Running on the beach, yes, but with these precautions to avoid possible risks

Walking and running along the shore of the beach are the “star activities” of the holiday days. Although these habits are beneficial for our health, it is essential that if we do them in a way like the beach, we always do it in a correct way to avoid possible complications. Running shoes or barefoot? On wet or dry sand?

If we are the ones who like to do our own workouts and circuits on the beach or simply enjoy a continuous race along the seashore, it is essential that we avoid certain habits that can lead to problems. For this reason: run on the beach itself, but with these precautions to avoid possible risks.

Obviously the beach offers us a lot of benefits when it comes to training and practicing sports and, within all the sports alternatives that we have to actively enjoy a beach day, without a doubt, the race is one of the most demanded options.

Exercises framed within short series, sprints, multi-sessions or multi-joint exercises with a correct progression, will provide us with all the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal benefits that we have talked about on other occasions, as well as joint and muscle strengthening.

Risks of the continuous race on the beach

Instability in support: injuries

When we run along the beach our body, consequently, is working in a completely unbalanced way . On the one hand, this imbalance occurs because we run on a plane of inclination typical of the unevenness of the sea shore and, on the other hand, because of the instability generated by the sand itself.

Due to these two situations, joints, tendons and general musculature, suffer much more than if the continuous run was on a regular surface. An instability in the support that can cause more easily certain injuries such as sprains or tendonitis.

Change in footprint: fasciitis

As a result of the irregularity of the surface on which we work, the footprint that we exert on the sand will change drastically with respect to our conventional support. In this way, if we abuse a continuous race we will incur an excess of pronation in the footprint due to the inevitable sinking of the foot in the sand.

Lack of support: overload

Although in our origins the man was used to walk barefoot, today our feet are used to the protection and support of the footwear throughout the year, which makes our sole of the foot not sufficiently prepared or strengthened to deal with a continuous and barefoot race on the beach.

Besides that our feet are more muscularly weakened, the barefoot race supposes a drastic change in the traditional support where we are going to tend to avoid the first superficial impact with the heel area . This variation to which we are not accustomed, can be sufficient reason for overloading muscles and tendons.

Some tips for running on the beach

• Do not abuse running barefoot: our feet are accustomed to the support, cushioning, stability and the foot support that confers the footwear, which is why there is some muscle weakness when running barefoot. It is important not to abuse this practice or create continued habit. It is important to procuprate always interspersed with running shoes.
  In addition to this data, remember that the irregular surface of the sand can cause greater risk of injury, especially if we go barefoot.
• Be careful if you have joint problems or previous injuries : the very unevenness of the seashore will force us to make an unnatural footstep that can lead to problems if we have suffered an illness in knees or ankles recently.
• It combines the surfaces: it is important to follow a progression and alternate the different surfaces offered by the beach to avoid possible overloads. In this way we will alternate the work and the intensity that both wet and dry surfaces require.
  If you have never run on the beach, it is recommended to start running through hard and dry stretches to progressively run on dry sand.