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Off-Topic Google maps vs running app

Spartan Agoge

Spartan Agoge

Level 6 Valued Member
Hello everyone. I need to measure a certain distance I run. In google maps it is 3.8km.

Then I walked it, holding my phone, with a running app I downloaded. In the app it is 3.2km. The difference is huge.

It is important for me to know the distance, for my running times.

Does anyone have any idea which one is more accurate, google maps, or the app?

Thank you in advance.
 

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Spartan Agoge said:
Hello everyone. I need to measure a certain distance I run. In google maps it is 3.8km.

Then I walked it, holding my phone, with a running app I downloaded. In the app it is 3.2km. The difference is huge.

It is important for me to know the distance, for my running times.

Does anyone have any idea which one is more accurate, google maps, or the app?

Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Does the App use GPS or steps to determine distance? If the former, go with it. If the latter, go with Google Maps.
 
Even the apps can be inaccurate. My wife and i both use garmins and the further we run the the more off they will be. I would say prolly google maps. Only sure way would be the wheel.
 
I don't like to carry a phone when I'm (in my case) Nordic walking. I plot my routes using mapometer.com, which makes it really easy to create loops following streets, including retracing segments. I find it a lot more user-friendly than Google Maps. It also plots changes in elevation.

I don't know how accurate it is, but precise accuracy isn't critical for my purposes.
 
Even two people using the same device and app will (can) have differing results both in distance and elevation.

Sometimes I will use two devices (like for instance a Wahoo Elemnt and a Suunto GPS watch) and I get differing results. It’s usually not life threatening.

If I want dead nuts accuracy in the back country I will use a good handheld GPS.
 
GPS accuracy also depends on the surrounding - if there are high buildings trees or any other obstacle, the route mapping may be inaccurate, not to mention the precision of the GPS module in your phone. Also it's good to keep in mind that the location is registered in some time intervals and the route shown in the app is interpolated.

I don't know what are your running purposes but if I were you I would not bother that much for the exact distance of this route and just focus on tracking the time change between the workouts. For checking your exact pace I would do the running training at the 400m running track from time to time. If you need the exact measurement of the route then measuring wheel will do the thing - you can even mark some intervals like 100 or 500 metres segments with a chalk or spraying dots.
 
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Footpath is a great app for planning out runs. It’ll give you distance and elevation. Not 100% accurate to my GPS runs but got me in the ballpark
 
This topic comes up on occasion in some of my hiking and trail running groups. A few people have noted that Strava in particular is a lot more accurate if you use a GPS watch rather than your phone.
 
I only use Strava as a social media tool to share stuff and see what my friends are up to.
The actual data I get either from a GPS watch or Cycle Computer.
 
Additionally…. My wife’s company developed and produced tracking applications that were cellphone based. It was a constant struggle to get consistent, reliable, and accurate data across the wide variety of cellphone platforms. Even software updates on phones would at times have an impact.
 
If you want precision, find a running track. You'll know precisely what your running pace is and what running at a given pace feels like.
You can take that information with you when you run about x km on a road, trail, beach with varied terrain.
If you have a goal to run a thing in a given time you can easily work out what that pace is to a run 400s, 800s, mile at a chosen pace. Allows you to evaluate where you are now and where you need to be.
You don't need to train on a track but it will provide you better pace information than any app. Assuming that is that the track is standard!!
 
I think the map will be more accurate unless you use a GPS and make sure the signal stays at a high ratio.

The map is based on survey data, which will be the most consistent data and accurate. So while there may be some fudging in googles overlay, there is a good chance it is pretty solid. That said, it won’t handle elevation well.
 
silveraw said:
I think the map will be more accurate unless you use a GPS and make sure the signal stays at a high ratio.

The map is based on survey data, which will be the most consistent data and accurate. So while there may be some fudging in googles overlay, there is a good chance it is pretty solid. That said, it won’t handle elevation well.
Click to expand...
One could go old school and use USGS topo maps. That would be pretty accurate in both distance and elevation.
 
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