Brooks Sports, Inc. was founded in 1914 by Morris Goldenberg and is a company that produces high performance shoes, soccer and running apparel. Brooks originally produced bathing shoes in 1917 before moving into sports in the 1930s by producing baseball cleats in 1920 and football cleats in the 1930s. In 1979 the world champion Pittsburgh Pirates endorsed Brooks shoes. In 1984 quarterback Dan Marino endorsed Brooks athletic footwear.
The runDisney series involves road races and family events aimed at encouraging every level of runner to engage. The events are held over weekends at Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida and Disneyland® Resort in California. More than 160,000 participants engage in runDisney events each year, making it one of the most popular running series in the country. The Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend alone is expected to draw more than 100,000 participants and spectators from around the world.