Well, I graduated a couple of weeks ago and was excited to see that a hotel I was going to stay in last week was within walking distance of the beach - cue visions of elegantly running stylishly along near the waves.
However, reality was that the beach actually consisted of pebbles, with sand dunes behind, sporting tussocks of grass, various holes and a mixture of soft and hard sand. I didn't want to let go of my vision of beach running though, so set off to run my 30 mins.
I succeeded in that, but was horrified to find that I had only covered 3.1km, so two days later I set off determined (stupidly) to do better. This time I ran for 41mins covering 4.3k.
However as I was finishing the run I realised that my left ankle was hurting and, yes you've guessed, I had sprained my ankle. Fortunately it is only a minor sprain, but I am now on the injury couch for a couple of weeks.
When I got home I found out (too late) that running on the kind of sandy terrain that I had run on is something which needs to be introduced into a running programme gradually. Oh Dear!
With spring and summer approaching and beach runs looking so tempting, I thought I'd share my sorry tale so no-one else is tempted by those sandy dunes. It's back to my trusty flat nicely surfaced path when I start running again.
Happy running everyone (but not on sand dunes)
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Runner_and_rider
Graduate
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I live 30sec from a flat, sandy beach!! I tried it once, never again. I only managed about 5 mins then gave up. I prefer plodding along on the pavements or sea wall.
I run on sand but have done from week 1 so I agree, the gradual approach must be best. I know I don’t go fast but it’s great for core stability and balance. I do try to stick to the but where the sea meets the sand as it’s firmer. However, the mix you ran on sounds hard. I do sand dunes sometimes but very slowly!
Thanks for this. Yes, when I got home I read that as you say it is fabulous for core strength and balance ...... but not for a first consolidation run. Always something new to learn with running
Sorry to hear about your injury. Thank you for the advice, I had similar visions of running or rather gliding beautifully on a beach when I go to a beach town next month 😀 I will keep this hazard warning in mind. Hope you can get back to running soon.
Hi I live by the sea and I also thought it might me mighty fine to be a gazelle gliding along. However after reading your warning I think I will give it a miss. I don’t think I will ever be a gazelle either !
I guess it’s a matter of what you’re used to- I did almost all my C25k ( inc my Grad run ) along the beach ... sure it slowed me down but worth it for the sound of the waves and the feeling of freedom!
I did my first run on smooth level pavement yesterday - definitely quicker!
One thing I've learned is that running in these sandy environments is brilliant for strength and balance development ..... just not for a new graduate who's only ever run on easy surfaces.
Every time we change the surface we run on we need to be careful. The lateral stability of the ankles, and also the knees and hips, can be badly affected by the stability of the surface. I pulled, not very badly happily, a muscle in my leg yesterday running over wet sheep pasture downhill - I was wearing road shoes, Doh!
That's really interesting. I'd never actually thought about how dramatically a change of running surface can affect the body. Real food for thought in the future wherever I run. Thank you.
It comes because we are all NEW runners here. If we had kept running as we did as children (watch them, they run crazy, form all over the place) we would have retained the tone in all those muscles.
Such a useful reality check here! Do hope your ankle recovers quickly. It can feel like cowardice to be really cautious just because of a change of surface, but clearly it’s more like good sense. 👍
Yes, and the trouble with these injuries - unlike major tears and fractures - is that they don't necessarily hurt too much while you are on the move. I need to try and remember that. Better to be a coward than on that injury couch.
Thank you for sharing the cautionary tale and so sorry to hear that you will be on the recovery couch for a while. I hope it gets better soon and you come back stronger.
Firstly, apologies for starting a thread which is similar to an existing one. It must have been begun while I was away (running on the beach!)
I've just read the thread/link and similar to this one, it really is a a salutary warning about running in different circumstances eg footwear, terrain. I wasn't running barefoot; I had my trusty (road) running shoes on. Reading that thread makes me realise that the damage would probably have been even worse if I were barefoot. Thanks too for the advice. Now to go and put my foot up.
I made that mistake two weeks ago and spent the last 4 days of my Holiday hardly able to walk and just got going again yesterday with a short run, your right to warn people ,that sand looks so tempting and the sand I ran on was flat and mostly hard but still got an injury.
Oh wow, that's really a revelation. Hard sand looks as if it would be almost the perfect surface to run on, and maybe it is if you've never run on anything else. I really feel for you with your injury. These relatively minor sprains and strains just heal in their own good time (hurting a lot as they go along) and there's nothing really we can do to hurry them. Hope we're both back to full running mode soon.
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Running on a horse bridle way - would that make me crazy?
Does salt water damage running shoes?
Minehead 10k - grass, pavement, pebbles and sand! I did it! 
A bit of advice...Please don't make the same mistakes I did!
Wow o wow! I did it!!!
