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runDisney offers many magical experiences for its runners. But perhaps the most magical is the runDisney Castaway Cay Challenge 5K that held after Disney World Marathon weekend every year. If you’ve had a dream of running a race at Disney World (or 4?) and then hopping onto the Disney Dream to run on a private island: read here!?

I once joked that the regular Castaway Cay 5K held by the Disney Cruise Line was the most expensive 5K in the world.

I was wrong.

The most expensive 5K in the world title is now held by the?runDisney Castaway Cay Challenge 5K.?? This isn’t a complaint, just a fact.

 

 

runDisney Castaway Cay Challenge Cruise

FACT:? You have to pay for and run at least 1 race (5K, 10K, Half or Full Marathon) at Walt Disney World during Marathon Weekend.

FACT:? You have to pay for and board the Disney Dream (one of the Disney Cruise Line vessels) immediately after you run one of those races mentioned above.

FACT:? You have to pay to enter the challenge, where the normal Castaway Cay 5K is a free offering on the ship.

FACT:? I ran this in 2015 and was only on this cruise because this race was offered! Our cabin would have been empty if this special challenge was not happening. This was a sentiment many fellow Princesses shared as we waited in the corrals and chatted at the after party.? I also ran it in 2018 and you can read my runDisney Castaway Cay Challenge recap here (coming soon!)

Alright, so it may not be the most expensive 5K in the world, but it’s certainly the most expensive one I’ve run at approximately $UmNoWayImSayin’ per mile when I added in all my expenses.

Dang.? Trust me- that was some coin.

 

 

Is the?runDisney Castaway Cay Challenge Cruise Worth the cost?

I’m sure your next question is: was “worth it?”

Well- yeah.

Of course, it was!? It was my Christmas, my Valentine’s Day, and my birthday present all wrapped up in one week-long gift!

I do this for you- I knew you’d want to know what this experience was like so, I, Shenanigans, took one for the team.

Twice.

I’m a giver like that.

Okay, I can’t even say that with a straight face. Bahahaha.

This is a recap of the event. The Walt Disney World Marathon weekend is the only race offering the Challenge at this time. And the ship does fill up every year.

If you are Disney Cruising Dream(ing), I’m the agency owner at No-Guilt Travel and we specialize in all things Disney (and runDisney!).

There are still a lot of great cabins available on this cruise, and I promise you will not regret a week of pampering by DCL after your marathon weekend!

 

 

Bonus Reason to take the Castaway Cay Challenge Cruise

Beauty and the Beast is a brand-new stage spectacular aboard Disney Cruise Line.

It debuted on the Disney Dream on November 6th of this year… and I was fortunate enough to see it twice during the recent Castaway Cay Challenge cruise I took.

And guys: it was perfection.

My friend sitting next to me was prepared to be underwhelmed since she had seen the show on Broadway more than a few times. She said this was better than Broadway.

YES. That good!

So let’s chat cruises if you need both the medal and Beauty and the Beast in your life!

Email me at noguilttravel@gmail.com

 

runDisney Castaway Cay Challenge Race Re-Cap

Our fist Castaway Cay Challenge occurred after the 2015 Princess Half Marathon.

We picked up our bibs, shirts and information at the Expo at Walt Disney World.

Once I completed the 10K I looked to my running and cruising buddy, Diane, and pronounced that we were halfway to the Castaway Cay Challenge medal.

We were pumped!

 

 

When we boarded the ship we had a few days to recover from all the running at PHM weekend.

Diane and I were cruising with our friend Tania and all three of us were nursing some post Princess soreness.

The day at Castaway Cay was scheduled for Wednesday and it was perfectly placed for our purposes.

runDisney held a speakers panel on the ship to share information about the race.

They showed us the race course (different course from the normal “free” 5K) and explained the logistics.

There would be “surprises” on the course (code for characters!), a new route, and even water/food/typical runDisney support.

 

 

I’ve learned from other cruisers that this was very different from the normal, ie FREE, Castaway Cay 5K.

It’s nice to see that the medal was not the only thing that was changed when they charged us an entry fee!

In case you are wondering, the weather and contingency plan? If we couldn’t dock for some reason we would meet at the theater and they would hand us our medals.? #whompwhomp

I laughed but there were some groans of disappointment out there.

Runners: we are crazy!? We actually want to RUN to earn the medal.

Who knew?

 

 

Our group decided to dress in costume. I mean, would you expect anything less? Diane was the brainchild behind this one.? It turned out adorable.

There was an A and a B corral in our race. They took off about 5 minutes apart.

This cute little tape separated A & B.

 

 

Since we were all there post-Princess Half Marathon, we had a very special guest at the start line:? Princess Minnie Mouse!

 

 

For the first time in my runDisney career, there were no fireworks at the start.

#firstworldproblems I know.

I honestly was too excited to even notice but it was one of those little touches that you do come to expect from a Disney race.

As we waved goodbye to the staff manning the start, we took off on our intervals and headed down the airstrip.? We sent Tania ahead in case there was a long line for the first character (there was not, but she waited for us) and Diane and I took it pretty slow at a 14-minute mile pace.

Her back was hurting, my feet were tender, and well, we were running ON AN ISLAND.

There was no need to rush this!

 

 

I loved this course.

We ran down the airstrip a bit to the first character (Daisy) and then turned right down an out and back section along the private adult beach.

Diane was familiar with the island since she’s cruised a gazillion times before and was a great running partner.

She pointed out the sights and made sure we veered off course a smidge to get that pretty picture of the ocean and beach in the right-hand corner.

After the out and back, we headed back down the airstrip.

This was where the only water stop was located. We were handed small bottles of Dasani which tasted GREAT on this humid morning.

Soon we were running into “the loop.”

I understand that the normal Castaway Cay 5K runs this loop twice and that constitutes the full 5K course.

The loop was fine- ONCE, thankyouverymuch.

I’m not sure I’d bother with the normal Castaway Cay 5K since the course was so different. I loved running out toward the beach where we could feel the breeze and see a bit of the water waiting for us!

At the finish line, we were greeted with the runDisney snack box, water, and Powerade.

 

 

 

The fun was not over when the medals were given out!

On the final night of the cruise, runDisney and the Disney Cruise Line hosted an exclusive runners reception.

We had food, we had drink specials (Rum RUNNERS, of course!), an ice sculpture and of course, a Princess.

 

 

 

Jeff Galloway took pictures and signed my medal. He’s such a great ambassador for the sport and for runDisney.? I love chatting with him at every race!

With the completion of this event, my Princess Half Marathon weekend—err, week!- finally came to an end.

I ran 22.4 miles and earned 5 gorgeous new medals.

I am a very happy Shenanigans.

 

Did you run either Castaway Cay Challenges?? Would you like the chance to run one of these special events in the future?

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