A few years ago, I must have had some sort of fever dream where I decided I had to do the Dopey Challenge. In case you don’t know about this, it’s a runDisney event that occurs each January during Marathon weekend. The challenge is to do all 4 races in 4 consecutive days. It includes a 5k on Thursday, a 10k on Friday, a Half Marathon on Saturday and a Marathon on Sunday. This also includes the Goofy Challenge, which is just the Half Marathon and Marathon. So all in all, if you do the Dopey, you get all 4 race medals, the Goofy medal and the Dopey medal (plus a shirt for each!).
My original plan was to do this the year after Luke graduates from high school as I’ll be in a deep depression and will need a distraction. However my age (and my achilles) got me to worrying that the longer I waited the less likely I could do it. I know there are people much older than 51 that run marathons but I think they must be some sort of super-humans. That last step over the finish line on marathon Sunday was my last step running unless I’m being chased.
It’s been nearly a year since the races and I’ve been putting off writing this post for a couple of reasons. First, I’ll never do this experience justice with my writing so there has been a lot of re-writing. Hopefully photos will help! Rather than intersperse the photos through this post, I’ve put them all at the end. I hope you’ll read this first (yes, I know it’s long…) to truly appreciate how excited I was to complete this, but be sure and check out the photos at the bottom. Second, this is sort of the last hurrah in the whole thing and I wasn’t quite ready for it to be over. It’s the last item on my list to complete that’s Dopey related. So forgive me if some of the details are fuzzy!
I’ve done a couple of marathons and many half marathons in my life (and you may remember that Ryan & I did the Half Marathon at Disney World a few years ago) so I felt like I knew what I was getting myself in to. And while I did have a good idea, it was much harder and much more rewarding than I could have imagined!
To be honest, the worst part of it was well before I ever got to Florida. I did the entire Galloway training program so I would feel I was the most prepared possible. In my mind, if I didn’t complete each and every mile of the training, I wouldn’t trust that I could do it on race day(s). Those miles in my neighborhood were nothing short of awful. Thankfully, I had great weather for almost all of my training runs and I had help from my guys when they would drive by me with a delicious Cherry-Vanilla Diet Coke from Sonic (I wasn’t sponsored by Sonic but I should have been!). But man, running 22 miles on a 2 mile loop through your neighborhood is a mind game - each time I passed my house I had to convince myself to keep going. Along with Sonic, I had a steady stream of Gatorade, Snicker bars and Gu chews to keep me moving - sadly still no NIL deal for me with any of them!
Those runs along with the 10+ mile walks on the treadmill were not something I enjoyed, but I knew each step was one step closer to Disney World. That’s pretty good motivation!
Very early on in the training and planning, I tried to talk Don into joining me for at least part of the trip. He isn’t a theme park fan (at all), but I’ve been trying to talk him into going to Hollywood Studios to see Galaxy’s Edge as he’s a big Star Wars fan. He declined because I don’t think he really thought I’d go through with all of this madness. Fast-forward to the point where he finally did think I’d do it and he started to worry I’d have a heart attack or some other disaster and everyone started scrambling for him or one of the boys to come with me. At that point, I had reservations and tickets and it was a bit late to add on or change it. So they all thought I was nuts, but I headed out on my own!
For those of you that haven’t done a solo trip, this may seem a bit insane. But honestly, for this kind of challenge, it’s not such a bad idea. Yes, I would have LOVED to have seen my family on those last few miles where I questioned if I could finish, but they would have been pretty inconvenienced by my crazy schedule if they were there.
I tried my best to be in bed - or at least my hotel room - by 8 or 9 each night. I had alarms on my phone set for 1:50am, 2:02am, 2:15am and as a final backup, 3am. I also had a wakeup call set for 2:10am - that always got me moving as it was Mickey telling me to GET UP!! So between that and trying not to walk too much at the parks after each race, I would have been a bit of a vacation kill-joy. In fact, the afternoon after the Half, I basically stretched and used the theragun until dinner time! Not fun company, for sure.
The buses started running at 3am and the races started at 5am. I stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter (my new favorite!) and it is literally a 5 minute drive to Epcot for the start lines. Each morning I got on the bus right at 3 and was at Epcot right away. The morning of the Marathon, I accidentally boarded a bus headed for the airport, but thankfully the race workers saw me and came and grabbed me. The same enthusiastic volunteers were there each morning and luckily recognized me! Can you imagine my complete panic if we had driven in the opposite direction of Epcot?! (I really should have noticed the families on the bus that were obviously not geared up for a race, but it was 3am after all).
Once at Epcot, it’s a hike to the start line. On Marathon day, I checked my step counter when I got to my corral and was already at 6,350 which is 2.5 miles!
Each morning, there is a stage set up between the bus drop-off and the start line. The race announcers are hilarious and entertaining, and a DJ keeps the energy up. There are several characters available for meet and greets and Photopass photographers snapping pics. Even though I got there each morning nearly 2 hours before the race started, I didn’t get bored. I planned on just finding a spot to sit and wait, but the draw of the characters was too much for me and I stood in line for photos. I couldn’t resist a pic with Minnie on the day I was in my Minnie costume!
This year’s Marathon weekend was 90s themed, so many of the characters were ones from 90s movies. Many of the costumes from the runners reflected 90s characters (Hercules, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King.…) There were even some overly creative people dressed as VHS tapes. I can’t imagine how they ran with those costumes.
I had outfits that were more Disney-themed than full-on costumes. The trick is to make sure it’s something comfortable for hours of movement and temperatures that can be cold to start and quite warm to finish. It’s January, so even though it’s warmer in Florida than it is in Oklahoma, it can be chilly (or literally freezing as it was in 2018 when Ryan was with me). You also most definitely want to have run some training runs in your costumes!! You can probably suffer through the 5k and 10k with something that’s uncomfortable, but make sure you can handle whatever you’re wearing for the 3-6 hours that you’ll be wearing it in the long races.
I can’t recommend enough taking disposable hand warmers and a blanket to the start line. Once you’re moving, it’s pretty warm, but those couple of hours waiting around can be miserable if you’re cold. I found some fleece blankets at Walmart for $3 each right before Christmas and bought 4 of them. Once the race started, I tossed them to the side and Disney donates all discarded clothing/blankets to a shelter after the races. The 5k and 10k mornings were quite warm, but it was nice to have my blanket to sit down on before the race started. I also wore arm sleeves that were thin, so once I warmed up, I just pulled them off and tied them onto my spibelt. You could easily buy 4 sets of them and just toss them with the other discarded clothing, but I’m cheap and since they are so light, I didn’t mind carrying them.
Even though the races start at 5, I didn’t cross the start line until close to 5:30 for each race. I was lucky enough to get Corral C, but there are several “waves” for each corral. The 5k and 10k had corrals A-E, I believe, and the half and full had corrals A-G. I can’t quite remember which corrals I headed past to get to C, but I was relieved to not be starting in the back of the pack. It was pure luck as I did not turn in a proof of time. To turn in a proof of time, it has to be within the past few years from an officially timed event. Since my last official race was in 2018, I wasn’t able to submit a time. But if you have a proof of time, do turn it in! You should get a higher corral and not be stressed about starting in the back.
If you do start in the back, still don’t stress. (Easy for me to say now). There is a time limit which is 16 minutes per mile (7 hours for the marathon). If you aren’t able to keep that pace, you run the risk of being swept. I can’t imagine doing all of the training and preparation only to be told you have to leave the course and ride a bus to the finish line. But it does happen and it breaks my heart for those people. You’ll know you are in danger of getting swept if you see the infamous “Balloon Ladies.” This is a group of pacers that maintain a steady 16 minute mile pace and they carry large balloons so that you can see them coming from a distance and get a move on! They are in the VERY back of the start line, so as long as you can keep your pace up, you don’t need to worry about getting caught. And if you start in Corral C as I did, you’ll start with a 30-40 minute cushion before they ever get going.
While running, I kept around a 10 minute mile pace. But I wanted to really enjoy these races, so I did stop for characters and of course I had to stop for restroom breaks. My plan (which actually worked really well), was to only walk when I stopped for characters, stopped for water/food or stopped for the restroom. I tried to keep a pretty quick walk going if I just had to slow down for a bit. The most difficult stretch is between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios where you literally see the Disney dump area and much of nothing else. Oh, the Blizzard Beach parking lot isn’t a fun place to run, either. I honestly don’t remember much of that stretch other than reminding myself I wasn’t dead yet, and I hadn’t seen the balloon ladies, so just keep moving!!
Glad to say, I made it all 4 races without laying eyes on those balloon ladies (I have a pic below of them that I borrowed from another runner). I’m sure they’re all very nice people, but I was glad we never met!
My original plan on the 5k and 10k was to just walk as I’d heard that the crowds made running very difficult. I don’t know if I just got lucky but I didn’t feel like it was crowded at all and I ran at my own pace with no difficulty. I did manage to get at the front of the wave of my corral each time, so I’m sure that helped. There were only a couple of times where the race course narrowed and I felt like runners were either holding me up or felt like I was holding anyone else up. So I ran all of the races!
You may be wondering why a person would run a Disney marathon - I mean with the crowds and the character stops, I don’t know very many people that have set a personal record there. I think you just have to know that going in - if you’re looking to run your best time ever, this isn’t the place to do it. Actually, if you’re an elite runner that starts at the front of the pack, this may not be true. Other than going up highway overpasses, it’s a pretty flat course. It’s also pretty amazing for a Disney nut like myself to get to run through the parks including the backstage areas. You see things that a normal guest doesn’t get to see and that’s so much fun! I will say that the backstage area behind Epcot got a little old after seeing it 4 times. And if I never hear a monotone recording shouting out “Speedbumps ahead,” again, I’ll be just fine! (Those of you that have run these races feel my pain there).
But if you want to actually have fun running a marathon, this IS the place to do it! My other marathons were more of just an accomplishment. Fun isn’t what comes to mind when I think back on them. But with these races, you’re running THROUGH DISNEY WORLD (sorry, I got excited) and the entertainment on course is spectacular. I took pics with 15+ different characters on the course and saw many others. There were marching bands, gospel bands, movies playing on big screens, music everywhere and even a donkey outside of Animal Kingdom. Unlike other races, you won’t find a lot of spectators on the main streets. But there are TONS of volunteers that make up for that. They are the most encouraging group you’ll ever come across. And I don’t think I can ever explain the feeling of running down Main Street, USA, in the Magic Kingdom with spectators cheering. To top it off, just as I was nearing the end of Main Street, Brittany Charboneau stepped onto the course, high-fived me and told me I could do it! She should know - in 2022, she became the first woman to win all four races and the Dopey Challenge. That gave me a bit of pep!!
Even though there aren’t a ton of spectators on the main streets, there are several areas where runners’ families hang out and general guests of the resorts can be found. The TTC and the area around the Boardwalk were my favorites. I had one super-kind lady yell out at me that my makeup looked good. I was probably only at mile 6 or so at that point - good thing she didn’t see me a few hours later! But even something as silly as that gave me a good laugh and kept me moving. I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing the costumes of other runners and the Disney-inspired signs of spectators. I hate to talk bad about anyone, but the sign that said “You’re running this race better than Chapek ran Disney” had me snickering for quite a while.
One other amazing part of the marathon was that we were in the parks after they were open to the public, which means…. the attractions are open! I’m not the biggest thrill-seeker on a regular day, so I ran right on past Everest and Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster. I can do those (and actually love Rock ’n’ Roller), but the thought of continuing to run on spaghetti legs didn’t make much sense. But tons of runners did go on them. The Cast Members were awesome and were sending runners into the Lightning Lane entrance so that they didn’t have to wait long.
On the day of the half marathon, Magic Kingdom wasn’t open yet, but a Cast Member was yelling at runners that they could get on the Teacups. I thought it was just for a photo so I ran in the entrance. Then I realized she was about the start the ride. Thankfully she let me back off as I know I would have puked and never made it the rest of the race!
One attraction that I had my heart set on riding was Test Track. It’s right near the end of the marathon - about 1/2 mile from the finish line. I figured at that point, I wasn’t in danger of getting swept - my finish time was right at 6 hours so I had an hour or more to waste. I ran off the course under some ropes and told the Cast Member I wanted to ride Test Track - she cheered and sent me on! I went into the single rider line and had 2 people ahead of me. I felt a bit awkward as I know at that point I smelled awful, but I didn’t know any of those people. The family I got to ride with saw my race bib and started asking questions. They thought it was hilarious that I was running a marathon at that moment. It was so much fun and thankfully the ride didn’t break down or have a long wait!
Another perk to the parks being open is that food and drinks spots are open. Nearly all runners that I saw getting refreshments were doing so at Germany (beer) or Mexico (margaritas). I may be in the minority, but I can’t imagine having a beer after running for 6 hours. But if you know me, you know I have a slight (okay that’s a lie… it’s not slight) Diet Coke addiction. And while I had some energy chews that contained caffeine, a Diet Coke was calling my name. I stopped at a kiosk right before I got to Test Track and asked for a drink. The Cast Member gave me a pitiful look and said they were out of Diet Coke. That was the first point in the race that I nearly burst into sobs. I had happy tears in my eyes a few times (Main Street, the Castle…) but I hadn’t just sobbed… yet. But I figured I had run all these miles, might as well go for a real Coke. Then I nearly cried again as their MagicBand reader wasn’t working. Of course I had no cash or cards on me and I just stood there looking pathetic. She had pity on me, handed me the Coke and said, “this one’s on Mickey.” THANK YOU, MICKEY - I was just about to freak out on that poor Cast Member.
As I crossed the finish line for the marathon, the announcers called me out for having my Coke as I crossed. They got a good laugh out of it as most people are carrying a margarita across. Again, I can use a sponsor in my life, so if Coca-Cola wants to reach out to me, I’d be happy to get that NIL!
Even though it didn’t work out for me with my MagicBand, I’d recommend wearing yours so that you can purchase items (hopefully). Other things you should take with you are sunglasses or a hat (the sun comes up and is brutal), AirPods if you want to listen to your own music (I had them but never put them in as I love running to Disney music), and your own snacks. I had a spibelt that I kept all of this in and it never bothered me. You’ll get plenty of water/gatorade but not much in the way of food. There were some orange slices and sport beans but I prefer to eat what I train with. They do hand out delicious Dove chocolate in Hollywood Studios and at that point, it’s the most delicious chocolate ever. But I’d take your own snacks for sure!
There are plenty of first aid tents along the route where you can get help if you need it. I know that many were stopping for help with blisters and even sunscreen. Don’t be afraid to stop for a bit as they are there to help! One thing that sounds gross (and feels gross if I’m honest), is to rub vaseline all over your feet and between your toes. This kept me from getting blisters for sure. I only ended up with a few after it was all said and done and I think they were mainly from the amount of walking I did after the marathon (bring some of the hydrocolloid gel bandages with you in case that happens - those sure help blisters feel better!). The first aid tent does have vaseline but the thought of taking my shoes and socks off during the race sounded like a bad idea as you have to put those puppies back on. So I just slathered up the best I could in the morning and had no issues.
Consider buying bib boards for bib (they are little things you place on each side of your shirt instead of safety pins to hold your bib). This way you won’t ruin your shirt with pin holes. Also, you want to try to keep your bib looking nice if you’re planning on using for a display after. For sure take photos of both bibs (you’ll get one for 5k and 10k and a separate one for the half and whole) before races! I know several companies that will use your photo to print them on a cup or shirt or other memorabilia and you want a photo of them while they are wrinkle free.
If you own any type of Theragun, bring it with you!! It truly saved my feet and legs. Not only are the races brutal being back-to-back, if you’re like me you’ll be walking a lot more than normal in the parks. I think I was more sore back when I just ran the half than I was this time after running all 4 races! One thing to note - you can’t fly with the theragun type device in your checked luggage. It must be in your carryon.
You’ll definitely want to bring several pairs of shoes. I had 2 different running shoes that I switched back and forth for each race. Then I had 2 different running shoes that I don’t run in anymore to wear to the parks. The last thing you want is to be wearing shoes that are wet or sweaty. On marathon day, I hit all 4 parks twice!! Of course the first 4 times were while running, but then I went back to each park after the race to have photos with my medals. I got nearly 80,000 steps that day and my good shoes sure helped!
Other recommendations to help your weekend go smoothly…. Order whatever you need nutrition-wise from Garden Grocer or Amazon Fresh and have it sent to your resort. I had my snicker bars, protein shakes, Diet Coke, bananas and more ready to go when I got there. Disney charges a flat $6 fee to accept the delivery and store for you until you check in. And it’s not as much fun, but try to stick to foods you eat at home while eating at the parks prior to the races. I saved my “all-fried and sugar diet” for after the marathon. Nothing will ruin your weekend like stomach troubles!!
Buy the Memory Maker!! I always recommend it for guests touring the parks but you can sometimes get away without it. If you’re fine handing off your camera to other guests, you can still get a lot of great photos. But during the races, you don’t want to try to flag people down to do that for you. Most of the characters had PhotoPass photographers with them and with many of the stops happening while it was still dark, it was great to have a professional photographer with a great camera. Plus they take a lot of action shots. I’m only going to share the good ones with you as they got some awful ones of me when I wasn’t paying attention and forgot to hide my struggle (my fault, not theirs), but the good ones are priceless. I like to say I’ll never forget any of this, but we all know I will!
On the days of the races and even after, wear your medals into the parks! Everyone (not just the Cast Members) were so kind to congratulate and make me feel like a rock star. And other runners became fast friends in line when they realized you were as crazy as them. I tend to chat a lot with strangers at Disney (which is very unlike me in regular life) and this trip took that a step further. I met more people than I can count and had some wonderful conversations! Side note - if this post makes it to a sweet girl that is working on getting into vet school and ended up running alone when her friend bailed on her due to not wanting to fly, give me a shout! I had the best conversation with her waiting in the corrals for the 5k and she really calmed my nerves!
A funny moment of the marathon was running into a podcaster that I listen to all of the time - Mike Rahlmann of the Be Our Guest podcast. Obviously I’ve never met him before but having listened for years, I knew he was running and recognized him right after getting back on the course after Test Track. I said hi to him and said I loved his show and then couldn’t resist yelling a Boomer Sooner as I ran on by. I know he’s a Mizzou fan and not a fan of OU at all and I heard him groan at me as I went on. Hopefully he got a little chuckle out of it - I sure did but I was also mostly delirious with the finish line just around the corner! If you know him, let him know it was all in fun!
A sweet highlight was getting texts from Lori (my twin sis) every evening giving me motivational words or reminding me I needed to get out of the parks and go to bed! She may have been just as nervous as I was about this race. She was up every morning when I left my hotel room at 3am (which is 2am OK time) just to make sure I hadn’t overslept. I had to send her a quick photo each morning of my “excited to be at Disney” face just to remind her of how she enjoyed that on our trip together a couple of years ago. (If you haven’t read the guest blog post from her about that trip, that should be the next thing you read when you’re done with this - hilarious!).
A rough lowlight of the trip was the morning after the marathon when I was back to the room and showering. The water cut off mid-shower and you can bet I burst into tears. After a call to maintenance, I found out that the entire resort had an issue and the water would be off for a while. I had BIG PLANS as usual to get to the parks, so did my best with a washcloth and water bottles. Not the relaxing shower you hope for after a marathon. But honestly, that was the only real hiccup to the whole weekend.
Just so you know, this trip wasn’t all fun and games. I can’t take a trip to Disney World and not do some work while I’m there. There were a few things that were new since my last trip and I like to have first-hand knowledge of all that I can for my clients!! I hadn’t had a chance to ride Cosmic Rewind or eat at Space220 or Connections Cafe yet. It may not have been the best idea to have a drink at Space220 right before riding Cosmic Rewind, but it was all in the name of research! Be sure and look through the photos below for the Cosmic Rewind pic. I didn’t know which way was up during that fun ride! Bonus - I didn’t puke.
Because I was staying at Port Orleans French Quarter (a new resort for me in the name of research), it was easy to take a boat over to Disney Springs and grab a burger at D-Luxe Burger. This is another spot I just hadn’t made it to yet, and it was great! And if you think I didn’t partake of the ginormous and delicious Mickey beignets at French Quarter, you’d be mistaken. I sometimes still dream of those sugary pillows of fried goodness.
One tip that I know I will pass on to all my clients is that if you want to limit your steps at your Disney resort, French Quarter is the resort for you. It is the smallest of the resorts and I felt like everything was so close. I love many (ok, all) of the other resorts too, but when I say our room at Animal Kingdom Lodge once was 1/2 mile from the bus stop, I’m not exaggerating.
If I were to do this crazy challenge again (don’t worry, I’m not), there are a few things I’d do differently. The main thing is to try not to stress as much ahead of time about things I couldn’t control. That stress changes nothing and I swear my blood pressure was high from July through the race. Also consider flying in a day early if that helps. Back in the winter of 2023 Southwest had those major issues with their systems and many flights were disrupted for weeks. I flew in the day prior to the races and had plenty of time, but even one day earlier would have been a huge relief. You have to get to the Expo on the day prior to the races starting to get your bibs/shirts. Speaking of the Expo, that’s a whole other subject that I could go on and on about but the only people interested in that are ones planning to run. If that’s you, send me your questions and I’ll offer my advice!
I wish I had taken more on-course photos/videos as it’s all hazy after no sleep and all that running. Also, buy the medal display at the expo - I have since heard that they use duplicate medals. At the time I didn’t know that and I didn’t want mine inside of a glass display as they all have moving parts. Don gave me an awesome display rack though, so mine look great now!
Thanks again to all of you that supported me (and had to live with me) during this nutty time. And I’m thankful that God helped me on this path. I know for a fact that the prayers weekly from our small group at church helped as I was able to have the best weather, avoid sickness, avoid travel delays and avoid most injuries (other than that pesky achilles) throughout training and the races. I can never thank everyone enough! And to those that told me that I’d never be able to do it - thanks to you, too. That was some great motivation that moved me along when I started to question it myself.
Now that it’s all said and done, I feel a little like Rapunzel in Tangled after she makes it to see the floating lanterns. She feels a little lost as her dream has finally come true and she’s not sure what to do next. I have said (and I mean it) that this was my first and last Dopey. For now, I’m enjoying NOT running and we’ll see what challenge comes my way in the future!
Do you have big dreams of chasing Dopey? I’d love to chat with you about it. And of course, regardless of why you’re heading to Disney World, I’d be absolutely thrilled to help plan and book your trip. Give me a shout!!!
*** Below are the pictures I mentioned - I’ve had technical issues and can’t get them to load in the correct order. So read the captions as they won’t make sense in the order below. Oops!! :)
