10k Recap – Disney Dopey Challenge Day 2

Day 2 of the inaugural Dopey Challenge was the inaugural Minnie Mouse 10k.  Day 1 was the 5k Family Fun Run.  This race was warm and humid.  And still early.  Yet another 2 am wake up call for a 5:30 am start.  It was also much more packed and energetic than the 5k.  There were a lot more people this morning.  A lot more buzz.

My best Mickey pose

For this race, I was again rockin’ an Ohio University shirt.  My costume consisted of my over-sized Disney cartoon gloves, and my customized Mickey Mouse ears.

Sis, Mom, Me B4 da race.

To help keep the ears on, I wore the GoPro camera on my head with a head strap that held the hat in place.  The only issue was that it was hard to tell if the camera was recording or not.  The solution was to hold my hand in front of it to see if I saw the reflection of the red blinking light…or ask one of the volunteers if it was blinking.

Hitting record on the GoPro.

Same corral as the 5k —> A.  The course once again started and ended in the Epcot parking lot.  Truth be told, the first few miles were kind of boring.  Actually, a lot boring.  It immediately took us out on the roads that link the parks within Disney World.  Dark.  Quiet.  Sure, there were a few attractions (characters, deejays, etc.) placed along this stretch, but not much.

The 10k is the RED line.

Plus, I got to see first hand the corral start separation that everyone was complaining about after day 1.  I got to see it because the course started with about a mile out and back on the road.  I kept watching the road on the way back looking for corral B.  It never seemed to come.  Not sure why they held them so long.  There was plenty of room on the roads.  As you can see from the highlights from my head mounted video camera:

Anyway, once the course finally got us into Epcot, it livened up.  It also took us around the Boardwalk Resort.  That was pretty cool too.  It’s so weird being there so early in the morning, and I’m sure we woke up a few tourists staying in the hotels there, but it was eerily cool.

Running and waving and sweating. Talented.

The final stretch took us back through Epcot before finishing back at the parking lot near where we started.

Running and smiling.

Once again, I tried to take it easy.  My last 10k I finished in 46:23.  This one I came across in 1:04:28.  Once again, I reached my goal of finishing with a personal worst (PW)!!!  Mission “Take It Easy Races 1 Thru 3” successful so far!

I have weird running form.

Again, I ran the entire way, as I wanted to complete the Dopey Challenge by actually running all 4 races – no matter how slow I took the first few.

I really need to stop running like that.

Again, I was trying to relax, enjoy the run, and not exert myself too much.  This was all in design to be able to have something in the tank for the 26.2 in just a couple days.

Moments before I pounced on Snow White.

At the finish, I decided to do something other than just run over it – so I did a little heel click hop!

Heel click wide shot.

Heel click close up.

The Minnie medal was pretty cool too. I do love getting new hardware!  Bling Bling Race Bling!

Medal 2 of 6 got son!

And now we were done with 2/4 races.  9.3 miles down, 39.3 to go!  The 39.3 is the Half and Full marathons back to back – they call that the Goofy Challenge.  So all that’s left for me to get Dopey is to be Goofy.

Next up I’ll recap the Half Marathon.  If you missed my recaps of the Expo and/or 5k,  you can see them HERE and HERE respectively.

How bout you?  How was your last 10k run or race?  Ever run with a camera?  Ever do anything special at a finish line?

Dopey Challenge Race Courses Revealed!

As many of you know, I’ve spent the past several months training for the Disney Dopey Challenge.  It’s 4 straight days of racing.  Thurs: 5k, Fri: 10k, Sat: 13.1, Sun: 26.2.  I’ve been waiting patiently for them to release the course maps…they finally have!

**CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO SEE AN ENLARGED VERSION**

Here’s the 5k and 10k routes…

The warm-up runs.

The first few miles of the 10k ain’t all that exciting, but I’m glad that at least both races follow somewhat different routes (in the same area).  I love variety in my running!  I’m also happy that the start and finish are near each other.  That way any spectators we have can at least see us twice!

Next up is the half marathon…

Half of the most magical place on Earth.

Basically a jaunt up to the Magic Kingdom and back from EPCOT.  Only thing that concerns me is the round-a-bout at mile 10.  I’ve been there before and it is a man made hill.  It’s a swirly overpass of road, and it. is. very. angled.  You can’t take two even steps because of the slant.  I’ve had several friends get injured at that overpass.  At least I know what to expect and can try to be safe there.

Finally is the main event, the full marathon…

26.2 magical miles. Or so they claim… 🙂

I really like this course.  You get to see most of the main attractions of Disney World.  I only wish there was a way they could mix in Downtown Disney.

As you can see, they take us through all 4 major parks – EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, & Hollywood Studios.  In addition, we also get to do a lap on their race car track (1 mile around) and through their Boardwalk resort.

In between we pass by various other “attractions”.  Running past the golf course is cool, but in years past running past the waste water management plant didn’t smell too pleasant.  But I guess you gotta take the good with the not so good, right?

I also really like how that now have us going through the Sports Complex.  There we get to run through the training soccer and football and baseball fields.  We also get to do a lap on the track!  And the highlight is running thru the baseball field where the Atlanta Braves do their spring training.  Last year, that was coolio because there was a big crowd in the stands cheering for us (and they had cameras putting us on the big screen on the outfield wall).

It all ends up back at EPCOT.  Which, if you look at the map, is over a mile in itself.  That just goes to show you how big the parks actually are.  I can say this from experience:  there’s not much more deflating than entering the final park, thinking you’re almost done, then turning a corner and seeing the “mile 25 marker”.  Ugh, another 1.2 to go, all in the same theme park!!!

But it’s all good.  I’ve done the Disney Marathon 3 times now, and I know how the game is played.  In the coming weeks I’ll offer my tips from experience for anyone else who happens to be running at Disney Marathon Weekend.

What about you?  Do you obsess over course maps before a race, or do you care?  Have you run at Disney?  Any tips?  What do you think of the courses?

Official Dopey Challenge Race Medals

The folks over at Run Disney finally posted the official photos of the brand new race medals for the Dopey Challenge.  I am running this inaugural event in January.  It’s four straight days of racing (5k, 10k, 13.1, 26.2), but you’ll notice there are six medals total.  That’s cause you also get one for doing the Dopey, and doing the Goofy (13.1 & 26.2), which is included in the Dopey.

My neck feels heavy just looking at them.

I’m glad they show us the medals ahead of time, gives us motivation!  My first marathon was the Disney Marathon in 2008, and that was the 15th anniversary of the event.  That year they kept the medal design a secret – you didn’t get to see the medal until you crossed the finish line.  But like I said, I like knowing now because I’m an impatient American!

If you click on the picture, you can see an enlarged view.  And if you see an enlarged view you’ll notice that there are two innagural etchings.  One on the Dopey and one on the 10k, as it’s the first year for that race.  Pretty cool.

Next up, I can’t wait to see the course maps.  I really liked the marathon course last year, and I’m not sure if they’ll be changing it up, but knowing Disney, they like to go all out all the time.  If they were using the same courses as last year, it’d probably still be on their website, but they ain’t on there.  Come on Run Disney, give me those maps now!  I’m an impatient American!

Haha, anywhoodle, those medals won’t come without doing the work.  So I’m back at it today with a weight session at the gym-ola, then a hot social run tonight at the pub-ola. 

What do y’all think of the new medal designs?

-Scott