You’ve laced up your new running shoes, picked your running playlist, and packed your gels to keep you fueled for your run.

You’re doing your favorite route, going through Union Square Park and up the East River Greenway. You’ve done this route countless times and never get sick of it.

You’re in the middle of your run when you start to feel an ache in your foot and slow down your pace.

You’ve been consistent with your strength program during the off-season. What else could it be? Is it the route? Maybe the surface?

Surfaces: Why do they matter?

Research has shown people who run 15+ miles a week take up to 1.3 million impacts a year. The number of impacts — and the surfaces you’re taking them on — matters. Every surface is different and can be used to your advantage.

Your tissues adapt over time, but the load on the body changes the instant you change surfaces. Your body actually stiffens up before your foot makes contact, so each stride feels seamless. Even though it feels automatic, it comes with a cost — and that cost depends on your running surface.

It’s not as simple as hard equals bad, soft equals good. Surfaces change where the work is happening in your body, how much your joints have to control, and how quickly fatigue catches up.

Concrete

Concrete is the most accessible surface for runners. When the road feels scary and the East Side Greenway is too crowded, you end up on the sidewalk, and every sidewalk in NYC is concrete. 

Concrete is stiffer and has no give, which increases the load your tissues have to manage over time. Your lower body has to stiffen up and your muscles work harder, increasing your chances of fatigue. Concrete puts an increased load on your body and can increase your risk of injury if you’re unprepared. Research has shown concrete produces increased joint moments at the ankle and increased load in the frontal plane at the hip and knee compared to softer surfaces.

Runners have to be prepared for concrete by building lower body capacity and improving rhythmic control. A proper training program will manage your load and gradually expose you to the stiffer surface. 

The runners who get hurt are the ones who ramp up their volume too fast, or the ones who don’t prioritize recovery.

This doesn’t mean concrete is bad — it’s just another training variable that can be modified to improve your running performance.

Synthetic Track

Not many parks in NYC have synthetic tracks. Synthetic tracks have a different feel than concrete and asphalt — you get a “pop” in your step and feel more bouncy.

Synthetic tracks have more give, which means higher energy return. That increased return decreases lower limb stiffness compared to concrete. Tracks have been shown to provide up to 60% more energy return than concrete. Same effort, faster times.

Tracks have also been shown to produce the lowest peak accelerations because of that give/return. The increased energy return makes them especially useful for speed work.

The drawback of synthetic tracks is that because of their “softness,” they can reduce your proprioceptive input. Your body won’t learn how to properly flow through ground contact and use it to your benefit.

This is a great tool to improve your acceleration and running speed.

Asphalt

If you’re in Central Park, Prospect Park, or on the Hudson and East River Greenways, you’re running on asphalt. The fun, scenic runs are usually on asphalt.

Asphalt sits between concrete and synthetic track on the stiffness spectrum. Asphalt is a hard surface for sure, but softer than concrete. Most NYC runners are running on asphalt — the bike lanes, the parks, the roads, and every scenic run you’ve done in NYC.

The recent snow storms have not been kind to the asphalt. Increased potholes and uneven terrain affect your running mechanics. One run won’t do any harm. Weeks of running on damaged, uneven surfaces can add up.

Importance of surfaces when training

Knowing your surfaces is important for understanding your training variables. It helps you build a structured plan around load, recovery, and volume. Understanding the surfaces you run on also lets you adjust your strength routine.

Synthetic tracks decrease lower limb stiffness compared to concrete. Each stride gets more energy back, which increases your speed but decreases the demand on your ankle stiffness. If you’re just running on the track, you’re not loading the spring system of your calf to its capacity.

On concrete, your lower body has to stiffen up — more muscular demand and a higher chance of fatigue. It becomes a problem when the volume of load from concrete exceeds your body’s capacity and ability to recover from it.

Asphalt is right in the middle. Is it the perfect surface? Yeah, no. Asphalt can be damaged, uneven, and cambered. Roads are sloped downward from the center so water drains to the curb. The camber means one side accelerates downhill and the other uphill on every step. Over 1.3 million impacts a year, the asymmetry adds up.

The stiffer the surface, the harder your body has to act like a spring. The more your ankle and calf have to work. Ankle stiffness is another skill that’s important as a runner in NYC. Calf raises and plyometric work train the spring system so your body is prepared for any surface. Training ankle stiffness is another piece of the puzzle.

Stack height

Stack height is the amount of foam that sits between your foot and the ground. The higher the stack, the more cushion, the lower the impact, and the less stiffness your foot has to provide. The tradeoff is proprioceptive input — a softer shoe can actually cue a stiffer landing because your body responds to what it feels.

Low stack height demands more from you. Low stack on concrete equals maximal output from the calf and Achilles.

Pair your shoes to match your needs and demands. High stack on concrete to offset the stiffness demand. Low stack on the track to improve your proprioceptive input and get accustomed to the ground feel. Race shoes on the surface your competition is on.

Stack height is another variable, just like the surface you run on. A rotation that includes variety is important.

Surface variety

Runners love their routes and get accustomed to one or two surfaces without much thought. The scenic, fun runs are on the Greenway. The sidewalk is too busy and the track is just far away.

Runners should vary their surfaces with intent. Easy runs on asphalt. Speed work on the track. Long runs on the surface that matches your race.

Different surfaces, different demands — use that to your advantage.

Don’t get surprised by a new surface. Introduce variety.

Fatigue factor

During the last stretch of your marathon, the surface hasn’t changed — but your body has. Your tissues have been working hard.

Fatigue reduces your body’s ability to manage energy efficiently. Research has shown an increased risk of injury when fatigue is high. This is when concrete will feel harder and require you to work harder to maintain your pace.

Fatigue will change your form without you even noticing. Your stride length shortens, the time you spend on the ground increases, and your fatigued muscles have to work harder to decelerate the body and then accelerate it forward. Efficiency drops, and that “work” has to go somewhere else.

A fresh, recovered runner can run on concrete without a problem. But a fatigued runner near the tail end of a race — or a runner who’s exceeding their tissues’ capacity — will have a higher risk of injury.

Mile 22 of the NYC Marathon. You’ve been on asphalt the whole race. Your calves are feeling it. But the final stretch is on concrete. Will you make it? Did you prepare?

Fatigue is a multiplier. Avoiding hard surfaces isn’t the solution. It’s making sure your body is prepared — strong, recovered, and well-fueled. Strength training, sleep, nutrition, and a structured training program are the system.

Final thoughts

Running on a new surface is about how you train around it. You shouldn’t be avoiding any surface — you should be strategically planning around it.

Concrete on the sidewalks. Asphalt in the parks. The rare track in NYC. Each of these surfaces trains something different, demands something different from the lower body, and stresses the body differently.

Remember the ache on the East River Greenway? Maybe it wasn’t the shoes — maybe it was weeks of training on the same surface. It might be time to introduce some variety.

Surface load, training volume, and fatigue all add up. Your body will warn you before it breaks down. It might start as some tightness in your right calf. Next thing you know, it’s pain in the left hip. Get it looked at before you have to take weeks off.

Runners who hold up are the ones who built a system that can handle whatever surface they’re training on.

Your body needs consistency, load management, and gradual exposure. The surface is just another variable that can be controlled in a system.

Train the system.

For more information, contact Perfect Stride Physical Therapy today:

Perfect Stride Physical Therapy

Website – https://perfectstridept.com/ 

Email – info@perfectstridept.com

Location: 32 Union Square East, Suite 215, New York, NY, 10003

Phone: (917) 494-4284

References 

1.  Zhou W, Yin L, Jiang J, et al. Surface effects on kinematics, kinetics and stiffness of habitual rearfoot strikers during running. PLoS One. 2023;18(3):e0283323. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0283323
2. Zhuang Y, Zhou W, Zeng Z, Mo S, Wang L. Influences of footstrike patterns and overground conditions on lower extremity kinematics and kinetics during running: statistical parametric mapping analysis. PLoS One. 2025;20(2):e0317853. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0317853
3. Zhou W, Lai Z, Mo S, Wang L. Effects of overground surfaces on running kinematics and kinetics in habitual non-rearfoot strikers. J Sports Sci. 2021;39(16):1822-1829. doi:10.1080/02640414.2021.1898194
4.   Ferro-Sánchez A, Martín-Castellanos A, de la Rubia A, et al. An analysis of running impact on different surfaces for injury prevention. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(14):6405. doi:10.3390/ijerph20146405