I really think walking on roads should take somewhat less effort and running or sprinting on roads noticeably less effort than running through grass. It should be impossible to sprint through bushes and moving quickly through bushes or water should slow you down significantly! Also if there’s any sand or swamps moving through there should both slow you down and take more effort obviously.
Historically video games rarely take terrain into consideration leading to roads in video games just being purely decorative but anyone who has ever walked through terrain knows you will want to stick to the road when possible!