We began the day with a boat ride from Ocean City (thank you to Paul from Under the Bridge Watersports) out to the rock jetty at the northern tip of Assateague and began our run around 9:30am. With an estimated finish time of 5–6 hours, we had planned around the low tide at 12:30pm, which we expected to hit around or slightly before the halfway point. Each of us carried a 10-12L trail running vest with 1-2 liters of water, 8 gels, and an array of sweet and savory snacks.
The first five miles were completely quiet and solitary (aside from the pod of dolphins we gleefully watched swimming alongside us for a few minutes), but not long after, we began encountering people along the beach and spent the next 10 or so miles limboing beneath fishing lines. We fueled with a 100 cal gel every four miles for the first 20 miles but eventually switched to the other snacks we’d packed—Uncrustables, salt and vinegar chips, and beef jerky. Each of us had packed about 1-2 liters of water, which proved to be insufficient, so we made use of public restrooms along the way to refill when possible. Knowing it was going to be a hot and long day, we took some high electrolyte gels (up to 400 mg of salt) and added electrolytes to our water.
We hit halfway around 12:15pm and the low tide opened up the beach considerably, giving us plenty of flat, firm sand to run on for a mile or so. Miles 24 to 30 were a bit of a mental and physical slog—we focused on making it to mile 30, where we had planned a final snack break before pushing through the last stretch. Crowds became dense as we approached Bow Beach (in hindsight, a predictable outcome of choosing Memorial Day Sunday for this run) and we had very limited space to run. We finally reached the end and walked back to the parking lot, where we had a friend come pick us up.
The run was absolutely beautiful, and we lucked out with a clear, sunny day. A few recommendations for future attempts:
- Definitely wear high socks and shoes with lower breathability. This might seem counterintuitive, but the more breathable, the easier it is for sand to burrow in, causing significant discomfort and blisters.
- Pack more water to limit the number of stops for water at public bathrooms (which may or may not be open depending on time of year).
- Timing low tide halfway through the run seemed optimal, but consider running low tide earlier or later in the day (if possible) to avoid crowds Pack a second pair of socks because your shoes will inevitably get wet from the tides. This was a lifesaver.
We had a lot of fun and would not recommend this route enough!