‘My canvas is San Francisco': Runner uses GPS to create amazing artwork

While many run to shed a few seconds off their time or to shed a few pounds from their waist, Lenny Maughan takes to the streets of San Francisco to create art, one stride at a time.

“I like to say my canvas is San Francisco,” Maughan said. “I love running and I love art. This is a nice way to combine them both.”

Maughan has become a master at using GPS technology and his running shoes to create elaborate, city-sized drawings of symbols, animals, and people. He shares his creations with the world through his Instagram account.

For Maughan, art entered his life before running.

“When I was a kid, I was notorious for drawing caricatures of friends. I'd look at you and draw you,” Maughan said. “I had a real skill with that. I forgot about that until a little over 10 years ago.”

By then, Maughan was already an avid runner and tracked his runs using GPS like many others.

“When I plotted my runs, sometimes it could look like something. Sometimes accidental, like a dinosaur or a telephone,” Maughan said.

He soon decided to design his runs with intention. “Why don’t I begin with an idea in mind and design something and then purposely run it,” Maughan said.

Maughan spends hours on Photoshop sketching out his designs before heading out for his runs.

“To other people, it looks like I'm just checking social media or something but I'm following a map,” Maughan said.

His most recent piece, a snake for the Lunar New Year, took 10 hours and 40 miles to complete, climbing over 5,000 feet in elevation in the city’s hilly terrain.

Maughan now completes one of these artistic runs about once a month.

While he’s thrilled when people appreciate his work, it’s even more rewarding when they’re inspired to find their own creative outlet.

“You could do some painting or any other kind of artistic endeavor to think in that realm. That's what I really like, inspiring people to be artistic in any way,” Maughan said.