Above is the latest video promoting the Dopey Challenge at the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. The end of the video says that Dopey is getting ready for the challenge…are you? My answer to this is “NO.” However, there are plenty of souls that are getting ready for this challenge. Social media among the runDisney crowd has been buzzing over this news ever since it was announced. This week, they opened up pre-registration for Disney Vacation Club members, Annual Pass Holders, and Disney Visa card holders. Oh, and there’s also the Runner’s World Challenge participants who could pre-register as well.

If you missed my post on the official announcement of the Dopey Challenge for Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World, let me explain what the Dopey Challenge involves. Starting on January 9, 2014, you begin the challenge by completing the 5K family fun run. Then, on Friday, January 10th, you’d complete the inaugural Minnie Mouse themed 10K. Saturday, January 11th, you’d complete the Donald Duck themed half marathon. Finally, Sunday, January 12th, you’d complete the Mickey Mouse themed full marathon. Four increasing distance runs in four days, 48.6 miles in all. For completing this challenge you will get 6, yes 6, finishers medals (and 6 shirts). You will get a finishers medal and t-shirt for the 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon, Goofy’s Race and a half, and the Dopey Challenge.

So, with the opportunity to get 6 medals in one trip, why would I opt out? Very simple. I’m not experienced enough of a runner to take on so many miles in a 4 day span. So, I’m chosing to respect the distance and opt out of this one. However, just this week, after many weeks of looking over the finances, I have a plan in place to have the money I will need to run at Disney World! I plan on registering for the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon as well as the inaugural 10K. That should be more than enough running for me to be satisfied. My wife is also thinking about doing the 10K to get the Minnie Mouse medal.

This will be my first attempt at a full marathon. So, the idea of doing 26.2 miles is still intimidating. However, I do have until January 12, 2014 to be ready. So, there’s plenty of time for me to work up to this distance. I thought that, if I was going to attempt a full marathon, what better place to do so than with Disney? The cool part for me about the Walt Disney World Marathon is that I will get to run through all 4 theme parks at Walt Disney World! I’ll get to run through the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom in ONE day. How fun is that?

After reading a lot of blogs detailing their experiences at the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Walt Disney World Marathons, I started to seriously consider whether I could do something like that. With the Jeff Galloway run-walk-run method, I’m pretty sure that I’ll make it across the finish line this January. Considering that less than 1 percent of the United States population have finished a marathon, I’m excited about the task of doing something that so few people will ever do!

Registration for the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend opens to the general public April 9th. You can read more about it here. Also, you can register for the Dopey Challenge or any of the other races here.

Is anyone planning on, or already registered for, the Dopey Challenge? If so, let me know in the comments section.