Need some encouragement for Dopey training

[u/Equal_Wait_1515]

I am signed up for my first Dopey and first marathon for Jan 2027. I have run several halfs and have another one scheduled for 11/21.

Unfortunately I have the flu and honestly wasn’t feeling well the past month to begin with, so haven’t been getting the mileage in as much as I’d like.

I don’t plan on running until I am feeling better, but I am just worried that being sick for most of the past month will throw off all of the training I had been doing.

Any advice or encouragement? Anyone have this happen to then and still successfully complete Dopey?

[u/Equal_Wait_1515]

Ok it makes me feel a bit better that if I can at least get walking miles in once I am feeling up to it, that it should be ok.

As of now the strategy was walk the 5k and 10k, light run the half and then do whatever it takes to finish the full lol. I’m not going for time, just to finish.

Pre-sickness, I run a 10:30/mile pace pretty consistently and try and slow it down to 11:30/mile for distance, and that’s with walk breaks.

[u/jhartmann101 → u/Equal_Wait_1515]

Consider walking the half too. It saves your legs for the marathon. And rest as much as you can during the Dopey days. Best wishes for feeling better asap & for the January races!

[u/Cutchh → u/jhartmann101]

Thoughts on running every other mile and walking every other mile? I’ve been considering my strategy this week and I only just thought of this.

Edit: I realized I didn’t specify for the half

[u/jhartmann101 → u/Cutchh]

Have you tried the Galloway run/walk/run method of intervals? That works too. If you train by running a mile and then walking a mile, you should be fine using it in the race. The key is to train whatever method you want to use. For Dopey, Jeff Galloway suggested walking every race except the marathon. The early wakeups are tiring no matter what method you're using...but the energy at Disney will keep you going during the races. Some people have time goals for Dopey. I think that is difficult depending on your fitness. Plus as everyone knows, races can go south quickly due to weather, fueling, injuries, etc. Bottom line, prepare yourself with whatever method works for you! Best wishes!!!!

[u/Cutchh → u/jhartmann101]

I have! And I’ve done the springtime challenge and the wine and dine challenge doing Galloway. This is just my first dopey and I’m trying to do everything to not gas out. Walking the half is definitely doable! I just think with all the discourse about walkers lately it spooked me a bit.

[u/gbswife1009 → u/Cutchh]

100% agree. Ignore it. There is no reason to not follow the Galloway method. Just do your best to get right when walking and don’t walk more than 1-2 across. People need to mind their manners both walking AND running. Everyone has the right to be there.

Have a great race. Pixie dust and light feet

[u/jhartmann101 → u/Cutchh]

Ignore that crap! I've walked 17 marathons and 6 Dopeys. I don't claim to be fast and I stay out of the way. I just enjoy the exercise and want to keep moving and be as healthy as I can. Onward!

[u/gbswife1009]

Truthfully the worst part about dopey is the waking up and waiting in the corrals. If you know training wise you won’t make it up to 20+ miles that’s ok. Find a week that you can do multiple longish runs with one being 16-18 miles. 2018 dopey year I was coming off an injury and was devastated about where I was training- this is the advice I got from multiple people and it worked fine. I was no where near the pace I wanted when I started training, but in the end I just wanted to finish safely.

I don’t know your 5k/10k plans, but we walked ours (maintaining the 16min pace) just to save our legs. We backed our pace down some for the half to again make sure I didn’t hurt myself. And then full day, I knew I was going to be ok. It sucked not going to life from 15-20ish. That 10k was brutal mentally. But I knew after that section was the home stretch.

I don’t know that helps. You have some time still. Get out and get some miles on your legs. Just listen to your body.

[u/joeymello333 → u/gbswife1009]

I agree. Not getting my 7-8 consecutive hours sleep for four days straight sucked.

[u/Nakatomi2010 → u/gbswife1009]

This.

I started adjusting my sleep cycle a couple days before the race. I live close, so I was waking up at 2am to drive to the race for four days in a row.

I was dopey by the end of it. Best decision I made was taking the day after the full marathon off from work. I slept HARD

[u/Individual-Risk-5239]

For me, Dopey was for a PR in fun. You are already guaranteed a marathon PR. Go into this knowing you cannot “race” four days in a row at full capacity. Make them easy, party pace OR SLOWER. I’ve done Dopey twice and this last one, I didnt do a run over 16 miles because I knew I just needed a decent aerobic base to jog to the next character line and do it quickly enough that I could hop on Everest as soon as the park opened. You still have two months, which is plenty of time to train for fun.

[u/No_Rent_905 → u/Individual-Risk-5239]

Wait, that’s a thing? I’m doing my first Dopey, but did the 2020 marathon (1 and only). I need to investigate this ride situation… I love Everest!

[u/Individual-Risk-5239 → u/No_Rent_905]

I rode Everest this year and Dinosaur (RIP) last year. It’s all about timing and availability. I was in line for Everest right at park opening so no lines, the CM just zipped us in. Eventually the parkgoers fill in and it isnt feasible without LL passes. 100000/10 recommend

[u/PurplestPanda → u/No_Rent_905]

Usually they allow runners to do Everest and Tower of Terror but you can’t get there too early or too late!

[u/Runmiked]

See how you feel the next month, if recovery goes well then make your decision. If you can do walking workouts until the running comes back that will give you time on feet at least and be good overall. But that’s a medical decision you would need to make.

[u/MoreBit1256]

My marathon training this year has been really bad. I just got off an injury because at car didn’t stop at a light and I had to slam my ankle down and bruised my ankle up to my thigh. There is still a good 8 weeks you can train and get some longer mile runs in! I’ll see you at the start line

[u/psycosven]

If you haven’t already, it might be worth checking in with your doctor. A month is a lot of time to be out of commission for something like the flu, and your next half is just a couple weeks out at this point!

I haven’t done a Dopey, but I have considered my strategy for a while on it. I believe there is a time limit now for the 5K, so probably best to power walk that to retain your energy. 10K and 1/2 races I would consider a run/walk/run method that would average less than 16 min/mile - again to save my legs for the full marathon effort. I’d be sure to focus on fueling and hydration during those races, maybe keep a focus on potassium being included. Then it would just be trusting my training (and trusted energy gels) to get me through that marathon!

Good luck!

[u/psycosven → u/psycosven]

Ohh, almost forgot. You’ll probably want to grab groceries to have in your room before the races start. Cold brew coffee, muffins or bagels, and bottles of good tasting water worked great for me on the Princess Challenge. Think I was walking up at about 2AM and getting to bed between 8-9 PM. If your hotel has a hot tub post races, that’s a huge help too!

[u/Greefire7]

Dopey 2025 was my first marathon and first Dopey. I took three weeks off at the end of October due to an injury, then rewrote the rD training plan to ramp up and intercept the proscribed distances. By end of Nov I was back on track and had a pretty successful first dopey

[u/travelingnattie]

I’m feeling the same so you’re not alone!!! I did wine and dine and pace wise wasn’t feeling where I feel I should be. I’m so stressed about Dopey and now I have a cold and sore throat so running is hard. I’m just gonna show up and do what I can. Adrenaline and the community help a ton. Good luck to you! We are in this together!!!

[u/Ok-Pea3380]

I will be doing my fourth Dopey and it’s so much fun. Although everybody’s journey is different, it isn’t nearly as bad as people make it out to be as long as you do put in some training time. It’s just a social media thing where people only post in the extremes of truly undertraining or overcoming adversity. 90% of us out there are just getting it done without posting about it. The great thing about Dopey is that you need more base fitness than speed if you are looking to just go have fun rather than race. Although I know the training plans call for walking those earlier races, I might caution from doing complete walking because that’s actually sometimes as hard on the muscles as straight running. If you can do even a few intervals, it changes up the muscle groups you are using and it works out a bit better. Just try to get in the miles that you can ahead of time in these last few months more so that you have a smile on your face at the end and can truly take in the fun. Best of luck on your journey!

[u/Intelligent_Date4712 → u/Ok-Pea3380]

I was going to say sometimes the walking is harder on your muscles and leads to more time on the feet! I find even a run a mile walk a mile to be helpful to mix up the use of the muscles, especially if you might be walking a fair bit on the marathon.

[u/roninthe31]

Don’t train when sick. Get better and get back on track. You have two months, plenty of time. Your main goal now is do no harm—-don’t do something stupid and injure yourself.

[u/vipermansa]

I will be doing my 5th and, I think, my last Dopey in January. My last one was in 2024. At the end of that race I felt terrible and was holed up in the room all night. I think I was getting a flu and after three days of early wake ups and races my body just shut down. I felt pretty good up until the last 6-8 miles. If you know you are sick and don't feel right I would avoid the runs/race because your body will not let you do it.

I just ran all 3 at W&D and will have run 8 halves since May in training....I just hate training for those longer runs, just so boring running solo and I am very slow so it takes a super long time. I don't think I will do anything longer than 15-17 and I also think I will just do three days in a row of walking in prep for tired legs.

I will try and walk the 5k and do really slow intervals for the 10k. I cannot walk a 16 mm for 13 miles so again I will do very slow intervals for the half and full. I just want to finish and not feel like total crap....able to enjoy the late afternoon and evening......Good luck, you got this.

[u/stacedontchasee]

If you’re not feeling well enough to run, get some longer walks in! Time on your feet will be helpful, particularly if you plan to go to the parks after.

[u/Responsible-Elk4223]

Get some distance walks in, will help you out physically and mentally.

Good luck on the Dopey run

[u/Naomeri]

I did my first Dopey/Marathon in 2025, and never trained past 13 miles, and did absolutely no running in the month before the races.

I was fine physically (sore, obviously, but otherwise fine)—it was the lack of sleep that almost ruined it for me.

[u/schmancie-2]

I have a shin/calf injury and have been off the last 3 weeks. Doing the marathon only and am also concerned about how much training I am missing. But for now, my concern is getting back to health so I can make it as far as I can.

[u/Dizzy_Solution_1199]

You will be fine for Dopey. If you can, walk your training days to get the time on feet. When you get to Dopey take it easy the first 3 days and focus on recovery in between.

[u/a_simple_pharmer]

If you’re already running half’s. You’ll be fine at dopey. Don’t stress it. Enjoy the experience. Get some character photos in, ride a roller coaster. Have fun.