Josh Baden is Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon 2025 winner
For Josh Baden of Lawrence, Kansas, winning the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025 was a major athletic accomplishment, but the thrill of the victory was matched by his excitement to simply be at Disney World. For the annual passholder, the passion for Disney runs just as deep as his love for running.
Baden easily secured the victory, holding off Logan Holmes of Florence, Kentucky, to cross the finish line with a time of 1:15:57. Baden beat his own time from when he won last year by 32 seconds. In 2024 he also finished first in the half marathon with a time of 1:16:29. In the 2023 Walt Disney World Marathon he finished third with a time of 2:32:02.
The 13.1-mile course took runners on an entertainment-filled route through EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
After the race, Baden shared that the magic of Disney is a family affair.
“I just love Disney in general. I mean, Disney is amazing,” Baden said. “My wife and I are huge Disney fans. We’re raising Disney kids now, and we are annual passholders, so we come back as much as we can.”
Baden spent the race weekend not just focused on competition, but also experiencing the parks, including a visit with his family to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
In the women’s division, Diana Bogantes Gonzalez of Costa Rica was the first to finish, clocking a time of 1:19:25. She was followed by Samantha Svidesskis of Oceanside, California (1:28:50), and Heather Schulz of Orlando, Florida (1:31:13).
When Bogantes Gonzalez previously ran the Wine and Dine Half Marathon in 2021 she came in third with a time of 1:17:57.
“I like the entire ambience of the race,” she said after the event. “Everyone just runs happy. I doesn’t matter if you come first, second, last, whatever, it’s just a happy place. You always run happy here.”
The half marathon capped a weekend of racing that included a 5K on Friday and a 10K on Saturday. After their triumphs, runners were invited to celebrate at an exclusive post-race party inside EPCOT, featuring food and beverages from the popular EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival.