I guess it was inevitable, wasn’t it? It happened – I registered for the Dopey Challenge.
Not that that makes me special. LOTS of people registered for Dopey. It was a very competitive registration year; every single event was gone within two hours. What makes it funny is that I really, genuinely, truly wasn’t sure I’d ever do it again.
I know, I know – I hear you scoff. Everybody says that. It’s the new “I’m never running a marathon again!” *immediately signs up for another marathon* But I have legit written a blog post about how it wasn’t the perfect fit for me.
A combination of money and anticipated stress has allowed me to bypass Dopey for literal years. My Dopey run was in 2015. But I’m a sucker for symmetry – which is how I found myself considering a 2025 Dopey Challenge after all. Ten Years Later, anybody?
There are several reasons I decided now was the time for a take two…
WHY NOW IS THE TIME FOR A DOPEY CHALLENGE REDUX
As indicated above, a full decade will elapse between my first Dopey Challenge and my second. I like that. Plus it’ll be the year of my fortieth birthday as well, so this seems like a good kickoff. I have the ever-stalwart Erika doing it with me. Even more runDisney buddies will share parts of the adventure over the course of the week.
And – this bit is clutch – I finally have something of a handle on my pre-race panic attacks. After the near-disaster of the 2023 Wine & Dine Half, I honestly wasn’t sure if any race challenge was a great idea for me in the future. But with some help from understanding friends and some new coping mechanisms, I was able to charge through the 2024 Goofy Challenge with nary a nervous breakdown. Whew! A lot was riding on that litmus test, and I’m thankful I came out victorious. Take that, brain!
Or maybe it’s all because I have a backlog of runDisney race costumes ideas. Who can tell?
A FEW RUNDISNEY RACE REGISTRATION OBSERVATIONS
While I’ve got you here, I thought it might be valuable to jot down a few observations from this most recent runDisney registration period. Talk about your digital thunderdomes, am I right?
This might be the most aggressive registration day I have ever witnessed. I had five browsers going, and three stayed on the “more than an hour” wait message for a solid 45 minutes into the registration period. My first browser didn’t get in until 10:39am, at which point the Goofy Challenge was already sold out. If I recall correctly, the 10K sold out next, followed by the 5K, although my memory could by faulty.
The full marathon was next to go, with the half selling out at 11:59am. For those keeping score, that’s the entire slate of races gone in under two hours. I let all my browsers run their full queue just out of interest, and if I had been relying on my last one I would’ve missed the boat entirely; it was still a couple minutes away from entry at noon. I saw someone claim that multiple browsers slows you down, but I don’t know – I still think it’s a solid strategy.
So I believe it’s safe to say that demand isn’t slacking just yet. Mind you, it’s an anniversary year for the Goofy Challenge, and that may have dragged the rest of the races along with it. But in 2021, I did a whole post about how runDisney race registration had been surprisingly chill so far. As we get further away from the core of the pandemic and associated revenge travel, things are somehow getting worse, not better. Hmmm.
I wrote out some runDisney race registration day tips last year if that would be of interest to you for next time. If you’re mourning the 2025 WDW Marathon Weekend race bib that got away, I’ve got a post coming in the next week or two that might make you look at charity bibs in a new way. And don’t forget my recent post on how to register after the fact. Keep fighting the good fight!
P.S. I still think there should be more registration tiers.
SEE YOU AT THE 2025 WDW MARATHON WEEKEND, DOPEY GANG!
If you see me, don’t be afraid to say hi! And don’t forget to whistle while you work.
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!
I kind of felt like I would never do Dopey again… but then when you brought it up a year ago I was kind of considering it! My body is not in agreement right now unfortunately, but I guess i shouldn’t totally rule it out if I felt like the time was right?
I mean, if you decided the time is right you know I’d fold like a cheap table and do it with you again. >D