People have been asking us a lot of questions about our running lately.  The number one question has been, “WHY are you running so much?!”  I ask myself that very same question almost every time I put on my running shoes here lately, as the weather is not pleasant, the mileage is mind-boggling, and the best part of each run is the moment it’s over.

This, y’all?  This is what Dopey training has looked like for us.  At one point, I told Wes that I was done — DONE — with running, and that I would gladly come and cheer him on at his races from now on but that I wouldn’t be joining him for even a 5K.  The next day, on a whim, I convinced him to run twenty miles with me.  (We didn’t carry water with us.  We didn’t have any energy gels.  I even had to borrow one of his running shirts because I didn’t have one with me.  That’s how much of a whim it was!)

Clearly, this training plan has warped our minds.  But THE END IS NEAR!  Yes, we are steadily approaching the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend.  This will be our third year to run the marathon, our second year to “go Goofy” (run the 1/2 marathon and the full marathon both), and our first year to “be Dopey.”  This is the inaugural year of the Dopey Challenge, and we anticipate seeing a lot of people meet their Maker out there on the course.

Not really.  RunDisney will sweep them long before that happens!

Anyway, for those who have been asking or just want to cheer us on from afar, here’s how our Dopey Challenge will play out…

On Thursday, January 9th, we’ll run a 5K. 

On Friday, January 10th, we’ll run a 10K. 

On Saturday, January 11th, we’ll run a half marathon.

On Sunday, January 12th, we’ll run a full marathon.

That’s 48.6 total miles in four days.  All of this year’s training comes down to this… until it’s over, and then we have two more half marathons and another marathon to do.  But still!  That’ll be it for at least a few weeks!

We appreciate your cheers and your enthusiasm as we tackle this and prove that ANYONE can run…