For those that did Dopey would you do it again?

[SAHDad]

I think the mess up in the system came with converting the goofy runners (and now Dopey) runners to one bib for both the half and full. We are seeded by the full time and most goofy/dopey folks I talked with thought they were well placed in the full. Where the rub comes is that the half is a slower paced population on average so an I, J, K or further back placement put you well behind similarly paced runners.


I do think the race needs to go back to a separate bib for both the half and full so that all runners are placed in their appropriate corral.

For the full, it wasn't too bad, except that I would have actually been faster if I had been placed several corrals forward. For both the half and the full, within the first mile, I caught up and passed the back of I, and was into H before the end of mile 2. But that cost me time (bobbing and weaving), and the character lines were so long, each character stop brought a lot of H and I back up to where I was. (I learned why people farther back don't always stop for characters - last year, some of the lines were 20 people long, and I considered that long. . . until this year, when I saw lines of 80 people. Stopping for those took much longer this year than last year, obviously.)

A corral or two forward, and the lines would have been shorter. Not much, but enough that, when compounded over a dozen or more stops, starts to add up to a real difference in the time.

(I was injured in Nov, and it blew a hole in my training, so I am not going to claim a sub-4 or anything, but I think I could have done a sub-5, or near enough, if I had started in H instead of J. A quick check of my camera shows about 30 separate character stops, so the difference of just a few people per line would start to make a pretty substantial difference.)

tl;dr version - next time, I'll hammer out a 10k (for a half), of a half (for the full), and submit that. Either of those should bump me up quite a bit.

 

[rachlovestv]

Nope. I submitted it when I registered, because I just took the 2:01 from the Goofy in 2013.

Wow, that seems so crazy! I submitted a 2:24 half (from a non-Disney race) and was in corral J, too.

I do agree, it would be nice to be sorted correctly for both the half and the full, even if I don't plan on racing all-out both races.

 

[SAHDad]

Wow, that seems so crazy! I submitted a 2:24 half (from a non-Disney race) and was in corral J, too.

I do agree, it would be nice to be sorted correctly for both the half and the full, even if I don't plan on racing all-out both races.

Yep. What I probably should have done was updated it with a marathon I ran in the spring of 2013, which probably would have fixed it. Still, the big issue (so to speak) is that you don't really know if you need to submit a faster time or not until you have a bib number and find out your corral - at which point, you can't change it.

 

[cewait]

Yep. What I probably should have done was updated it with a marathon I ran in the spring of 2013, which probably would have fixed it. Still, the big issue (so to speak) is that you don't really know if you need to submit a faster time or not until you have a bib number and find out your corral - at which point, you can't change it.

I see the point. So thinking out loud, how does one 'fix' the issue? Unfortunately, there is an underclass of folks who saw the race expo revision process as a game and made up results to better their corrals. The desk was so slammed that there was no way of verifying results at the expo and we ended up with huge groups of folks in B, C and D who really had no reason to be there.

Thinking out loud, If Disney were to publish the waivers or at least bibs in November it would give them a chance to adjust any corrections. I can see where errors can easily be made in the registration and seeding process and as you say we have no way of know the error until it is too late to correct the error.

I think one other slight revision in the process needs to occur. With the cut off date and the W&D date being so close, it seems like the W&D should be allowed as a race that one could use as proof. After all, it is in the runD family and results are rather handy.

 

[SAHDad]

I see the point. So thinking out loud, how does one 'fix' the issue? Unfortunately, there is an underclass of folks who saw the race expo revision process as a game and made up results to better their corrals. The desk was so slammed that there was no way of verifying results at the expo and we ended up with huge groups of folks in B, C and D who really had no reason to be there.

Thinking out loud, If Disney were to publish the waivers or at least bibs in November it would give them a chance to adjust any corrections. I can see where errors can easily be made in the registration and seeding process and as you say we have no way of know the error until it is too late to correct the error.

I think one other slight revision in the process needs to occur. With the cut off date and the W&D date being so close, it seems like the W&D should be allowed as a race that one could use as proof. After all, it is in the runD family and results are rather handy.

That's basically my thought - that runDisney should make the bib numbers and corral placement available before the cutoff date. It doesn't have to be months before - maybe give people only a week between the two. I checked mine the first day, as did many others. If I could have done something about it for the next week, I would have fired off an email with another time within 5 minutes.

And yeah, Wine & Dine needs to be allowed as well. It's family, right?

 

[ironz]

Count me in the NO plans to do it again. But I'm sure I have a bit of different perspective from most.

1) I'm not fast. And I'm not young, so not likely to get much faster. Sure, I could train harder, but I have so many other things I want to do in this life, I have to moderate all of it. Anyway....a near-7 hour marathon just is not fun for me. Yeah, I finished in the allotted time, and I wasn't hurt, and I had a mostly good attitude...but I just don't love it *that* much. And makes it feel a little worse when one's bf is done 3 hours before you. I was never miserable like I was last year, but for me, there is something demoralizing about hitting mile 17 and knowing that you may be walking for 3 more hours when it feels like you've been on your feet all day already.

2) and maybe more of a factor: I've been doing Disney races off and on since 2000. So I've really pretty much been there and done that. I think more people who are more gungho about it haven't been doing it for 15 years, with few exceptions. I've watched an evolution of these races (and other race organizations, too, like Ironman events) over the last 15 years and it's not all pleasant. Races are becoming WAY more crowded, and costing WAY more money than ever before. It's great in that there are more people participating and developing fitness goals...I love that. But there just really doesn't need to be more than 20,000 people on those narrow roads, esp for people in the mid to back of the pack. It takes away from the race experience for some of us.

and the push and grab for merchandise and in-your-face marketing sort of turns me off...not just on RunDisney's part, but the other vendors. I get it...it's a capitalist society, but it just gets over done. I suppose the bright side of that for me is that I have plenty of Disney run shirts, and some extra merchandise from over the years, so I don't feel the need to "have to" buy extra stuff at inflated prices. (been through it with Ironman, too) How frustrating to see the issues with lack of merchandise (some of it due to the 'scalpers') at DDD and WDW weekend. But, oh, well....

Anyway...it was fun. And I feel very accomplished as each and every runner out there from the 5K to the Dopey should feel. It was a great weekend!
But I've been there enough times and run the race and some of the combos enough (4 WDW halves, 2 Goofys, 1 full WDW marathon, original TOT 13K, one Princess, 3 DL halves, and DDD before this year's Goofy) that I just do not feel compelled to do it again right now.
If I were younger, faster, less jaded and/or had more money...maybe....

 

[smallsy]

Another one and done here. I am so glad I did it this year, but the time and cost involved in training, traveling, and running make this too difficult to do every year. Those 3:00 am wake-ups 4 days in a row are just too much for a west-coaster like me. I think that was the hardest part of the Dopey Challenge for me.

As envious as I was seeing all those Dopey medals, this is the main reason I have no desire to do it myself. My BIL and I ran Goofy for the first time and talked about how we'd love the pride of finishing Dopey, but it was torture enough getting up that early 2 days in a row. Four days would surely kill us, especially with an infant and teething toddler in tow.

I'm super proud of all you guys though.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

As envious as I was seeing all those Dopey medals, this is the main reason I have no desire to do it myself. My BIL and I ran Goofy for the first time and talked about how we'd love the pride of finishing Dopey, but it was torture enough getting up that early 2 days in a row. Four days would surely kill us, especially with an infant and teething toddler in tow.

I'm super proud of all you guys though.

It was actually only really bad Saturday morning. The other three mornings I was filled with excitement and ready to go.

 

[RussTKD]

I may do it again, but not in the next couple years. Too much time/money/early wakeups/etc. were involved.

I felt corral placement wasn't too bad. I submitted a 4:03 marathon and was around the 4:00 pace group until ESPN where I finally put them behind me for good.

 

[goofeygirl]

I think I would do it again! I enjoyed the 5k but the 10k was hard in the heat and so was the half...My biggest accomplishment was not only a pr for the full but I managed to get through the whole 26.2 miles without hitting that wall that I did last year. It was hard though and still after mile 21 it gets to be a downer but I kept it going...I also managed to smile and wave at the folks in Epcot while holding TWO drinks in my hand (one was for my friend who was behind me a few minuets)...
I saw the Sousaphone? fellow and got a photo of him...he was in my coral...I was assigned to coral K but went back to the M coral because that's where my friend was and he was there for both the half and full...and he played his sousaphone in the coral while waiting! I took photos of him.

I also saw Santa again...both for the half and full and had a photo taken with him.

I enjoyed it because I did what I wanted to do...set a pr...AND smile in Epcot and NOT hit the wall...getting up at 230 for four days in a row was tough...

Next year I would like to meet all you guys.

 

[ironz]

It was actually only really bad Saturday morning. The other three mornings I was filled with excitement and ready to go.

We didn't have much trouble with the early wakeups, either. But we did get to bed about 8 pm each night, and only did parks on Thursday and Sunday. We rested a lot on Friday and Saturday.
Not the usual WDW trip, for sure. I missed seeing Wishes and Illuminations and having more park time, but we put the races as the priority.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

We didn't have much trouble with the early wakeups, either. But we did get to bed about 8 pm each night, and only did parks on Thursday and Sunday. We rested a lot on Friday and Saturday.
Not the usual WDW trip, for sure. I missed seeing Wishes and Illuminations and having more park time, but we put the races as the priority.

Yeah, I agree. I saw the first minute of Wishes on Thursday night as I was leaving MK, and chose to have dinner with friends on Sunday over going to a park.

 

[dumbo_buddy]

We didn't have much trouble with the early wakeups, either. But we did get to bed about 8 pm each night, and only did parks on Thursday and Sunday. We rested a lot on Friday and Saturday.
Not the usual WDW trip, for sure. I missed seeing Wishes and Illuminations and having more park time, but we put the races as the priority.

I mean, you did run and hang out with a fun gal. But, whatever

 

[SAHDad]

We did travel and the Expo on Wed, Epcot on Thurs (but no Illuminations), MK on Friday (and stayed for Wishes), DHS on Sat, and then I skipped a park on Sun and went to DTD in the afternoon.

But we staying at the Contemporary, and that meant I could get an extra 30 minutes of sleep each night. That helped.

 

[smallsy]

We didn't have much trouble with the early wakeups, either. But we did get to bed about 8 pm each night, and only did parks on Thursday and Sunday. We rested a lot on Friday and Saturday.
Not the usual WDW trip, for sure. I missed seeing Wishes and Illuminations and having more park time, but we put the races as the priority.

I think that's the key. When we chatted with some Dopey runners it seemed like most of them were either limiting park time or skipping them altogether. If I could go just to race I think I could do it, but with how pricey the trip is and our limited vacation time it makes more sense for us to make the most of our trip. I can always run a race but my family doesn't get to go to WDW often.

 

[ironz]

I mean, you did run and hang out with a fun gal. But, whatever

Oh, that was so much awesomeness, I just don't even know if that can be topped. EVER!

 

[DOOM1001]

What challenge do you think will sell out first for next year,Dopey or Goofy?I'm assuming Goofy since it's the anniversary and a decent percentage of Dopey's this year might not attempt it next year.How many slots does each challenge have,I know 7,000 signed up for Dopey,how many for Goofy?

 

[tmahaffey]

If you asked me this Sunday, I would have said hell no! At mile 15 of the marathon, I had to quit due to multiple blisters on both my feet. Even walking was more pain than I could stand. I was so disappointed in myself. But this morning, I text my husband and said I am going back next year and I will be coming home with all 6 medals!!

 

[jamesg]

I did the Dopey Challenge this year and I loved it. It was my first trip to Walt Disney World so I did as much as I could considering I went by myself. In addition to the four races I managed to visit all four theme parks plus DTD and see all the major attractions. Despite the rather full itinerary I was able to complete the races without feeling over-exhausted or excessively sore. I even managed a PR during the full marathon. In many ways it was one of the best weeks of my life.

Now that its over I've been asking myself "what's next?" Having the Dopey Challenge on the horizon has been a major motivator in my life for the past nine months or so. I've searched, but have been unable to find another event anywhere that offers the same levels of challenge and entertainment as the Dopey Challenge. I would love to attempt the Dopey Challenge again in 2015 and assuming I can find room in my finances I am currently planning to do so.

That being said, the one thing that would make trip next year even better would be to have some friends to run and hang out with. None of my friends are runners and none of them are interested in investing in a Disney trip which is why I went alone this year. The challenge of the races and the entertainment in the parks is enough to justify the trip to me, but having others with me to share the experience would be exponentially better. Does anyone here know of a meetup or something during marathon weekend for those of us who have to go it alone?

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

That being said, the one thing that would make trip next year even better would be to have some friends to run and hang out with. None of my friends are runners and none of them are interested in investing in a Disney trip which is why I went alone this year. The challenge of the races and the entertainment in the parks is enough to justify the trip to me, but having others with me to share the experience would be exponentially better. Does anyone here know of a meetup or something during marathon weekend for those of us who have to go it alone?

You should join the Dopey Challenge Facebook group. There are over 800 of us, and most of us spent the whole week doing meet ups.