Sun Protection and Endurance Athletes: How to Protect From the Sun When Running
Endurance athletes spend long hours training and racing outdoors. This means prolonged environmental exposure and a heightened risk of premature skin aging (Orestes et al., 2025) and skin cancer (Moehrle, 2008).
However, despite the risks, research shows that a large number do not take appropriate measures to protect themselves from the sun. A study of 2,445 runners only recorded 23.5% doing so (Duarte et al., 2018). Moreover, within this cohort, only 17% of the male runners took appropriate measures, compared to 33% of the female runners. Tenforde and colleague (2022) also discovered, in their research of 697 runners, that the female runners were more likely to use sun protection than their male counterparts.
Meryl enjoying some sunny running © Stuart Ross Media
A systematic review of research into sportspeople and their knowledge, attitudes and behaviour towards sun protection looked at 23 different studies (Fernandez-Ruiz et al., 2022). These studies combined looked at 10,445 sportspeople (across a range of sports), finding that most participants had a high level of knowledge of the potential damage to their skin from sun exposure and the associated risk of skin cancer. However, in most of the studies reviewed, less than half of the participants took appropriate measures to protect themselves or use sun cream.
Trail and mountain runners may be at a heightened risk, due to often racing at altitude. Research has shown that the intensity of the sun increases by 20% for every 1,500m of elevation gain (Rigel et al., 1999; Snowise et al., 2004). Furthermore, when we sweat, we can reduce the reflection and refraction, thus increasing the skin’s photosensitivity (Moehrle et al., 2000). Endurance capacity was also shown to be negatively impacted by solar radiation. In one study, where humidity and temperature were constant, in four different levels of solar radiation, it was found that endurance performance dropped the most with the highest solar radiation, and then was impacted less with each subsequent reduction in radiation levels (Otani et al., 2016). There was no change in the core temperature, heart rate or sweat rate of the participants, but they did record higher skin temperatures when facing the highest solar radiation.
There are various measures runners can take to reduce the impact from sun exposure when training and racing. Table 1 shows the most popular approaches of 697 runners surveyed.
Source: Tenforde et al., 2022
The main reason given for not using suncream can be seen in Table 2 (525 runners answered this question).
Source: Tenforde et al., 2022
The main reason runners said they used sun protection was fear of skin cancer.
Gilaberte and colleagues (2022) conducted a review of the literature and provided key advice for athletes. The full list of recommendations can be found at the end of their paper, but some of the key measures for athlete they suggested, based on their review, are:
Keith at the end of Ultra-Trail Snowdonia by UTMB 100k 2025 © Rich Gill
Sun protection should be practiced by all athletes, regardless of skin phototype
Training schedules ideally should avoid the sun between 10am and 2pm (this is obviously difficult for trail runners if races are scheduled during this period)
Suncream with an SPF rating of 30 or above should be worn
Suncream performance attributes matter – for sportspeople, the suncream should be non-greasy or sticky, easy to spread, work on wet skin, sweat resistant, and non-irritating to your eyes
Sun protective clothing should be worn by athletes
The use of sun hats is strongly advised, especially using models that are adapted to your sport
UV filtering sunglasses are recommended
Using phone apps that track personal UV exposure, or stickers, may help illustrate sun exposure and increase appropriate suncream use.
The Elite Trail Team have partnered with Pelotan to ensure that athletes are appropriately protected from the damaging effects of environmental exposure. Using Pelotan ticks the boxes above, particularly when it comes to being long-lasting, versatile, sweat resistant, and non-irritating.
Learn more about Pelotan products and enjoy an exclusive ETT discount on your purchase.
References
Duarte, A. F., Nagore, E., Silva, J. N., Picoto, A., Pereira, A. C., & Correia, O. J. (2018). Sun protection behaviour and skin cancer literacy among outdoor runners. European Journal of Dermatology, 28(6), 803-808.
Fernandez-Ruiz, J., Montero-Vilchez, T., Buendia-Eisman, A., & Arias-Santiago, S. (2022). Knowledge, behaviour and attitudes related to sun exposure in sportspeople: a systematic review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(16), 10175.
Moehrle, M., Koehle, W., Dietz, K., & Lischka, G. (2000). Reduction of minimal erythema dose by sweating. Photodermatology, photoimmunology & photomedicine, 16(6), 260-262.
Moehrle, M. (2008). Outdoor sports and skin cancer. Clinics in dermatology, 26(1), 12-15.
Orestes, G., Hash, M. G., Trias, T., Hussaini, A., Sataray-Rodriguez, A., Acosta, S., & Frasier, K. (2025). Endurance Athletes and Skin Aging: Mechanisms, Risks, and Protective Strategies. Dermis, 5(2), 1-14.
Otani, H., Kaya, M., Tamaki, A., Watson, P., & Maughan, R. J. (2016). Effects of solar radiation on endurance exercise capacity in a hot environment. European journal of applied physiology, 116(4), 769-779.
Rigel, D. S., Rigel, E. G., & Rigel, A. C. (1999). Effects of altitude and latitude on ambient UVB radiation. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 40(1), 114-116.
Snowise, M., Dexter, W. W., & Dexter, W. W. (2004). Cold, Wind, and Sun Exposure: Managing—and Preventing—Skin Damage. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 32(12), 26-32.
Tenforde, A. S., Fredericson, M., Toth, K. E., & Sainani, K. L. (2022). Sun protective behaviors and attitudes of runners. Sports, 10(1), 1.