If You are Going to Jump at the Finish Line, Be Sure You Stick the Landing – A 2018 Dopey Run TR

[cavepig]

great half photos, I loved in the marathon as well getting to go through the MK entrance from the front. Love seeing the Mickey air balloon pics you got, I wonder if it was too hard to keep up since it wasn't in the full. You look great as a Monarch, spread those wings!

Oh man, that poor girl...glad she didn't take out you guys or anyone else.

 

[Sailormoon2]

I love that they added this extra loop through Frontierland and by BTMRR.

This was my first rD race that went to MK-so I wouldn't have known that the entrance was new and that this loop isn't usually there. As a first timer running through the park, I hope they keep it exactly like this, I loved it!!

but we also would have loved to see her finish line photos.

Is it wrong that I too would love to see these, I bet they are hilarious (and I'm sure she too would appreciate the funny nature when looking at them too). It's actually too bad you guys weren't close enough for her to inadvertantly be in your finisher photos.

I felt sorta surreal that I actually had to run a freaking MARATHON the next day.

I was feeling the exact same thing too. HOWEVER, I was feeling even more so the next day AFTER I ran the marathon-I still couldn't believe I had done that! Dare I say, it was too easy! LOL!

 

[ZellyB]

Oh man that poor girl that fell down! I could totally see myself doing that!

Congrats on your half finish! You guys are cruising right along to Dopey!

That was really the worst part of her fall. That was something I would totally do! I'm a klutz at the best of times which is why I usually don't attempt jump shots (the Epcot one from the 10k was my first try at that).

Cone Alley is definitely not magical. Hated that section in both the half and full.
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Since this was the first time doing Dopey, I never really felt burned out. The closest I came was around mile 23 of the marathon when I was just about out of gas.

I think because we took it so easy each day and made sure to get a power nap in, I think we got into a rhythm and that allowed us to power through the weekend.

I really think it was mostly that mental game during the half that got to us. Physically I never felt like I hit a wall or that I just couldn't keep going (slow going certainly helps with that!), but I just was tired of being out there and, honestly, I was just tired of being trapped in a mob of people. I love the size and excitement of the crowds for these races, but especially during those tight, crowded portions, I reach a point where I just want to yell at everyone to get outta my way!

Loving your report so far! Beautiful butterfly!

Totally agree with you on the struggle point. I think the miles between MK and Epcot during the half marathon were the toughest of the whole weekend for me.

Glad we aren't the only ones who found that part difficult. It was never a question of not finishing obviously, but just a blech feeling.

Ok so let me describe the fall a bit, Gisele just kind of breezed over it. As the girl crosses the line she jumps in the air, she raises her legs like in a Toyota commercial, as her body travels forward and her legs return to the ground she has too much momentum and begins to stumble forward, taking huge steps and arms flying about in an attempt to recover. She finally comes to rest in a heap of arms, legs and Lycra, her iPhone skidding across the pavement face down . As you can see, by my face in this shot I was watching her the whole way. The lady in the Mickey ears also was enjoying watching her . I know I laughed but I do hope she was ok, as I think by the look in the picture we have before pre fall, she was very excited to have completed what I expect was her first half marathon.

It was a rather spectacular fall I have to admit. And, I'm one of those horrible people who finds those "fail" videos sort of hilarious (as long as I assume nobody actually got hurt!)

great half photos, I loved in the marathon as well getting to go through the MK entrance from the front. Love seeing the Mickey air balloon pics you got, I wonder if it was too hard to keep up since it wasn't in the full. You look great as a Monarch, spread those wings!

Oh man, that poor girl...glad she didn't take out you guys or anyone else.

That's a good thought on that balloon. It is actually a hot air balloon (you could see the burner as you ran past), so with it being so cold, maybe it was just too difficult to keep inflated.

This was my first rD race that went to MK-so I wouldn't have known that the entrance was new and that this loop isn't usually there. As a first timer running through the park, I hope they keep it exactly like this, I loved it!!

I agree completely. The old way was good too, but it doesn't compare to the new entrance.

Is it wrong that I too would love to see these, I bet they are hilarious (and I'm sure she too would appreciate the funny nature when looking at them too). It's actually too bad you guys weren't close enough for her to inadvertantly be in your finisher photos.

I hope she finds them hilarious. I can tell you that I would and had I fallen and had photos of it, you can bet I would have posted them here.

I was feeling the exact same thing too. HOWEVER, I was feeling even more so the next day AFTER I ran the marathon-I still couldn't believe I had done that! Dare I say, it was too easy! LOL!

That sounds like someone who plans to run more marathons!

I really felt great after the marathon. Honestly, the best I've ever felt after running one. I have to credit a better training season and just the fact that we took it so easy.

 

[Sailormoon2]

That sounds like someone who plans to run more marathons!

YES! 50K in fact

I have to credit a better training season and just the fact that we took it so easy.

THIS is it exactly! Taking it easy is relative, but that is what I did too-and I feel like Disney races give you permisison to do that-they are so distracting!

 

[Ariel484]

@Chris-Mo “a heap of arms, legs and Lycra” hahahaha

I have to admit, I totally would have laughed too!

 

[SarahDisney]

That disembodied Mickey head balloon is super creepy in the dark. Wow. Definitely less creepy once the sun was up.

I love your angry queen expression. Great picture! And Sebastian ... another great picture. I love your castle shots too - so many good pictures!

The mice you saw are Suzy and Perla. (I know that because we've met them before - I don't remember if it was at WDW or DL, but it came up when we met them)

Ouch ... the end of a race is not when you want to miss the landing on a jump. I hope she wasn't running the marathon the next day, because she probably hurt for a little bit.

 

[baxter24]

The half marathon course is really starting to become my least favorite. As much as I love running through the magic kingdom, those highway miles are LONG....

So glad that lady is okay but I totally would have laughed too! It would be really funny to see a widescreen photo progression of her jumping and then the aftermath with everyone’s reaction complete with her getting up saying she was good.

 

[emilyindisney]

Catching up...

Mmmm...I love the Wave! Their lounge is one of my favorite places to enjoy a cocktail in property.

Normally I’d say that’s a great plan for your 10k character stops. Darn runDisney for putting out all characters you’ve never met before! Haha!

Sounds like you had a great half! Lots of time spent in MK! We did the same thing- probably spent an hour there total but we’ll worth it.

Excited to hear about the final 26.2 mike trek!

 

[Baloo in MI]

I have been trying to catch up today. Just have to say that I am so jealous of the pizza at Via Napoli after the 10k! It looked sooooo good. Fun reliving the weekend through your report; looking forward to the Marathon.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I was looking for a new trip report to read and found your's. I am all caught up and there's simply too much to comment on so I'll just say that I'm looking forward to reading more.

 

[ZellyB]

That disembodied Mickey head balloon is super creepy in the dark. Wow. Definitely less creepy once the sun was up.

I love your angry queen expression. Great picture! And Sebastian ... another great picture. I love your castle shots too - so many good pictures!

The mice you saw are Suzy and Perla. (I know that because we've met them before - I don't remember if it was at WDW or DL, but it came up when we met them)

Ouch ... the end of a race is not when you want to miss the landing on a jump. I hope she wasn't running the marathon the next day, because she probably hurt for a little bit.

Aw, thank you for confirming the mice names! I was pretty happy to see them as I was all the new characters for me.

We think in the picture that we do have with her in it she's in a half marathon bib, so I'm hoping that means she didn't have to run the next day. She went down hard, so I suspect once the adrenaline wore off she was pretty sore.

The half marathon course is really starting to become my least favorite. As much as I love running through the magic kingdom, those highway miles are LONG....

So glad that lady is okay but I totally would have laughed too! It would be really funny to see a widescreen photo progression of her jumping and then the aftermath with everyone’s reaction complete with her getting up saying she was good.

So, I'll admit that Chris and I tried to make out her bib number to see if we could find other photos, but we really couldn't see it well enough. We are horrible.

Catching up...

Mmmm...I love the Wave! Their lounge is one of my favorite places to enjoy a cocktail in property.

Normally I’d say that’s a great plan for your 10k character stops. Darn runDisney for putting out all characters you’ve never met before! Haha!

Sounds like you had a great half! Lots of time spent in MK! We did the same thing- probably spent an hour there total but we’ll worth it.

Excited to hear about the final 26.2 mike trek!

I was pretty happy with the Wave. It was busy at all, so I don't know if that's time of day or if it's just not that popular, but it's definitely on our list for future trips. So convenient from MK.

I never hurry through my miles in MK. It is the BEST miles in the course, so I milk it for all it is worth.

I have been trying to catch up today. Just have to say that I am so jealous of the pizza at Via Napoli after the 10k! It looked sooooo good. Fun reliving the weekend through your report; looking forward to the Marathon.

That pizza was delicious! It took us a lot of trips before we gave Via Napoli a try, but now that we've had it, it's a must-do for every trip.

I was looking for a new trip report to read and found your's. I am all caught up and there's simply too much to comment on so I'll just say that I'm looking forward to reading more.

Welcome! Glad that you found me and happy to have you reading along.

 

[ZellyB]

Like, Seriously, We’re Running a Marathon Today?

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Our multitude of alarms (including yelly Mickey) went off at 2:30 AM on Sunday. I’d like to tell you that we sprang out of bed ready to tackle the final race in our Dopey masterpiece. I’d really like to tell you that. But, this is a more accurate representation

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Still, we did get ourselves up and began the routine for the 4th day in a row to head to the race start. Selecting clothing for this race was a bit trickier since the day was set to get a bit warmer than prior days and, of course, a longer race meaning we’d be out on the course later in the day. Much later for us, because we go slow and take LOTS of pictures.

Anyway, we got around and headed to the monorail and then again headed straight to the corrals for a front row seat.

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Yeah, we looked wiped out and Chris totally looks over it all! LOL

Microwave burrito strategy still in place and I was completely comfortable waiting for the start.

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Just like the previous days, we were gradually walked closer to the start line and got to watch each group get their fireworks send off.

https://flic.kr/p/22vuhUy​

Eventually it was our turn and we were on our way to run our 26.2 and cap off our 48.6 challenge! Woohoo!!

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I can tell you we opted to bail out again at the potties at mile 1 and I still felt like that was a smart strategy. They were a little bit busier this time around, but still basically no wait and we were able to head off feeling ready for the long haul.

Shortly after the first mile, we heard a clatter behind us and suddenly, the lady we’d seen during the 10K who told us she was dressing as the house from Up came running by.

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So, it’s a blurry picture, but she didn’t just have balloons on her, she also had all kinds of other geegaws hanging off of her. Like plastic goggles and a plastic helmet and they were all clanging around. I legitimately would have gone insane with all that and I couldn’t even stand to run near her. It also appeared that her geegaws had prematurely ruptured some of her balloons ( a fact confirmed to us when we saw her around mile 9 or 10 and she only had two or three balloons still intact.) It was a great idea, but I think execution failed her. Anywho….

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Mile 2!

We did try to settle into our intervals pretty quickly because we had a lot of miles ahead of us! Before we knew it though, Magic Kingdom gates!

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I really did think I’d be more sluggish starting out on this run, but I actually felt pretty good. We were approaching the spot of the first character meet (for the half this was Cars) and I was sort of assuming it would be something we’ve had before, but….

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DUCKTALES!!!


Never had them and so excited!! Woohoo runDisney, way to make some character wishes come true for me. On we went and we were drifting to the side where we knew they typically have the Nightmare set up again assuming we’d see Jack and Sally but hoping for Oogie, but what a surprise to see…

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Evil Queen! Sweet. I do think I’ve had her before with a grouping of villains, but never solo and with this setup, so heck ya we stopped. My slightly different Evil Queen face at work here. So, we got the Hag during the 10K and then the Evil Queen on the full. A Pair of Queens! Sweet. Also, this woman who was the Evil Queen was truly GORGEOUS. Like legit, fairest of them all stuff here. I was kinda mesmerized by her and her perfect make-up job!

Off again and headed toward TTC. I always sort of forget how narrow and crowded it gets around the Contemporary too, so that part was pretty unpleasant as well, but for some reason doesn’t bother me as much as cone alley. Maybe because I know that after we get past the Contemporary we are getting to the best part of the course.

We looped around again by the bus stops to make the turn into MK and the Ferry Boat was coming across all lit up. It was just too perfect.

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Next up: Into the Magic we Go!

 

[Sailormoon2]

I believe this was the same Queen I met on course too. Yes, her make-up was totally on point!

 

[Capang]

Great character pics!

 

[rteetz]

Yes marathon time!

I can't believe that balloon lady. I heard about her from several people but never saw her.

 

[TeeterTots]

Yay! I’m so excited to read your marathon recap as mine is getting blurry. I remember each mile and some characters along the way but my brain was telling my body “just keep moving!” Lol

Off to a great start! I love evil queen!

 

[Ariel484]

Ahhh Ducktales and the Queen! So great!

That picture of the ferry is just perfect!! Along with the picture of Chris being “over it.”

Loving your Pixels and Mermaid capris!

 

[baxter24]

I seriously shouted “YES!” when I saw Launchpad and Scrooge McDuck! It was the longest line I waited in for the marathon but it was so worth it! My dad was waiting for me to come by at the TTA and texted me after a few minutes if I was ok since I had texted him right at the 5k mark. All I responded to him was DUCKTALES!!! in the text.

Stopping actually worked out in my favor because there were a group of ladies right behind me in line that I think were on the character text that someone sent out. I overheard them say who was out at the Magic Kingdom so I knew which ones were coming up!

 

[cavepig]

Yeah on the lady withe the balloons, I couldn't figure out why she had all those hings hanging, like a plastic fireman hat I think. Yes, that would have driven me batty to run by her as well.

Great Evil Queen pose too!!!

 

[SarahDisney]

Duck Tales!!! I'm super jealous ... I missed that one during the rainy 10K of 2016 (grr ... stupid Disney being practical and not leaving characters out in the pouring rain).
And the Evil Queen ... nice. Excellent character stops!