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I saw this thread just before I was about to call an old professor/coach who teaches Kineseology (study of the movement of the body). He said that there is a measurable difference in the muscles being trained on a treadmill than the ones that make you run on a immobile surface whether its a track or a road or a beach. He said that the major difference tends to be in the calves, which propel the body forward at the end of the stride. The quads push the body forward to some extent, but the majority of the motion comes from lower down. The hamstrings pull the lower leg into a recovery position so that the hip flexors can move the whole assembly back to the starting position. On a treadmill, the brain quickly realizes that the firing of the calves isn't moving the body forward in relation to the rest of the room and that lessing of the energy used won't cause any dimunition of speed. Since the body gradually finds the most efficient way to accomplish any physical task, it slowly shuts down the calves until they're only working at about 35% of what they would outdoors. As for people that feel that they work harder on treadmills, he said that it's probably either mental or they have a different gait.
Running definitely creates an impact, and lots of people get stress fractures, etc. However, running is joyful. That's why I do it (or did when I had the time).
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