By Lynn Colburn
Chuck Colburn and Darrell Simmermaker started running together in the mid-1970s as members of the Jacksonville High School soccer team.
Since 2019, the two have been running races at Disney World — and in that first year, their respective wives, Lynn Colburn and Tina Simmermaker, joined them. The Colburn’s daughter Cathy works for Disney.
Chuck Colburn and Darrell Simmermaker ran over a dozen races together in 2023.
In January 2024, Disney held its “Marathon Weekend.” More than 20,000 runners ran one or more of a handful of races: a 5K on Jan. 4, a 10K on Jan. 5, a half marathon on Jan. 6 and a full marathon on January 7.
Colburn and Simmermaker were among 8,000 runners that did all four races, which is called the Dopey Challenge. Simmermaker also raised money in support of the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America to join the race. The two finished all four races, running nearly 50 miles in total and finishing in the top 40% of all runners. They received a total of six medals for all the runs.
