Is running on a treadmill the same as running outside?

This is perhaps the most common question that many people have been asking.

Running outside vs. on a treadmill

When running on a treadmill, the belt is moving under you and there is no wind resistance, so it should be easier to run. More often, you are “jumping” up and down on a treadmill. As long as you get your feet up, you’re covering the distance. While running outside, your legs have to propel your motion forward while pushing through the resulting wind resistance

Benefit of treadmill running versus outdoor running

There are certain benefits that running on a treadmill brings about.

1) Bad Weather No More

Whether it’s raining outside or scorching hot weather, you can always run on a treadmill. The indoor treadmill running gives you the benefits or not having to worry about bad weather. Moreover, treadmill running allows you to run non-stop, this is especially important for a long run. Having to stop at traffic lights often break the momentum.

2) Upslope, Downslope, You Set It

One of the unique benefits of a treadmill is the ability to simulate any kind of running terrain that you wants. Whether it’s a upslope run, or flat running route, the treadmill allows you to set vary incline angles. There are treadmills in the market which allows you to program the running routes. You can set to have a 20 degrees incline slope after a 1km run or during any part of your run to simulate your normal outdoor running route.

Disadvantages of treadmill running versus outdoor running

While running on the treadmill can have some unique advantages, there are also certain disadvantages.

1) Pacing Yourself or Machine Pacing?

When running on a treadmill, it’s easy to “set it and forget it” and just lock into a target pace. This method may be easy to run but you will not be able to learn to pace yourself for a long run. A long run requires good pacing according to one’s running ability.

2) Treadmill is boring

For the majority of runners, running on the treadmill is boring. Running outdoors allows you to look at the scenery passing you by. When running on a treadmill, you are looking at the same things for 30 or 60 minutes. This could be very boring for runners who prefer to enjoy the outdoor scenery and smell of the trees. It’s also easy to start looking at how much distance you have covered metre by metre on the treadmill. This may not be very motivating if you are running on a slow pace.

3) There’s No Treadmill Marathons

This is definitely one of the reasons you shouldn’t run or a treadmill especially if you are training for a marathon. There is no treadmill marathon. As mentioned earlier, your legs movement differs when you are running on a treadmill and when you are running outdoors. Therefore, if you only train on a treadmill, you may have lots of difficulties on race day itself. Your body won’t be used to running that kind of distance, your legs will start to feel tired early in the race. It is therefore very important to train like race day and run outdoors.

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