Are hard surfaces really a thing anymore

You are correct sir.

Ran 10 miles on clay and legs felt fresh the next day.

Asphalt, not so much.

Y’all have to understand it’s worth saving yourself for. I’d rather balloon up like sunny boo boo and shed the blubber with them natural grounds than be a sucker running on stone.

Also wasn't designed to wear thick cushioned shoes.

Just my personal experience, but I feel more pop to my stride when running on the road after doing more work on trail and grass. Not sure if this is good or bad. Just feels good to have that pop in my stride when doing a workout or race, when training primarily on trails and grass.

Finally a definitive answer. Although I do feel better for having asked the question. Thanks.

LateRunnerPhil wrote:

Human body was never designed to walk/run on hard surfaces. Humanity invented asphalt and concrete.

For tens of thousands of years our ancestors walked and ran on soft surfaces.

Human body was never desiged to run on ANY surface wearing shoes. Humans come from hot climates hence no fur so the trails are baked in the sun and they are not soft. Grass is invented by humans as it's mowed and otherwise wouldn't be possible to run through tall grass.

For hundreds of thusands of years our ancestors walkded and ran barefoot and they did it on hard surfaces too.

As someone who runs 100 miles a week barefoot on grass and roads I can tell you wearing cushioned shoes do not reduce inpact. The impact is more because it's impossible to run gentle and graceful wearing shoes it's like trying to play darts with a blindfold on. Your feet slam into the ground harder as they seek through all that cushion to find ground. A little cushion is best to protect the metatarsal heads because they do not relax as they do when barefoot if wearing barefoot shoes. This is because nobody has fat pads on their feet as everyone wears shoes but our soles should be thick like army truck tyres.

WaitLifter wrote:

I am 6' and weigh 190 lbs. I absolutely believe surfaces matter. If I run on roads, particularly in the winter, my lower legs feel like they've taken a beating. If I stick to the grass and cinder, not as much. Think about it this way, you'd rather fall on grass than the street for a reason.

agree--I weight about 160 and wear decent shoes, but winter can be tough since I have to stick to pavement whether bike paths or sidewalks...those 10 milers that felt fine 20 years ago can beat me up on cold days!

LRP, you need to brush up on natural selection. Humans didn't evolve to avoid injury on soft surfaces.

I recall seeing a Johnson show a lacrosse ball bouncing higher on cement than grass to demonstrate why hard surfaces are bad. I think that's about the extent of the science.

My experience is similar to the previous poster who prefers hard surfaces. Most if my injuries have been related to uneven or slippery surfaces.

I have felt additional stress from hard surfaces occasionally, but my sense is that it has had more to do with the friction moving forward than with the downward force.

Depends on the shoes you wear.

Most modern runners bring soft surfaces with them everywhere (cushioned running shoes). The surface underneath a well cushioned trainer will make little difference. The surface under a barefoot runner will make a great difference.

I'd say don't overthink it and keep running.

VIP in the peanut gallery wrote:

LRP, you need to brush up on natural selection. Humans didn't evolve to avoid injury on soft surfaces.

I recall seeing a Johnson show a lacrosse ball bouncing higher on cement than grass to demonstrate why hard surfaces are bad. I think that's about the extent of the science.

Humans evolved to survive. What did they have to do back in the days? They had to go from one oasis to the next, in the middle of the desert. You are out there, as a small settlement of 30 humans, and your oasis is dry of water. The next one might be 50 miles away. Or 70. Or 100. If you can't walk that far in a few days you won't make it.

But what if during their traveling, a group of 3 female lions approached them? The human scouts had to warn the whole group in time and get them to run away as fast as possible. Lions can sprint for 10s, but are toast afterwards. So if humans start running early enough, they can survive the lions. That takes a lot of energy. The feet and legs weren't able to give out during the 50 mile walks from oasis to oasis or during the escape from the pack of lions.

In Australia they discovered footprints from 20,000 years ago that were reverse-engineered and showed that humans were moving at 26 mph back then at times. They were either running from something scary or they tried to catch something to eat. That's Olympic level sprint speed. You bet their feet were strong and designed for the surfaces they ran on!

About the lacrosse ball - why do you make fun of that test? It's spot on. If you don't believe it, go buy a Samsung S21 Ultra phone for $1,300 MSRP. Don't put a cover or something on it. Drop it on the grass. Then drop it on asphalt. Maybe that makes you realize what's happening to your joints/ligaments/bones/tendons for 10,000+ steps each run with 5-6x force of your body weight. Enjoy!

Phil, put a piece of foam on the sidewalk and drop the phone on it. Get the problem with your analogy?

The difference between surfaces is more subtle when you're wearing cushioned shoes, and soft surfaces can actually be worse if you're also wearing big soft shoes.

I think the hardness of a surface slightly affects your form. So I don't think one surface is universally better than another, but I think one surface might work for a particular runner better than another, depending on which surface encourages better form for them.