Run on the Yellow Brick Road

The Jan 2009 issue of "Runners World" magazine carried its usual column by Jeff Galloway. In it, he posed as "Fact of Fiction" something that I hear a lot of runners discussing. To quote, "Asphalt is softer than concrete and treadmills are softer than both. FICTION. While some people say they feel the differences among the surfaces, after coaching more than 250,000 runners, I haven't seen any difference in rate of injury or fatigue when running on asphalt, concrete, of treadmills. You can reduce the impact on your body on any surface by taking enough walk breaks from the beginning and wearing a running shoe that fits your foo well."

If I had a dime for every time I've read or heard someone say, "Running on trails is so much easier on your body", I could retire and become a full-time triathlete. This might be true in some parts of the world. I'm thinking about some of the "trails" in Germany that I used to bike and walk the dogs on. They were nice and wide, well maintained, with thousands of years worth of decayed leaves ground into the surface, and enough rain to keep things soft without being muddy. My experience in the Southwest portion of the United States says otherwise. Trails here are hard as rocks. (Because a lot of them are simply rock, and those that aren't rock are compacted sand or caliche clay, which might as well be rock.) I hear people saying things like, "That trail is so cool! Lots of technical single track." Well yeah, lots of places where you can't pass without somebody moving off the trail, and don't even think about looking anywhere other than the trail six feet in front of you because you'll miss the rock/root/gully that will trip you and/or sprain your ankle (or worse).

If running on trails is easier, it's because you can't run very fast. Ten-minute miles seem to be regarded as a reasonably fast pace. (Although the fastest trail runners do go faster.) It's hard to get into a rhythm. Start, stop, turn left, turn right, jump up, jump down. It's a great way to get in a "weight room" training session for your legs, but less so when it comes to exercising your aerobic engine.

If I'm going to "run", give me a street/road/highway any day. I don't think you get any additional cushioning by running on a trail, and I don't have to worry about stepping on a rock or falling into a gopher hole. Would I ever run on a trail? I have, and I will again, but I maintain that "running" is a relative term when you compare roads to trails. I'm not fast on either, but I sure feel better on a road.

Even a yellow brick road.

muffinman