A GPS tracking app, Strava, lets users create quirky running art like runner Lenny Maughan.
Lenny Maughan is a passionate marathon runner from San Francisco and an art enthusiast.
So, what happens when a runner and an artist come together? You get a route that is more of an art piece instead of a usual loop or circle.
Maughan began using Strava, a popular GPS tracking application among runners.
The Strava Runner app provides users with a map, and records data of runs, pace, and distance traveled.
SIMILAR: This artist used 25,000 broken colored golf tees to create a stunning portrait of Tiger Woods.
As he started using the app, he noticed that he was always running in loops, which his inner artist found boring.
Since Maughan’s childhood days, he loved creating sketches, and people around him thought he would become an artist.
The app is simple to use, so he wanted to include complex images in his runs, hoping his idea may inspire others to run.
Before going for a run, he plans the entire route as he finds it fun and exciting, thereby satisfying his love for art as well.
Although the designs are not easy to create and take a lot of time and attention, he also takes the help of other resources to determine his routes.
Maughan first takes a printout of a map and using a marker makes a freehand sketch of whatever it is he wishes to create, according to the Guardian.
Then to add more details to the drawings he expands its size. Following this step, he begins searching for accessible streets and trails, much like a puzzle and ends up running a longer route.
To date, he has created around 140 sketches of various objects, including complex designs like dragon, sphinx, ox, cicada, etc.
The first design Maughan ever created was a Vulcan hand sign from Star Trek in 2015, inspired by the death of actor Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock in the popular sci-fi show.
Due to his creative and quirky art, he has gained more than 30K followers on Instagram.
Inspired by Maughan’s creativity, other runners have begun sharing their artwork on the Strava website, which already has 3,000 designs, with new ones being added every week.
It’s an enjoyable exercise for Maughan, and his followers adore his art. Many of them are inspired to make artwork while running and keeping fit.
