2012 Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge

On January 7th and 8th I ran two races at Walt Disney World in Orlando. On the 7th I ran a half marathon (13.1 miles) with 27,500 other runners. On the 8th I ran a full marathon (26.2 miles) with 18,000 other runners. Both races were run on the Disney grounds and through the various parks. When someone has completed both races on consecutive days, you have completed The Goof Challenge and a Half Race. I was awarded the Goofy shirt and medal when I completed these races.

http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/events/rundisney/wdw-marathon

Bill Evans

23 miles with Ken Switzer on his 60 mile birthday run.

On December 23, 2011, Ken Switzer ran 60 miles to celebrate his 60th birthday and also raise money for The Living Water Project www.thelivingwaterproject.us. He started at 4 AM CST at the Belle Meade Blvd Percy Warner Park entrance and took him approximately 14 hours to complete the journey. I ran the first 23 miles with Ken.










 Sue and Bill Evans participated in the "Barely a 4k Run" on the cold morning of December 10, 2011. Yazoo Brewing Co. underwrote the event which raised money for the Bells Bend Community in Nashville. Post race Yazoo provided re-fueling beverages for the runners.

I participated in the RAGNAR Relay from Chattanooga to Nashville on November 4th and 5th. It is a 12 person relay with each person running 3 legs. I ran legs 9, 21, and 33.

We had 2 vans with 6 runners plus a driver in each. My vanmates were Captain Heidi Huerta, Emily Thompson, Lindsay Duncan, Sarah Query, Maggie Tucker, and our great driver Maureen Saunderson.

What is the RAGNAR Relay; A 196 mile running event that will push you and 11 pals through the birthplace of country music, Tennessee. Starting in Chattanooga you will hug the Tennessee River and head northwest. Your team will run, day and night, across the rolling hills of southern Tennessee while enjoying the stunning November foliage. After the hills, you will move on to the 'stills, as you pass through historic Lynchburg. The race (and your stamina) will wrap up, when you honky tonk your way to the Country Music, Nashville, Tennessee.

On October 1, 2011 3rd annual Montgomery, AL half marathon I joined 1066 other people in running the 3rd annual Montgomery, AL half marathon . We started at 7 AM CDT in downtown Montgomery. We ascended a long steady climb leaving downtown. We circled Oak Park, ran through the campuses of Alabama State University and Huntington College. We ran past the Governor's Mansion on Perry Street and returned to downtown. We finished on the centerfield grass of the Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Rays AA franchise) baseball stadium. Afterwards the world renowned Dreamland Barbeque fed us some good Southern pork sandwiches.



Birthday Run 9/9/11 Last year I ran 56 miles to celebrate my 56th birthday. This took place throughout much of Nashville. I used last year's run to raise funds for The Salama Institute, an inner city non-profit that develops leaders within the inner city communities.

This year I changed the distance from miles to kilometers. On 9-9-11 I ran 57 kilometers (35.42 miles) to celebrate my 57th birthday. I ran the roads in Percy and Edwin Parks. It took 2 loops to reach the 57 kilometers. Once again I used the Birthday Run to raise funds for Salama.

I am told by Salama they have raised $12,788 to date from this years run, "Bill this is wonderful! Thank you. This helped us in September which can usually be a dry month for us".



I began running in 1988 for health reasons. My first marathon was 1989 and after that I took 19 years off until the Marine Corps Marathon in 2008. During this time I raised children and built a career.

8/25/11 Today I was to run the 11.2 route twice through Percy Warner Park. Started at 7:10am and finished about 11:40 on this beautiful day in Nashville. Low humidity and a starting temperature around 80 degrees made for a great time to run. My goal today was to continue to prepare myself for my 57k run on my birthday September 9th. When I started to run this morning I was surprised by all the cars and people that were running and walking in the park, what a great place to be. After starting fast I ended up running about 19 miles then decided to stop and run another day.

In 2010 I set and ran a goal of 56 miles on my 56 birthday (56 at 56 facebook)

Running has become a habit and possibly an addiction. I have 2 goals for 2011:

• Run a minimum of 1 mile every day of the year with an aggregate of 2000 miles. By the end of July I had run 1200 miles year-to-date.
• Run my age in kilometers (57) on my 57th birthday. I have not decided upon the route yet, but it will be through some parts of Nashville.

In February of 2009 I tore my left meniscus while running. Three weeks after surgery I ran 1 mile. I continued to run about 3 to 4 days per week until October '09 when I set the goal of running my age in 2010. I started training with a personal trainer, a nutritionist, and a massage therapist in October 2009 and
still work with the trainer and nutritionist today.

Personal Trainer: Christopher McClintock at
www.personal-best-fitness.com

Nutritionist: Mari-Etta Parrish at www.beahealthlete.com

I decided to use my birthday run to benefit Salama, an inner city ministry in Nashville. www.salamaserves.org

For 25 years, Salama (Swahili word for peace) has served the Greater Nashville area through providing life-changing programs that equip children with skills needed for success in life and to nurture lives of integrity and hope through the foundation of faith.
"We as a society benefit because Salama produces educated leaders that settle within our communities and become mentors to others."

Dates of events I have run this year, and a comment about the event:

• January 1st - my wife and I ran the Resolution Run 5k in downtown Nashville. www.gottarunnashville.com
• January 8th - April 30th: I helped pace the 11:30 per mile group through a training program sponsored by Fleet Feet as they trained for the Country Music Half Marathon. We ran every Saturday for 16 weeks and I also ran with them during the race. www.fleetfeetnashville.com
• May 21st: I ran a Scenic City Trail marathon and Half Marathon at Raccoon Mountain in Chattanooga. This is absolutely the most fun marathon I have ever run. We ran on dirt trails through the woods that surround the TVA facility at the top of Raccoon Mountain.
• June XX?: Fleet Feet hosted a trail run in Percy Warner Park that allowed us to try minimalistic trail running shoes.
• Lonna pictures are available, I sent them, let me know if I need to resend.
• July 4th: I ran the Firecracker 5k in Maryland Farms. I set a current century PR (personal record).
• July 9th - September 17th: I helped pace the 11:00 to 11:30 per mile group through a training program sponsored Fleet Feet as they trained for the women's Half Marathon. We ran every Saturday for 12 weeks. I did not run the race with them.
• September 9th: I will run 57 kilometers (35.5 miles) to celebrate my 57th birthday.
• January 7th and 8th: I will run The Goofy Challenge at Disney World. A half marathon (13.1 miles) is run on Saturday and a full marathon (26.2 miles) is run on Sunday. The half marathon finishers get a Donald Duck medal. The full marathon finishers get a Mickey Mouse medal. Those that finish both get a Goofy medal, probably because we are "goofy".

Past races that I can remember:

• 1988: Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, AL.
• 1989: Chicago Marathon
• 2008: Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C.
• 2009: Mississippi Blues Marathon in Jackson, MS.
• 2010: Country Music Half Marathon.
• 2010: I ran 56 miles to celebrate my 56th birthday.
• 2010: Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, AL