Well That's Just Dopey

Maniac Monday- Challenge: Girl Vs. Dopey Challenge

This edition of GvS took me to a place I never thought I would go... A task so seemingly difficult that I did not ever want to attempt it... Something that made my body cringe at simply trying to visualize it actually happening... Until that challenge presented itself with the grand prize of 6 beautiful medals for completion! Run Disney introduced the newest challenge to the annual marathon weekend, the Dopey Challenge, in which participants would run a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, and Full Marathon in one weekend over the course of 4 days. You did your math correctly if that added up to 48.6miles. Participants would receive a medal for each individual race plus a medal for completing the Goofy Challenge (the Half and Full Marathon) and a medal for completing the Dopey Challenge (all races). As my family and friends will tell you, I am a sucker for the medals, but doing a Full Marathon was something I never thought I would be able to do, let alone doing 3 other races in the days leading up to that one... But the thought of those beautiful medals draping over my neck motivated me to want to try the impossible, so I signed up. My cousin Kelsey signed up as well and came down from Ohio to do it. When it came time to begin the Full Marathon, I was in good spirits and had my personal motivator (Kelsey) by my side. I hit a wall around mile 18 and did not think I was going to be able to complete it. Up until that point, even though my body was aching, my mind kept pulling me through, but now my mind went and also thought that finishing was virtually impossible. My mind-over-matter technique was failing, and those last 8 miles seemed like a daunting task. I knew, though, that I could definitely be done in 2 hours... 2 more hours of my life at most would bring me to the finish line to receive the rest of those beautiful medals and be greeted by my family... Lots of little pick-me-ups like seeing friends from work along the course, hearing a great song that pumped me up, and running through the parks lined with Guests cheering us on. I could see the finish line, hear the roar of the crowd... step step step... almost there... FINISHED! And in just over 5 hours. I was so overwhelmed by what I had just accomplished- something I had never seen possible, something that I thought I could go my whole life without doing, something that I decided to do because of the awesome bling that I would get after. Well, although receiving those medals was amazing, that was really the last thing on my mind. I started crying and cupping my hand over my mouth in disbelief that I had challenged myself so much and even had thoughts of quitting that I had to fight through. What a great feeling, mentally of course. Seeing my husband, brother, and cousins at the finish line made me even more emotional, and I was so happy to have been a part of such a unique event. I absolutely could not have done this without my cousin Kelsey by my side. So, when is the next one?

5K

Half

Full

Dopey Challenge Collection