Technologies are provided for generation of exertion-aware paths. Some embodiments include a computing system that can generate a path based at least on first data defining a terrain, second data defining a target level of total work, and third data defining a target level of perceived difficulty. The computing system also can generate a road surface along the path. Generating the road includes embedding metadata defining position-dependent resistance forces based on a physics model, the metadata controlling force feedback at virtual-reality equipment. The computing system also can supply the road surface to the virtual-reality equipment.