Miles to Go: Tracking the impact of different campus running surfaces

Editor’s note: Over the next 20 weeks, Assistant News Editor Katie Shepherd will be training for the Asics L.A. Marathon and writing a weekly column chronicling her experiences along the way. She’ll be reporting on the science and health aspects of endurance training as well as featuring students and L.A. residents who are taking on similar races this year.

UCLA’s campus and the surrounding streets of West Los Angeles are paved with smooth concrete, firmly laid brick and hard-packed asphalt – all of which can wreak havoc on a runner’s legs.

With feet pounding the pavement again and again for many miles, pain can become a regular part of marathon training.

To avoid injuries and soften the impact for my feet, I’m trying to run on more cushioned surfaces as often as possible.

Running materials fall within a range of hardness, with pavement and sidewalks making up the hardest surfaces and dirt paths and grass making up the softest, said Dr. Dena Florczyk, an Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center physician. Treadmills and rubber tracks fall somewhere in between.

But running on a variety of different paths around campus poses a challenge. Almost everywhere you look, there is concrete or brick.

A few spaces provide perfect running paths, especially for shorter runs at the outset of marathon training.

Drake Stadium’s rubber track offers a moderate-impact surface, which serves as a viable alternative to the sidewalk of Westwood streets.

But the track is closed to recreational runners from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays for UCLA track and field team practices, which can dampen plans to squeeze a run in between classes.

If the track is closed, or for an even softer surface, runners can turn to the Intramural Field for one of the most comfortable running experiences at UCLA.

Just more than two laps around the field makes up one mile.

But running around in circles can get monotonous and make a truly long distance run feel even longer. Just four miles would send a runner around the Drake Stadium track 16 times or around the IM field more than eight times.

To get away from such repetition, UCLA students can hit the perimeter running trail. The trail hugs the outskirts of campus, following along Sunset Boulevard and Hilgard, Le Conte and Gayley avenues.

The path is mostly packed dirt, one of the softest running surfaces. Intermittently, lengths of sidewalk interrupt the dirt.

The perimeter is 4.2 miles total, so marathon runners just starting out can have a decent weekend run without traveling in dizzying circles. And once runs start to exceed 6 to 8 miles, people can run the perimeter twice without getting too bored.

When my runs start numbering 10 to 12 miles, I’ll be looking off-campus for new running spaces. But for now, convenience reigns king in my running habits, and I’m sticking close to home.

If you have questions regarding endurance training, running or marathons, email Shepherd at [email protected].