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Runner's guide
A race's GPX file: what it is, where to find it, how to create one
Before a race, the GPX file lets you read the course in detail: where the hills are, how long they are, at which kilometre the race will be decided. Here's how to get it, export it from your app, or draw it yourself when the organiser doesn't publish one.
- What is a GPX file?
- Where to find a race's GPX
- Exporting a GPX from Strava, Garmin or Komoot
- Creating a GPX for free
- Finding a GPX on your phone
- Frequently asked questions
What is a GPX file?
A GPX is a course's track stored in a file: a series of points, each with its own latitude, longitude and altitude. Put end to end, these points give you the route and the elevation. It's the standard format, readable by every running app and by GPS watches.
The file ends in .gpx. It weighs a few hundred kilobytes and often
contains several thousand points: enough to capture every bend and every bump
on the course.
<trkpt lat="48.6412" lon="-1.5109"> <ele>12.4</ele> ← altitude, in metres </trkpt> <trkpt lat="48.6415" lon="-1.5103"> <ele>12.9</ele> ← +0.5 m over 45 m: 1.1% </trkpt>
Where to find a race's GPX
Always start with the official course: it's the one you'll actually run, including any last-minute changes.
On the race website
The most reliable source. Look for a “Course”, “Race info” or “Documents” page. The file is often offered just below the map.
Course → Download GPXIn your registration email
Many organisers attach the GPX to the confirmation email, or include the link in the runner's pack sent a few days before the race.
Attachment · .gpxOn route-sharing websites
For trail races, many organisers publish their courses on specialist sites such as Traces de Trail or OpenRunner. Search for the race name.
Race name → DownloadFrom the organiser
No file online? Write to them: the track has to exist, if only for the course marking and the permits. Most are happy to send it.
Contact → “Do you have the GPX?”Exporting a GPX from Strava, Garmin or Komoot
To get back a race you've already run, or a route you've planned in your app, just export it. Menu labels may vary slightly from one version to another.
From Strava
On a computer, open your activity, then the “…” menu in the left-hand column and choose Export GPX. For a route: Dashboard → My Routes, open the route, then Export GPX. Exporting is easier from the website than from the mobile app.
From Garmin Connect
On the Garmin Connect website, open the activity, click the gear icon in the top right corner, then Export to GPX. Courses saved under Training & Planning → Courses can be exported the same way.
From Komoot
Open the tour or planned route, then the “…” menu and choose Download GPX file.
Creating a GPX for free
When the organiser only publishes a map as an image, you can redraw the course yourself: route planners snap to roads and paths automatically, and add the elevation for you.
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Open a route planner.
OpenRunner and Plotaroute can still be used for free. Strava (My Routes → Create New Route), Komoot and Garmin Connect do the same thing, but some features may require a paid subscription.
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Click the start, then the waypoints.
No need to follow the course to the millimetre: one click at each change of direction is enough, the tool joins the points by following the road.
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Check the distance shown.
It should match the one announced by the organiser, give or take a few hundred metres. A gap of a kilometre means a turn was missed somewhere.
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Save it, then export it as GPX.
The button is called “Export”, “Download GPX” or “Send to Device”. You get a
.gpxfile ready to be analysed.
Finding a GPX on your phone
On iPhone, a GPX downloaded from Safari ends up in the Files app, in the Downloads folder. An email attachment can be saved to the same place with “Save to Files”.
On Android, you'll find it in the Files app (or My Files), in the Downloads folder.
Your phone can't “open” a GPX on its own: you need an app that reads it. In Runcon, you can drop it in straight from these folders.
Frequently asked questions
- Why don't two apps show the same elevation gain for the same GPX?
- Because each one smooths out small altitude variations differently. A GPX contains GPS noise: counting every tiny bump inflates the elevation gain, smoothing too much flattens it. Differences of 5 to 10% are common; what matters is where the hills are.
- What's the difference between GPX, TCX and FIT?
- They are three track formats. GPX is the most universal one and the one organisers publish. TCX and FIT, championed by Garmin, add training data (heart rate, cadence). To read a course, GPX is all you need.
- Can I put a GPX on my watch?
- Yes: most GPS watches can import a GPX as a course to follow, usually through the brand's app (Garmin Connect, Coros, Suunto…).
- Is a hand-drawn GPX accurate enough to prepare for a race?
- To spot the climbs, their length and where they are, yes. Only the total elevation gain may differ slightly from the organiser's figure (see above).
Got your GPX? Read your course.
Drop it into Runcon: an elevation profile coloured by effort, key sections, an estimated finish time and a pre-race briefing. Your first 3 analyses are free.