Aspiring Olympian sweeps 4 Disney races in “Dopey Challenge”
Jan 10, 2022, 7:48 AM | Updated: 11:46 am
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — A 33-year-old aspiring Olympian from Denver set a Walt Disney World marathon weekend record, sweeping all four races in consecutive days.
Brittany Charboneau completed the 26.2-mile (42-kilometer) marathon on Sunday in 2 hours and 45 minutes. She also won the 5K, 10K and half marathon to complete the “Dopey Challenge,” which is a combined 48.6 miles (78 kilometers). For each race, she dressed as a favorite Disney character.
“I feel amazing,” Charboneau, who suffered an injury while training for the Boston Marathon, told the Orlando Sentinel. “This was such a mental-win weekend for me. My goal was never to win all of these. My goal was to go out, wear costumes and have an amazing time.”
Charboneau dressed as Elsa from “Frozen” for the 5K on Thursday, Bing Bong from “Inside Out” for the 10K on Friday, Joy from “Inside Out” for the half marathon on Saturday and Cruella de Vil from the “101 Dalmatians” for Sunday’s marathon.
Charboneau told the newspaper that she also tested postive for COVID-19 around Christmas, even though she is fully vaccinated and boosted.
It’s the first time a runner has topped all four races in the Disney event’s 29-year history, the Sentinel reported. The marathon weekend races feature courses that wind through Disney’s four theme parks.
Charboneau, who is training for the 2024 Olympic trials, dubs herself ” the funny runner.”
“The reason I wanted to do this is to remind people you can have big goals, but you can have fun with it,” she said.
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