More than 25,000 runners from across the world participated in the Walt Disney World Half Marathon presented by Cigna on Saturday. For two of those runners, Judi Mallory (60, Orlando) and Julie Heinz (41, Washington, DC), this was much more than just a race. To Judi and Julie, this was the weekend their lives would change forever.
More than 40 years ago, as a young woman, Judi gave Julie up for adoption. Judi only caught a glimpse of her before newborn Julie was whisked away. A year ago this month, Judi decided to find her daughter. With some help from others, Judi found Julie living in the Northeast part of the country. She reached out. Julie was receptive and the two women have spent the past 12 months making up for lost time with e-mails and lengthy phone conversations. They started to search for a perfect place to finally reunite in person, to make this dream of a face-to-face reunion a reality. Julie is a lifelong runner. Judi lives minutes away from the place Where Dreams Come True. The Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend proved to be the perfect location.
runDisney.com
