Trish VanTornhout, Rick Gosser and Jeromy D. Sauls, of Dyer, competed in the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend from January 8-12. Recently, they shared their accounts from that weekend with NWIndianaLife.
Dopey Challenge Provides Opportunity to Combine Family and Running
Ever since I started running back in 2010, I have always been drawn to distance events. When I made the leap into the realm of marathons there has always been one that has been on a pedestal above all others, the Walt Disney World Marathon. It has been a “someday” run for me for as long as I have been running marathons simply because I am able to combine the two things that I love and am most passionate about, my family and my running. While I have never been a huge Disney fan (even as a kid) my wife and kids have been all of their lives. Disney World to them is truly the happiest place on Earth, and the combination of being able to make them so happy while being able to complete a run was just too perfect for me to pass up.
I had always decided that whenever I was able to finally do the Disney Marathon weekend, I was going to do the Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge. This is running a half marathon and full marathon on back to back days. The reaction that people would give me when I would tell them that I had this desire was what fueled me, because most people would react in some sort of way that lead to them questioning my sanity. There is no better way to motivate me to do something then to question my reasons for doing it. Flash forward to early 2013 when we had decided that we were going to take this trip, Run Disney made the announcement that they were rolling out changes to the 2014 marathon weekend. The weekend typically consisted of the Family Fun Run 5k on Thursday, then the half-marathon on Saturday & marathon Sunday. For 2014, they were adding a 10k on Friday and rolling out a new challenge called the Dopey Challenge. This would consist of people who wanted to run all four events. As soon as I heard this, it was a no brainer for me. When registration opened up, I quickly signed myself up for the Dopey Challenge. My 7-year-old son Brandon had recently taken up an interest in running with me, so I signed him up to run the 5k with me. I thought that he would enjoy the experience, get a great medal and experience out of the event and just be a great way for me to share the experiences that I go through with him. Run Disney covers everything and they also offer kids races that were perfect for my two-year-old daughter Madison so she was signed up for the 100m dash kid’s race.
The whole experience was like nothing I had ever been a part of. Even in having run the Chicago Marathon three times and somewhere around 20 half marathons of various size and location, I was blown away by almost every aspect of these races. The expo was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and it was great. With there technically being seven events going on at the same time (5k, 10k, half-marathon, marathon, Goofy, Dopey & kids races) everything was very well organized and there was enough separation in the packet pick-up areas for each race so that there were short lines and very little congestion. Overall it was a great weekend and one that I cannot wait to repeat when I go back to continue my “Perfectly Dopey” status in 2015!
Jeromy D. Sauls
Disney Experience Full of Magic and Fun
My husband Tim and I traveled to Walt Disney World for marathon weekend in early January. Tim took on the task of running the inaugural Dopey Challenge, which is all four races (5K, 10K, half marathon, and full marathon) over four days totaling 48.6 miles. He earned six medals doing this, one for each race and one for each of the two challenges he completed by doing all races. I ran the half marathon, traveling through Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Tim was able to run through all four theme parks over the course of the full marathon. Each race has characters every mile that greet you, cheer you on, and pose for photos with runners. The five days we were there were full of energy and fun. There were touches of Disney magic everywhere, from special Disney running shoes to character medals and race shirts. It was clear right away that so many people make this an annual trip! It was a wonderful experience to do the run as a Disney fan. I was also able to be a spectator on two of the days to cheer on Tim.
Trish VanTornhout
A 1/2 Marathoner Again… I Can. I Will. I Did. This Time Was Bittersweet!
On the morning of January 11, 2014 and I mean the morning of… alarm clock went of at 3 a.m. (EST) in the middle of Orlando, Florida in the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Disney World. My first thought was “why am I doing this again?” My second thought was because I CAN and I WILL!
As I roamed around the room getting while nine of my family members slept, there was a strange feeling going on in my body. I wasn’t looking forward to the long bus ride to Epcot, the long walk to the starting corrals and the rain that was predicted. The weather app on my phone said a 50% chance of rain. Crap, as I took out my garbage bag to wear over my clothes in the corrals before I started.
Surprisingly, the bus was waiting when I walked out at 3:45 a.m. (EST) and the ride was smooth and quick as I caught a nap on the way and dreamed about no rain in 13.1 miles. It was crowded as usual, but smooth walking and the only ones talking were the run volunteers. Getting to my corral seemed quick and only noticed a few men and women in the bushes along the way. We had already out paced the port-a-potties.
This 13.1 run was for the gold bling, the experience and the characters. This makes my 5th 1/2 marathon since 2010.
Rick Gosser