Safety Using RunGo
Over the past few weeks, our local Search and Rescue team has been swamped with calls for help from hikers, runners and mountaineers in our beloved North Shore mountains. Although the mountains do look inviting from the office window, they're more complicated than they give off, and they tend to throw surprises. (Hence, the word adventure!) One of the big issues, is getting lost. As a team of avid trail runners, we always feel a huge pain when a hiker or runner gets lost, when we know there is often a RunGo route for the trail they were trying to do, or they could have made their own. So, in this post we thought we'd take some time to highlight the way you can use RunGo to avoid getting into a Search & Rescue style hike or run! Of course, we always want our runners and hikers to bring a physical map with them. Map + these RunGo tips = huge success!
Gives you Directions, Offline, Now!
RunGo can be extremely useful for trail runs or hikes, because you can simply create your route before you head out, and then get guided! Here are some of the key features that make it awesome for getting un-lost:
Once your route is made, it works offline
The app can find you & start working at any point along the route, so you can have the app off, and open it when you start to feel unsure
Routes already exist for some of the most popular trails in the world, but if you don't see your route, you can easily add your own route, see our 1 minute youtube tutorial here!
Gives your GPS Coordinates
Say you're out on the trail and you need to call for help... for example, you need your mom to come bring you cookies, or on a worse day, you need to call Search and Rescue... To help them locate you, RunGo has this cool new feature:
Find your GPS coordinates! If you tap on the blue dot, (the dot at your location) the app tells you your coordinates.
From there, you can even click to share it via text message.
Helps you Stick to your Planned Route!
One of the biggest safety factors for your adventure, is telling a trustworthy friend/parent/lover WHERE you're going, with great detail, and sticking to that plan. Along with that, is the time they should call for help on your behalf, if they haven't heard you come back from the adventure. This is essential for that unfortunate case when you need help and you can't call out, and you just need to wait for help to arrive. Without any other information, the Search and Rescue teams will be able to narrow your possible location, if you gave exact details. If you choose to waver from your route, they may never find you!
By choosing a specific RunGo route and following it, you can tell your emergency contacts the specific route you're doing, and they can re-trace your steps using the app.
Share the route with your emergency contact by clicking on the share icon in route details.
Example. Hi Sharon! I'm running this Howe Sound Crest route on RunGo, starting at 9am tomorrow. If you don't hear from me by midnight can you please send a search crew to find me? I'll stick to this RunGo route in the same direction.
RunGo can then guide would-be rescuers to you!
Howe Sound Crest Trail