running on tarmac, if i must

grahamor

Hi,

The area where i live has no good grass areas to run on but there is a purpose built stretch of tarmac for bikes, walkers and runners along the coast. I like running on the tarmac surface but i hear so much about shin splints etc.

If i bought excellent running shoes and supports and did many stretches would it be ok to run on this hard surface ? ( i see other people doing it so i figure it must be alright)

Thanks

Corksham

I can only speak from my experience - 2 years ago I trained for the london marathon, all on roads. BIG mistake. one night I did a 20-miler and couldnt walk for weeks and had to pull out of the marathon (this was my first time training for long distance, I was 28 and in reasonable condition). My left foot was really sore.
There are very experienced runners here who can offer good advice, but this time I am using roads no more than once a week - the official london marathon site says there is nothing wrong with using threadmills now and again for long distance running

p.pete

Tarmac is a lot better then concrete. Personally I'd try to run on a variety of surfaces but if that's all that's available then it's not the worst. Depending on the distances you're doing hopefully you won't have to worry about shin-splints but try build your distance up gradually to let your feet/legs get used to it.

grahamor

im only going to run about 3-4 times a week for no more than 30-40 minutes each time.

Thanks for the advice.

bullrunner

i'd say start off slowly on the tarmac...build it up slowly too..

maybe start off at 15-20 mins a 2-3 times a week. then add a bit every 2-3 weeks .

if you try to do too much too quickly you will get horrible injuries like shin splints that can take ages (and no running in the mean time) to heal...which then puts you back to square one again!.

copacetic

as said above, tarmac is actually the best of 'hard surfaces' much better than concrete. as long as you build up slowly you will be fine, as a big sufferer from shin splints in the past I know they are a worry but should only be an issue from either doing too much too soon or going too fast on hard surfaces when not used to it.

if you do go and train for a marathon or whatever the ususal advice is not to do you long runs on a hard surface, thats when you need to track down a softer surface.

Corksham, maybe you could do more than once a week on roads? do your speedwork and long runs on soft surfaces then a tempo and a couple of recovery runs on the roads.
If you haven't built up a decent resistance to the shock of road running you may struggle to get to the end of the marathon, esp if you have had trouble in the past.
As you say it is hard on the body, but you will realy feel it on the day if you haven't built it up enough, it's a fine line between the injury risk and building up the resistance I know but you have to try.

Also you need to be sure the shoes you are going to wear on the day will protect you enough for the 26.2 mile and the only way to do this is to get a decent amount of miles on similar surfaces in..

martinl

agree completely with the slow build up of the mileage, otherwise shin splints are unavoidable. In general it is said that you should increase you mileage per week only by about 10%, not more to give you body a chance to adopt.

As you said yourself as well, get a good pair of runners, Arrnots occasionally have good sales on running shoes, do the stretching afterwards and you should be fine.

Beside this, as one or two others mentioned, aim to vary the surface that you run on,
if possible.