runDisney 2024 Dopey Challenge Day 3 – Half Marathon*

Early Friday evening, the news started to spread that Disney was changing the course for Saturday’s Half Marathon due to incoming storms with a threat of lightening.  I checked my email and found a message from runDisney.  To ensure the safety of runners, volunteers and cast members, Disney wanted the course cleared by 8:0O am.  The course was changed to 7 miles, eliminating a segment of World Drive and the loop through Magic Kingdom.  In addition, the start time was moved 15 minutes earlier, Corral A would start at 4:45am.  Social media came alive with complaints and disappointment.  I took it in stride, one can’t argue with an organization responsible for the safety of 15-20 thousand people when you consider runners, volunteers, cast members and crews hired to tear down and clear the roads along the course.  Completing the full marathon on Day 4 was what meant the most to me.

 

Nevertheless, as I fell off to sleep the night before, I did feel like I was just going through the motions.  Day 3 was going to me just a little more than a 10K.  I felt like this was just an exercise in getting up god-awful early and going through the runDisney pre-race rituals again.  So be it, let’s just get through it and ger ready for the marathon.

 

The first bus for the half and full marathons was at 2:30 am.  So I planned to get up 15 minutes earlier.   I woke at 1:30 am to find myself in an irregular heart rhythm.  Shoot!  This was the one thing that could stop me from completing Dopey, I was hoping the stars would align and I would get through it without an episode.  But here I was, and here it was.  Time to deal with it.

 

It never crossed my mind to throw in the towel.  I immediately went into “how can I get through this today” mode.  My resting HR with the irregular rhythm was still low for a person of my age, so it was not debilitating, just annoying and pace limiting.  So I just gave into the fact that I might be walking the 7-mile course today.   I was in Corral B, I would start almost an hour before the balloon ladies, I just needed to jog 1 or 2 minutes each mile to stay ahead of them.  I had trained for such scenarios, as disappointing as it was, I was still prepared.

 

So I got up and went through the morning ritual, I had laid out everything the night before, and headed out to the bus stop at 2:30 am.  I followed the same ritual before heading to the corrals.  It was warmer today; I did not need throw-away clothes for the corral.  

 

The corral arrangement had changed overnight.  Corral A was now directly in the starting queue.  No ceremonial walk in front of all the other corrals to get to the starting line.  Corral B was where corral A had been but was open to the starting queue.  We entered corral B at the far end of the starting corral area and proceeded to walk in front of all the other corrals all the way up until we were behind and beside corral A. Interesting, it was like one giant corral that almost encircled all the other corrals.

 

National Anthem … 3 … 2 … 1 and we were off.  I started out jogging so that I didn’t impede other runners.  I was in a wave where most people could easily run a 10:00 /mi pace.  I jogged about a minute or two before raising my hand to indicate I was about to walk and pulled off to the side of the road.  I quickly realized that I was not alone.  There was a steady stream of walk/runners along the right side of the course.  I was not going to stand out, even in my somewhat disabled state, I would fit right in.  Some stress was removed, and I settled in to enjoy a slow and easy 7-mile adventure.  

 

I monitored my heart rate closely and, when it became uncomfortably high, I stopped and walked.  When I was walking, I settled into a brisk but comfortable place and enjoyed the environment around me.  When there was something interesting to capture on video, I stopped and took my time to get a good shot.   This was not the way I envisioned completing day 3, but I made the best of it.  Before I knew it, five miles had passed and we were in Epcot doing a lap around World Showcase.  The last two miles flew by even at my 15:00 /mi pace.  I crossed the finish line and proceeded through the gauntlet of volunteers to get my medal and beverages and snacks. 

 

I picked up my drop bag and headed for the bus just as it started to sprinkle. By the time the bus pulled away from Epcot, it was raining steadily.   Fortunately, at my resort I had a covered walkway from the bus drop off into the lobby, so I was able to get to my room without getting wet.  People who finished 10-15 minutes after I did probably got soaked.   

 

Many other runners felt compelled to run the other 6 miles so that they could say they ran a half marathon on that day.  As I went through my post-run routine in my hotel room, I watched other runners pass by on the Boardwalk below my balcony in the rain.  They were doing laps around Crescent Lake, running between the Boardwalk Resort and the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts.  It’s about a mile around, so not a bad idea, kudos to them.  In my state, I was happy to be done and recovering for the marathon.

 

To complicate things, we needed to change resorts that day.  We were moving across the way to the Beach Club Villas.  So after I was done with my post run routine, I needed to finish packing up so we could be out of our room by noon.   Sometime between showering and packing, my heart rhythm converted back to normal sinus rhythm.  I felt great all of a sudden, and I was ready to take on the Marathon.