Mapping the run

My sons are home from college and my younger son, Paul, has taken a keen interest in this run. So, yesterday we sat down at the computer and started mapping the run in detail, laying out 15-mile segments, stopping points for each segment and each day, coordinates, intersections, etc. We played with a few tools and ended up mapping all of the Colorado portion using google earth after determining that it would allow us to "save."

When we returned to the computer today, we discovered that, yes, it allowed us to "save" - but it didn't save the route. Rats. So, then we played with mapmyrun.com. We mapped the first morning's route, saved, called it back up, there it was, we were good to go! This tool even offers the option to display mile markers along the way, lets us mark water or aid stops, offers satellite overlays along with the map, and lets you specify whether or not you want to share your route on the web (I said yes - it's called pjsruncolorado). Nifty stuff. It does not have some of the road-name detail that google earth offers (such as the names/numbers of some of the country roads) - so, as we moved further into the plains we were going back and forth with google earth which did show country road names/numbers to make sure we were getting our intersection points right. And, apparently, it is not used to loooonnnnnggggg runs. Once we got into the 100s of miles, it stopped showing mileage markers. It also started slowing way down. And then, right around Sterling (about 150 miles into the run), it barfed. Unfortunately, my last save was that very first save 15 miles into the run. By the time I get Colorado completely mapped out and saved, I'm going to know it very very well. And, I suppose, that's a good thing!