Influence of surface condition and prolonged running on impact accelerations

Running can be performed on different types of surfaces with distinct characteristics. These differences between the running surfaces may affect impact accelerations during prolonged running. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of the type of running surface (motorised treadmill (MT), curved non-motorised treadmill (cNMT), and overground (OVG)) and prolonged running in impact accelerations, spatiotemporal parameters and perceptual variables. In the current study, twenty-one recreational runners completed three randomised crossover prolonged running test on these surfaces consisting of a 30-minute run at 80% of the individual maximal aerobic speed. A two-way repeated-measure analysis of variance, with the level of significance set at p < 0.05, showed a reduction in impact accelerations, such as tibia peak acceleration, when running on cNMT vs MT (p = 0.001, ES = 4.2) or OVG (p = 0.004, ES = 2.9). Running on cNMT produced an increase in stride frequency (p = 0.023, ES = 0.9) and higher rating of perceived effort (p < 0.001, ES = 8.9) and heart rate (p = 0.001, ES = 2.9) compared to OVG, with no differences between treadmills. These findings suggest that impact accelerations, spatiotemporal parameters, rating of perceived exertion and heart rate are different between the surfaces analysed, what should be taken into consideration when running on these surfaces.