Rich on Running: Beach run is real Revere reverie

After lunch with my friend at the Pollo Campero in East Boston last Wednesday, I had some time to spare before getting into work. So I took the Blue Line from Maverick to Revere Beach for a midday run.Billed as “America’s First Public Beach,” Revere Beach certainly retains its public character from the crowds who line up for fried clams at Kelly’s, get some dessert at the Banana Boat, and stroll along the surf and sand.Running at the beach allows you to soak up some of that character, and maybe some fried clams afterward. (I was full from the fried chicken beforehand.) The waters of Massachusetts Bay, and the neighboring communities in the distance (the beach is bordered by the peninsulas of Nahant and Winthrop), provide a pleasing horizon to your run, and if you’re a birdwatcher, there are plenty of seagulls making sure you don’t get too close.As far as landmarks go, you can use the kiosks and lifeguard chairs as a frame of reference, as well as the giant pink building (AKA the St. George condominiums) on the north side.You may also see some fellow runners, like the elderly gentleman in sunglasses and shorts racing through the surf, or the woman running on the sidewalk. Like Kings Beach, it seems that Revere Beach runners can be divided into those who like the sand, and those who prefer the sidewalk.If you take your shoes off like I did, the sand in general feels fine, although at the south end, there are patches that crumble beneath your feet. The beach is a gathering ground of seashells, and you will dodge clams, razor clams and cockles. I wouldn’t try piling on the mileage if you run barefoot, as the sand does start to chew up your heels after a while.The railroads, roller-coasters and carousels of the past may have vanished, but Revere Beach remains a great place for a run.One of the Cape Cod news items on display at Arnold’s clam shack in Eastham last Saturday was that several barefoot runners were competing in Sunday’s 39th New Balance Falmouth Road Race. Among them was Preston Curtis, 48, of Gloucester.Curtis, who entered the race with three other members of the Barefoot Running Meetup Group, finished the 7-mile course in 1:09.21.”My feet felt so good,” Curtis said. “Running through water would make them cool. (Then) they would be dry again ? It was no problem at all.”Curtis said there was actually a fifth barefoot runner in the race, “but he was so far ahead,” they weren’t able to find out who he was.He described the course as “beautiful, very scenic, with beaches, the harbor and a beautiful lighthouse. It felt like I was almost running a mini-Boston Marathon. There were almost 12,000 people in the race.”This was the first time members of the group have entered a race together.”People are beginning to come together more and more,” Curtis said. “They’re used to it. It’s been over a year. It’s a really positive thing.”Perhaps miraculously, the barefoot group members all qualified for the race via the lottery system people had to go through to enter.It was a busy day for Curtis. He got up at 4 a.m., was out the door 45 minutes later, and drove down the Cape to Falmouth.”I was exhausted when I got there,” he said, although “the traffic was fine at that time of day.”If there’s any consolation, he’s looking at a much shorter commute for the race he’ll run next Sunday: The Run Gloucester! 7-miler in his hometown.Rich Tenorio writes a weekly running column for The Item. Email him at [email protected].