Bikes? Okay! People? Can someone explain this to me?

[PepperElf]

i rather wish some of the roads here had sidewalks. hell i'd even allow bikers on them.

there's a school we sometimes walk the dog down towards but we have to be extra careful lately cos now that school's in session the drivers there are batshitcrazy and speed. so sidewalks would be good. speed bumps would be even better.

[Laund-o-rama Mama]

I've used the track at the high school a few times myself. It's very useful when you want to time exact speeds over distances. However, I really hate running on tracks, even though it's comfortable. It's just so damn BORING.
Also, even worse, there's always kids around, it's kind of an open campus and kids walk around to other buildings and out on their lunches. I'd really rather not jog there if I can help it. Nothing to spoil your run faster than getting heckled by groups of asshole kids. I usually have my headphones blaring but the heckling isn't just verbal; kids will walk along the track on purpose and block your way. There's no supervision by teachers or anything.

[KiaKat]

Tracks are ridiculously boring.

Plus, if you're training for a road race, it's best to train on a similar surface, one that will give you the same resistance. A rubberized track is so bouncy, it cuts seconds off your mile and doesn't work your muscles the same way a road run will.

Sidewalks are horrid on one's joints. Road isn't much better, but if you're an urban (or asphalt-jungle suburban) runner, it's usually the best option. Basically flat surface, no surprise dips or hills created by the landscape of driveways, trees, or random debris. The strip of grass doesn't always exist, and when it does, it's usually either off-limits (ever have a cop tell you to GTFO the grass? Not fun), or it has SURPRISE TREE! in the middle.

That being said, a road runner is still responsible for staying the hell out of the way of cars, and running at a time and place that is appropriate. No rush hour, no flocks of chattering geese blocking buses, and no cutting in front of cars trying to turn. Your pace is not as important as the rules of the road.

Give me a good trail any day of the week. Even when it's a muddy mess, after 4" rain over 24 hours, like it was today. No cars, no dodging bikes, no pausing for lights, just me, my music, my shoes, and the woods. Maybe a deer or rabbit.

[Captain Trips]

Okay, given all the arguments concrete vs. asphalt, there is one overriding issue here: if not in a marked crosswalk, and there is an actual sidewalk, the walking/running/crawling in the street is considered jaywalking, and illegal in at least my home state.

As is the argument for other issues, what part of "illegal" do they not understand? Jogging in the street may be easier on the feet (although not in my experience, the difference isn't really noticeable if you're only doing a few miles) but it is so much more dangerous that I can't fathom why anyone would choose to do so!

[Andara Bledin]

Jogging in the street may be easier on the feet (although not in my experience, the difference isn't really noticeable if you're only doing a few miles)...

No argument on the illegal or doucheness of being in the street, but if you're sensitive at all, you can definitely feel the difference.

Plus, as was mentioned, if you're training for an event, you want to practice on the terrain the event will be held on, and a large percentage of standard runs are held on streets.

^-.-^

[AmbrosiaWriter]

AGH! Just yesterday I turned onto a road to get to my home street and there was a jogger, literally, in the MIDDLE OF THE STREET. Now, so you know, the road is about two-and-a-halfish car widths wide. So two cars can pass comfortably, and if there is someone parked on the street then two cars can pass if they aren't hummers/SUVs and are careful.

Yes. He was in the middle of the street, I had to jam on my breaks because it was right after a hill I had just crested and saw this dummy about to get pancaked. I swerved and missed him but... seriously? The middle of the street. (These are the only joggers I have issues with, when they are not trying to stay as far over and just running wherever they please.)