"Run art" made with the Strava app creates San Francisco buzz
A growing trend called "run art" is finding its footing in the Bay Area as joggers create sketches with their running routes using GPS tracking apps like Strava.
52-year-old Frank Chan is not your run-of-the-mill artist. He doesn't use paint, clay, or even a brush. Instead, his only tools are running shoes, a map, the Strava app and a whole lot of stamina.
Like most artists, Chan likes to feel a connection to his creations. When he asked for suggestions, CBS News Bay Area reporter Itay Hod offered up the photo of his cat, Oscar. Chan agreed.
"I like this one of him looking up. He's looking longingly. So I think this could kind of work," Chan said.
Chan is what's known as a run artist, using GPS tracking on an app called Strava, he turns thousands of steps into giant designs that span entire cityscapes.
His portfolio includes everything from Disney characters to iconic album covers, including a version of the art to Chappell Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess sketched out by a 46-mile-run. That image recently went viral on Reddit.
"It's an interesting challenge in that the street grid provides this constraint. You can't with a pencil go over wherever you want. You have to go where the streets take you," he said.
While run art is growing in popularity all over the world, it hit its stride in San Francisco, where Strava is based. The app was originally designed to help runners and cyclists track their routes.
Rob Terrell, the Chief Technology Officer of Strava, said this unorthodox use of the app is spreading so quickly, the company recently published instructions on how to become a run artist.
"I was personally surprised," he said. "The way I use Strava is to record my rides and my runs. It's like a personal log. I never really thought about sharing that with the world."
After a little more than two hours and nearly eight miles, Chan completed his portrait of Oscar, proving that you don't need to be Picasso to create a meow-sterpiece.
"That's pretty good!" he said admiring his handiwork. "I would say this was a success."
To see more of Chan's run art, you can check out his Instagram page @chanarchy.
