2013 Goofy Challenge - Part I

WARNING! Sit back and relax, this is going to be a loooong post!

 SPOILER! It's official! I am the proud finisher of the Dopey Challenge.

What is the Dopey Challenge? You run the Disney Family Fun Run 5k on Friday, followed by the Walt Disney World Half Marathon on Saturday, followed by the Walt Disney World Full Marathon on Sunday.  Let me start from the beginning.


Thursday,  Jan 10th - Expo

After a 7 hour flight from San Diego, we arrived in Orlando at 9:30am.  We took tDisney's Magical Express Bus to our new home for the next couple of days, the Art of Animation (Cars) Resort.

We quickly unpacked and headed off to Disney's Health & Fitness Expo held at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

I must say this is the mother of all running expos. Anything you can imagine, you can find it here. If you like running and you are a Disney fan,  you better leave your wallet at the hotel.  This place is dangerous. Today, however, I chose not to spend too much money at the expo. Instead, I waited for nearly 45 minutes to be able to exchange my gigantic race shirts, from size S to XS. For the Goofy Challenge, they gave us 3 nice shirts. Lucky me, I was able to swap the WDW Full Marathon one. I went back 2 days later and with the help of my cousin I was able to exchange the Goofy shirt as well. As for the Donald race shirt, well it's my new PJ.

Take me out of here or lose me forever!

The item that stole the show at this expo was the New Balance Minnie-Inspired Limited Edition. Pretty cool, huh? I am glad they are not Brooks or I would have bought them.

After the expo, we headed to Downtown Disney for a delicious Cuban dinner at Bongos Cafe.

Friday, Jan 11th - Disney Family Fun Run 5K ( Epcot)

Race Course

Summary

We woke up at 4:30am and left our room half hour later.  My kids ( 4 and 7 years old) were half asleep.   My husband brought the stroller for my youngest one, just in case. Unfortunately, strollers were only allowed in Corral D and my daughter wanted to start in Corral A with "the fast people" ( her words), so we split.

The race started at 6:30am with a beautiful firework display. The first mile was outside Epcot. We entered the park via Mexico and ran around the World Showcase. We saw Goofy dressed up in colonial clothes. We also saw Pluto in Paris and a Canadian Donald Duck.

From the World Showcase, we went to Future World and took some pictures on the go before arriving at the finish line.

We ran, laughed, and talked a lot during this race. I loved it! This was my daughter's second 5k and she did great!

Post Family Fun Run 5K

After the race, we went to Disney's Magic Kingdom for 7 hours. I went to bed at 10:00pm. 4 hours of sleep until the next race, the WDW Half.

Friday,  Jan 12th - Walt Disney World Half Marathon

Race Course

The 13.1 mile course starts outside of Epcot, up to Magic Kingdom, back to Epcot through Future World, and finishes in the Epcot parking lot.

Summary

My alarm went off at 2:30am. YES, 2:30am. You read right. I grabbed a banana and an orange and headed out.

I met my friend April aka Bella at 3:15 am at the bus line.

We arrived at the Epcot parking lot at 3:45 where I met a few friends.

My friend Edna aka Vanellope Von Schweetz from Wreck-It Ralph.
We both participated in the New York Marathon

My friend Greg V. We both ran the RnR Edinburgh and Madrid last year

I also made a new friend, Julius. He is a friend of Caro who also ran the RnR Madrid. Little I knew that Julius would become my new running buddy at this Goofy Challenge. We ran together the entire WDW Half and Full.

Aladdin and his friends. LOL

At 5:00am, we headed to our corrals. We thought that a half hour would give us plenty of time to get there but I was wrong. At 5:30am, the gun went off, another big firework display. We jumped on corral B. We just made it by a hair.  At the starting line, there were Goofy, Mickey and Donald in running clothes wishing us good luck!

Photo Credit: Run Disney

Photo Credit : Run Disney

My strategy for this race was to take it easy and save my legs for the full marathon the next day.  The plan was to stop at Magic Kingdom for pictures with the characters and then run some more. This is exactly what we did.

The first 4 miles were a "breeze",  literally and figuratively.  We ran between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Nothing too spectacular entertainment wise, except for a big pirate ship and some kites.  The temperatures were perfect. Not too cold, not too hot, not too humid, at least at 5:30am. At mile 4 or so, we arrived at Magic Kingdom. Running through Main Street was magical. Of course, I had to stop to take pictures at Cinderella's castle!

From Main Street, we went to Tomorrowland and the new Fantasyland where I saw some of my favorite characters, Alice and the Queen of Hearts. I had a big smile on my face. I also stopped for pictures with princess Tiara.

From Fantasyland, we headed to Adventureland and out of the park to Epcot via World Drive.  The sun came up and the temperatures was rising. This part of the course was not very exciting but the sight of the pirate ship that we passed earlier on made me smile. I spotted my friend April around mile 10. She decided to join Julius and I for the rest of the course. Soon after, we were at Epcot. I could see the Spaceship Earth. YES, we are almost there!  It's the final stretch. There was a nice gospel group entertaining us just a few yards from the finish line. I usually sprint the last mile or so but I decided to take it easy. After all, I was running a full marathon the next day.  My finish time was 2:24:17 including 20 minutes for picture stops.  Mission completion! 16.2 miles done 26.2 to go!

My beautiful medal.

Post-race

After the race, we headed to Disney's Animal Kingdom. The plan was to stay only for few hours but we returned to the hotel at 10:00pm. Only 4 hours of sleep until the full marathon next day.  OMG!

Check  2013 Goofy Challenge - Part II.