NEWS: "Disney Marathon: Some plan to run the full and half marathons, a real Goofy Challenge"

My friend Jonathan Minish (above, third from the left [counting Goofy]) made the Orlando news!

Disney Marathon: Some plan to run the full and half marathons, a real Goofy Challenge
Chris Cornell | Sentinel Staff Writer
January 10, 2008

No matter if you're running or walking, the body is sure to ache after more than 39 miles on foot.

"After mile 20, I start to hate everybody," Orlando resident Leslie Zeigler said.

The imminent aches and pains won't prevent 3,000 of the more than 18,000 runners from this weekend's Disney Marathon from competing in the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge.

In its third year, the Goofy Challenge consists of running a half marathon (13.1 miles) on Saturday before taking part in a full marathon on Sunday. Both races will begin at 6 a.m.

Winter Park resident Jonathan Minish, 37, and College Park resident Rob Roy, 36, are two of the runners taking on the Goofy Challenge. Minish is a first-time participant, while Roy took on the Challenge last year.

Minish says long runs help bring his daily life into focus.

"It gives me a lot of time to clear my mind," Minish said. "You get to go out there and just think about the things you need to do. I've found I'm much more organizational when I'm running. I can figure out what I need to do over the next three days, and I create mental lists. If I was sitting at home or at work, I would have too many distractions."

Roy says he gets a thrill from the newfound willpower he obtains each time he hits the road.

"The mental aspect of being able to control your body and getting through tough places is the interesting part of marathon running," Roy said. "Your body is telling you to cut it out, but mentally you have to overcome that and manage through it.

"To make yourself do more than your body thinks it can do is an ability to manage yourself that you only find in difficult trials like distance running."

Goofy Challenge runners earn a medal only if they cross the finish line in 3 1/2 hours for the half marathon and the full marathon in seven hours.

Registration is closed.

"If you go out and say, 'I'm going to go hard for 13.1 miles,' you're going to be hurting the next day, and it's going to show in your performance," Minish said of his strategy behind running the Challenge's two legs. "It's all about running it smartly. I'm planning on taking my time during the half marathon and running a strong full marathon."

With the event spanning two days, recovery will be key to each runner's success.

"I think it'll just be a matter of how fast my body will recuperate for the next day's run," said Hunter's Creek resident Brian Kingsbury, 35 and a first-time Challenge participant. "The people I've talked to that have done the Challenge have said that the half marathon just seems like another training day because you're not really so worried about speed."

Said Zeigler: "My strategy is to take an ice bath after the half marathon. I've heard an ice bath helps to prevent your body from swelling, then plenty of stretching and hydrating."

As always, there's plenty of activity and camaraderie buzzing around Disney's four theme parks to keep the athletes' minds off the pain and motivated.

"It's great because you get into the parks, and there's music and characters," Kingsbury said.

"There's an energy boost as you go through each park that keeps you going until you reach the next one."

The characters aren't the only ones in costume for the event.

"I dressed up as Minnie Mouse last year," said Zeigler, who is doing the Challenge for the first time. "This year, I have a friend coming from California, and we decided to kick it up a notch so we're both dressing up as Tinker Bell."

Events such as the Goofy Challenge require hard work, preparation and sometimes lead to a change in lifestyle.

"I started running back in February," Kingsbury said. "Slowly over the last several months, I've increased the quantities. I try to run at least three to five times a week, varying distances. I've logged about 850 miles up to this week."

Said Minish: "I would say five minutes before I hit the submit button on the online application, that's when I started preparing myself mentally. I started looking into joining a running group, other runs that I could participate in, changing my diet. It's all a big undertaking."

Though the 39.3-mile jaunt is daunting to most, to veteran distance runners such as Roy, the Goofy Challenge shouldn't be too stressful.

"This summer, I did the Gobi Desert Challenge, a 155-mile race over six days on the China/Afghanistan border, at altitude, with a full pack on," he said.

"That was tough, so this didn't seem so hard. When you have Gatorade every mile and there's people cheering for you and you get to sleep in your own bed and get a shower, it makes things a lot easier."