What is the Dopey Challenge?
Every January Walt Disney World hosts Marathon Weekend, four days of races from 5k up to a full marathon. The Dopey Challenge is for those insane enough to attempt all four races, running 48.6 miles over four days, getting up in the middle of the night to be at the starting line each day for a 5:30am race start time.
- Thursday – 5k
- Friday – 10k
- Saturday – Half marathon
- Sunday – Full marathon
I honestly don’t know why I thought signing up for the challenge was a good idea. Perhaps it was the post runners high after completing the Disney Princess half marathon in February 2018? Maybe, having struggled through three marathons I needed to see just how much more I could take … or was I just Dopey?
Developing a Training Plan
For my age I’m competitive at shorter distances, but without fail, at mile 16 of the full marathon, things start to go awry. To succeed at 48.6 miles I needed a plan that covered not only running, but factored in early morning starts, consecutive day runs, cross training, strength training, and diet.
Goal – A week at Disney World, parks to visit, races to run = a once in a lifetime experience. My goal, simply to finish and have fun along the way (if running 48 miles over 4 days can be fun).
Running – Based around Hal Higdon’s Dopey Challenge plan, with a nod to Jeff Galloways run/walk Dopey Challenge plan for long runs. Having chronic knee issues, some elements of a typical marathon training program are simply not sensible for me (for example, hill repeats and intervals cause a significant increase in knee and contralateral hip pain), so have been modified or removed.
Pace – My average half marathon pace is 9:15 min/mile and marathon pace 11 min/mile. Training for long runs started at 11:30 min/mile, with week day runs at whatever pace I felt comfortable at on any given day (which were sometimes faster than race pace), and with mileage adjusted as needed. As for race weekend … As training began I intended on slowing the earlier races down and running a constant 11 min/mile for the full marathon, but that changed on race days. Lets just say I underestimated the effect a large group of runners, spectator support and running at Disney would have on my pace!
Cross Training and Strength Training – Having become injured training for my previous marathon I focused more on cross training and strength training this cycle. I lost access to a pool, so replaced swimming with elliptical, cycling, and indoor rowing, adding three sessions a week to my training plan . Not being a fan of strength training, I also work with a personal trainer who was tasked with getting me across the finish line!
“Other Stuff” – The Dopey challenge is just that, a challenge. To maintain motivation and commitment, as well as to save time I :
- Created a support team including friends, online Dopey Challenge groups, and my local running club.
- Prepared food for the week in bulk on the weekend and put together the next days lunch the evening before.
- Got my running clothes, gym bag, and work clothes out before going to bed, giving myself an extra few minutes of sleep each night.