How to Plan a Running Route + What Factors to Consider

Whether you’re new to running, or looking to change things up, knowing how to plan a running route is an incredibly important skill for every runner.

It involves knowing what makes a good running route, what to look for, how to plan it, and ways to change things to improve your run quality.

Running while traveling is one of my greatest pleasures. I love exploring new cities or towns or countrysides on foot. While I don’t always set out with a specific goal, I do take a few steps to plan a running route that will keep me from getting completely lost.

I know that for many runners this feels daunting.

Maybe it’s a little scary to head out in an area that you don’t know.

This of course leads to the first step of following the best safety tips for runners. With those in hand, you can head out feeling more confident and with a heart that’s ready to experience the world.

Whether you’re looking to plan a specific route, or learn tips and tricks along the way, this article has everything you need to know how to plan a running route.

What Makes a Good Running Route?

There are certain factors that contribute to a good running route. Some are definitely more important than others but understanding these factors will help us know what to look for when planning a running route.

Safety

The first and most important thing is making sure that the route is safe. Safety is by far the most important element that contributes to what makes a good running route.

Always ensure your running route is free of high traffic and avoid a lot of road crossings that can keep interrupting your run.

Look for a nice sidewalk-lined road, stick to wide shoulder, and always run facing the traffic. Also, avoid running routes that are too secluded unless you’re running with a partner or group.

And lastly, if you’re running early in the morning or late at night make sure the route is well lit to ensure visibility and avoid injuries. Consider wearing gear with reflective details for such runs.

good running route

Fits Your Goals

A good route is one that fits your fitness goals and current fitness level. It should be challenging enough for your current fitness level and whatever your running goals are.

For example, if you’re nursing an injury then you’d want flatter routes with softer surfaces. On the other hand if you’re training for a race, it’s good to match the terrain to what you’ll face on the race course.

I.e. when training for the Chicago marathon while living in Colorado, I would drive to flatter areas. This mimics using the same muscles for long duration as I would in the race.

Adaptable

Whichever way you choose to plan your running routes, it should be modifiable easily to add more variety to your runs.

You could add hills, gravel, and different running surfaces to keep your body feeling challenged and push yourself further to improve your level of endurance.

Adding variation to your training may drive your body to adapt and become accustomed to different running scenarios, ultimately making you a better runner. Seriously, stop planning running routes without hills!!

Enjoyable

Finally, your running should be something you’re motivated toward every single day.

Whether it’s exploring different parts of the city or running in a variety of different terrains, a good running route is one that leaves you wanting to come back to it again and again.

What to Consider When Planning a Running Route

Now that we understand what makes a good running route, it’s easier for us to understand what to consider when planning a running route.

1. Starting Point

First of all, decide how long you want to run or how many miles depending on your goal. Next, pick a starting point for your run. This could be your home, your office, or any other place where you’d like to start your run from.

2. Time of Day

Next, pick a time of the day when you’ll start your runs. It can in turn affect other things as we’ll have to consider how much daylight we have to work with, whether visibility will be an issue, safety precautions, etc.

For example, a mid-day run through the city could mean a lot more time waiting at lights.

A morning run might mean waking up earlier to drive somewhere that feels safe or meets your needs.

Checkout how long to wait to exercise after eating to help time your workouts!

3. Terrain

Now keep your goals in mind and pick a terrain while also considering other factors like elevation gain, accessibility of the path, etc.

The degree of difficulty of your route is the last element, to make sure it matches your fitness level. Not just that, but is it making you a better runner?

Are you hitting up technical trails when training for an ultra? Are you finding routes with enough rolling hills if training for NYC marathon? Are you allowing yourself to try things that might be too hard today, so that you can slow down and then watch yourself progress over the coming months?

Tips for how to find a good running trail >>

4. Enjoyment

There’s one other element to consider and one that I believe every runner should consider from time to time. Ask yourself if you’re still excited about your runs.

If things have started feeling ‘bland’ consider spicing them up with some ‘runsploring’.

There really is no better way to connect with a city than through a run. You get to see it wake up, smell the fresh bread from bakeries, find hidden street art and of course just experience it in ways you can’t from a car window!

These runs could be about getting in planned mileage, but they’re really about spicing up your training and bringing you back to the reason you so love lacing up!

Whether it’s your city or somewhere else, you can go for planned routes with goals, or runexplore when you’re thinking of changing things up.

What is runsploring?

Running + exploration = runsploring: the act of running new places to get to know a city better

Get your mind right and bring a little cash for worst case water and your phone for worst case Uber.

Now beyond this all the remaining tips will apply to even those runs you’re doing near home. In order to successfully include runsploration on vacation it does require some pre-planning. Let’s talk about what that includes! how to plan a running route

How to Plan Your Running Routes

Planning a running route can be easy with the right objectives in mind, and tools to supplement that. We already have the objectives down, so let’s look at some tools and techniques you can use.

Start with Google Maps

While planning running routes starting from your home, one of the best options out there is Google Maps.

All you have to do is pick your starting point then trace where you want to go. it will estimate the distance of your runs as well which you can use to consider if it matches your goals.

When runsploring, look at the city on your computer to get a feeling for how it’s laid out.

Is the city in a grid pattern, that will help you know hitting 20th street is moving North and 40th means you’re still heading South.
Or look for major landmarks that help you know which direction you’re heading – whether that’s the mountains or the Statue of Liberty.
Next identify a couple of major roads and where they intersect.

You don’t want to have to check your phone the whole time you’re running, so simply having some guides will allow you to know if you’re heading towards or away from where you started.

Checkout these ideas for how to carry a phone while running >>

Get a Pre-Planned Running Route

Not interested in figuring it out on your own. Good news, there are options already out there.

The other added benefit here is you can take the time to find a route that will be similar to any upcoming race. For example, knowing Chicago is extremely flat I took more time to plot out routes that would find the flat places in Colorado to work those muscles.

Use Your GPS Watch

Many watches like the Garmin Enduro, allow you to download pre-made routes. Then all you have to do is follow the directions on your watch to follow the route! This is EXTRA helpful when you’re doing new trails, but also a time saver when in a big city doing a long run and you don’t want to get lost.

There are other running apps as well that you can check out. Let’s look at the top three options:

Strava

This is a great route planning app that lets you configure your preferences on elevation, distance, etc to plot out a route you’ll enjoy.

Strava has also significantly updated its Route Builder function this year in 2022 as well, providing a separate section in the app where you can obtain recommended routes near you based on where other app users run.

The app’s recommendations can also be changed based on the distance you want to run, the terrain, and if you want to avoid hills.

You can create your own routes using the web browser route builder and export them to your device or share them with others.

OS Maps (Ordnance Survey)

This is another incredibly popular map-building platform that’s similar to Strava and looks best on your laptop. The free version has many useful features, but to get the most out of it you’ll need to get a subscription.

They have more than two million paths stored in their routes database for you to check out, and you can also export them and send them directly to other apps.

The paid version includes premium topo maps as well and lets you download unlimited maps to use while you’re offline which will also allow you to have some maps on hand regardless of where you are.

Plotaroute.com

This is one of the most straightforward route-planning tools that performs best on a laptop.

This tool will calculate the length of your run as you sketch it, and it also gives you the option to include your running pace. This enables you to calculate with accuracy how long the route should take you going at a specific speed.

This impressive online tool has several features that can help you create and measure a running route.

You can also sign up to print your own map, or save and use other people’s maps. This is super similar to MapMyRun, which I have also recommended many times!

map running route

Ask the Locals If In a New City

Why must we figure it all out on our own when other runners are so excited to help?!

Look for local running clubs as they often post weekly routes. These usually indicate safe places to run or might give you people to run with if that feels better.
Ask the hotel concierge about running paths. They may not always know exact paths, but do know the area and can help point you to what’s safe or what to avoid.
Finally it’s time to embrace social media again! Checkout hashtags for the city like #denverrunners or #runutah or look at location tags and you’ll often find places or people you can ask.

People on Instagram ask me so often about trails near Denver I created a post to help them!

Luckily this is easier than ever now thanks to our smartphones. 10+ years ago I did a lot of guessing on my runs and honestly that was fun too! Tips to runsplore

Benefits of Exploring, No Preset Running Route

While some of you love knowing exactly where you’re going, I enjoy the run without a specific route. Using the tips above I have an orientation and then take off to see what I find.

No waiting at lights; just turn and keep running
No getting stuck on the same path as a garbage truck; just turn and keep running
More time seeing the neighborhoods { I love looking at houses }
Ability to run towards anything that looks fun or interesting! Hey is that a bear?! Main street? Carnival?
Bonus for finding an unexpected place for breakfast later

Wherever your miles take you it’s bound to give you a fresh take on training and breath some life back in to your why.

Looking for more running tips:

Other ways to connect with Amanda
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Facebook Community Chatter: RunToTheFinish

How to Plan a Running Route