How strict is the Castaway Cay 5k?

[remlap]

Last time I was at Castaway Cay, it was raining. In the meet up spot they first said we were going to 5k around the ship and about 5 minutes later, cancelled the entire thing and handed everyone a bib and a medal on the ship. The rain was warm and really not that hard, so I just went out and walked what I thought was the course in the rain. There were only a few of us on the island. I didn't know, until reading this thread that you were supposed to do the loop around the observation tower twice, my 5k was a walk from the ship, to the airstrip, around the loop, to serenity bay, down to the end of the road that goes to the Teen adventure, and then back to the ship for a shower and breakfast. I don't know if that was 4k, 5k or 6k, but a fun stroll and I feel I "earned my plastic medal."
Looking forward to hopefully better weather in May and my third visit to Castaway.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Last time I was at Castaway Cay, it was raining. In the meet up spot they first said we were going to 5k around the ship and about 5 minutes later, cancelled the entire thing and handed everyone a bib and a medal on the ship. The rain was warm and really not that hard, so I just went out and walked what I thought was the course in the rain. There were only a few of us on the island. I didn't know, until reading this thread that you were supposed to do the loop around the observation tower twice, my 5k was a walk from the ship, to the airstrip, around the loop, to serenity bay, down to the end of the road that goes to the Teen adventure, and then back to the ship for a shower and breakfast. I don't know if that was 4k, 5k or 6k, but a fun stroll and I feel I "earned my plastic medal."
Looking forward to hopefully better weather in May and my third visit to Castaway.

You probably did more than a 5k. My first time doing the Castaway Cay run they actually started and finished at the ship. That was a REALLY long time ago so I don’t remember the exact course but I am pretty certain the course you described would be longer than what we ran.

 

[jfis1020]

I am far from a runner and am not able to run (medically) but am seriously considering this as a walk. I need something to kick start my “journey” to better health and see this as a positive way to say this is how I started. Do people walk this 5K? I certainly don’t want to get in the way of the serious runners. Any thoughts? What is the cost?

 

[roxymama]

I am far from a runner and am not able to run (medically) but am seriously considering this as a walk. I need something to kick start my “journey” to better health and see this as a positive way to say this is how I started. Do people walk this 5K? I certainly don’t want to get in the way of the serious runners. Any thoughts? What is the cost?

I just did the 5k in April and there were plenty of walkers. There are always people who run and walk off and on. Just make sure you are able to walk 3.1 miles before you go (remember it could be hot so may take some extra effort due to heat) and you will be just fine.
If you are worried about being in the way, just start towards the back of the pack and stay to the right side on the course. Bring a hat or visor since there is intermittent shade and sun. And have fun!! It's very much a non-serious atmosphere and the cast member in charge of us was very energetic.
And make sure to get a pic on the island with your victory medal!!

 

[DisneYE]

I just did the 5k in April and there were plenty of walkers. There are always people who run and walk off and on. Just make sure you are able to walk 3.1 miles before you go (remember it could be hot so may take some extra effort due to heat) and you will be just fine.
If you are worried about being in the way, just start towards the back of the pack and stay to the right side on the course. Bring a hat or visor since there is intermittent shade and sun. And have fun!! It's very much a non-serious atmosphere and the cast member in charge of us was very energetic.
And make sure to get a pic on the island with your victory medal!!

Very good advice.
Especially the part about getting used to walk a lot prior to the race.
Don't do the 5K if you haven't walked a few weeks before.

I walk 3-6 K's (almost) every day of the week, for years, and I do the 5K walk every time we're at CC and it's hard because it's usually hot and humid. I've seen people walking that are scarlet red in the face at the 2K mark and I smh thinking "first time walking the 5K"..its dangerous if you never walk and all of a sudden try to do the 5K, ppl can have a heart attack, esp. if they have health/obesity issues.

 

[Calantha]

Any thoughts? What is the cost?

No cost associated with it. It was very hot in June and there were five of us together (my FIL, my 2 SILs, and one of my nieces (age 10), and me) - we did a combination of walking and running. The paths are wide enough that walking won't block any runners. But as PPs have said, make sure you can walk that far (although if you had to bow out of the second loop by the observation tower, I'm sure that would be fine).

 

[Fire14]

I would say a lot of people who walk don't do the second loop. I did the 5k once and walked the whole course. When I got to the finish line I noticed a lot of people I had passed were already at the finish. Very few people passed me after the initial start, when everyone is setting their pace. I thought it was kind of lame to only walk half the course while taking a medal that said you did the whole thing. I suspect a lot of people just want the free souvenir. Just my opinion though.

Unless it's changed, they actually do 2. The runDisney one (which is timed and is the correct distance - and I think has a fee attached, though I may be wrong about that) which has its own bibs and challenge medal and the untimed, free "fun" run for those not participating in the challenge.

Then that is new. In the past, if there was a multi-race challenge that you did not complete, you would not get the challenge medal. But, individual race medals were given even to non-finishers.

Considering the cost of RunDisney events, that t-shirt is not free!

I am far from a runner and am not able to run (medically) but am seriously considering this as a walk. I need something to kick start my “journey” to better health and see this as a positive way to say this is how I started. Do people walk this 5K? I certainly don’t want to get in the way of the serious runners. Any thoughts? What is the cost?

I walked entire course on my last cruise and was probably last of folks to finish, A lot of folks I swear just used it as excuse to get off ship early and stake claim on beach spot as very few passed me on course. There is no cost to do it and yes it gets hot out there, there was lots of water stops. The one after Marathon weekend is a pay one and you get different medal and I'm sure taken a bit more serious.
As for rundisney events I received half medal even though I didn't finish but not challenge medal since I didn't complete challenge.

 

[BigBlueWho]

I ran it last week. The course measured about 3 miles, but like others have stated, it is a fun run. It is super hot, and they do provide a bunch of water stops, but you have to keep your cups until the end.

 

[drcoulsey]

What time does the 5K begin? Can family members (spectators) get off the ship, too, to cheer them on?

 

[roxymama]

What time does the 5K begin? Can family members (spectators) get off the ship, too, to cheer them on?

I've heard that it varies. But in April my family beat me off the boat by a few minutes. They were waving at me as I headed to the race start. The runners basically were escorted off the boat around the same time the rest of the passengers were. So use the "all ashore" time on your itinerary as the best guess. They will have a meeting spot for the runners (for us on the Dream it was the main nightclub) before they lead you off. They have to hand out bibs for all racers and go over the course map and rules so you will be in the meeting spot on the boat for a while before heading off the boat.
My family grabbed beach chairs and started swimming, etc, while I ran. The only non-runners I saw on the "race course" were families that had rented bikes and were using the air strip to ride their bikes down.

Hope that helps!

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

I’m a rather “serious” runner and I have no problem with people running less than a 5k or taking a medal at the end. It’s an untimed FUN run and God knows we all pay enough for our Disney Cruises to justify taking a medal at the end! OP do the race however you want. You’re on vacay.

I agree with this sentiment, with the caveat that if you do as the OP suggested and cut the course to finish in the 20+ minutes time frame with another runner, then please stay to the right and do not impede the faster runners.

 

[ramblingjen]

I ran it last week and it is not serious at all. No one would know / care if you walked the entire way or skipped half. They would care if you threw your paper cup on the course. That’s a huge no. They had waves every 15 minutes starting at 9:45am (I think ship docked at 9:30?). You could start in between waves if you really wanted. Our start time was 10:15 when we registered but I think we started at 10. No one cares / checks. It’s all super casual. And hot!

 

[CM Dad]

What time does the 5K begin? Can family members (spectators) get off the ship, too, to cheer them on?

If you want to get off the ship at Castaway Cay while it is still dark, do the official Castaway Cay 5K Challenge that runDIsney does in January, on the Dream cruise immediately following marathon weekend in WDW. On that cruise they do the paid 5K challenge race early, and the later that day do the regular 5K race. If you want you can do both.