> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.absurdrunning.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Routes
> Your library of race courses. A route is the foundation every plan is built on top of.
A **route** is the line on the map — distance, elevation, and checkpoints. It's the canvas every plan is built on top of.
Your library can hold unlimited routes, and the same route can power multiple plans (different paces, different fueling strategies, the same course).
Watch the full Routes 101 walkthrough:
## Three ways to add a route
Drag and drop a `.gpx` file exported from Strava, Coros, Garmin, or any other compatible app.
Plot waypoints by clicking. The line snaps to trails and roads between them.
Paste a share link from another runner or a race organizer.
## Customize a route
Once a route is in your library, it's yours to customize:
* **Checkpoints** — mark aid stations, segment boundaries, and named landmarks.
* **Cutoff times** — set the time of day you need to be through each checkpoint by, for race-style routes.
* **Aid-station details** — what's available at each stop, drop bag access, crew access.
* **Design overrides** — line color, marker style, map background. Useful when sharing a route publicly.
## Share a route
Every route has a share link. Three ways to use it:
* **Send the link directly** to a runner — they'll see a preview and can import it into their own library.
* **Embed it on your race page** as an interactive map widget.
* **Print it as a QR code** to put on race materials or a finisher's program.
## Use a route in a plan
When you build a new plan, your routes show up in the picker on the first step. Pick one, give the plan a name, and the planner walks you through the rest.
The route's checkpoints carry over into the plan, so anything you mark on the route once is reusable across every plan built from it.