The Running Thread --2025

[Dopey 2020]

I'm officially an ultra-marathoner! 50k trail run race report here

Awesome! Congratulations!

 

[FFigawi]

I am a sucker for trying products. I was reading about BASE Performance salt. Instead of take a tab or pill, it's like Fun Dip, LOL. Lick your finger/thumb, cover the container with it so that the salt sticks to your finger, then lick it off. Ordered some to try on my runs and long bike rides.

It's great stuff! I carry a tube of it during every marathon. Four licks per hour is about right for me. It's tougher to use while cycling, which is why I use PF&H tablets on the bike leg.

 

[PrincessV]

Question for the fellow marathoners/Dopes out there: has anyone else experienced chronic mental burnout/fatigue on the longer training runs? I mean, it happens to everyone sometimes, even the elite runners (which I am very much not). But this year for some reason as I'm starting to ramp up the miles for Dopey '26 I'm having a hard time getting motivated for long run days across the board.

If I'm doing 5 miles or less, no problem. I can cruise all the way with no issues because I know I'll be done in less than an hour. In the 7-8 range I start to get testy but I can usually power through. Once the planned run gets into double digits though I just have a hard time making myself go, and even when I do get out there, I've often quit at 4-5 miles not because I'm physically tired, but because my brain can't stop thinking about how much farther I have to go and how much time it will take. Such thoughts eventually knock me out of my zone and I just lose focus and quit.

It's completely mental I'm (almost) sure. I've tried changing up my routes, going to different locations, with music, without music, etc etc. But no matter what I try I still just get daunted by the idea of being out there for hours. Maybe because this will be my third Dopey and I don't have the "first time" motivation of conquering a goal?

I don't know, it's starting to get to me and the miles/hours haven't even gotten "serious" yet. Any thoughts or suggestions from this extremely helpful community are welcome.

For me, the training runs - and especially the long ones - were my favorite part of marathon/Dopey training. Even when they sucked due to weather, fatigue, or pain, I’d be happy to be doing them. So when that changed and they started to feel like a chore, it was a surprise. I pushed through for another couple years of extra-long distance training, but it never improved: I just wasn’t enjoying it anymore. So I stopped registering for long distance races, muddled through training for those I’d already committed to, and then dropped to 6 miles as my longest training runs… and found my joy again. I look forward to every run again and am happy to build mileage to ready for a 10-miler or half.

This isn’t necessarily the case for you and I’m not suggested that it is, only offering my own experience. I didn’t know I was burned out mentally until I gave myself the space to find out.

 

[LSUlakes]

I just wanted to say that today was the first time in a long time where the humidity didnt feel crazy this morning. At 5:30AM it was 73 with a light north wind. Had a good run doing mile repeats as well. I hope it stays this was or continues to get better! Send all the cool fronts down NOW!!

 

[Fenway1970]

For me, the training runs - and especially the long ones - were my favorite part of marathon/Dopey training. Even when they sucked due to weather, fatigue, or pain, I’d be happy to be doing them. So when that changed and they started to feel like a chore, it was a surprise. I pushed through for another couple years of extra-long distance training, but it never improved: I just wasn’t enjoying it anymore. So I stopped registering for long distance races, muddled through training for those I’d already committed to, and then dropped to 6 miles as my longest training runs… and found my joy again. I look forward to every run again and am happy to build mileage to ready for a 10-miler or half.

This isn’t necessarily the case for you and I’m not suggested that it is, only offering my own experience. I didn’t know I was burned out mentally until I gave myself the space to find out.

Thanks, and yes this is very similar to what I am experiencing. I don't know that I'd say the long runs were ever my favorite part of training, but I never minded them to the point I am experiencing this year. I will say after this past Dopey I felt like I needed a break, which was also partially due to January and February being colder than normal here in PA where I live. I picked back up in the spring but nothing over 8 miles until recently. I didn't expect I'd have this much difficulty getting mentally back into the double digit runs needed for Dopey training.

Hoping I get it back, sounds like the only thing is to try to push through it.

 

[LSUlakes]

Ive been a little bored at work today and just kinda browsing the net and what not. At some point, I got curious what the minimum fund raising requirements are got Boston 2026. AND WOW, $10,000 seems to be the number at which they will at least interview you. I'm sure they have some that are lower by 2-3k, but 10k is a huge amount to raise. I cant come up with a way in which I could raise that much money. At best, I would be able to get half of that donated and the rest out of pocket. Add in flights, the actual Bib, hotels, ect.... Disney seems like a good deal for the marathon now lol. I havent looked up Disney Charity bibs, but if I did I am guessing fundraising for the marathon or dopey probably starts at $500 - $1500, plus all other expenses of the bib and race, ect.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Ive been a little bored at work today and just kinda browsing the net and what not. At some point, I got curious what the minimum fund raising requirements are got Boston 2026. AND WOW, $10,000 seems to be the number at which they will at least interview you. I'm sure they have some that are lower by 2-3k, but 10k is a huge amount to raise. I cant come up with a way in which I could raise that much money. At best, I would be able to get half of that donated and the rest out of pocket. Add in flights, the actual Bib, hotels, ect.... Disney seems like a good deal for the marathon now lol. I havent looked up Disney Charity bibs, but if I did I am guessing fundraising for the marathon or dopey probably starts at $500 - $1500, plus all other expenses of the bib and race, ect.

I haven’t looked extensively, but most of the Dopey bibs I’ve seen for charities are usually starting at a couple grand. However, I’m pretty certain that (nearly) all of them include the cost of the bib in that fundraising amount.

 

[KCO5988]

Ive been a little bored at work today and just kinda browsing the net and what not. At some point, I got curious what the minimum fund raising requirements are got Boston 2026. AND WOW, $10,000 seems to be the number at which they will at least interview you. I'm sure they have some that are lower by 2-3k, but 10k is a huge amount to raise. I cant come up with a way in which I could raise that much money. At best, I would be able to get half of that donated and the rest out of pocket. Add in flights, the actual Bib, hotels, ect.... Disney seems like a good deal for the marathon now lol. I havent looked up Disney Charity bibs, but if I did I am guessing fundraising for the marathon or dopey probably starts at $500 - $1500, plus all other expenses of the bib and race, ect.

It's kind of amazing though, when you think about it - how much money that raises for charities. It also kind of limits people from buying themselves a bib. It's a world major and one that has chosen that you either must qualify or do a charity. As someone who is chasing that BQ + mystery cutoff time, it's nice to know that those people fundraising have to work their butts off too (just in a completely different way!)

 

[The Expert]

I'm planning to do Chicago with a charity bib in 2026, and when I looked for 2025 after the lottery results came out, the requirements ranged from about $800 up to $3500. It largely depends on which charity you sign up with and how early you get in. The later you wait, the more limited the bibs become, and the less likely you'll find one with a lower requirement. Those who don't get into the lottery often grab the cheapest charity bib they can at that point. I have determined which charity I want to run for, because its one I have a personal connection to. I've already reached out to them to get on their notification list for 2026.

 

[Disney at Heart]

I'm officially an ultra-marathoner! 50k trail run race report here

Congratulations! You are in an elite group!

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Question for the fellow marathoners/Dopes out there: has anyone else experienced chronic mental burnout/fatigue on the longer training runs? I mean, it happens to everyone sometimes, even the elite runners (which I am very much not). But this year for some reason as I'm starting to ramp up the miles for Dopey '26 I'm having a hard time getting motivated for long run days across the board.

If I'm doing 5 miles or less, no problem. I can cruise all the way with no issues because I know I'll be done in less than an hour. In the 7-8 range I start to get testy but I can usually power through. Once the planned run gets into double digits though I just have a hard time making myself go, and even when I do get out there, I've often quit at 4-5 miles not because I'm physically tired, but because my brain can't stop thinking about how much farther I have to go and how much time it will take. Such thoughts eventually knock me out of my zone and I just lose focus and quit.

For my first ( so far only; has it been 3 years already?) Dopey, I was so pumped about doing it that the excitement overrode a lot of what you are talking about. That said, I'm totally with you about having trouble doing the longer distances, particularly because of the time required. I can do 4 or even 5 miles on a weekday run and know that I'll be done in an hour or so, so mentally it is fairly easy. But committing a huge chunk of an afternoon to really long runs? I have a hard time with that, and as I approach double digits, I just want it to be over because I have other stuff to do. Which is a huge factor in why my longest Dopey training runs were 9 or 10 miles. So I'm going to finish the rD races with time to spare, but not particularly fast either. Check the links in my signature for more details on my half-@ssed training and how I managed the Dopey. Recalling that Dopey weekend to record a video on finishing the Dopey had me thinking how much fun it would be to do again, but OTOH, that's a lot of extra time and $$ for an additional 15k more than the Goofy.
YMMV. Good luck with it.

 

[Naomeri]

For my first ( so far only; has it been 3 years already?) Dopey, I was so pumped about doing it that the excitement overrode a lot of what you are talking about. That said, I'm totally with you about having trouble doing the longer distances, particularly because of the time required. I can do 4 or even 5 miles on a weekday run and know that I'll be done in an hour or so, so mentally it is fairly easy. But committing a huge chunk of an afternoon to really long runs? I have a hard time with that, and as I approach double digits, I just want it to be over because I have other stuff to do. Which is a huge factor in why my longest Dopey training runs were 9 or 10 miles. So I'm going to finish the rD races with time to spare, but not particularly fast either. Check the links in my signature for more details on my half-@ssed training and how I managed the Dopey. Recalling that Dopey weekend to record a video on finishing the Dopey had me thinking how much fun it would be to do again, but OTOH, that's a lot of extra time and $$ for an additional 15k more than the Goofy.
YMMV. Good luck with it.

I can second that the HARM training can actually get you through Dopey. My longest run before my 2025 Dopey (my first Dopey and first marathon) was a half, done on Thanksgiving, and my last run of any distance was in early December. I finished upright and mostly functional. I had some mental breakdowns before and after Animal Kingdom, but then I hooked up with @Herding_Cats and @The Expert of Team Not-So-Fast and they kept me moving forward. The day after the marathon, I was running up and down steps in Epcot like I hadn't just done nearly 50 miles in a weekend.

Obviously, it would've been better to get more of my training runs done, but I was never intending to go further than 13 miles in a single run in training anyway, so I managed alright. Someday, I want to actually complete my Dopey training plan and give it another go, but I don't know when I'll be able to make it work.