In 2003, the first local resident, Bea Marie Alitieri of Clermont, won the 10th anniversary of the WDW Marathon women's division at a pace of 2:53:10.
The 10th anniversary also saw the debut of the "perfect" program, which included 152 runners who had completed all ten Marathons between 1994 and 2003.
[5] The 2010 races set two records with the largest participant field (55,000) and the coldest starting temperatures (low 30s).
700 racers participated in this 5K race on the Disney Cruise Line's private island, Castaway Cay.
75-year-old Gretna, Louisiana native Rudy Smith was the oldest of those "perfect" participants, completing his 57th career marathon in a time of 5:01:03.
[10] That year, Lock Haven University alum Nicholas Hilton broke the 13-year streak of Brazilian victors (compiled by Adriano Bastos and Fredison Costa) to become just the second American male to win the Marathon.
"[12] The message was further clarified on Twitter: "Even with the modified course – run times will still be recorded and runners will receive medals at the finish line."
The course was again redesigned in 1999 to included the newly opened Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.
The Castaway Cay Challenge, introduced in 2015, involves completing any Marathon Weekend race before boarding the Disney Dream at Port Canaveral the following Monday and sailing to Castaway Cay –Disney Cruise Line's private island in the Bahamas– to complete a 5K race across the island.