It’s only a 300m dash across the Carlo Sand Blow at the Rainbow Beach Marathon Festival but your lungs and quads will be screaming!
It’s only a 300m dash across the Carlo Sand Blow at the Rainbow Beach Marathon Festival but your lungs and quads will be screaming! The sand blow is a 15 hectare expanse of soft white sand – that goes UP. Not only do you have to contend with each sinking step but you have to power those quads up the dune as your feet slide down. So what is your soft sand-running technique going to be? At Run Qld we have worked out that stepping in other people’s footprints seems to make a positive difference. Experts also suggest shortening your stride and focusing on grip rather than speed. Move your legs quickly and as energy efficiently as possible without losing grip with each step. Others suggest focusing more on the action of lifting the leg to make up for the loss of spring that would normally propel you on hard surfaces. Those of you who are fortunate enough to live near the beach (shout out to our Sunshine Coast crew) could take advantage of soft sand training which will have benefits to your overall running. Running on soft sand requires more stability and forces your ligaments, tendons and muscles to work harder. Because the surface is not hard, it also makes you focus more on your pose and running technique. Another pointer from the team at Run Qld when running the 8km firm sand along Teewah Beach – try not to get your feet wet as the waves wash in!
Comments