If you happen to take a Disney cruise and you also like to run, then you need to sign up for the runDisney Castaway Cay 5k.  Not only is this race FREE (well, you do have to pay to go on the cruise but the race is not additional) but how many people can say that they voluntarily ran a race, while on vacation, and it was on a tropical island? I CAN !

Taking part in this race actually gives you early access to leave the ship before most of the other passengers.  So if you are traveling with other guests, they have prime pick of the beach chairs and hammocks before everyone else even gets off the ship.  Score!

The 3.1 mile course travels along the islands bike trail.  It has some shade but for the most part it is in direct sun, which makes for a very HOT run.  The hardest and hottest part of the race for sure has to be when you are running on the islands only airstrip.  No shade and just a boring straight away.  There were no mile markers posted on the course but plenty of water stations.  The humidity in November was harsh so the water was a must.

After you cross the finish line you are handed your finishers medal and then comes the fun part of trying to find your family members.  Luckily, when we got off the ship we planned exactly where they would be parked on the beach and it made fun a much easier reunion and great start to a beautiful day. They sell Castaway Cay 5k race t-shirts at the gift shop directly to your left after you pass trough the finish line if you should choose to buy one.  This race does not give away free shirts like the normal runDisney races that you pay for.

This was defiantly  something I can say I marked off my Disney bucket list but even though I have done it once, I still want to do it again when we go back in November of this year. Hey, it’s a free race, you can’t come by those very often.