Castaway Cay 5K

I've done many races in my time. Hot. Cold. Wind. Rain. Snow. Ice. Humidity. This one takes the number one place of the absolute hottest, most humid race in my entire life!

As a Disney cruiser going to Castaway Cay (pronounced "Key") I was able to do a race for free! Obviously I can't pass that up! Our third day on the ship was at Castaway Cay and the first thing to happen in the morning is the race. The plan was to send Katura to Scuttles, the island's version of the Oceaneer's Club where she can play with other kids, while Shawn and I raced. She was so sleepy after our day in Nassau with the dolphins, so we decided to just let her sleep and I would race alone. I had my bib and waiver in hand and hurried down to level 1 to meet up with other races ready to get off the ship. It was a nice walk to the start area. I was with a cast member and her husband and another woman new to Castaway. We all chatted, mostly about the humidity and the fact that our waivers were nearly melting in our hands as we walked. Once at the start area I went solo and wandered around for some photos before the island was covered with people. Around 9am we lined up and began a short 2/10 of a mile walk to the actual start line on the airstrip. Airstrip means NO shade!!

I was not hydrated at all, unless you could my 2 rounds of the Drink of the Day the night before with my dinner and after dinner excursions! Fortunately there was a water fountain on the island was hitting, and then multiple water stops along the course. Hallelujah! Frankly it wouldn't have even been safe to have people running this course without ample water.

Finally it was officially time to start! Something different for me was the fact that I had no music. I figured I'd be running with and babbling to Shawn, so I didn't bring anything for music. Instead I got to listen to myself breathing. That's annoying! I stopped hearing myself soon enough and was completely absorbed in all of my surroundings. I kept my phone out for most of it to grab photos to share with you all in this blog. We started out on the air strip then turned to a path with shade and the observation tower. I had wanted to rent bikes on the island, but this path hit where I would have gone so that was a money saver!

The path was as flat as can be. And it really was beautiful. So green. It was paradise! I was stunned at how well I was running, too. I just got in a zone and was busy people watching and soaking up all that was around me. I was only 1.2 miles in when I saw the winner come flying back. I hear he did it in 18 minutes. Sheesh - 18 minutes in that heat. Wow!!

                               

I wasn't strict with myself. I have absolutely no idea how long it took me to run the race and I didn't even look at my Garmin to see if it was a true 5K or not. That stuff doesn't even matter. I enjoyed my time out there, took photos of the private cabanas, utilized every water stop, grabbed photos of anything cute along the way. It was so enjoyable, even though I was melting. The final stretch back on the airstrip was brutal. I knew the end was near but at a point I just couldn't even run because of the intense, blistering heat and humidity. I'll plug in my Garmin and get the temp - be right back! 79 degrees at 9am with maybe 1000% percent humidity!

All in all I absolutely loved it! The cast members were fantastic. The bib was super cute. The cost was pretty rad. And the swag... well they had some really nice things you could buy at the finish line store. I went home with an ornament, hat, tank top, finishers shirt, magnet and long sleeve shirt all for the 5K. Oh and a pin. Heck, there may have been more. I can't even remember - I had a very full bag! If you ever find yourself on a Disney Cruise you MUST do the 5K! Don't run? That's totally okay. I'd say a majority of the people were there to walk and they had as much fun as I did! Frankly, is there anything better than having fun running and then cooling off in the ocean with a pina colada? I don't think so!