Official Castaway Cay 5K Thread

[bmer1rick]

As PP mentioned, the 5K appears to be a work in progress. We have done the 5k more than 75 times in the past 15 years. They used to give out bottles of water and a nice DCL water bottle for finishing. They have changed quite a few things over that time including the route. When we ran it a couple of months ago, you received a bib with a number, a finishers "medal" (which is actually plastic and the same medal they give out to winners of trivia contests, etc), and a finisher's certificate. However, there has been times we missed the certificate or the medal depending on the inventory in the ship.

 

[m&m's mom]

They must have a lot of the certificates and "medals". On the 6/23 Fantasy cruise we broke the record with the most participants. We have 115 I think. They did run out of medals and said they were taking room #'s to get them delivered later.

 

[michaelvol]

Do you get off the boat early if you are doing the race? I am doing the Marine Corp Marathon later this year so the distance is not an issue, but I don't want to miss much CC time either.

 

[hpsalb]

Hi is the kids club already set up at this time so I can drop them off there before the race?

The kids club/nursery usually opens at 9 and the check-in for the race is 8:30-8:45. We booked nursery time, but it was too close for DH to try it. However, he probably could have caught up to us since he had to walk to the starting point but it would have been cutting it close. If you want to try it, have everyone go to the run meeting and sign in (take your KITW and ID). Have someone take the kids to the kids area and be there as soon as it opens, then book it off the ship and head toward the run start. Chances are you will catch up to the group since they stop to take a picture with Goofy and then walk to the start area. Only problem might be if there is a crowd at disembarkation - the runners use a different place to get off the ship to avoid a crowd.

If you want to run WITH the kiddos, there is a group of jogging strollers on the way. You can grab one and toss the kids in. First-come, first-served, but you are probably going to be the first group of people to get there.

 

[pixiedust1216]

Do you get off the boat early if you are doing the race? I am doing the Marine Corp Marathon later this year so the distance is not an issue, but I don't want to miss much CC time either.

Hello, no you don't get off the ship early...you meet in one of the lounges by 8:45 to get your race bib, then the whole group walks all the way to the bike rental area where the 5k starts. You will miss a bit of time on CC unless you decide to bring your swimsuit and stuff with you. Otherwise, you've got to go all the way back to the ship to change. We got back to the ship about 10:00, woke our kids, grabbed some quick breakfast and got back to CC around 11. To us, it wasn't too big of a deal because we were on the 5 day double dip cruise, so we had 2 days at CC. They don't close the beach until about 4:30 though, so you should still have enough time.

 

[su_A_ve]

Uh - interested!

I've been walking 3-4 miles about 2-3 times a week. Goal was to start jogging, but unless I increase consistently the number of times I go out, I don't think I'll do it, even with C25K. I got the app over a year ago when it was free on my droid

But, we'll be going on the Dream on a 5n late August. It will be hot, but it's a double dip so hopefully I'll have an idea ahead of time on how bad it would be. Still, looking forward to walking it!

 

[love280mickey]

still thinking of doing this with my dd 13, but know she'll miss meeting with the characters waiting at the entrance, yes, even at 13. Not sure what to do.

 

[bonnieappetit]

We did the 5K in June while on The Dream. It was a lot of fun, and I would do it again. Only part I didn't like was that we did have to go all the way back to the ship to drop off our running shoes and clothes. It was too heavy to carry all of that and our beach stuff around all day. Love the medal and the bib!

 

[tinkeramy]

We did the 5K in June while on The Dream. It was a lot of fun, and I would do it again. Only part I didn't like was that we did have to go all the way back to the ship to drop off our running shoes and clothes. It was too heavy to carry all of that and our beach stuff around all day. Love the medal and the bib!

How long of a trek is it to get to the ship and back? Just curious. I am planning on doing this but not sure if the DH is going to run as well. If so, then clearly he won't be able to be my pack mule!

 

[Kag30273]

Very excited to participate in the 5k! Glad to hear that walking is ok, especially with the heat and humidity! I may not finish quickly but I WILL finish!

 

[pixiedust1216]

How long of a trek is it to get to the ship and back? Just curious. I am planning on doing this but not sure if the DH is going to run as well. If so, then clearly he won't be able to be my pack mule!

It's pretty far...all the way to the bike rental area is where the race starts. It's about a 15 minute walk from the ship. BUT, you can catch the tram back to the ship after the run, so that saves some time.

 

[jpeka65844]

So...funny story re: post CC5K.

DH and I did this on the Dream in June and we're done and heading back to the ship to shower, eat, etc.....

One of our rules on the ship, in order to keep off the cruise weight, was to ALWAYS take the steps. But in this case, we didn't.

Now, you know it's a good run in hot, humid temps when you're done and you can smell YOURSELF, right? So we get on the boat and hop in the elevator on Deck 2 all by ourselves on our way to our stateroom on Deck 10, feeling and smelling, downright funk nasty.

My hand to God, we stopped on every deck and that elevator filled up with us in the back stinking up the joint. Most people saw our medals and acknowledged what we did but we really wanted to apologize to everyone on that elevator.

So just be ready for a smelly elevator ride back to your room!

 

[su_A_ve]

So I started with the c25k app. I'll be halfway thru during my cruise, so I'll do my half walk, half run set and then walk the last 3/4 mile...

Hope it's not too hot, though 3rd week in August?

 

[timandlesley]

My husband wants to do this, where and approximately when should we be waiting for him to cross the finish line so we can get a pic of him?
Lesley

 

[AshAlytwins]

My Husband, TwinDD20, and I did the 5k race last May and it was fun!! I thought it was well marked we had no problems!! I believe there was an age limit to run though! We ran the race, got a medal and the cool t-shirts and went back to the ship and then back out to the beach!! The next day we got a certificate in our FE!!! We do alot of races and were ready for the hot temps. if you don't do alot of running it may take you a while, but do it anyway!!! It's quite an accomplishment!!!

 

[Strawberry's mom&dad]

My husband wants to do this, where and approximately when should we be waiting for him to cross the finish line so we can get a pic of him?
Lesley

The finish line is the same as the starting line. My DH moved a chair from the beach, to a not in the way spot, to sit and wait for me. It took me 40 minutes. If your husband has done 5k's before he should have a good idea how long it will take him.
DD, DBfF and I ran. after we all finished we staged a finishing pic

 

[DisneyBuff27]

For all who have walked this 5k how long did it take you?

 

[psimon]

Just did this on the Magic last week (we just got off the boat Friday). Here was the process.

Met in Diversions between 8:30 and 8:45 where you signed up and got your number to pin on. We met by the bike rentals which is where the 5K started where they did roll call and showed us the course at 9:15 am. The time clock started and we were off. I was the only one who started off walking (but didn't take long before I passed those who started out running/jogging). The course is simple. You go down the airstrip, around the loop for the observation tower, back to airstrip towards serenity bay, turn around and take a reverse course around the observation tower and back to the start line. Once there, you get your medal and they mark off your name. I walked the entire way except the return loop around the OT which I jogged (because I couldn't stand the scenery and wanted out). I finished just under 40 minutes (37 and some odd seconds). That was it. Glad I did it. I would suggest if you have an i-pod or some sort of music source, take it. It didn't seem like 3 miles to me so perhaps that's a good thing. There were some who were big runners and others who struggled after they got started. I didn't feel so bad starting in last and finishing well ahead of others who started out strong.

Let me say this though. It was HOT/Humid! By the time I finished, I had a layer of sweat all over. I looked like someone had covered me with a shean of glowing body paint. It was a cloudy day in the 70's. So I can't imagine what that would have been like in the summer with sunshine. They provide water at one point which is at the entrance to the loop. I had my water carrier on my back which I was happy to have. So for those of you doing this in the summer, drink your water.

Now a note on that loop to observation tower. It's the most boring loop! It's nothing but greenery around you and you see nothing else. Other than that, it went by pretty fast.

L

Regarding all of that walking out around the observation tower.... how buggy is it out there? Lots of swatting flying things away?

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[psimon]

Two questions:

1. Are there any showers around to get a quick rinse prior to hitting the beach or is going back to the ship pretty much the only option?

2. My daughter is not big on walking the 5K..... can you leave out the Observation Tower part of the race in either/both directions? If I can shorten the walk, she might come with us..... considering she is the only one balking, one of us would miss out if she doesn't want to do the entire path.

Thanks...

--Paul in Southern NJ

 

[jpeka65844]

Two questions:

1. Are there any showers around to get a quick rinse prior to hitting the beach or is going back to the ship pretty much the only option?

2. My daughter is not big on walking the 5K..... can you leave out the Observation Tower part of the race in either/both directions? If I can shorten the walk, she might come with us..... considering she is the only one balking, one of us would miss out if she doesn't want to do the entire path.

Thanks...

--Paul in Southern NJ

1. I do believe there are outdoor showers available to hose down but nothing private. I was dreading having to walk all the way back to the ship but it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. We were on a DD sailing so we stayed onboard and enjoyed the empty ship anyway!

2. Yes! There were a few folks in our party who skipped the Observation Tower/Bike Path loop and just went straight up and down the airstrip. Not a problem at all!