"Strava print" covers three products that look the same on a wall and are not the same thing. Before comparing shops, decide which one you want.
Three products, one search
| What it is | Made from | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| A print of your recording | The GPX or FIT your watch made, or the activity on your Strava account | The run or ride *you* did, with your numbers |
| A race course poster | The organiser's official route | A marathon or event, whether or not you ran it |
| A map of a place | A street map of a city or area, with your text | Somewhere that matters, with no route on it |
Epic Efforts makes the first. So does Cadence Prints. Sportymaps makes the second. Mapiful makes the third. Etsy has all three, from hundreds of sellers, at every level of care.
What to compare, whichever you choose
- Where the route comes from. A recording is yours and exact; a course is the same for everyone; a place has no route at all. If the print is for a runner, the first one is the one they cannot buy anywhere else.
- Whether you see it before you pay. A preview that draws your actual file, at the size you order, is the difference between a print and a surprise.
- The map data and its credit. Maps come from Mapbox, OpenStreetMap or the seller's own drawing. A print with a map should carry the data credit on it; the licences require it, and a shop that skips it is cutting a corner you will not see.
- What happens to your address. Every recording starts at your door. Ask whether the ends are trimmed, and by how much.
- Paper, size and frame. Museum-weight matte paper is the standard for a print that stays flat; canvas and aluminium are different objects. Sizes should be real print sizes, not screen ratios.
- Where it is printed and shipped from. Printing near the customer means fewer days and no customs. Worldwide shipping from one place means the opposite.
Who makes what
Epic Efforts — a print of your own recording. Connect Strava or drop in a GPX, FIT or TCX; the print draws in your browser, one line or on a real map in seven styles, with the numbers from the file under it. The first and last 500 metres are trimmed before anything is drawn. Crop to a climb or a Strava segment. Museum 250 gsm or Classic 170 gsm, 30×40 to 70×100 cm, from 319 kr, framed from 799 kr. Printed to order and shipped in Denmark and the EU. Also data prints — the year as a grid, the streak, the split between sports — from the same account.
Cadence Prints — also from Strava or GPS data, with framing offered, maps drawn with Mapbox, and free worldwide shipping according to their site. If you are outside the EU, this is the shop in the same category as ours.
Sportymaps — posters of official race courses: running, cycling, triathlon and hiking events, on paper or aluminium, shipped worldwide. The right choice if you want the course as the organiser drew it, or a race you have not run yet.
Mapiful — posters of a place: pick the location, set the text, colour and size, from €44.99, with frames and hangers, printed with local partners. A map print, not a print of a run.
Etsy — every one of the above, made by individuals. The good ones are very good; check whether the seller draws your actual file or traces a screenshot, and what the paper is.
Which is better for a marathon route poster
If you ran it: your recording. The course poster is the same for the 40,000 other finishers; your line has your corners, your time and your date on it. Marathon route print. If you did not run it, or want the course exactly as measured, a race course poster is the honest choice.
Honest limits of ours
We ship to Denmark and the EU only. The print shows kilometres, not miles. There is no canvas and no aluminium. If those matter, one of the others is the better fit, and we would rather say so here than on a returns form.
Epic Efforts is not affiliated with Strava, or with any of the shops above.