How to import a GPX file into MapMyRun
MapMyRun, MapMyWalk and MapMyRide all sit on the same underlying account — MapMyFitness — and importing a GPX file is something that account does, not something the MapMyRun app does on its own. Sign in on the MapMyFitness website, find the import page, and upload the file there; the workout then shows up in your MapMyRun history as if you had recorded it with the app. The file itself just needs to be an ordinary recorded track, which is what a hike, walk or ride exported from almost anywhere already is.
The short answer
Log in at mapmyfitness.com — the same username and password work whether you normally open MapMyRun, MapMyWalk or MapMyRide — and look for the import page, where there is an option to import from a .gpx, .tcx or .fit file. Choose the GPX file from your hike and upload it. Once it processes, the workout appears in your history with a map, distance and duration filled in from the track, the same as any activity recorded directly in the app.
This is a website feature rather than something buried in a phone app menu, which surprises people who go looking for an "import" button inside MapMyRun itself and do not find one.
Why the import lives on the website, not in the app
MapMyRun, MapMyWalk and MapMyRide are really the same product with different names and default activity types, all reading and writing to one MapMyFitness account. Account-level tools like file import sit on the website that account is built around, and any of the apps signed into that account then sees the result, since they are all just different windows onto the same history rather than separate stores of data.
What the file needs to have in it
A GPX file only imports cleanly if it actually contains a recorded track — a series of points with both a position and a timestamp on each one, not just a route drawn on a map with no time attached. A hike, walk or ride recorded live by a phone naturally has both, because time and position are the two things GPS recording captures continuously; a route someone planned or drew by hand beforehand usually is not, since it was never tracked as it happened. A file made only of waypoints, with no continuous track of points, will not carry enough information for the import to produce a normal workout.
The wrinkle: one file at a time, no bulk import
There is no option to hand the import page a whole folder of GPX files, or a single file containing months of history, and have it split the results into separate workouts. Each file becomes one workout, uploaded one at a time. Bringing in a long backlog of hikes recorded elsewhere means repeating the same upload for each one, which is tedious for a big backlog but perfectly fine for moving over a handful of recent routes.
Where TrailCam fits in
A hike recorded in TrailCam exports as a GPX 1.1 file with a position, elevation and timestamp on every point, which is exactly the shape of file this kind of import expects — nothing needs converting or cleaning up first. Export is part of the optional TrailCam Pro upgrade; the app itself is free to download.
Questions
- Can I import my whole hiking history into MapMyRun at once?
- No — the import page takes one file at a time, and each upload becomes one workout. There is no bulk option for a folder of files or a single file covering many separate hikes.
- Will the imported workout keep its elevation data?
- Yes, as long as the GPX file has elevation on its points to begin with. Elevation is not required for the import to work, but if the track was recorded with it, it carries over.
- Why does the imported distance or elevation gain look slightly different from the app that originally recorded it?
- Different apps calculate these figures from the same raw points in slightly different ways, so a small difference after importing into a second app is normal and not a sign the file imported incorrectly.
Recording your own routes
TrailCam is an iPhone app that records your route with GPS, keeps video clips, photos and voice notes pinned to the spot where you took them, and exports the result as GPX 1.1 or CSV. It is free to download.