Juggling between twirling, volunteering with Villages Honor Flight, and memorizing music for her local choir group, Debbie Diroff of the Village of Charlotte is also preparing for the 2016 Disney Dopey Challenge.
The Dopey Challenge tests participants’ stamina in a weekend race that courses through all four theme parks. The first race is a 5K. The second is a 10K. The third is a half marathon. The final race is a marathon. It all takes place on successive days between Jan. 7 and 10.
Diroff first heard about the race when she volunteered to work at a registration table during a marathon week in Disney last January.
Though the last marathon she participated was in 1985, Diroff convinced herself to participate in the challenge and has been preparing.
“Training has been very easy, I already had nine months of walking, heavy duty walking for 6 miles every day,” said Diroff, who has been following a national workout schedule offered by Jeff Galloway, a legendary runner who partners with Disney in the event.
Adding onto her intense walking, Diroff incorporates running and builds miles as each week goes by. So far she has been successful with pacing herself, completing each mile within the required time limit.
On top of her disciplined training, she also engages in practicing twice a week with the Villages Twirlers and Drum Corps who have been enjoying a packed holiday schedule.
Though the Villages Honor Flight is on winter hiatus, Diroff is also looking forward to a flight that leaves in March 2016 in which she will serve as bus captain. She has made seven flights since June 2013.
During the hiatus, Diroff has kept herself busy with participating in the Mickey “Fan”atics Club and singing in the Lampstand Community Choir. Along with training for a Disney marathon, Diroff is also preoccupied with memorizing music for her Choir’s performance on Dec. 26 in the Candlelight Processional at Epcot.
“It’s what I want to do,” said the busy Villager in regard to her swamped event-packed schedule. Despite all the activities, she maintains focus on her training and aims to progress each week, while avoiding injuries.
With a confident outlook towards the fast approaching race she is participating in alone, Diroff says, “I set myself up to be a winner.”
