In today’s Personal Best column, Gina Kolata tells the story of Hirofumi Tanaka, an exercise physiologist at the University of Texas at Austin, who began running on a dirt path after recovering from an injury. He ended up twisting his ankle. She writes:
In the aftermath of his accident, Dr. Tanaka said he could not find any scientific evidence that a softer surface is beneficial to runners, nor could other experts he asked. In fact, it makes just as much sense to reason that runners are more likely to get injured on soft surfaces, which often are irregular, than on smooth, hard ones, he said.
His experience makes me wonder. Is there a good reason why many runners think a soft surface is gentler on their feet and limbs? Or is this another example of a frequent error we all make, trusting what seems like common sense and never asking if the conventional wisdom is correct?
Read the full column, “For Runners, Soft Ground Can Be Hard on the Body,” then please join the discussion below. Where do you land on the dirt versus pavement debate?
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