Calculating a running route lets you know how far you are running.
Runners often need to know how far a running route is for training purposes. Although some runners can guess the distance of a route based on how far it took to run it and the individual's typical pace, calculating the exact distance of each route allows runners to compare their speed on days when they ran different routes and distances. Calculating a running route can be done online with one of a number of websites or on paper with a traditional road map.
Instructions
Calculate Running Route on Paper
1. Find your starting location on a street map.
2. Place one end of a long string on the starting location.
3. Track the string along the route that you run. Although the string does not need to stay in place along the whole route, the string does need to measure the correct distance along the route. One way to do this is by holding the string at one point, laying it along the map to another point, then holding the string onto that second point and letting go of it at the first point before continuing on another stretch from the second point.
4. Mark the string with a piece of tape where the running route ends.
5. Use the scale provided on the map to determine the distance represented by the string. For example, if 2 inches on the map represent a quarter mile and you have 18 inches of string, then your running route is 2.25 miles long. Alternately, you can just stretch the string along the scale pictured on the map until you have found how many miles it represents.
Calculate Running Route Online
6. Visit a website with an interactive mapping tool. Some options are listed in the References section.
7. Type in an address or zoom in, out and scroll to find your starting location. Select the option to create a new route and click on the starting point.
8. Click along your running route, dividing it into many small straight-line segments. The site updates its calculation of the route's distance each time you click.
9. Record the route's total distance after you reach the destination point.
Tags: Calculate Running, Calculate Running Route, running route, starting location, along route, Calculating running