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Lead Stories: Tuesday, October 7, 2008

What You Need to Know When Starting a Running Routine

Posted September 20th, 2007 at 8:00 AM by Jamal Walker

Section: Running & Training, Training Plans

Why run?

Running carries with it the same benefits of all cardiovascular exercise: it helps reduce stress, strengthens the heart and lungs, reduces risk of certain diseases, increases confidence, brightens your mood, helps you sleep better, gives you more energy, and, in general, provides a better sense of well being. It is also a great way to burn calories.

How many calories do you burn running a mile?

Conventional wisdom says that, for every mile you run, you will burn 100 calories. But other factors play into the equation as well, including your running speed and your body weight. Generally speaking, a 135 pound person will burn about 100 calories per mile. A 200 pound person, running at the same speed, may burn 150. Obviously, the faster you run, the more calories you will burn.

Starting to run

Running can be stressful on your body, particularly on your leg muscles and knees. But you can minimize your risk of injury by following a few, simple tips.
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“Concrete vs. Asphalt” - Which is the Better Running Surface?

Posted July 28th, 2006 at 5:30 AM by Jim Fortner

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Training Tips, Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab, Exercise

A note from the TFS: We are pleased to welcome Jim Fortner as a guest contributor to The Final Sprint. Jim is an extremely knowledgeable runner and talented writer. Make sure to also check out “Jim2’s Running Page”, his own personal running and advice site.

Below you will find his latest post concerning the debate over running surfaces - what’s better: concrete or asphalt?.

Concrete is a much harder surface than asphalt or macadam. It’s the worst commonly encountered surface that you can run on and should be avoided like the plague. To compare the “hardness” of concrete and asphalt, hit each surface with a hammer and see how it feels to your hand and arm. You will find quite a difference. You will leave a dent in the asphalt, but not in the concrete.

When running, your feet strike the surface with a force of up to 6 times your body weight. And unless you land dead midfoot all that force is concentrated on a very small landing surface. For a typical heel striker, it’s maybe a square inch or two. Let’s assume that a person who weighs 120 pounds lands at 5 times body weight with a heel strike that covers two square inches. That’s equivalent to an initial strike force of 300 pounds/sq in (equivalent to 3600 pounds/sq ft) upon contact. If asphalt is really 10 times “softer” than concrete, as the study that Bill mentioned said, that would make a big difference in initial energy dissipation vs that which shoes, normal pronation and body structure have to absorb. (BTW, that’s also the problem with a non-overpronator using stability or motion control shoes. They unnecessarily restrict normal pronation, which is a natural shock absorption biomechanic, and result in an increase in the force that the body’s skeleton and joints have to dissipate.)

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