Of Courses: USATF America's Running Routes

As I was sitting around icing my knees this morning, I began to play around with some online tools that, although I had been made aware of them by fellow bloggers, I had not had the chance to try out. The best of these was USA Track and Field (USATF) America’s Running Routes.

Previously I have almost exclusively used Yahoo Maps! to calculate the mileage I have run following a training workout. While the Yahoo system has been very functional, it does have its limits, the chief of those being that it was not designed for the number of turns and points and returns that take place in the running of a course—it can be somewhat inflexible. The similarly designed Google Pedometer also has the same limitations. (Though the mapping function at USATF is "powered" by Google Maps(?).)

USATF’s route page has some very helpful features that, if nothing else, help feed my innate nerdiness when it comes to looking at data. Depending on who you are and what you choose to focus on in your training, the following features may prove of interest: an Elevation Profile (including Total Climb and Elevation Change), distance computed in miles and kilometers, and access to a Searchable Database of previously generated courses to which you can also add your course.

To show the ease with which this site can be used, I put together a quickie course entitled "City & Burb 9 Mile Loop." Uh... I know it is slightly more than "9 Miles," but I tried to think fast! While I'm sure there are those of you who have magically imbued compu-fingers that can make each of these mapping options dance and sing... I ain't one of you, so until I acquire that mojo, I'm going to give USATF's system a try...

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!