This is the third time I have "done Disney" yet it is the first time that I have truly enjoyed all that the Marathon Weekend has to offer. Both times before were as a member or mentor for Team Tally's Team In Training group. Don't get me wrong - I loved each of those trips, but they were nothing compared to this time through the parks powered by nothing but me. In this entry I have put a sample of pictures from my camera that I stopped to have taken the morning of the marathon. It was great to stop and stand with the characters for pictures. They are out there at those awful hours for no other reason than to pose with the athletes and to cheer us on. It is wonderful, and fun, and great, and smile generating.
As we waited in the starting corrals from 5:00 a.m. to 5:50 a.m. it was comforting to have friends near and dear standing with me. Lisa and Tracy were with me last year, and will be with me again in the future. Not too far away Michael Harvey and others stood waiting to begin our journey to Goofy in memory of his brother, Richard. By the time the course closed on Sunday, 14 of us would complete the 2009 running of Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge. We would leave Disney with three medals: Donald for the Half; Mickey for the Full; and Goofy for being insane enough to do it all in one weekend. Yes, my friends, 39.3 is the new 26.2. I am here to tell you, I will not do it next year. But perhaps later on in my endurance future there will be another one. Things that make you go hmmm...
As we waited in the starting corrals from 5:00 a.m. to 5:50 a.m. it was comforting to have friends near and dear standing with me. Lisa and Tracy were with me last year, and will be with me again in the future. Not too far away Michael Harvey and others stood waiting to begin our journey to Goofy in memory of his brother, Richard. By the time the course closed on Sunday, 14 of us would complete the 2009 running of Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge. We would leave Disney with three medals: Donald for the Half; Mickey for the Full; and Goofy for being insane enough to do it all in one weekend. Yes, my friends, 39.3 is the new 26.2. I am here to tell you, I will not do it next year. But perhaps later on in my endurance future there will be another one. Things that make you go hmmm...
No Disney Marathon Weekend (Sweet Sixteen in 2009) would be complete without a view of Cinderella's Castle. But, below has to be one of my favorite pictures from the weekend as it captures all of "my medals" in one shot: Donald (1/2 Marathon), Mickey (Marathon), and Goofy (Race and a Half Challenge). I love that one. It really makes the weekend dream complete.
This is what EPCOT looks like from the runner's perspective as the sun comes up. The next photo is what EPCOT looks like from the World Showcase from the post-marathon runner's perspective as the sun sets. Both are equally wonderful and beautiful, and striking when you consider both pictures were taken by the same runner in the same day.
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