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2007 Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Report: Cathy Warren
| Who would have thought that registering for a half marathon would lead to a week of fun with friends as well as including running my first marathon. When done in consecutive days it is officially called The Goofy and it probably was a goofy thought in the beginning but after long hours and several months of training the task was finally accomplished.
It didn’t seem possible that we were finally heading to Florida last Thursday. The time just flew by and it wasn’t long before I was standing at the airport with my fellow Disney participants. Having Thursday and Friday adjust to the temperatures was definitely good planning. Although the temperatures at home were fairly mild nothing could prepare us for humid temps in the 80’s. Shedding our winter cloths we slowly adjusted to the warmer temperatures. We did the expo (a couple of times), went swimming, did a little shopping and before long Saturday morning dawned and in the wee hours of the morning we all met to start the walk to the half. Even though it was still dark out I do believe that we made quite an impression on those that we met along the way as we sported our red Tri & Run shirts. We could hear the loud speakers and see the spot lights from our resort and as we got closer it grew louder and more apparent that there were several thousand people waiting for us to join them. We squeezed into the pack and made an effort not to loose each other as the start of the race was announced and the pack made a slow progression to the official starting mats. It was difficult not to be on someone’s heels at every step and passing was a nearly impossible feat. As the sun began to lighten the skies our little group began to spread itself out. Petra soon disappeared into the throng of people in front of us. I was next. Swallowed by the crowd. As the kilometres clicked off the sun became hotter and the air more humid. The crowd of runners didn’t seem to change much. Still compacted as the pictures show. Photos . There was hardly a place where you weren’t surrounded by people. The long stretches of road were to say the least boring and certainly the most excitement part was the parks. The crowds of cheering people lining the streets made up for the lack of stimulation the roadways offered. The closer I got to the half distance the more the thought loomed that tomorrow I would be doubling that distance. I gave thought to how I was feeling and if I could make it or not. I hadn’t had the opportunity to think this one through before having never done a marathon. Positive thinking, you never know until you try. It wasn’t long before Epcot was on the horizon. The excitement grew the closer I got to the finish line. The first leg was over and the next was about to commence. There is nothing better than the finish line where friends meet friends, food awaits, pictures are taken and you know that you and your companions have completed the task at hand. A night of rest and my first full was about to start. Awaking earlier to prepare better than the day before I realised that two days of pasta didn’t quite agree with me. Hoping this would change with food I attempted a bagel and cheese. Didn’t help. The trip to the start line was a bit shorter than the previous day and there were fewer from our group this time. The start was a bit more regimented than the half as the directors of the corals weren’t allowing anyone to enter that weren’t supposed to be there. As we progressed to the start mats it seemed to be less congested. And that proved to be the case the further we ran. The first few miles clicked off pretty fast but the need for a bathroom was still a priority. By about 4 miles Petra was moving forward at a faster pace than I could handle. I told her to go ahead and with a big hug she vanished from sight in an instant. As the sun rose it began to show the mist that had formed overnight. It didn’t seem as humid or as hot as yesterday and with the miles still looming over me I tried to believe that with every step. I concentrated on running in kilometres instead of miles as it was more familiar. The roads were long and for the first 23 k’s the bathrooms were always visible. By this time I had already gone yesterdays distance and than some and was beginning to feeling pretty good except for the fact that the water stations were becoming less and less a possibility. Thank goodness I was carrying. The roads just seemed to continue on and the breaks between the parks became longer. I made more stops than yesterday for pictures Photos and laughed at the thought of my grandson seeing me with all the characters that he watches daily. Before long I could see the Epcot sign in the distance and the welcoming greeting as we entered the park for the second time. I had made it. Now to cross the finish line in under 6 hours. Well to make the final moments shorter, I made it in just over 6 hours and was welcomed by my fellow Goofy runners. Was hard to believe that I had just completed my first marathon. Just think, with a little more concentration and a few less pictures and I might even be able to improve on my times for next time. Sorry that this was so long but you should be thankful that I didn’t relay to you all my thoughts and events of those two days. The best part of my adventure was the fact that this event was shared by good friends that were there for me every step of the way whether they were directly with me or there to congratulate me at the end. I feel privileged to have these fellow runners with me for my first marathon and the full experience of being Goofy. THANK YOU ALL. |
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