Running on sand: how much harder it is, barefoot or shoes, and what sand training did

Sand moves when you push off it. Some of each stride goes into the sand instead of into moving you forward, and the legs work through a bigger range to keep going. That's why a beach run at your usual pace feels like a harder run, and the lab studies put numbers on it.

This page covers what those studies measured for running and walking on sand against firm ground, what changed in the stride, whether shoes made a difference, and what weeks of training on sand did for athletes. It ends with a practical way to start. It doesn't cover knees, joints or injuries: none of the studies here measured that, so the page makes no claim about it. A bodyweight session for the same beach is on beach workout.

Is running on sand harder? What the lab studies measured

Different labs, sand and speeds, so the number runs from about 1.2 to 1.6; the direction is the same in all three. The practical point: on sand, run by effort or by time, not by your usual pace, because the same pace is a harder run. A rough guide to the effort is the talk test, a rule of thumb for intensity: if you can still say a sentence, it's an easy run.⁴

Walking on sand costs more again. Lejeune measured 2.1 to 2.7 times the energy of walking on a hard surface at the same speed,¹ and Zamparo about 1.8 times at walking speeds above 3 km/h.² So a walk on soft sand is a step up from the same walk on a path.

Why sand costs more

Lejeune's team put the extra energy down mainly to two things: the mechanical work done on the sand, and a drop in how efficiently the muscles and tendons do their positive work.¹ Zamparo's group pointed to a reduced recovery of elastic energy when running on sand.²

A 2005 study filmed the stride. Eight well-trained men ran barefoot on a wooden floor and on a soft, dry sand track 13 cm deep, at 8 and 11 km/h. On sand, the foot stayed on the ground longer at 8 km/h; at 11 km/h the stride was shorter and the cadence higher. The hips and knees bent more on sand at both speeds, and hamstring muscle activity was greater over the stride. The authors put part of the extra energy cost down to that greater muscle activity and range of motion.⁵ Muscle activity is a signal measured in one run, not a measure of strength or growth.

Running on sand barefoot or with shoes

Two studies on soft dry beach sand tested both:

• Recreational runners. At 8 km/h, in the 9 runners who held that speed most accurately, there were no differences between barefoot and shoes in aerobic, anaerobic or total energy cost; both were significantly higher than running on grass. Across every trial, barefoot and shoes were not significantly different from each other either.³
• Six elite surf iron men, who train on sand regularly. No differences between the barefoot and shoe trials on sand.⁶

So for effort, the studies don't pick one. What you run in is a practical choice: what's comfortable for you, and what's on the beach. Neither study tested injuries, so this page says nothing about which is safer.

The same iron-men study compared them with eight well-trained recreational runners who weren't used to sand. The aerobic cost didn't differ between the groups; the iron men's lactate was lower, and their total cost was significantly lower only barefoot on sand.⁶ That's six people against eight, and the groups differed in more than sand experience, so it's only a hint that being used to sand may lower its cost.

Running on sand vs pavement or grass, as training

None of the studies on this page names pavement. Their firm surfaces are described as grass, artificial turf, a hard surface, compact terrain and a wooden floor, so "sand vs pavement" here means sand against firm ground. The training studies, all in athletes:

• One interval session. 10 well-trained team-sport athletes did the same interval session on sand and on grass, a week apart. Blood lactate and heart rate were significantly higher on sand, and the next day's 3-km time trial was significantly faster after the sand session.⁷
• Eight weeks of conditioning. 24 well-trained female team-sport athletes did two 1-hour sessions a week on sand or on grass. Heart rate and training load were significantly higher on sand every week, and VO2max improved significantly more in the sand group.⁸
• Sprint speed, eight weeks. In 12 team-sport athletes, 20-meter sprint time on sand improved only in the group that trained on sand, while 20-meter time on grass improved equally in both groups.⁹
• Sprinting on sand. In 29 professional soccer players doing 12-meter sprints, speed, acceleration and stride length were significantly lower on sand than on natural or artificial grass, and the estimated energy cost was higher.¹⁰
• A meta-analysis. Across 19 randomised trials in 433 competitive athletes, sand-based training of at least 4 weeks improved sprint performance against comparison groups; in-season training and 3 or more sessions a week were linked to larger gains.¹¹

Read together: in these athletes, sand made a session harder at the same pace, and in the trials that tested it, the firm-ground speed didn't suffer. They're athletes in their sports, not recreational runners, so it's a pointer, not a promise. For the rest of what makes you faster, see how to run faster; for treadmill against the ground, treadmill vs outdoor running.

Is running on sand good for you?

What the studies here measured is effort and fitness tests: energy cost, heart rate, VO2max and sprint times. None of them measured a health outcome or an injury, so this page doesn't claim one, for knees or anything else. What it can say: sand made the same run harder, and in athletes, weeks of training on it improved VO2max more than grass in one trial and sprint performance in a meta-analysis.^8,11 If you have a joint problem, ask a doctor or physical therapist before adding sand runs.

How to start running on sand (practical)

None of this is a protocol from a trial. The World Health Organization's general advice is to start with small amounts of activity and gradually increase frequency, intensity and duration,¹² and sand is no exception:

• Start short. Run 10 to 15 minutes of one easy run on the sand, slower than your usual pace, and the rest on your usual ground. Zone 2 cardio has the easy pace.
• Pick the sand. The two beach-sand studies above used soft dry sand.³ The firmer, wet sand near the water is a practical step in between (not tested here).
• Add strides. 4 to 6 runs of about 20 meters, the distance the sprint trial timed,⁹ walking back between them. The sprint workout has full sessions.
• Change one thing at a time: minutes on sand, softness of the sand, or speed.

Hot months move the run to the cooler hours; summer heat by metro has the numbers by city. New to running? Running for beginners is the place to start before the sand.

Common questions

Is running on sand harder than running on pavement?

Harder than firm ground: 1.2 to 1.6 times the energy at the same speed in the lab studies.^1,2 Neither study names pavement; their firm surfaces are described as a hard surface and compact terrain.

Should I run on sand barefoot or with shoes?

For energy cost it made no significant difference in two beach-sand studies.^3,6 It's a practical choice; neither study tested injuries.

Does running on sand make you faster?

In athletes, sand-based training improved sprint performance in a 19-trial meta-analysis.¹¹ In one 8-week trial, speed on sand improved only in the group that trained on sand, while speed on grass improved equally in both.⁹

What are the benefits of running on sand?

As measured: the same speed is a harder run,¹ and in 24 athletes over 8 weeks, conditioning on sand raised heart rate and training load and improved VO2max more than the same work on grass.⁸ The page makes no health or weight claim.

Does walking on sand burn more calories?

The studies measured energy per meter, not calories for you: walking on sand cost about 1.8 times firm ground in one study² and 2.1 to 2.7 times a hard surface in another.¹

I'm a fitness coach, not a doctor: if you have pain, an injury or a joint problem, ask a doctor or physical therapist before you run on sand.

If you'd rather have the running planned

A sand run is easy to add and easy to overdo. Coaching is the version where your runs and workouts are built around the week you actually have, and a weekly call looks at how the last one went and sets the next. Coaching explains how it works, and apply is the first step. Otherwise: swap ten minutes of your next easy run onto the sand.