The tool on the USATF (USA Track & Field) website using Googlemaps is great for planning and sharing running and biking routes by allowing you to get distance and topographical information as you plan your route.

In trying to increase my running distance 2 weeks ago, I took this run from my house to the Tidal Basin, around it and back.

This past weekend, on that cloudy Sunday, I took the bus up to Carter Barron theater, got onto the trail in Rock Creek going north up to the first car barrier (near rest area 10), turned around and ran back to Woodley (here's the route). I just mapped it on the ATF tool, and it's 8 miles. I won't pretend that I ran the whole thing, but I ran a bunch of it. Now I just need to figure out how fast I'm running my miles, and try to set some goals.

By the way, they call it America's Running Routes, but you just have to zoom out and move manually to the rest of the world to plan routes abroad.

Here's the Sallie Mae 10k Route.