Send me down the right path!

January 4, 2013 6:50 AM

Online Maps for Running/Biking routes? Please share with me the best websites for creating running routes using an online map. Also looking for websites that lay out the mileage markers on some of the paths around DC area.

I'm hosting a weekly meetup run and want to be able to send the course out to my group before the run so everyone has a good sense of where the turnaround point is or what the loop/course will be. Is there a webiste that I can use to create this and send out to the group? I know when I did a training program, my running coach used this but I cannot for the life of me remember what website/program she used was. I'd like to be able to identify the course we'll run and where the turnaroudn point will be without having to go out and run it myself before each week's run.
If there's any websites on the trails/ paths in the DC area (i.e. GW parkway, Four mile Run, W O&D) where I could easily see the mile markers that would be most helpful.

thanks in advance!

posted by BlueMartini7 to sports, hobbies, & recreation (15 answers total)

MapMyRun is what you're looking for, I think.
posted by jquinby at 6:52 AM on January 4 [4 favorites]

I've used gmap pedometer for this sort of thing.
posted by exogenous at 6:55 AM on January 4 [5 favorites]

I use WalkJogRun. I used to use MayMyRun and switched to this for some reason I can't remember - I think WalkJogRun has fewer ads, or you don't have to register to use it or something.
posted by bibbit at 6:58 AM on January 4

I prefer gmap pedometer to MapMyRun.
posted by essexjan at 7:29 AM on January 4

Another vote for gmap pedometer.
posted by barnoley at 7:34 AM on January 4

I like treksee.com -- simple, no frills, works well.
posted by AwkwardPause at 7:36 AM on January 4

dailymile
posted by sunrise8 at 7:44 AM on January 4

Gmap pedometer, times a million.
posted by downing street memo at 7:44 AM on January 4

For biking, I've had a lot of success with ridewithgps.
posted by holmesian at 7:58 AM on January 4 [1 favorite]

My favorite is RideWithGPS, which is targeted at cyclists but works fine for walking and running too. I much prefer its user interface to that of Gmap Pedometer; it lets you use OSM maps and, in the US, USGS topographical maps as well as Google maps. And I find that its calculation of elevation gain and loss is the closest to what my cycle computer indicates.

Another possibility is OpenRunner, which is French but has worldwide maps. If you're doing anything in France, it gives access to the excellent IGN topo maps of the country.
posted by brianogilvie at 8:02 AM on January 4

WJR is better than Mapmyrun because it drains the battery less and has better UI.
posted by 3491again at 8:02 AM on January 4

If I'm understanding your question properly, I think you are looking for something to help you map a run without actually going on the run first. For that, Buckeye Outdoors is probably a good choice. I think it does also have a GPS syncing feature, but you can map out runs online without it and it gives you terrain features and mileage measurements. It also has sharing features.
posted by gubenuj at 8:38 AM on January 4

I think RidewithGPS is a lot better than map my ride/run or gmap-pedometer. Their elevation feature is a lot more useful and precise.
posted by entropone at 9:31 AM on January 4

FWIW, I've used both Buckeye Outdoors and MapMyRun.

Buckeye doesn't have the nagging ads; but MapMyRun has far better mapping tools than Buckeye. (Buckeye doesn't let you edit points after you've placed them, and doesn't let you edit the map at all after you've saved it; MapMyRun also has handy buttons for automatically closing a loop or lollipop route.)

Haven't used WalkJogRun, I'll be checking it out myself.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:00 AM on January 4

(WalkJogRun doesn't do "automatically follow roads" which makes it a lot less useful for the "map a run before running it" case the OP is interested in.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:28 AM on January 4