Sometimes when you wake up in the night an idea is there that won't let you ignore it. I had one of those last night. I woke at 3:45am with the strong thought that I needed for Sally and I to say our vows at the pre race staging area before the Disney World half in January.
Last January my trip to my happy place was just horrible. I just divorced my wife of 24 years, I was alone for the first time at Disney, I was totally untrained and it was record cold conditions. This time when I toe the starting line I will be in the company of a lady who befriended me and helped me through the hurt and got me moving forward again. It seems so necessary that I share that happiness with the people who helped me through this difficult time.
I have a lot of planning and getting permission from Disney to do this. I need to find an ordained minister who would like something to do for 30 min before we move to the starting area. I have had a year of good luck and have managed to get a house and save the money for the trip and the races but there just isn't anyway to have a real Disney wedding. But this is a celebration of happiness and a new beginning, money can't buy that anyway.
My journey to this Disney World marathon weekend started back in May of 2006. I had been battling with a badly scarred Achilles tendon for a couple of years and I was doing a 5K cross country race. Every step on the uneven grass was torture. When I was limping away from the finish I decided that I wasn't ever going to go through that again. The Panda was born that day. With every step I limped I became stronger and and more determined that Dave the athlete was not going quietly into the night.
I started on a journey that day with a mission to accomplish along the way. I tried to run hurt for a long time because I couldn't imagine being a walker, that would be just unthinkable. I had to prove to myself that a walker was indeed an athlete. Accomplishing that I wanted to be there for others who needed a life time sport to keep them healthy and strong.
About a year into my journey I was on a training walk up a long hill when a little field mouse joined me and ran along with me for a while before turning off into the grass. That day I had the message on the walking site inviting me to get involved with Disney racing. Up until then I had no idea that Disney World had races or that there were people that made them a part of their wellness plan. I'm very honored to be involved with the Disney racing groups.
Thanks for reading and if anyone knows who I need to contact to get permission for a quick saying of vows at the pre race area please let me know. If anyone reading this is a minister and wants to lead us in our vows I would be grateful.
Marrying Panda
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2 comments:
What an awesome thing to do ... I am so sure there will be away to do this. In fact, you might find yourself in the media for doing it too!
There must be a contact person on the event listings and I am sure they would be more than happy to help set this up. What an honour to be a part of and for all those around you. Then you can put your toe on the start line as a new, happy & complete "panda"
You need to contact the guy who does the public address announcements and entertainment before the start. He was talking at Disneyland last month before the start about how he proposed to his fiance at the start the year before. He said he welcomed people to get in touch with him about doing the same thing. Not sure of his name, but he should be easy to track down.
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