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Author Archive | Danielle Rosvally

A Dopey Idea: The 2018 Dopey Challenge [Part 4]

By on January 27, 2018 in Back-to-Back Races, Guest Perspective, Race Recap, Slow Runner

Post Four: Marathon Day

The last morning that alarm went off, I could not have been more relieved. It was the last ridiculous wakeup, the last ridiculous race, and the last ridiculous bedtime. When I went to sleep that night, I could count myself done with seeing the front end of 3:30 AM (at least until I forgot the pain of staring her right in the eyes multiple mornings in a row).

For the Walt Disney World Marathon, we dressed as Captain America and Ironman. I had another backpack, a well-made version of Cap’s shield with thick wide straps, so we left extra time again for bag check. Continue Reading →

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A Dopey Idea: The 2018 Dopey Challenge [Part 3]

By on January 27, 2018 in Back-to-Back Races, Guest Perspective, Race Recap, Slow Runner

Post Three: Only Half Dopey

I’ve run many half marathons in my life, but never under the conditions of the Walt Disney World Half Marathon en route to completing my Dopey Challenge. I had already run the 5K and 10K, “all” that was left were the Half and Full.

After feeling so under-prepared the morning of the 10K, you can bet I made extra sure to be ready for the half marathon. We went to bed nice and early and were extra responsible about hydrating the day before (though our plans went slightly awry when housekeeping woke us up at an hour which, for us, was the middle of the night despite it being an entirely “normal” 8:00 PM). Continue Reading →

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A Dopey Idea: The 2018 Dopey Challenge [Part 2]

By on January 27, 2018 in Back-to-Back Races, Guest Perspective, Race Recap, Slow Runner

Post 2: The “Shorts”

When we last left our heroes, we were paused on the brink of greatness; ready to begin Disney’s Dopey Challenge at the 25th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend. The first race in the series was the 5K, a distance that I can basically run in my sleep… which is good because the race started at 5:30 AM.

I have to be completely honest: I was not worried about the 5K. When our alarm went off that first morning, despite the fact that we hadn’t gotten to bed on time (for which I completely blame the fact that we were busy infiltrating the First Republic at THEVOID the night before), I was pumped and ready to go! Continue Reading →

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A Dopey Idea: The 2018 Dopey Challenge [part 1]

By on January 25, 2018 in Back-to-Back Races, Guest Perspective, Race Recap, Slow Runner

Danielle Rosvally

Post One: Challenge Preparation

I can’t honestly tell you what made me think that running the Dopey Challenge was a good idea. The only way I can summarize the logic behind this decision is as such: I have run several marathons. What’s harder than a marathon? Clearly I should push myself and do something EVEN BIGGER with my next goal.

Disney’s Dopey Challenge is an incredible race series that consists of four events: a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, and Full Marathon on four consecutive mornings in early January. This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Disney Marathon Weekend, and the 5th anniversary of the Dopey Challenge, so it was with gusto that I signed myself and my husband up for the challenge. Continue Reading →

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Hey Fast Runners: Here’s What Your Slow Friends Wish You’d Stop Doing

By on June 18, 2017 in Guest Perspective, Slow Runner

We were standing in a parking lot, bibs pinned to our shirts, warming up, making final trips to the porta-potties, contemplating if we wanted to drop any last-minute layers off in our checked bags.

It was race morning of our latest greatest half marathon and there were about 12 of us, all Crossfit athletes, all in great shape. We were chatting race strategy, trying to take the edge off the pre-race nerves. “Ugh.” Said one of the guys, “It’s gonna be a slow day for me.”

“Oh yea? How slow?” I asked, thinking that maybe we could run together. Continue Reading →

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Race Day as a Slow Runner

By on April 5, 2017 in Guest Perspective, Race Day, Slow Runner


A runner is a runner is a runner. In my last post, I talked about how speed doesn’t make the “runner,” the act of running does. That said, there are certain aspects of the sport that are different for us back-of-packers.

Since training runs are generally self-driven, all runners learn to accommodate their specific needs during those runs and it’s only when we have to rely on others that these needs become complicated. This makes race day a tad more interesting to navigate. Continue Reading →

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“Slow Runners” are Still “Runners”: How I Embraced the Title From the Back of the Pack

By on March 9, 2017 in Guest Perspective, Motivation, Slow Runner

When I started running, I was pretty sure that crossing the 5K off of my bucket list would be enough for me.

I was never athletic, my childhood had been spent tormented because of my lack of athleticism, and my body had never conformed to what I thought an “athlete” needed to look like.

I had plenty of reasons to assume that I could never be a “runner,” and simply huffing and puffing my way through C25K wasn’t enough to break that mental barrier. Continue Reading →

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