Dopey Challenge Tech Running Shirt
One year ago, I ran my first marathon at Disney World. This race is a great entry-level marathon for beginners. Disney does everything right (yes, I know I am a cast member and might be biased, but really, they do) from having a generous finish time to making sure you are taken care of on the course. Last year, I ran the 5k, 10k, and full marathon. I will not lie, when I saw people at the parks with their half marathon medals, I was feeling left out.
While planning for the 2016 races, I saw the Goofy and Dopey challenges. Basically, the Goofy challenge is to run the half marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday. You have to be pretty goofy to attempt such a thing. Then there is the Dopey Challenge where you run all four races on four consecutive days: The 5k on Thursday, the 10k on Friday, the half marathon on Saturday, and the full marathon on Sunday for a total of 48.6 miles! If you were goofy thinking about that challenge, you really had to be a dope to even entertain this one. I mean come on… FOUR races in FOUR days. How nuts does one have to be to do this stunt?
Well, if you know me, I do not back down from any type of challenge. I soon found myself ponying up the $550 to run the Dopey Challenge on RunDisney.com and wondered how on earth was I ever going to train for such a thing (hint: training includes a LOT of back-to-back long runs). I used my handy dandy cast-member discount to secure a hotel room months in advance and scored a pretty cheap flight on Southwest.com.
Dopey Challenge Check-in 2016
The first order of business was to get checked in. I made my way to the Dopey registration line, checked in, and got all my swag. The funny thing about the swag is that you get a technical running shirt for each race (5k, 10k, half marathon, and full marathon), and a special Dopey Challenge shirt. Additionally, by nature of the Dopey Challenge, you complete the Goofy Challenge as well, so you get that tech shirt too for a grand total of SIX tech running shirts! What a huge score (I know, I know – you actually pay for it in your entry fee, but I felt like I hit the jackpot here). Additionally, they photograph all Dopey Challenge participants. Here is my mug shot:
2016 Dopey Challenge Picture
Walt Disney Expo 2016
Donna had decided that she wanted to try a full marathon, so we was going to do the same thing that I did last year – the 5k, 10, and full marathon. After we got checked in and collected all of our swag, we entered the expo. As you know when Disney does something, it is immaculate, and this was no exception, The Disney expo is nothing like I have ever seen. It was held in not one, not two, but THREE separate rooms. If you forgot something at home, they will have it there. If you want try something new, you can get it there. There are free samples galore. You can spend an afternoon walking around, eating and drinking all you want. I found that the prices are average, and you should not expect any blowout deals here, but hey, if you need it, your item will be there.
My plan is to take all races nice and slow. I do not want to burn myself in the earlier races. My goal is to finish each race with gas left in the tank for the following race.