Want to Run on the Beach? Start With the Right Shoes

Of all the shoes I tried out specifically for the beach, No Bull’s Knit Runners were among my favorites. The soles are a little thicker than you might need for sand stepping, but the rest of the shoe is light and breathable. The mesh upper may look like a veritable sieve for sand, but in reality the fabric has a tight weave that keeps grains out. The elastic cuffs around the ankles work as built-in gaiters, keeping the inside of the shoes more sand-free than any other pair I’ve tried.

No Bull’s Runners come in a ridiculous number of colors, with all sorts of options for customization. The Knit Runners in particular have the ankle gaiters, but you can choose from other styles without the gaiters if that design bothers you.

The only real downside is that the tread has some deeper grooves along the bottom that may hang onto sand longer than the other shoes. Still, it’s nothing a bit of smacking against the sidewalk won’t dispel.

The Aqua X Sport from Xero Shoes—which comes in men’s and women’s sizes—is pretty much the ultimate water shoe, good for beach running and stomping around in the ocean (or other body of water). All the holes along the sides and toe box means it does fill with sand like nobody’s business, but that also gives you breathability for your feet. This is about as dead simple a shoe as you can wear. Just slide it on and pull the cord to cinch it tight. When they do fill with sand, it’s super easy to take them off and dump it out. There’s an insole that provides some cushion and lift, but you can remove it if you’re a true barefoot adherent. (I liked wearing them with socks, but I am uncultured.)

Xero’s Z-Trail Ev are also great. They made our best overall spot in our best barefoot shoes guide, and WIRED product writer Scott Gilbertson calls them the best shoes he’s ever worn. Compared to other shoes, there’s hardly any material on them, so you can barely feel them when you’re running. I did find myself fiddling with the Velcro straps to get the correct fit more than I’d like, but once you get the hang of them, they’re really something.

Both Xeros are good if you aren’t worried about letting the waves wash over your feet. Your feet might slip around a little inside the Z-Trails when they get wet, but just cinch 'em up and you should be good to go. Plus with so little material, they dry up in minutes.

Ah, toe shoes. The funky design of these digit-dividing kicks are polarizing, but if you can tolerate the weirdness, these barefoot-style oddities are uniquely suited for beach running. If you’re too sand-averse for the Xeros, the fabric on Vibram’s KSO EVOs are stitched up tight in an effort to keep out sand or other unwanted bits. KSO is Vibram’s acronym for Keep Stuff Out. These shoes do a good job at it, but they aren’t perfect. If you go trudging through ankle-deep sand, you’ll probably feel some grains grinding against your toes.

The shoes are a pain to put on and take off too, what with having to wiggle each toe into its own little slot. It gets easier the more you dig your digits in there, so it may take a few wears to feel like they fit right. The sole’s a little thicker than what you’ll find on some other Vibrams, but it still feels about as close as you can get to scooting around barefoot. You even leave proper foot-shaped prints in the sand behind you, which is fun. If you want to save $15, the original KSO is almost identical, just with a smoother sole.

Another shoe with a whole lotta sole, Hoka’s new Kawanas are a bit of an unconventional pick if you’re just looking to run on the beach. That big, weird curve in the heels helps facilitate a smoother footfall on harder surfaces. It feels very nice on hard ground, but it’s much less noticeable on sand. Still, the shoes are so light they make you feel like you’re floating, and they do a great job keeping sand out. If you’re looking for a solid hybrid shoe that can handle running on the beach as well as the road, the Kawanas are my top pick.