Plotting your 2025 running routes has never been this easy, or this stylish

We don’t say it often enough, but a good run starts long before you lace up. It begins when the route first takes shape, as you sketch loops on a map the way someone else might plan a road trip. Running isn’t just about repeating the same familiar paths: it’s an endless playground, where every route can become something unique. Whether you’re after an easy outing, a quality session or a laid-back urban adventure, here’s how to create a personalised route that looks good and, above all, matches what you feel like doing today.

1. Start with the purpose, not just the distance

Creating a route should never be just a matter of counting kilometres. The real starting point is what you want from the run. What exactly are you setting out to do? A long run to build endurance, a tempo session, a recovery jog at sunrise? Every type of run has its own mood, scenery and ideal route. For example, a threshold session calls for clean, uninterrupted stretches without sharp climbs or constant zigzags, while an easy run can make room for turns, pedestrian paths and a few whimsical detours. Being clear about what you want from the run already gives it a direction. That’s how a route becomes more than a line on a map: it gains purpose, logic and meaning.

2. Find the tool that matches your mood

There are countless ways to plot a route, but not all tools are created equal, and they certainly don’t all feel the same to use. Strava is probably the most intuitive: its route builder is fast, fluid and seriously clever. By drawing on the routes most frequently used by other runners through its heatmap, it helps you avoid dead ends and sketchy paths. Komoot, meanwhile, is more of a “soft adventure”, ideal for finding appealing spots, pleasant surfaces and building a route that unfolds like a well-planned wander. For those who want precise, metre-by-metre control, OpenRunner and VisuGPX let you edit every section in detail, check elevation gain down to the last metre and export the whole thing as a GPX file in seconds. The right tool is the one that makes you want to plot a route. The one where every click feels like a step towards tomorrow’s run.

And here’s a bit of home-grown pride: there’s also a 100% French app that deserves to be better known, RunnrZ. Looking for somewhere to run, walk or ride nearby? Discover routes suited to your level and what you feel like doing at a glance.

3. Make the local landscape work for you

This is where the everyday starts to change. Even the most ordinary neighbourhood can become a playground if you look at it through a cartographer’s eyes. Use river bridges to create original loops, turn an urban park into the centrepiece of a carousel-like 10K, or follow a tram line to make navigation easy. One fun trick is to plot a loop in the shape of a number, a letter or an object, giving your GPS a little artistic flair. Then there are the practical details that shouldn’t be overlooked: avoiding busy main roads at rush hour, checking where the cycle paths are, and thinking about lighting if you run early or late. In short, drawing a route also means reinventing your relationship with your own city or patch of countryside. Give yourself permission to be creative and even familiar pavements take on a new dimension.

4. Read the elevation profile like a DJ listens to the bassline

Once the route is mapped out, checking the elevation profile is essential. Because yes, running 12K is a very different proposition with 200 or 300 metres of elevation gain. The fun starts when you use those curves to give the session some rhythm. A gentle climb early on to warm up, a sharp hill in the middle to test the calves, or, on the other hand, a sweeping descent at the end so you can finish with your arms in the air like you’ve just crossed the line of a half-marathon. The profile is the soundtrack to the run. It shows where you breathe, where you push and, of course, where you ease off. Once you understand that music, you start building routes that are as enjoyable to listen to as they are to run.

5. Plan escape routes, because we’re not machines

A perfect route is also a flexible route. You never know in advance whether your legs will be up to it, whether the weather will hold or whether you’ll fancy a break after 20 minutes. The trick is to build in exit points: a loop you can cut short, a street that gets you home faster or a strategic shortcut. It’s just as smart to add an optional extension for the days when your energy is running over. A good route is one with room to breathe. It gives you options, escape routes and detours. Running isn’t always about following a straight line to the end; sometimes it means improvising without blowing everything up.

6. Refresh your routes like a seasonal playlist

Creating a route isn’t a one-off. What worked in December can feel bleak in midsummer, while a route through the city may become too noisy in spring when everyone is out and about. The idea is to keep your routes in rotation, like a good playlist. Add a new one each month, retire another and rework some of them around roadworks, changing moods and new routines. Over time, you build a library of routes the way you collect fragments of memories. Some runs you know by heart, others you rediscover, and a few you save for special days. That variety is what keeps the spark alive.

7. Don’t overlook the export, that final touch of peace of mind

Once the route is ready, you still need to take it with you. Exporting a GPX file isn’t just a technical detail: it’s the small step that turns an idea into something real. But what exactly is a GPX export? It simply means turning a route you created in an app such as Strava or Komoot into a small GPS file that you can then import to your watch or phone. The file contains the complete route. Once it’s loaded, it appears live during your run: no more stopping to check the map, just follow the line. Whether you load it onto a GPS watch or into a mobile app such as Garmin, Suunto or even Komoot, the file helps avoid unpleasant surprises. No need to pull out your phone every five minutes, and no second-guessing which way to go. You can run hands-free and stay focused. If the GPS also vibrates as you approach a turn, it almost feels like having your own personal co-driver. Everything is ready. All that’s left is to run.

8. Above all, give yourself permission to have fun with your routes

At heart, creating routes shouldn’t be a chore or a science. It’s a game. A moment for yourself, a chance to dream a little before you start sweating. An excuse to explore, be surprised and rediscover places you thought you already knew. The best part is that even when you follow a line mapped out in advance, every run remains unique: the wind, the light, your mood, your legs. Nothing ever repeats itself exactly. And once you start enjoying this particular kind of route-planning gymnastics, running becomes a little more than a sport. It becomes a way of life, a way to make a space your own and tell a story. Your story.

Creating your own routes is a bit like cooking without a recipe: at first you feel your way, then you start enjoying the improvisation and discover your favourite seasonings and go-to dishes. One morning you keep it short and efficient; the next, you get lost for the sheer pleasure of it. What matters is that the line on the map makes you want to pull on your running shoes. That it opens a window, however small, onto something new. Because when you get right down to it, running isn’t just about ticking off the miles. It’s also about learning to inhabit a space and draw your own paths through it. And honestly, that’s worth more than any training plan in the world.