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2007 Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Report: Mike "goofyguy" Bandru
I have been calling myself Goofyguy1958 for years without having any official reason to use the name –other than that Goofy happens to have been my favorite cartoon character since my childhood back in the early 1960’s. However, as of Sunday January 7, 2007 I can officially use the moniker: I have successfully (and this is relatively speaking here) completed the 2007 Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge. For those of you who do not know what the Goofy Challenge is, it is comprised of a half marathon run on Saturday morning followed by a full marathon run on Sunday morning. Or better put, 39.3 miles of running within just over a 30 hour period of time (depending how f ast or not you are).
Saturday morning January 6th, I got up at 2:45 so I could eat breakfast, get dressed, do the necessaries, and make the 4 AM last bus to the corals for the half marathon. I put on my shorts, singlet and a throw away t-shirt to fend off any morning chill. When I walk out of my room I turn around after about 4 steps, re-open the door, remove and toss the completely unnecessary t-shirt back in the drawer. It was going to be a hot run.
After a short ride, I exited the bus, proceeded to Port-O-Pot city, joined the conga line to the pots and, when finished “dancing”, proceeded to the starting area corals. While waiting for the 6 AM start time I met a few very nice people – runners are the nicest and most open people it has ever been my pleasure to meet – and found a couple of guys who were looking to run the same pace as I was.
The singing of the national anthem was greeted with thunderous cheers and the 6AM start was fast approaching. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and, of course, Donald start the countdown. Five, four, three, two, one and we’re sent on our way by a flash of fireworks and pyrotechnics. We settle into a nice consistent pace and make a pledge to simply enjoy the day and not worry about time if the heat starts getting to us. Mile one passes in just under 11 minutes. No worries as it took us about a minute and a half to get to the start line and there was a lot of congestion to run through. The miles pass and I am having a blast high fiving all the characters and children, young and old, that I can reach along the course. We continue on knowing that looming just ahead of us is the keystone of Disney World, Cinderella’s Castle and The Magic Kingdom.
As we enter the Magic Kingdom the roar of the crowds is deafening. Main Street is one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had in my 19 years of road racing. If you do not get chills turning the corner from Town Square and riding the wave of enthusiasm up Main Street to “the” Castle, you’re inner child is dead. The only problem here is that you actually float up Main Street and cannot help but increase your pace. No worries, it actually felt effortless and I had no ill effects through the next 6, mostly boring highway, miles.
Somewhere along Main Street I realize I would run the remainder of the half on my own. Before I know it right in front of me are the toll booths that lead into the EPCOT parking area. The excitement builds as I realize I am well under my anticipated pace and feel really comfortable despite the heat. I and all my fellow racers enter EPCOT to the roaring of the spectators along the Future World section of EPCOT and again I am lifted to what feels like a floating stride and am carried through the final stretch and to the finish line. What a rush!
I get my Donald medal, grab a drink and something to eat (oranges and bananas look good now) and go to the Goofy Challenge tent to get the orange bracelet removed and my blue bracelet to replace it. Disney places an orange bracelet on all Goofy Challenge participants when you pick up your race packet. The bracelet must be worn until completion of the half when it is removed you get a blue one that must be shown after you complete the full in order to get that coveted Goofy medal. The Goofy medal proves to the world that you are goofy enough to complete running a half and full marathon or 39.3 miles on two consecutive days.
On Sunday morning, marathon day, Stitch and Mickey greet me with a wake-up call at 2:45 AM. I follow the same routine as I did on Saturday. Today, I am in coral D which is directly behind the elite’s coral – again Disney is far too generous in placing a slow old guy like me here. Today promises to be even hotter than yesterday and the humidity (according to the weather channel it is around 94% before I leave my room at 4 AM) is visible in a fog-like haze. I find an open spot in the coral and take a seat beside a gentleman, John who is looking to finish his first marathon and wants to run it in my goal time. I feel really good in spite of my faster-than-expected finish in the half yesterday and am full of enthusiasm for today’s race.
Again, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and my hero/alter ego Goofy count us down to the start after the Star Spangled Banner. We’re off with the fireworks and pyrotechnics. A change this morning, aside from double the miles that is, is that I am actually dripping sweat before we start running. Me thinks time is not something to worry about today and having fun is more in order. The early miles pass without incident. However, it is concerning when we note the visible humidity as we approach the what-appears-to-be a fog enshrouded Spaceship Earth around mile 3.
We keep up a steady pace through to mile 10 and the Magic Kingdom. In retrospect, I probably should have eased up and I would have finished sooner and most likely stronger than I did. However, I continue on until right around the half I notice some strange sounds emanating from under my feet. I look down and see water squirting out of my shoes with each step. I realize that this is my sweat not water (which I should have, but hadn’t as of yet, been pouring on my overheated head) that I am using to mark a wet trail that is the path of my progress. At mile 14 there is a water stop and I take in some fluids, pop a cliff shot and without thinking slow to a walk to insure I get all the fluid I can. This was my first mistake. When I attempt to start running again my legs send the message to my brain that they liked the walking pace and were not ready just yet to do that running thing again.
I walk for 2 minutes and then successfully trick my stubborn legs into a slower paced jog. Here I plan to run 1 mile and walk one minute for the remainder of the race. Unfortunately, my shoes had other plans; the insoles of my now saturated shoes decided to roll up and see what kind of discomfort they could present my waterlogged feet. I continued on, trying to ignore the discomfort and moving my toes around in an effort to uncurl the inserts. This goes on until around mile 18 when I finally stop and remove the inserts. I tuck the inserts into the back of my shorts which elicits a number of questioning stares as well as actual questions – to which I answer how the inserts are strategically placed as a symbol of how this Goofy Challenge is kicking my butt.
With the removal of the inserts, I decide that I will approach the rest of this race as an adventure, try to enjoy the crowds and not worry about my time. I start to run walk changing pace as often as possible and continue taking in as much fluids as I can grab. Oh, Oh! Too many fluids at one time mixed with strenuous exercise usually leads to something unpleasant and for me it is to stop, lean over the guard rail and puke. Oh what fun this is! But, change of mind set and this actually turns out to be an enjoyable experience. In the past I would negatively ruminate about my ever-slowing pace and pout but today I look inward and actually feel a lightening of my mood and an increasing desire to experience the positive energy all around me.
The support of the volunteers is overwhelming and should be rewarded. When you think how they have been out here for at least a half hour more than you and will remain on the course for hours to come, you see just how amazingly dedicated they are. Also, all the people who came out really early to cheer on the thousands of us nuts running, walking or staggering through the overheated Florida morning deserve every thank you and high five we racers can muster. So my mission changes to thanking as many people as I can and to feed their positive energy back to them ten-fold.
I continue on enjoying myself more than I thought possible. The miles pass until finally the entrance to EPCOT’s World Showcase beckons and I reach the end of this craziness that is the Goofy Challenge.
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