The Dopey Challenge Race Reports - WDW Marathon

After completing three of the four races in the Dopey Challenge, I was starting to get nervous about the marathon.  I knew that I could run the distance no matter how slow.  But the fact that Disney has sweepers that pull you off the course if you can’t get across the finish line in under 7 hours was worrying me.  Mara’s boyfriend told me not to worry about it.  He felt I would have no issues with completing the race in under 7 hours.  I went to bed Saturday night with a lot of nerves and had a restless night of sleep.

Mara had graciously agreed to get up early and drive me over to the starting line area so I could sleep in.  Despite the fact that I woke up several times during the night I felt pretty good when I woke up at 4:15 to get ready for the race.  I was planning to wear a Dopey hat and ears for this final race.  Unfortunately the weather was going to be a lot warmer after the sun came up.  I decided to ditch that plan and just run with my 48.6 headband.  I was still in a shirt and shorts that matched Dopey’s clothing colors.  I figure that was good enough.

Mara got to the Swan at 4:45 am and we headed over to Epcot.  The traffic wasn’t too bad at all.  She pulled up and let me out.  We planned to meet at the finish line.  I started the long walk over to the starting line corrals.  Again I was going to be in Corral H which was the very last one.  This didn’t help my nerves at all.  When I finally got into the corral at about 5:15 am, I pushed my way as far up as I could so I would be in the very back.  I knew to get going at my cadence of 2 miles of running to 2/10 of a mile walk break, I was going to have to weave in and out of a lot of walkers.

As expected the race started right on time.  I simply sat there on the ground listening to my Grateful Dead Podcast and waited.  Finally at 6:00 am a guy nudged me and said we were moving.  So I got up and started to slowly walk towards the starting line.  It was really crowded in the corral.  We finally pushed our way to the front and at 6:13 am the gun went off and I was finally “running”.  Now it was going to be mind over matter for the next several hours.

I ran the first 2 miles dodging all of the people who were walking from the very beginning of the race.  As I approached the 1.5 mile mark, I noticed that Captain Hook was there for a meet and greet.  How could I pass up that opportunity.  The line was short since I was in the last corral.  After getting a great photo I took off again.  When the 2 mile mark came up, I decided to run another mile since I had a brief rest when I met Captain Hook.  As I ran the 3rd mile, I took the chance to meet Star-Lord as well.  Surprisingly I was easily averaging a 10 minute pace.  I knew I would slow down as the race went on but my nerves were starting to subside.

Since I was feeling good, I kept up with my run/walk program.  I ran through the Magic Kingdom parking lot along the same path as the Half Marathon.  I passed the Contemporary Hotel while passing many runners and walkers.  At this point it dawned on me that running a race with no pressure to hit a certain time goal was allowing me to just enjoy the experience.  We made the turn into the crowds outside the Magic Kingdom’s entrance and then into the park.  The sun was finally up and there were a ton of spectators along Main Street cheering us on.  That was a great motivator.

The marathon route is exactly the same as the half marathon route through the Magic Kingdom.  I enjoyed running through the castle again.  The crowds were much bigger this time.  After passing by Splash Mountain the course takes you out through a back stage area.  As I made it into this area, I saw that they had four of the villains next to a parade float.  I decided to stop and get my picture taken.  I met Jafar, the Evil Queen (again), Dr. Facilier and Judge Claude Frollo.  The line was pretty long but it was worth it.  I took off again and exited the park onto Floridian Way.

I took another short walk break.  I remembered this part of the route from the half marathon.  It is not too exciting.  I saw more characters along the way but just wanted to keep going.  The temperatures were starting to rise and the sun was beating down on us.  Though it wasn’t too hot,  I didn’t want to run so slow that I would still be out there when it was in the 70s.  I passed mile 10 on Bear Island Road and noticed that over the last 3 miles I had been averaging about 9:45 per mile.  The course is very flat so it is easy to feel like you are not running too hard when in fact you are cruising at a pretty good pace.

Just past mile 10 the course takes a turn to the west onto Western Way.  I did not recall this part of the route from my study of the course.  This part of the race basically takes you out a mile and then you turn back east and run the same route back.  It is a 2 mile stretch of nothing to see but other runners on the opposite side of the road.  I just locked in and focused on getting to the half way mark to see how I was doing for time.

I finally made it back to Bear Island Road and turned right to head towards Animal Kingdom.  This was the part of the course I was looking forward to as it is my favorite park.  It also happens to be where Mara works.  There were some really cool sights along the path to get to the backstage area.  You can see the Nautilus, a Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride Car and a Snow White Ride car.  Once I turned into the back stage area onto Conservation Road, I met a couple of small donkeys.  One had a shirt on that said, “0 horse power.”  The other had his picture taken with me.

I was really feeling good at this point.  I stopped for a quick picture with Rafiki near the train station.  I finally passed the
half way mark.  I looked down at my watch and  saw I was at 2:26:51.  At that moment all of the pressure and nerves fell away.  I knew I could finish this race and not get swept up.  As I entered the park there was Timon all by himself.  I gave him a hug and had my picture taken with him.  I was feeling so excited to be running through the park that I ran the 14th mile right at a 9 minute pace.

The exit from Animal Kingdom takes you out behind Dinosaur (the ride) and around the park’s parking lot.  Then onto Osceola Parkway for miles 15 through 17.  I was starting to get heated up a bit.  This part of the course is not very exciting either as there is a lot of road construction on the street.  I did get a chance to get my picture with Pluto who was just hanging out on the side of the road.  As I passed mile 17, I saw the turn that would take us up a hill to ESPN World
of Sports.

The hill was surprisingly easy for me.  I guess that the hills I run in my neighborhood here in Scottsdale had me well prepared.  At mile 18 I finally turned into the ESPN sports complex.  As we entered the area, they had put out some kiddie pools with wet sponges floating in them.  I grabbed one and washed my face and neck.  The cool water really helped rejuvenate me.  The only problem with this part of the course is that the pathways through the complex are very narrow.  I had a hard time keeping up a good running pace.

As I was approaching the turn that would take me to the baseball complex where the Atlanta Braves play their spring training games, I saw a pace group in front of me.  When I reached them I saw that it was the Jeff Galloway 5:30 pace group.  Since I couldn’t get up to any speed despite the fact that I was feeling really good at mile 19, I hung with them.  They were running a 3 minute run and 1 minute walk cadence.  It was nice to just take it easy in this very crowded part of the course.  When we left the baseball field, we were finally out of the narrowest part and heading back to Victory Way which would be the final exit from ESPN.

I finally made it out of ESPN and onto Victory Way and started heading north again.  The road was much wider and I could spread out.  I stayed with the Galloway pace team until I passed the 21 mile marker.  I looked at my watch and saw that I was at 3:51:00 with only 5.2 miles to go.  I felt I could potentially come in under 5 hours but didn’t want to press it.  Besides I didn’t know what characters I might want to stop and say hello to along the way.

I made the turn back onto Osceola Parkway and could see the backside of Hollywood Studios.  The Tower of Terror was easy to find.  To get up onto World Drive again, I had to run up a pretty good little hill of an on-ramp.  As I was running up, I noticed a Green Army Man shouting encouraging things at the runners.  I wanted to grab a picture of him.  When I stopped to take his picture, he noticed me and yelled, “You can’t stop!  There is no lolly gagging in this race!  Move! Move! Move!”  I laughed and started running again down the ramp onto World Drive and passed mile 22.

The next mile took me north on World Drive and another hill at an off ramp.  As I got to the top of the hill, I made the turn onto Buena Vista Dr.  I was finally going to get into Hollywood Studios.  As I was approaching the back stage area and mile 23, I saw the Incredibles.  I had to stop and pose with them since I was having an incredible race.
After a short wait, I got my picture and started to run again.  At this point I was mostly running just on the adrenaline.  The crowds were huge and their cheering really gave me a boost as I ran down Hollywood Boulevard and
out the front gate.

I then crossed under Buena Vista Drive and the course took me along the water front between the Swan Hotel and the Boardwalk.  I passed mile 24 and was running really well.  I was at 4:25:24 and having a blast.  The crowd along the Boardwalk was not as big as I thought.  I guess it was because it was getting late in the race.  I ran around the board walk and got to the bridge that would take me back into Epcot Center.  I had less than 2 miles to go.  All I could think about was that I was going to finish and with a huge smile on my face!

As I entered the park, there were people along the route with chocolate candy.  I grabbed a couple and munched them down.  They tasted so good.  I passed the 25 mile marker and found a great spot to take a selfie with Spaceship Earth.  At this point, I didn’t care about time.  I was feeling strong and excited and proud all at the same time.  I rounded the Word Showcase getting cheers of encouragement from the spectators and made my way to Spaceship Earth and the last part of the race.

When I got to Spaceship Earth, I decided to stop and have the professional photographer take my picture.  I wanted a record of how I looked after completing over 47 miles of running over the last 4 days.  I gave her a big thumbs up and then turned around and headed towards the finish line.

I am not sure I can adequately describe the feeling as I rounded the corner and could see the finish line.  Sure I had crossed it 3 times so far but this time was going to be special.  I ran hard the last 2/10 of a mile and as I was approaching the finish line, I started to yell incoherently.  I had trained hard over the 16 weeks prior to race day.  I had put in the time and I was reaching my goal.  I was crossing the finish line with a huge grin and injury free.  What a feeling of
accomplishment!
I finished the race in 5:04:45.  I could have come in under 5 hours - but why.  It was never about the time on the clock.  It was really all about the physical and mental challenge.  I know that 4,674 people completed the Dopey Challenge this year.  Yet it takes nothing away from my feeling of accomplishment.  I am obviously not alone in taking on the challenge and ultimately conquering it.  However, the medals were spectacular.  Because I finished the Dopey Challenge  I traveled home
with 6 amazing medals – one for each of the four races plus the medal for the Goofy Challenge and one for completing Dopey.  All I can say is that Dopey was an AMAZING experience and I am glad I signed up for it and was able to race part of it with my daughter. It is a weekend I will never forget.  If you are a long time runner and want a challenge, I hope you too have the chance to run it.

Feb 4 – 4.10 miles (44:50, 9:08 pace)
Feb 5 – 6.30 miles (54:49, 8:42 pace) – Speed Work
Feb 7 – 7.30 miles (1:04:40, 8:52 pace) – Tempo Run
Feb 9 – 13.18 miles (2:28:19, 11:15 pace) – Sprouts Mesa-PHX Half Marathon

Total Miles:  30.88 miles
2019 Total Miles:  206.72 miles

The Dopey Challenge Race Reports - WDW Half Marathon

My daughter (Mara) and I decided that since we were going to be running with our friend Sara in the Half Marathon that instead of riding the buses over to Epcot, we would ride over together in her car.   This meant that we could sleep in a little.  Having slept very little the first 2 days of racing, I was glad to get a bit of extra sleep time before the Half.  My alarm went of at 4:30 a.m. and I got dressed while downing an energy drink to help wake me up.  Mara showed up at 4:45 and we headed over to Epcot.

When we got there we decided to get in line to meet Dopey.  His always seemed to be the shortest line.  After meeting Dopey, we decided to go back to the car to try and stay warm while waiting for our start.  We were going to be in Corral H despite the fact that Mara and Sara had Corrals E and F respectively.  Disney doesn’t let you move up in the corrals if you want to run together.  You have to go to the furthest corral.  Keep that in mind if you and a friend or friends are planning to run together.

Since we knew we would not be starting until at least 45 minutes after the official start, we sat in the car keeping warm and grabbing a snack.  At 5:30 a.m. on the dot we saw the fireworks for the official start of the race.  We decided to go ahead and walk over to the starting line.  We didn’t realize how far away from the parking lot the starting line corrals were.  The Half Marathon starting line and corrals are located on Epcot Center Drive which is about ½ mile walk from the parking lot.  It took us almost 15 minutes to finally get into our corral.

After we got into the corral we still ended up waiting for over ½ hour before we finally got up to the starting line.  It was a long wait and I was glad we had slept in a little more.  Plus it had started to warm up a bit as we waited making it not as uncomfortable as the first 2 races.  Finally at 6:29 a.m. it was our turn to start running.  The fireworks went off and we were finally running.

Our plan was to run 2 miles and then walk 2/10 of a mile the entire course.  Mara and Sara had not had a lot of time to train due to work and Mara’s being  sick during a large part of the training period.  As we approached the Mile 2 marker we noticed that Captain Jack Sparrow and Angelica were on the side of the road.  Since the line was really short, we stopped to get our picture taken.  Most of the lines for characters were short since we were in one of the last corrals.  After getting our picture, we ran a little further before taking our first walk break.

It was starting to warm up so we shed our outer layer at one of the water stops and kept going.  We took a short detour to meet Wreck-it Ralph and Vanelope.  The sun was just starting to rise as we approached the automobile entrance to the Magic Kingdom.  We ran under the entrance and headed towards the 3 mile mark.  We were all feeling really good and excited to be out there.  The route takes you through the Magic Kingdom’s parking lot and heads across Seven Seas Drive through the Transportation and Ticket Center towards the Contemporary Resort.

Right before we reached the turn to head to the Transportation and Ticket Center we saw the Queen of Hearts, Maleficent and the Wicked Queen from Snow White.  Since it is rare to meet them in the parks, we decided to stop and have our picture taken.  The lines were short and we were able to head off pretty quickly.  At this point the route had been sparsely populated with runners.  But we were passing a lot of people who were mostly walking the course.   It made me wonder why I was placed in Corral H.  We passed the 4 mile mark and took a walk break.

When we reached mile 5, we were almost to the entrance to the Magic Kingdom.  There were a lot of cast members on the sides of the course cheering us on.  Once we passed the Ferry Landing area, the course narrowed quite a bit as we approached the entrance to Main Street USA.  Then in a blink of an eye we were on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom with Cinderella’s Castle in front of us.  I’m not sure why but I actually teared up as we ran down Main Street with people cheering us on.  We had to stop for the obligatory picture with the castle before making the turn towards Tomorrowland.

We ran into Fantasyland and met the White Rabbit near the Mad Tea Party ride.  The course wound through Fantasyland until we made the turn back towards the Castle and ran past the Carousel.  We were nearing the 6 mile point which was just as you run through the Castle.  It was then that we saw Lady Tremaine and her daughters Anastasia and Drizella.  We had to stop and meet them.  As we got to the front of the line and walked towards them, Drizella said to me, “Look at those muscles.  They’re almost real.”  That made me laugh.  I think she took a liking to me based on the picture.  Mara said to Lady Tremaine that I wanted to know if she was single.  She replied, “I’ve been married twice.  It didn’t end well for either of them.”  We all laughed and then bid them farewell and headed off.

Since it had taken a little longer to meet the Tremaine’s, we decided not to take a break at the 6 mile
mark which was just as you came out of the Castle and made the turn towards Frontierland.  We were all feeling pretty good and even with the stops for photos were at 1:24:43.  At that point, I knew we wouldn’t be able to get Mara her PR in this race.  But I was secretly happy to be taking it slower to conserve energy for the marathon on Sunday.

At about 6.5 miles, we exited the park and turned onto Floridian Way which would take us past the Grand Floridian hotel.  It was at this point that Mara’s asthma was starting to kick in.  She also said her ankle was feeling sore.  We decided to take a walk break her to let her take her inhaler and rest her ankle a bit.  This part of the course is pretty boring.  We were running on a road that took us by the golf course and Polynesian resort.  We had run 8 miles so far and our pace had climbed to over 13 minutes per mile.

Mara was really struggling with her ankle and asthma.  She kept apologizing to Sara and I about slowing us down.  Neither of us particularly cared because we were just enjoying being in this race together.  We chatted about everything and anything and the time seemed to pass by without us even noticing!  We really didn’t have any particular time goal.  Running the half and 10K with my daughter was all I wanted and knew it would heighten my memory of the experience we were creating together.  It was only about finishing the race and having a shared experience.

We had 5 miles to go at this point.  We stuck together the whole way.  I would sometimes run ahead to see what was in front of us and then walk slowly until Mara and Sara would catch up.  I could tell Mara was frustrated and mad at herself.  I kept reassuring her that with the amount of training she was actually able to do that she was really doing well.  Plus I pointed out how many people we had passed along the way.   We checked off mile 9 and 10 as we ran along World Drive.

Finally, we made the loop turn onto Epcot Center Drive and hit the 11 mile marker.  We were at 2:31:38 when we ran past the 11 mile post.  I told Mara and Sara we had only 2.1 miles to go.  I could see that Mara was really pushing herself to go harder.  But her ankle was not going to let that happen.  Running is a valuable teacher, especially in these difficult moments.  The one thing I know about her us that running has taught her how to power through and be strong.  The issue was that she hasn’t raced enough to be able to really tell me what was happening or know the difference between true pain and discomfort.  She just kept pushing.

The course finally turns back toward Epcot and the Monorail Station just before mile 12.  It is the second real hill on the course.  We powered over it and finally entered the backstage area behind Living with the Land and Soarin’.  We finally entered the guest portion of the park at Epcot's

Imagination Pavilion.  We had only a 1/10 of a mile to go.  I just kept encouraging Mara to keep going no matter how slow.  We finally saw Spaceship Earth and knew we were really close.  I was so excited to be finishing the race with her.  As we approached the finish line, I grabbed her had again and raised it over our heads in triumph.  This was a really hard race for her but she had persevered.

Sara had crossed a couple of minutes before us and was waiting just past the finish line.  We received our medals and grabbed some snacks.  We had our official picture taken together to commemorate the accomplishment.  We had finished in 3:07:52 (14:20 pace).  I was feeling really good as we headed to the recovery area.  Mara asked if we would take the bus back to the resort so she could go home and rest up.  Her ankle was really bothering her.  So Sara went to Mara’s car and grabbed our stuff and rejoined me at the bus to head back to the Swan.

That was by far the slowest Half Marathon I had ever run.  Yet I was so happy and pleased with the result.  Over the years, I strived to build healthy self-esteem in both my son and daughter.  It was something I personally struggled with in my early adult life.  I wanted her to be proud of herself and what she had done in this race.  As we walked through the crowds at the finish line, I told her that she should never feel like she needs to please me or anyone else.  When I asked her later “how do you feel?”, she answered “proud of myself”.  Now that was the perfect answer and a great way to close the chapter on the race.

I love racing with my daughter.  I cannot think of a better way to spend a vacation or a weekend.  We had run a killer adventure relay together in North Carolina (see my blog post dated Sept. 30, 2018) and now had run back to back races at Walt Disney World.  We had run 19.3 miles together.  She had run over 7 miles on a sprained ankle that had swollen to twice its size by the time we met to go to the Magic Kingdom for some dinner and fun.  I know that she doesn’t always remember the times we spend together doing normal things.  But I know for sure that she will look back on these two races and smile knowing we accomplished something huge together.

As I showered back at the hotel, I was amazed at how good I felt.  I had run 3 races covering 22.4 miles.  Then it dawned on me that although I had run ¾ of the races, I had only run 46% of the mileage.  I started to feel that twinge of nervousness.  While I never doubt myself, I wondered whether I would be able to stay ahead of the sweepers and get an official finish to the challenge.  My goal to run the entire Dopey Challenge in under 10 hours wasn’t in the cards.  But since that was my Gold Medal goal, I was going to do everything in my power to meet my Silver Medal Goal of finishing with a smile on my face.

Jan 28 – 4.10 miles (38:47, 9:28 pace)
Jan 29 – 5.20 miles (44:50, 8:37 pace) – Speed Work
Jan 31 – 7.20 miles (1:03:09, 8:46 pace) – Tempo Run
Feb 2 – 7.50 miles (1:11:00, 9:28 pace)
Feb 3 – 8.30 miles (1:18:11, 9:25 pace)

Total Miles:  32.30 miles
2019 Total Miles:  144.96 miles