News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Grace Porraz celebrated her accomplishment with her husband Gilbert. photo provided
Grace Porraz of Sisters completed an arduous four-day running event earlier this month in an unexpected venue: Walt Disney World in Florida.
Porraz participated in the Dopey Challenge, January 9-12. The race is named after one of the Seven Dwarfs, but it is no small event. It consists of a 5k run on Thursday; a 10k run on Friday; a half-marathon on Saturday; and a marathon on Sunday.
The Sisters runner started down this path in 2012 when she and her sisters participated in the Tinkerbell Challenge at Disneyland in California. That was a half-marathon.
"I was hooked," she said. "I've always run (but) never that much. The half-marathon was the most I'd ever run."
She upped the ante considerably when she decided to join her sister for the Florida event.
"I'm gonna go for broke," she thought. "Go big or go home. I'm going to do them all."
She was already training, and she stepped it up to prepare for the challenge.
"I didn't realize when I started what a commitment it would be," she said.
She ran three days a week and cross-trained at Cascade Fitness twice a week. In addition, she continued to teach a kick-boxing class. She adhered to that training schedule despite working full-time at Bank of the Cascades and filling in periodic part-time work to finance the trip to Florida.
She noted that all her training was local, and she purchased her supplements in Sisters, too, from Metabolic Maintenance Products and from Melvin's Fir Street Market.
The training pulled in her husband, Gilbert, too.
Gilbert readily admits that recreational exercise is not his thing, but he wanted to support his wife. She has a tendency to "bonk" due to low blood-sugar, and he didn't want that to happen while she was on a long run by herself. So he started riding his bike as support, with gels and fluids to keep her on an even keel.
"There I was riding 20, 22, 23 miles - with a cigar in my mouth," he said. "My first ride, I thought I was going to die."
Gilbert accompanied Grace to Walt Disney World and counts it among the top five days in his life - watching her fulfill months of hard work by coming across the final finish line with a big smile on her face.
"I watched her cross the finish line smiling - laughing and joking with her sister," he said.
The approximately 46 miles she put in was no more taxing than a hard training week, and training at altitude helped when running at about 18 feet above sea level. The only thing Porraz was worried about was humidity, and that proved not to be a major factor. She thoroughly enjoyed a run that brought some participants to tears.
Gilbert said the whole event was amazing.
"From a spectator's standpoint, 20,000 runners is impressive," he said.
The runs actually wend their way through the theme park, with cheering crowds and marching bands along the route.
Grace thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere.
"She's a big kid,' Gilbert said. "She loves Disneyland."
One of the appealing aspects of the event is that it's highly personal and designed to be fun.
"I'm not competitive," Grace said. "It was an experience. There's all ages and shapes and sizes and levels that are out there."
Porraz came home with a total of six colorful Disney-themed participation medals. There's one more of those she'd like to collect:
"I'd like to get my coast-to-coast medal," she said.
To do that she'll have to complete events at Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida in one calendar year.
So, it's back on the trail for a runner who can't think of something more fun that running through "the happiest place on earth."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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