Can Dopey be my First Marathon???

[Katie Little]

So basically, I’ve always wanted my first marathon to be runDisney. In November of this year, I’ll be doing my first half marathon. Both financially and physically speaking, I won’t be able to make a runDisney marathon happen in 2019 because it’s in January. I had originally planned to do a regular marathon in 2019 and shoot for Dopey 2020.. but then I saw an interesting video about someone who ran Dopey as their first ever race. That crazy person (and I say that with tons of respect because... just wow) finished Dopey without ever running so much as a 5k (well I’m sure they ran the distance in training but they never raced it).

I think that most people would pretty unanimously agree that may not have been the smartest; however; I’m spending this year getting comfortable with the 5k and 10k distances and then in the latter part of the year going for a 10 miler and half. If I chose to do my first Marathon as part of Dopey, I would spend the first half of 2019 getting comfortable with the Half Marathon distance and the 2nd half training for… well, Dopey 2020. What do you think?

 

[rteetz]

A ton of people do Dopey as their first marathon and I myself did it. If you can run/train for a marathon you can train for Dopey.

 

[bumbershoot]

Don't let other people push you to do Dopey. I think it would be neat to do an ultra. Doesn't mean it's intelligent for ME to do it. When I think of why I think it's neat, it's the latent "collector" in me; I want to collect that experience.

In November of this year, I’ll be doing my first half marathon. Both financially and physically speaking, I won’t be able to make a runDisney marathon happen in 2019 because it’s in January.

Just looking at the physical aspect...it's April. Why wouldn't you be marathon-ready for January? Not Dopey, just marathon. If I had ANY interest in putting my feet through twice the torture of a Half I could be marathon-ready, and I'm gettin' older LOL.

 

[BikeFan]

A ton of people do Dopey as their first marathon and I myself did it. If you can run/train for a marathon you can train for Dopey.

100% this. With proper training, you can absolutely do this and make it a memorable and enjoyable experience in the process. Good luck!

 

[Barca33Runner]

I'd co-sign everything written so far. You could absolutely run your first Marathon as the last part of Dopey. Many have done it and had great experiences. The training for Dopey is not that much more intense than a marathon, it is the last race for which you are primarily preparing yourself and you can take the first three days as easy or competitive as you feel comfortable.

That said, do whatever you want to do. 3.1/6.2/13.1/26.2 miles are all incredible accomplishments whether it is part of Dopey or not. No one needs to do Dopey (or run a marathon) for any type of validation. I run Dopey because I love it all (the races, the challenge, the camaraderie, the Disney) and I love having that carrot out in front of me to spur on my training, even if I don't always live up to the standards to which I was aiming. If you want to do it, go for it; if not, don't. Find the plan that gets you excited.

 

[jennamfeo]

Don't let other people push you to do Dopey.

I think this is important, too.

I am doing Dopey as my first Marathon in 2019. I have done challenge weekends at DL & WDW, I know what it entails and how my body handles it. Am I still scared and feeling crazy to make my first Marathon a challenge weekend? Yes. But if I am going to spend the money to travel from the west coast to WDW for a race, then I am getting all the medals. Also, runDisney is what started my love for running, so it seems fitting to me that my first Marathon is at WDW. I will put in the work that I need to and make sure I am ready.

That's really all you can do. Figure out your "why", put in the work, and do it!

 

[Katie Little]

Just looking at the physical aspect...it's April. Why wouldn't you be marathon-ready for January? Not Dopey, just marathon. If I had ANY interest in putting my feet through twice the torture of a Half I could be marathon-ready, and I'm gettin' older LOL.

I think I’m just hesitant to go straight for marathon in January. I started from skratch (litterally no exercise background at all) in January of this year so Marathon seemed a bit lofty when I planned out 2018.

 

[Katie Little]

I think this is important, too.

I am doing Dopey as my first Marathon in 2019. I have done challenge weekends at DL & WDW, I know what it entails and how my body handles it. Am I still scared and feeling crazy to make my first Marathon a challenge weekend? Yes. But if I am going to spend the money to travel from the west coast to WDW for a race, then I am getting all the medals. Also, runDisney is what started my love for running, so it seems fitting to me that my first Marathon is at WDW. I will put in the work that I need to and make sure I am ready.

That's really all you can do. Figure out your "why", put in the work, and do it!

RunDisney is one of the biggest reasons I started running too, that’s why I want my first marathon to be there!!

Another thing I’ve been thinking is I know that one day I for sure want to do want to do Dopey. However, what if I do a separate marathon and decide that I don’t really like that distance? I would either have to suffer through something I don’t love just to do this super awesome challenge... or I’d have to give up my goal of Dopey. So doing them both at the same time gets rid of that potential catch 22.

 

[jennamfeo]

However, what if I do a separate marathon and decide that I don’t really like that distance?

I definitely feel you there. 100%

 

[camaker]

Another thing I’ve been thinking is I know that one day I for sure want to do want to do Dopey. However, what if I do a separate marathon and decide that I don’t really like that distance?

That is certainly a possibility. However, I have met far more people who have finished their first marathon and said “I love this, when can I do it again?” Than people who have said “this is awful, I’m done with marathons!”

I ran my first marathon as part of almost Dopey (10k + half + full). It was a spur of the moment “I wonder if I could actually do this as a bucket list item.” The marathon is now my favorite distance.

The two most important things to decide are whether you really want to do it and whether you’re ready and able to commit to the training. If the answer is yes, there’s no reason not to go for it, barring a health issue.

 

[PrincessMickey]

I started running in January 2017. My first half was marathon weekend 2018. My plan is to do dopey as my first marathon in 2019. I also wanted my first marathon to be Disney so why not? I think if you put your mind to it and commit to the training it is definitely possible.

 

[GreatLakes]

Can it? Absolutely.

Should it? I personally wouldn't do it but others have. It depends on what your goal is and what your legs can do.

 

[cavepig]

Yes, it can be if you want it to be. Many people do it that way. Personally, I'm glad I had ran a couple marathons before Dopey. I think the big thing is just respecting the distance.

 

[Bree]

It can if you want it to, but it will take a lot of commitment and dedication to the training plan. My first marathon will be part of the 2019 Dopey. I know it's going to be a lot of work and I'll be running 6 days a week during training.

 

[Anisum]

I think it's a really personal decision. I had done a few half marathons over the course of a year and a half when I decided to do Dopey as part of my first marathon. The reason I did this was because I thought 'what if I hate running marathons and never want to do Dopey'. I figured if I did Dopey with my first marathon I could feel like I never had to do a marathon again because I had reached the summit. If I liked it then maybe one day I could consider an ultra which is a different beast then Dopey.

Having done Dopey I feel like it was a great experience but not one I really have any interest in repeating. I felt that doing Dopey meant I wasn't able to go all out for my races because I didn't want to overexert myself and bonk during the marathon. This year I'm doing another half and a marathon because I want to improve on time from what I did at Dopey simply because I think focusing on one race at a time allows me to feel like I'm doing my best. So for me while doing Dopey allowed me to feel super accomplished and learn something about myself, I also discovered that doing four races, especially with a marathon thrown in takes too much focus for me to run my best race in all of them which is why I won't be one of those who runs Dopey year after year. On the other hand, there are definitely people on here that are able to focus on running each race to the best of their abilities and they may PR multiple races during the weekend.

Regardless of what you choose doing a marathon is a huge time commitment to training and more importantly an amazing and admirable goal. As long as you are able to make that commitment you can do anything you set your mind to. You have a little bit of time to decide but definitely do what feels right to you and you can't go wrong. Don't feel you have to run Dopey just because it's "more" than just a marathon. Running is a very individual sport and just like I will never be an Olympian, I also won't think of myself as somehow less for choosing to run "just" a marathon.

 

[Ariel484]

That said, do whatever you want to do. 3.1/6.2/13.1/26.2 miles are all incredible accomplishments whether it is part of Dopey or not. No one needs to do Dopey (or run a marathon) for any type of validation.

This, 100%. Dopey obviously gets a lot of attention (here and during the race weekend itself), but it's not the end-all, be-all like some make it out to be.

I agree that it's totally doable to do Dopey as your first marathon - I didn't do it that way and I have no regrets. Distance running was always very mental for me...I needed to know I could do a 5K before a 10K, then a 10K before a 10-miler, etc. I did the marathon alone first, then Goofy, then Dopey. If I'd just jumped straight to Dopey without knowing I could do 26.2 first, I'm pretty sure I would have had a panic attack or something the night before/morning of the marathon. Dopey went a lot better for me, and was enjoyable, because I was confident that I could do it, because I'd done (at that point) 2 marathons before (also because I trained).

So personally, I would recommend running a standalone marathon first - that way you know what the training is like (I used a regular marathon training plan to train for Dopey, just switched some days around for back-to-back runs) and you know what it's like to actually run that distance.

And like @Anisum said - great experience, glad I did it, not interested in doing it again.

 

[AFwifelife]

2019 will be my first full and Dopey. I’ve been running 4 days a week since October (with some breaks here and there). With the generous time limit, I’m extremely confident that I can do it.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think I’m just hesitant to go straight for marathon in January. I started from skratch (litterally no exercise background at all) in January of this year so Marathon seemed a bit lofty when I planned out 2018.

Sure it’s scary.

But I had about a year from couch to TOT 10 miler and I put in ALL the training and had a decent time. And I was already over 40 for that.

People have done crazier things.

 

[Dopey Devon]

It’s what I did. I ran my first half Oct 2014 and ran dopey 2016 with it being my first marathon. Would I change what I did - absolutely not, but I understand it’s not for everyone. Because you have a race a day for the lead up I almost forgot I had a marathon to do, I certainly wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be and I was so tired I slept like a baby the day before. Also as there’s so many other people in the same boat as you (both dopey runners and first timers) I never felt pressured to run faster or stop walking as I have at other big marathons. I would say I had ran 5/6 half’s by the time dopey came around and I did stick pretty religiously to a plan (except when I had a few niggles and took a few weeks off). But whatever you do, train hard and be proud of your achievements!

I don’t mind if you wanna ask any questions about plans or my experience of doing it - I’m no expert but I’ve done dopey twice, would be more if I could afford it!

 

[Krandor]

RunDisney is one of the biggest reasons I started running too, that’s why I want my first marathon to be there!!

Another thing I’ve been thinking is I know that one day I for sure want to do want to do Dopey. However, what if I do a separate marathon and decide that I don’t really like that distance? I would either have to suffer through something I don’t love just to do this super awesome challenge... or I’d have to give up my goal of Dopey. So doing them both at the same time gets rid of that potential catch 22.

Yes you can do it for your first marathon put personally I would not reccomend it. 26.2 miles takes a toll on your body and it is good to know what that feels like before doing dopey IMO.

You also create the potential for another catch-22. If your first marathin is dopey where you are doing that distance after 3 other races that could lead you to deicde you don't like the distance when the issue isn't the distance but the challenge and could make you not want to do another full.

In the end it is a personal choice, but rememebr dopey is tough. even just a full is tough. Be careful about over-doing it and being prssured to do more then you are ready for.