The very long epic story of a slow chubby chick who finally got her Goofy Medal!

[irishtwins1112]

This is a story of victory, failure, and determination. I am including all of my history with it. If you don't want to read all the history parts then scroll down until you see the post entitled "The third times the charm" to see just my race report from the Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge 2015.

 

[irishtwins1112]

To appreciate my race report you need to know my background. In 2005 I began walk/running for weight loss because of reading John Bingham’s book the Courage to Start and Marathoning for Mortals. I lost a lot of weight(about 80lbs) doing his program for a half marathon and keeping myself accountable on the disboards under a different username than the one I have now. I signed up for the half marathon at Disney for January 2006. I injured myself and was unable to start that race but it put me on the road to enjoying athletic events. I knew I eventually wanted to attend a Disney race event and after a few local races over a couple of years I decided to register for the Disney full marathon in 2008. My boyfriend (now husband) attended this weekend with me and I was hooked. Here is my race report from that Marathon.

“ We got up at 3 AM. We had to be gone from Michael’s Aunts by 3:30 AM to arrive on time for the line up at Epcot. Michael was at the start of the Marathon. He also planned to be at the ticket and transportation center (about mile 9) as well as the finish line. I gave him a hug and kiss, we had a short prayer and I had to leave him about 5 o clock to go for the line up. On the way to the starting line I needed to stop at the port o potties. The whole morning I was nervous about the race. My thought processes were something like this : “it’s ok if I don’t finish…..it doesn’t mean I’m a loser…….at least I tried…….what if I can’t keep the right pace……my shoes feel tight…..maybe I need to readjust my socks…..is my number on right…….what if I really can’t do it……..what if I never get through the port o potty line……I must have been crazy to sign up for this…I have lost my mind”. It took me nearly 45 minutes to get through the port o potty line (it was the longest line I waited in the entire time I was at Disney). So finally I began my walk from the potties to the start. There was a great sea of people(18,000 if you want a specific number). I squeezed in behind some people to get into my corral and stood there……scared to death …… but more excited than I had ever been in my life. Mickey and Minnie came out and they gave a countdown to the race start. There were fireworks and the masses began to move slowly forward. My shoes felt wrong and I had to re-tie them at least twice. There were thousands of people behind me. I was hoping that no one would run over me while I was bent over. Finally my shoes felt right and I got moving. And so the journey began…………….
Miles 1-8 This portion of the race was pretty fun. I saw a man running in a blinking multicolored top-hat and a cape. It wouldn’t be so funny except that he was followed by a group of people…….also wearing blinking multicolored items. Once I moved past the blinking multicolored cult, I met up with some people I was acquainted with on the disboards (disboards.com is a Disney forum in case you didn’t know). I stayed with them for a little while and then proceeded with the mp3 player on. I was faster with music playing. I met a girl named Elizabeth. We got to talking and stayed together for a few miles. It’s funny what you see during a marathon. I saw multitudes of people frolicking off to the grass and bushes where they unashamedly relieved themselves for all to see. Volunteers were set up to pass out Tylenol, Biofreeze and Vaseline (on a popsicle stick……for chub rub I assume). I thought to myself……silly people, if you train right you don’t need all this stuff. However, before it as all over with I was begging for Tylenol and following suit with the “biofreeze”. I didn’t know what the biofreeze stuff was. I saw people stopping and shoving it down there pants…….putting it on there buns as well as there hips, thighs and calves. I decided not to waste any time doing this because A: it looked silly and B: I didn’t see any benefit from it. Later in the marathon I would come to appreciate the blessing that is biofreeze.
Miles 9-10 Mile 9 got me to the ticket and transportation center. My sugarpie was waiting for me there. He took a couple of pictures and then I got some good luck sugar : ) At the beginning of Mile 10 Elizabeth told me to go on ahead because she was going slow and she didn’t think she was going to finish so we parted ways. Miles 10 through 11 went through the Magic Kingdom. We went down main street, through tomorrowland, through the castle, and then out the back way beside splash mountain. There were lots of characters that I could have gotten pics with, but I wanted to make sure that I was keeping pace so I wouldn’t get swept(and it is a good thing I did).
Miles 11-16 This was the most boring part of the entire race. At the beginning of Mile 11 I got the worst cramp I have ever had in my life. My left calf muscle cramped up so bad that my foot (toes and all) tried to curl up into a ball. This is the part where I began to cry out to God . At this point I was with a couple of people from the disboards. One of the ladies I was with knew a good stretch(nycpa’s daughter) , so she went on the grass with me and showed me how to stretch. She even massaged my calf muscle. It went away for a little while. We ran and caught back up with the other disboards people. Shortly after, the cramp returned to my calf and I just toughed it out. Throughout miles 11-16 my left calf cramped almost continuously. My right calf occasionally chimed in. If you have never tried to walk with your toes curled completely in I suggest you try it…..it’s lot of fun. In order to concentrate better I put on my headphones and continued onward.
Miles 17-19 We ran through Animal Kingdom during this part of the race. My calf cramps went away (due to advice from a fellow marathoner who said to make sure I drank a lot of powerade at the next stop to replace my electrolytes; I was also encouraged to eat some pretzels which helped). Somewhere in this span of time I lost feeling in the bottom of my feet(Well maybe not all feeling…….as you will see in the next segment). I was primarily listening to my mp3 player and trying to ignore the facts that my hip joints felt like they were going to pop out of socket, I was hungry, I had to pee, and my fingers were as big as bratwursts. My need to go to the bathroom became resolute and unyielding at Mile 19. I stopped in a lone port o potty……and yay ……no paper. However I improvised and got on with the show. About halfway through Mile 19 it felt like someone took a razor blade and cut off the pad of skin on the ball of my foot . At first I didn’t know what it was . I quickly realized that the giant blister forming on the bottom of my foot had exploded (gross….I know). I thought briefly about taking my shoe off and tending to it at the first aid station ……..then I thought “na….....I’ll just keep on moving cuz if I stop I’ll never start back”. There was a bus sitting on the side of the road somewhere between 17 and 19 and I began to see Disney officials on bikes. “What’s this? “ I began to ask myself……..as I continued on. I stopped briefly at a volunteer station offering “biofreeze” and followed suit with the other participants. I rubbed it on my hips, knees, calves and temples. It helped with all the pain/soreness/exhaustion that I was feeling. I also got “biofreeze” every subsequent time it was offered .
Mile 20 So I was trucking along at Mile 20. The cramp came back. Then I see another bus ahead. More Disney officials on bikes……and a lady with a flag. Hhhmmmmm. So I came to the water station Quasi Moto-ing it due to the cramps and one of the cast members says “You have 2 minutes”……so I said to the girl beside me “2 minutes til what?”. Then another cast member says “The course will be closed to you if you don’t make it to the next mile marker (about 21) in 1 minute 30 seconds. I looked to my left and on the double back course I could see that there were lots of people that got swept off the course where I went past the buses. I threw down my water cup and sprinted past the bus……….I was safe….I thought.
Miles 21-23 Now I was mad ……I began to speak ugly of Disney. I actually said the words” I am developing a healthy hate for Disney”. All those people…who made it to 20 miles……….I would have been mad if it was me who didn’t get to finish. My calve cramps continued in both legs. Occassionally, I let out a battle cry to get through the pain . Another time I saw the people on Disney officials on bikes but no busses. They told me and another lady that we only had a short amount of time to make it to the next mile so we hurried but I think they were just bluffing. At mile 23 (in MGM……now Disney Hollywood Studios) they were supposed to provide candy for the runners. I was perturbed when I discovered that they had run out of candy . About mile 23 Lisa (my walking friend) and I found out from a cast member that we would be allowed to finish (no matter our pace). We continued on at an appropriate pace but we were no longer scared of getting swept from the course.
Miles 23-26 We exited MGM and made our way past the Boardwalk and entered Epcot. My mood shifted dramatically. I apologized to all the people that had heard me say ugly things about Disney. Although we were in pain, Lisa and I chatted and enjoyed the scenery as we rounded world showcase. We discussed that we might do the half-marathon together next year(but definitely not the full marathon). The finish was so close. As we went around the corner there was a gospel choir singing . And then…..
Mile 26.2 THE FINISH LINE………..only a few die hard spectators remained (including my wonderful boyfriend Michael : ). Lisa and I crossed the finish line with our hands in the air. I smiled the biggest smile I could conjure. I thanked God for allowing me to finish. Afterwards:I got my medal and met back up with Michael. We headed back to his Aunt’s and stopped at Waffle House on the way. I had been hungry all morning(but I couldn’t eat before because I knew it would make me sick). I ordered a pecan waffle, scrambled eggs with cheese, hashbrowns, regular toast, raisin toast, and bacon. I couldn’t eat very much of it but it sure was good. On the way home I talked about everything mentioned here. I said that marathoning is torture and I only needed to do it once in a lifetime. When I got home I nursed the blister on the bottom of my foot and discovered an egg sized blister one on the side of my foot. Despite my injuries we continued with the Disney Parks portion of our vacation. The marathon was a very interesting experience. I highly recommend it. Yeah….I got a few huge blisters…..but I didn’t die…..or severely injure myself…..So I could survive it again.Who knows……I might do it again next year ; )”
I came out of the finish line area of that race saying that I hated marathons and would never do one again. I had several very deep terrible blisters but once they healed I decided I needed that feeling again….the one you can only get from crossing a finish line. But I wanted a bigger challenge….something I hadn’t done before. Something Goofy.

 

[irishtwins1112]

I decided on the Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge. It calls for a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon the next day. I also encouraged a friend to do it with me. She registered for the full marathon since the half was sold out. I would do the half solo and we would do the full together. We both trained and had an agreement that if we needed to part ways in order to finish we would do just that. My half marathon went well with around a 15 minute per mile average but I did have some sizable blisters after I was done. On the day of the full I felt really good. I didn’t see how I could fail. What could possibly go wrong. Around mile 10 or so of the full marathon both blisters on my feet popped and it was terribly painful. I remember it being excruciating. Now most people that have been doing Run Disney events for a while remember that at one time there was an unspoken rule that if you made it into Hollywood Studios that Disney would let you finish the race so I guess somewhere in my mind I felt like I would be allowed to finish. I was spent by mile 20 and slowed down after we got there. The blisters were making it very difficult to keep pace and I was going as fast as I could. A lady came by saying “You made it. There aren’t any more sweepers….you will get the finish the race”. My friend asked a Disney official if that was true and they said there was one more sweep. She looked at me with terror in her eyes and said “ Are you sure you can’t go any faster?”. I told her that I couldn’t because the pain was excruciating. I looked down and then looked up and she was gone with the wind. I understand her decision. I wanted her to finish but it was still very hard for me to have someone that was my friend and that I trained with leave me. I am sure it was hard for her as well. I am proud that she pulled out that 16 minute per mile pace and finished. For a few miles after she departed I was just kind of in shock that I was now facing the most difficult part of my race alone and my pace slowed even more I am sure. Somewhere in Hollywood Studios the sweeper bikes starting following me. I was coming to the exit of Hollywood Studios (about 23.5 miles) and saw the last runner go between the bushes onto the pathway to the Boardwalk. I was literally 5 feet from the spot in the walkway where they put down 3 cones and said that we were being pulled from the course for not maintaining the pace. Months of training……down the crapper. Dreams dashed in an instant. There were about 8-9 of us that day. We were put on a small bus and driven to the staging area. This was before they starting handing out medals to everyone just for trying. Not that it would have mattered.....because I wouldn't have earned the medal. It didn’t really sink in for a little while after. I let bitterness settle in about the whole experience but soon bitterness turned into motivation.

 

[irishtwins1112]

I registered for the Goofy Race 2010. I had to have that medal to feel complete. I trained again the same way as before. I felt determined but at the same time my mind was working against me. I had recurring dreams about being swept from the course. Several nights a week my dreams sabotaged me. I couldn’t get away from the feelings of failure from not finishing something that I had started. Some of you may remember that 2010 was the year that many refer to as “Disney on Ice”. During the half marathon there was freezing rain and I believe the start temps were in the 20s. After miserably getting through the half…..I decided not to even attempt the full because I didn’t want to be in the misery again for 7 hours. If I was honest with myself though it was really a good excuse to use to mask the fact that I really was afraid. I was afraid of failing again. You can’t fail if you just don’t show up, right? We slept in and ordered Pizza Hut that day. I regret not even trying.

Fast forward a little bit to the fall of 2010. I got pregnant with my first child who would be due April 2011. I know a lot of people do distance events while pregnant but that wasn’t an option for me so no Disney marathon weekend 2011. 3 months after I had my oldest I found out I was pregnant again. His brother was due April 2012. Again, no marathon weekend 2012. Sometime in the summer of 2012 ( when I was about 2-3 months post partum) my mother offered to register me for the full marathon in 2013 to motivate me to get healthier. I accepted and trained. I was very overweight having some off of two pregnancies back to back but managed to lose from 278 to 242 by marathon weekend. As part of my training I did the Pensacola half marathon in November of 2012 and somehow I injured my toe. It was a problem from then until race day. After that half marathon I only did 13 miles one more time and few other shorter long runs in preparation for the full marathon. I showed up but I was undertrained and injured. I knew the likelihood of me finished was near impossible and I would most likely get swept but I wanted to see how far I could go in the time given to me.

Here is my race report from that year:

“I am the mother of two boys; 21 months and 9 months. My mother signed me up for the Disney marathon in June of 2012 to help motivate me to exercise and get back into the running hobby since the birth of my youngest in April. My last completed full marathon was the Disney Full in 2008. I did well in training until November of 2012 when I injured my toe in a local half marathon. After that I was only able to get in long cross training activities (that didn’t aggravate my toe) on the weekends and one (pretty good) 10 mile walk/run before the big day. Going into this race, I knew that the likelihood of me not being able to finish due to time constraints was most likely greater than the likelihood of me finishing. I also knew that if I didn’t try I would never know.

This is my story.

As far as spectators, my mom and two brothers waited at Disney Hollywood Studios for me. I wanted them to be right at the entrance where the runners come through the park when I got there. They were going to hand me a coke when I got that far. My mom had also iced down a wet towel to give me at that point. Michael, Emory and Ian waited at mile 24-25 on the boardwalk right before Epcot.

Saturday night I slept about 4 hours from 9-1am-ish. From midnight to 2:30 I tossed and turned. I finally got up and got ready to go at 2:30 since I couldn’t sleep. Both of my babies were crying by the time I left and I felt sorry for my Michael. I ate my breakfast in the lobby (whole wheat tortilla with peanut butter and a banana) and put on my garmin and ipod. I got on a bus about 3:30. There was a nice lady encouraging a first-timer by telling her that she had done all of her marathons while on chemo and that she would be fine.

I arrived at the staging area about 4am. I went ahead and checked my bag and found a line to hang out in for port o potty use. About that time I met up with Carrolyn from the Disboards. We visited while in line and walked to the corrals together when we were done with the potties. I was going to try to sneak into Corral D but they were being pretty thorough with checking so I chickened out. I went ahead and split from Carrolyn and tried to make my way to the front of Corral E. I found a place to sit and offered others my sunblock. We all nervously chatted. A few minutes before 5:35 I changed into my fresh race socks and discarded the ones I had worn to the start area in an effort to avoid blisters. After a few minutes it finally began.
1. 16:40
Knowing that I was undertrained I went out pretty slow. I didn’t want to run out of gas too early.
2. 16:21
I saw several WISHers along the way. Most were too fast for me to catch. I did talk to Tigerlily03 but I am not sure which mile it was.
3. 16:58
4. 16:45
Somewhere between 5 and 6 I saw Buzz in Tomorrowland and then Jesse in Frontierland. No Woody. I guess he was in Disney Hollywood Studios. I didn’t stop for pictures like I had originally planned because I wanted to do my very best in the race.
5. 16:45
6. 16:39
7. 16:47
During mile 8, I met a nice couple. I am not sure what the exact situation was but the husband was leading the wife. They were holding hands the whole time. I believe she had a sight disability. They were doing the Goofy.
8. 16:44
9. 16:42
At this point I began to feel some effects of being dehydrated. I was taking 2 powerades at every water stop but I began to feel a little more sluggish and it was more difficult to keep the pace I had been at. I probably should have been drinking my emergency powerade at this point but I was trying to save it in case I needed it later.
10. 18:13
11. 17:57
I considered riding Everest. I decided to skip it, in an effort to do my very best on the race. A few times in AK I ran into Andrew. I forget whose son he is on the DIS but you should be proud of him. He was very encouraging and looked like he was giving it his best.
12. 18:41
Nearing the outside of Animal Kingdom I began having severe calf cramps. I continued to hobble along and drank some of my emergency Powerade that I brought in a drawstring backpack. I was trying to save it until later in the race in case they ran out of water but I had to drink it then or I wasn’t going to get rid of that cramp. I had to stop a few times to stretch my calf. I also got a few pretzels from one of the WISHers outside of Animal Kingdom. I didn’t have time to stop and announce myself but Thanks, guys!
13. 19:35
Exiting the Animal Kingdom parking lot I saw what appeared to be a couple. There was an older man walking with a walker and what appeared to be his wife. They stopped at the 14 mile marker for a little while to rest. We leap frogged a few times.
14. 20:19
As some of you slower people know….the heat really turned on around Mile 15…..nothing but black asphalt and sweeper buses. Blech! Around this point is when the sweeper bikes would ride up and down beside us. At some point the balloon ladies caught up to me. I tried to keep pace with them for a while and it worked for a little while. Slowly they started fading away. I was walking with a lady who had a friend doing the marathon with her. She was trying to hang back for her friend but her friend was injured.
15. 19:48
During this mile, I could still see those balloon ladies but they a good gap away. The lady that was with the man that had a walker came running by me. I am assuming he just couldn’t keep the pace, because I know he didn’t pass me. The pace cyclists were riding up and down asking if we were okay. I asked how long we had to get to the next mile but the lady cyclist just said she wasn’t sure but we needed to catch up to the 16 minute balloon ladies. She said they would pull the bus across the road at the mile marker when they were ready to sweep. We neared closer and the bus started to cross……………
16. 17:46
But I ran and made it just around the bus. So did the other lady that was hanging back for her injured friend. She told me her friend just stopped and she had to go…..and she ran on. At this point I asked cyclists when the next sweep was and she said 21 was the next big sweep but they would continue to let me (and anybody else) walk until the smaller white vans caught up with me. I knew there was no way I could make up the amount of time I would need to in order to catch up with the balloon ladies at 21 but I walked as far as they would let me.
17. 17:35
17 was the entrance to the Wide World of Sports Complex. I continued walking. God bless those spectators and volunteers that were still out there. At this point, I let most of the people that I knew were thinking about me know that I was going to get swept but that I wasn’t sure where. The white buses followed the marathon course into the Wide World of Sports Complex. None of my spectators got the see me but I know my mom was a blessing to somebody by giving them that icy cold towel about mile 22-23 and my 15 year old brother had a lot of fun cheering on people. If you saw a boy with a beard and a pirate doo rag with Goofy ears on your way into DHS, that was him.
18. 22:42(pace for that last half mile)
I ended up with a 17:50 pace (average) for the 17.5 miles I was able to complete.
The pace cyclist came up beside me and said they would need to take me off at the next bicycle parked by the side of the road. There was a girl sitting there….crying. She was doing the Goofy Challenge. I gave her a hug and told her how good she did. They put us on a white van together.

The guys driving the van were really nice. There was one guy that took our names down. They asked if we needed anything. Since we were still technically on the course we went by powerade/water/bananas and energy gels and they would pass them through the van window to us if we wanted anything. We all talked. I told them I was grateful for making it this far. The Goofy athlete and I talked. I told her that I had been exactly where she is. I told her how I got swept at 23.5 of the full on my Goofy in 2009. I told her not to let it ruin her outlook on races and to keep doing it. I also apologized for hugging her (I was gross from the race…..and you know…some people aren’t touchy feely). She said she was grateful that I did it (she needed it) and she thought it was her mother hugging her until she looked up. Slowly more and more were added to our bus until our van was full. I met a girl who had a hip injury and was just trying to make it through to the end. No matter what the story, most agreed that it was just sooooooooo HOT! Somewhere before the end of Mile 20 we split off from the marathon course and went back to the staging area. At this point I saw Andrew still running and I figured he was going to make it. I hate that he got swept at Mile 21. From what I could see of Mile 20….it was pretty lame-o. Weird balloon puppet characters……but maybe I just missed the main part of it????
While on the bus….I gleaned a little info from the guys driving. Of course this is not coming from the “Race Director”….so you can’t take it as gospel but this is the information I was given. They said there last sweep was at 12:06pm at the 21 mile marker. That gave the 6:24 (Corral H I believe), 5 hours and 42 minutes to complete 21 miles. That is about a 16:15 mpm pace. He said that as far as they knew, as long as you make it past 21 you were okay and that they would allow you to finish. I told him about my experience getting swept at 23.5 in 2009 and he said that a lot of their policies had changed and he didn’t think that would happen now. I also asked about medals being given out. He said that the general rule is that you get a medal if you start any of the RunDisney races. According to this guy, Disney went to this policy because of the high level of complaints they were getting from people who would get swept and not get medals. According to him the earliest sweep during the marathon was just over the start line. A woman went over the start line and then waited by the side of the road. She claimed she was injured and that she just wanted to get her medal. The guy driving apparently does this (drives a sweeper van) at all the races. According to him…..he and all the pace cyclists are WWOS employees. The other guy that took our names was a guest relations cast member. He was the one that made sure we had water, snacks, etc.
We were dropped off by the marathon transportation busses in the staging area. We were given medals, a box of RunDisney post race snacks (which I am pretty sure are made by the company, gopicnic) and powerade and/or water. I hobbled my way to the bag check. After sitting down for 35-40 minutes on that van I was super stiff. I got to bag check and no bag. They sent someone to look in all the other tents to check for my bag and still no bag. I was a little annoyed that I couldn’t change into my crocs because my feet were tired and I had a small blister. I had to fill out a form and supposedly RunDisney will get back with me when they find it. After that, I hobbled to my bus to the Dolphin. While on the bus I spoke with a girl who said that her brother developed some pretty nasty blisters early on in the race. She said he stopped at a medical tent and it was early enough in the race that they transported him a few miles up and dropped him back off on the course because he really wanted to finish the race. I have never heard of this happening but I thought that it was interesting.

I had a blast on my trip and I really enjoyed the race. I came out feeling really good physically, with the exception of a quarter sized blister on the pad of my right food underneath the toes. I didn’t make it the whole way within their time constraints but I know without a doubt that I did my best. I am a slowpoke and I am okay with that. Even, if I knew it would have ended this way before starting, I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was a great day and I am so thankful that God allowed me to go 17.5 miles on my own two (now swollen) feet! “

 

[irishtwins1112]

After the experience getting swept in the 2013 Full I continued to train. I walked/ran on an frequent basis and took a variety of classes at the YMCA. I lost about 20 more pounds. I knew I wasn’t ready for marathon weekend 2014….but when registration opened in April of 2014 for the 2015 marathon weekend I knew it was time to try again. I was turning 30 in September and I wanted to make a very memorable year. I started intensively training in April of 2014. Training went very well and I averaged between 13-14 minutes per mile on most of my short runs. I averaged closer to 15 minutes per mile on my long runs. In November I had some foot pain and was terrified I had a stress fracture. I went to a sports medicine orthopedist and he determined that I had the precursors for a stress fracture but that as long as I switched to higher cushion shoes I would be fine. He was right. I was able to finish training all the way up to 20 miles(which is what my particular training program called for as the highest long run). As the weekend drew closer I grew more and more nervous but tried to remind myself that I had trained for this and I would be fine.

We arrived at Disney on the Wednesday before Marathon weekend. We went to the expo and picked up our packets for the weekend. Just being in Wide World of Sports made me nervous. The full marathon runs through the Wide World of Sports complex. It is about miles 17-20. I kept wondering to myself if I would see this place at all on Sunday. We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge –Kidani Village. Every time we left our hotel and went to the parks we had to travel Osceola Parkway and pass the point where I was swept in 2013. We also had to go across the overpass where I was left around mile 21 in 2009. I got nervous every time. Sometimes I ended up crying……I know my family thought I was insane. This goal was about to be a real and present opportunity in front of me and I was scared to death.
We did the parks Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We also did the Kid’s races on Thursday. The kids loved it. They got to high five Mickey at the end of the 100m dash. It was cute.
Finally Friday evening came. Michael and I got all of our race stuff set out for the next morning. Michael’s Aunt Sandy graciously offered to stay the night in the hotel so she could watch the kids for us during the half. My goals for both races was to finish, get my medal, and help someone else in the process.

Half Marathon Day
We got up about 3am. I got heels taped all my gear on and we were ready. We rode our bus to the staging area, used the port o potties and made our way to the corrals. It was pretty cold and windy (40s). We had brought a thin cover to share. It really didn’t work very well but we survived. We started together but parted ways shortly after the start. Since Michael is faster than me I wanted him to do his very best on his first half marathon and not have to wait around on old slowski. He ended up finishing in about 3 hours. Great job, baby!
The first couple miles I went it alone but I knew there was a buddy out there for me to run with. I had prayed for them and my awesome friends had prayed for them as well. Around mile 3 I met up with Kaitlyn. She was doing the Dopey Challenge. Her training had went well but she started the races with an injury she got from slipping on a tennis ball the week before. She believed she had torn her meniscus but she still wanted to finish her Dopey. We talked and swapped stories until around mile 6-7. There was a Pacebook running club pacing group to stay just ahead of the sweepers. She felt more comfortable with their pace so she stayed with their group. I trekked on. Around Mile 9 or so I met Vonita. What a delightful person! Vonita was the burst of enthusiasm and positivity that I needed. I had developed a blister on my right foot that was a little bit painful and talking definitely helped. Our intervals were similar so we stayed together until close to the finish. We tentatively decided to meet up in the morning for the full since we had similar intervals and we were in the same corral. Getting the half marathon medal was a relief. “No matter what else happens, at least this weekend I have earned one medal” I thought to myself.
We made it back to the hotel room and got washed up. Then we headed over to the Kona Café. I had some kind of Asian noodles that were delicious. I had considered going to a motivational seminar at the expo but I didn’t know if I would make it their in time. The seminar was at 2 I believe and we ate around 12:45. It was going to be close but I decided to go ahead to the seminar. I am forever grateful to my husband and Aunt Sandy for watching the kids so I could go hear the speakers without distraction. The speakers were John Bingham(writer of the book that first motivated me to start walk/running in 2005), Dave Mcgivalry (race director for the Boston Marathon), and Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee from the Lord of the Rings…..or Rudy). It was a big deal for me to see John Bingham in person. I enjoyed his speech and gained a little more confidence about the full the next day. Dave Mcgivalry also gave some good advice. I am not really sure why Sean Astin was there but he gave some good advice to. After the talk some of the speakers were going to go to the run Disney booth and talk to people/sign autographs. I was hoping to get to meet John Bingham. I waited for probably 20 minutes…..no John Bingham. Sean Astin came down to meet people and take selfies….but no John Bingham. John Bingham, Y U NO come down for autographs and selfies!? Finally I decided that it was a lost cause and headed back to the hotel. Once I got back to the hotel it was very real. Tomorrow was the day. Do or die. I would either be victorious or get swept and continue in my pursuit of the Goofy race and a half challenge. I laid out my race gear and got everything together. We chilled the rest of the evening and went to sleep fairly early.

 

[irishtwins1112]

Marathon day

I got very little sleep. I went to bed around 9pm and woke up about midnight. I was so nervous. I started to get nauseated and seriously thought I would throw up. I wanted to run away. Why was I putting myself through this? I thought “No one cares if you do this, Zela. You are the one that has heaped this ridiculous goal on yourself” That voice was right. I have tons of people that love me and are rooting for me. If I had decided to just go home right then….they would understand but I wasn’t doing it for them. I was doing it for me. Finishing the Goofy race was about more than just getting that medal. It was going to be a triumph over all the things that I face in my life. The people that judge me from the outside. The aggravation of having ulcerative colitis and taking medication every day of my life. Raising a family and not knowing what the heck I am doing most days. The issues that immediate family members have went through recently that have strained relationships that I once thought were solid as a rock. It was to prove that I could do a seemingly impossible thing. I also wanted to prove to myself that I could find someone that I could help to finish the race and be there for them until the end. I took a zofran and tried to get some more sleep….but when the alarm is set for 3am it feels kind of pointless. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I got up for good about 2:30. I left the room to tape my feet up sitting on a bench in the hall way. It was so quiet. I taped my heels and put Second skin blister kit dressing on my existing small blisters. I had a bigger one on the ball of my foot and wasn’t sure how to cover it so I just used some adhesive knit on it and said a silent prayer that it would stay put and keep me blister free. I also prayed that God would give me the pace that would allow me to not even see the balloon ladies. I got all my race gear on, got a goodbye kiss and headed out. I made nervous conversation with people on the bus. It was supposed to be in the 60s at the start so I almost didn’t bring my blanket. I sure am glad I did because it was cold. I made my way to the corrals around 4:30 or so because I wanted to be at the absolute front of my corral. If you aren’t familiar with the concept, Disney separates people by their speed. There are around 20,000 plus people that run the races so they want to same pace people lumped together. They are labeled A-P. I was assigned O. That was the next to last corral. The time requirements for Disney are 16 minutes per mile but that doesn’t start until the last person crosses the start line. Theoretically , the further you are up in the corrals, the more time you have to complete the race. Being in corral O I had at least a ten minute lead on the balloon ladies (pacers that start the race last)but probably more meaning that I could go over 16 minutes per mile for part of the race if I had to. I planned to do about 15 minutes per mile for the first half and then slow down if necessary after the halfway point. However, you know what they say: The best laid plans….. I was also supposed to meet my friend Vonita (that I ran the last part of the half with) in the corral. I had let her know where I would be but she wasn’t able to move up and find me because of all the people. I was very nervous that I would be starting without my buddy but I couldn’t turn back now.

So there I sat nervously chatting with my corral mates. Some of the talk was about the balloon ladies and how much cushion we could count on in our corral. Some of it was stories about past failures or past victories. There I sat…..scared and nervous at the same time. Still feeling nauseated. I wanted to run. I actually considered running out of my corral and back to the hotel to snuggle with my family. That would have definitely been a good morning…..but my time had come. Time to face my demons and run (ok ….run/walk) like Hell towards a finish line only I could get myself to. The race started at 5:30 for corral A with fireworks and fanfare. Then every 3-7 minutes another corral would get started with the same fireworks. We started slowly walking to the start around 6:15 or so. It really is overwhelming when you think about how many dreamers there were in that cluster of folks. People that refuse to live an ordinary life doing ordinary things because of what they have been told. Things like “You have cancer”, “You will never be good enough”, “I want a divorce”, “You will never walk again”. People who refuse to let someone else tell them how they will live their life and think about themselves. People who refuse to accept their supposed “lot in life”. I love to be among these people. Even though we just met, we are all somehow family.

Finally we reached the start line. 30 seconds to the start and then the countdown. Boom! Fireworks just for me and my awesome buddies.

I ran a 14:48 average pace half marathon during training for the Goofy and I assumed I could pull something close to that out of my hat this morning. I worked hard. I did all my intervals. It felt difficult but fast. I was moving….and then I checked the first mile results.
Mile 1- 15:14
Mile 2- 15:14
Mile 3- 15:11
Mile 4- 15:34
Wow. That first mile felt really hard. I couldn’t believe I wasn’t in the 14s. I knew I had to find a buddy to run with. And the search began…..for a friend. A friend that I had prayed for(and others had prayed for for me even before the race). One that needed me but also would support and encourage me.

I found that friend in Angela Badgely. She was sweet from the beginning. She was doing the Dopey Challenge (which consists of the 5k Thursday, 10k Friday, Half marathon Saturday, and the Full marathon Sunday). She said she was having some trouble breathing as well as some foot pain and that she couldn’t do her normal running. She told me that she really didn’t think she would be finishing. She was planning to walk as far as she could until her friend caught up with her from the P corral, then she would walk until the balloon ladies caught up to her and stay with them as long as she could, and then she would stop when she just couldn’t go any more. We seemed to have a similar walking pace. So a friendship was born. We started to do walking intervals to keep our pace down. We did 40 seconds regular walking and 20 seconds power walking. We also ran all the down hills. Our first goal was the halfway point. We both felt we could definitely get there and decided that once we got there we could probably afford to slow down with the cushion of time we had built up.

Mile 5- 15:04
Mile 6- 14:57
Mile 7- 14:57
Mile 8- 15:10
Mile 9- 16:05


Miles 5-9 were going through the Magic Kingdom and out the speedway. Running through the parks is my favorite part of the races. We did well on our pace. To make up for the predicted congestion running through the castle we did a few running intervals in the park. When we were nearly to the Speedway the sun was starting to peek out. The speedway is one of my least favorite parts of the course. It is boring and the road is angled so it is hard to run/walk on. I was glad when it was over.

Mile 10- 15:38
Mile 11- 16:04
Mile 12- 16:40

Miles 10-12 were a boring stretch of road going from the Speedway to the backstage area of Animal Kingdom. Our pace first started to suffer slightly here. The sun was starting to get to me but we pressed on with our walk/power walk intervals. Somewhere in here I started to refill my smart water bottle at each stop. Then I would douse my head with a cup of water, and each shoulder with a cup of water. I was trying to stave off getting too hot because I know my pace suffers immensely when I am hot. The blisters on the right ball of my foot had busted under and behind my toes. I had also formed one on my left foot at some point and it was had also busted.

Mile 13- 16:51
Mile 14- 17:11

Miles 13-14 ran through Animal Kingdom and the parking lot. Michael and the kids were supposed to be meeting me somewhere there but we hadn’t nailed down a time and I hadn’t even pulled out my phone since we started. I was hoping they would just be there at the right place and the right time. And they were. I came around the corner in Dinoland USA to see my husband and my little buddies. What a great halfway point reward. So then we had made our goal. The halfway point. Now to get down Osceola Parkway. We were both tired and my feet were really hurting from the blisters. If you read my report you remember I got swept at 17.5 miles during the 2013 Disney Full Marathon. That was my next goal. Make it to 17.5 miles. Angela mentioned to me that if I wanted to go faster that I could go ahead. I told her there was no way. No way was I leaving her. We had gotten each other this far and we would keep going.

Mile 15- 17:47
Mile 16- 16:34
Mile 17- 16:57

At some point I had to pee. I had been holding it for a while but it was going to happen very soon so I had to decide. Wait 6-10 minutes for a port o potty line or do it in full view of everyone just off the side of the course and maybe lose 1 minute of time. Easy choice for me. I ran off the side to the nearest tree and down the shorts went. Unfortunately it was a split highway, haha so everybody coming the other direction got a full shot of my butt in all it’s glory. Hopefully it won’t end up on the internet. Oh well. It happens. I caught back up to Angela and we continued on. At this point our walking pace was becoming more and more difficult to keep. Slow felt fast and fast felt impossible. And then I saw it. Wide World of Sports!!!!!! We were almost to the point where I got swept in 2013.

Mile 18- 17:24
Mile 19- 17:32
Mile 20- 16:53

That was the first victory for me. Passing the point where I was swept in 2013. I remember breaking up the time in increments of energy gels. I was doing a gu every 2 miles so I kept thinking “Only 3 more gus until safe (safe was 24 miles and we were almost to 18….so gu at 18, 20, then 22). The urge to pee hit again and I stopped at a bathroom that had several people in line. Oh well, peeing behind the building it is. Then I had this fear that we would get trapped in Wide World of Sports and swept at Mile 20. No way was this happening. We started throwing in some untimed walk/run intervals and pushed through. We took turns. I would say, lets run to that white rag hanging on the fence. Then Angela would say, lets run to the next cone. Another time I remember her saying that I could go ahead because she was having trouble but I said we were staying together and we would slow down if we needed to. We weren’t super fast but we were moving. Finally we saw the 20 mile marker……

Mile 21- 15:58
The Run Disney official told us we were 4 minutes ahead of pace. After doing the calculations in my head that meant that if we went about the same pace we would be swept in 2-3 miles. HELL NO! We found renewed energy. I attached myself to this guy ahead of us. We would walk….he would get ahead. We would run to get ahead of him…then go back to walking. He would pass. We did these short walk run intervals. Then we made it to 21. The overpass where the green army men are. The memories came flooding back to me of being left. Alone and in pain in 2009 during the last leg of my Goofy race….but not this time. This time I was not alone. I had a friend that was helping me and I was helping her and I would not take that for granted. In that moment Angela was my best friend in the whole world. All of a sudden I was not in pain. No pain from my blisters…..no pain in my body. I was still slow but I definitely did not feel like I was in Mile 21 of a marathon. I was about to experience a true runners high. Okay….a run/walkers high, lol.

Mile 22- 15:33
We were headed for Hollywood Studios. It was actually happening. I was good enough to finish this race. I could help myself and someone else at the same time. The miles washed away the regret, the failure, the pain of not finishing. For years I had been haunted by these feelings and today I was kicking their butts to the freaking curb. Each step wrote a new memory of triumph and victory. From this point on I felt like I was practically skipping.

Mile 23- 16:16
We were still doing short untimed walk/run intervals. I saw the 23 mile marker in Hollywood Studios. I became giddy and announced to everyone around me that I was half a mile from where I got swept in the Goofy race 2009. I am sure I was annoying to a lot of people around me. I was amazed that we had kept the right pace over the last 3 miles. Where did that energy come from? It came from my friends and family that were praying for me. I firmly believe that we could not have pulled that pace after slowing down for so long without some serious prayer. Thanks to everyone that prayed for me.

Mile 24- 17:13
We made it to the walkway. The one where my dreams had been stolen. The one whose memory took up a place in my mind and harbored all kinds of negative emotions for years. I exclaimed to everyone within earshot. “This is where I got swept in 2009 and now I am passing this spot”. All of a sudden I was new. I got my chance to conquer what I thought was impossible for so long. I promise I had the biggest grin of my life on my face and it lasted until the finish. As we were going along there was a person sobbing uncontrollably. I slowed and hugged her. She was clearly conquering something herself. She said “Thankyou so much….my ankle is hurting so bad” and I said “You are doing it! We are almost to the safe point at Mile 24”. We kept going. We came across a man holding a sign that said “Someday you will fail, but today is NOT that day”. How appropriate?! Do you want to be around people that are awesome? Do yourself a marathon and look around at miles 24-26.2. Holy crap. Such awesome people. Angela asked that we slow around 24 since it was the safe point but said I could go on if I wanted. I told her there was no way. I wanted to cross the finish line with her. I couldn’t have done it without her. She had helped me just as much as I had helped her. So we stopped our walk/run intervals and walked to the finish.

Mile 25- 18:24
The boardwalk was such a welcome sight. There were a lot of people out with signs still cheering for people. It was one of my most favorite parts of the course for obvious reasons, haha. We couldn’t get swept from here unless we were having a serious medical issue and we were both A-OK. It was in the bag.

Mile 26- 20:06
The last mile or so is walking around the World Showcase from the UK all the way around to the front where Spaceship Earth is. I loved that last mile. All of a sudden I saw Vonita. She ran the last half of the half marathon with me. Then not long after that I spotted Kaitlin who ran the first half of the half marathon with me. It was like a big family reunion of all the people that helped me and I helped. Out of 20,000 people we still ended up finishing around the same time. How cool is that?

Last .51- 22:40
I know a marathon is supposed to be 26.2 miles but my gps said 26.51 when we got done. We must have done some weaving around others. I hadn’t pulled my phone out the whole race but I wanted to get a video of that gospel choir. When I finished the full marathon in 2008 that was my favorite part. We rounded the corner by the bathrooms under spaceship earth and there it was. The gospel choir singing Our God is an Awesome God (Kirk Franklin style). That 26 mile marker never looked so good. We continued on towards the finish. Donald and Mickey were out in there tracksuits. I hadn’t been able to get pics there before because I was always to close to the back of the pack. We stopped before going over the finish to get some pics with Donald and Mickey. Unfortunately my Mickey picture didn’t turn out (grrrrr) but the Donald one is ok. We crossed with a chip time of 7:18. That is a 16:44 pace. We were a bit over the minimum pace but we finished and got all of our medals. When I got to the tent to receive my Goofy medal I was so excited! I had teared up a few times during the race but not an all out cry. When that volunteer put the Goofy medal around my neck I lost it. All out ugly cry. Just for a minute....then I composed myself and smiled instead. We never even saw the back of the race or the balloon ladies which was part of my prayer that morning. It was one of the best days of my life.

 

[irishtwins1112]

Now that I have finished a goal that has been present in my life for 7 years I have to make some new ones. The Dopey will happen at some point....assuming it is still around in 2018. My husband….who has never been into races says he wants to do it…..and if he does it….I will have to do it too because I will be jealous of the medals. Another goal I have is to improve my speed so I can do the full marathon by itself and do fun things like ride Everest and take pictures on the course. I would like to do a sub 3 hour half marathon. Maybe a triathlon....who knows. Whatever I do, it will definitely be worth doing.


Runners (or Run/Walkers…. whatever you want to call them) are an amazing group. Every person has a story and a purpose to their run. Most runners are the nicest people you will ever meet. They will help you if they can. The camaraderie is amazing…. especially in Disney races. Sometimes it feels like this was all a dream. That I just made it up. But this is my actual reality!!!! You can take a lot of things from me but you can never take away that I am a Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge Finisher.




Best signs at the Disney marathon:
If you haven’t **** your pants yet, you have already won.
If it was easy, it would be called your mom.
Don’t stop, go faster….that’s what she said.
Someday you will fail. Today is NOT that day.

Favorite quotes that helped me through the year of training:
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
You don’t have to go fast, you just have to go!
You can only find out how far you can go by risking going to far.

 

[MaMa3Princess]

Congratulations!!! I am glad you wrote out your thoughts. You did it and what an inspirations to others. I enjoyed reading your race recap very much!

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

You can take a lot of things from me but you can never take away that I am a Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge Finisher.

Congratulation, Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge Finisher!

I read your posts before the race and was starting to worry since we hadn't seen a race report.

I tear up reading this. It sums up why we all run. It's more than just health or losing weight or whatever. It's about setting your sights on a goal, preparing for that goal, and then CRUSHING it! And then start looking for a bigger goal.

Thank you for taking the time to share and inspire us.

 

[princessbride6205]

Congratulations!!
I can't believe the amazing perseverance you have to attempt this challenge a third time after the first two didn't go as you wanted. (I did the full marathon in 2013, so I know how hot that was!) Your way of writing about the events is really great and inspiring. Thanks for sharing!

 

[xlsm]

So I was basically choking back sobs during this whole report. Congratulations on meeting your goal!!

I was planning to run the Princess half this year...but we bought a house and those plans were pushed aside. I've totally slipped in my training for future races...thanks for reminding me how worth it it is! I'm determined to be at a Run Disney event in the next year or two!!

 

[Pinkflmngo]

I know that we must have been near each other!!!! I was at the very front of Corral O too. I was on the far right side of the corral. I was really tired from the day before but I knew that I had to start out fast to catch my daughter who was in Corral N.

I had the same experiences that you had and know how important it is to have a friend to do it with. I was so grateful that I had my daughter. I know I would not have finished it without her. I must have helped her too because she dropped about 20 minutes from her time last year.

I started running (mostly walking really fast) about 3 years ago when I was 59. I have done several half marathons but this was my first full (also first Goofy). I starting really doubting myself when I heard all the other people in the corral talking about all the extremes they had gone to in training. My goal was to finish and not be swept. My real dream was to finish in 7 hours or less. I was thrilled to finish in 7:02!

I know how proud you are and what a huge sense of accomplishment you feel. Like you, I knew I couldn't stop for pictures or anything because I was terrified of being swept. When I die I want this to go in my obituary!!!

Sincere congratulations to you from someone who really understands. I said that I would NEVER. EVER. EVER. do this again but I am already thinking of all the ways I can improve for next year.

Lynda

 

[irishtwins1112]

I was also all the way to the right front of Corral O. I had a very large blue quilt that I was sharing with someone (can't remember her name) and I was wearing a sleeveless pink top, black shorts, and a white nike visor.

 

[FFigawi]

Congrats! What a great story of determination and perseverance!

 

[bumbershoot]

Glad you finally got it!

Wish I could get people to talk to me during Halfs...I'd love to find people like you do, but people I see are way too into their own heads or something. Not sure.


"I am not really sure why Sean Astin was there but he gave some good advice to."

He's a huge runner. He did Dopey, he did Dumbo at Disneyland. I met him outside of Grizzly at California Adventure, and he was sooooo sweet and kind. And, of course, having played Rudy, he's a huge inspiration already to movie-lovers. (not to mention as Samwise..."I can't carry the ring, but I can carry you!")


I'm worried about your blisters! Do you use bodyglide all over your feet? Vaseline, even? No doubt you have good socks. I'm just worried about your feet! I get blisters (usually on the very ends of my toes, though after W&D because of the puddles I got one on the ball of the foot) that are not painful, then visible for the first hour after a long long run, then they disappear for a month and a half, then suddenly the skin comes off. Weird, but a lot easier to deal with than ones that show up during a run like you have.

 

[FFigawi]

Wish I could get people to talk to me during Halfs...I'd love to find people like you do, but people I see are way too into their own heads or something. Not sure.

Just start talking. That's what I do. You'll be surprised by how many people will talk back. Some won't, of course, but many people will. They're just waiting for the opportunity to present itself. During my 2011 Goofy, I ran from mile 4-20 with a woman I met along the way, and I'm still friends with her now. Runners are a pretty social group.

I'm worried about your blisters! Do you use bodyglide all over your feet? Vaseline, even? No doubt you have good socks. I'm just worried about your feet! I get blisters (usually on the very ends of my toes, though after W&D because of the puddles I got one on the ball of the foot) that are not painful, then visible for the first hour after a long long run, then they disappear for a month and a half, then suddenly the skin comes off. Weird, but a lot easier to deal with than ones that show up during a run like you have.

This concerned me too. Most of us get blisters, but I've never had any that approach the level of size and pain of the ones the OP gets. To have them that serious on a regular basis would have me trying new shoes, new socks, and new lubrication to try to find a way to prevent them from recurring so often.

 

[irishtwins1112]

I am open to suggestions about the blisters. I wish they didn't happen. I have pretty much accepted that they are part of the package if I am going to do a distance longer than a half. I have tried a lot of stuff. 2008 training was done in a brand of moisture wicking socks that I can't remember the name. 2009 and 2010 I wore smart wool. I also coated my feet in vaseline before long runs and the races themselves. Obviously this didn't help in the 2009 Goofy. I don't remember getting any blisters during the 2010 half....but I don't generally get blisters during a half distance anyway. I think my best results have been with Thorlos. I have been wearing them post 2010 for long runs and races. During the last year I also tried Swift wick compression socks. The guy at the running store said maybe I was using socks with too much cushion.....but I started to get hotspots after a short 3-4 miles so I knew those weren't for me. I did learn over the last year that I could tape the backs of my heels to prevent the heel slippage kind of blisters and it wouldn't bother me on a run. I tried taping the balls of my feet (after watching a youtube video about preventing blisters) and that didn't help. I could feel it and it started creating blisters after about 5-6 miles. I found the Second Skin Blister Kit on Amazon and used it with moderate success through my training. If I had a small blister that wasn't popped I could put the gel pad and the dressing on and it would stay put through a long run. It really isn't effective if it is a large popped area, though.

I think the main problem I have is the place where I get the blisters. The worst ones are normally on the ball of my feet extending between my 2nd and 4th toe. At some point the blister pushes into the tender skin between the ball of my feet and the underside of my toes and that is what hurts. There really is no good way to tape that area without having something rub between your toes with each movement of your foot. The blisters also seem to be worse on race day for whatever reason.

For the full during the Goofy this year I fixed my feet up with tape on the backs of my heels, blister kit stuff on my small blisters, a piece of adhesive knit from the blister kit (kind of like mole skin) to go over the forming blister on the ball of my right foot and then put body glide on my feet everywhere there wasn't a dressing. Then I wore my swiftwick compression socks under my thorlos to hold the tape and dressings in place and to give another layer to my feet that could prevent friction. I had done this one other time in training and it seemed to work fine.

The blisters bothered me once they popped and up to about mile 21 or so. After that there were so many endorphins that they honestly did not hurt until I to on a bus headed back to the hotel and got back up to walk off. I got back to my room and my sock was soaked in blood where the blister was on my right foot. My first thought was "I don't care. My feet will heal. It was worth it." And it was. I would do it again now that my blisters are all healed. It was pretty painful after the bath and all. I probably should have taken some time off of my feet but I wasn't going to flake out on my boys being at Disney so we did the parks Sunday night and Monday. My husband lovingly doctored up my feet with neosporin and figured a way to tape up my feet with gauze and sports tape and I hobbled around.

I have also been(for the last few months) tying my shoes with I think what is called the "lace lock" method to prevent your foot from sliding in your shoe.

I haven't tried ininji toe socks. They are next on my list, but I don't really expect very different results. I also have never tried plain deodorant on my feet. That was suggested to me during the half. As I get faster, another idea I had was packing an extra pair of socks to change into at the halfway point. Right now I am so slow that if I stopped to change socks (at least a 3-4 minute stop) I could be in danger of being swept.

Honestly, I think a lot of it has to do with a combination of factors. First, just the sheer time on my feet. Since I am slow I get worse blisters because I am out there for 7+ hours. Second, my size. I am pretty chubby so I think that contributes to the amount my foot slides in my shoe from the force of going forward. It is what it is, I guess.

It might be foolish, but blisters won't stop me!!!!!!

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

I've had good luck with WrightSocks. They are 2-layers with the idea that the layers rub against each other and not your foot.

They even come in dress sock styles, so I can wear them to the after race party!

 

[FFigawi]

Have you tried different shoes? Since they seem to happen in the same place all the time, and your foot could be sliding around a lot, maybe a different brand or size of shoe would help. You've tried everything else that I can think of. I'm very impressed with your determination to keep pushing through that pain.

 

[Ariel484]

Congratulations!! I don't know you at all but I'm proud of you!

GOOD LUCK on getting those blisters under control...yikes!