I Skipped Sunscreen on My Runs for Years. Then I Needed Skin Cancer Surgery on My Face.
I run outside almost exclusively, all year long. And for years, I did so without wearing any sunscreen. Not “sometimes forgot.” Not “missed a spot.” I just didn’t put it on.
I hated the idea of another layer on my face when I already knew I was going to sweat through everything. The few times I remember wearing sunscreen, it felt greasy, melted into my eyes, and made the entire run that much more annoying. So somewhere along the way, I apparently decided the easier solution was to wear none at all.
That decision recently caught up with me. After not seeing a dermatologist for about two years, I went in and was diagnosed with two basal cell carcinomas on my face, one on my forehead and another on my nose that required Mohs surgery on both. The spot on my forehead took three rounds before the cancer was fully removed, while the one on my nose took four. I left with seven stitches across my forehead, three on my nose, plus a gnarly-looking skin graft to boot.
I’d say that’s a pretty extreme way to finally decide sunscreen is worth the extra minute.
I’m not even someone who spends hours lying out in the sun or regularly baking on a beach (I blame my pale Irish skin for that). But I’m outside running week after week, and especially during my current New York City Marathon training, those hours add up. My mileage has continued to climb while the city has continued to boil, and I’ve also finally gotten comfortable enough to start taking my shirt off on runs. More time outside, longer runs, more exposed skin—still no sunscreen.
I can’t tell you exactly how long either carcinoma had been there or claim that running caused them. I’m not a dermatologist, and skin cancer doesn’t come with a neat receipt showing which sunny afternoon did the damage. But I do know that a huge chunk of my regular sun exposure comes from running outside, and doing that over and over without protection certainly wasn’t helping me.
What makes this even more embarrassing is that I Google basically anything I don’t have an answer for, yet for years I acted like sunscreen was a problem with no possible solution. Runner’s World literally has a story about sunscreens for runners who sweat a ton and don’t want it dripping into their eyes. I knew there were options out there, but I just never bothered to find one that worked for me.
Maybe I thought adding sunscreen to the prerun checklist was too annoying. Water, enough gels, the right headphones, a charged watch—and now one more thing before I could just get out the door. Maybe because I wasn’t technically “laying out,” some part of my brain treated those hours differently.
The sun, unfortunately, doesn’t care that you’re logging miles.
And right now, I’m not logging any. While my forehead and nose heal, I’ve been told I can walk with my face bandaged up but not run. There are stitches and a graft trying to heal, and raising my blood pressure or disrupting that process isn’t worth squeezing in an easy five-miler. Of course, tell a runner they can’t run and suddenly running is the only thing they’re itching to do.
That’s probably what has made this whole thing hit the hardest. Basal cell carcinoma is highly treatable, and there are much scarier skin cancer diagnoses, but this was still cancer. It still took multiple rounds of surgery to remove; it still left my face cut up, and it still put the thing I love doing on pause.
In hindsight, I wish I’d taken sunscreen seriously before the consequences were literally staring me in the face. When I’m cleared to run again, I’m lathering up before I leave the house, whatever brand or formula that may be. I’ll test them until I find one that doesn’t light up my eyes, and spend what I need to spend even if it means my prerun routine gets a tad longer.
It took several stitches, a skin graft, and an unwanted break from running for me to finally get the message. I’d recommend learning it sooner.
Sean Abrams was the Senior Editor, Growth and Engagement at Men’s Health. He’s a former hip hop dancer who likes long walks on the beach and large glasses of tequila. You can find his previous work at Maxim, Elite Daily, and AskMen.