Disney World Goofy Challenge – January 12-13,
Summary –1:51 ½, 3:40 full –125th overall, and 13th woman (according to total time of both races -unofficially published)
I entered the Disney World ‘Goofy’s Challenge’ a full year ago after RunDangerously ran and finished in fine shape--- the challenge of running a ½ marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday (to earn a special goofy medal), as a late holiday trip, was too much to resist ---and the idea of combining it with a family Disney vaca sounded fun, as had never run a destination marathon in the winter. This was 15th anniversary of the marathon, and they were giving out a commemorative medal (which didn’t disappoint –it was the size of a plate) and my kids had never been to Disney World. Disney was ultra-organized – the resort had transportation to and from the airport, to the expo, all the theme parks and to both sat and sun races –and our 5-day theme park tickets were very reasonable…BUT the consumerism –arghh---after every ride, the kids wanted to buy a pin, t-shirt? or unhealthy snack (I lived on grapefruit, which was .99 cents)…and at the expo, people were snapping so many items that the cost could feed a small third-world country! But it was Disney and you have to go with the flow –I figured this was a one-time adventure. What made the weekend fun (aside from the warm temps) was that the parks were filled with runners and their families… and the challenge is non-competitive.
Note: it sounded ‘fun’ a year ago, but when December rolled around, I finally had to get the business of training, with 3 18-20 mile runs, some shorter races, and 12 mile treadmill runs…I had heard that the temps could be hot (2007 was 85 degrees, so trained on the treadmill in sweats)…our trip by the day:
Thursday/Friday––Do I really have to run both days?? Why did I take that hour yoga class??? and I’m going to hate getting up at 3 each night. Flew to Orlando and saw my TRR friend Ed in the airport –he was running the ½ with his wife…got to hotel, and the family went off to Magic Kingdom while I went to expo –a lot of walking and longish lines –3 tech shirts (Goofy, 1/2and marathon shirts) – they put an orange hospital bracelet on our wrists for the challenge -- walked around too much…got back to resort and organized the bibs and chips, and met family for dinner at the Polynesian (yes, I had a big bite of Ike’s Mickey mouse sundae). We saw fireworks at magic kingdom and navigated the crowds…..Spent Friday at Typhoon lagoon --again, lots of walking and climbing and the big surf wave and raft slide. Met a bunch of goofy runners –some came all the way from the UK and Calgary!
Sat (1/2 Marathon)Woke up at 3:30 and was out to resort bus by 4…it was warm and humid and dark. As I walked to the start, amazingly, I ran into my friends Yuki and Hiro who were in the challenge –we walked around for a bit and agreed to meet at the start. 16,000 runners!! Many first-time racers…What a contrast to the low-key no-fee run I had done last weekend, which started in a parking lot!!! I checked my bag (camera, etc) and walked to the start –we had to walk about a mile, which I didn’t mind –but felt tired and achy from walking around for 2 days and from that darn yoga class? --at 6 a.m. we were off, amid fireworks in the dark sky –fabulous! I ran the first couple miles very slowly, as my strategy was to run both days at my training pace (50K pace), as the whole idea is just to finish and have fun (ha).
At mile 6, we entered the magic kingdom –running thru Main street and under Cinderella’s castle was truly magical…but as we went back out on the highway the sun started to come out and it was hot.
I ran with a guy from DC who was running his 5th Disney Marathon and first goofy –he told me some weather horror stories…as we hit mile 10 in 1:25, I started to feel better and cranked out a few 8 minute miles…we entered Epcot for the last mile and all of a sudden – the finish (1:51), with gospel choir singing --I met a nice girl in the challenge a the finish and she said she was going to try for 3:30 on Sunday –yikes! I was wondering if I’d finish in 4 hours….we were awarded a Donald duck medal and I proceeded to the tent to have my goofy bracelet cut and changed…one race down!! I was back at the hotel by 8:20, in time for a full day at Hollywood studios --I threw caution to the wind and decided to walk everywhere --I actually think this got the lactid acid out of my system. A 1:51 ½ marathon was a ‘training run’, but the concrete and the heat and the early morning did beat me up….I drank fluids all day (bought the thermos that has free refills everywhere –the best bargain in Disney) and stretched.
Sunday (Marathon) up again at 3:30 and out into rainy, humid night. Thankfully, my body felt well-rested, better than sat….The bus this a.m. from the resort was filled, as 20,000-plus runners would participate in the marathon -- at the start, sat and listened to the live band for awhile, and then checked my bags and made my way to the start –this time we walked the opposite direction and since I was in the ‘A’ corral, had to walk about a mile –the costumes were entertaining, and I had my photo taken with 2 guys dressed as Flamingos. ‘ Mr. Speedo’ (a guy who races only in a tiny suit with tiny race number) was by me, as was Yuki in a Minnie mouse costume! Her Japanese friends were also dressed up, but my hat was off to them for dressing up as I knew it would be hot. Hiro was more sensible in shorts and singlet.
I sat (like saturday) for 40 minutes, and chatted, and at 6 we were off. We ran around Epcot and and then into the park and around the lake ---the lights around the lake were amazing and took the discomfort away for a mile! Who knew that running in the dark could be so much fun?? I was in a much better mood as I physically felt better –had decided to change into heavier Nike training shoes and my quads didn’t hurt at all. We then went out on a highway and up toward the magic kingdom, entering just as the sun came up – spectacular. The route through the magic kingdom was the same as yesterday, only in the light of day, with more cheering crowds and more music –oh, and since my name was printed on my bib, so many people said ‘go emmy’ –a nice touch! We hit mile 13 and my split was the same as yesterday - saw Bob Goldblatt at mile 15 cheering from the sidelines, as his son was running (he had run the ½). This helped as I was starting to hurt…the 4th weekend of 35-plus miles had caught up…but I was maintaining an 8:20 pace and was drove me along was my goal of a sub-4 hour …as we entered the animal kingdom, I caught up with Yuki and Hiro --‘I’m tired,’ said Yuki (duh – she had run 16 miles in a full dress and they had run the 1/2 in 1:40!) –as they stopped to get their photo taken with a character, I went ahead --the last part of the course, after mile 21, was my favorite –we ran out and back (I passed a lot of veteran runners who were walking –just totally dripping in sweat) and then through Hollywood studios (the Brooklyn subway station made me think of Frank) where costumed characters cheered us on – Miles 23 and 24 were Hollywood studios and the lake resorts, and the Epcot - at mile 24 the clock said 3:22 so I knew I could break 3:40 if I pushed it, but it was not to be. Just winding around the streets of Epcot took a lot of energy, and I wanted to savor the last miles –after all, I had run 37 miles that weekend and it was about to be over…as the gospel choir belted out their music, I crossed the line (big crowd cheering) in 3:40 –I absolutely loved the course but it was work and with relief I got my mickey medal and proceeded to the goofy tent where we were given our goofy medal (and they let us keep our bracelets). My family met me at the finish and the kids devoured the vitamin water, bananas, muffins, power bars, yogurt and chocolate….they had not had breakfast! They then went into Epcot while I wet back to the hotel and actually saw a lot of 5 hour marathoners finishing and were able to cheer them on. The whole goofy experience was fun and different and inspiring –the races score an A for hardware, hoopla, and hype…but was it worth the hassle of having to get up for both races and worry about finishing and resting for both? It would have been easier on the psyche to get up, ad finish one longer race, or simply race one of the distances. In any case, back to the reality of winter running?
