Running in Protaras and the Quiet Trail I Found

Running in Protaras in July heat, the busy boardwalk north and the quiet gravel trail south towards Green Bay

I ran in Protaras in July, and the heat decided everything about how I ran.

Every run started before 7:30 in the morning, and even then the sun was strong enough that I began to sweat almost immediately. Heat like that will not let you push and it cannot be negotiated with, so I adjusted. I settled on 3 km out and 3 km back, whichever direction I chose, and I kept to that for the whole two weeks. It was not a training decision. It was the distance the heat allowed.

It never eased across the fortnight either. Even at 7:15, with the sun barely up over the sea, the air was already warm and still, and by the time I turned for home I could feel it changing how I ran. That is worth knowing if you are booking Protaras in July. There is more on this in my article on running in hot weather, but the short version is that you can run there, you just cannot run there the way you run at home.

Wooden boardwalk beside the sea at sunrise, the coastal path for running in Protaras, Cyprus

We stayed at the TUI BLUE Nausicaa Beach hotel, which sits right on the coastal path, so I was running within a minute of leaving the door. If you are thinking about running on holiday in this part of Cyprus, that path is the best option. It runs for miles alongside the sea, it is properly maintained, and it is closed to cars, bikes and motorbikes in both directions, though there are a few car parks off the southern stretch. Protaras itself is beautiful, with water clear enough for snorkelling and for swimming out to see the turtles, but running on the coastal path is the part the brochures never mention.

I don't usually carry water on short runs even if it is hot. On a run of about 6 km I would rather drink plenty before I go out and again when I get back. There are toilets at intervals along the boardwalk, which is more than most coastal paths offer.

North Along the Boardwalk

On most mornings I ran north. The surface is a mix of boardwalk and wide paved tile, flat and smooth the whole way. I passed Fig Tree Bay, Vryssi Beach, Potami Beach and Pernera Beach. In July this is a busy stretch, but quieter in the morning. I saw a few other runners out at the same hour, which is reassuring if you are running alone somewhere unfamiliar.

Paved coastal path lined with tamarisk trees with a runner ahead and yachts moored offshore

The Quiet Trail I Found Going South

To mix it up I ran south towards Green Bay, and this turned out to be the best find of the trip.

Wide sandy track between tamarisk trees on the quiet coastal trail towards Green Bay

About a kilometre along, near the Sunrise Jade Hotel, the boardwalk gives out and the path turns to natural gravel and hard-packed dirt. The crowds disappear almost immediately. It is not always an obvious trail. It thins out and forks without warning, and on my first run in that direction I took a few wrong turns and had to double back. The ground is uneven with loose gravel in places, so it asks for more care underfoot than the boardwalk does.

Rough, rocky section of the natural trail south of Protaras with hotels on the ridge behind

Checking my Footpath app afterwards, this path carries on all the way to Cyclops Cave, so there is a good deal more of it than the 3 km I ran.

Route map of the quieter run south from Fig Tree Bay towards Green Bay

If you would rather be away from the resorts and the crowds, this is where to go. It is the part of Protaras I would send another runner to, and it is the main reason for sharing this.

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A Little About Cyprus

Cyprus has been divided since 1974. The southern part of the island, where Protaras is, is the Republic of Cyprus, an independent country and a member of the European Union. The northern part is administered by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognized only by Turkey, and a United Nations buffer zone runs between the two and cuts through the capital, Nicosia. It remains a sensitive subject for Cypriots on both sides and I will leave the history to people who know it properly. For a visitor staying in Protaras it is helpful to know as you will need to take your passport if you decide to travel to the northern part during your visit.

Carrying a Phone

There were photo opportunities on both routes, so it is worth taking your phone. I use the #PRPocket, which clips inside my waistband and stays put, and it is what I would suggest if you find armbands and belts distracting. A phone is sensible on the southern trail for another reason too, since there are long stretches with nobody else around.

The Other Side of the Island

This was not my first time running in Cyprus. About ten years ago I stayed at the King Evelthon Beach Hotel and Resort near Paphos, on the far side of the island. There was a coastal path there as well. I could run in either direction from the hotel, and one morning I ran to Paphos. I have no pictures to share on these runs as it was before I started carrying my phone while running.

Whichever coast you end up on, this is an easy island to keep running on. The early starts and the slower pace are the same wherever the heat is, and I found exactly the same thing running in Hurghada a few years ago.

Staying Present in the Heat

I ran six times in Protaras over those two weeks, and the heat made a challenge of every one of them.

What I have learned on runs like these is that the temperature is only part of it. The rest is what the mind starts doing about the temperature. It begins quietly and gets louder. This is hard. It is so hot. I do not like this. There are still 2 km to go. Every one of those thoughts adds something to the run that is not necessary.

So my best defence, on any hard run, is to stay in the present moment. Not running the kilometre ahead of me, not arguing with the weather, just here, this step, this breath, the sound of my feet on the boards. The heat is real and the discomfort is real. The suffering on top of it is mine, which means it is the part I can put down by focusing on what is here.

Jackie on the coastal boardwalk at sunrise beside a bronze statue of a figure riding a seahorse

I went out each morning aware of this and determined to hold onto it. I will not tell you I managed it perfectly. Some mornings my mind got away from me for a while and I had to notice that and come back. But it is what got me through six runs in that heat, and I finished every one of them.

This is the same thing I mean when I say we are not victims of our bodies. The conditions are the conditions. What we do with our attention while we are in them is ours.

Europe's First Sunrise

There is a sign on the boardwalk heading south, within the first kilometre, announcing that this coast is where the sun first rises on Europe every day. I passed it every morning when I went in that direction, usually at about the hour it was talking about, already warm and already slower than I would have been at home.

If you are going to Protaras, go early, go south at least once, and expect the heat to ask something of you. And when your mind starts telling you how hard it is, you do not have to believe it. Come back to where your feet are. The run will still be hot. It just will not be worse than it is.