I’m running with intermittent shade and it gets too hot so I decide to walk for a bit. Assuming roughly equal parts sun/shade, is it better to run in the shade and walk in the sun or vice versa?
Walking in the shade means more time spent in the shade.
Walking in the sun means I don’t get as hot while in direct sunlight.
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Why are you running? If you’re running for exercise then it might be better to run in the sun as your body would be doing more work. Obviously you’ll need adequate hydration.
I’ve wondered that too. Upon further thinking, I think that if the stretches of shade and sun are quite long, like a mile or more, you should walk in the sun and run in the shade since you will heat yourself up too much and thus get more tired if you run in the sun.
If the stretches of shade and sun are much shorter than a mile, then I think you should simply run half all the way through and then walk the rest regardless of whether a particular stretch is in the sun or shade since you’ll spend a lot of energy accelerating every time you start to run.
Depends on how hot it is. Direct sun will raise the apparent temps by 15-20F.
Walking will decrease the overall training effect (while heat related rise in heart rate does nothing but indicate heat stress). If you can, run in the evening or morning. Wear light colored, light weight, moisture wicking clothing and a light colored hat(you’re creating your own shade while not trapping heat)
Drink plenty of fluids before, during and after.
Run in the shade, walk in the Sun. The other way around would risk hyperthermia.