So I imagine that this is probably going to attract a ton of dumb 'crete jokes, but I really am curious so I thought I'd give it a shot...
How would you rank these surfaces in terms of how fast they are?: track, cement (sidewalk), asphalt (roads), packed dirt, crushed stone paths, woodchip trail, grass, etc
I know it all depends on energy return... Specifically, I am wondering if tracks are the fastest surface, or if cement/roads are faster?
a good track with good spikes is for sure the fastest combo.
HOWEVER, i forget the exact reason(s), but running in a straight line is faster, you have to expend more energy when you turn.
def not big enough of a factor, so the nice track w/ spikes wins.
if flats, if you had a road surface that had less slippage than a track, then perhaps that could be faster.
grace, woodchips etc. vary too much so i wont waste my time thinking about that.
all i run on is mondo track and i go supa fast
On an outdoor track, when you run about a foot outside of the inside line/curb, you're actually running about 402m per lap, if 2ft off the line, then 404m. You expend more energy because you really are running more. It's even worse on an indoor track.
(Outdoor - Given a radius of 36.41m for the circular portion of the tracks, you have a circumference of 228.78m. A circle with radius of an extra 1 ft would result in a circumference of 230.69m - an extra 1.91m)
Here's my order from fastest to slowest:
Moon surface
Sand
2ft of snow
Tar
Jupiter