goes over. I think it will be a big one despite the expense.
Fun poll. I have never run a race in costume, but really want to.
Am I excited, haha.
I say dress up as any character, at Princess there were plenty of people dressed up like Disney characters that were not princesses. :)
Wow! Disney knows how to pull out all the stops from their deep pocket of characters – which now includes superheroes. I’ve always been partial to Batman, but in terms of Marvel, Iron Man is undoubtedly my favorite. This should be a fun race, and since it’s a half, the training shouldn’t be too difficult.
Disney already has 2 races (Princess/Tink) geared towards women. While I agree that you pay the price; dress up as any character that you want. Most Disney races women outnumber the men (true that half those women walk the course; some even somehow get in the first corral). I personnally think they should start in Corral F (F=Fun). Disney runs really are what you make them. If stopping at every character is in your plans; do it. I’m a runner, so stopping just kills me looking at my watch, but that’s my choice.
I did the best of the both worlds for the Princess/Glass Slipper Challenge. I was Cinderella Warrior Princess for the 10K and SuperCindy for the Half. :) Not sure yet what to do for the Avenger 5K and Half – but it’ll be Marvel. Can’t wait! And I have the Dumbo Double Dare, too.