Jogging on board?

[Ofinn]

I run everyday on a cruise. You will get used to dodging people. On the Wonder and Magic they will close part of deck four when they are mooring. Mornings aren't always possible. The evenings are great you will have deck 4 to yourself. Everyone is at dinner or a show. Never had a problem with smokers. It wouldn't bother me anyway. I've been running everyday since I was 13 so I've learned to adapt to anything.

 

[BlondeAlligator]

What is the mileage of one lap around the Fantasy running track?

 

[MunFam]

I recommend going in the morning. Any later and there's simply too much foot traffic you have to dodge. I ran last year on the Magic on a sea day, which was my first time running on a ship (I didn't run on our first cruise on the Dream) and it was WIERD. I packed it in after 3 miles (9 laps) because I couldn't handle running against the movement of the ship. Running the same direction the ship was moving was fine, but running aft was totally bizarre.

I thought I was crazy having this problem...glad I wasn't the only one!

 

[pacific mermaid]

Ahhh, I LOVED running at sunrise on Deck 4 and can't wait to do it again. I tracked the run on my GPS just for laughs- 4 minute miles- I'm a champ! As others have noted, mentally keeping track of the laps is hard, but it's just awesome to be out there, running on a springy wooden deck in the middle of the sea. I wore a runDisney shirt, of course, and so did several other runners who were out at the same time! Fun sense of solidarity.

 

[samily]

What is the mileage of one lap around the Fantasy running track?

If I am remembering correctly, one lap is .4 miles on the Dream and Fantasy and .33 on the Magic and Wonder.

 

[ludari]

During one of my cruises I was training for a marathon and really needed to run 17 miles for the day to keep up with my training. I happen to get up at 2/3 AM and I had deck 4 to myself with the exception of crew members cleaning. On a typical cruise when I'm not training for an upcoming race I like to at least run 3 or 4 miles in the morning and one of my pet-peeves are the occasional smoker.

 

[TheGryphonsDen]

A couple of you mentioned that you found the treadmills dizzying... Do you find it is difficult to get accustomed to running on the ship, or is it only the treadmills that seem to cause this because of the additional motion. August will be my first cruise and I plan to run on board as well as the 5K, but I'm wondering about motion sickness and if you notice the movement or tilt of the ship. (I'm going to be on the Dream if this matters...)

 

[Mark D.]

one of my pet-peeves are the occasional smoker

Mine too. I get headaches from just slight exposure to second hand smoke, so I have a tendency to hold my breath if I'm walking past a smoker. That's a little tough to do during a run. Fortunately, that hasn't happened to me very often. I usually encounter the swinging shuffleboard sticks or the group of 4 people walking side by side.

I think the worst experience I've had was having an 8 or 9 year old kid who was walking with his mom cut right in front of me while I was starting to round the bow of the ship. The track gets pretty narrow at that point, so I had to reach out and grab a handrail so I could stop fast enough to not run over him.

The best experience was a group of passengers cheering me on. They had been sitting there long enough to watch me run the last 6 miles of a 12 mile run. The encouragement really helped cut the boredom.

I'm wondering about motion sickness and if you notice the movement or tilt of the ship

It varies according to how rough the seas are at the time. It is an odd sensation to have the ship rocking while running, but I got used to it pretty quick. I've only run on deck 4, since I've got other issues with treadmills -- I'm too uncoordinated to use them off the ship, so I'm not even going to try them on the ship.

 

[ludari]

A couple of you mentioned that you found the treadmills dizzying... Do you find it is difficult to get accustomed to running on the ship, or is it only the treadmills that seem to cause this because of the additional motion. August will be my first cruise and I plan to run on board as well as the 5K, but I'm wondering about motion sickness and if you notice the movement or tilt of the ship. (I'm going to be on the Dream if this matters...)

I never found running on the treadmills to be dizzying I just prefer not to have the running assistance of a treadmill. As far as becoming accustomed to running on the ship it all depends on how rough the seas are at that time as the previous poster mentioned. Personally I do not get seasick or motion sickness from being on a ship since I spend a lot of time in my personal life on smaller boats where even the smallest swells or wakes knock you around so for me being on a cruise ship is almost like being on land.

 

[timrousbeastie]

A couple of you mentioned that you found the treadmills dizzying... Do you find it is difficult to get accustomed to running on the ship, or is it only the treadmills that seem to cause this because of the additional motion. August will be my first cruise and I plan to run on board as well as the 5K, but I'm wondering about motion sickness and if you notice the movement or tilt of the ship. (I'm going to be on the Dream if this matters...)

For me, the disorienting part was not so much due to the motion itself, but to being unable to focus on a fixed point in the horizon. On the Fantasy and Dream, you look out to the side of the ship so the water is constantly moving. It was much easier for me to use the second row of treadmills so I could look at something in front of me. It still took some getting used to, but it was well worth it as it felt so nice to work out after eating all that good food.

 

[TheGryphonsDen]

Thanks @Mark D. , @ludari , and @timrousbeastie ... I am not a huge fan of treadmills but I have to use them because of where I live, so I'm going to try both and see which works. (I'm in northern Canada, so there are good chunks of the winter where my choice is the treadmill in my basement or risk hypothermia.) I would love to say that I'm coordinated enough that I wont run over small children, but I'm sure my own children would disagree with that. DS8 and I are early risers, so it sounds like the deck should be pretty empty anyway.

 

[hdwatts]

I never thought about getting a bit dizzy running/walking on the ship when it is moving. Has anyone taken a yoga class on-board? If so, how was that experience?

 

[TigerTown]

I ran the Fantasy a few mornings during our cruise.

2.5 laps around deck four = 1 Mile.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

I never thought about getting a bit dizzy running/walking on the ship when it is moving. Has anyone taken a yoga class on-board? If so, how was that experience?

I took a yoga class once on board- I think it was the Magic on the Eastern. I saw the instructor hoist himself up into crow pose (arm balance) and let's say it wasn't the smoothest sailing I had been on. My arm balances aren't that good to begin with, so I was impressed. It was fun!

 

[jrabbit]

I walk the track.

Most embarrassing cruise: a 75yo grandma would lap me while I walked my 4 miles in the mornings.

Most fun: we had a runner in our group. While he was out training, and if we were on deck 4 as well we all would yell "ONE" every time he passed us. After a few laps we would cut through the ship and wait for him on the other side and yell ONE! again.

I don't have any fancy tech to help me keep track of laps. And it's hard to remember where you started from, so I've started counting everytime I "go inside" this way I only have to divide by 2 to determine the number of laps, and not if I'm counting mid ship on this side or the other side of the ship.

 

[TheGryphonsDen]

@jrabbit - That sounds like fun! We have a lady about 75 who climbs mountains here and I'm sure she could lap me. =) I hope I have half that energy at that age!

For you or those of you who have cruised, do you find there are several walkers or joggers on the ships or is it sort of hit or miss? I typically have to run or walk alone because DH will only run if he is being chased,lol. Our meet thread isn't really active and I have seen a lot of info about the 5K, but not much about on board running/walking.

 

[anricat]

@jrabbit - That sounds like fun! We have a lady about 75 who climbs mountains here and I'm sure she could lap me. =) I hope I have half that energy at that age!

For you or those of you who have cruised, do you find there are several walkers or joggers on the ships or is it sort of hit or miss? I typically have to run or walk alone because DH will only run if he is being chased,lol. Our meet thread isn't really active and I have seen a lot of info about the 5K, but not much about on board running/walking.

I only ran on Deck 4 once, on our last trip on the Magic but there were probably three or four other people out there either walking or jogging that came or went while I was there. It was morning, probably around 8 AM.

 

[phinz]

A lot of times your runners onboard will be Cast Members. You'll know who they are when they finish their run and duck into a door that isn't open to the public.

 

[Happy100]

I love the weirdness of running outside on deck 4 of the ships. I have ran on all ships except for the Dream. I usually start around 7 and try to finish no later then 8. There really isn't too many people out that early so it doesn't bother me and is very enjoyable to me.

 

[limabeanmom2003]

During one of my cruises I was training for a marathon and really needed to run 17 miles for the day to keep up with my training. I happen to get up at 2/3 AM and I had deck 4 to myself with the exception of crew members cleaning. On a typical cruise when I'm not training for an upcoming race I like to at least run 3 or 4 miles in the morning and one of my pet-peeves are the occasional smoker.

Did you get all 17 miles in? Impressive!