Guide for running in the beach

I used to run a 10K (6.2 miles) race on the beach in Duxbury, Massachusetts every year. This beach was a firm, flat surface on which I could pretty much run with my normal stride. In other words, it was unlike most beaches. Despite what you might see on Baywatch or Chariots of Fire, there’s just not that much good running to be had on the sand. Most beaches are either too soft, so that your feet sink too far into the sand with every step to run normally, or, by the time you get to firm footing near the water, they’re too slanted. In the latter case, you’re asking for the same type of trouble as when you run on a slanted road.

There are exceptions, and some runners find a certain mystical element in running by the ocean when the footing is good. On the central California coast, there’s a place called Pismo Beach. (If it sounds familiar, that might be because that’s one of the places that Bugs Bunny was always claiming that he had taken a wrong turn at.) The sand at Pismo Beach is ideal for running. It’s flat and firm for about 50 yards from the water’s edge. I know a runner who has done two-hour runs there, finding great joy in watching and listening to the crashing of the surf just feet away. If you can find one of these rare runable beaches, they’re a nice treat, although even the most Zen-like runner would find them boring on a daily basis.