Doing the Dopey

Those of you who followed my blog last year may recall a blog I wrote asking the question…Why had the marathon become the “in” thing to do these days?   As an example, I used the Disney World Marathon where 10’s of thousands of people sign up a year in advance and pay hundreds of dollars to spend their vacation in “the happiest place on earth” subjecting themselves to the pain of a marathon.    The rational side of me would rather stay home, save hundreds of dollars, avoid all the travel hassles and save my vacation days for something a lot less painful.   For those looking for the “marathon experience” you can always just beat your legs with a rolling pin for an hour.

In reality I would do the Disney Marathon in a second if I could still run that far.  Instead, I was able to experience it through my daughter who ran her first marathon at Disney a week ago.   But running a marathon was not enough, she and her husband signed up for the “Dopey”.  Aptly named, the Dopey is a series of runs starting with a 5K (3.1 miles) on Thursday morning, a 10K (6.2 miles) on Friday, a half marathon (13.1 miles) on Saturday and then a full marathon on Sunday.   Checking my calculator, that’s 48.6 miles not counting all the walking miles in the parks after the runs.  To be fair, this not race, more of a social event.  As is Disney’s style, they set it up as a whole experience with creative medals, social activities, and pictures with Disney characters along the route.  During the marathon you can even stop to ride some the rides.

While there are no Dopeys or marathons in my future I will be doing my Marathon Challenge again this year.  As long as I can move, I plan to continue the programs to help children with cancer.  More on the “Help in the Nick of Time” programs and the Marathon Challenge to come.

In case you are wondering….yes my daughter and her husband did complete them all, even stopping for pictures and stopping for a ride in the park.  I’m very proud of them.  They got the medals and experience; I got to watch their children (I got the better deal).