‘Go the distance’: father-daughter duo complete Disney marathon together

MONROE, Maine (WABI) - The magic of Disney drew Monroe’s Trinity Tripp in at a young age.

“I remember going to Disney for the first time at six years old. And I just remember being amazed,” said Trinity.

Trinity has been going back with her parents, Nick and Sophia, nearly every year since.

When Trinity and Nick decided they wanted to run a marathon, it was only logical to sign up for Disney’s.

“We started last year by doing the 10K at Disney. And then we kind of thought like, ‘Oh, that was fun, but we got to do something else next year,’” said Nick.

“I wanted to do with my dad and I wanted to be there to encourage him and push him and I knew that he would encourage me as well. So I thought that if we work together, we’d be able to complete it,” said Trinity.

Facing challenges together is nothing for new the father-daughter duo.

They’ve tackled some of Maine’s most perilous peaks, including Katahdin – twice.

It’s a tradition they started a few years ago before Trinity enrolled at UNE, where she’s currently a sophomore in the nursing program.

“Just a special adventure for the two of us before she went off and started her own adventure,” said Nick.

But the 2023 Disney marathon would be their biggest obstacle yet.

While Nick racked up hundreds of hours preparing, Trinity’s training was cut short.

“I was running multiple times a week and then I had a seizure so I kind of stopped training. But I still really wanted to push myself and still complete my goal,” said Trinity.

Just a few months after her seizure, Trinity and Nick ran Disney side-by-side.

After 6 hours, 24 minutes and 15 seconds – they crossed the finish line, hand in hand.

“I was just so thankful to be able to do this experience with my dad. Even after I crossed the finish line and was exhausted I already knew I wanted to do another one,” said Trinity.

“It was very emotional because I was so incredibly proud of Trin for overcoming every obstacle she’s had to deal with,” said Nick.

The Tripps have their sights set on next year’s Dopey Challenge, which is a 5K, 10K, half, and full marathon on four consecutive days

You can be sure they’ll be together every step of the way, with Sophia right there to cheer them on.

The magic of Disney, and the promise of more time together propelling them forward.

“It’s really easy to find an excuse as to why you’re too busy or you don’t have the time or you just don’t feel up to it. But once you get out there and you do it and you accomplish it and you spend that time with someone that you love and you care about, there’s really no better feeling than that,” said Nick.

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