Measuring distance using Google Maps

Laflamme02Laflamme02 Member
edited December 2013 in Resources
I use this tool pretty frequently to plan out training distances and the like. It allows you to measure out distances in bodies of water using Google Maps. I thought I would share.
Consider this my Christmas present to the Forum.

Merry Christmas

Comments

  • Thanks!! I mapped out a swim that my coach and I had been arguing about, and I win!:)
  • Leonard_JansenLeonard_Jansen Charter Member
    Another option is www.mapmyrun.com . Just be sure to check the box where it allows you to not follow the roads.

    -LBJ

    “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde

  • I use routebuilder.org. All good choices.
    -Sumner
  • Within the Google maps 'Map labs' there is an option to measure distance through Google maps
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    FYI the Google Maps Labs distance calculator is not available in the new version of Google Maps (which I think has been pushed to some, but not all users). For the time being there is an option to revert to "Classic Google Maps" if you need the distance measurement.

    Personally I think Google Earth is the best overall option, and for browser-use only I use the "Plan Courses" app in Garmin Connect, which presumably is similar to MapMyRun.
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    edited December 2013
    FYI also, while this is not a problem for the US I guess, Google Maps hi-resolution, and as many other Europeans will know, is non-existent for huge swathes of coastal Ireland. (Ironic, at least to me, given how Google employees there are here and how much tax Google avoid paying). I haven't seen a Google resolution update of the south Irish coast in maybe 5 or 6 years and the west end of the Copper Coast and much of the local Waterford & Cork coast is still just a blur.

    If you are looking for high resolution of the entire island of Ireland, then believe it or not, bing.com/maps/ is complete, though it has no standalone app, and no measurement tool. The OSI maps of Ireland are also good, but the interface is antiquated.

    loneswimmer.com

  • dc_in_sfdc_in_sf San FranciscoCharter Member
    edited December 2013
    FYI also, while this is not a problem for the US I guess, Google Maps hi-resolution, and as many other Europeans will know, is non-existent for huge swathes of coastal Ireland. (Ironic, at least to me, given how Google employees there are here and how much tax Google avoid paying). I haven't seen a Google resolution update of the south Irish coast in maybe 5 or 6 years and the west end of the Copper Coast and much of the local Waterford & Cork coast is still just a blur.

    If you are looking for high resolution of the entire island of Ireland, then believe it or not, bing.com/maps/ is complete, though it has no standalone app, and no measurement tool. The OSI maps of Ireland are also good, but the interface is antiquated.

    There is actually a built in distance calculator app in Bing, it's just unnecessarily hard to find (you may have to wait a few seconds for the app to load after clicking the link).

    It can also be accessed from the list of Bing Map Apps

    Alternately in any map if you close the default left hand panel (normally directions or list of locations) you should get a panel that has an "EXPLORE MAP APPS see all" link at the bottom, this will take you to the list of map apps and from there you can select the Distance Calculator.

    To use just drag the flag from the left panel to map, dragging additional flags adds extra waypoints.

    1EHTKEWK6PVN.PNG

    http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    dc_in_sf wrote:
    There is actually a built in distance calculator app in Bing, it's just unnecessarily hard to find.
    get it done, @dc_in_sf@msft :)
  • heartheart San Francisco, CACharter Member
    I am eagerly awaiting my Bia Sport, which I'm told will do all these wonderful things, and do the GPS thing in real time.
  • One more to add to the list:

    http://milermeter.com/

    This makes use of Google Maps. I've been relying it for at least three years - initially just to measure my running and walking routes, but regularly this year to double check swim distances when I don't trust my Garmin 910 (e.g. cold water swims where I don't stray too far from the starting point. More turns and fewer long straightish stretches means less accuracy from the GPS).

    I haven't had enough of a chance to play with the other sites mentioned above to give a feature by feature comparison, but I think it matches up favorably in terms of ease-of-use. Then again, as I said, I've been using it frequently for some time, so I would expect to be comfortable with it.
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    @dc_in_sf ... Bing Maps Distance Calculator App?....Windows only. (Linux user here). ~X(

    loneswimmer.com

  • dc_in_sfdc_in_sf San FranciscoCharter Member
    @loneswimmer I think it uses Silverlight so that is probably the issue, fairly certain there was never a Silverlight plugin for Linux

    http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer

  • wendyv34wendyv34 Vashon, WASenior Member
    I just found this:

    http://map.openseamap.org
    IronMikeDredpiraterobts

    It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.

  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    OK, @wendyv34, I'm gonna regret this because it'll be obvious and I'll look like a dork. But how do you measure distance there? I found under Tools "Trip planner" and I set a start point and an end point. But what then? I can't seem to find a way to tell it that's my whole trip.

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

  • Double click at the end point, dork! :ar!
  • OK, I'm gonna sound like a dork for this (too) but, it gives the distance in Nautical Miles... What's that in SCY?

    According to Google Earth, you lose about 1/2 mile for 3.8. I.E. 3.8 miles = 3.3Nautical Miles.
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    You can use Google to convert any unit to equivalents. If you use Chrome you don't even have to open Google, just type into the address bar:

    convert 10 nautical miles to ...

    loneswimmer.com

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited October 2014
    Google Search accepts arbitrary units too, so if you were, say, wondering how long it would take you to swim the distance of the English Channel at a 1:40 per 100m pace, you could search:

    "1 minute 40 seconds per 100m in hours per 18.1 nautical miles"

    Result: 9.31 hours

    https://www.google.com/search?q=1+minute+40+seconds+per+100m+in+hours+per+18.1+nautical+miles
  • Thank you guys! (and Iron Mike, you do know I'm joshing, right?)

    I asked Google how long it would take me to swim the English Channel and it said "At the rate you're going, the rest of your life!"

    IronMike
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