Where Are Runners Actually Supposed to Run? | Episode 219

Where are runners actually supposed to run?

The sidewalk keeps you away from cars—but it’s uneven, cracked, and sometimes feels like it’s actively trying to trip you. The road is smoother—but now you’re sharing space with distracted drivers. Single-track trails are beautiful—but roots, rocks, and technical terrain bring their own risks. And multi-use paths seem like the perfect solution… until a cyclist blows past without warning.

In this episode of the **I Don’t Know Running Podcast**, Lewis and Mitch break down the good, bad, and frustrating parts of the surfaces runners use every day.

We talk about sidewalk wipeouts, close calls with cars, why Lewis has become more selective about technical trails, and a couple of recent encounters with high-speed cyclists on shared paths.

There may not be one “best” place to run. Sometimes it comes down to knowing the risks, making a good judgment call, and remembering that almost every place we run is being shared with somebody else.

**What’s your preferred running surface: road, sidewalk, single track, or multi-use path? And what’s your worst close-call story?**

Thanks for listening to the **I Don’t Know Running Podcast**, where we share what we’ve learned, what we’re still figuring out, and what we just don’t know.

Thanks for listening to the **I Don't Know Running Podcast**.

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