The second morning of our cruise we woke up just in time to watch the ship pulling into Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, from our stateroom…
…I grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed down to the meeting area for the Castaway Cay 5k. Once all the registered runners had arrived (you can register at Guest Services anytime after you board the ship) the cruise staff took time to explain the plan for the morning and to go over the course (twice, so no one got lost!).
Castaway Cay 5k Meeting Location
Around 8:30am the ship was cleared for us to get off. We debarked together (I think there were around 100 of us that day) and walked about 7 minutes to the starting line.
After one more quick overview of the course we were off!
The course quickly brought us out to a long airstrip without much relief from the sun – it got hot and humid very quickly! (If I remember correctly it was about 75 degrees that morning.)
Off the airstrip we turned into our first loop of the Castaway Cay bike path…
…there was a little bit of shade in the bike loop, but coming from freezing temperatures in the northeast the humidity was a bit rough – luckily there were plenty of self-serve water stops along the way!
Coming out of the bike path we continued out to the end of the airstrip towards Serenity Bay (the adult only beach), made a u-turn and then went back into the bike path for a second loop.
In the loop I began to see runners coming in the opposite direction…I momentarily thought I was going the wrong way, but after chatting with a girl near me we decided that we were pretty sure we were told to run the loop counter clockwise both times…which means we were going the right way the clockwise runners were going the wrong way.
When it comes down to it the loop was the same distance no matter which direction you ran it in, so whatever!
We exited the bike path and headed towards the finish back where we started.
I wasn’t wearing a GPS watch and the course didn’t have any mile markers, so I can’t say if it was an accurate 3.1 miles…that being said, I’d be pretty surprised if I was actually running an 8:58 pace as indicated by the time above since I haven’t been running very much and the humidity was pretty bad.
After crossing the finish line, I got my “medal” and pretty much ran right into Jason who had apparently timed his departure from the ship perfectly to meet me at the end of the run!
I made a quick stop at the merchandise shop near the start/finish area to buy a Castaway Cay 5k shirt & pin (because really, how often do you run a 5k in the Bahamas?)…
…and then grabbed my bag that I had brought with my bathing suit (they have a bin you can store bags in while you run) and headed straight to the beach!
Finish line to toes in the water in under 5 minutes?! Can’t beat that!
Would you run a 5k while on a cruise?
What’s the most scenic race you’ve run?
Live, Run, Grow 
I would totally run a 5k on a cruise. I have this in my sights for the future. As far as the most scenic race I’ve run, that would be the BMO Vancouver Half
Marathon. I did it in 2011, two days before the Inaugural Disney Cruise to Alaska! I did the race the last year it was a loop (it’s now point-to-point). The course took me through different parts of the city to Stanley Park which had views of the ocean and wound through the trees. It was one of my slower races and I blamed the hills and the scenary!
My husband and I were actually talking about doing an Alaska Cruise in the future! I did one with my family when I was younger and remember really loving it, I’d love to know what you thought of the Disney one and I love the idea of fitting in a race before you left! I hear Vancouver is gorgeous, I’d love to do a race there one day!
that looks… amazing.
Haha, the course itself was a little boring, but really the whole idea of running a 5k on Disney’s private island while on a cruise was totally awesome! And being able to head right to the beach – can’t beat it! : )
That medal is adorable! This sounds like it would be the highlight of the cruise (despite the heat/humidity). I desperately want to do it!
Definitely worth doing if you ever go on a Disney Cruise, it was just a fun thing to get up and go do!
That water looks gorgeous! I LOVE that they have a 5K for cruisers. I also love the self-serve water stop. I would totally do it. I’ve run 5K on a treadmill on a cruise ship. Does that count?? The most scenic race I’ve done was either the Kauai Half Marathon or the Wild Dog Triathlon in Rhode Island. Kauai was tropical, but the ENTIRE Wild Dog Tri course was along the water. Gorgeous.
The water on Castaway Cay was AMAZING! (More pics coming in another post!)
I’d LOVE to do a race in Hawaii one day, definitely on my bucket list!
That air strip looks really hot, I’d definitely make a beeline for the shade. It’s a good thing they have the self-serve water stops.
Yes, the air strip was definitely warm, and I was there in February! I can’t imagine what it’s like in the summer! The staff was really good about reminding people to hydrate though!
Very cool idea! I went on an Alaskan cruise, and I would run around one of the decks that circled the ship. It was stunning – mountains, glaciers, whales, bears, eagles, etc. I also ran on the treadmill in the gym that looked out from the front of the ship. That was a pretty cool view when we were pulling into a port!
That sounds amazing! I’m hoping a cruise to Alaska is in our future!
This looks so fun! And yes, I totally think you needed souvenirs for a Bahamas 5k! The pin looks really cute.
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A cruise and a 5K?! Hell yeah. That sounds so awesome.
That looks awesome!
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um…yes totally I would!!!…Question – do they let kids run the race too?
I believe kids had to be 12+ to run the 5k. They did make a stop at the Kids Club area on the island on the way to the starting line though for some parents to drop their kids off while they ran, there were several families in our group that did this.
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I would definitely give this a try! I loved going for my early morning runs in Hawaii while on my honeymoon, running anywhere tropical is just so beautiful! And well, I’m always a sucker for a medal! lol
I don’t know how you guys haven’t done a Disney cruise yet, it’s so right up your alley!
I really don’t know how we haven’t done one yet either! It will definitely be in our (hopefully near) future!
This looks like a BLAST. Oh man…straight from the finish line of a race to the beach? HEAVEN.
I am dying to go on a Disney cruise so I can run the Castaway Cay 5k, but not sure I will ever talk Tom into one. I may have to go after Princess one year!
Haha, girls trip! That sounds like a good plan to me : )
I ran the same 5K. I’m barely in one of your pictures, at the start. My time was pretty abysmal so I’m almost embarrassed to post a link to my blog post about the race but I think you’re also in one of my pictures! http://jenth.blogspot.com/2014/02/castaway-cay-5k.html
I really liked running this race and hope I can do it again someday and hopefully when I’ve actually been running.
Oh my gosh, that is so funny! I loved doing the race too, but boy was it HOT! I’d love to get the chance to do it again one day too : )
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Were there any walking the 5K instead of running? I’m not a runner but a walker but wouldn’t want to be the only one out there walking:). Thanks!!
Hi Tammy! I am pretty sure there were people walking, but I do remember that there was a time limit that they enforced, and I want to say it was 15 min/ mile (I’m not sure where you can find that exact information!), so as long as you can walk briskly I think you’ll be ok!
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