If you missed any of my recaps of the Dopey Challenge, you can see them here: 5k, 10k, 13.1, 26.2.
After we finished the Dopey Challenge, it was time to celebrate. I learned a few years back to book a few days AFTER a destination race to do the sightseeing (not before!).
It’s official – I’m Dopey and Goofy.
And props to the boy for putting up with being in Orland for 4 days without visiting a theme park! Now he was to get his long awaited reward!
He was all smiles by now (and stole my sister’s hat).
Immediately after the final race (26.2), which ended at Epcot, we went ahead into the park. They have a few fun rides there, though most of em aren’t all that exciting (the boy likes them though). A lot of people visit for the different countries (some like to drink around the world). There’s a pub there where we had a celebratory Guinness or two. Then we ate some tacos in Mexico. To be honest, after running four races through Epcot, I was ready for a change of scenery.
After four days of running through Epcot, it was time to wave goodbye.
The next day my mom, sis, the boy and I hit up the Magic Kingdom. It was fun to be there without having to run through it like we had in the previous days!
We chose an unique location for a photo. OK, everyone who visits takes the same snapshot.
Yes, we wore our Dopey medals – When else would we get a chance? It’s also a great conversation starter with other runners, and non runners alike. The amount of “Congrats!” we got was unbelievable…especially from the “cast members” (Disney employees).
On the Buzz Lightyear ride with the boy. It was very exciting (it’s always good to know where the cameras are).
I’ve always loved the Magic Kingdom. I’m constantly amazed by their attention to detail and cleanliness. And this visit, we got a rare treat. They are redesigning Fantasyland and as part of that the Beauty and the Beast portion has a new castle restaurant. It’s a 6 month wait for reservations, but we were able to snag one that day! LUCKY!
Just a couple o’ sad gargoyles outside the castle entrance.
And while you can have an adult bevie at other Disney parks, never ever could you at Magic Kingdom (unless you sneak it in, I suppose, like a teenager injecting vodka into oranges, and then eating the oranges in the park). But now at dinner service only, you can order a drinky poo. My sis and I had some wine.
We so fancy.
And remember the attention to detail I mentioned…even the napkins were folded like the Beast’s enchanted rose.
We had until the last petal fell off to find true love. Or until we finished eating at least.
The “real” rose.
We went ahead and made this our celebratory meal. Though I didn’t pig out on fatty food like we’re supposed to post big races. They had some wild Scottish salmon that I had to get.
I know I kind of ruined the presentation when I added the broccoli (that the boy didn’t want to eat).
I also actually had a desert. I never have dessert. No real sweet tooth in my mouth.
We like to hug before dessert.
After we ate, we had an audience with the host of our meal.
He was very gracious and has the most stunning blue eyes.
We spent the rest of the day riding rides (of course I had to go on Pirates of the Caribbean)!
Capt. Grif didn’t like the flash on my phone.
It was another great visit to Magic Kingdom!
The same castle as earlier, but at night.
The next day we hit up Universal Studios. I love their theme parks!!! No, they aren’t as clean, classy, and family oriented as Disney, but they have some really extreme and fun rides! This time around we hit up the new Simpsons Springfield.
We got a Duff beer at Moe’s Tavern!
But then I had a misunderstanding with the chief.
One of the coolest new rides was the Transformers one. And outside they had Bumblebee. This was an actual moving character, not a statue….
I guess that’s my “Transformers” pose.
And of course we had to stop by Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. I am a huuuge Parrothead, so this is always a must!
Booze in the blender…
The next day, we hit up one more park – Disney’s Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). Again, it was fun to be there leisurely and not all sweaty like when we ran though it for the marathon.
Big wizard hat.
The highlight here was for the boy. He had been waiting a year to be chosen to fight Darth Vader at the Star Wars part of the park. This year he made it in got some light saber training from his Jedi master.
Like a choreographed dance they were.
Then he got to fight the dark lord himself!
Attack the dark side!
Then we took a ride on one of those things they rode in one of those movies.
Look out for that tree!
And we were able to meet up with the man mouse himself, Mickey!
He hadn’t had time to change out of his robe yet.
And thus concluded our Disney adventure. I must say we had a lot of fun and I tip my hat to them!
See what I did there?
So there it is!
How bout you? Do you plan vacations around races? Do you sight see before or after? What’s your fave Orlando attraction?
This is it. The last race of four on consecutive days. If you missed my recaps of the earlier races, you can see them here: 5k then 10k then 13.1 half marathon.
Now we have the 26.2 full marathon to complete the Goofy and Dopey Challenges. I had stuck to my plan of running personal worsts (PW) for the first three races. Now I wanted to go for it in the final race.
Ready to go 26.2 rounds with Mr. Mile.
My “A” goal was to break 4 hours (9:10 per mile). Considering my pace at shorter distances, I should be able to shatter 4 hours, but I have yet to do it. My “B” goal was to PR (PB). I would accomplish one of the two goals.
Traditional pre-race family photo.
We got a gift this day from the Weather Channel gods. The temps went from hot and humid the day before at the half, to chilly (and a little humid) for the full!!! It was in the 50’s (American) at the start!
With Sis on way to the corral!
Even thought it was chilly, I knew my body temp would warm up once we started running, so I wore light clothes – including a new Ohio University tech tee that the wife got me for Christmas!
Ain’t I purdy?
I also carried the GoPro camera with me. Looking back, it probably was a bad decision considering I was going for a PR. It definitely took energy and brain power (I don’t have much to spare) to use it throughout the course. But I decided to take it anyway, and I don’t really regret that. We did pass some cool attractions along the way.
Mid race selfie vision.
The edited down video is a bit blair-witchy, but I think it shows the race experience. It’s funny to watch how I go from cracking jokes and getting somewhat stable shots, to gradually having zero sense of humor nor the energy to hold my arm out straight! Haha!
The night before the full I spoke via phone with my “coach” – My good friend (and awesome endurance athlete) Rexy. We actually have history of sports at Disney World. In college, we were cheerleaders and competed in the National Championships there my senior year.
Rexy is 3rd from left in front. I’m 2nd from right in back.
Anyway, she gave me a pep talk and helped work out the race strategy. She said to stick to exactly 4 hr pace for the first half. Then evaluate how I felt and pick up the pace if I could for the next 7 miles. Then let it all hang out the last 6.2. She told me to leave it on the course, and that if I crash, it’s better to do so the last few miles knowing that at least I tried.
Peace homey.
Again, we had a 2am wake up call. And the race started at 5:30am. The course began and ended at Epcot. It immediately went from there to the Magic Kingdom.
26.2 magical miles. Click to enlarge.
The first few miles were a bit crowded. I wasn’t able to go my normal pace, and I had to do some weaving. By the time we got to Magic Kingdom, I knew from the clock that I was going too slow. But I also knew I had time to correct that. 5 Mile in 47:39 – 9:32 per mile.
Runnin Down Main St, USA!
We got into the park – which is the highlight for me. It’s still dark out, and the whole park is lit up. Main St. is lined with tons of cheering spectators. And Cinderella’s Castle is all lit up! We get to run right through the castle, which is neat. The MarathonFoto folks had some pictures of me at the castle, but they lost them. I had even stopped for the official Castle photo – like I took with my sis during the Half the day before…
They did NOT light up the castle for the half. I wish I had the pretty lit up one to share with y’all.
…But they lost that one too. Bummer. If they find them later, I will share. They did have these though…
Still in the park.
Feelin the love.
Feelin a little fuzzy in Magic Kingdom!
After we left the Magic Kingdom, we then headed past the Polynesian Resort and the golf course. There was a glow in the East and I knew the sun would be rising soon. The weather was still cool, and I felt GREAT! I was actually smiling and having a really good time. My pace was steadily fastening.
Suns comin up. Right on my forehead.
Then we headed into the Speedway – their race car track. We did the mile lap, and there were a ton of classic cars out. A childhood fave – Herbie the Love Bug – was there, but for some reason the characters from the movie Cars weren’t out this year. Where’s Lightning McQueen???
I think running on this race track is a pretty unique experience though – how many people get to do that? Again tho, the MarathonFoto folks couldn’t find my photos from that locale. Sorry dude.
(photo missing)
Then it was on toward Animal Kingdom. Still feeling great. Still picking up steam. 10 Mile in 1:32:49 – 9:17 per mile.
*Side note. My sis works at AK, so I happen to know a few other of the zoo keepers there. I was glad to see some of them at the entrance to the park. They were there to cheer for us, very cool!
Feelin fine.
AK also had some animals and characters out. And some marathoners would stop to ride the roller coaster, but I didn’t have time for that.
I’m ahead of the guy that thought he could fly.
Once we left the park, we reached the halfway point. I was almost EXACTLY at 4 hour pace. Right at 2:00:06 for 13.1 miles – 9:10 per mile. I had made up the time I lost due to the slow start.
B.O. check.
Now was time to reevaluate. I still felt good, so kept picking up the pace. We were on the way to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. There we got to run through the sports fields, along with a lap on the track where we had been before for the Kids Race.
Unidentified location.
The highlight here is getting to run a lap on the baseball field. This is where the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball do their spring training. It’s a really cool experience, especially with people in the stands cheering! It was in WWOS that I had my fastest mile, but that would soon change.
I already got to first base, now I’m going for home.
Looking back, I think all the energy I spent trying to make up the time took it’s toll. I started to feel it around this point. But at mile 20, I was still on pace to break 4 hours. 3:02:30 – 9:07 per mile.
An angel in the outfield.
From there we headed toward Hollywood Studios. Getting closer to home, but like they say, the real marathon starts at mile 20. I was really feeling it and took short walk breaks at the drink stations to grab a little powerade (and one port-a-potty stop to get rid of the old powerade).
The tower of terror ain’t got nothin on my towering form.
But then I felt doing that worked and I got a second wind! Awesome!!! But then at mile 21 I think I made a bad choice. Instead of continuing on with my new energy, I decided to stick to my recent pattern and grab a quick drink at the drink station. After that brief walk, I never recovered. I should’ve just kept running past it.
Putting on a brave face.
Also at this point, I think the cumulative miles from the previous 3 races started to kick in. My legs started to cramp. Every step I could feel my quads tense, and when I pulled over to try and stretch them, my hammies cramped into a giant ball. OUCH!
You lookin at me?
My pace slowed considerably as I tried to deal with the cramping. Kept running, but had to take a few walk breaks. Mostly at drink stations, but also on a hill or two. Speaking of which….
…This is supposed to be a flat course. It is decidedly not! Sure, it’s not super hilly, but it does have it’s fair share of long steady inclines and declines. Mostly from the bridges and overpasses we had to traverse.
That’s a big wizard hat. Where’s the wizard sleeve?
Anyway, at this point I could see my “A” goal slipping away. It was frustrating, and I felt like I was letting people down who I knew were following along with the auto text/facebook/twitter updates runDisney was sending of my splits. I also felt like I was wasting a great opportunity because of the weather and all the training I had put into it. But I couldn’t control the leg cramps. Maybe I wasn’t mentally tough enough to fight through it this time. Ahh, the stuff we think when we look back.
Goodbye Hollywood.
By now the sun was up and the parks were open, so there were lots of people there. I’m sure they were annoyed that they had to wait behind a rope for us to pass before they could get to the churro stand, but many of them still cheered, and I appreciated that. And I had made it through the Studios.
I almost wore the same outfit as that chick…that would’ve been embarrassing for her.
We then made our way to the Boardwalk Resort. I know that we’re close to finishing, as it borders Epcot. I was slowing even more, but still going.
Somewhere in Disney World.
Finally we enter Epcot. You’d think we’d be right at the finish, but get this – we still have 1.2 miles to go before getting to the parking lot finish. That’s how big those theme parks are!!!
The big spiky golf ball means we’re in Epcot.
Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament.
By now I knew my “A” goal was gone. And when I saw some characters with virtually line (queue), I decided to take the opportunity to stop for a photo – especially with DOPEY!!!!
I cannot explain the Dopey expression on my face, other than we were 47.6 miles into the Challenge.
Disney puts characters ALL along the course, but this is the first time I’ve ever stopped for a photo. Then I got a second one with one of my Asian wife’s fave movie characters – Mulan!
I want a funny pet dragon.
One of the highlights, right before you leave Epcot, hidden from the general public, is a gospel choir. When I ran past them, I turned to look at them and had one final big full body CRAMP! I stopped in my tracks and doubled over in pain. A race attendant asked if I needed the medics. I shook her off, sucked it up and ran toward the finish!
Waving to my fans.
About 100 meters to go and I see my boy! My sister’s roommate and her boyfriend graciously agreed to babysit him while we ran, and they made it just in time to the race to see me finish! That was the final boost I needed to finish strong!
Waving at the boy. Pretty cool pic!
Past the bleachers of cheering spectators, I ran to the finish, and high fived Donald Duck (why wouldn’t I?)…
That guy quacks me up.
His hands were downy soft.
And finished with a defiant fist pump!
I will punch you air, in your face’s mouth!
Yes, I was disappointed that I didn’t break 4 hours, but I still PR’d! I broke my previous personal best by 2+ minutes to finish at 4:07:47 – 9:28 per mile.
Yay for me!
They said there were somewhere between 25,000 – 30,000 people in the marathon. In the end, only around 19,000+ of them finished.
It’s too bad, I had a nice negative split going on until I bonked. But hey, at least I finished the challenge! Next time I run a Full Marathon however, I will NOT run 3 races in the days leading up to it!
Pace getting gradually faster…
…and then the wheels fell off.
After we crossed the line, I collected my Mickey medal for the full. Then on to the Goofy station to get that medal. Then finally to the Dopey station to get that medal.
Finally our blingy reward!
It’s funny, as soon as they put that medal on my neck, I felt real emotional. Instantaneously. I guess it finally kicked in all those months and months of training, all the early hours, all the miles and miles, all the preparation. But sadly, the Disney folks don’t let you stop and enjoy the moment. They.keep.you.moving. “You can’t stop here. You can’t stretch here. Keep walking. Keep moving.” If only I had the energy to tell them that I can’t walk right now. My legs are a ball of lactic buildup!
I’m screaming in triumph, or pain, either or.
Funny story after I collected the medals and walked past the medical tent, a medical person started screaming – the other medics all thought someone was really hurt, but it turns out she went to Ohio University too. You have no idea how many “Go Ohio!” and “Go ‘Cats” I got on the course. Such great support!
After a chat with her, I then retrieved my gear bag, which had the other medals ready for their photo op!
Finally, they are all got!
Later on after all our friends and family members finished, we wore our 6 medals into Epcot to cheer on the later finishers and to ride some rides and get some Guinness and grub. People commented that we sounded like robots with all the clinking that accompanied each step.
It really was kind of heavy. The weight we Dopes carry is indeed a heavy burden of joy.
So there it is: 48.6 miles done. It was a fun challenge, and I’m glad I did it. It’s always a treat to run through all the parks that we would visit as kids. And they do a good job of having characters and volunteers along the way to keep your spirits up! Also, I’m glad I followed my “coach’s” plan the best I could, and even though I crashed toward the end, at least I left it all on the course.
Rumors confirmed – I am dopey.
In the future I’m not sure if I’ll do it again. But I would like to do another full with this same training. I think if I put in the same mileage, but with only one race as the goal, then I can slap that timing clock around!
I will say this though, the thing I’m most proud of is that while I was doing the Dopey Challenge, and posting about it on Twitter and Instagram and such. That I had people message me that I had inspired them to get out and run themselves! That’s probably the best result of this whole thing!
Did I leave anything out? Any questions about the inaugural Dopey Challenge? You have any desire to do it? What’s up?
Race 3 of 4 of the Dopey Challenge. This time it was time for the Donald Duck themed half marathon. The evening before the race, we prepared by chilling a bit at Downtown Disney.
My sis and I carbo-loading.
Our sunny set view.
Then came the morning and another 2am wake up call. By now I was used to it. I had used up all my pre-race sleep jitters before the first race (5k). And while I still hadn’t had a full night sleep, at least I got a few hours. And of course we took our customary pre race photo.
Sis, Me, Mom.
Still wanting to take it easy, so I wore one last costume (as you can tell). This time it was my PR 214 tech tank with an Alice in Wonderland apron. My friend (who looks like an elf) lent it to me the day before I left for Florida.
Knee out. Hands on hips.
She told me she got it at Disney World when she was a little girl…so it’s probably like 50-60 years old (JK – if she read this). She also lent me the matching dress, but I could no way in Hades get it on. I tried, but couldn’t get the waist over my broad manly shoulders. Nearly split it in four. I guess costumes meant for a 6 year old girl don’t work on me.
I do like how the rabbit is chasing time – just like us runners!
The apron got quite the few comments and gawks. One example during the race: a couple bros asked me if I lost a bet – I told them that it was either a result of too much medication, or not quite enough.
I’d be much faster if I ran like a normal person.
I also ran with the GoPro camera. But I had forgotted to charge it the night before, so I only got a few moments of video recorded during the race. You can see the fleeting moments here:
As you can see in the video, there was a bit of a let down at the start of our corral. Now I won’t get into the corral complaints here, as I’m sure the runDisney folks have gotten quite the mouse earful already. But what I wanted to bring up was that our corral got extra jacked up. You see, Disney shoots off a pretty nice little fireworks show for each corral start – except for ours. Something happened when the dude pushed the boom button and we got zilch sky explosions. Bummer, bro.
But no matter, we were underway!
Follow the yellow brick road…or painted line, as it were.
I ran the whole way with my sis. We chatted the whole way too, further ensuring that we’d take it easy (in addy to the costumes).
I have to correct my running form. So does she.
We didn’t stop for any characters, but we couldn’t pass up the Cinderella’s Castle photo op (no lines!).
As much as my arms are in the air, I hope I didn’t have B.O.
I was looking forward to this leg of the Dopey. I had run the Disney Marathon 3 times, but never one of their 13.1 races. I wanted to know what it was like.
I think I thought I was in 2nd place here.
But after running it, I can now say that I’m glad I run the fulls. They didn’t have all the bells and whistles out for the half. The course only hit up two parks (Magic Kingdom and Epcot).
Half of the most magical place on Earth.
The lights of the castle weren’t even on. The people who run the half really do miss out on all the action of the full – but I guess that’s part of the reward for the people who are more than half crazy???
Catchin flies.
Anyways, it was pretty warm and humid. So the apron and everything else got nice and sweaty (if Elf reads this – we did wash it after). I’m really glad we didn’t have this weather for the full! It was swampy!
Put the guns away already!
Once again, the race started and ended in the Epcot parking lot. The crowds of supporters were bigger than the day before (10k), which was bigger than the day before (5k).
No mid race selfie for you! Battery is dead bro!
But once again, I was trying to go for a personal worst (PW). This was the 3rd of 4 legs of the Dopey Challenge and the 1st of 2 legs of the Goofy. And once again I succeeded!
I must’ve run the entire way with my hands in the air. Sheesh.
We finished at 2 hrs 17 mins. A near 30 minutes slower than my previous half (1:48). Just a nice easy medium-long run.
And at the finish, I did a little high step dance, but I couldn’t get the video for y’all, but you can kind of tell from the pics.
Sideways high steppin.
Anyways, we enjoyed the journey and Disney does make a fine race medal!
Thumbs up, finally arms down.
So now we’re 3 races down, with just one to go – the full 26.2 mile marathon!
Family reunion time.
The only scary thing was that people started to point out that even though we’d finished 3/4 races, we hadn’t yet reached halfway of the total mileage!!!!! We wouldn’t reach that until a few miles into the full. I wish nobody had pointed that out.
You can lick the medals if you want. One of the benefits.
So there you go. We are now 1/2 Goofy and 3/4 Dopey. One (big) race to go to complete the challenges!!!
***Side note – I saw a really funny race shirt that day – it read on the back, “Is this the line for Space Mountain?” Bwhaha!****
If you missed the previous recaps, here’s the ones for the Expo, 5k, and 10k.
How bout y’all? Ever cross dress in an ill-fitting outfit for a race? Can you suggest a new mid-race pose other and arms up? Should we had made fireworks sound effects when their real ones malfunctioned?
Piratebobcat 