We registered, we trained, we ran and…just like that it was over. Was it everything we’d hoped for? It was all that and more. For those of you who’ve completed a Dopey Challenge, hopefully these posts will bring back happy memories. For those of you with Dopey hopes for the future…here’s how it went for us.
Dopey Challenge 2020 Recap (Part One) – a.k.a. The Easy Part
Let’s talk about the expo and I’ll get to the actual running in Part Two.
The runDisney race expo was the first thing on our arrival day agenda. We got there by around 10:00 am on Wednesday morning. If you want to really fit in with the other participants at the expo, you need to wear a shirt from a previous runDisney event. You’ll see hundreds of them. We don’t generally care much about fitting in so we chose comfy civilian attire.
The expo atmosphere is full of both pre-race excitement and somewhat frantic expectation. The latter belonging those on the hunt for the extremely popular race merchandise. More on that in a second.
After having a few runDisney events under our belts, we’ve developed somewhat of an expo tradition. As with many of our traditions, this one involves beer. We pick up our bibs and shirts first then celebrate that accomplishment with beer while we look around the vendor booths at the expo.
We usually don’t buy much, but the vendor booths are fun and sometimes we find something too good to pass up. If you need any last minute gear, there’s usually a great selection of socks, arm bands, fuel belts, shirts, sunglasses, earbuds and the like.
Fun fact: If you’re doing a multi-race challenge, your picture will be taken when you pick up your race bib(s). This helps the runDisney folks make sure you get the correct medals. They snap your photo as you hold your race bib in front of your chest. I always feel like I’m having a prison mug shot taken and I really expect hear the photographer say, “turn to your left”. But they never do.
After we satisfied our thirsts and expo shopping urges, we headed for the building that houses the runDisney merchandise. This is the stuff people go nuts for. They wait in super (not exaggerating here) long, crowded lines just to get into the part of the building where the merchandise is sold. Then it’s a free-for-all while folks seem to be grabbing up armfuls of stuff. I wanted to get swept up in the moment! I did! But found I wasn’t a fan of the shirt designs or colors. I did find a car magnet and a couple of pins I thought would be nice to have, but then I saw the check-out lines and realized I didn’t want that stuff bad enough.
We may have left empty handed, but our curiosity was completely satisfied. And we had built up a terrible thirst. So we grabbed more beer and sat on a bench in the sunlight taking it all in. As our cups emptied, we realized we were completely starving, so we headed for the buses, returned to Bay Lake Tower, dropped off our bags and hopped on the monorail to Epcot in search of lunch.
In Part Two I’ll be covering the first three Dopey Challenge events. Please check back soon!
When we arrived early on Saturday, it wasn’t raining and we headed straight for Animal Kingdom and got busy! By 3:00 pm, we’d found the Yeti, eaten lunch at Harambe Market, explored wildlife via 
Refreshed by cocktails and lulled into a restorative nap, we were jolted awake by a band of children on a mission to catch lizards and pull their tails off! I am not kidding! Then they would take the squirming, disconnected tails and carry them around until they found a place to throw them near the flamingos. Recovering from our horror (barely), we stopped them by yelling, “Hey!” all at once. Stupid response, I realize, but we’d been sound asleep and it worked.
Then, in a completely unprecedented move, I cooked breakfast for everyone with the groceries I’d ordered. 
Scrambled eggs, toast, bagels, and a protein shake for me. We took our time getting ready and headed for Epcot in the rain to catch the very end of the Flower and Garden Festival.
We hadn’t been to Rose & Crown for many years and I was really looking forward to dinner there. I’d forgotten that the menu is relatively limited, but the food was fantastic! We had a great time.
We indulged ourselves in a little family hugging and such. He had lots of great stories to share over dinner. Our server was nice, but the overall dining experience wasn’t great – food/service combo was sub par for Via Napoli. We’ll be avoiding this place for the next little while. Full of carbs for the 10K in the morning, we were off to meet someone very special!
It did feel safe and since Joseph mostly only sleeps there, it also seemed adequate. Joseph and his roommate work very different shifts, so Joseph said it’s very much like living alone. 
This made me a little sad, but he’s having a truly fantastic time there and has made lots of new friends. (Honestly, the place is worse in real life than it looks in pictures.)
Once we got going, though, we perked up and had a great time. This was Megan’s first runDisney event and she clearly enjoyed the excitement. The Boardwalk was packed with cheering people – more than I remember seeing in the past – and we found them very motivational on our way towards the finish line! Once race down, one to go.
That’s the beauty of these events – no pressure! When we crossed the finish line, we were ecstatic! We’d done it! Except for a pain in her foot, Megan felt great. Raymond was waiting for us and we spent a few minutes at the post-race celebration before catching the bus back to Bay Lake Tower.
The four of us split the artisanal cheese selection and charcuterie board before ordering four different entrées. This was unprecedented! At least two of us always end up ordering the same thing. We were all happy with our selections and the portions were generous enough for us to share and sample each other’s food.