Is soccer more demanding than distance running?

Question

Is soccer tougher for your cardiorespiratory system than distance running(either when you are racing or just doing tough interval training sessions)?

Answer 1

well I do cross country... distance running... and I did that last year... it was pretty tough. But now... i recently moved... and basically all my neighbors my age (around 14) play soccer... so since nobody would jog around the neighborhood w/ me, I decided to try the sport of soccer... and I've found that in soccer... you'd think it would be harder cause you have to run around and be able to kick a ball and keep it away from other people, while you're trying to score a goal.... yet in distance running you just have to run and that's all. But I personally believe that distance running is harder because running may sound easy, but it takes alot of work... and you don't just run at a steady pace, you might start sprinting to pass people at a cross country meet, and then slow down to stay in a common pace that you could manage... and that's all you do, run and run harder and faster, but in soccer, all you've got to do is master keeping the ball away from the other team and kicking it to your team... that's not that hard. By the way, you don't really have to even run that much... you basically jog w/ the ball so you don't lose it, u can't sprint w/ it that well, and you constintly pass it to eachother so once you don't have the ball, you just go stand yourself somewhere where you're open, and away from the other team, so you could get the ball... basically you stand around until you have a shot at having the ball passed to you.

When, I was playing soccer w/ these experience kids who were even on travel teams... sure they were better than me cause i had no experience, but eventually, more into the game... when they got tired... I was still full of energy cause of the endurance I got from long distance running... I schooled them good after that cause they weren't as quick and they were basically panting.

soccer coaches do make them run... they told me, but not alot really, basically high knee practices and stuff... but in long distance running... that's all you do... run and run your heart out until you puke... then you run some more. and the practices are pretty brutal as well.

My cross country coaches made us do these things called fartlecks... you ran until a certain point... then you would sprint until a certain point, then run again, then sprint, run, sprint, run sprint... we did that for about 30 minutes... it was extremely difficult cause we didn't do it on a track, it was over hills and stuff... wow... but it sure got me into shape. :)

so yah, I personally think long distance running is harder work than soccer.

oh, and also... here's something to think of cross country and soccer...

my sport (cross country) is soccer's, along w/ other sports' punishment...

:)

Answer 2

Coaches all my life have told me that there are different ways of cardio workouts. I believe that it is true that soccer is tougher for your cardiorespiratory system. This is because soccer includes runs of different speeds. Sometimes you have to sprint, sometimes you jog, sometimes you run constantly at a steady pace. It's never the same speed the whole time, unlike distance running where you pretty much stay at a certain speed in order to pace yourself. Having different speeds of running in a workout makes the heart work harder due to the changes.

I've played soccer my whole life, and we sometimes incorporate distance running in our workouts. But I have to tell you that I feel more tired during an actual game than I do with a distance run!

Answer 3

distance running if done right is harder than soccer both physically and mentally.

Answer 4

I played soccer from ages 4-15 and ran track ages 11-now and from personal experience distance running is harder physically and mentally but that's just me.

Answer 5

I will not say that soccer is tougher than distance running because of the differences in courses.  Soccer players may need faster twitch muscles because of the accelerations needed, much more like basketball.

I don't think there are such violent changes in an xc race that you see in a soccer game.  that's as much as I can say.

Answer 6

from personal experience, i would say not. When has a soccer player every wanted to die of exhaustion and pain in the middle of a game but had to keep going? They get TIME OUTS. They get to REST if they are tired.  If you asked your coach for a break in a workout or race you would not be on the team any more. Racing distance is all pain, if your not tiered and dying your not running hard enough. Plus, when has anyone passed out (have you seen how many ambulances are at indoor track meets? those things are dangerous)  from a game or even DIED like marathoners do??

Answer 7

i think soccer is tough and very demanding. i played for 7 years and finally quit cause it was too much for me. our coach would make us run 5 laps around the field before practice, we would do a lot of running drills during practice, if we slacked off, we would have to RUN RUN RUN (once he made us run 24 laps cause we were not respecting the trainer). and thats when i was TWELVE! a friend of mine still plays and she tells us horror stories about her practices. she said that once her coach made them pair up and carry their partner on their backs up a big hill and back down. it is really tough, but it keeps u in shape. i dont know much about distance running, like what coaches make u do to prepare and train and stuff, but im sure that if u r asking this question, u do, so u can take what i say about soccer and compair. hope this helps!

Answer 8

I would say it is more physically demanding yes. In football (am English) You have to sprint sometimes aswel as jog. In the premiership, players often run upto 15Km durng a match. And considering it is a contact sport aswel you are exerting yourself alot more than if you just ran 15Km race.

Answer 9

i'm a soccer player & cross country runner. from my experiences, i think that cross country is harder for the cardiorespiratory system.

Soccer may include sprints, but there are time-outs, half-time, and you dont consistenly run ALL the time, unless you're foward or midfielder becasue they run most of the time. it really depends what position you play. also, in soccer, you rest a lot more than you would be in running. the ball keeps going off to the side, and everyone gets roughly 15 seconds break everytime so that the soccer player can throw the ball in.

However, in running in a race, you don't stop until you cross the finish line. i think its really tough to keep running so much becasue its really a challenge to your body. even during intervals in practice, you do sprinting too, just like soccer. you're just doing it for a longer distance.

=)