Runners looking for pavement to pound in unfamiliar cities can find the largest searchable database of running routes in the country at the USA Track & Field website.
Initially created to serve USATF members, the service is free for anyone. When you type in a town and a distance range for your desired run, the site gives you an interactive Google map with mile markers and accurate distances. Zoom out to get a feel for the course. Zoom in for specific street names.
“You can never believe what the (hotel) concierge tells you,” USATF spokeswoman Jill Geer said. “We saw a need and we sought to fill it, because we knew the technology was out there.”
When you’ve found the route you want to run, you can print out a map. You also can look at a satellite photo to get a feel for the area.
The database contains more than 17,300 running routes and is growing rapidly as runners submit new ones, which they are encouraged to do on the website. There are 39 routes of up to 10 miles currently listed for Denver, for example, 22 for Boulder, 100 for New York City.
“It’s just as much of a grassroots service designed for the 9-minute miler looking for a new place to run as it is for an elite athlete,” Geer said. “Maybe more so for the 9-minute miler, because elite athletes and their support staff are often going out measuring exact courses and mile markers.”
There are other resources for road runners on the road. Runner’s World magazine’s website (www.runnersworld.com) maintains an archive of “On the Road” features that have appeared in the magazine. It covers 87 cities (19 outside the U.S.) with a few suggestions on where to run.
But for specifics, the USATF site can’t be beat. It also has had the additional benefit of bringing more recreational runners to the USATF website.
“It has turned out to be a great way to generate traffic,” Geer said. “That’s a wonderful upside, but that was not the No. 1 motivation.”
Try it — To access the database, go to www.usatf.org, then click on the “America’s Running Routes” icon.
John Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com.
