Jogging in the Street
I was driving in the medical district the other day and turned off of Governors Drive onto Franklin heading toward the courthouse. This street is two lanes with a turn lane down the middle. There are sidewalks on both sides of the street. There were a fair number of cars going each direction. Then I noticed this idiot jogging down the middle turn lane. Thank goodness no one needed to turn left or he would have been just an interesting pattern on the pavement.
Now don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against joggers, but why, why, do they think they have to jog in the road, especially when there is a perfectly good sidewalk just a few feet away?
Someone once explained to me that asphalt is softer than concrete, so joggers like to jog on the asphalt streets instead of the sidewalk. I'll buy the argument that asphalt is softer than concrete, but I challenge anyone to measure the difference through the soles of running shoes! It would be like measuring the weight of a feather by weighing an 18-wheeler "loaded" with a feather and unloaded and figuring the difference. The weight of the feather is going to get lost in the noise. If you fell out of an airplane without a parachute, would you rather hit asphalt or concrete? Would it really make a difference?
If one is concerned about the hardness of concrete when jogging, he should first consider getting better running shoes. Or perhaps give up jogging and try a non-impact exercise like swimming. Or jog on the grass... that has to be much softer. Anything but jogging in the street. Getting run over is going to do more damage than jogging on concrete.
Update: July 31, 2000
I've received at least three emails from folks who have read this saying that jogging on asphalt is easier over time than jogging on concrete. Sorry, but I still don't buy it. I'll change my position if I can come up with some kind of impulse measuring device that can be put in a running shoe for a test. If there is a measurable difference between asphalt and concrete through a shoe, I'll eat my words!