Running on the Fantasy?

[katienaps]

I am training for a marathon and will need to do some runs while on the ship. I will be tapering down, so longest distance will be 8 miles. Anyone else run on treadmills - is there a time limit? Are there a fair amount on board? I would likely go early morning. Or, any experience running on a deck? I may do the Castaway Cay run, too, still deciding. TIA.

 

[TornadoNut]

I am training for a marathon and will need to do some runs while on the ship. I will be tapering down, so longest distance will be 8 miles. Anyone else run on treadmills - is there a time limit? Are there a fair amount on board? I would likely go early morning. Or, any experience running on a deck? I may do the Castaway Cay run, too, still deciding. TIA.

They have a running deck and a number of treadmills. I never had an issue running on the treadmills - there always seemed to be enough.

 

[Fantasy2013]

I run on deck 4. One mile is equal to 2.5 laps.

 

[sweetlovin']

Last Sunday, I ran 25 laps on the Fantasy. It's easy, just watch out for the shuffle board players. They aren't always paying attention and kids swing the poles (I don't know what they are called) up and out in any direction.

 

[MonorailPilotMulan]

I am training for a marathon and will need to do some runs while on the ship. I will be tapering down, so longest distance will be 8 miles. Anyone else run on treadmills - is there a time limit? Are there a fair amount on board? I would likely go early morning. Or, any experience running on a deck? I may do the Castaway Cay run, too, still deciding. TIA.

I completed a few runs on the Fantasy when we were on in September. There were more treadmill machines than almost any other machine in the gym and although it can get busy in the gym between 6-8 am, I don't ever recall there not being a treadmill available and I don't recall a time limit either. I found that the gym really started to fill up after 6:45; if you arrive by 6:00 you could end up with your choice of machines!

All the runs I did were on Deck 4, which a fun change of pace. When I was running in the morning on Deck 4, I had to watch out more so for standing water, maintenance crew members and other runners of course. It can be tricky as well if there are rough seas because you may feel like your "falling" when the ship is moving downward or you could feel like you're "climbing" if the ship has moved upward between your strides. There were pretty rough seas when we were on (it was hurricane season) and definitely had to contend with some serious winds as well but it made for an interesting run. I counted out exactly how many laps I needed to complete to hit my desired distance for that day's run. Then I'd bring a treat with me to have for every lap I completed to help me keep track of laps. For example, if 2.5 miles=1 mi and if I needed to do 4 miles, I would bring 10 M&Ms with me and I'd eat one upon completing a lap. When I was out of M&Ms, I knew I had reached my goal and I had a nice treat. I've also heard of people using jelly beans or even just moving beads from one pocket to another to help them keep track.

I also did the Castaway Cay 5K which I found to be a really unique experience. You can read all about it on other threads on this board

Good luck on your marathon; I aspire to be like you someday! I'm currently nursing a bum knee from trying to train for a 10K but hopefully this won't keep me from doing my first half in February.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

If I'm remembering correctly, there was a sign in the gym on the Dream which asked that you limit yourself to 30 minutes on the treadmills if others are waiting. That's pretty much common courtesy, but I was never in there at a time when all the treadmills were taken so it wasn't an issue.

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

I ran 8-10 laps on Deck 4 every day on our cruise this past August. I always planned on 8 but sometimes lost track of how many laps I had done so I ran some extra ones. I like the idea of using the jelly beans to count laps. I ran around 6:30 am so I didn't have to worry about shuffleboard players, but wet decks were something that arose a couple of times. There were usually the same small group of us out there at that time every day.

 

[Jaybear]

Ran quite a bit on the Fantasy in May. Like others have said, it can be a bit of a challenge with the activity on Deck 4, but give it a shot!

Congrats on training for your first marathon. It's tough, but crossing the marathon finish line for the first time is one of the biggest rushes you will ever have!

 

[sweetlovin']

It is fun and a different kind of challenge to run on the deck. I ran Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday 6 miles Tuesday and Thursday and 10 miles Sunday. Aside from the shuffle board peeps, there were times I felt like I was running in slow motion. Especially on the August 30th cruise, but also this past one. I was literally, "Running Against The Wind" and I would start laughing because it truly felt like I was in slow motion. I have no idea if I looked that way to others, but it always made me chuckle.

I always started counting from the Vibe stairwell and just grouped the laps into 5s. So the first five equaled 2 miles and so on..the jellybeans and M&Ms are a great idea as well. More M&Ms since I'm not a jelly bean person. If you are running 8 you would need to only run 20 laps around. My tablemate ran on the treadmill and said it felt odd with the rocking of the ship. I've always just used deck 4 and he did the 2nd day he ran and found it a little more "stable". A lot of people run on the treadmills and I'm sure they are fine, but he was saying he found it a little more challenging.

I'm running the marathon as well

 

[katienaps]

Thanks everyone! All good advice. I like the trick to count laps. I was wondering how I would keep track! Maybe the slow motion will help me feel weightless and my IT band won't flare up. Tried to avoid having to do 20 on cruise, so jumped ahead of schedule and did it last week. Big mistake - oh, the pain. I've been ok if I'm doing under 10.

 

[Steve Dexter]

I've ran a lot on the Fantasy. It's pure happiness, enjoy! BTW, the running track is so much nicer on the Dream class ships. On the smaller ships, the running trail gets super narrow in places.

 

[surfer_ed]

I just came off the Fantasy and did 3 runs 6 miles each on sea days.

Prefer the deck to the tread-mills. Usually ran in the morning..2 or 3 walkers, 2 or 3 runners like myself and then a couple of the typical guys in flip flops and basket ball shorts doing some sprints to work off the food I guess . Given the size of the ship compared to the Magic the number of people on the track was not an issue.

 

[Amunet]

Are there any seasickness issues while running? Either on deck or treadmill?
I take Dramamine for cruising but I'm not sure how it will be affected with the motion of the ship.

The CC 5k will be my first ever running event in my life and I start training in January! I'm so excited! And a little scared

 

[cruisecrasher]

I found running on deck helped acclimate me to any ship motion. The treadmills did not.

 

[bridgehamptonnc]

Well I wish you luck. We sailed during Spring Break and Deck 4 was always packed with people. Besides the people that are playing the shuffle board and swinging their sticks like ninjas, you will have issues with people walking and standing around at the ends of the loop. Both path ends narrow, and there are fewer places to pass walkers, etc... If you are a fast runner, you will get very frustrated.

Running on the treadmill takes some getting used too. You feel like you are running up a hill, and down a hill as the ship hits the wave. I never could get used to it. I did not like it.

I recommend that you plan your long runs either early in the AM or when the ship is docked at a port. You also can get a long run while your on Castaway Cay.

Good luck!

 

[Bear3412]

Interesting that no one mentioned the smokers on the port side aft promenade in the path of the running track on the Dream and Fantasy. It's a small area of 25 feet for the smokers, yet it is on the promenade. It is in the running path. The smoking hours are 6pm to 6am at that location. So if you see smokers there in the evening, hold your breath as you pass by. Another reason to run counterclockwise, for visibility. lol. This locale is just outside the adult lounges/bars/MDR. So ... smoking could be popular after 7pm fwiw.

 

[TXTransplant]

Are there any seasickness issues while running? Either on deck or treadmill?
I take Dramamine for cruising but I'm not sure how it will be affected with the motion of the ship.

The CC 5k will be my first ever running event in my life and I start training in January! I'm so excited! And a little scared

We cruised out of Galveston last T'giving on the Wonder, and the Gulf was VERY rough. From the moment we left port, people started looking green. On the first full day, I got up to run, and the deck was closed because of the bad weather. So, I went up to the gym to use a treadmill (knowing that I absolutely HATE running on the treadmill). Let me just say it was the most difficult run I've ever had. The rocking of the ship was so rough that NONE of us could run without hanging on to the bar for dear life. A couple of times, I went airborne. Needless to say, I was not able to run at my usual speed and I had to cut my run short. I think I maybe made it 2 miles.

When I got off the treadmill, I was very unstable. I don't think the treadmill caused seasickness...I (along with most of the other passengers) was feeling bad before I got on. But, trying to run with the rough seas just made me feel worse. By the next day, the seas were much smoother, and running on the treadmill was not as bad. The day after that, the weather was nice enough for the decks to open, and I did the rest of my runs outside. I enjoyed them very much - no issues at all!

When we got home from the cruise, I went out for a run and definitely felt wobbly. It took me a couple of runs to feel steady on my legs and not list to my starboard side!

 

[TheRichFam]

So I did what you're doing backwards I did the marathon at WDW and then went on a cruise. I did a couple recovery runs. The first was on a dreadmill in the Fantasy gym. The second was on the track. It was nice, but created a fun glitch I'll explain in a second. The third was the castaway cay race. It was a super flat and easy course but it was HOT compared to training in Seattle and running the marathon in Orlando early in the morning. Make sure you hydrate!

So the glitch: I ran with my gps watch and because the ship was moving when I ran on the track, my readout said I ran circles for several miles because I was running in circles while the ship went forward. I forget the exact mile count, but it's a lot It was funny to see the recap online. Almost as funny as when I left it running during the marathon while riding Expedition Everest mid-race.