Treadmill vs road running

I have read so many conflicting things on the internet about which is easier.

I personally believe running outdoors is easier.  For example running a 1.5 mile time I can manage 9.50 on the road but try to do this on a treadmill and the best I can do is 11:00 (with no incline).

My theory is I am 6ft 4 with a long stride and the treadmill doesnt take into account this.  You dont push off on a treadmill all you do is lift your leg and put it at the top for the treadmill to take it back down.  So the treadmill is shortening my stride, to compensate for this I have to increase the speed which increases my leg cadence to something beyond my road cadence.  As a result I cant get close to my road times.

So I have decided to keep my treadmill and road times seperate, both improving so thats good!

Anyway what do other people find between the two? My theory possibly correct for me?

Thanks

i'd say your theory is correct for you mate but no expert

prefer treadmill myself as a short arse the speeds are similar but i find it easier to push myself on a treadmill, for example if i'm fked i may slow treadmill down t0 4.5 mph for a min then speed back up harder to do this on a road,dunno why

You need at least a 3% incline to replicate road running.
i find a treadmill easier as it is pacing you and you dont have changing gradients to deal with

You need at least a 3% incline to replicate road running.

I have heard this also, but I have also heard its rubbish.  The main argument for it is the wind resistance you get running outdoors doesnt exist indoors.  However, on a calm day or with a tail wind its not a major factor.

I dunno about the difficulty difference but personally I much prefer running outdoors, treadmill running is torturously boring for me.

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They're different beasts and that's for sure.  To complicate things, offroad running's even more different.  It's like using the stationary bike, road bike and mountain bike.  Separate times make sense, but there's a huge amount of crossover between them.

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I find that treadmill running was much easier (just started roadwork again)

Think that when I am on the road, I find it really hard to pace myself.  Simple on a treadmill - just set the clock and away you go.  On a road, I have a tendancy to run too fast, and therfore find I can't reach the same distance as on a tredmill.

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I dunno about the difficulty difference but personally I much prefer running outdoors, treadmill running is torturously boring for me.

Depends whos in the gym with ya (those mirrors can catch you out!)

walks you are correct that you need an incline to simulate outdoor running; 1% is widely agreed by the scientific community to be the closest to outdoor running. As lancs_lad says, when running without an incline on a treadmill you are effectively falling forwards. When you set this to 1% you have to 'pick up' the front foot in order to place it, which simulates running outdoors.
 
I always find that running outdoors is better, because you can vary the pace immediately without having to wait for the treadmill to speed up or slow down.
 
Also, the minor additional movements made at the ankle and knee to ovecome different terrain encountered outdoors will have a long term effect of stabilising these joints.  Bear in mind, however, that running is a high impact sport and the long term damage to the knees that will ultimately occur may outweigh its benefits... (and that comes from a seasoned runner!)

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Im not sure on which is better scientifically, but im a firm believer in running outdoors, much nicer for a start, can go anywhere rather than stay on a stagnant spot and get the fresh air too.

Never do cardio indoors anymore, can see the attraction of it and dont have a problem with it but isnt for me.

But really thinking about it running on a tradmill is just a series of jumps, is more like road running with a set incline but still never the same imo, nothing really beats running in the rain.

A coach fairly high up in the athletics world also told me you  must incline to 1 or 1.5% to be able to compare times/effort etc with outdoor running. Think about it this way the motor is turning the treadmill for you which in itself is a very smooth belt - so no air resistance or friction with the ground surface. You don't have to put as much power into the forward direction either since the belt brings the next part of the 'road' to your front foot whereas outside you have to push off in order to move forward.
 
To give a more physical view point when I was running 35-50 miles a week on road and cross country going on a treadmill at 0% incline felt like I was running downhill!!!

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