Running at the Beach

Audio Transcript

Claire Bartholic: Hello everyone. Welcome back to the Runners Connect Run to the Top Extra Kick podcast.

Our question today is from Mark about beach running.

Mark: With a Caribbean vacation coming up, I’m wondering if there are any strategies for running on the beach or if there are any good cross training activities that I could do?

Claire: Great question, Mark. Running on the beach sounds amazing.

Imagine it. You’ll have a beautiful view of the crystal blue Caribbean waters, soft powdery sand cushioning each step as you glide effortlessly along, a gentle sea breeze to keep you cool, and an entire ocean to jump in when you’re done.

But in reality, like most things at the beach, it’s not quite as romantic a picture. Beach running can quickly put a halt to your training and your vacation if you’re not careful.

If you’re not training for a specific race and just out to enjoy the sand between your toes, and a refreshing breeze, the beach is a great spot to get in a little jog and have some fun.

But if you’re training seriously or preparing for a big event, beach running is a great way to get injured even for a short run.

How can that be? The first reason is the slope of the beach. Even at the very lowest of tides, there still is an angle to the beach sand leading to the ocean.

Just like running on the road with a significant camber, running on an angled surface throws off your body’s natural alignment, which poses a great risk to your knees and your hips. Even if you can’t see it, the slope is still there.

It’s like running with one shoe on. Here’s what happens.

The leg that’s on the upper side of the slope will often become tight from having to shorten the stride, which may inflame your IT band or your piriformis muscle.

Likewise, the leg that is on the lower ground will have to stretch more than usual to maintain proper foot strike, and this puts excess strain on your hips and your knees.

While the slope might be slight, or you may be running only for a short period of time, when you’re training hard and pushing your body to its limits, it only takes a slight change in your form or a tight muscle to start that injury cycle.

The other reason that beach running isn’t such a great idea is because of the sand.

The sand at the beach is often loose or very wet, which creates a surface that might be too soft to run in, if you don’t typically train on very soft surfaces.

Loose sand forces the tiny muscles in your foot, in your ankle, in your shin, in your knee, to work very hard to stabilize your body, and when you’re not accustomed to the excess stress, you can easily strain a muscle.

Likewise, loose sand changes your foot strike and requires your foot to remain in contact with the ground longer, as you attempt to solidify the foot and ankle before take-off.

Very few runners train in these conditions all the time, so the increased demand on the smaller supportive muscles can lead to injury.

Even during a short two-mile run, you can put a lot of strain on muscles that aren’t used very often.

This is like going to the gym for the first time in years and bursting out 20 minutes of heavy biceps curls. You are going to be very sore and maybe even injured if you go and do that.

The other part of the equation is that you are running barefoot. Running barefoot in short sessions can be good for you but it’s something that has to be adapted to, over a long period of time.

If you just jump off the plane and kick off your shoes, running even a mile or two on the beach will put a massive amount of strain on your plantar fascia, your ankles, your Achilles and your calves.

We advise runners that are transitioning to barefoot running to spend a week running no more than 400 meters or about a quarter mile, three or four times during that first week.

Even if you are already a seasoned barefoot runner, that loose sand can require more effort from your foot and ankle than you’re accustomed to, and you still have the issue of the slope, not to mention that sharp shells and beach glass can quickly send you to that beach chair for the rest of your vacation.

So, what do you do instead to keep fit?

Choice number one is to run on the local roads or trails. It’s a great way to sight see and explore your new surroundings.

If you’re not comfortable with that, of course there’s always the hotel treadmill, and if you’re on a serious training schedule, you may have to resort to that if necessary.

But hopefully, you can alter your schedule a bit so that your important runs and workouts are done before or after your trip, and you can enjoy your vacation without stressing about getting all your runs in.

Kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, hiking, biking, you name it. There are a lot of ways to stay active and work up a sweat on your trip.

Take advantage of the time to try something new, and stick to walking on the beach.

Of course, a great way to stay hydrated on the beach or any other place that you’re sweating out your electrolytes, is with EnduroPacks. Head on over to runnersconnect.net/enduropacks to find out more.

Have you sent in your question yet? We’d love to hear from you. Head on over to runnersconnect.net/daily and record your own.

Finally, a shout out to our sponsor.

This week’s Extra Kick podcast is brought to you by EnduroPacks.

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Have a great run today.