Is the MapMyRun app accurate.

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jaymijones
jaymijones Posts: 171 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been using the MapMyRun app for cycling for years and more recently have started using it for running. It's never occurred to me to question the accuracy. My husband recently started using it to track his run times and distances, and after using it twice came home today and told me the app is wildly inaccurate. Both the distance and times were way off from what they should have been. Is this a common problem or user error? I'm less worried about my times and distances as my goals are all personal. Knowing my approximate times and distances are enough for me. But my husband has to take a yearly PT test for his job that includes a timed 1.5 mile run and making sure the time and distance are accurate is a much bigger deal. He thought the app would give him the freedom to easily change his routes up

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    IDK...I use Strava and time and distance match up exactly with my Garmin 500 bike computer.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited June 2017
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    Yes, such apps are inaccurate and inconsistent because they're based on cellular technology rather than true GPS. I've tried several apps and finally quit using them because 10-20% variation was not meaningful to me. It can depend on your service provide, geographical location, and local topography. For example, in wooded areas the readings are less reliable. But even on an ATAF 5k course along the beach I got up to 20% variance.
  • AmyOutOfControl
    AmyOutOfControl Posts: 1,425 Member
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    I have used Strava and MMR and gotten similar results for the same run. They use your phone GPS so it is going to depend on how accurate that is. For example, if you are running in a rural area, your GPS might periodically loose signal. The apps will then estimate the distance between where it lost the signal and picked it back up again. Depending on your route it could be a little off or really inaccurate.

    At my last 5K race, my phone measured the distance very accurately. I run with a group on Sunday who all have fancy running watches. My last six mile run was 0.3 miles off from their watches. My last 14 mile run was 0.8 miles off of their watches. However, the watches use GPS? We could have all been off - LOL.
  • jaymijones
    jaymijones Posts: 171 Member
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    That's good to know. We're in Wyoming so very few trees and zero mountains, but our cell service tends to come and go even in the middle of the city, especially if it's it's overcast or windy. My husband says he'll stick to his verified route and use the app to get split pace notifications during the run, but that he'll no longer trust the app for distances.

    Now I'm curious about other GPS options. Maybe when I'm ready to update my fitness watch I'll look into it.

    Thanks for the info.
  • EHollander89
    EHollander89 Posts: 169 Member
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    I use Map My Fitness (similar to Map My Run). I ran a 5k race on Sunday and tracked with Map My Fitness while I was running. MMF said I ran 3.16 miles in 29:51 with an average pace of 9:27. The official race results said I finished the race in 29:47 with a 9:35 pace based on the chip on my race bib. The distances are pretty close and could be partly attributed to when I pressed start and stop on my phone. It did not match up exactly, but this is just an example of my experiences.
  • ccsernica
    ccsernica Posts: 1,040 Member
    edited June 2017
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    amymoreorless wrote: »
    For example, if you are running in a rural area, your GPS might periodically loose signal.

    It shouldn't. GPS satellites aren't positioned over urban areas in particular. Since they're in low orbits, they aren't positioned over anything in particular; they move too fast. You might find the signal blocked if you're surrounded by steep mountains (rural) or tall buildings (urban) but not otherwise.
  • JenHuedy
    JenHuedy Posts: 611 Member
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    Cellular-based gps isn't as accurate - especially at slower speeds like walking and running. It's good enough for general distance, but for pacing, true GPS is much better.
  • Bluepegasus
    Bluepegasus Posts: 333 Member
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    I personally found map my run to be pretty accurate.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,389 Member
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    Look close at the track and how it looks like in curves especially. If you see that the app is cutting corners then it's also unreliable with hills and everything else that deviates from anything straight and flat. I find it to be extremely unreliable. I use ismoothrun, which creates lots of datapoints.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    As has been said, cellular GPS leaves much to be desired.

    If your husband needs accurate tracking for training for PT test purposes, I would recommend one of Garmin's offerings. Vivoactive or Vivoactive HR are the entry level.. Fenix is the premium and there are a half dozen in between..
  • jewels03
    jewels03 Posts: 14 Member
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    I found out while running my first 8k that MapMyRun was inaccurate and it had me believing I was running faster than I actually was. That was a disappointment because I set my goals based off of what MapMyRun calculated. After that I started using both MapMyRun and my husband's garmin watch. I found MapMyRun is consistently higher by .05 miles for every 2 miles I run. So for 10 miles, MapMyRun would be .25 miles higher. This is for running in the same area around my house. I imagine different areas would be inaccurate by different amounts.

    I'm saving up for my own garmin watch now :smiley:
  • jaymijones
    jaymijones Posts: 171 Member
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    I'm a little bummed about the inaccuracy, I've been trusting the app for so long. I have a Fitbit charge. When it eventually dies I was planning to upgrade to something that offers more, and have been setting money aside for it, so I might look into GPS options then. I'm hoping the technology continues to advance towards better accuracy in the meantime.

    My Husband is not a gadget guy so unless his current, nice but not a fitness band, watch dies and he needs a new one anyway I doubt he'd be interested. He also hates running. He would likely stick exclusively to lifting and kettle bells if he didn't have regular mandatory PT tests to worry about.
  • cecekay19
    cecekay19 Posts: 89 Member
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    I've noticed that in my residential area, MapMyFitness (the multi-workout app) is pretty accurate when you have location accuracy settings very high, which keeps wifi on. It can do better triangulation based on your position relative to fixed wifi sources. Check your phone's location accuracy just to make sure. That said, true GPS is usually always better.

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