Thank you. That pic, that's our prize! My husband was there when we ran and took lots of pics along the way. He didn't run, though. It is so nice to have all those candids, too.
You'd think the ship's photogs would catch on to a great opportunity standing at the 5k finish to snap photos of runners finishing. Bet they'd sell the crap out of those.
Prior to running the 5k back in 2011 it was a toss-up whether we'd even have bibs. I didn't care either way. I wanted to do it. I do recall thinking about having my own medals made up so my son could have one. He ran with me all summer long prior to that trip. That summer was so brutal. We had over 30 days straight of 100+ temps. Over the summer this kid, who is no more a morning person than me, drug himself out of bed at 4:30-ish every other day minimum so we could finish our runs before the sun was up.
It's worth noting, I've been to Castaway 13 times since that first visit when we ran. (2 double dips in there) I have never run the CC5k again. I would if the ship docked earlier and the run could be completed before the sun was up over the horizon. But I've never run it again because of the heat. Too taxing on me and I live in the south. I don't tolerate heat/overheating well. Like I see people out running in the sunshine on a 90+ degree day and it's hard for me to wrap my brain around how they're still conscious. I've had mild heat-stroke before, though. When at Castaway, after being so hot running, the LAST thing I want is to be outside at the beach. So for me, no medal is worth sacrificing the rest of the day. That's just ME. I do NOT tolerate heat well. I think it's worth doing at least once and I'm glad we did it. That pic is worth so much more now because of the unlikelihood of me ever doing it again.
