Running surfaces

So many people tell me so many different things about the best running surfaces. Most say grass is best, which is great since i cant find grass to run on. I have 4 main options

concrete- which is pretty much unanimously the worst running surface

A wooden boardwalk - I live in miami beach and there is a wooden boardwalk near by which is 1.8 miles long, so if i run it back and forth i get 3.6 or go for long run and do it back and forth 2wice and get 7.2 miles

Asphalt- The road, or there is a park nearby which has a 400m track but the track is not clay its asphalt (running store told me asphalt the best)

Treadmill- a pretty expensive one

So whats the best for my ankle/knees/everything

I usually run around twice a week on treadmill and track and once on boardwalk

Please give me some advice on which surface to run on

*sources would be very appreciated, but post even if u dont have ures

 

Wood has a little give - so I would think it would be fairly easy on your body. I was under the impression that an all weather track was the best because it has a lot of give. If it were me, I'd go for the boardwalk.

 

Just curious what are you running for? and what type of running? i've always found running in the sand to be a great workout and lower impact but a trade off is you can't run as far and in soft sand there can be a bigger potential for ankle injury.

 

You should be able to get away with doing LSD on the roads provided you have decent shoes. You might get shin splints for a couple of weeks but it's just something you've gotta go through. For sprints go with the boardwalk.

 

Lsd everywhere. Don't overthink this. Get out and run. Put your headphones on and explore your city.

Sprints in the sand.

 

i dont fight, i run for myself, makes me feel good, but i do races every once in awhile (non-competitivley) but hope to get competitive

 

OH man. I used to run in the sand everyday when I lived right by the beach. Great friggin workout for your legs. Is it better running with sneakers or no on sand?

 

Running on the boardwalk for a month. Stepping up your milage. It will act as a good intermediary. Then move to LSD on concrete, otherwise you'll actually start to hate running.

 

isnt lsd concrete really bad for ankles

 

isnt lsd+concrete real bad for u?

 

Of course the softer the surface the better. If you're a lightweight you have very litle to worry about.

If you're planning on running any road races you should to shift over to a harder/similiar surface as a race nears.

Your overthinking this a bit. Go outside and run where you feel most inspired or the most local "talent" is. Explore you city on foot.

I personally go out of my way to find trails and bike paths on weekdays, as I hate running alongside the road.

 

If you have high arch or flat foot, bad running mechanics and bad shoes then yeh youre almost guaranteed to get shin splints.