Rich on Running: A bumpy run on Bumpkin Island

With their hilly surfaces and shorelines, the Boston Harbor Islands present an intriguing opportunity for runners.My girlfriend and I spent the Fourth of July on one of these islands, Bumpkin. Like much of the real estate in the Boston area, Bumpkin Island was once owned by Harvard University. It has housed a children’s hospital and lodgings for US service members during World War I.Today the Boston Harbor Islands are a National Park Service site. You can reach them by the ferries that operate from Long Wharf in Boston. Trails criss-cross Bumpkin Island, taking tourists from the beaches past the sumac trees and the stone ruins of centuries-old farms.Should you decide to run on Bumpkin Island, as I did on a hot Monday morning, I definitely recommend wearing shoes. This island has some jagged and uneven surfaces. Tree roots rise up from the paths, and the beaches are covered in seashells (cockles, crabs, clams, razor clams, mussels) and stones. Also, there are insects to watch out for ? namely, ticks and mosquitoes.While I’d left my trusty New Balances at home, I did bring a pair of old water shoes, thus getting the minimalist-footwear experience without having to shell out for the newfangled Vibrams or Nike Frees.Although I’ve tried both shod and barefoot running, I had never run with minimalist footwear before. You definitely feel each stone and shell you run across, and you learn to land on the ball of your foot as opposed to the heel – because it sure stings if you step on something sharp with the back of your foot.The way the paths are laid out, you can plan out a loop around the island. I mostly stayed on the main paths, which are concrete, and occasionally ventured onto the smaller grass-covered footpaths. You can see Boston Harbor through the trees, with the ocean almost beckoning you in for a swim.In my opinion, the best part of the run was along the beach. The terrain was much flatter compared with the footpaths in the woods above, and as long as I stayed atop the smaller seashells and stones, it felt relatively comfortable. I ran as far as the spit of land where, at low tide, island-goers actually walk across the water to Hull. The tide wasn’t low enough for me to do it that morning, so I turned back.Minimalist footwear seems to be popular on the Harbor Islands. The one other runner we saw that day raced past us in a pair of yellow Crocs. The islands do seem to be opening themselves up to runners in general. On June 18, nearby Spectacle Island hosted its first annual 5K road race and kids fun run (5K winner Nick Rennie hailed from Salem).Rich Tenorio writes a weekly running column for The Item. Email him at [email protected].