Four steps
The whole thing takes about five minutes once you know what to look at.
Start where your run starts
Click your door, your office, or the car park at the trailhead — not a scenic point you would have to drive to first. Routes planned from somewhere inconvenient stay unrun.
Trace the route along real roads
Click along the streets and paths you want to follow. Road snapping pulls each segment onto the actual network, so the number you get is the distance you will cover, not a straight line through a block of flats.
Check distance and elevation together
Watch the total as you build. When it lands near your target, read the elevation profile: where the climbing sits matters as much as how much of it there is. A hill in the first kilometre is a warm-up; the same hill at kilometre nine is the whole run.
Export it, or save the link
Download GPX for your watch, or KML if you want the route in Google Earth. Save the link too — the routes you actually repeat are the ones you can find again next week.
Three shapes of route, and what each one costs you
Almost every route is one of three shapes. Choosing deliberately saves you from the classic mistake: finishing four kilometres from home with no way back.
| Shape | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Loop | Running from your door with no transport at either end | You commit to the second half before you know how it feels. Vary the direction you run it. |
| Out-and-back | Hitting an exact distance — turn around at half | A tailwind on the way out is a headwind on the way home, and if the first half ran downhill, the second one climbs. |
| Point-to-point | One-way scenic routes and running commutes | You need transport, a lift or a bag at one end. Solve the return before the run, not after it. |
Getting the distance right
Build the route slightly long rather than slightly short — it is easier to cut a corner than to invent an extra kilometre at the end of a session. Precision matters most for the weekly long run and for race-pace work; an easy run tolerates ±10% without anything being lost. Expect your watch to disagree with the plan by 1–2%: GPS samples your position at intervals and smooths the corners between them, and tree cover and tall buildings add error of their own.
Read the elevation before you commit
Total elevation gain, not maximum altitude, is the honest number — a route that climbs 40 metres ten times (about 130 feet each) is harder than one that climbs 300 metres, roughly 1,000 feet, once. As a rule of thumb, a 5% grade costs most runners 30–40 seconds per kilometre — 50 to 65 seconds per mile — and the matching descent gives back far less than it took. If a profile is unfamiliar, plan the pace from the profile rather than from your flat-ground average.
Estimating the calories
Calorie estimates for running are built on MET values — how many times more energy an activity costs than resting — scaled by body weight and time. Elevation raises that cost, which is why a route-based estimate beats a flat distance × weight formula. Treat any number as a range: even lab-grade estimates sit within roughly 10–20% of the truth, and consumer devices are wider than that.
Plan a route and see its distance, elevation gain and calorie estimate
Or work the number out directly in the calorie calculator
Getting the route onto your watch
GPX is the format watches and training platforms read: Garmin, Coros, Suunto, Polar and Strava all import it, usually as a course or route that then syncs to the device. KML is a Google format — useful for viewing a route in Google Earth or sharing a map, not for navigating from your wrist. If your watch navigates, load the course at home, not at the trailhead with one bar of signal.
Mistakes that only show up on the run
- Routing through a park that locks its gates at dusk — check the opening hours before the winter evenings arrive.
- Trusting the map’s shortest path. That convenient connection between two streets is often a fence, a railway line or a river.
- Forgetting water. On anything past 15 km, route yourself past a fountain or a shop rather than around one.
- Reusing someone else’s GPX without checking the surface. A trail that mountain bikers love can be unrunnable mud for half the year.
Frequently asked questions
How do I measure the distance of a running route?
Draw the route in a map planner and it sums the length of every segment for you, following the real road network rather than straight lines. A GPS watch will usually record 1–2% differently on the same route, because it samples your position at intervals and smooths the corners between those points.
Can I plan a running route for free?
Yes. RunCalculator Pro plans routes on a map, shows the elevation profile, estimates calories and exports GPX or KML with no account and no payment. Once loaded, the installed app also works offline.
How do I plan a route for an exact distance, such as 10 km?
The reliable way is out-and-back: build 5 km out, turn around, and the total is exactly 10 km — or three miles out for a six-mile run. For a loop, build past your target and then drag the last waypoints back until the total lands where you want it.
Can I send a planned route to Garmin or Strava?
Export the route as GPX, then import the file as a course in Garmin Connect or as a route in Strava and sync it to your watch. Watches with navigation will then show you a breadcrumb line and warn you when you leave it.
Does elevation change how many calories I burn?
Yes, significantly. Running uphill raises the metabolic cost of every kilometre, and the descent does not refund it. An estimate that uses your route’s elevation gain will land closer than one based on distance and weight alone.
How do I plan a safe route somewhere I have not run before?
After dark, favour lit and populated sections; note where you can exit the route or find water, and share the route link with someone before you go. Put the unfamiliar part in the first half, while you still have the legs to change the plan.