After I recently posted the Run Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon and Walt Disney World Marathon race dates and registration announcement… I kept thinking about it. I’ve missed running races sooooo much. It’s been 2 years since I’ve run a race with Covid and moving and my foot. I love Disney races! I love costume races!!

It seems obvious that I should run at least one of the Disney races, right?

Well, there are also a lot of speed bumps I had to consider too… cost (it’s very pricey), travel, dates/schedule.

The Wine and Dine Half Marathon was crossed off the list because the dates are too close to another race I have scheduled. And I’ve run it before, so I felt okay with this.

But I kept going back and forth about the WDW Marathon. (I’ve also run this race but I was sick, it was rushed, stressful and a long time ago.) I knew I had to decide soon because these races sell out! (They usually sell out within hours, a few days at most. So it’s definitely noteworthy that it hadn’t yet. We can talk about possible reasons later.)

Note – I was really only considering doing the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World for a few reasons. For those not familiar with the Walt Disney World Marathon Challenges – there are two.

What is the Goofy Challenge

There’s the Goofy Challenge which is to run the Half Marathon and Full Marathon during the Walt Disney World Marathon Race Weekend. These are back to back races on Saturday and Sunday.

What is the Dopey Challenge

The Dopey Challenge is the BIGGEST challenge of all the Run Disney Races. Runners who sign up for the Dopey Challenge run 48.6 miles during the race weekend as they complete all 4 races – the 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Full Marathon.

I texted with fellow Run Disney friends who’ve done the races multiple times. I checked the race registration website to see if it was still open a bunch. I talked about it with Diego (he’s a good listener, but not helpful with decision making).

Finally I remembered I have a tool for this and grabbed my Make a Decision notepad to help me decide.

Really the only thing that was holding me back was the cost – it’s the most expensive race I’ve ever considered. Plus there’s the cost of travel. It’s extra frustrating because I live pretty close to Disneyland in Anaheim. So unlike someone who thinks ‘Travel’ when they thing ‘Disney’ – I don’t. And while I love Disney and Disney Races – I’m very happy to enjoy Disneyland and California Adventure and don’t feel the need to go all the way across the country to Disney World – UNLESS it’s for running.

Actually, ‘Unless it’s for running’ is a universal tie breaker to most of my rules!

In this whole decision making process I was only considering running the Dopey Challenge because I figured – if I’m going to travel all that way I want to make it worth it! And if I was ever going to do the Dopey Challenge it should be now since I’m getting in shape for a few marathons and halfs in the months leading up to it.

So, I wrote out the BEST case and WORST case of running the race and realized the cost is the main thing holding me back.

But, when I really thought about it – I’ve ‘saved’ a lot of money on races the last two years. Usually I would’ve spent a lot more than the cost of the Dopey Challenge on races, traveling to races and associated costs.

Plus, I’ve really wanted to go on a vacation – another thing that hasn’t happened in over a year. And all of the places I want to go are still under Covid restrictions and/or seem to go back and forth with restrictions so it’s risky to book travel.

Reasons to Run the Dopey Challenge:

1. I’m getting in shape for a few marathons and half marathons leading up to the WDW Marathon anyway. So I’ll be in good shape to train for the Dopey Challenge (as opposed to starting from not running).
2. If I’m traveling to Florida to run 1 race (I was thinking about just the full at first)… it’s technically cheaper to run 4 races in 1 trip than come back another time.
3. It doesn’t look like any of my running buddies are going to want to run this in the future – so if I want to do it, I should do it now.
4. I can run / walk the 5K and 10K (or the 10K and half) and take a bunch of fun pictures with characters! I love those.
5. The Dopey Challenge is kinda made for me – I’ve run back to back races before. I love a costume race. I’m a Disney fan.

Reasons Not to Run the Dopey Challenge:

1. I might die.
2. It’s expensive.

Ironically, the ‘Cons’ list kind of cancel each other out because – if I die, who cares if I spent a bunch of money on a running trip, right?

I slept on it one more night and this morning decided to go for it. I REGISTERED TO RUN THE DOPEY CHALLENGE 2022.

I’m Running the Dopey Challenge 2022!!

Yes, I did it! I’m going to run the 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Full Marathon in one weekend, consecutive days, in costume at Disney World. It sounds wild, but I’m excited.

I don’t know anything else yet. I don’t have a training plan, travel reservations or most importantly – RUNNING COSTUMES, yet. But, step one is deciding on a goal. And in this case – it is a SMART Goal because it’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time sensitive.

I’ll design a great training plan for the Dopey Challenge that will factor in – current fitness, how much time I have to train, races I’m already registered to run, the extra challenges of 4 back to back races, etc. I won’t have a time goal for any of these races as Disney races often have a lot of run/walkers and it’s hard to get out fast for the first few miles. I’ve heard they’re offering fewer corrals so those might be more crowded. And of course, photo stops are a MUST! So, all together the focus should be to FINISH and have FUN.

Right now all I know is – I’m registered and need to design my training plan asap since this race challenge requires extra training time! I’ll share more on training and planning soon. If you have any questions – ask me in the comments or on Instagram @RunEatRepeat

I’m going to put together a page with all my Run Disney Races and Running Costume Posts, but if you want more great content right now – I’ll link to some below.

Keep Going with these:

• Unicorns Seen Running Through Disneyland (Half Marathon)
• Disneyland Half Marathon Recap
• Wine and Dine Half Marathon 
• Disneyland Super Heroes Half Marathon