A Dwarf For Every Emotion: A 2017 Dopey (Grumpy?!) Challenge Trip Report! COMPLETE

[CheapRunnerMike]

And speaking of Bob's Barricades, there were two people out there running as Bob's Pace Team dressed up as cones.

We saw these guys too, great costume. My wife told them she loved their costumes and they scolded her..."These aren't costumes, they are work uniforms!" Too funny.

 

[hauntedcity]

@Ariel484 , I haven't said so yet, but THANK YOU for sharing your report! You do a great job adding detail, color, and fun. It's a great way for me to relive the weekend with a new perspective.

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Man that's crazy you didn't more photos in MK! Looks like you're plugging away nicely. Love the Big Bad Wolf pic!

 

[Ariel484]

We were just a couple corrals behind you in K. We are from Northeast Ohio also! Thank goodness we had two layers of throwaways also and managed to find a knot hat and two pair of gloves each. We were all bundled up to start the marathon and felt pretty good while we waited. [GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

Yep, we Ohioans know how to dress for this weather! I too felt pretty good with the layers, and I don't know about you guys but I thought the conditions during the race weren't that bad!

I lurked and read and am all caught up with this TR (and about to go binge read more), but wanted to let you know that you are pretty inspiring.

I am never going to be able to run a half or full, but it is nice to see a "real runner" be so kind to casual runners. Thank you for your encouragement to the lurkers out here.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you saying that!

Also...I encourage anyone to check out the runDisney section of the DIS! There are some very talented, very serious runners who post there - all are very nice and encouraging.

That was one of our favorite stops. We tried to sit in one of the Mr. Toad cars during our picture but the CM put a stop to that really quickly.

What? Isn't that exactly what you do in a ride vehicle - you sit in it? Bizarre!

@Ariel484 , I haven't said so yet, but THANK YOU for sharing your report! You do a great job adding detail, color, and fun. It's a great way for me to relive the weekend with a new perspective.

And thanks for reading!!

Man that's crazy you didn't more photos in MK! Looks like you're plugging away nicely. Love the Big Bad Wolf pic!

Yeah, I was a little bummed but what can ya do? I loved the BBW too, not my favorite pic from the race but definitely a great one!

Also...I need to get caught up on your TR SOON!!

 

[Ariel484]

Karma!

Animal Kingdom time! I love running through this park!

I was excited to get here because I REALLY needed a bathroom stop! I had not done a great job of hydrating through the weekend, so I’d been taking water and Powerade at each of the water stops (OMG amazing volunteers to stand out in this weather!! Running in it wasn’t bad at all, but just standing for hours? Yikes!! THANK YOU!)...and let’s just say, it was catching up to me! I'd thought about stopping for awhile but was happy to wait to get to a park and have access to a *real* bathroom.

Oh, Donald. your race was canceled AND your clock is all messed up!

I stopped to use the bathroom near Everest (my only bathroom stop during the race), and while waiting in line, I took off my last throwaway item of clothing - my second pair of leggings from Walgreens (the hat had gotten too hot for me and I’d finally ditched it before getting to the park). Boy did I feel better after that - I burned time, but using the bathroom was the right call and now with all of those extra layers off of me, I felt like I could run better and more comfortably. The weather had really stopped bothering me after the first few miles or so, but since I’d decided that I didn’t want to actually take my throwaway clothes off unless I was stopped for something (character line or bathroom line, for example), I’d had those layers on for way longer than I’d expected. No way did I think I’d just now be taking off the last throwaway item at the halfway mark!

Speaking of the halfway mark...it was right outside of the bathroom. Yeah!!

Making it here was a huge confidence booster...it was starting to seem more and more like I could finish this thing! And I was excited to be fully out of my layers because I loved the outfit I was wearing so much (more on that in a second) - now that I had my throwaway clothes completely gone, I was excited to get some better pictures.

The PhotoPass photographers are set up in little neon-green tent things and are hard to miss - I saw a green tent coming up soon after the halfway point and slapped a smile on my face. Suddenly, a guy cut alllll the way across the course from my left to scoot in front of me and get a picture from this photographer (course-cutting like this happens A LOT at Disney races due to all of the photo-ops and whatnot) - pretty much blocking me in the process (not so much that this picture didn’t show up in my PhotoPass account, but he’s clearly the star, not me). I remember being pretty annoyed by this (direct quote from my brain at the time: “Hey, Guatemala, could you not?” - note for anyone who doesn’t click on the spoiler link below: I have no qualms with the fine country of Guatemala - the rude guy who cut me off had “Guatemala” written across his shirt, so clearly that’s what his name is, right?).

Anyway: later that day or the day after, this picture showed up in my PhotoPass account. And this is going to make me sound terrible, but I can’t look at it without laughing...let’s just say that I think karma exacted its revenge on this guy for his poor race etiquette in the form of visible chafing - and it was only the halfway mark. 13ish miles to go and you’re already bleeding? Not fun!

WARNING: if you aren’t into blood, probably skip this one! Running is gross!

Spoiler: ”karma!”

(This guy was nothing compared to the poor guy I saw on the bus after the race though - he was wearing his yellow half marathon shirt and it was....well, completely ruined. Nip guards are your friends, gentlemen!)

So - Guatemala went on his bloody, merry way, and I soared into view!

Can I wax poetic about my outfit for a second? I LOVED it. I have never gotten so many compliments on something I have worn - running or otherwise (except on my wedding day!). I seriously had 20-30 people tell me that they loved my outfit, that it was beautiful, etc. I was called “the butterfly,” “butterfly girl,” etc. As in “GO BUTTERFLY!” Little kids and volunteers especially really responded to it. And as I found out later on the course, it made me easy to recognize in the crowd! Probably my favorite thing I have ever worn to a race. I thought I would get a question or two about it, but nowhere near the reaction to it that I ended up getting. It was so cool!

Anyway...we go on.

There was a big sweep point outside of Animal Kingdom - I think they were anticipating that a lot of the people who had upgraded to the marathon from the half would run the 13.1 and stop here to feel that they had “earned” their XX Donald medal. From what I have heard, of the 1500 or so people who did upgrade, only a couple hundred stopped at the 13.1 mark. I have no way of knowing whether this is correct or not...but if it is, that’s amazing!!

After leaving the AK parking lot, we turned onto Osceola Parkway. Hey girl heyyyy!

 

[Ariel484]

SQUUEEEEEEE

I can’t believe I’m saying this...but I couldn’t WAIT to get to ESPN!!

In 2013 and 2015, I had HATED ESPN Wide World of Sports during the marathon. There was no entertainment, this portion of the course was full of twists and turns, it seemed to go on forever, and I was BORED. But in reading reports about last year’s marathon, I was surprised - and a little jealous, if I’m being totally honest - to see that ESPN had had lots of CHARACTERS. I guess it only took them 4 years to figure out that characters would be a great addition to this boring area of the course! So while the twists and turns would still be there, and we’d still spend a lot of time here (just about a 5K I think...WAY more time here than in the parks, sigh), I was pumped to get there this time to see my buddies! This was my next big milestone after Mile Marker 17 (MM17 being significant because the number of miles left was now in the single digits!).

Alright, ESPN - I have arrived! Next goal is to make it to Mile Marker 20!

I took the turn in and suddenly someone was on my right saying hi to me - it was @CheapRunnerMike, looking quite fetching in his sparkly skirt! We chatted for a bit and he told me I was looking strong before bounding ahead like a sparkly gazelle. I didn’t realize it until he said it - that I looked strong - but I needed that little boost. Thanks, Mike!!

OMG!! ESPN, you have redeemed yourself already!

SQUEEEEEE

And then SQUEEEE again! (A little sad though - Chip and Dale had been out too with Donald, but they went inside a few people before it was my turn! Also wearing referee outfits. Wahhhh!)

Have I mentioned that I love ESPN Wide World of Sports? Because I do. Let’s go sports!

During a walk break, I suddenly had someone on my left - @BuckeyeBama! Like Mike, he had recognized me from my outfit. See, it pays to dress crazy colorful! We chatted for a bit, which I enjoyed!

28-minute mile, awww yeah!

Mile Marker 20 was inside Champion Stadium...but first - all the feels. Two of the feels, anyway. I didn’t know how to stand in this picture and it was soooo awkward! For a better way to pose with Sadness and Joy, please see this same photo-op in @ZellyB trip report!!

In the stadium! I had my one and only back spasm of the race on the way into the stadium...what fun! Glad it went away quickly!

Mile Marker 20! Now the next goal was to make it to the Studios!

Making my way out of ESPN a whopping hour and fifteen minutes later…

When I was leaving the complex, I was very surprised to see the balloon ladies, sweepers and final runners going IN. If the sweepers catch you, that means you haven’t kept the minimum pace and cannot finish the race. I have seen the balloon ladies and sweepers before, but never when I was still running! It was panicky, even though I knew I was a good 4 miles ahead of them!

Up next: On to the Studios!!

 

[rteetz]

Lol Guatemala! I have never seen that. I used body glide and the worked fine.

Great character pictures! When I went through WWoS I got Chip and Dale only, Donald went in a few people ahead of me.

At least you knew you had that buffer!

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

You may not have felt it at the time but you WERE looking strong when I ran with you! You were cruising along nice and steady making it look easy...much better than other runners around you. Glad you realized it once I told you! Also, I have never been called a "sparkly gazelle" before, that made me laugh out loud

 

[BigEeyore]

Finally getting a chance to catch up on your TR - lots of random thoughts...
1) Ewwww, blech, and ugh about your hotel room at All Star! I know you don't expect a Poly room at an All Star price, but STILL it should at least be clean!! Good thing it was just one night.
2) Sorry you weren't able to get character pics on the 5K - I love the characters in their World Showcase outfits!
3) Ahhh Boardwalk - your pics are beautiful! We have stayed there several times using DVC points and love it!
4) Yikes on the crowds at MK! Leftover new years' crowds I guess?
5) Expo merchandise - looks like you did just fine without waiting in that nightmare of a line! I got the HM shoes too at the Star Wars expo last weekend. I am in love
6) Love your race pics from the 5K and the 10K - I have BB8 shirt envy big time! I tried bidding on one on ebay and thought I had it...then outbid in the last 10 seconds
7) Ice cream sampler?? What the what?? That's awesome!
8) The half marathon debacle...I am in the camp that felt like rD went above and beyond to make it right. Just feel bad for everyone - athletes AND rD employees that had to deal with the fall out of that mess.
9) I love how you much fun you have on your own - I did the Star Wars challenge last weekend on my own, and so many people couldn't believe I was there by myself. I was visiting family in SoCal but doing the races on my own. I had a blast and I even love doing the parks by myself.
10) Crazy cold weather for the full! Can't believe all the layers! In Florida! I guess January in Florida is just completely unpredictable. Great pics so far! Still smiling big at mile 20! Looking forward to the rest, as always thank you for taking the time to share it all with us!

 

[tigger536]

You got a pic with Sports Donald! Jealous! It was only the 'Munks for me (but they were cute, so not complaining...much). I do love my Ducks though. Lol. Great update so far! I didn't think ESPN was bad either - the characters make all the difference. I would NOT have wanted to run it without them though. Boring.

Nice multi tasking of ditching your layers in line. I was wearing compression leggings that required practically the jaws of life to get off. I was finally free of them in a med tent just before 17. (I didn't ditch them though, as they were not throwaways). Your butterfly outfit is AMAZING! You looked super cute!

Can't wait for the big finish!

 

[ZellyB]

Guatemala!! Dude, karma will get you. But, you got an amazing shot after he got out of the way. Your outfit was on point! You look amazing in that. So glad you are running strong and feeling good at this point with only one spasm.

ACK! How did I not see Mickey and Minnie. I swear I don't think they were out when I ran by or I know we would have stopped. We did see Chip and Dale, but no Donald out and since we've gotten C & D before in their referee outfits we didn't stop.

And, thanks for the shout-out about our Joy and Sadness photo op, but I think you look pretty amazing there too!!

 

[baxter24]

Oh wow I bet Mr. Guatemala was hurting later on that day. The hubby had to be introduced to body glide while he was training for the half and it was a very hilarious conversation! I didn't mind WWoS but I didn't need care for the road getting in there and leaving. The constant change of scenery there was nice because I am not a huge fan of the long stretches of highway where it's nothing but a sea of people. Did you happen to see anyone cross the highway before we made into WWoS? I saw at least three or four people who basically determined they weren't going to deal with miles 17-21!

 

[Anisum]

You've lost most of your layers at this point. Glad to see there were great photo-ops. I will say if I had been Mr. Guatemala I would not have been in such a photographic mood. Even though everyone knows that happens I'm not sure it's the photo you want to show off to your family and friends.

 

[ZellyB]

Oh wow I bet Mr. Guatemala was hurting later on that day. The hubby had to be introduced to body glide while he was training for the half and it was a very hilarious conversation! I didn't mind WWoS but I didn't need care for the road getting in there and leaving. The constant change of scenery there was nice because I am not a huge fan of the long stretches of highway where it's nothing but a sea of people. Did you happen to see anyone cross the highway before we made into WWoS? I saw at least three or four people who basically determined they weren't going to deal with miles 17-21!

Seriously?!?! Chris and I always joke around about cutting across the median and pretending like we ran the whole way, but I can't imagine anybody actually doing it!!

 

[baxter24]

Seriously?!?! Chris and I always joke around about cutting across the median and pretending like we ran the whole way, but I can't imagine anybody actually doing it!!

Maybe they were just having a bad day! I know for sure they missed that last timing mat at mile 20 though!

 

[Ariel484]

Lol Guatemala! I have never seen that. I used body glide and the worked fine.

Great character pictures! When I went through WWoS I got Chip and Dale only, Donald went in a few people ahead of me.

At least you knew you had that buffer!

I bet Guatemala was hurting by the end of the race.

Yes, knowing the buffer is there is always a good thing!

You may not have felt it at the time but you WERE looking strong when I ran with you! You were cruising along nice and steady making it look easy...much better than other runners around you. Glad you realized it once I told you! Also, I have never been called a "sparkly gazelle" before, that made me laugh out loud

Thanks Mike! I knew I liked you.

Finally getting a chance to catch up on your TR - lots of random thoughts...
1) Ewwww, blech, and ugh about your hotel room at All Star! I know you don't expect a Poly room at an All Star price, but STILL it should at least be clean!! Good thing it was just one night.

Oh totally. Initially the room was nicer than I expected until I got a close look.

2) Sorry you weren't able to get character pics on the 5K - I love the characters in their World Showcase outfits!
3) Ahhh Boardwalk - your pics are beautiful! We have stayed there several times using DVC points and love it!

I love the Boardwalk so much. It was so quiet and relaxing that weekend!

4) Yikes on the crowds at MK! Leftover new years' crowds I guess?

I guess so! Good to remember for future marathon weekends!!

5) Expo merchandise - looks like you did just fine without waiting in that nightmare of a line! I got the HM shoes too at the Star Wars expo last weekend. I am in love

Yes, this was an eye-opener on how big a difference it makes to wait and go later!

I freaking love those HM shoes!!

6) Love your race pics from the 5K and the 10K - I have BB8 shirt envy big time! I tried bidding on one on ebay and thought I had it...then outbid in the last 10 seconds

That has happened to me in eBay. I think people have sniper programs or something to help them.

7) Ice cream sampler?? What the what?? That's awesome!

Yes! Perfect for someone like me who is so indecisive.

8) The half marathon debacle...I am in the camp that felt like rD went above and beyond to make it right. Just feel bad for everyone - athletes AND rD employees that had to deal with the fall out of that mess.

I feel the same. I see a lot of complaining on Facebook and other message boards - we're getting compensation when we didn't have to. What's to complain about??

9) I love how you much fun you have on your own - I did the Star Wars challenge last weekend on my own, and so many people couldn't believe I was there by myself. I was visiting family in SoCal but doing the races on my own. I had a blast and I even love doing the parks by myself.
10) Crazy cold weather for the full! Can't believe all the layers! In Florida! I guess January in Florida is just completely unpredictable. Great pics so far! Still smiling big at mile 20! Looking forward to the rest, as always thank you for taking the time to share it all with us!

I really liked being solo for a race weekend. There were times where I got a little lonely but overall it was great to be able to be 100% in charge of scheduling and whatnot.

Thanks for reading so far!!

You got a pic with Sports Donald! Jealous! It was only the 'Munks for me (but they were cute, so not complaining...much). I do love my Ducks though. Lol. Great update so far! I didn't think ESPN was bad either - the characters make all the difference. I would NOT have wanted to run it without them though. Boring.

It was SO much better than when I went through in 2013 and 2015. They had pretty much nothing then. Not cool!!

Nice multi tasking of ditching your layers in line. I was wearing compression leggings that required practically the jaws of life to get off. I was finally free of them in a med tent just before 17. (I didn't ditch them though, as they were not throwaways). Your butterfly outfit is AMAZING! You looked super cute!

Can't wait for the big finish!

Haha! Had to multi-task since I was going so slowly...I didn't want to lose any extra time!! Thanks for reading

Guatemala!! Dude, karma will get you. But, you got an amazing shot after he got out of the way. Your outfit was on point! You look amazing in that. So glad you are running strong and feeling good at this point with only one spasm.

Karma got him right in the nips!

ACK! How did I not see Mickey and Minnie. I swear I don't think they were out when I ran by or I know we would have stopped. We did see Chip and Dale, but no Donald out and since we've gotten C & D before in their referee outfits we didn't stop.

Maybe they weren't!! When I was in line the CM said they were about to head in for 5 minutes...I bet that's when you went by.

And, thanks for the shout-out about our Joy and Sadness photo op, but I think you look pretty amazing there too!!

Your picture > my picture. Let's be honest!!

Oh wow I bet Mr. Guatemala was hurting later on that day. The hubby had to be introduced to body glide while he was training for the half and it was a very hilarious conversation! I didn't mind WWoS but I didn't need care for the road getting in there and leaving. The constant change of scenery there was nice because I am not a huge fan of the long stretches of highway where it's nothing but a sea of people. Did you happen to see anyone cross the highway before we made into WWoS? I saw at least three or four people who basically determined they weren't going to deal with miles 17-21!

I bet he was! Hope he packed some Neosporin. Yes, Bodyglide is KEY!!

I did NOT see anyone cross the median

You've lost most of your layers at this point. Glad to see there were great photo-ops. I will say if I had been Mr. Guatemala I would not have been in such a photographic mood. Even though everyone knows that happens I'm not sure it's the photo you want to show off to your family and friends.

Yes, it felt better and better to lose those layers!

I'm wondering if Mr. Guatemala didn't realize what had happened just yet. That had to have been a painful post-race shower!

Seriously?!?! Chris and I always joke around about cutting across the median and pretending like we ran the whole way, but I can't imagine anybody actually doing it!!

Maybe they were just having a bad day! I know for sure they missed that last timing mat at mile 20 though!

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie - I'm always like "man that would be so easy..." but never like I'd ACTUALLY do it, you know?!

I guess a person could have cut the course there AND at that mile 11ish out-and-back. I just don't get it though. How in good conscience do you accept the medal after doing that??

It would be obvious from their splits if they did cut that much of the course and Disney has gone in before and DQ'd results...I bet these people don't care though as long as they have the medal/attention of "finishing." But at least they can't use the results for proof of time if they get busted.

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Oh. My. Gosh. I am dying over that guy! I mean, I'm not laughing at his suffering, I swear! Since my husband doesn't run, I really know very little about their running needs.

And you look amazing in the butterfly outfit! Honestly the leggings make it (I wish I bought those now too!). I can totally see little kids responding to it. It's so whimsical yet beautiful at the same time.

I LOVE your sports characters pictures too! Those are so fun!

Fun that you ran into a few Dis-ers during the race too!

 

[roxymama]

I stayed up late to catch up and it's s cliffhanger!!!!!

Excited to see how the last miles go. You make this seem easy, I forgot that you are running 20+ miles.

Butterfly outfit is on point. Checks all the boxes...my fave colors, cool leggings and wings

I'd have stopped for sports Fab Four too, good choices!

 

[TeeterTots]

You do make this look easy!! You're always smiling, great photo-ops and the outfits, BAM! I seriously just every one of your trip reports! You crack me up! You deserve to be so proud!!!

 

[FFigawi]

What? Isn't that exactly what you do in a ride vehicle - you sit in it? Bizarre!

They said the cars were fragile & would not hold up well to hundreds of people climbing in and out of them.

Seriously?!?! Chris and I always joke around about cutting across the median and pretending like we ran the whole way, but I can't imagine anybody actually doing it!!

One of the web sites that calls out people for cheating on marathons & BQ times found a lot of people who cut the out-and-back and/or WWoS. Sad, really.