By Jennifer Theurer

Wichita resident Mary Garcia has found a way to get a workout in and create art at the same time.

While most runners simply stretch to warm up their muscles before starting, Garcia spends several hours mapping her route to form specific images such local landmarks and holiday symbols.

She initially draws out her routes by hand on a printed map, making sure to avoid dead ends and barriers that would distort the final image. According to a recent KAKE News article, from there she transfers the design to the running and cycling app, Strava, where she digitally maps the route before running it.

“The planning part can be a little bit tricky. It usually takes a few hours,” Garcia said. “The first run was actually a Christmas-themed run, and I came up with a reindeer for that one, and mapped it out on Strava, and then followed along and ran the route.”

She has invited friends to run with her on these creative journeys but most often completes them alone.

Garcia is not alone in using her street smarts and technology as a creative outlet. There are several creators on social media that post about their artwork on the run.

Strava offers some online advice and resources for getting creative with a workout using their app. The Prospect Park Track Club based in Brooklyn, New York, also offers a guide on how to get started creating “running” art with Strava or a Garmin GPS watch in a blog post from 2020. Their post focuses on the best way to draw letters and spell words with a running route rather than the characters Garcia favors.

While her most recent runs have been holiday themed, one of her favorites is a local landmark – the Keeper of Plains along the Arkansas River.

“The one that I’m the most proud of is probably the Keeper at the Plains,” she told KAKE. “It was along the river. It was in the shape of the Keeper. It was one of my first routes I ever mapped out.”