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Latest reviews by Peter Brookhart
Peter Brookhart recommends this race
(2019)
"Beautiful Start of Independence Day"
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This 5k was in the early morning on 4th of July in Winter Park, Florida. The town and little festival that was attached to it were so quaint and wonderful. This race seemed very local in the crowds and vendors. It gave it a sense of homeliness especially with it being on a very Americana holiday.
The packet pickup was smooth and easy at the helpful local shop and management company Track Shack. The aid stations were numerous for a 5k with very lively volunteers to help you run through the humidity. The route sees little to no elevation change but covers gorgeous house and park after gorgeous house and park.
The watermelon Queen was there to kick off the race and you can see our experience first hand here: https://youtu.be/zQ3ZmenhQZw . I'd highly recommend this race for anyone in town during it.
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Peter Brookhart recommends this race
(2019)
"The Dark Side Brought The Humidity!"
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This half marathon was the culmination of the runDisney Kessel Run Challenge! I stayed at the Polynesian Resort the night before so I could walk to the start line.
This run is in April and at 5:30 a.m. in Central Florida the humidity was at it's worst! The first mile is leaving the Magic Kingdom parking lot and into a service road surrounded by trees which was like running into a straight wall of humidity. There was one of the coolest scenes on that road with explosions, lasers, and battle noises from the Star Wars movies.
The route was great with only two "rough" hills and little to no repeated lines out/in. I had previously run the runDisney Dopey Challenge in January and thought the roadside characters and photo ops were better then. This race was a lot of jumbotrons showing mixes of various Star Wars movies as well as photo ops with scenes and no characters.
There were two spots for the 501st which was really fun. Overall I think it was a great run and a must do for Star Wars fans because of the scenery and the medals.....oh the medals....These were some of my favorites ever!
You can see a little of our experience here: https://youtu.be/1DHnpUJIAfs
Peter Brookhart recommends this race
(2019)
"My First Marathon - Dopey Challenge"
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Where to begin....this was my first marathon I've ever run. I grew up nonathletic and was always blown away by sports and runners. My late father in law was a runner and completed numerous Chicago Marathons. He'd often say "I'm going to go for a quick 5k" and come back like it was nothing....my mind would be blown.
Then things changed when my wife and I were told by our infertility doctor to begin eating healthier and working out as they hunt down the cause of our fertility challenges. Two weeks later, since we are local to Disney World, it was marathon weekend 2018 and we decided to cheer on runners. I turned to my wife as we cheered on mile 23 that I'd run not just the Marathon but the Dopey Challenge in 2019.
A full year of fundraising for ACS and training later...I woke up at Bay Lake Tower at 2 a.m. to run my first Marathon. The crowds were amazing, the scenery over the race changed and was unique, the volunteers and management...outstanding.
I highly suggest such a low elevation change, playful spirited, and inspiring run for anyone's first marathon. You can see some of the route and cheering spots here in my video: https://youtu.be/QLAOOBVTKNQ