Hey gang! Here's my two cents for the Dopey Challenge/Marathon Weekend. Hope you enjoy it 
5k
After a night of little to no sleep because of some banging above or on the side of our room, I awoke at 4am to begin the path to becoming a Dope. Although I had come from the north where the temps were in the teens, I had not brought clothing with me for freezing temperatures so I layered multiple shirts and t-shirts, and then utilized my fleece jacket … crossed my fingers and hoped it was enough to keep me warm. I was on the bus by 4:30am to the race area (which started at 6:15am) and was nervous, excited and ready to run! When I arrived at the race staging area, there were very few people to be seen … it was so cold, everyone had already sought out shelter from the wind gusts that brought the temps below 30 degrees … let it be by locking themselves in port-a-potties, hiding under tarps or cramming into the tent that was to be setup for marathon massages. I was one of the lucky ones … I had gotten there early enough and was able to get into a side door of the heated ‘massage’ tent … this tent was my savior the first couple of mornings of the Dopey Challenge! Once the message came through that we were making our way to the corrals (A-F corrals for the 5K and 10K) I made my way to C corral and waited for the MC’s to start the races and then finally release us … because of the cold, it felt like forever! First character up was Flik from ‘A Bug’s Life’, then we hit mile marker 1. Soon after we made our way into back stage of Epcot and I found Moroccan Daisy waiting for photos … music was blasting through Epcot (which was lit by the white lights on the countries and the torches around World Showcase) … at one point the CD being used started skipping horribly and as the soundtrack was changed everyone let out a “YAYAYAYAYA” until they realized the next song was ‘Let it Go’ … haha, priceless. Next up in Italy was Pinocchio, then at Japan was Chip and Dale, then France had Marie from the Aristocats. We hit mile marker 2, and then passed Canada, where Donald Duck was warm in his Canadian outdoor gear … then the rest of the way, we raced through Future world … did a loop around the land and the Seas with Nemo and then out under Space Ship Earth to the finish.
All in all a good race … so cold though and without gloves, my fingers were icicles. I ran this race like a normal 5k, which was okay except for the bus delay as mentioned in a prior post. We ended up having to wait almost thirty minutes for a bus back to the WLV which with that wind was horrible. Fortunately by the time I got back, showered and changed to go do the runDisney Kids Race, the wind had died down considerably and while it was still cold, it was manageable.
RunDisney Kids 100m
My son is 2 years old, full of energy and loves Mickey. This was the perfect opportunity for him to get some energy out and see his best pal! The Wide World of Sports track is the furthest point from the bus drop off, so we left plenty of time to get there that morning. We arrived with a few minutes to spare at the track and dealt with the wind that was blowing everyone around on the field. There were tents with giveaways and activities on the field, but mostly everyone lined up at the green flags for start so they could get going as soon as possible. What was nice was that they did the race in waves so every kid was starting in the front … it wasn’t like a corral, but a staged start. After the first 5 waves, it was my sons turn … I was the ‘runner’ with him and although he was confused at first, once he saw everyone else takeoff he started running and caught up quickly. It was a 100 meter race, so it ended quickly, but at the end was Mickey in person to give high fives to all the runners … it was perfect and my little man loved it!
I would say that the video I have of him running his race and the little medal he got are the most precious things I could have asked for. He had a great time, we had a great time and we’ll definitely do it again! The cost of 20 bucks was a steal … it included a plastic medal, a shirt and a meet and greet with Mickey da Mouse … worth it to this Dad!
10k
A little more sleep this night … but an earlier awake time! This time I was up at 3am to make sure I was boarded on the bus by 4am for the race starting at 5:30am. Left the jacket at home this morning so there was one less layer to wear, although I took a second layer off about a mile into the course after getting hot quick. Same process as the day before … used the massage tent to stay warm until the corral call. NOTE: Best costume ever was the Haunted Mansion bride with the hatchet … she didn’t go through bag check (she didn’t have a bag), so security went chasing after screaming “Do you have a weapon” … hahaha. Went out to the corrals and got ready to run from C again … and we’re off! This time we had a longer run into the parking lot area of Epcot then we went back to backstage, through Epcot and the international gateway, around the boardwalk and yacht/beach club and then back into Epcot and through the finish. First characters up were Anna and Elsa on the overpass by the Epcot entrance … plus it was snowing over the pass … awesome! After that we hit mile marker 1 before running into the White Rabbit and Cards before going up the overpass. As we came back down the other side of the overpass, Lilo and Stitch were waiting for a meet and greet before passing mile marker 2. There was a huge screen set up on the side of the road showing classic Disney shorts synced with modern songs … that was pretty neat! Before you knew it you were at mile marker 3and we hit the backstage area of Epcot again! Lots of employee support back there and the ‘characters’ were parade people on stilts by the security booth. We made our way into the park (and I made my way to a real restroom!) and hit mile marker 4 by Japan. Genie was out in Morocco for a meet and greet and once we hit the boardwalk area, football Mickey was out … First time I have ever seen him! We hit mile marker 5 by the beach club, went back over the international gateway, then found twiddle dee and twiddle dumb out and about for a greet. Back into Epcot and around the land and Chip and Dale were out for a visit … under Space Ship Earth to mile marker 6 and then two big puppets (Mike Wazowski and Sebastian) before running through the finish! The mile markers in this race were:
1 – Hook and Peter Pan
2 – Rapunzel and Flynn Rider
3 – The Incredibles
4 – Prince Charming and Snow White
5 – Nemo, Marlon & Dory
6 – Simba, Pumba & Timon
Was surprised at how few characters there were out … to be fair there were lines for meet and greets that had no one out yet, so I probably missed out, but oh well. Overall the race was another good one … lots of support and love from the employees and amazing volunteers who I appreciated so much for their time and hard work so early in the morning and in the cold!
Half Marathon
I ran this race with a couple friends, so I did not take many character photos/stops … I did take pictures of each mile sign at least, so I can fill you all in on those. With that said, I dropped back to corral L to be with my friends and while waiting to start the race, saw the Space X rocket launch! It was awesome to see the rocket take off and then disappear into the sky … I took a grainy video that shows it to show family and friends … it was something really neat to see! On to the race and mile markers … to make it easy I will just list them in order here:
1 – Sorcerer Mickey
2 – Rapunzel and Flynn Rider
3 – Lightning McQueen and another ‘Charger’ looking car
4 – Belle
5 – Lady and the Tramp
6 – Buzz Lightyear and Woody
7 – Bambi and Thumper
8 – Prince Charming and Snow White
9 – Hiro and Baymax
10 – Nemo, Marlon & Dory
11 – Merida
12 – Olaf, Anna & Elsa
13 – Donald (Of course!)
The race started out heading to world drive, where I saw the men on the stilts again … they showed up later in the race too. Once we made it to World Drive, there was Barboosa and Pirate Ship and soon after that, we were running under the Magic Kingdom toll booth on our way to the happiest place on earth! As we ran through the MK parking lot we came upon Wreck it Ralph and Vanelope Von Sweet … awesome setup there … then we got closer to the TTC and long and behold, Jack Skellington and Sally were meeting guests right before the TTC! We made our way through the TTC and towards the Contemporary and at the Water Bridge, a big ‘Mickey’ handed DJ waved to everyone down below … all I could think about was how annoyed I would be if I was staying at the resort and awoke to this at 7am! Next up was backstage at the MK … I saw the ‘themed’ area for the bypass and all I can say is that it looks like Pixar Place. The brick look doesn’t fit in with any area of the MK but looks very similar to the brick at Hollywood Studios Pixar area … weird! Anyways, then we were onto Main Street USA … what an amazing experience to run up the middle of main street with people cheering you on and screaming … it will send chills down my spine for a long time … I even videoed some of it to save for the future. After hitting the hub area, we turned into tomorrow land where Buzz Lightyear was waiting for photos … then we made our way to the castle where Anna, Elsa and Kristoff were perched on the balcony waving to all the runners … and it was snowing again … amazing! Out to the front of the castle for a picture and to New Orleans Square for a photo with Louis from The princess and the frog … then to‘ a Woody meet up in Frontier land before heading backstage for a photo op with one of the trains … I sadly don’t know which one it was . Then through backstage and there was Princess Aurora and her prince by the ‘crystal’ float. We made our way a bit further and when we hit the halfway point, Reedy Creek Fire had a truck out to take a picture with. As we approached the Grand Floridian, Mary poppins, Bert and some Penguins were out to say hi … and not to further along, Golf Mickey (with his awesome golf cart) was out to stay hi as well on the golf course! Other than passing the Pirate Ship again, no one was out as I passed by from mile 8 to 10 … again there were lines but no charactersL. After mile 10, I ran into a green army man who was telling people to ‘Never give up, Never surrender!” … haha. At this point we hit the overpass back over to Epcot and I had the opportunity to look behind me so to speak … holy heck! There were people as far as the eye could see … I was amazed, especially since we were running at a fairly casual pace, I didn’t expect that many people to be behind us. Wow … just Wow! After the overpass, the men on stilts were once again standing around … and once we got into Epcot Phineas and Ferb were meeting guest’s right past the Fountain of Nations. We made the loop and headed back out towards the finish, but not before passing the Choir singing Halleluiah … then it was onto the finish … 1 more race to go, but more than double the mileage … eek!
This race was a good race, but I would say was the lacking the most characters of any of the four races. Again, I know there were some empty lines, but a couple miles with nothing was surprising. Even the Full seemed like they had more to see … maybe it’s just me though. With that said, the spectators and Volunteers more than made up for the lack of characters and I loved seeing all the supports and the humorous signs people had out … it was just a blast to see all that love for the runners! These races really had great people working them … the best of any races I have ever run … it made the experience so much greater!
Full Marathon
Slept a full night’s sleep which was much needed at this point … actually went to bed around 4pm … woke up at 6 pm, took a bath and had some carbs, then back to bed by 7pm only to be up at … 3am again! Was on the bus by 3:30am and on my way to my first Full Marathon ever! I had no intention of running this thing full out … I wanted pictures and I wanted to be able to enjoy everything … the characters, the surroundings and of course the supporters! I have to admit, waiting in the corral this morning was intense … I was extremely emotional … I felt like my body felt ‘too good’ and that something bad was going to happen. Thankfully my Dad was up and texting me encouraging words … he helped ground me and make me feel a whole lot better about things, although I was still so nervous. As corral K moved up to the start and was prepping to go … all I could think about was getting off to a good start and running my own race, no one else’s.
The fireworks went off and we were off! I had my phone strapped to my arm and made the decision at this point that I would only take important characters and mile markers to avoid distraction … I needed to finish this race and it was just easier to mount the phone to my arm. With that said, here is the list of characters on the mile markers:
1 – Donald Duck
2 – Rapunzel and Flynn Rider
3 – Carl and Russell from ‘Up’
4 – Belle
5 – Lady and the Tramp
6 – Buzz Lightyear and Woody
7 – Merida
8 – Cinderella
9 - Lightning McQueen and another ‘Charger’ looking car
10 – Bambi and Thumper
11 – Hook and Peter Pan
12 – Mowgli and Baloo
13 – Simba, Pumba & Timon
14 – Flik
15 – Ariel
16 – Prince Charming and Snow White
17 – Pinocchio
18 - Nemo, Marlon & Dory
19 - Hiro and Baymax
20 - Olaf, Anna & Elsa
21 – Princess Aurora
22 – Lilo & Stitch
23 – Mike Wazowski and Sully
24 – The Incredibles
25 – Remy & Linquini
26 – Sorcerer Mickey
Pictures that I took throughout the course were minimal too … I got Wreck it Ralph again (he’s awesome!), Woody, the Train at the MK, as many of the cars at the race track that I could capture without just stopping, Jiminy Cricket in AK, the line of riders at Expedition Everest, the baseball stadium/field at WWOS, and of course the costuming area at Hollywood Studios. Other than that … all the pictures were taken by MarathonFoto (the company who does all the pictures for Marathon Weekend) … they had better cameras and I already made the decision to purchase all the photos from the weekend at that point for a flat fee … it just made more sense. So on to the race review …
The race was awesome … being that it was my first Marathon ever, I was so glad that I did it in Walt Disney World. I had so much fun and rarely ever needed headphones because the entertainment was so continuous. There were tons of characters out on the course Sunday and if there weren’t characters, they filled the gap with DJ’s, marching bands or other displays that you could stop for a picture at. The spectator support was absolutely amazing … at every resort, park and public road corner, someone was there cheering the runners on … and best of all, the overpass by Hollywood Studios had some awesome peeps that had food available to runners. Thank you Mr Sweedish Fish man for the handful of those sugary energy gummies! As we entered into Hollywood Studios, they were giving away mini Hershey Candies … Krackel? … Yes Please! I can honestly say there wasn’t one thing that I would change about race day … even the rain. While in WWOS, the rain started about mile 18 and was a light drizzle … it felt so good at this point in the race, I really didn’t mind. It progressively got heavier for a few minutes and then it disappeared for a while as I was exiting WWOS. The good news was that it stopped, but the bad news was that it was getting muggy … it was at this point I saw 3 or 4 people go down on the side of the road in need of medical assistance. One of the women was being force fed a Clif Gel as she was on the ground and another person was carted away in an ambulance. Again, it had rained so the road surface was a bit slippery and coming down the ramp towards MGM was a bit hazardous. The rain restarted as we exited Hollywood Studios, but this time it was heavy from the get go … running the canal path was fine, but getting up and over the bridge to go to the boardwalk was very slippery … once on the boardwalk even though it was raining it was smooth sailing. I dropped 3 minutes per mile at this point (going from 13 to 10) … I knew how close I was to the finish and I knew that in the UK, my whole family and my friends were there to cheer me on. I made the turn by the old millennium building backstage into the UK and found my family and friends … it was an awesome feeling! I was almost done and everyone was there to see it, rain and all. I spent a few seconds with hugs and thanks and took off around world showcase … I thought about a margarita or beer to carry across the finish line … but I decided to savor it on my own. I could celebrate later! As I turned the corner by Mexico and head to the path that connected World Showcase with Future World, I again saw my family waiting and ran up to give my son a kiss … my friends had already made a move to the finish line, so that’s where I was headed as well. I had so much pep in my step the last few miles, knowing how close I was to finishing this challenge that I started almost a year ago when I signed up was just taking over my psyche. I made the final turn onto the straight way to the finish line and I heard the crowd cheering … with it being slick, I decided against speeding up and instead just jogged right through the finish line. I had just completed my first Marathon and the Dopey Challenge!!! Disbelief and shock are two words that come to mind … I couldn’t (and still can’t) believe it was over … all the training and time put in … all the excitement and anxiety had come and gone and this was it. As I made my way to the medal volunteers for the Marathon, I looked around at all the runners and the smiles on all of our faces … this is what it was all about … having fun, keeping in shape and enjoying the outdoors! I got the Marathon medal … made my way down ‘drink row’ to the Dopey tent … at this point, other than the first day, no one had checked anything for me in regards to Photos or race completions … I just hoped that all was good. I moved up to the verifier … she looked at me and said ‘you’re good!’ and that was it, the journey that started many months ago was complete … I was Dopey! I almost bust out with emotion, but I held it in … I was presented with a Goofy and a Dopey medal around my neck, another photo op for 3 medals at once and then onto the food area … Yay!
These few days were one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life and I look forward to running WDW Marathon weekend again in the future … it was an awesome time and it has me hooked for more
5k
After a night of little to no sleep because of some banging above or on the side of our room, I awoke at 4am to begin the path to becoming a Dope. Although I had come from the north where the temps were in the teens, I had not brought clothing with me for freezing temperatures so I layered multiple shirts and t-shirts, and then utilized my fleece jacket … crossed my fingers and hoped it was enough to keep me warm. I was on the bus by 4:30am to the race area (which started at 6:15am) and was nervous, excited and ready to run! When I arrived at the race staging area, there were very few people to be seen … it was so cold, everyone had already sought out shelter from the wind gusts that brought the temps below 30 degrees … let it be by locking themselves in port-a-potties, hiding under tarps or cramming into the tent that was to be setup for marathon massages. I was one of the lucky ones … I had gotten there early enough and was able to get into a side door of the heated ‘massage’ tent … this tent was my savior the first couple of mornings of the Dopey Challenge! Once the message came through that we were making our way to the corrals (A-F corrals for the 5K and 10K) I made my way to C corral and waited for the MC’s to start the races and then finally release us … because of the cold, it felt like forever! First character up was Flik from ‘A Bug’s Life’, then we hit mile marker 1. Soon after we made our way into back stage of Epcot and I found Moroccan Daisy waiting for photos … music was blasting through Epcot (which was lit by the white lights on the countries and the torches around World Showcase) … at one point the CD being used started skipping horribly and as the soundtrack was changed everyone let out a “YAYAYAYAYA” until they realized the next song was ‘Let it Go’ … haha, priceless. Next up in Italy was Pinocchio, then at Japan was Chip and Dale, then France had Marie from the Aristocats. We hit mile marker 2, and then passed Canada, where Donald Duck was warm in his Canadian outdoor gear … then the rest of the way, we raced through Future world … did a loop around the land and the Seas with Nemo and then out under Space Ship Earth to the finish.
All in all a good race … so cold though and without gloves, my fingers were icicles. I ran this race like a normal 5k, which was okay except for the bus delay as mentioned in a prior post. We ended up having to wait almost thirty minutes for a bus back to the WLV which with that wind was horrible. Fortunately by the time I got back, showered and changed to go do the runDisney Kids Race, the wind had died down considerably and while it was still cold, it was manageable.
RunDisney Kids 100m
My son is 2 years old, full of energy and loves Mickey. This was the perfect opportunity for him to get some energy out and see his best pal! The Wide World of Sports track is the furthest point from the bus drop off, so we left plenty of time to get there that morning. We arrived with a few minutes to spare at the track and dealt with the wind that was blowing everyone around on the field. There were tents with giveaways and activities on the field, but mostly everyone lined up at the green flags for start so they could get going as soon as possible. What was nice was that they did the race in waves so every kid was starting in the front … it wasn’t like a corral, but a staged start. After the first 5 waves, it was my sons turn … I was the ‘runner’ with him and although he was confused at first, once he saw everyone else takeoff he started running and caught up quickly. It was a 100 meter race, so it ended quickly, but at the end was Mickey in person to give high fives to all the runners … it was perfect and my little man loved it!
I would say that the video I have of him running his race and the little medal he got are the most precious things I could have asked for. He had a great time, we had a great time and we’ll definitely do it again! The cost of 20 bucks was a steal … it included a plastic medal, a shirt and a meet and greet with Mickey da Mouse … worth it to this Dad!
10k
A little more sleep this night … but an earlier awake time! This time I was up at 3am to make sure I was boarded on the bus by 4am for the race starting at 5:30am. Left the jacket at home this morning so there was one less layer to wear, although I took a second layer off about a mile into the course after getting hot quick. Same process as the day before … used the massage tent to stay warm until the corral call. NOTE: Best costume ever was the Haunted Mansion bride with the hatchet … she didn’t go through bag check (she didn’t have a bag), so security went chasing after screaming “Do you have a weapon” … hahaha. Went out to the corrals and got ready to run from C again … and we’re off! This time we had a longer run into the parking lot area of Epcot then we went back to backstage, through Epcot and the international gateway, around the boardwalk and yacht/beach club and then back into Epcot and through the finish. First characters up were Anna and Elsa on the overpass by the Epcot entrance … plus it was snowing over the pass … awesome! After that we hit mile marker 1 before running into the White Rabbit and Cards before going up the overpass. As we came back down the other side of the overpass, Lilo and Stitch were waiting for a meet and greet before passing mile marker 2. There was a huge screen set up on the side of the road showing classic Disney shorts synced with modern songs … that was pretty neat! Before you knew it you were at mile marker 3and we hit the backstage area of Epcot again! Lots of employee support back there and the ‘characters’ were parade people on stilts by the security booth. We made our way into the park (and I made my way to a real restroom!) and hit mile marker 4 by Japan. Genie was out in Morocco for a meet and greet and once we hit the boardwalk area, football Mickey was out … First time I have ever seen him! We hit mile marker 5 by the beach club, went back over the international gateway, then found twiddle dee and twiddle dumb out and about for a greet. Back into Epcot and around the land and Chip and Dale were out for a visit … under Space Ship Earth to mile marker 6 and then two big puppets (Mike Wazowski and Sebastian) before running through the finish! The mile markers in this race were:
1 – Hook and Peter Pan
2 – Rapunzel and Flynn Rider
3 – The Incredibles
4 – Prince Charming and Snow White
5 – Nemo, Marlon & Dory
6 – Simba, Pumba & Timon
Was surprised at how few characters there were out … to be fair there were lines for meet and greets that had no one out yet, so I probably missed out, but oh well. Overall the race was another good one … lots of support and love from the employees and amazing volunteers who I appreciated so much for their time and hard work so early in the morning and in the cold!
Half Marathon
I ran this race with a couple friends, so I did not take many character photos/stops … I did take pictures of each mile sign at least, so I can fill you all in on those
. With that said, I dropped back to corral L to be with my friends and while waiting to start the race, saw the Space X rocket launch! It was awesome to see the rocket take off and then disappear into the sky … I took a grainy video that shows it to show family and friends … it was something really neat to see! On to the race and mile markers … to make it easy I will just list them in order here:1 – Sorcerer Mickey
2 – Rapunzel and Flynn Rider
3 – Lightning McQueen and another ‘Charger’ looking car
4 – Belle
5 – Lady and the Tramp
6 – Buzz Lightyear and Woody
7 – Bambi and Thumper
8 – Prince Charming and Snow White
9 – Hiro and Baymax
10 – Nemo, Marlon & Dory
11 – Merida
12 – Olaf, Anna & Elsa
13 – Donald (Of course!)
The race started out heading to world drive, where I saw the men on the stilts again … they showed up later in the race too. Once we made it to World Drive, there was Barboosa and Pirate Ship and soon after that, we were running under the Magic Kingdom toll booth on our way to the happiest place on earth! As we ran through the MK parking lot we came upon Wreck it Ralph and Vanelope Von Sweet … awesome setup there … then we got closer to the TTC and long and behold, Jack Skellington and Sally were meeting guests right before the TTC! We made our way through the TTC and towards the Contemporary and at the Water Bridge, a big ‘Mickey’ handed DJ waved to everyone down below … all I could think about was how annoyed I would be if I was staying at the resort and awoke to this at 7am!
Next up was backstage at the MK … I saw the ‘themed’ area for the bypass and all I can say is that it looks like Pixar Place. The brick look doesn’t fit in with any area of the MK but looks very similar to the brick at Hollywood Studios Pixar area … weird! Anyways, then we were onto Main Street USA … what an amazing experience to run up the middle of main street with people cheering you on and screaming … it will send chills down my spine for a long time … I even videoed some of it to save for the future. After hitting the hub area, we turned into tomorrow land where Buzz Lightyear was waiting for photos … then we made our way to the castle where Anna, Elsa and Kristoff were perched on the balcony waving to all the runners … and it was snowing again … amazing! Out to the front of the castle for a picture and to New Orleans Square for a photo with Louis from The princess and the frog … then to‘ a Woody meet up in Frontier land before heading backstage for a photo op with one of the trains … I sadly don’t know which one it was . Then through backstage and there was Princess Aurora and her prince by the ‘crystal’ float. We made our way a bit further and when we hit the halfway point, Reedy Creek Fire had a truck out to take a picture with. As we approached the Grand Floridian, Mary poppins, Bert and some Penguins were out to say hi … and not to further along, Golf Mickey (with his awesome golf cart) was out to stay hi as well on the golf course! Other than passing the Pirate Ship again, no one was out as I passed by from mile 8 to 10 … again there were lines but no charactersL. After mile 10, I ran into a green army man who was telling people to ‘Never give up, Never surrender!” … haha. At this point we hit the overpass back over to Epcot and I had the opportunity to look behind me so to speak … holy heck! There were people as far as the eye could see … I was amazed, especially since we were running at a fairly casual pace, I didn’t expect that many people to be behind us. Wow … just Wow! After the overpass, the men on stilts were once again standing around … and once we got into Epcot Phineas and Ferb were meeting guest’s right past the Fountain of Nations. We made the loop and headed back out towards the finish, but not before passing the Choir singing Halleluiah … then it was onto the finish … 1 more race to go, but more than double the mileage … eek!This race was a good race, but I would say was the lacking the most characters of any of the four races. Again, I know there were some empty lines, but a couple miles with nothing was surprising. Even the Full seemed like they had more to see … maybe it’s just me though. With that said, the spectators and Volunteers more than made up for the lack of characters and I loved seeing all the supports and the humorous signs people had out … it was just a blast to see all that love for the runners! These races really had great people working them … the best of any races I have ever run … it made the experience so much greater!
Full Marathon
Slept a full night’s sleep which was much needed at this point … actually went to bed around 4pm … woke up at 6 pm, took a bath and had some carbs, then back to bed by 7pm only to be up at … 3am again! Was on the bus by 3:30am and on my way to my first Full Marathon ever! I had no intention of running this thing full out … I wanted pictures and I wanted to be able to enjoy everything … the characters, the surroundings and of course the supporters! I have to admit, waiting in the corral this morning was intense … I was extremely emotional … I felt like my body felt ‘too good’ and that something bad was going to happen. Thankfully my Dad was up and texting me encouraging words … he helped ground me and make me feel a whole lot better about things, although I was still so nervous. As corral K moved up to the start and was prepping to go … all I could think about was getting off to a good start and running my own race, no one else’s.
The fireworks went off and we were off! I had my phone strapped to my arm and made the decision at this point that I would only take important characters and mile markers to avoid distraction … I needed to finish this race and it was just easier to mount the phone to my arm. With that said, here is the list of characters on the mile markers:
1 – Donald Duck
2 – Rapunzel and Flynn Rider
3 – Carl and Russell from ‘Up’
4 – Belle
5 – Lady and the Tramp
6 – Buzz Lightyear and Woody
7 – Merida
8 – Cinderella
9 - Lightning McQueen and another ‘Charger’ looking car
10 – Bambi and Thumper
11 – Hook and Peter Pan
12 – Mowgli and Baloo
13 – Simba, Pumba & Timon
14 – Flik
15 – Ariel
16 – Prince Charming and Snow White
17 – Pinocchio
18 - Nemo, Marlon & Dory
19 - Hiro and Baymax
20 - Olaf, Anna & Elsa
21 – Princess Aurora
22 – Lilo & Stitch
23 – Mike Wazowski and Sully
24 – The Incredibles
25 – Remy & Linquini
26 – Sorcerer Mickey
Pictures that I took throughout the course were minimal too … I got Wreck it Ralph again (he’s awesome!), Woody, the Train at the MK, as many of the cars at the race track that I could capture without just stopping, Jiminy Cricket in AK, the line of riders at Expedition Everest, the baseball stadium/field at WWOS, and of course the costuming area at Hollywood Studios. Other than that … all the pictures were taken by MarathonFoto (the company who does all the pictures for Marathon Weekend) … they had better cameras and I already made the decision to purchase all the photos from the weekend at that point for a flat fee … it just made more sense. So on to the race review …
The race was awesome … being that it was my first Marathon ever, I was so glad that I did it in Walt Disney World. I had so much fun and rarely ever needed headphones because the entertainment was so continuous. There were tons of characters out on the course Sunday and if there weren’t characters, they filled the gap with DJ’s, marching bands or other displays that you could stop for a picture at. The spectator support was absolutely amazing … at every resort, park and public road corner, someone was there cheering the runners on … and best of all, the overpass by Hollywood Studios had some awesome peeps that had food available to runners. Thank you Mr Sweedish Fish man for the handful of those sugary energy gummies! As we entered into Hollywood Studios, they were giving away mini Hershey Candies … Krackel? … Yes Please! I can honestly say there wasn’t one thing that I would change about race day … even the rain. While in WWOS, the rain started about mile 18 and was a light drizzle … it felt so good at this point in the race, I really didn’t mind. It progressively got heavier for a few minutes and then it disappeared for a while as I was exiting WWOS. The good news was that it stopped, but the bad news was that it was getting muggy … it was at this point I saw 3 or 4 people go down on the side of the road in need of medical assistance. One of the women was being force fed a Clif Gel as she was on the ground and another person was carted away in an ambulance. Again, it had rained so the road surface was a bit slippery and coming down the ramp towards MGM was a bit hazardous. The rain restarted as we exited Hollywood Studios, but this time it was heavy from the get go … running the canal path was fine, but getting up and over the bridge to go to the boardwalk was very slippery … once on the boardwalk even though it was raining it was smooth sailing. I dropped 3 minutes per mile at this point (going from 13 to 10) … I knew how close I was to the finish and I knew that in the UK, my whole family and my friends were there to cheer me on. I made the turn by the old millennium building backstage into the UK and found my family and friends … it was an awesome feeling! I was almost done and everyone was there to see it, rain and all. I spent a few seconds with hugs and thanks and took off around world showcase … I thought about a margarita or beer to carry across the finish line … but I decided to savor it on my own. I could celebrate later! As I turned the corner by Mexico and head to the path that connected World Showcase with Future World, I again saw my family waiting and ran up to give my son a kiss … my friends had already made a move to the finish line, so that’s where I was headed as well. I had so much pep in my step the last few miles, knowing how close I was to finishing this challenge that I started almost a year ago when I signed up was just taking over my psyche. I made the final turn onto the straight way to the finish line and I heard the crowd cheering … with it being slick, I decided against speeding up and instead just jogged right through the finish line. I had just completed my first Marathon and the Dopey Challenge!!! Disbelief and shock are two words that come to mind … I couldn’t (and still can’t) believe it was over … all the training and time put in … all the excitement and anxiety had come and gone and this was it. As I made my way to the medal volunteers for the Marathon, I looked around at all the runners and the smiles on all of our faces … this is what it was all about … having fun, keeping in shape and enjoying the outdoors! I got the Marathon medal … made my way down ‘drink row’ to the Dopey tent … at this point, other than the first day, no one had checked anything for me in regards to Photos or race completions … I just hoped that all was good. I moved up to the verifier … she looked at me and said ‘you’re good!’ and that was it, the journey that started many months ago was complete … I was Dopey! I almost bust out with emotion, but I held it in … I was presented with a Goofy and a Dopey medal around my neck, another photo op for 3 medals at once and then onto the food area … Yay!
These few days were one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life and I look forward to running WDW Marathon weekend again in the future … it was an awesome time and it has me hooked for more
