RUNNERS: Road or Sidewalk ?

99clmsntgr

Where we're running, Marty...we won't need roads.



In all seriousness, if there's sidewalks along the route that I'm running, I'll use them. Most of my weekend runs are on back roads, so no sidewalks. Just hug the line and run against traffic.

And hope the drivers of any cars see my flashing LED wristband, reflective everything and headlamp. For serious.

Once it gets nicer my routes will likely take me to a park nearby and I'll hit trails, not just roads.

EddieHaskell97

Neither. My neighborhood, while very nice, is 35 years old. Trees of that age have pushed their roots under the sidewalk pads and made many of them uneven.

One hooked my foot and pretty badly messed me up last summer. Now, I run on a treadmill at the gym or at the local high school track. I will not run in the street because I don't want to get hit by a car.

P.S. --> Bicyclists who take up the entire lane and block automobile traffic should be dropped into an active volcano.

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MyOwnSunshine

Road on the quiet streets in my suburban subdivision. Sidewalk on the busy streets or when it is dark.

Edited to add: I run with my dog, and she is better at maintaining a steady pace on the roads. She wants to stop and sniff too much on residential sidewalks due to other dogs marking bushes and shrubs.

Chieflrg

Never on the sidewalk. I have a joint disease and it aggravates my hips and knees quickly, not to mention very easy to trip on a sidewalk if bad lighting.

Besides my tax money pays for my use of the roads. I just try to be safe as possible, make myself visible, and try to run on roads that are less frequently traveled by vehicles.

scorpio516

Sidewalks unless blocked.

1 - running on the road is illegal in most states if there is an adequate sidewalk.
CVC 21966. No pedestrian shall proceed along a bicycle path or lane where there is an adjacent adequate pedestrian facility
Alabama Vehicle Code: (a) Where a sidewalk is provided and its use is practicable, it shall be unlawful for any pedestrian to walk along and upon an adjacent roadway.
IL, Wyoming, PA, Kentucky, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, etc. all use the exact same language as Alabama.

2 - running on asphalt vs. Concrete makes no difference. There is a study showing that the in-shoe forces are the same no matter the surface. Concrete or grass. Asphalt or rubberized track. All the same pounding to our joints.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1460-2687.2002.00101.x/abstract

3 - running on cement would be very, very hard. Harder than running on sand. Cement has a smaller particulate size than sand, so it moves more and swallows your foot easier.

Mercedespony

Road 100%, facing traffic. When a car comes toward me, I deke over into the shoulder.
Another one in a small country community, half of my run is out on concession roads.
I worry more about big dogs coming out from farms then I do cars.

LauraHasABabyJack

I usually trail run but there's no sidewalks or shoulders here so the road it is. I try to time it to miss the really early morning people heading to the city but before other traffic picks up. There's lots of hills here so running with traffic is safer than against- I can hear someone coming up behind me but not always as they come up the hill from ahead and they certainly woulndn't see me as they top it.

LoosingMyLast15

if there is a sidewalk i'll run on that but the majority of the roads i run on do not have sidewalks so i have no choice but to run in the street and because i run in the street i do not listen to music while i'm running. it's just me and the road.

geebusuk

2 - running on asphalt vs. Concrete makes no difference. There is a study showing that the in-shoe forces are the same no matter the surface. Concrete or grass. Asphalt or rubberized track. All the same pounding to our joints.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1460-2687.2002.00101.x/abstract

Cheers; interesting that it's the same for grass too.

donrdon

Living in a small town I stick to the roads, traffic is light and the sidewalks aren't in the best of shape. Also use the country roads a lot (gravel) and if I'm on the highway I stick to the shoulder always running against traffic.(still not the safest choice though)

EEfromJersey

The road I live in the country so no sidewalks I have a couple of courses with very little cars and lots of times I can run in the middle of the road I also run against traffic I def., want to see what's coming at me but, I also have a course by my job that's crazy busy for that I'm on the sidewalk or I'd be chop meat.

handyrunner

I try to avoid running on concrete whenever I can. It's a lot harder on the knees and other joints, than running on asphalt.

this though I mix it with dirt roads and grass

eknutila

Hate to say it but the argument "I run on the road when there's little traffic" is a bad argument. No matter how safe YOU are, you don't know what the driver is doing (texting, reading, doing makeup, I've seen it all) and you may not have the reaction time (other than you ninja's out there) to dodge a car going 50 mph when they suddenly decide to swerve. If you have a chance to be off road then do so. Otherwise - trail, sidewalk, road in that order. It's not what you are doing, but what they are doing.

Residential road, yes better than a highway, or course, but again, you see time and time again cars going 50 mph down a residential.

50MPH means a car travels 74 feet every second. If they swerve, move or you happen to lose your awareness for a second or two (that can't just be me can it?") I don't think you have much of a chance. My money is on the car. And yes, I get that cars can go on sidewalks too, but why not just put the odds in your favor where you can?

jenanam3

I always run on the road or dirt paths. There are air bubbles in asphalt that allows it to give unlike concrete doesn't give I know the road isn't the safest place though because drivers are not always expecting someone to be in the road; but I haven't had any knee pain or injuries at all since I began running. I just need to be fully conscious of my surroundings when I run.

cassandrac1983

Road if possible, I find it easier on my knees!

Shamichelle

Road.

Sabine_Stroehm

In my residential neighborhood, road, facing traffic. If I run somewhere more "commercial, sidewalk, still facing traffic.

QuietBloom

Road. Running on sidewalks is nutz.

QuietBloom

Don't be one of those people who run in the road when there is a sidewalk there, all you are doing is impeding traffic, even if it's not a busy road.

Concrete is absolutely the worst surface to run on that you can imagine.

QuietBloom

I've heard mention of it being 'better' before - does anyone know if there's any testing that's shown that the difference in 'hardness' does actually affect runners?

Just looking at it and the fact that, say, a motorbike accelerating at full whack (a lot of force) doesn't seem to particularly bother either and that it takes many repeated runs of lorries or high-downforce vehicles pulling big-gees to start to cause problems to tarmac, I'd have instinctively presumed it was hard enough not to make a difference.

I got a stress fracture from running ONE time on concrete, after only running on trails or asphalt. It really does make a significant difference.

QuietBloom

I run on the sidewalks! I think it's pretty selfish of people to run on the road ESPECIALLY when there are visible cars coming your way! Not to mention it's also dangerous.

Selfish? The roads are to be shared by all users.

QuietBloom

I usually run first thing in the AM when traffic is not an issue. In the summer I'll run on the recreational (asphalt) paths in winter I prefer the road as the city usually does a better job clearing the snow. If I'm running in the evening when there is more traffic I'll use sidewalks when they're available.

I do agree that runners do not belong in bike lanes.

I run in bike lanes, but you have to run against the traffic.

vjohn04

Road unless it's a well traveled street, then I use the sidewalk.

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

I do the same as you OP

Sabine_Stroehm

I run on the sidewalks! I think it's pretty selfish of people to run on the road ESPECIALLY when there are visible cars coming your way! Not to mention it's also dangerous.

How's it selfish?

nathalier71

both - i'm lucky - we have bike lanes pretty much everywhere - so I often run there - as there are no bikes in the winter. Roads are sometimes safer than sidewalk covered in ice.

QuietBloom

http://ncrunnerdude.blogspot.com/2009/06/is-asphalt-better-than-concrete.html

"Typically sidewalks are made of concrete. This is probably the hardest surface and most unforgiving surface you can run on. If you have a choice, avoid running on concrete. Many reoccurring injuries can be traced back to running consistently on concrete."

geebusuk

I got a stress fracture from running ONE time on concrete, after only running on trails or asphalt. It really does make a significant difference.
...
http://ncrunnerdude.blogspot.com/2009/06/is-asphalt-better-than-concrete.html

"Typically sidewalks are made of concrete. This is probably the hardest surface and most unforgiving surface you can run on. If you have a choice, avoid running on concrete. Many reoccurring injuries can be traced back to running consistently on concrete."

Thanks for the comment, but I'm afraid I was more looking for the study above, rather than a single anecdote.

I have ONCE ridden a motorbike on a tank-training ground.
That is the ONLY time I had broken any bone in my entire life.
Therefore tank-training grounds must be bad places to ride?

Similarly, your link doesn't provide a decent background to it's views unfortunately.
This is the study posted above, which DOES provide good evidence.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1460-2687.2002.00101.x/abstract
In this case that it doesn't make a difference really.

MiloBloom83

I always run on city streets/rural roads. Sidewalks sucks. Typically very rough and uneven. My 5 mile rural loop is blacktop and oil and chip surface. Awesome to run on. And I always run into traffic. I cycle with traffic, as is proper.