Rich on Running: Kings Beach is royal spot for running

As the waves nibbled at the edges of the shoreline, the sands of Kings Beach made for an enjoyable late-Saturday-afternoon run.The beach, located along Lynn Shore Drive, offers some prime running territory – either on the sand or on the concrete footpaths above – along with some equally prime views of neighboring Nahant and Swampscott, as well as the Boston skyline.This past weekend I visited the beach with my girlfriend and our West Highland white terrier. The weather, which had prompted the postponement of the folk festival at nearby Heritage State Park, seemed to keep people away from the beach itself – although there were a few others who traversed its sands, including a woman with a bichon and a man walking a sheepdog.The sand felt comfortably soft – soft enough for the bichon to dig a good-sized hole in it – and it made a good surface to run across several times, keeping my distance from the water (posted signs warned that it contained bacteria, preventing an excursion to Red Rock). Having cut my toe on a previous barefoot run, I kept my shoes on this time.Lynn running expert Joe Abelon said that one reason for the popularity of the beach is the temperature drop between the shore and inland, along with what he called more subjective reasons.”The smell of the ocean, it’s much cooler, and also there are other people about,” Abelon said. “Sometimes it’s motivating to run past people. It boosts your self-esteem if people see you run uptempo. You feel good about yourself. And there’s no (foot) traffic other than a few pedestrians.”Based on what Abelon said, it sounds like more runners favor the sidewalks as opposed to the sand.”Some people, on lower tide, go on the packed mud,” he said. “I’ve had kids work out on low tide in the water and do an ankle dip. That gives you a knee lift. Not too deep ? You lift your knees higher. You can do that barefooted. The water is cool enough so that you don’t get blisters.”So, perhaps sometime soon we’ll return to Kings Beach – and maybe at a later time of day, too.”When the sun goes down, it’s so much cooler,” Abelon said. “Big-time cooler, especially if there’s a breeze. It’s a huge, huge asset.”Registration for the second Run Gloucester 7-mile road race, which will take place on Aug. 21, is ongoing at www.rungloucester.com. The race was created by DMSE Sports, the firm of Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray, whose advice to registrants is “just make sure you are at a fitness level where you can cover the 7-mile distance.” It will start and end at the Fishermen’s Memorial. Proceeds go to the Gloucester Fishermen Athletic Association, helping the association refurbish Newell Stadium.Rich Tenorio writes a weekly column on running for The Item. Email him at [email protected].