(09-05-2014, 10:06 AM)marathondan Wrote: (09-05-2014, 02:24 AM)Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man Wrote: And I'm seeing new research that suggests road running is in fact less damaging to your ligaments and joints than off-road running.
YOU ARE KIDDING ME!!!
Well yes and no ... I've seen at least two articles on the matter (but
ahem, can't quite put my finger on them just at the moment) which attempt to dispel the alleged myth that hard surfaces are somehow more damaging than soft ones. If that were true, then barefoot runners would also get injured running on roads, yes?
And with Vibram now in the
news for all the wrong reasons over their Five Fingers, maybe some truth about road running will emerge.
But look, that said, I'm still not saying this, that or the other is the truth of the matter. Who really knows for sure? All I'm saying is that in my experience, road running is no worse, and in fact is more generally better for
my knees than off-road surfaces or even grass, and that you shouldn't just accept the "road running is worse for your knees" mantra that is so often spouted without thought or evidence.
I think in any case there is a very simple test to find what works best for you: run down a street that has a grass verge. If you find it easier to run on the grass than the tarmac or concrete, then stick to soft surfaces. If like me, you actually find the harder surface easier to run on, then go for it. Why the hell not?
And yes, it is true that I have dodgy knees, but it's also true that they are much, much
better when I regularly run decent distances, most of which is on concrete and tarmac. My occasional forays onto grass and trail often results in sore knees, but of course that's not a fair comparison. Unless I did a few weeks of constant off-road running I wouldn't be able to say for sure.
As we always say here on RC, we are an experiment of one and you have to see what works for you. And as
I always say, "Question everything"!
May as well ... 2014
