Is running on concrete really that much worse for you than grass? I read somewhere that concrete is 16 times harder than grass. I also read that it is good to run on concrete every once in a while because it makes your bones denser. I just want to avoid a stress fracture.
I run on concrete every day. Every day.
Every day.
Grass is of course much softer than concrete. I avoid concrete like the pleague. Asphault is not as bad. I can definitely tell the difference between concrete and asphault. As far as making your bones denser be running on concrete every so often, I think that is probably true.
I ran a marathon that was about 25% concrete and 75% asphalt. The temperature was 5 degrees making the surface harder.
I now have a stress fracture of the 3rd metatarsal in my foot.
STAY OFF THE CONCRETE AT ALL TIMES!!!!!!!!
you all dont know what you are talking about. if you are a x-country runner you need to do more running on grass and trails, if you run road then you need to be on a road. your muscles need to be conditioned to take that pounding of the road in order to be a great road runner.
I know this is a stupid question but which surfaces are typically concrete and asphalt? Are sidewalks usually concrete or asphalt, roads concrete or asphalt etc.?
The sidewalk is typically harder than the road, i've heard 10x harder. Dirt is much MUCH softer than either, i'm not sure what the exact number is but try bouncing a golf ball off of both of them.
I'm from NYC, so on very hot days during high school i ran at night on the sidewalks. It was very painful after a while; there was a real difference in comfort when i took a few steps out onto the street and ran in the road.
But running through midtown manhattan in the middle of a busy day was a lot of fun -- its like running along a trail in the woods, but with moving obstacles :)
You should never run on concrete
Im running the LA marathon, but have been training purely on trails. Shit....is it very possible to get a fracture because its all on asphalt?
when's the LA marathon?
Next sunday on the seventh of March.
Uh, I think this is all in your heads - we run on pure sidewalk (every ding dong damn day) -- about 100mpw on sidewalks and no one's gotten hurt.. Stretch and wear the right shoes.
Adaptation is underrated. Just as a runner who has never run more than 4 miles in his life will probably be in a boatload of trouble trying to run 20 miles; but can work up to it over time, a runner who hasn't done much/any running on concrete probably won't feel very good, and might even injure himself when he first tries it; but should be able to adapt to it over time. I don't need to be told how much harder concrete is than ashpalt or grass; I just don't think the difference is as important as an individual's capability to adapt to that difference. If this weren't the case, we'd be coating tracks in sh!t for all of the distance events, because anybody who has ever run through a pile of sh!t can tell you that its softer than the track is. I run less mileage than a lot of people here, and I'm also substantially slower (60 - 70 mpw on average, marathon barely sub 3); but I've been doing this mileage in racing flats on concrete for over a year, and my only recent injury was from tripping over a dog's leash and doing a face plant. If I, a 140 pound relatively slow guy, can run 70 mpw in Air Streak Ekidens without any problems, I can't imagine why on earth a fitter, stronger, lighter runner (like most of those here) would have any trouble doing as much as 25 - 50% of their running on concrete.
I won't run on concrete unless I have no choice, like crossing a bridge. When I do, I slow way down, no matter the context (whatever speed unit I might be in the middle of). The short distance won't take much away from the workout, and the two frayed meniscuses require my caution. I even refused to run in Iowa City on a visit last summer because the streets, sidewalks and even the river-side running trail are all concrete.
I once got a stress fracture in my 3rd metatarsal -- the only stress fracture I've ever had. Ironically this happened when I was running 30-50 miles a week (and had never gone over 50).
Now however, I don't have any trouble doing 100+ mpw regularly on the roads, but it took a while to build up to. I run 100% on the roads and sidewalk -- because I have little choice in the matter. Especially in the winter. Sometimes on the sidewalk but usually on the roads.
Concrete's awful. If you don't believe me, try running a few steps on a solid substance (concrete) then hop off and run a few steps on a viscous substance (asphalt). You can immediately tell the difference.
you are week boy, last time i checked there is no crying in running. so get out and run
It's definitely much better to run on grass or dirt if you have the chance. To put it into perspective, go down to your local high school track and run some 100m strides. Then step off the track and do the same thing on the sidewalk. Big difference, isn't it?
No kidding they're different. So are bananas and cheeseburgers, yet I still ate both of them today.
When it snowed during the winter I did my usual 100 to 120 miles entirely on concrete, where as before I did 90% of it on grass/dirt/turf. Not one problem.
Soft surface running is over rated.