Embark on a whimsical journey through the vibrant lanes of Disney marathons with our special guest, Dr. Andrew Strickland. Fondly known as the Puppet Runner, Andrew narrates his inspiring transformation from the child lagging behind in P.E. to an admired marathon runner. His story is a testament to the power of perseverance, and he ties it beautifully to his theatrical career and love for Disney, reminding us all that life's races are won not by speed, but by heart.
Step behind the scenes of the enthralling world that is a runDisney event, as Andrew guides first-timers and seasoned runners alike through the maze of preparation and packet pickups. He shares nuggets of wisdom on navigating race day with ease and the significance of absorbing every magical moment. Whether you're in it for the medals or the memories, Andrew ensures that the runDisney experience is as spectacular as the fireworks over Cinderella's Castle.
Then, meet the charismatic puppets who have become Andrew's running companions, turning heads and lifting spirits along the marathon route. Our discussion blossoms into anecdotes of favorite Disney dining spots and the joys of Epcot festivals, before culminating in a heartfelt reflection on the marathon itself. Andrew invites us into the embrace of the running community—where every mile is a story, and every runner, a friend. With the Puppet Runner by your side, it's not just a race; it's a celebration of perseverance, friendship, and the enchanting allure of Disney.
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Embark on a whimsical journey through the vibrant lanes of Disney marathons with our special guest, Dr. Andrew Strickland. Fondly known as the Puppet Runner, Andrew narrates his inspiring transformation from the child lagging behind in P.E. to an admired marathon runner. His story is a testament to the power of perseverance, and he ties it beautifully to his theatrical career and love for Disney, reminding us all that life's races are won not by speed, but by heart.
Step behind the scenes of the enthralling world that is a runDisney event, as Andrew guides first-timers and seasoned runners alike through the maze of preparation and packet pickups. He shares nuggets of wisdom on navigating race day with ease and the significance of absorbing every magical moment. Whether you're in it for the medals or the memories, Andrew ensures that the runDisney experience is as spectacular as the fireworks over Cinderella's Castle.
Then, meet the charismatic puppets who have become Andrew's running companions, turning heads and lifting spirits along the marathon route. Our discussion blossoms into anecdotes of favorite Disney dining spots and the joys of Epcot festivals, before culminating in a heartfelt reflection on the marathon itself. Andrew invites us into the embrace of the running community—where every mile is a story, and every runner, a friend. With the Puppet Runner by your side, it's not just a race; it's a celebration of perseverance, friendship, and the enchanting allure of Disney.
Find more of Puppet Runner here .
Join the newsletter list for updates, special offers, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
Want to become a member of Time for Brunch+ to show your support of the show? Join here.
Join the Brunch community on Facebook or follow us on Instagram.
Friends, we are so excited to bring this guest to the brunch table because I feel that he embodies the spirit of perseverance, lots of creativity and absolutely the joy of movement. Dr Andrew Strickland, fondly known for those in the Red Disney community and beyond as puppet runner. Hello, Andrew, Thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 2:Hello there and hello everyone.
Speaker 1:Now that was just a little bit, but I want to go ahead and get into a bit more of your bio, if you don't terribly mind, because your journey is fascinating, it's inspiring. You're a revered theater director and educator, but you've woven your love for the arts and your passion for distance running together. You have over two decades of being in the running community, your familiar face and a proud member of the Marathon, maniacs Half-Banatics, the Make-On Tracks and Atlanta Track Club and beyond, because you've also done the Georgia Ultra Running and Trail Running Society. Of course, there's more to you than just that, all of those strides out on those miles and trails. You're also the creative force behind the renowned Make it Midnight Marathon in Macon, georgia, which I must hear more about, and you're enriching the young minds as director of fine arts at First Presbyterian Day School. So with that, andrew, can you give us a little bit about how you got into running?
Speaker 2:I got into running. I think it was because in elementary school I was, without a doubt, the single worst runner in my elementary school. I'm not sure how that happened, but my arms would go about a million miles a minute and my legs would barely move. But instead of getting massively teased there like you would think that would happen and you can't run, I had really good friends, a really supportive PE teacher, and people were just like that's okay, next time it'll be better, and so I never felt beaten down by it. But I also was like I just think I can do this better.
Speaker 2:And I was a dancer, I was in theater, so it's not like I didn't have muscle tone or coordination, but for some reason the running just didn't work, and so it was never something I really needed for most of my loves and my pastimes. I played a little lacrosse, but even there I was a goalie and so I wasn't having to run all over the place, but it just nagged at me. It was like an unfinished piece of business that I had to take care of, and in my 20s and creeping up towards my 30s, I started running more, started getting more comfortable with it, started doing races all the time. I found it was a great way to stress relief. It was a great way to keep my head in the right place.
Speaker 2:As a theater director, I was directing plays all evening long, and so the middle of the afternoon I had time off. It was the perfect time to find a nice path or a nice trail and I found that it helped my health, it helped my brain and I started building up the races, did my first marathon about the time I turned 30, and I was hooked and I just kept adding one distance race after another, and it has been a mainstay of my life since.
Speaker 1:It feels like it called to you.
Speaker 2:It did, it did. And I always feel like when I get into those periods of my life where I get too busy and I'm not running as much as I should, I get not feeling well, I have an injury. It calls louder. It's like come back, why aren't you out there? And it's a great thing and I hope it always calls to me. I hope I'm out there with my Walker decades from now, making it through the course somehow.
Speaker 1:Me and you both, my friend and I feel like so many folks that are listening feel the exact same way. We're here for the long run, of course, pun intended. But from the very first marathon to now, and becoming so well known in the run Disney community, I have to ask you what inspired you to take the plunge into the run Disney event world.
Speaker 2:I grew up at Disney World. I was actually there the first year Walt Disney World was open in a stroller. I wasn't very old, I was an infant, so I don't remember it, but I'm told I was there, so I counted by this, but I grew up there. I grew up in Florida. We were about three and a half hours away, so it was a family tradition to go there. We camped in Fort Wilderness. It's like a Thanksgiving tradition to go there.
Speaker 2:So Disney Disney was a love of mine long before running and I've spent a year, took me a long time to actually make it to Disney to run a race. The races just always hit at horrible times for me, with my theater season, with my teaching schedule. I just didn't make it and I finally said, okay, I got to make it down to one. It's never going to be convenient, it's not going to happen, so, but I love that place, I got to get down there and do it, and so I think it was in 2008. I finally made it down there, was able to run the 5K. It was the family Safari 5K. It was through Animal Kingdom. It was a trip. The 5K was a lot less structured than and, but it was a good time. We enjoyed it.
Speaker 2:And then I ran the full marathon. It was my third marathon, something like that, and it was. It was as magical as ever. It's changed a good bit over the years, but I was hooked. I ran it in costume. I mean, I'm a theater person, of course, and it's Disney, of course I'm going to costume. I ran it dressed as Tigger and at that time it wasn't made. People wore costumes but it wasn't the level of costuming now where it's where. It's just a phenomenon but, and so people were definitely noticed. This this, this chubby guy running dressed as, dressed as Tigger, and it was, it was magical. I ran into people actually I knew from from where I worked, just randomly there, and I started to get my first taste of what the run Disney community was like and and I was hooked, and I've been, I've been coming back since.
Speaker 1:I have to say, of all the characters, I feel like Tigger has a really special place because for you specifically, you have such an exuberant joyful energy when I think of Tigger that it feels like that was a very natural costume for your first trip out. But I am curious. You've already touched on it a little bit. We do know that run Disney has changed. We still feel that it's magical because we keep coming back. But what makes run Disney now stand out from all the other races that you've done again, as Marathon Maniac you've? You've done them all pretty much. So how does it stand out as a running event from all the others?
Speaker 2:It is. To me, it is the definition of event running it is. There is something happening from the second you hit property to the time you leave. The races are so filled, but for me it's the community that has developed. It is a full running community in itself. It has different traditions, different customs and people can be in other places, but there's a whole different set of rules and expectations and mental focus for, I think, for doing a Disney race, it's a place where I think more people do their first race, A lot of people their first and last race. They check it off the list and they move on, but there's those who meant it to be their first and only and there's just something about the community, the way Run Disney works, that it just draws people back, and I think that's the big difference.
Speaker 2:It is a race that caters to first-time runners, it caters to recreational runners, but there are fast courses. If you're in an early corral and you want to put down a fast time, if you want to get a Boston qualifier, those courses are quick. If you're, you can do it, and so I think they've managed to be a very big tent for running, but especially for those folks who may not think of themselves as a runner, may not? You know, that's not their number one thing they identify as, but it's something they've always wanted to do. Or they thought what kind of person does that? Could I do that? I think there's no better place for that than Run Disney events.
Speaker 1:I feel like Run Disney needs to give you a call, my friend, because you just gave me chills, because you did nail it, and that's something that we're hearing from all of our guests, specifically on Run Disney it's the community, it's the community. But how you are able to encompass the fact that they're able to truly provide something for everybody, yet everybody leaves feeling that sense of belonging, that sense of community, and starting to maybe even change their identity or how they perceive themselves, that's, I think, what truly makes it magical.
Speaker 2:I tell people before they, if they're not familiar with Run Disney, especially if they're runners I tell them to go into a Run Disney race looking for what you want to get out of it and understand that other people are going to be looking for something different. And that's something I really try to encourage through social media and talking to people during races to don't get frustrated because these people want to run, walk and take pictures with 10 characters. That's awesome. Do it. If you want to do a very focused pace and PR, you can do that. But allow those awesome people who have a different focus and a different goal for the race to enjoy it. And I think when people get there, they get that.
Speaker 2:There's that people who haven't done Run Disney races, I think, come into it with some unneeded baggage. They go oh, this is a race. I'm a runner, this is a race for me. I'm not going to be able to run. It's a bunch of people doing this. It's not for real athletes. They go and I'm like it's not. It certainly can be for someone who this is a one and done, but it works for others folks too. It's super versatile and I love it that it can be that for so many people. Now there's a learning curve. With a Run Disney race. There's many ways it's not like other running events. Everything from registration to packet pickup to everything else, there is a learning curve. It is its own animal, but that's obtainable, that's learnable.
Speaker 1:I want you to touch on that a little bit because you're absolutely right. When I'm here, you talk about it as a first-comer. For the record, run Disney was my very first I would say longer distance race as well. That's how I got indoctrinated into the entire world of longer distances. I had done the five k's and 10 k's beforehand, but nothing like the half marathon or the marathon distance, but I think it can be a little overwhelming. I'm probably saying that lightly For newcomers. So what are some of the learning curves or what sticks out to you as something that folks may need to know going into their first Run Disney weekend?
Speaker 2:It's huge. That's probably the first thing. If you're not familiar with Disney property, you're not ready for how big Disney property is. It's ginormous. It's going to be a race with, depending on the race that you're doing, it's going to be from 10,000 to 20,000 people doing it. That's a lot of people to get a packet.
Speaker 2:It's a lot of people to line up. It's a lot of people to get on a bus. Now, the good thing is, nobody handles a zillion people better than Disney. That's what they do. That is their 24-hour a day gig is dealing with a bunch of people. But that also means you're going to do it the Disney way, which means picking up your packet isn't going to be showing up the morning of the race and going to a table. It's going to be coming there at least a day before and running the gauntlet.
Speaker 2:That is ESPN Wide World of Sports. I love that place. I remember my first marathon. I've been to Disney a ton, but I've never been there. I've seen pictures. I went in and my jaw dropped. You think I would be used to the size of Disney after decades there. Looked around, going this place is huge, then realizing and it wasn't even as many buildings then as it is now I said, okay, I have to go to this arena to pick up this. Then, in this arena, I pick up this. But then there's some other vendors that are in the baseball stadium, which they were at that time.
Speaker 2:If you weren't prepared for that, you get information and the information tells you what you do. You just don't get the scale. You don't realize that you're going to park in a huge parking lot and you're going to walk a long way before you get to a gate and you're gonna walk a long way to the back of the of the buildings before you find Stop one in the in the run Disney packet pick up gauntlet. And it's not. It's a. It's not a bad experience. They usually, unless you're there right at the very beginning, it usually flows great. Again, disney moves people like no one else is a pleasant experience, but it is a whole experience. It's not too different than if you, you know, run one. The other major rate, if you go, go run peach tree in Atlanta, you know you're gonna be there one of the days before the 4th of July. You're gonna go to a convention center. You're gonna go here for this and here for this. It's not that different, it's just big.
Speaker 1:I Think you nailed it. It is a very on par with, like the major Marathons or the major race day experiences. I think folks just don't expect it because they expect Disney to not have as much of those Expo experiences, but it is. I actually would liken it to Potentially your your first official shakeout of the race weekend, because you are gonna be putting in three to four, maybe even five miles on your feet, depending where you get parked and how much you want to explore. So that's a wonderful experience. I love how you paint the picture as well. In my mind I'm also already feeling like I'm kind of an American gladiator competitor going in to run the gauntlet of the expo. So from now on I'm gonna wear a superhero cape when I go to the expo. At this point, and it would be.
Speaker 1:It'd be okay, because everybody will be a costume anyway.
Speaker 2:Reduced it to people before as your initiation ceremony to see if you are worthy of running. It's figuring out the order of all the buildings you have to go to to get your stuff and and if you want to, you know, start passing over that money for that good Disney merch where you have to go for that and yeah well, then it's, it's again, it's.
Speaker 2:It's. There's a learning curve, but there's also someone. There's a, there's a cast member, every you know every 50 yards or less that you go to going. Okay, I am lost. Guide me, please help. And you know you have an amazing group of runners all around you that you could go up to anybody, and we do that. I've done this for people regularly. They go. I have no idea what I'm doing like. Come with me, my friend, there too. Here we go.
Speaker 1:Exactly, absolutely. That's exactly what I was gonna say. It's yes is the cast members are incredible and thank you so much. The volunteers and the cast members that make it possible for us To have these race weekends, the running community itself. If you just, if you're just willing to say, hey, where's the packet pickup or where's the shirt pickup, it's, someone's gonna probably go with you, take a photo with you with one of the incredible photo pass photographers which brings us to the next thing, of course. So we know, expose pretty intense, but a wonderful experience. What would you say? How, now we've got in our packet, we've picked that up, we're ready there. How does that translate to a first trimer going to their first race for the weekend? Maybe they're doing just 5k, maybe they're doing a challenge. Whatever the case may be, what are some of the things that they should be prepared of for race day?
Speaker 2:race. Getting to the starting line is probably a little harder, I think, at Disney, just Just to get your get your brain around in some ways. It's like it's like races like Boston, where you have to. You have to get yourself on a bus to, you know, to get out to where the start line is. It's not, you can't drive and park and find a point. You know parking space, you know five feet from the start line, here you go. It's probably gonna be more complicated.
Speaker 2:You know, if you're in one of the Disney resorts, they're gonna have transportation for you and it's good, you know it'll be. There'll be a bus waiting there at you know, to something in the morning three in the morning for you to hop on, and there's occasionally some buses going in weird directions, but most of the time don't get you to that start line. There's a zillion buses to get you back. It's good, but then, but there's still where does the bus come to my resort? Where do I? You know how, what's, when's the last one going to be? So there's a lot of that. You can't drive to them, but that's also. There's a lot of roads closing and so it's a matter of okay, what does this road close and that can be very frustrating. You're not used to the road closures, you're not used to property, but I mean you can park in a parking lot, but then you're probably gonna have to walk. What'd you say? Three quarters of a mile, a mile?
Speaker 1:Yeah, about a mile is what I've clocked for the most part. So I would definitely say that in this conversation. I think what I would love folks to know going into it is that If they did not prepare for some extra time on their feet before and after those training runs, that they likely should at least prepare for getting some extra rest during those race weekends, because they are gonna have a bit more Extra time on their feet, some extra mileage.
Speaker 2:I take, whether it's the, if you take the bus there, you're still gonna have to walk a considerable distance To go through security and get over to the area. There's just lots of lots of steps to go through.
Speaker 2:Yeah that is my warm-up. Yeah, I do do a warm-up walk or warm-up run before a race. I just count all the walking I'm going to do from the bus to the staging area there, where else as as that, and then you know when you're preparing for the race. You sound like you go right to the start line. There's a massive, massive Staging area. What I've the first time I hit it.
Speaker 2:I'm from South Florida, I've used to hurricane season and that sort of stuff, and so look to me like one of the temporary, like like FEMA emergency Things that are put up with all the tents and that I'm like it's like a tense city, it's. This thing is huge. And so you're trying to figure out where are the porta-potties? Well, there's a hundred and twenty of them over there. You know where's the packet pickup? Well, there's some big trucks over there. That's not so it's all there, but it's just again at a big scale, but tons of people around and I think runners in general are Awesome people to talk to, no matter where you go. I have I have, whether it's Disney or or anywhere else. I've ever I've ever run. I find that most runners are really helpful, kind people. Multiply that times about a hundred at a run Disney race.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Now for people who aren't used to talking. I tell a story regularly that I'm a bit of an introvert. That shocks everybody. But if it means you know, it means talking to someone I don't know or asking for help goodness gracious, that's not comfortable for me. Get used to talking to people that run Disney events. Or if that's not comfortable for you, break out of the shell, because you can turn left or right and there is someone who you can say okay, I have no clue, where do I go, okay, what do you need to do? And I'll take you there. You know they'll encourage you. You can be nervous before I. I'm regular.
Speaker 2:I see people like looking super nervous before a race. I'll go up, don't go. Are you okay? You got this. You know this could be fine. You'll the, the. The support system is there. Yeah, cast members are there, but your fellow runners are there, the volunteers are there. You are fine and you can. If you can't figure it out, they will figure it out for you. And so I would say don't let the scale intimidate you. Right, and and it's, it's.
Speaker 1:It just works out, it's fine, andrew, but I love what you're saying here is you've given some incredible chips because you've talked about You're gonna have some logistics that maybe you wouldn't have in your hometown 5k, 10k, half marathon, whatever the case may be. So you have to take into account maybe a little bit of extra time building it into expo Building, a little extra time for race morning. But the most invaluable thing that you've said here is that if you are Not walking away with the opportunity to make a new bestie in that corral, then you didn't do the run Disney events correctly. You should at least strike up a quick conversation with your corral mates because you're gonna be in there for some time. So let's get into some of that corral stuff because you've already hit on it. You're gonna do a little bit of a warm-up walk. You're gonna get to this incredible staging area.
Speaker 1:I personally love the staging area to kind of help pump me up, wake me up a bit more with all the great music and the DJs and the fun and the dance and seeing all the incredible costumes. But if we make our way into our corral, we're likely gonna be there for a little bit. What kind of tips do you have for folks regarding this corral?
Speaker 2:The first is you don't have to pack into the front of it and that's going to come as a shock to even seasoned run Disney folk. The crowds are huge. There's room for all the people in it, plus usually a couple hundred more. Really it's a lot of space. They're huge. You're in there with thousands of people in your corral. It's just that big. A lot of people are really worried about time at Disney races, especially from about mid-pack on the. Not making the finish line in time is a dominating terror that haunts people.
Speaker 2:And so the idea is I'm going to get to the front of my corral and that's going to get me an extra seven minutes, or something.
Speaker 2:Maybe. But I would also say you might be better off finding a spot in the corral where you can stretch a little bit, where you can move around, where you can walk and talk to somebody, where you can shift your positions. You're not standing stock still for 30 minutes. There's video screens and there's stuff to watch, there's people to talk to, but you don't have to pack in there. I'm not sure if the couple of minutes that might buy you is worth the lack of motion. You have my thing.
Speaker 2:Over the last couple of years I have become a huge fan of lurking at the back of my corral. It is the best thing ever, I will say, to mention it because other people are going to do it and my fun is going to go away. And I wound up there by accident. Especially when Disney starts the races in the Epcot parking lot instead of out on the roads like they do for the marathon, they love taking us on these hairpin like paths. So we're always turning back against ourselves to get to the start line.
Speaker 2:I often do interviews with Riley Claremont at the start line, so I have to be on that inside edge to talk to Riley. Now, because of that, I always get pushed back to the back because everyone's packing in there on the turn and no one's going on the outside. I found myself kind of like a watermelons seed, just sort of shot to the back of the corral, and then I realized I had miles of space and air. And then I looked behind me and I saw this wall of people with a little ribbon in front of them, which was the corral behind me, waiting to come. And it was the funniest thing, because I'm here with all this space and behind me are like 2,000 people packed in, like right up at me, and it was like I was like how do we want it? They're like oh God.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And let's okay, you nailed it, like you've already. Clearly you are a natural performer and you've built it over the years. Because you're painting these incredible pictures, I can see them vividly in my head the experiences of being at Run Disney weekend. But let's talk about the dreaded pace that people are so scared of because there's so much fear leading up to any Run Disney weekend. The balloon ladies are there to terrorize us, though we know that they're definitely not, but can you talk a little bit about, maybe, some pacing strategies, knowing that everybody is different and their training may have been different, but what are some just general good practices for pacing during a Run Disney event?
Speaker 2:You know it's really it is very different for each person. I know a lot of people use the Run Walk very successfully and and and Jeff Galloway has lots of great programs to help people with that, which is a great recommendation, especially if you're not used to that. Distance training with that sort of thing really allows some muscle recovery and really that's fatigue. I'll be honest, I can't do it. I think it's because I got into this as a as a consistent pace runner.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I have never, I try. I got with a pace group that was doing it once just for laughs and I lasted about two miles and went. No, no, y'all are awesome, sweet people. I got to run steady pace. Even if we're passing each other back and forth all the time, that works well, people, the big thing is relentless forward moment. Keep moving forward. Be deliberate in what you want to do, be aware of your pace. If you're, if you're, if you're wanting to stop for 10 characters, know that you're going to have to add, you know, another hour plus to your time.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And to do that you, you may have to, you know you may have to have that pace of it. Yeah, and train, yeah. This gets into the fact that Disney races are often a first time race. Half marathons and marathons are really hard to fake. You can do it, but you're not going to be happy. Train, you know, train at that pace, put some time in on it, get some friends out there to drag you around, take your dog out, but you're, if you're going to do this, you want to do this and not be miserable.
Speaker 2:So, train at train, at that pace, give yourself a little comfortable margin so you don't so it's not Absolutely terrorizing you during the race. Now, that being said, what's the worst that happens, and that is you get swept. Well, not that horrible a thing. It's a big fear of everyone. But you know, if you make it 18 miles of a marathon, you made 18 miles. Congratulations. They're going to give you your medal and you can. You can do whatever you feel you need to do to earn it. You think you need to go out there and when it's over and do another eight miles to earn it. Go do that.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:No, that's no one's going to think. No one is going to think less of you for getting swept doing a marathon or a half marathon or a 10 K, because the vast majority of this world is not getting off their couch.
Speaker 2:So if you're getting to a distance, you're you're accomplishing great things. So I would just worry less about the pace. In general, we all want to get to the finish line. We want to encourage each other to the finish line. I know when I I made it a point last few races to not do one of the races and be there on the sidelines cheering for people. And when I see the folks coming and I see the balloons bobbing, you know in the distance I my heart starts pounding and I'm trying to encourage people on cause. I want them to have that finish. I want them to have that joy. That's not really the the ultimate thing of a run. Disney race the finish line that sounds crazy for a race. The finish line is not the ultimate goal. The journey is way better than the finish line. Finish lines are great.
Speaker 2:You know, the best part of the finish line is to me. You get to stop.
Speaker 1:Absolutely the best part of any finish line.
Speaker 2:I love running. I love more than running is stopping.
Speaker 1:Especially after running. For sure, andrew, I think I want to like take that entire clip and segment and I'm going to loop it for my own, like morning motivation to get out there, because it is so much about the journey and we do forget that leading into race weekends. Because, yes, it is the culmination of our hard working efforts. It's a culmination of a lot of sacrifices and challenges that may have come our way, but it still is not what defines you in your journey. Truly, it is all of the work leading up to that's just a celebration lap, so I love that reminder.
Speaker 1:I do want to talk a little bit about spectating as well, but before we get into that, I have to ask you you've already touched on it We've got these character stops, we've got these musical stops, we've got some big screen TVs out there. So, as a theater director, as someone who absolutely has entertainment running through your veins, how is run Disney and all of their entertainment aspect? How is that different than, let's say, other races? But, more so, what do you think of it as a theater director?
Speaker 2:I'm at the point I've worked on. There's a lot of my background. I've worked on more than 200 theater productions over the years. It might be much higher than that. I haven't counted.
Speaker 2:When I counted it just makes me tired, and so I kind of always see how the sausage gets made and I can't see a show with going. Well, how do they stage that or how do they do that? So part of it for me is just thinking of the logistics, of what it would take to get this many performers, this many cool set pieces, this many musicians and bands and all of these people to all of these places before roads are closed and keep them going for the hours it takes to entertain everyone. I mean, it's a massive undertaking and that's one of the reasons why it's not at most races. I mean, if some races have managed some success over the years or maybe some music at a few places, but as far as a beginning to end story and performance, that's Disney, that's, they're the ones.
Speaker 2:I love it. I think of it as kind of a running buffet, in that there are a lot of things and you can kind of take what you need from them and just sort of enjoy the rest as you go by. I know for me and my first one, I was just motivated by running through the parks. That's all I needed. Other stuff was cool, but all I needed was to run down Main Street and run through Animal Kingdom. That's what that would have kept me going forever Running through Epcon. At the end that would have kept me going. I've rarely ever stopped at a character stop. I've kind of become a character stop over the last couple of years, but that's a whole another story.
Speaker 1:That's what we're going to talk about next. Let's go ahead and touch on that. Where does? For those that haven't yet encountered Puppet Runner, where does this name come from? What does it mean?
Speaker 2:I had actually been doing a run Disney for a while before the Puppet Runner thing started. It was supposed to be one time. This was not supposed to be a thing. It was the 2019 Wine and Dine. I had never been able to do Wine and Dine. It's at a time where I'm in the theater competition part of my year. Getting away is ridiculously hard. I love Epcot. Epcot's my park. I was fifth, sixth grade when it opened, so it's in my place. That's my park. Wine and Dine I had to do it. It's like, okay, if I'm going to do this and I figured it might be the only time I ever did Wine and Dine I said I got to do this in costume and it has to be special I'm like, well, wine and Dine, what am I going to dress up in? I'm playing around with thinking of food and that sort of thing About that time.
Speaker 2:I've been a Puppet collector forever. I'm in theater and so Puppets sometimes come along with that. One of my favorite Puppet-making companies, fulcumanus. They make very realistic animal Puppets. They had just gotten a contract with Disney and just to do a limited series of Puppets. They had just released a Remy from Ratatouille Puppet. That was astounding. I had been dying for an excuse to buy it, for no reason except just to have it. It was beautiful and I was like that's what I could do for the 10K. I think I said for a 10K for somewhere around an hour or so. I think I can do. The Puppet was huge. It's like I think I can manage that for an hour.
Speaker 2:I said, okay, if I'm going to run with him, I'll dress up as a chef. I'm not skinny enough to pull off Linguine. My personal shape is a little closer to gusto than Linguine. I said I will dress up as gusto. No one will dress up as gusto. That's pretty unique. I got myself a chef coat. I researched and found they make them to be worn in hot kitchens. I figured during a 10K it would be fine. I just got that chef hat at Gusto's and brought it on the back and said I'll do this for the 10K. And I was doing the half marathon too. But I was like there is no way I'm going to run with a puppet on my arm for a half marathon, I will die.
Speaker 2:I had a different actually. I think I had a sort of revolutionary war costume, because the Fife and Drum Mickey was the symbol of the half marathon that year.
Speaker 2:I was like I wear like a revolutionary war style coat and a tricorne. I'll put little mouse ears on it and I'll be Fife and Drum Mickey. It would be great. No puppet, no puppet, not good. So ran the 10K. Holy cow. It was like being in the entourage of a rock star. Remy is a rock star, this puppet now. I've worked with puppets forever. I have a puppeteer and I was finding ways to really use him as I ran. I had never even tried it before. Like it's a 10K, I run 10Ks all the time. I'll be fine. But I was finding ways to interact with people and I could look one way and have him look and kind of react and I was having a good old time. I must have been stopped. I don't know how many times my people who wanted to take selfies with me when I run I often go inside myself. I'm doing math.
Speaker 1:I'm going okay if I keep this pace up.
Speaker 2:If I lose 10 seconds, that's just, I'm going to be okay. People motivate them different ways. I'm motivated by playing mile math as I run, so I often don't talk. I mean, I'm pleasant, I'll encourage someone if they need it, but most of the time I'm inside doing okay, what hurts now? Okay. My leg hurts now, oh fun. Oh look, my hip hurts now Okay. That's where I am With Remy on my hand. That wasn't happening because I was going to have to talk to everyone around me, because they wanted to talk to me. They completely changed the way I ran races.
Speaker 1:And for friends that have not or maybe aren't able to make it out to a race weekend, where you're there with Remy or any of your other puppets, we will have an episode notes, puppetrunnercom. You guys can go check out all of the puppets. Of course, follow him on Instagram and on social media channels to see all of these incredible running buddies. Which, of course, leads me to my next natural question. I feel like Remy may be a fan favorite for you. He has your heart, since it was kind of your first puppetrunning experience at Disney. But do you have a favorite puppet? Are you allowed to choose a favorite, like children?
Speaker 2:I'm not sure. I'm not sure you're allowed to choose a favorite puppet, but as far as a favorite running partner it is definitely Remy. Okay, what happened was I went back to my hotel that night, just moved by the experience of this, and I've told my family. I said I have to wash this costume. I have to run with him tomorrow. I have to do the half marathon. My wife was like how's your arm going to be? I said oh, I'm probably not going to be able to move it after the run, but I got to try it because there's something happening with this. I wasn't sure what it was, but it changed how I looked at the race. I said I'm going to try this again. And when I did it the next day, it just that was it. I think.
Speaker 2:Within a week after that I was planning how to run other races with a puppet because it connected me with people. And let me. Usually I could see someone that was having trouble I'd be a stranger coming up to them saying, hey, you need help. Now I'm that silly guy with the puppet and it's easier. Those connections are easier.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think what it does is it lowers that the threshold of being anxious to talk to the individual, because you assume that the individual has to be a bit more extroverted or a little bit more willing to talk to you or chit chat. But I will say that you as a spectator as well, with Remy, is extraordinary for folks to experience because, again it is as you mentioned you become a character. Stop, except that it's almost like having a friend as your character. Stop because you are so encouraging and so motivational out there for the runners. So I have to take time to call that out and thank you so much for doing that when you're not running, we appreciate you out there, when you can get out there, for sure.
Speaker 2:Honestly, I think I get as much or more out of cheering as the runners do. I found this out by accident. I was more than a little grumpy the last marathon weekend because I mean, registration is, you know, a little bit of a. It can be a challenge some years. And I did it. I got the marathon and that was it. I wanted goofy. Goofy is my thing, I don't do dopey, I can't get all worked enough, but but goofy is my thing. And I was so grumpy because I got the marathon. I was thankful I got the marathon.
Speaker 2:A lot of people did it. I was going hey, I got the marathon, it's okay, but I want to do the half. And so I was like, nope, that's okay, I will go there anyway, cause I already had the reservation and I will cheer for the half. You know, I'll set myself up at the end of the Epcot parking lot right before you get up to the buses. We come down the last of those three endless Epcot hills and I will encourage people about be about a mile or so before the finish line. That's when some people really need a little encouraging. I said, and that will be awesome, I love this community, I will do that for these awesome people, the time went by in a blink.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it was. I was moved, I was inspired. I saw. I saw people overcoming incredible challenges. I saw joy. I saw pain and people trying to fight it down. I saw people just scared that they weren't going to be able to go any further. I saw fear of the balloon lady. I saw fear of not being able to accomplish what they wanted. I left, after the two or three hours that I was there watching that, just emotionally drained.
Speaker 2:I was walking away from there and actually set up a little way down was a little much jello and I was on with him going, that is, and he watches all the time and I was just so emotionally powerful to me just watching that and and I was hooked I said I want to be there to see these, to see these folks come by, and so I did it for the 10 K, because once again I didn't get the 10 K for one, and nine set myself up over there near boardwalk and it was. It got a little out of hand. I probably had 200 or 300 people stop to take pictures with me. I felt sorry for the cast. There was a cast member there. She was a lifeguard, I forget her name.
Speaker 2:Really, really sweet girl. It's her first time ever having to work on these races. They gave her this quiet, simple, little, fairly dark corner on the backside of kind of kind of near the back of the like roller coaster pool over there and over there by boardwalk. I'm sure she thought she was just going to be there, you know, just quietly encouraging people to say I want you to be quiet because it's right by the building, and instead she wound up having to accidentally supervise a full scale. And I was actually I actually had some finger puppets I was giving the people and I actually gave her what afterwards going you're awesome, you got more of the bargain for today.
Speaker 2:It was okay, she's. No, it was, it was amazing, she got that. I think she got the same feeling of watching and getting into the people and just seeing how magical it is that they're accomplishing these things. It's just if, through the runners who've done Disney forever and you haven't shared for one, try to find a way to do it, because I tell you, you will not regret it and you're going to find yourself doing it more because these folks are inspiring. They will Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1:And it's why we love this right Because it encapsulates the human experience and all you use nailed, it encapsulates all of the emotions that we have throughout our entire life experience and this very small segment of time. So you have these incredible highs, lows, inspiration. You feel sadness, of course, for some folks you feel a lot of joy, for others elation. The words are just so overwhelmingly powerful that I can, I can see why you would be drained, and the one thing that we haven't covered that is part of the human life experience and incredibly important, is the food at Runn Disney and Disney weekends. So, friend, we couldn't be at brunch without chatting about food. What would you say is your must have food snack or Disney reservation that you always want to snag when you come down here for a Runn Disney event.
Speaker 2:I am a major foodie, so you're right. You're right into my, my, my wheelhouse. Now my favorite restaurant on property is Chef Art Smith's homecoming over at the Springs. I adore that restaurant. Florida home cooking take it up to gourmet levels.
Speaker 2:It's, it's astonishingly good. That's that's always on my list if I can, if I can get it there. I love finding all the new things and if something new is going I have to try it. But the other favorites of mine? I love Boma, animal kingdom, large, just an amazing variety. If you're in different experiences with food, boma pulls from a lot of different African cultures, but in a very approachable way. So it's not, it's not, you know, if you're kind of scared of trying some of the different, you're, you're going to be fine there which are going to get to experience some flavors that are amazing, that you might never try, and I think that's, I think that's a wonderful place that I enjoy, I, I, I enjoy beer garden. Give me, give me a, give me a German band and schnitzel.
Speaker 1:I love it as well. It's so fun, it's festive in there. I think it's a lot of fun to have to snag a reservation, and those are actually a little bit easier to come by sometimes, so I'm a big fan of it as well.
Speaker 2:Reservation there next week. I am. I am already looking forward to it. Also, I love, I love the festivals in Epcot. I I could go broke eating my way. You know people are about drinking their way around Epcot. Forget that. I'm going to eat my way around Epcot because and I I could tell you a favorite at like almost every booth the variety of food. People don't understand food. People go ah, it's a theme park. It says that food's not done enough. Epcot has the best food around. It's just amazing. There's more. There's more good food than you can even taste in an entire trip.
Speaker 1:I feel like Disney is missing on an opportunity to bring you in for a full on experience at the after party, for wine and dine, where they can, where you can help curate you and of course Remy helped curate all of your favorite festival foods there for wine and dine. And then I have one more question before I let you go, which because you've touched on so much of the festivals, so much of the Epcot experience, but also so many of the race weekends and how they all have very different vibes. I know you can't pick a favorite puppet. You do have a favorite running buddy. You also have a favorite run Disney weekend event.
Speaker 2:I do it's marathon weekend.
Speaker 1:It is.
Speaker 2:I love food and wine and I feel a little bad saying that, because food and wine has a beautiful, has a beautiful chill vibe to it that marathon weekend does not have. Marathon weekend was my first, and marathon weekend has the marathon and there is there is nothing that tests me personally like a marathon. Still, I mean, I've done, I've done longer races, I've done 24 hour races, I've done some crazy, some crazy things, but there's just something about the marathon and the mountain that that is, and doing it it is still the best, and so that weekend will forever, forever be my favorite because I know that I mean I'm going to be on that I am not. Let's do it this way. I don't have a Boston qualifier at the moment, so and I am a runner I do very little walking on a course, although I have a feeling this next marathon I might be walking a few miles there at the end, but I'm going to be on that course for hours and I'm going to get the bang for my buck with the marathon.
Speaker 2:I'm going to get to meet so many people, I'm going to get so many experiences, I'm going to see so much on that marathon course. A marathon is almost like a little mini lifetime, I think. In a lot of ways it seems to stretch on, and so that will always. That will always be the best, even though it's the one that always hurts the most.
Speaker 1:Yes, well, again, it's, like you said, a little mini lifetime and sometimes it feels like a longer lifetime than others. But, andrew, again I have to thank you so much because what I'm hearing is for folks that are going into marathon weekend or maybe they are considering signing up for a run Disney event, that they should absolutely take the plunge One because they get to potentially, hopefully, meet Puppet Runner, but also because it is such an incredible, very different experience than all other run or all other running experiences can be. Now, again, folks, you're going to want to stay in touch, so use that episode, notes, the links for PuppetRunnercom and all of his social media, because I'm walking away motivated and inspired. You guys will absolutely walk away motivated and inspired as well for this race weekend and all the future ones. Thank you, andrew, for joining us.
Speaker 2:Hey everyone, if you see me at a race, don't be shy, come talk to me. I would love to talk to you. Some people are here from later. Oh, I saw you, but I didn't want to disturb you. Please, you're not disturbing me. Come talk, let's share our running journey together and just have a great time. Can't wait to see everyone out there. If you're not sure if you can do it, you can do it, trust me. Trust me, I'm a chubby middle-aged guy. If you want more, this is with a puppet on his hand. If I can do it, you got this. You got this.