Ex-college runner, Spaniard score wins
Dani Cook was excited to support her sister-in-law, who ran her first half marathon Sunday at Disney World.
As for Cook, the former Indiana State runner is an experienced racer. She has had many firsts but never before had the only person who beat her been a man in a tutu.
The 10th annual Disney Princess Half Marathon is a different breed.
“I was hoping to get top three, just based on past results,’’ Cook said. “I [live in] Colorado, so I’m not used to the humidity. I tried to be conservative and have big goals, but not expect a lot. See how the race went and run my own race and see what happens.’’
Cook finished the 13.1-mile race in 1 hour, 20 minutes, 31 seconds. Spaniard Victor Da Costa Mendoza crossed the finish line first in 1:19:03.
“In the expo, a friend said, ‘If you want to run it, you have to run it in a tutu,’ ’’ Da Costa Mendoza said. “I said, ‘OK. I will get one.’ ’’
Sunday was the first time that men were recognized in the official results of the Disney Princess Half Marathon. A total of 20,448 runners finished, including 18,183 women.
Cook, 32, said she took the lead in the Magic Kingdom between mile Nos. 5 and 6 on the course, which began and ended at Epcot. The realization that she was going to be the top women’s finisher did not engulf Cook until near the end of the race.
“With the heat, I was like, ‘You could die at any moment,’ but I just waited until I was kind of in the park and safe,’’ Cook said. “The last mile, I tried to really enjoy it.’’
Cook finished nearly 2½ minutes ahead of Natasha Baskin of Montverde. Baskin, who is preparing for the Rotterdam Marathon in the Netherlands in April, finished in 1:22:52.
Elle Ellender of Hilton Head Island, S.C., was third in 1:24:38.
“I definitely wasn’t sure how my legs would go,’’ said Baskin. 37. “In the first half, I felt pretty good but went a little bit faster than my game plan. I was going with the leaders, so I went for it, but once I dropped off, I was kind of on my own in the struggle zone.’’
Da Costa Mendoza, 27, did not struggle.
He was in Central Florida to visit a friend in Windermere. Winning was a bonus, as was the attention he drew from wearing a neon-green tutu.
“I heard one funny [comment],’’ Da Costa Mendoza said. “‘C’mon, girl.’ And then they said, ‘No, you’re not a girl. You’re a guy.’ ’’
Mark Ruhsam of Orlando placed second among the men in 1:27:26. Zachary Thomas of Austin, Texas, was next in 1:28:49.
They were outliers, though, in a race focused on women’s runners.
No woman did better Sunday than Cook.
“I try not to limit myself,’’ she said. “If you put the work into something, then you can still get what you want out of it.’’