Lenny Maughan knows no boundaries when it comes to running – he runs on trails, on the road or even with a group of runners who like to have beers along the way. But more importantly, when he runs, he makes art.
Maughan creates shapes and images on the streets of San Francisco by tracking his run on fitness apps like MapMyRun and, more recently, Strava. He creates everything and everyone, from the heart to the face of Frida Kahlo.
“I think I could just draw it on a map and say ‘I’m done,’ but rendering it with an app is a novel way of making art,” Maughan said.
The self-proclaimed “techie” says he doesn’t have much time for his artistic side, so he uses the runs to create a unique image once a month.
There is no unity in the 53 pictures he took; they are “random”, “unexpected” and “quirky” and come from whatever inspires him. Sometimes he’ll look at a map of San Francisco to see if he can find a shape, but other times he’ll try to find a shape that fits.
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These parts require a lot of work – distances from just a mile to a full marathon (26.2 miles) to 44 miles. However, Maughan doesn’t do this to challenge himself on how far or how fast he can run.
“It’s about the form. The miles turn out to be quite long on a lot of them because they have to be in a certain shape,” he said. “The bigger you ride, the more almost anything fits on city streets.”
However, he notes that the hills in San Francisco make it difficult.
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For him, the challenge lies in the development process. In fact, he says that figuring out what he wants to do can take longer than actually doing it. He has “no idea” what he’ll be doing for his August run but promises he’ll get it done before the end of the month.
“It’s always a challenge,” says Maughan. “It’s not easy and takes a lot of planning to do this and the end result is worth it.”
Any suggestions for Lenny Maughan on what his next run should draw? Tell Madeline Purdue on Twitter.
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