Run on the beach: Muzhappilangadu Drive-in Beach, Kannur, Kerala

My hometown, Kannur is on the coast of Arabean sea in northern part of Kerala where I spent couple of weeks vacationing out there. There are plenty of beaches around, but we are not that crazy about the beach except for an occasional stroll around the beach. Since I have been running regularly, I went prepared to run this time and was looking for some location where I can do a long run - in fact there were a lot of options, lots of neat asphalted country

roads with good gradients, a highway NH-17 runs through our town etc., and off course one of the beachside roads. Finally, we drove up 8KM to Muzhappilangadu drive-in beach, where you can drive out-and-back around 8.5K. The sand is really hard that you don't really have to worry about your vehicle getting stuck in the sand. That makes it an excellent running trail as well. (But the more adventurous folks do get into trouble by trying to splash water and get stuck) There weren't many runners around however, we just saw one serious runner and couple of walkers. It was more of fisherfolk getting their nets ready or bringing in the catch and couple of folks learning driving a car. It is a scenic beach as well - like any other kerala beaches it is pretty clean except for the dirty stuff the sea washes ashore.

I was running with my uncle who runs a small football academy, Kannur Sporting Academy. He was a footballer himself and keeps himself fit. He plans to take his boys once in a while to the beach and have some funplaying football on the beach. I wasn't sure what the split times of our run-walk, but this was the best trail that I had ever run. It was awsome scenery both sides of the beach - unending arabian sea on one side, and the lush green country side of "God's own Country" - it is as best you can get to heaven I bet! Nothing like it for a slow and long run! I am inspired to run far more than ever after today's run.

May be we should've hit the road that lead us to the beach to get some gradients, may be next time. The beach side is pretty flat and if you want to play football or any other game, you could do that in a pretty good surface. There is a small rivulet joining the sea in between with very clear water. At one end of the beach is another river, Anjarakkandippuzha, joining the sea and you can get to the highway from that end as well and cross the river along the highway and get to the next beach, Dharmadam, which is also a very scenic one with an island on the beach. We didn't ventyure out but stuck to our trail.

We also had the event "covered" my brother, who provides content on sports for

his programme, "kickoff", to a local TV channel - we hope to be the running stars for the next episode:)

It is a bit unfortunate that running is not a popular fitness activity around the place which has excellent natural facilities for running. There is a huge potential for running which can go very well with the tourism industry in Kerala - you could visit a resort in the mountains, drive down the hills to participate in a run, or run on the hills, then cool off by visiting one of the

ayurvedic resorts to cool off or any other beach resort and chill out - possibilities are great indeed for everyone involved.

So if anyone is interested in running on this beach or the places around here, please do let me know - I am talking to some of the local sports clubs and folks who could potentially sponsor a yearly 10K event at this beach. It blends perfectly well with Kerala state's effort to attract tourists and to get the local folks to run or walk. And if you are driving on NH-17 near Kannur, don't forget to take a detour to this drive-in beach and drive right on the beach!