nancy
01-23-2009, 07:43 AM
Last January my girlfriend Pat and I decided we would sign up for the Walt Disney World Goofy Race-and-a-Half Challenge. So, what's the Goofy Challenge? It's one half marathon, one full marathon, two days, four theme parks, 39.3 miles at Walt Disney World. And why would someone want to so that? For the hardware of course! Check out the medals we're wearing.
The races start at 6 a.m. and they want you at the start at 4 a.m. Saturday morning was a chilly 46 degrees -- perfect for distance running. The crazy thing is you start in the dark and run more than an hour before the sun comes up. The moon was huge and full. Entering into the Magic Kingdom was a total rush. People were lined up as you turned onto Downtown Main Street -- and the castle was right ahead. The energy was simply amazing. You hook around into Tomorrowland and there's Chip and Dale. There were Disney characters everywhere. Pat and I agreed if we ever ran the half again we would forget about time and take our cameras and enjoy every photo op.
The heavy miles are on the various roads around Disney. Even those had bands and great runner support from some bands and the people at the water stops. We ended with a short run through Epcot. After we left Epcot there was a gospel choir --- and then the finish line! We finished together in 2:17.
We headed back to our hotel. It's best to take a cold bath between runs, so I sat in the bathtub and filled it up with cold water. It wasn't too bad because the water didn't get that cold. We headed back to the Expo to listen to one of our favorite running journalists, John "the Penguin" Bingham. Eventually we headed back to the hotel for a well-deserved nap.
Sunday morning: wake up, repeat. We headed to the start, a little bit wiser as to how early we had to be there and with better coverups for waiting around. The temperature was about 57 degrees. The hearty Midwesterners we are, this wasn't bad. Some people were dressed for winter weather -- and wore that much throughout the race, despite the fact it was 80 when we finished. Eighty is VERY WARM for distance running. This time the race took us through the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Disney Hollywood Studios, and through most of Epcot. Again, it was awesome with characters everywhere. This time the parks were open by the time we went through them.
I lost Pat for a few miles in the beginning, after getting separated at a water stop. I spent the next few miles looking for her. She was wearing a white hat with a white tank -- so was about 40% of the other runners on the course. Fortunately I found her shortly before we entered the Magic Kingdom. With the exception of that short time when we were separated, we ran the whole race together.
Finishing was beyond words. It was a huge accomplishment for both of us. I would do it again (or at least the half) in a heartbeat.
The races start at 6 a.m. and they want you at the start at 4 a.m. Saturday morning was a chilly 46 degrees -- perfect for distance running. The crazy thing is you start in the dark and run more than an hour before the sun comes up. The moon was huge and full. Entering into the Magic Kingdom was a total rush. People were lined up as you turned onto Downtown Main Street -- and the castle was right ahead. The energy was simply amazing. You hook around into Tomorrowland and there's Chip and Dale. There were Disney characters everywhere. Pat and I agreed if we ever ran the half again we would forget about time and take our cameras and enjoy every photo op.
The heavy miles are on the various roads around Disney. Even those had bands and great runner support from some bands and the people at the water stops. We ended with a short run through Epcot. After we left Epcot there was a gospel choir --- and then the finish line! We finished together in 2:17.
We headed back to our hotel. It's best to take a cold bath between runs, so I sat in the bathtub and filled it up with cold water. It wasn't too bad because the water didn't get that cold. We headed back to the Expo to listen to one of our favorite running journalists, John "the Penguin" Bingham. Eventually we headed back to the hotel for a well-deserved nap.
Sunday morning: wake up, repeat. We headed to the start, a little bit wiser as to how early we had to be there and with better coverups for waiting around. The temperature was about 57 degrees. The hearty Midwesterners we are, this wasn't bad. Some people were dressed for winter weather -- and wore that much throughout the race, despite the fact it was 80 when we finished. Eighty is VERY WARM for distance running. This time the race took us through the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Disney Hollywood Studios, and through most of Epcot. Again, it was awesome with characters everywhere. This time the parks were open by the time we went through them.
I lost Pat for a few miles in the beginning, after getting separated at a water stop. I spent the next few miles looking for her. She was wearing a white hat with a white tank -- so was about 40% of the other runners on the course. Fortunately I found her shortly before we entered the Magic Kingdom. With the exception of that short time when we were separated, we ran the whole race together.
Finishing was beyond words. It was a huge accomplishment for both of us. I would do it again (or at least the half) in a heartbeat.