Dopey 2015 Official Thread

[RnbwSktles]

RD has our chipped 5K and 10K results posted. Proof enough for completion. Half for us and Goofy should be banded. McFlurry John

Yay this makes me feel better!

 

[Ariel484]

RD has our chipped 5K and 10K results posted. Proof enough for completion. Half for us and Goofy should be banded. McFlurry John

Thanks for this. Glad to see it.

 

[xCourxCorex]

How'd we do, Dopeys? This was my first marathon, and I was entirely under-trained for all events but somehow I made it! Limped the last 2 miles and my ankle was on FIRE but I made it!!! Now off to Ohana to replenish all those lost calories

 

[RnbwSktles]

How'd we do, Dopeys? This was my first marathon, and I was entirely under-trained for all events but somehow I made it! Limped the last 2 miles and my ankle was on FIRE but I made it!!! Now off to Ohana to replenish all those lost calories

I finished that's all that I care about! I set a record for personal worst in the first 3 races. I bit my marathon time by a bit but my first one was so slow that's not really an accomplishment haha

Touring the parks was definitely a mistake but my schedule wouldn't have worked any other way. I started out today's race pretty sore so it was a very long 26.2 miles

 

[FFigawi]

How'd we do, Dopeys? This was my first marathon, and I was entirely under-trained for all events but somehow I made it! Limped the last 2 miles and my ankle was on FIRE but I made it!!! Now off to Ohana to replenish all those lost calories

Congrats on your first marathon! Great accomplishment!

I had a good day and finished with the time I needed to get a good seeding at Comrades this spring. That's all I was after.

 

[Fellowship9798]

How'd we do, Dopeys? This was my first marathon, and I was entirely under-trained for all events but somehow I made it! Limped the last 2 miles and my ankle was on FIRE but I made it!!! Now off to Ohana to replenish all those lost calories

I learned today that I ran too hard yesterday. I was tired from the start and really struggled starting at about mile15/16 and started brief walk breaks. However I still finished within about 15 minutes of what I hoped and made the picture stops I wanted to.

Glad to have done it. I need to let it settle before considering if I would do it again.

 

[John VN]

How'd we do, Dopeys? This was my first marathon, and I was entirely under-trained for all events but somehow I made it! Limped the last 2 miles and my ankle was on FIRE but I made it!!! Now off to Ohana to replenish all those lost calories

Congratulations on a marathon PR and a Dopey completion..

I'm a (1)-Perfectly Dopey, a (2)-Perfectly M&M McFlurry and a (3)-Perfectly Turn 2 Wall Cap Smack.

1- all 2

2-with the new marathon course I leave the race at mile 15 to get my M&M McFlurry from McDonald's. The woman State Trooper at the intersection was waiting for me. She controls the lights and has been there for my previous course departures so when I showed up she was happy to see me. She even tells her friends about me. While in McDonald's a gentleman shouted out the he was there last year when I got my McFlurry. I told him I'll see him next year.

3-again, with the new course going into the race track, I go up the track in turn 2 and smack the top of the wall.

DW and I are going on the Dream cruise today for the Inaugural Castaway Cay Challenge. I completed a half marathon in Fort Wilderness this morning after starting at 2:49AM, will do a 10K on the Dream tomorrow and then the 5K on Castaway Cay on Wednesday. 71 miles in 7 days. Most I've ever done in a week was 40.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Congrats to everyone who finished the Dopey this weekend (or finished or even started any of the other events). Despite the cool weather it was still a fantastic time and despite my initial disappointment at not receiving immediate 5K times I have very few complaints about anything from the weekend.

Managed to finish 3 of the 4 races with new PR's; though I struggled in the hlaf and full marathon a little more than I had hoped. But I'm just dopey enough to already be looking forward to Round 3 next January.

 

[Slogger]

Same story here. I came, I saw, I started, I finished.

We stayed at Art of Animation resort so had very little wait times for buses to the staging and start areas. Unfortunately we got there too quickly on Thursday and my 12 year old son and I froze......howling winds and all.....for over 2.5 hours waiting for the start. Felt really bad for some of the really little kids that were out there running or spectating, not the most "magical" experience for them I imagine. Here are some reflections:

Loved the "who invited Elsa" sign someone posted in the Dopey tent.
Didn't love the misinformation about the wristbands and check in at the tent as it made me nervous but it all worked out.
Didn't love the spread out expo but my experience may have been unique with my family having a Dopey, a half mary, a 10k, and a 5k, we had to go to both floors and backtrack to do pictures and shirt pickup. Somewhat confusing.
Didn't love the chilly weather at the start.
Didn't love the corral placement for the other races as Disney must have placed me for all 4 races based on marathon time only. I am a decent 5k, 10k, and half marathoner.

Loved the tremendous spirit and smiles from all volunteers.
Loved the plentiful water and powerade stations (even the 5k had one!).
Loved the photo ops, music, bands, crowds, and running through the parks and speedway.

Didn't love the sewage treatment plant.
Loved the chocolate at Hollywood Studios.
Loved the spectators standing out in the rain cheering me on hours after the first finisher most likely ran by.
Loved the medals, all 6 of them.
My son was disappointed with his 5k medal compared to the other race medals.
Loved the marathon shirt, didn't care for the other 5 as much.
Loved that we had the opportunity to use real bathrooms in the parks (my wife loved it more) instead of portables.
Loved the incredible medical staff-thanks for the ice on Saturday and Sunday (this was the most prepared and helpful staff I have ever encountered)
Loved the pre race DJ-especially with my teenage daughter on Friday-we danced, we cha-cha slided, we had a blast (not sure if I will ever get Turn Down for What song out of my head)
Loved my pace group leader on Sunday
Loved the fireworks for each and every corral for each and every race. Very classy.
Loved the anthem so beautifully sung.
Loved seeing all of the people running for so many wonderful causes. Inspiring.
Loved the organization and crowd control by Disney. That many people and so few problems that I was aware of.
Loved the transportation to and from the event. Easy.
Loved the snack boxes at the end of each race.
Loved the rain at the end of the marathon. How did Disney know I needed to cool off? That was magical.
Loved that I was there with my family and ran a race with each of them.
Loved that I finished and completed the challenge.

 

[sumlee]

Perfectly said, Slogger! I got a little teary-eyed reading your list, cause so many of those items rang true for me! What an amazing week! I thought this would be a one-time thing for me, but I'm already plotting my next Dopey.

 

[WDWarchitectureguy]

2-with the new marathon course I leave the race at mile 15 to get my M&M McFlurry from McDonald's. The woman State Trooper at the intersection was waiting for me. She controls the lights and has been there for my previous course departures so when I showed up she was happy to see me. She even tells her friends about me. While in McDonald's a gentleman shouted out the he was there last year when I got my McFlurry. I told him I'll see him next year.

Thought about you while running past McDonald's. A lady on the overpass was handing out Animal Crackers. I took some of those as opposed to running down the hill.

 

[dburg30]

I did the 2014 Dopey, so not the same as this year..

Same story here. I came, I saw, I started, I finished.

We stayed at Art of Animation resort so had very little wait times for buses to the staging and start areas. Unfortunately we got there too quickly on Thursday and my 12 year old son and I froze......howling winds and all.....for over 2.5 hours waiting for the start. Felt really bad for some of the really little kids that were out there running or spectating, not the most "magical" experience for them I imagine. Here are some reflections:

Loved the "who invited Elsa" sign someone posted in the Dopey tent.
Didn't love the misinformation about the wristbands and check in at the tent as it made me nervous but it all worked out. Would have freaked me out!
Didn't love the spread out expo but my experience may have been unique with my family having a Dopey, a half mary, a 10k, and a 5k, we had to go to both floors and backtrack to do pictures and shirt pickup. Somewhat confusing.
Didn't love the chilly weather at the start.
Didn't love the corral placement for the other races as Disney must have placed me for all 4 races based on marathon time only. I am a decent 5k, 10k, and half marathoner.

Loved the tremendous spirit and smiles from all volunteers.
Loved the plentiful water and powerade stations (even the 5k had one!).
Loved the photo ops, music, bands, crowds, and running through the parks and speedway.

Didn't love the sewage treatment plant.
Loved the chocolate at Hollywood Studios. this is something I discovered.. I DID NOT need to eat that.. it messed up my stomach and I was worried for a while. Wasnt part of my training and it did mess with me badly
Loved the spectators standing out in the rain cheering me on hours after the first finisher most likely ran by.I really do think they sould get medals also!! They rock!
Loved the medals, all 6 of them.
My son was disappointed with his 5k medal compared to the other race medals.
Loved the marathon shirt, didn't care for the other 5 as much.
Loved that we had the opportunity to use real bathrooms in the parks (my wife loved it more) instead of portables.
Loved the incredible medical staff-thanks for the ice on Saturday and Sunday (this was the most prepared and helpful staff I have ever encountered)
Loved the pre race DJ-especially with my teenage daughter on Friday-we danced, we cha-cha slided, we had a blast (not sure if I will ever get Turn Down for What song out of my head)
Loved my pace group leader on Sunday
Loved the fireworks for each and every corral for each and every race. Very classy.Yes this is very cool
Loved the anthem so beautifully sung. Saw the marathon one live on the stream, very well done
Loved seeing all of the people running for so many wonderful causes. Inspiring.
Loved the organization and crowd control by Disney. That many people and so few problems that I was aware of.
Loved the transportation to and from the event. Easy.
Loved the snack boxes at the end of each race.
Loved the rain at the end of the marathon. How did Disney know I needed to cool off? That was magical.
Loved that I was there with my family and ran a race with each of them.
Loved that I finished and completed the challenge.Congrats!

 

[dburg30]

For those that ran Dopey last year, were there different "I Did It" shirts available for online order that were tech material? The ones at the expo are cotton. I know I ordered a tech "I did it" after Princess half last year and have seen people wearing a tech dopey version from last year.

2014 were for sure tech shirts. at least one male and one female were.

 

[IamTrike]

Walking around looking at the Dopey medals on Sunday I really wished I had done Dopey this year. Even still I had a great time doing Goofy. I'm already working on arranging my travel group for next year.

 

[WDWarchitectureguy]

First Marathon and First Dopey completed. I have had a nagging right foot pain since my last long training run. I'm fairly certain it is a stress fracture on the top of my foot. Didn't tell my DW until the morning of the 5k. But I wasn't going to not run. 5K/10K Corral F, Half/Full Corral O. Wednesday we had a 6am flight outta DFW. So I was already getting accustomed to the early wake up calls.

1. Frozen 5K was cold but easy. Kept warm by cuddling with strangers in Corral F. Kept my throw away sweat pants on, brought my cold weather running jacket, gloves, and fleece headband. And kept my conductor mickey hat/ears on the entire race to keep the warmth in. Walked the entire race. 45 minute finish time. One complaint was the hard 12 minutes between corral starts. Made waiting in the last corral feel like a frozen eternity. Spent the rest of the day doing a very full Magic Kingdom day. Dinner at the Art of Animation food court. Create your own Pasta.
2. Cool 10K was still cooler than I'm used to and standing in Corral F was taking forever. But better than the 5K. Corral starts were down to 8 minutes between. Again walked the entire thing. 1:30 finish time. Also my DW finished her first 10K. I'm very proud of her. Had a full and cold day at Animal Kingdom. Coldest Kilimanjaro Safari we've ever been on. Then dinner again at the Art of Animation Food Court. Create your own Pasta.
3. Half Marathon. Woke up, but the waking up early on the 4th day in a row was getting to me. Right foot pain. I knew I had to wear some layers as it was still cool out. Had a long sleeve base layer I wore under my planned short sleeve tech tee. Legs were cold but I was in a kilt and calf sleeves. It was to be expected. Had a good walk. Did a 1 minute run, 4 minute walk pace. Upset Cliff food stop was empty already. No GU for me. Was a 3:24:00 finish. Felt good but exhausted. Large hot spot on the bottom center of my right foot. Probably due to loosening my laces to avoid pain on the top of my foot. DW saw me at the TTC, and then again outside of Poly. Then she found me at the finish line. Headed back to the room, a quick shower, and some stretching, and had a very slow moving shopping time at DTD with dinner at Earl's. Bed time crash around 5:30pm
4. Full Marathon. Woke up exhausted. Short sleeve tech tee and kilt. Right foot in major pain. Loosened my laces a little more. Probably a bad idea (and it was). Slow and steady was my plan. The goal was to finish in the pacing requirement. That's it. Just under a 14:30 minute mile for the first few miles. Slowed down quite a bit in MK with a bathroom stop and pictures. 18 minute mile erased my previous gains. My DW was on ChEAR Squad. In the turn to Tomorrowland She greeted me with a Dr. Who inspired poster that had me grinning ear to ear. "Gordon.... Run You Clevel Boy, Run". Then she was at the base of castle. Then I was feeling pretty good all the way to Animal Kingdom. I was disappointed AGAIN that the Cliff food stop was out of GU when I went through. How? They know how many runners they have. Anyways, the sewer plant was lovely and I needed the banana stop. Best tasting banana ever. I knew my time was a factor but stopped for Everest anyways. Loved it. Another 18 minute mile. Now my time was getting to be a factor. And the pain in my foot was really slowing me down. Walked pretty much the entire time to WWOS, but the rain was nice and cooled me down. Again I needed the banana stop. Was in pain getting the wet towels. Hobbled around to the back side of WWOS along the highway. This was probably my "wall". Saw my DW before the Baseball Stadium. She warned me about the balloon ladies being nearby. Sure enough going along the Tennis Courts I saw them through the fence where I was not but 15 minutes previously. So in massive amounts of pain I started running again. Got a single Tylenol from the medical tent. I looked at the lady like "Really just one?!?!?". Powered through to Hollywood Studios. 8/10 pain level. Back down to 14:30 miles. Powered through to the trail to Boardwalk. Felt better knowing I was past the last sweep point. Got into Epcot and about died seeing we still had to go AROUND the world to get to the finish line. Every step I was in pain. But I finished with 6:57:12 time. 15:57/mile average pace. Stopped in Medical area for ice wrap to my knee and Tylenol. Guzzled a powerade and water. Got my picture. Then the problems started. My 10K time was not showing up at the Dopey tent. I was shuffled off to a side table where my bib numbers was researched. The staff were very nice, but I was just standing there with ice dripping down my leg in pain for quite awhile. The lady finally said they had pictures of me crossing the finish line and to go ahead. Woo hoo. Food box, and banana in hand, I hobbled to the massage tent. $10 for 10 minutes. Very nice large guy worked on my legs and back. Loved it. My DW found me face down groaning. She missed me in World Showcase. She had a margarita for me. She managed to transfer it to a water bottle. So I finished my massage, got rewrapped with ice, and drank down my margarita. After a bus ride, shower, stretching, and resting, we made it to Le Cellier back at Epcot for a lovely post race dinner.

We spent 2 more days in the parks finishing up our trip with a nice lunch at the Brown Derby before heading home. I'm sore but doing okay. I see the orthopedist in the morning to figure out what damage I did to myself. Good race. Good experience. I actually would like to do it again even if the DW is saying no. But I do have the Pixie Dust challenge to look forward to in May. And my second Coast to Coast.

 

[Slogger]

WdWarchitecture.....thanks for sharing your story. Sounds like you had a tough stretch there but glad you persevered.

Hope you have a quick recovery.

 

[Slogger]

anyone else have any good or bad Dopey stories?

 

[FFigawi]

anyone else have any good or bad Dopey stories?

I haven't written my race reports yet, but here is the Reader's Digest version of each day.

5k - drove to the start so we could stay warm in the car as long as possible. The only flaw in this plan was getting to the corral and being near the back, meaning there weren't as many people to fill in behind us and block that cold wind. We ran the whole thing in our flannel PJs over our running gear. Boring tour of the parking lots but World Showcase was lovely. Wish they'd bring this back for the marathon like in the old days.

10k - more boring parking lots, but again loved running through World Showcase and around Boardwalk. Felt really bad for my wife who was being kept awake by the pounding of the runners' feet on the wood, the screaming spectators, and the cowbells. We wore our Blerch shirts and had Nutella and pretzels and brownies to hand out, but no one seemed to want them. Took a few pictures along the way but skipped the 50-75 person line for football Mickey.

half - absolutely perfect race weather. Ran in shorts, WISH shirt, hat and gloves. Hat and gloves kept getting taken off and put back on throughout the race. We ran a nice and steady pace to prepare our legs for the full the next day. The castle lit up in white was just gorgeous. First time I've seen it like that during marathon weekend. Didn't take any pictures during the race but got a great shot with Mickey at the finish line. Amazingly, there was no line for Dopey pictures in the finish area when we got there so we grabbed a few with him and the other characters while we waited for our friend to finish and get through bag check.

full - not so absolutely perfect race weather. I wore the lightest and most breathable shirt I had, and I still was soaking wet the entire 26 miles. Ran a steady and solid pace the whole way. My running partner wasn't feeling well so she sent me on my way as we made the right turn leaving MK. To keep my brain occupied, I tried to reduce the overage on my GPS compared to the mille markers by running the tangents as best as possible. I kept it down from a 0.2 mille difference at mile 11 to 0.18 difference at the finish. Some credit for that goes to runDisney for getting the corrals better seeded and sized compared to previous years. The wet wash cloths in WWoS were wonderful. I carried mine for the next few miles, rewetting it at the aid stations to keep my head and neck cool. Loved seeing the WISH team outside DHS, even if I did get confused because the ropes for the course had changed and they were not on the side I was expecting them to be. My wife was waiting for me at the mile 24 beer stop. I couldn't stop (legs were moving but ready to freeze up if motion ceased), so she handed me a can as I went by. Took a huge sip and almost choked. She had accidentally given me our friend's diet Dr. Pepper. Yuck! The rain started just as I was at bag check, though thankfully it stopped very quickly. Huge kudos to Disney for not only having a beer truck with craft beer at the finish but making sure it took Magic Bands too. That was a very nice way to end the race before heading back to the car.

 

[Benisa]

We wore our Blerch shirts and had Nutella and pretzels and brownies to hand out, but no one seemed to want them.

You have now idea how bad that makes me feel right now. I had been looking forward to that at least as much as to receiving the medals, but I never saw you. Obviously, you are a much faster runner than I am and were way ahead of me...

I did see spectators with Blerch signs during the full, though, and stopped to take a picture. They definitely had me grinning for a few miles after that!

 

[Barca33Runner]

Just some quick personal anecdotes from the weekend:

-Convinced my mom to walk the 5K and 10K this year. She had been walking 5K's throughout the year to prepare, but this was her first 10K. Was very proud when she finished, although I'm not sure the weather helped much in creating another WDW Marathon Weekend addict.

-The 5K race is incredibly packed coming from Corral D. It was kind of fun trying to run it quickly, but led to such decisions as, "Yes, running behind the water table looks like a good idea."

-The parking lot and highway to start the 10K isn't scenic (although the Frozen overpass was a nice touch), but it does allow for the field to spread out a bit before entering the park.

-Half marathon remains my least favorite of the races. Virtually no park running outside of MK. Field was also noticeably slower and more compact this year with lines for almost every character at the longest I have ever seen them. Definitely seems like the take it easy for the marathon on Sunday tactic has overwhelmed the race a little with all of the Dopey and Goofy participants.

-Experienced GI issues (causing me to panic a bit after health issues earlier this year) during the Half. May have shaded my experience a little in that race. Started the race way too fast trying to get out of the congestion coming from Corral L. Was not a good decision for my performance either Saturday or Sunday.

-Decided against GPS for Sunday after logging 14+ miles from start line to finish line on Saturday. It didn't feel like I was that far off the tangent, but I must have been.

-Forgot just how badly my feet hurt during the marathon just from being unable to sit for that long. It really is a test of the will to be able to finish; no matter your pace or skill level.

-Course was much less congested and character lines were much shorter compared to the half.

-Going into WWOS is very disheartening seeing everyone four miles ahead of you. I think I would have fonder memories of that part of the course if I weren't simultaneously hitting the wall and being envious of so many people heading the opposite direction.

-Having Hollywood Studios and Epcot near the end of the course certainly helps get the adrenaline going at the finish.

-The dark strobe light tunnel entering Hollywood Studios was dangerous with very little visual for those of us wearing sunglasses. Almost ran into one of the speakers up on the sidewalk. May work a little better for a race that isn't so congested.

-I like chocolate. I dislike chocolate 23 miles into a marathon. Wish they would have had fruit snacks or other options like in the past.

-I tend to remember the small negatives more than the many, many positives from the races. I enjoyed the whole weekend and was happy with my short experience at the expo and all of the pre- and post-race organization. Water stations, volunteers, and post-race snacks/recovery were great. RunDisney really does put on a great event.

-Love all of the tech shirts and medals. I'm a fan of neon/bright colors so I like the Goofy shirt the best. Hoping they go all neon in the future, but I'm guessing I would be in the minority there. Was initially a little disappointed in the medal's similarity to last year, but I think I was just spoiled by expecting everything to compete with the 20th Anniversary marathon medal. Still top notch across the board.

-Wish the cost and time requirements to do another race weren't so difficult logistically, but I'm already looking forward to Dopey #3 next year.

-Still reconciling how I managed to traverse 48.6 miles + and still come home without much of a calorie deficit. Too much good food. Special recognition to Boatwright's in Port Orleans Riverside and Marrakesh in Epcot.