Chris Hughes was training for his first marathon when he tripped over the sharp tip of a steel reinforcing rod protruding from the sand early on Sunday.
The rod was attached to a slab of concrete building material concealed under sand near the water's edge, about 15m from sand dunes at Middle Beach.
It was one of many concrete blocks partly or completely buried at or near the sand dunes, many with reinforcing rods still attached and sticking up.
The rod Mr Hughes encountered pierced his shoe and foot, leaving him with a bloody wound and a still-obvious limp yesterday.
He tried to remove the offending object but only managed to pull about 1.5m of the rod out of the sand before discovering it was attached to buried concrete.
He told the Otago Daily Times yesterday he wanted the council to take more steps to ensure the beach was safe for joggers and any young children playing in the area.
That could include a warning sign in the area, or cutting back the protruding rods, he said.
Council parks manager Lisa Wheeler said the building materials had been dumped in the area historically, but were being exposed by storm surges, strong winds and heavy seas.
They were not being dumped as part of work designed to protect the sand dunes and nearby Kettle Park from continuing erosion, she said.
"They're usually covered up in sand. It's just that it's just dropped away that much that it's exposing what's usually covered up."
Council staff were inspecting the beach "two or three times" each week, and notifying contractor Delta Utility Services when rods were found that appeared hazardous, she said.
The last visit was on Monday - after Mr Hughes' injury - but rods protruding from the sand were clearly visible when the ODT visited yesterday.
Mrs Wheeler said staff would visit the beach again today, in response to Mr Hughes' concerns, and Delta would be asked to remove any threatening rods.
"We want to make sure we've got as much safety down there as we can."
