If you run from your house in a loop is elevation always net zero?

[DietCokeExtraIce]

Maybe I need to stop overthinking and go to sleep 😂

So I was planning my day tomorrow and should have time for a run in the morning. Was thinking through a few route options and discounted one because (in my head) there is too much uphill...

But.. whichever route I choose if I start and finish at my house will the route always be net zero elevation? It might feel like it's been more up / down if certain hills are steeper but there's no way one route can be more downhill than another is there if you start and finish at the same place?

It’s gotta be surely?!

Hahaha my diagram probably needs explaining. The ups have got to be the same amount of up as the downs? Maybe incline makes a difference?! Not just difference from sea level? I’m going to put the question to my nerdy family.

I love the diagram 😃 yeah I'm thinking surely it must be but is there a scenario where you could actually do more downhill...

That is the answer I'm secretly hoping for.

It's always net zero.

But depending on the local area you could find a route that had a very gradual uphill bit, with a more noticeable downhill part. So you may not notice the uphill section as much.

there's no way one route can be more downhill than another is there if you start and finish at the same place?
huh? Of course it can. If I run to the road and turn right, and run to the lake I go down 70m, then I do that uphill to return.
if I turn left and run through the forest, I stay more or less on the same elevation as my house give or take 5m.

Well, if your normal route has more uphill, run it in reverse, and you instantly have more downhill.

Yes, the net elevation gain/loss is 0.

Lol, yes the net elevation is always zero for a loop 😁

It can definitely feel more uphill or downhill, but that's just because of the relative lengths of all the different inclines along the way. Long gradual uphills followed by a short steep downhill are much worse IMO.

Actually, re-reading your OP, I think you've maybe asked two different questions.

Each individual route will have as much downhill as it does uphill.

Obviously different routes will contain different amounts of uphill and downhill to each other - one route could be totally flat, another could involve running down a big hill and then back up.

Yeah actually @StandUpPirates reply has made me think I didn't phrase it right.. I could pick a more (or less) undulating route but a route would never be net more downhill...

I'll be thinking of your diagram tomorrow when in running @ReeseWitherfork 😂

I've been doing a 4 -ish mile loop on holiday. It's got a hideous amount of uphill which doesn't seem to be repaid in downhill (apart from the last half a mile which is a nice way to finish!)

Unless you run into a transporter bridge, cable car or canal boat travelling through a lock.....

If you start and finish at the same place you obviously haven't gained or lost any elevation overall, but that doesn't mean there won't be easier or harder ways to do the same trip.
My house is about 180m higher than my work so whatever way I cycle home my net elevation gain is going to be 180m. But there are numerous ways I can ride. If I used the cycle path that is an old railway line my route is almost completely uphill but never more than a one or two degrees at any point. That's always been my preferred route if I'm tired. It's longer but steady and though there's no downhill to speak of, there's no taxing uphills either. My "in a hurry" route is a good mile shorter and has one absolute killer hill in it but once it's done it's quite easy and more direct. Then if it's a nice day and I am feeling good there is another way, it's the furthest with a lot of undulations and actually takes me higher than my house so I end up with a descent into our village. So the vertical distance gained in the end is the same in all 3 routes, but the gradients and distances I actually pedal are totally different. I might always end up 180m above my start point but getting there feels very different depending on the route.

Net elevation gain will always be zero for a loop but it's still worth thinking about how much elevation you want to include - from the point of view of your effort more downhill doesn't make up for extra uphill.

A what now? 😐

Only if you get Escher to design your route. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascendingandd_Descending