Locals go a little Dopey for Disney World races

A veteran Disney Marathon runner, Dean Giering, 47 of Newton, had been tempted by the Goofy Challenge but was even more intrigued when he saw the Dopey Challenge advertised. It immediately consumed him, so he checked it out and saw that it was already 76 percent full. He kept on going back to the site as temptation mounted.

Dopey Challenge
The Disney Marathon has been around for 22 years and includes fireworks at the pre-dawn start and running through Cinderella's castle, touring several parks, seeing a number of characters along the way and finishing at Epcot's Spaceship Earth.

Getting to the start is no easy feat. Runners have to eat a certain number of hours before the race, go through their individual pre-race rituals, get to the drop off point via bus or monorail, then hoof it to their designated chorale based on their seed time.

A few years ago, Disney threw out a new dare called the Goofy Challenge which tested runners to run a half marathon on Saturday and then the full marathon on Sunday. A special Goofy medal was awarded if they could do this. Attracting runners from around the globe, The Goofy was such a big hit that this year, Disney decided to up the anti.

Enter the debut of The Dopey Challenge, Disney's newest advent in the racing weekend. Held Jan. 9 to 12, it consists of a 5K race on Thursday, 10K on Friday, a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday with the carrot of procuring six medals for completing it all.

Signing up
"It would mean running 48.6 miles over four days," he said, "But I knew I had to make a decision fast or it would fill up."

Giering registered.
Joseph Farinella, 75, of Andover, had done the Goofy Challenge before, so he knew what it was like to do a half then a full marathon back-to-back. When a fellow Sparta Runners Club member mentioned the inaugural Dopey Challenge, he got excited only to discover that it was completely full.

Undaunted, he went to the Run Disney web site and found a list of charities that had reserved entries. Farinella realized that not only could he do the Dopey Challenge, but he could also support a vital charity. After researching the list, he chose to run and fund raise for the At Cure for Children charity.

Both Giering and Farinella had secured accommodations.

"It was a beautiful hotel and easy access with the monorail that ran through the middle of the hotel to Epcot for the start of all four races," Farinella said.

He and his wife, Tami, enjoyed the view of the Magic Kingdom and the Grand Floridian and even watched the fireworks over the castle at night from their bed.

"It just can't get any better than that," he said.

A magical experience
Arising at a ridiculously early hour each morning — both men set their alarms for 2 a.m. to make the 5:30 a.m. starts — and contending with some intense humidity after having left sub zero temps in Jersey.

Giering said the whole event cost him more than $2,000.

"It was an amazing adventure, but something I can't repeat in the near future because it is a lot of money," Giering said.

Farinella plans to return in two years.

"Despite the high price tag, it was worth the incredible experience," Giering said. "The races are so well organized, there are plenty of fluid and food stations and the medals are incredible."

Farinella, said that people were the highlight for him.

"I spoke with so many people from different places and countries with so many different running experiences," Farinella said.

Giering enjoyed meeting people and added a fun twist to keep himself — and others — inspired.

Each day, he wore a different superhero shirt. Thursday he was Superman, Friday Spiderman, Saturday Batman and Sunday Captain America. Though exhausted from the adventure, when Giering landed in Newark on Monday, he didn't go home.

Instead, he went to the Polar Bear Running Club practice where he showed his medals and shared his experience with youth runners.