It’s Sunday in the spring in Vancouver. That can mean only one thing – long run day.

With The Vancouver International Marathon coming up the first week of May, the mileage is getting cranked up past the comfortable 10 mile zone over the next few weeks. 15, 18, and 20 mile Sundays will be part of the running regimen, but where can you go to find fresh running routes in Vancouver?

There’s False Creek, Stanley Park and the long stretch from Kitsilano through Jericho to Spanish Banks to get some good scenic distances in, but planning a route that suits your training is a little complicated.

MapMyRun is a great website that not only let’s you plot your run to check the distance before you do it, it will also let you scan other people’s uploaded runs to see routes in different parts of Metro Vancouver you may not have known about. Need to find a long run in South Surrey or Langley or Maple Ridge? MapMyRun will help you scan suggestions from your neighbours.

In fact the site will let you search for runs all over the world, so if you need to get a long run in while on a business trip in Winnipeg or Atlanta, you can preplan a route around your hotel.

I’m training for the Team Diabetes Easter Island Marathon in June, and I’ll be up to 16 miles in 2 weeks and I’ve decided on the Two Bridges Run. A lap of Burrard Inlet including hikes over both the Second Narrows and Lions Gate Bridges.

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Tags: community, goals, sports