Pretty much all the runners I know say that pavement (“macadam” – oiled roads – typical U.S. street surfacing) is not as hard as concrete. Sidewalks, they say, are noticeably harder.
Does this make sense? Can the human foot (ankle, knee, thigh, etc.) really sense the difference in “give” between these two surfaces? I’d have thought that, in relationship to skin and muscle and bone, both are pretty much “infinitely” hard.
Could it possibly be because pavement is usually rougher-surfaced? When you run on a rougher surface, your foot can “sink in,” and flex down into the gaps between the high points, whereas on smooth concrete, there isn’t any “air gap” that your foot can sink into. Would runners sense the same difference in hardness on pavement and concrete of equal smoothness?
I walk…not run…and yet, even going slowly, I sometimes think I can feel the difference. How come?
I’ve wondered about this also, and kind of like this explanation. Your shoe has a lot of compression, and the little bit more from asphalt over concrete would seem to be insignificant. How much does asphalt compress when it is stepped on? Couldn’t you just get a shoe that was a little bit thicker, and get the same effect?
I don’t think the experiment with the golf ball is relevant, since you’re not running barefoot. If you put your shoe on concrete or asphalt, and bounced the golf ball off the inside of the shoe, I doubt you’d see a difference.
Gracias! I had thought that “macadam” was just a British term for the same stuff we yanks use; I hadn’t realized it was a distinct process entirely. Thanks!