How important do you think it is to stay off hard surfaces such as concrete and asphalt when running? Do you think it effects injury prevention that much? Does it effect how good you feel on a daily basis?
Should you try to run on grass as much as possible? Do you think running on the grass makes a difference compared to running on a relatively spongy track?
The only way to really be safe is to bring a bag of marshmallows with you and throw them on the ground ahead as you run.
As someone who ran 80% of the time in the forest and now I don't have other option than running on asphalt, I can tell these:
The muscles become tense much faster on hard surfaces. I need to stretch and get massage more often.
While on trail I never had an injury in 8-9 years, on asphalt I had to step back several times in a few months to prevent exacerbation of some aches.
Is no need to run on grass that much. I think that no matter the terrain, being tense when running increases the injury risks.
Honestly it depends on who you are and what you're doing. Too soft of surfaces seems to aggravate my Achilles and after just realizing this have been running more on the road and sidewalk. Seems to be doing better. I think a little feedback is a good thing and makes your form better. Or if I run in frees the soft surface is also ok. But a high cushion shoe and a high cushion surface is too much.
I like to run from asphalt to trail as much as possible..:)
I mainly stick to the trampoline in my backyard. I do about 2400 laps on Sundays. #Spikeup.
[quote]Terrain and surface wrote:
How important do you think it is to stay off hard surfaces such as concrete and asphalt when running? Do you think it effects injury prevention that much? Does it effect how good you feel on a daily basis?
It's extremely important. I can't tell you how many people, teenagers and women especially, that live in the city and run all the time on a concrete sidewalk get shin splints and have to quit training for several weeks. I tell 'em take the subway to the park and run there, but they think it's a big inconvenience. They don't listen.
Keep it on the 'crete.
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/top-10-running-surfaces/152.htmlTerrain and surface wrote:
How important do you think it is to stay off hard surfaces such as concrete and asphalt when running? Do you think it effects injury prevention that much? Does it effect how good you feel on a daily basis?
Should you try to run on grass as much as possible? Do you think running on the grass makes a difference compared to running on a relatively spongy track?
I was injured a lot more (stress fractures!) when I was intentionally trying to stay on soft surfaces. I've been much healthier training on 90+% concrete the past 10+ yrs.
Read this:
"...if you are running on a hard surface, your legs are less stiff than they are on a soft surface....
Leg stiffness and stress fractures
Davis’ research has fairly convincingly linked leg stiffness, impact, and stress on the tibia. On average, runners who have suffered a tibial stress fracture have higher impact forces, stiffer legs, and greater forces traveling up their shins.4
If, then, we propose that runners with a history of tibial stress fractures take steps to lower their leg stiffness (which is a big leap—we cannot yet say for sure that stiffer legs cause tibial stress fractures), we arrive at a surprising conclusion: they should wear thinner shoes with a firmer midsole, and run on harder surfaces.
http://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/running-surface/
I'm a heavy runner and was almost exclusively a trail runner for 20 years but moved a few years ago and am exclusively a road runner now. I never had an injury while running trails and thought staying off hard surfaces was a key reason. Since I switched to roads: not much difference as it turns out. Haven't had an injury in the past few years either.
I try to stay on the treadmill while wearing my spikes I learned about it on a running forum and have been injury free since.
You should run on a mixture of all surfaces from hard to soft. Trails give you more ankle flexibility and hard surfaces are faster.
The body will adapt to almost anything as long as proper progression is followed. If you grew up playing basketball on playgrounds, and played street hockey, and played tackle football with your middle school friends in the park with no pads, and ran track on asphalt tracks, in spikes.......you won't have a problem running anywhere as long as you don't jack up your volume in an irresponsible way.
However, if you spent your life on the couch playing video games, and then were on the track team because it was the only team that didn't make cuts, then you will have trouble on just about every surface.
If you spent your life doing all soft surface running, then make sure it is a gradual shift to harder surfaces.....and you will be fine.
If you are injured on hard surfaces, before you blame the surface, look at your lifestyle prior to running, and look at your training program.
There is no need to avoid any surface or train exclusively on any surface.
Kids get shin splints on rubber tracks, and while playing soccer on grass. Not because of the surface, because the intensity of training wasn't progressive enough.
I run outbound with one leg on the asphalt and the other leg on grass; coming back, it's reversed. Works very well.
If Bernie Sanders gets elected, right after he forgives student loans and makes medical care free, he is going to mandate cushy trails for all runners to use country wide. He believes that everyone should run on the same luxurious trails letsrun dudes use.
Bad Wigins wrote:
The only way to really be safe is to bring a bag of marshmallows with you and throw them on the ground ahead as you run.
pretty sure this is Hoka's mission statement
The answer is probably different for every runner.
Cinder dust (not gravel dust) and grass/dirt never give me issues. EVERY other surface is iffy for me.
For years I ran mostly on trails, and occasionally on the unpaved shoulder of the road by my house (which was mostly dirt & sand on top). 3 years ago they re-built the road from the foundation up, which included new fill for the unpaved shoulder. The shoulder became more gravelly and was much more compacted. It only took one mile's worth of running on this new shoulder to give me an injury that took 2 years to heal. Granted, it was a minor injury that I ran through, but I eliminated all road-running (shoulder or otherwise) in practice and have had no additional injuries since then. However, niggling issues (more soreness than expected) pop back up after hard-surface running (e.g. a long track session or a 5k road-race).
How it is that I can run for 3.1 miles on an asphalt road-race now with just soreness, but got injured running just the one mile on that compacted shoulder 3 years ago is a mystery to me, but it's possible that the trail-running developed some minor muscles in the leg that control balance, thus giving me a buffer to work with before getting injured.
notroll wrote:
[quote]Terrain and surface wrote:
How important do you think it is to stay off hard surfaces such as concrete and asphalt when running? Do you think it effects injury prevention that much? Does it effect how good you feel on a daily basis?
It's extremely important. I can't tell you how many people, teenagers and women especially, that live in the city and run all the time on a concrete sidewalk get shin splints and have to quit training for several weeks. I tell 'em take the subway to the park and run there, but they think it's a big inconvenience. They don't listen.
I call BS. New runners get shin splints from anything, even standing still.
I run almost entirely on the crete and I cope just fine. Others do as well.
Running on soft surfaces is W A Y overrated.
All things even, softer surfaces are better. I used to live in Minneapolis, and there were tons of parks with little strips of sidewalk weaving through them. Where are all the morons running? On the damn sidewalk. Run on the grass, people.