No Concrete or Asphalt

I do almost all my workouts on trails and/or dirt paths and dirt roads. I believe, regardless of form/technique, concrete and asphalt are hard on the body even if you can't feel it. I only run on hard surface for actual races, or due to weather closing the trails.

I find that I develop stronger legs on trails and dirt because you must work to lift the feet from the ground and small rivets in the ground unlike hard surface. I've read a few studies that say dirt is easier on the body and forces the body to work harder to run faster. In comparison, concrete/asphalt provides perfect energy return as it is much easier to run faster on hard surface and the % of bounce (i.e., energy return) is much higher. However, concrete/asphalt transmits much higher shock waves up the legs compared to trails/dirt paths.

To quote someone who lived in Kenya and trained with the elite Kenyan
runners:

"The bottom line is that trail and dirt road running produce greater leg muscle power, with less total damage to muscles, tendons, and ligaments, compared with hard road rambling."

I know that BF is easiest on hard surface and it's a good surface to learn BF but, in the long term, there may be a negative effect.

HHH