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2006 Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Report/Photo's: Erin McDuffee

Who Are You Calling GOOFY???

The Goofy Challenge is a two day event in which runners complete the Disney World half marathon on Saturday and the Disney full marathon on Sunday.  This was the first year that Disney split the races into two days and offered up a shiny Goofy medal to those who completed both.  I always thought that a Mickey medal would be awesome, but when my husband Phil was at the Chicago Marathon Expo and found out about this crazy opportunity of running both Disney races, we essentially signed up for the Goofy Challenge before we even thought about how crazy it was.  Somehow, I managed to recruit some friends to join us too.

To look back at my running experience, you could essentially say I was hopeless three years ago.  As a kid, I would barely pass the Presidential Fitness Test at school, coming in only seconds before the 12 minute mile cutoff.   When I met Phil, I became inspired to shake my fear of running and try again.  He persuaded me to join Austin Fit, and 2 years later I had collected 2 half marathon medals and a Freescale medal.  Yet, I still didn’t really feel like a runner.  I walked the second half of Freescale 2005 and finished in a time of 5:38.  So, this year I joined Rogue Training Systems and really focused on becoming a better runner, i.e. getting faster and losing the walk breaks. 

At the beginning of the season, I tried to tell Steve Sisson that I was doing the Goofy Challenge, and while he planned to modify my training schedule to run the Disney Marathon, for some reason it didn’t click for him that I was going to do the Half the day before.  When he finally realized what I was doing (around Christmastime), he laughed at me for about five minutes.  Nice confidence booster, right?  But luckily, he further modified my training schedule and threw in some Friday long runs the days before my Saturday long runs.  I was feeling very strong, at least until I started the taper.  Almost as soon as I thought, “Yes! I get to taper now!” I got a nasty cold that had me sick for weeks.  I credit lots of water, electromix and Kleenex for my recovery!

So, back to Disney.  Phil and I arrived Wednesday night and stayed at the All Sports Resort.  Fittingly, we were in the football hotel and watched the Rose Bowl surrounded by 3 story tall footballs and helmets!  On Thursday, we spent the day at Epcot and Friday we met up with our friends and went to the Marathon Expo.  At the expo, Goofy runners had to pick up a special wristband signifying we were doing both races; they would check change out our wristbands after the half marathon to prove we had completed the first race.   Phil and I made sure to rest a lot on Friday and stay off of our feet. 

On Saturday (Half Marathon Day), we woke up at 3:00am, grabbed our things, and stood in the bus line for 45 minutes to take us to the start line in Epcot.  It was freezing outside, but we kept huddled up to stay warm.  I must say that this race was HUGE!! It took us almost a mile to get from the clothes drop-off to our corral at the start! At 6:00am, the fireworks went off and Donald Duck started the race.  I made sure to high-five Donald, Daisy, Mickey & Minnie before I started.  I took the Half really easy, and since I was running with friends from a different training group, I ended up walking through all the water stops until mile 7.  At that point, I was sick of walking so I left them and ran until I finished.  I must say, this was surprisingly the easiest race I have ever done.  I easily ran a negative split and felt great when I finished.  I never thought earning the Donald medal would be so easy!  I made my way to the Goofy Challenge Tent so they could give me a new wristband proving I was still in the Goofy Challenge.   My half marathon race highlights included running through the Magic Kingdom and through Cinderella’s castle, and finishing through Epcot while the Disney cast members and an amazing gospel choir cheered us in.  I was also very impressed by the massive amounts of Team In Training people completed the race.  It seemed like I was running in a sea of purple!

I made sure to eat as soon as I finished running and took an ice bath once I got back to the hotel.  I took a long nap in the afternoon and went to the pasta dinner that night.  My knees were pretty sore so I made sure to ice them throughout the day.  Phil & I went to sleep at 8:00pm. 

Marathon Day:  This was the day I had been waiting for.  I had told everyone back home that I just wanted to finish the race in the time cutoff and not be picked up by the sag wagon.  I mean, I had run a half marathon the day before, I wasn’t about to set the world on fire.  But, my secret goal was to break five hours.  4:59:59 was going to make me the happiest marathoner at Disney.

For the second morning in a row, Phil and I woke up at 3:00am, got on the bus at 3:30 and made it to the marathon starting area with 2 hours to spare.  It was even colder this morning, and Phil & I crouched on the ground dressed in garbage bags.  Sarge from Toy Story was on the microphone gearing everybody up while a live band entertained the runners and spectators.  At 4:30, Phil & I dropped off our bags and made the half mile trek to the start line.  At this point we said goodbye because there were split starts, and he, being insanely fast, ran in the “A” group.  I headed off to the “F” group and tried to keep warm for the next hour.  There was a large screen with music videos, live interviews, and Disney stuff to keep us entertained.  At 6:00am, the fireworks went off and Goofy, Mickey & Minnie started the race. I made sure to high five them as I passed over the first timing mat.   At the first mile marker, I checked my pace – 10:40, right on track.   Around 2.5 miles, we ran through Epcot, which was absolutely gorgeous.  The sun wouldn’t rise for at least half an hour more, and the park was completely lit up and Disney music poured from the speakers.  We could look across the Epcot Lake and see the hoards of runners from the other start.  Throughout the race, all the Disney employees would stand around and cheer us on- it was so wonderful to see them support us.  Outside Epcot, the two split starts merged into one and we started on our way to the Magic Kingdom.  I was surprised when I reached the timing mat at mile 10 and felt great, still at a 10:40/10:50 pace.  The run through the Magic Kingdom, which was the same course as the day before, was again wonderful. Disney songs blared throughout the park, and running through the Castle was great.   When we reached the 13.1 timing mat, I got really chocked up because I knew at that point I was doing great and was going to easily break my 5 hour goal.  I also knew my family was receiving my chip updates on their cell phone, and I felt really touched because I felt that they were there sharing the experience with me. 

On to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  While I didn’t see any animals, there were plenty of Disney characters (Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, the Bug’s Life characters) and entertainment to keep me going.   I didn’t stop running until mile 16, when I decided I was going to take a quick walk break, take another clif shot, etc.  At that point, I knew I was fine for time and would run to each mile marker and then walk a bit.  There was a long stretch of road from the Animal Kingdom to MGM Studios that was really long and mentally tough, but the other runners kept yelling “Go Goofy!” to me and kept me going.  (I made myself a special Goofy shirt for the race with Goofy on the front.)  By mile 22, I was about ready to walk the rest of the race, but I ran as much as I could and took the opportunity to really enjoy the parks, the spectators, the music and the other runners.   Mile 25, we entered Epcot again and ran through the park.  The crowds were so loud and so motivating.  I managed to pick it up at the end and run strong to the finish.  Final time: 4:50:36!!!  I got my Mickey medal and made my way towards the Goofy tent.  There, they checked my wristband and awarded gave me my Goofy medal.  I ever so slowly made my way to the clothes drop, got my cell phone, called my training partner Tim and proceeded to break into tears.  I had not only broken my previous marathon P.R. by about 50 minutes, but I had easily broken my goal and completed 39.3 miles in 2 days.  From a girl who couldn’t run a mile three years ago, I couldn’t believe what I had just accomplished. 

In summary, the Goofy Challenge was an amazing experience.  Both races were superbly put on and a blast to run.  Rogue (specifically my coach Phil Carmical and Steve Sisson) got me to the start line as prepared as I could have been.  My friends, family and training buddies were with me in spirit the entire race.  And believing that I was finally a true runner got me to the finish.  Now, I can proudly call myself Goofy.