The 10 Differences between Running and Cycling

May 16th, 2006

For the last couple of years, I have been running in the evenings and on weekends to get some exercise. Recently, I converted to cycling, partly to see if I could actually complete the Argus cycle tour again, but mainly to raise funds for the John Whiffen trust. So I can with honesty say that I have a little experience in both. While both are sports that you can participate in by yourself, or with a group of people, there are a few interesting differences between the two:

 

Running

Ist1_1566676_runners

Cycling

Cyclist

1 You don’t need to exercise for very long to get benefit – so it is easy to go for a quick run before/after work. You need to exercise for a long time to get benefit, so its better to exercise on the weekends (or get up early).
2 You don’t run very far. You cycle very far.
3 You don’t have to worry about traffic. (much!) You do have to worry about traffic. (a lot!)
4 The sport is not expensive – all you need is a decent pair of running shoes. A cheap pair of shoes is about R500, and a good pair about R1000. The sport is as cheap or expensive as you like – depending on what gear you use. You can also spend lots of money constantly upgrading your bike. A cheap, entry level bicycle will cost about R2000, and you can spend far more that that (R20000+) on a really good bike. You can spend anything in between, depending on your budget.
5 You just wear a pair or running shorts and a vest. You wear the brightest, most garish clothes that you can find.
6 You can listen to your iPod while running You can (but shouldn’t) listen to your iPod while cycling.
7 It is more strain on the body, and you are more likely to injure yourself. It is very little strain on the body, and you are far less likely to injure yourself
8 It’s just you and the road! You can carry your own food and drinks with you.
9 When you finally get to the top of a really steap hill, it’s just as much work to run down the otherside. When you finally get to the top of a really steap hill, it’s freewheeling all the way down!
10 It’s fun! It’s fun!

And yes – I did complete the Argus Cycle Tour!!!

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