Just a 5-to-10-minute ride away from Central Square, Kings Beach and Lynn Beach are refreshing running destinations in the summer.Maybe you have a favorite place to start your beach run, or even a favorite running route. Recently, I ran from the site of the old Red Rock Bistro/Lime Rickey?s in Swampscott to the Ward Memorial Bathhouse by the Nahant Rotary and back.The beachfront is an area I?ve grown more conscious of thanks to summer trips with my girlfriend Laura and our West Highland white terrier, Daisy. We would go to Lime Rickey?s for an ice cream (this was before it closed) and, more recently, Popo?s Hot Dogs in Swampscott.Marblehead resident James Green, who finished second in the 1959 Pan Am Games marathon, has also encouraged beach running through his free Monday-night clinic. This week, we ran a total of 4.5 miles: 1.5 miles on the sand across the Nahant Causeway to the Halfway House and back, followed by a 3-mile Causeway crossing to the Tides Restaurant and back.Whether you run on the sand or the sidewalk, you?ll likely see some stunning sea scenery. The roll of the Atlantic tides powers toward the coast, squadrons of small birds streak across the sand and the sun dips ever so lower over the horizon (if you?re by the Nahant Rotary on a summer evening). And along Kings Beach/Lynn Beach, many of the houses across Lynn Shore Drive are also quite beautiful.You?ll share Lynn Shore Drive with fellow runners/exercise enthusiasts. Some folks use the railings for stretching, and once I saw a man doing push-ups on the railings. There are also people walking, cycling and fishing (Red Rock Park is a popular venue, including the rock formation itself). If you want a good stair workout, the concrete steps are happy to provide one. And you don?t have to bring a pedometer for a run … the handy quarter-mile circles on the pavement can help you chart your progress.Lynn Shore Drive has an international feel as you can hear conversations in English, Spanish and Russian during your run. It was once described to me as Lynn?s “Malecon” (a Spanish word meaning waterfront esplanade or harbor fortification).The ground is mostly level, but not entirely so, and there is higher ground as you go from the beach toward Central Square. Nahant Street, for instance, is a good climb from Lynn Shore Drive to Tudor Street, although the downhill in the reverse direction is a tough pounding.One problem about the beach is its occasional unpleasant aroma. While it?s understandable if your legs get taxed during a run, if your nostrils get overloaded, that?s another story.Most of the time, though, it is a pleasure to go to the beach under an early-evening sky, listen to the rumble of the tides and pass Red Rock Park at full speed, or even half-speed. With a route this scenic, and with the temptation of a post-run ice cream, there?s no shame in slowing down the pace.Hard to believe, but there are just two weeks left in the Lynn Woods Summer Cross Country Race series (Wednesday nights, Great Woods Road entrance, free, 6 p.m.). However, there is also a third chance to run in the Woods: the Stone Tower 5K/15K on Oct. 5. Race director Liam Brady of Danvers was handing out flyers at the Woods this week … visit http://www.danvers5k.com/stonetower/ for more information.