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Here is the finisher’s medal from the XTERRA Oak Mountain Trail Marathon that took place on May 20, 2012 in Birmingham, Alabama.

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[Submitted by RIF #68 Brenton Day. Follow him on Twitter @thealerunner]

The Walt Disney World Marathon is getting a course facelift to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the popular race.  The changes should please many veterans of the popular Florida race.

Earlier today WDW released a video, featuring Mickey Mouse, that highlights the biggest changes to the course for 2013.

The most noticeable changes will be removing one of the big loops around EPCOT to start the race. Instead the race will go from EPCOT straight to the Magic Kingdom where runners will run through Cinderella’s Castle just before Mile 6. This will be roughly 4 miles sooner than in past years.

Runners will also be running through the Disney Motor Speedway this year, around the NASCAR track, instead of outside of the facility, before rejoining the traditional course that then goes to the Animal Kingdom.

The last major difference will be that instead of the unpopular out and back at Mile 20 from previous WDW Marathons, runners will instead run to the Disney Wide World of Sports where they will run around the inside of Spring Training stadium of the Atlanta Braves.

Runners will then head to Hollywood Studios before finishing back at EPCOT.

The 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon will take place on January 13, 2013 in Orlando, Florida.

The WDW Half Marathon takes place the day before in the same location.  

Runners can complete both races in what is called the Goofy Challenge. The GC does fill up fast.

2013 Walt Disney World Race Maps (January)

• Walt Disney World® Marathon
• Walt Disney World® Half Marathon
• Disney Family Fun Run 5K
• Mickey Mile

Claire Lomas was paralyzed from the neck down back in 2007 when she was in a horse riding accident.  Doctors told her she would never walk again.

So she finished the London Marathon days ago in a ‘bionic’ suit, sixteen days after the race started.  She is the first person to finish a marathon in a bionic suit.

With her husband Dan, mother Joyce and 13-month-old daughter Maisie by her side, Lomas walked about two miles a day to complete the course. More than a fortnight later, on May 8th, a tearful Lomas crossed the finish line as thousands of cheering supporters urged her forward.

“The support has been breathtaking and it feels fantastic to finally finish,” Lomas, who was given a guard of honor by members of the Household Cavalry and the Virgin endurance trophy by CEO Richard Branson’s daughter Holly.

The ‘bionic suit’ runs about $75,000.  The suit allows movement by detecting shifts in the movement of the human body.

Lomas was able to raise over $100,000 during her 16-day journey to complete the London Marathon.

However, organizers of the London Marathon refused to giver her a finisher’s medal or official time since she didn’t finish the marathon on the same day she started it.

But several generous marathoners gave Lomas their finisher’s medal from the race. She says she has over a dozen now.

People who win marathons can inspire others to run, but it’s people like Claire Lomas that inspire thousands of people, by overcoming impossible odds to complete what many consider an impossible task as it is.

Claire said her biggest accomplishment after the accident was giving birth to her baby daughter, Massie.

Congrats to Claire Lomas on her London Marathon finish!

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Dances With Dirt Marathon/Half Marathon that took place on May 12, 2012 in Gnaw Bone, Indiana.

Simple yet unique finisher’s medal. Love the name of the city.

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[Submitted by Jered Mounce. Follow him on Twitter @brokenmiles]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the 35th Lincoln Marathon that took place on May 6, 2012 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Pretty medal and an exact replica of the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon Medal (see HERE). Not sure which one went to this design first, but I’d bet on this one above since it is the 35th running of the event.

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[Submitted by Chad Kilpatrick. Follow him on Twitter @BBChad]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Gettysburg North-South Marathon that took place on April 29, 2012 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

A medal that lives up to it’s name.

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[Submitted by S. Martell. Follow Martell on Twitter @scottym228]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Belfast City Marathon that took place on May 7, 2012 in Belfast, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom).

Love this medal – the colors, design, intricate double loop, and historic building as the highlight.

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[Submitted by Ciaran McSherry. Follow Ciaran on Twitter @22ciarano]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Vancouver Marathon that took place on May 6, 2012 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

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[Submitted by Michael. Follow on Twitter @_MichaelsTweets]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Toronto Marathon that took place on May 6, 2012 in Toronto, Canda.

This medal says O’Canada through and through. It’s a nice piece of bling that feels almost as if it was given out at the Calgary Winter Olympics.

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[Submitted by Azifikare. Follow on Twitter @Azifikare]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Avenue of the Giants Marathon that took place on May 6, 2012 in Humboldt Redwoods State Park just south of Eureka, California.

1. This is an extremely beautiful and colorful medal. A lot of design and thought went into it.

2. This is a great example of how to photograph your medal.  A solid color background – in this case a dark redwood tree which was a major highlight of running this race.

Great Medal – Great Photography!

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[Submitted by Angie Gerber. Follow him on Twitter @runningdaiz]