Cerutty On Why You Should Say No To Roads

Cerutty had a lot to say about why hard surfaces like the roads should be avoided in training. Many think he was against them primarily because they were not "natural" and as stimulating mentally as the trails, dunes and parks. That was only part of his reason for his advocating staying off the roads and hard tracks.
Consider the following:


"The muscles and the tendons in the legs are like springs and the hard roads and racing track take out the natural bounce, potentially causing serious or permanent injuries. Running on natural surfaces of sand, grass and dirt all strengthen as does changing the terrain which varies the amount of pressure placed on the muscle groups."


Cerutty also wrote that habitual training on the roads will eventually lead to a shortening of the athlete's stride.
After decades of training and seeing what has happened to those who ran exclusively on hard surfaces I see the wisdom of Cerutty's words.
Back and leg problems have put an end to all but a few of the athletes I ran with in the 70's.