In our digitally mediated age, many people seeking direct communion with fellow human beings have joined outdoor running groups, yours truly among them. Interestingly, it seems that the type of running terrain has an impact on fostering genuine human fellowship, among other benefits.

The Canadian Association of Sports and Movement claims the choice of terrain, be it dirt trail or hard pavement, is immaterial. But sports trainer David Rogers points out that hip and knee joints that routinely pound on dirt trails sustain less compression and, therefore, fewer injuries than those routinely subjected to unyielding asphalt. Granted, habitual pavement pounders may, on their first mountain trail runs, be humbled by the agility and concentration required to navigate around rocks and tree roots. Trail running has its challenges, but it is a healthier pursuit than road running. Away from urban automobile exhaust, a trail's lush greenery, stunning scenery, and boosted oxygen levels are exhilarating and psychologically restorative. I'm partial to what's known as the biophilia hypothesis: the desire to affiliate with nature is innate.

I think we need to tell that to search and rescue coordinator Simon Erholz, who is on public record as wishing more runners had an affinity for pavement. Erholz has publicly castigated the many novice trail runners who've fallen or lost their way and called for rescue. In this regard, it's understandable why so many marathoners opt to train on asphalt. “It's not that I don't want to admire Mother Nature while I'm running; I just want to put in my daily 10 kilometres with minimal chance of a face plant,” says marathoner Nita Gill. “Also, running near my downtown condo gives me a sense I'm being monitored in a good way.”

Memo to Nita: Safety, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. If you fall in a road race, participants will hop over you, single-mindedly fixated on the finish line. But in a trail race, they'll stop and carry you to the nearest first aid station. To me, if that's not soul-restoring communion with humanity, I don't know what is.