here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAre You Wearing Spikes?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n This point applies primarily to sprinters. If you are wearing spikes, you are unlikely to run longer distances or run on the road. However, athletes that race on tracks will often use spikes because it helps them achieve better times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you use them on a track, your time will automatically be better. Spikes work by giving you more grip on the front of your foot. The added grip and its placement allow for a more significant transfer of energy. All of this means you should theoretically run faster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be fair, if you put spikes on me, I probably won’t run remarkably faster–really this only applies to those on the cutting edge of their running capabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elevation Change<\/h3>\n\n\n\n It’s a rare thing to find a road that’s completely level. Even in a relatively flat area there are slight changes in elevation–even steps or curbs or things like that add up over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This may be one of the most crucial reasons why your running times are better on the track than they are on the open road. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nNo Traffic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n In my experience, traffic is one of the biggest reasons why your time on a road is not as fast as it would be on track. If you are running in urban areas, the time you lose to traffic can be more significant than you think. Here’s why traffic is such a big issue:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You have to actively void vehicles.<\/strong><\/li>In urban areas, you might have to stop at traffic lights.<\/strong><\/li>In most areas, you will need to yield for stop signs.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nCompetition and Mental Space<\/h3>\n\n\n\n The mental aspect is something that might get overlooked. However, it is something that can play a role in why your times are faster on the track. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know when I would run on a track for exercise I felt much more<\/strong> competitive with the other runners. I’m not sure why but I felt like getting passed was painful so I would reach down and run faster than I would normally. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSecondly, because it’s so easy to count your times when you’re on a track, it’s easier to push yourself to beat your previous times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, when you get on a running track, you could subconsciously be pushing yourself to go faster without realizing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is Running On A Track Better Than The Road? Pros And Cons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n If your goal is running performance, i<\/strong>f you can choose between running on the road, pavement, or track every day, the track is the best place to focus on running performance.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, not everybody has that luxury, and the putting off running because you don’t have the ideal running space isn’t the best idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, if your goal for running is exercise, than running on a trail or on the road will work wonderfully.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nAlso, if you start to get bored from running around an oval course constantly, it is a good idea to switch back to the road for a while to keep things interesting for yourself. With all of that said, here are a few pros and cons of running on a track:<\/p>\n\n\n\nPros<\/th> Cons<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Running tracks are softer than roads<\/td> Not as accessible as the road<\/td><\/tr> Your times could be better on a track.<\/td> Without a change in scenery, it can get boring.<\/td><\/tr> With no traffic, tracks are safer than roads.<\/td> Sometimes getting competitive with other runners when you don’t want to be is demotivating.<\/td><\/tr> More accurate mileage<\/td> <\/td><\/tr> They are less taxing on your body<\/td> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>Running On A Track Pros And Cons<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nCan Running On A Track Make You Faster On The Road?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Running on a track will not directly make you faster on the road. However, running anywhere will continuously increase your fitness, so if you keep running regardless of whether you are on a road, trail, or track, you will get faster times until you hit a plateau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you hit that plateau, it will become more about perseverance than anything else. You would need to work on your running technique, and a track might help you with that a little bit, but I wouldn’t say that the track directly helps you achieve faster times when transitioning back to the road.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Many details regarding your runs can come down to the type of running you are doing and the surfaces you are running on. Many people say that their times on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":36,"label":"Running"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/running-track-1024x683.jpg",640,427,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Peter","author_link":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/author\/outsidedecider\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":36,"name":"Running","slug":"running","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":36,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":52,"count":38,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0","cat_ID":36,"category_count":38,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Running","category_nicename":"running","category_parent":52}],"tag_info":false,"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8856"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8856"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8858,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8856\/revisions\/8858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}