The 3rd Annual Champion 5K Run at Hollywood Studios

Robert Mathis invites you to run past the stars at ESPN The Weekend

- by Robert Mathis, March 1, 2011

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March 3-6 marks the 8th annual Dick's Sporting Goods Presents ESPN The Weekend.

For sports fans, it's an opportunity to see and hear more than 35 of their favorite athletes and ESPN personalities, including former University of Florida football coach and current ESPN college football analyst Urban Meyer, Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco, N.Y. Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson, Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, NBA Hall of Famer Julius 'Dr. J' Erving, and MLB Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr., plus former NFL star Derrick Brooks, ex-NBA great Alonzo Mourning, and current Orlando Magic players.

In addition to athlete appearances, ESPN The Weekend will feature:

• On-site telecasts of popular ESPN programs at Disney's Hollywood Studios and at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, including 'Baseball Tonight', 'First Take', 'Mike & Mike in the Morning', 'NFL Live', and '"Friday Night Fights'.
• Motorcades and Q&A sessions with athletes and ESPN personalities.
• Inside ESPN sports shows with commentators and athletes.
• The ESPN Sports Zone interactive area where fans can interact with their favorite sports stars.

• Atlanta Braves spring training games taking place at ESPN Wide World of Sports, including a March 3 game against the Tigers that airs on ESPN with new 'Sunday Night Baseball' crew Dan Shulman, Orel Hershiser, and Valentine.

But of primary interest to readers of this column is the 3rd annual Champion 5K race held on March 5 in Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Disney often has 'companion' 5K races associated with some of their longer events, such as the Disney World Marathon and the Princess Half Marathon, but this is the only stand-alone 5k race at Disney.

It's also the smallest of the Disney races, typically attracting less than 1500 participants (compared with the over 22,000 people who raced last weekend's Princess Half Marathon).

The Champion 5K is for all ages and all levels of runners and walkers with a liberal cutoff pace of 16 minutes per mile.

Further, under Disney's new team rules, you can register for this race as part of a two-person team in either the Men's, Women's, or Co-Ed Divisions.

Disney also offers kid's races for children ages 1-8 on tracks ranging from 100-400 meters.

The Champion 5K is the only chip-timed Disney 5K event which means that Disney can present awards to the top three finishers in each of the different race categories.

Disney also presents two fun awards prior to the start of the race: the Ultimate Fan Award and the Most School Spirit Award.

The finisher's medal for the Champion 5K actually is made of metal. The medals for Disney's other races are 'rubberized': although cute, most serious competitors like the bling and shine of real metal.

I'm still hopeful that Disney will one day convert all of their 5K race medals to metal.

If you're doing the Champion 5K, make sure to bring your camera - you never know when you'll catch a glimpse of one of your favorite pro athletes standing in the sidelines!

Enjoy the race - and good luck!

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