A couple weeks ago we upgraded our web host to address increasing demand and we have been experiencing a few side effects. There are intermittent problems at the moment with account activation. If you have created an account and did not get your account activation email, please email us at info {{at}} runningmap.com.

For the past few weeks we have had problems getting elevation data from our third party service provider. This problem is unrelated to our recent web host upgrade. We are working to re-establish elevation data as soon as possible.

UPDATE (08/08/2008): account activation problems have been fixed and elevation is working again.

- Randy

We are planning on upgrading the server and database for RunningMap.com starting Saturday, July 26 at 12:00 am EST. We anticipate the upgrade will take about 24 hours. During this time RunningMap.com will be in a “read-only” mode which means that users will not be able to save new routes or create new accounts. The mapping application will still work for measuring distances, searching or loading previously saved routes. Permalinks will also be available.

We are working hard to make this site even better for you. We appreciate your patience during this time.

A long-standing feature request, the “Plot Back to Start” button has been finally added. It is easy to use: click it if you have created a route and want to use the same path back to the start. It will lay points and lines on top of each other so be careful using it multiple times on one route.

Routes are limited to a maximum of 500 points, so the “Plot Back to Start” button will not work if your route has over 250 points.

A minor addition today with the return of milestone markers. This feature is off by default. To turn it on click the “Map Settings” tab on the left and click the “Show Milestone Markers” button. Flags will appear on your route every whole mile or kilometer.

Also new is the RunningMap Store store which is selling RunningMap “Keep Your Distance” t-shirts.

We are ecstatic to bring you a new RunningMap. A ton of work has gone into designing, building and testing this new version. It has been a labour of love.

The first thing you will notice is the new look. The design comes from the genius and talent of Sarah Ramsden. We couldn’t be happier with the result! And seeing our site on her portfolio page among clients the likes of Mercedes, Hyatt, Dell and Lexus does not hurt either. In addition to being a star graphic designer, she is one mean runner.

The tool bar along the top has been replaced with a tabbed nav bar down the left side. This was done to accommodate the more complex new and future feature set.

The biggest new feature is User Accounts. When you log in and save a route you will see it appear in the “My Routes” view. New routes can be labeled as Private or Public. In “My Routes”, you can delete existing routes. If you have a previously saved permalink, send us the ID number and your username and we will add it to your account.

The Search Results view has been improved to show more information about the routes. You can now change the way they are sorted by clicking a column header.

With this launch we are introducing advertisements to help support hosting and development costs. We have partnered with Lat49 who have developed an innovative method for supplying ads that are applicable to the map being viewed.

Thanks to the many people who signed up for the test version! All your data will be available in this release version. And a big thanks to all who have sent in suggestions and bug reports. Its you who make this the best darn sports mapping tool on the web!

(We have a limited supply of tech long-sleeve “keep your distance” t-shirts for $30 plus shipping)

When you search for a route, you can click on a result and the route will load. Previously you did not get to see what the permalink (aka route ID) was. Now when you click on a route in a search result, the permalink is shown on the information bar at the bottom of the Runningmap application.

The main update today is the addition of milestone markers. This is simply a dot that is placed on your route every whole mile (or km).

We have tweeked the rollover state of the points, trying to achieve the right combination of usability and visibility.

Last Night Yahoo! quietly updated their map tiles. If you zoom out you will see topographic features. Very nice. They have also upgraded the geocoding, which means you may need to be more precise when you enter an address in. For exmaple, St. Albert does not work anymore for me, but St. Albert Canada does.

Version 2.9.5 has a few new things.

The biggest new feature is the Photo point of interest marker. Click on the camera icon and a dialog box will appear. You have two options: 1) enter a URL for a picture hosted somewhere; or 2) select a public photo from your Flickr account (http://www.flickr.com is free to use). Runningmap will not store your photos, just a URL to them.

Another thing that is new is the second row or buttons has been made into icon buttons with tool tip rollovers. This allows for more descriptive instructions. There are many other minor tweeks and fixes.

Unfortunately elevation outside of the USA is still unavailable. We are working on that.

2.7.55

Today I added a colour picker that allows you to change the colour of the route lines. The line colours do not get saved to a permalink, but will be remembered as a preference on your computer. Map view and satellite view will be remembered as separate values.