How Far Did I Run? Here Are 3 Ways to Find Out

Runners like to track lots of data—heart rate, steps, pace and overall time are all things we want to know. But the biggest question runners ask is:

How far did I run?

Accurately keeping track of how far you ran will help you set, measure and celebrate your goals. It can help you prepare for distance races like a 5K or a marathon, or it can also help you track progress if you're just getting started. However, measuring how far you ran can be difficult without the right tools. From GPS technology to good old-fashioned measuring wheels, here are our favorite tried-and-tested methods to figure out exactly how far you ran.

Smartphones also include GPS trackers, which help run navigation apps like Google Maps and Apple Maps. So, with the best running apps, you can also measure how far you ran if you bring your phone with you.

The one downside of GPS trackers is on switchback trails or out-and-back routes. Because devices don’t give you a constant tracking stream, they can miss sharp turns in your route if you’re between pings, which can lead to numbers that are slightly off.

Once you have all that data, you can upload to apps like Strava or Garmin Connect. If you’re using the app on your phone, the data will upload automatically. These kind of apps act like digital running logs so you can see your progress, and they add a social media component so you can see your friends’ progress, too. If strangers seeing your runs makes you wary, worry not. Strava has privacy features so you can keep your feed visible to followers only, and you can also hide your start and end points.

If you don’t want to shell out for a running watch and you don’t want to carry your phone along with you, you can find out how far you ran by tracing your route post-workout one of the many popular run-mapping websites.

Two of the simplest run-mapping websites are On The Go Map and Map My Run.

Both sites give you the ability to trace routes on an interactive map of any city. Click on your starting point, click other points along the way and then click a finish point to find out how far you ran.

The nice thing about both On The Go Map and Map My Run is the routes automatically snap to the nearest road or trail, which makes clicking exact routes a little easier. Map My Run requires you to sign up for a free account, but On The Go Map doesn’t ask for an account.

USA Track & Field also has mapping software on its website, but the routes don’t snap to nearby roads automatically. So, you’ll have to be more precise with your clicking.

Before the advent of the internet and before GPS devices could be worn on your wrist, runners figured out how far they ran in a simpler way: measuring.

Running coaches and race directors often measure the distance of a run is by using a walking wheel. The wheel-on-a-stick lets runners measure their routes by pushing the wheel along the ground as the distance ticks by on the wheel’s display. It’s a slow method, for sure, but it yields accurate numbers, usually down to the foot.

A much quicker way to measure how far you ran is by hopping in your car. Head to your starting point and reset the trip odometer on your dashboard so it reads zero. Then drive the route you want to run, and check the odometer again when you get to where you want to end.

The obvious limitation of the car method is that you can’t drive on sidewalks or trails that leave the roadside, so you can’t find out how far you ran on a trail or on anything away from a street.