Garmin vs Strava: How to Export GPX for a Custom Map

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You finished the race. Or the Saturday loop. Or the trek you've been talking about for six months.

The data is sitting in Garmin Connect or Strava right now — every switchback, every climb, every mile you earned. Getting it out of the app and into a file you can actually use is the only step between "I have GPS" and "I have something I can hold."

Both platforms export GPX. The paths are different. The file you get is the same kind of thing: a portable record of your route that PrintMyRoutes (and a lot of other tools) can turn into a 3D topographic sculpture.

Here's how to export from each, when one is easier than the other, and why this matters if you're building a gift — not just a personal keepsake.

What a GPX file actually is

GPX is a simple, open format for GPS tracks and routes. Think of it as a portable copy of the line you ran, rode, or hiked — timestamps, elevation, and coordinates included.

You do not need to edit it. You do not need special software. You download it, upload it when you order, and we build the terrain from there. If you want the deep dive on Garmin specifically, we already wrote a complete Garmin Connect export guide. This post is the side-by-side: Garmin vs Strava, plus the gift use case most people hit in October and November.

Export GPX from Garmin Connect

Garmin is often the cleanest source if you recorded on a watch or bike computer. The activity already lives in Connect; you're just downloading a copy.

1. Open the activity on Garmin Connect (web is usually easier than the phone app for exports).
2. Find the export or download option in the activity menu — typically a gear icon or three-dot menu near the activity title.
3. Choose GPX (not FIT or TCX unless you have a reason — GPX is what we want for a custom map).
4. Save the file somewhere you'll find it. Rename it if you want: boston-marathon-2026.gpx beats activity_1847291.gpx when you're ordering a gift at midnight.

If the activity was recorded on a Garmin device and synced normally, the track is usually complete. Multi-sport or paused segments still export; we clean obvious GPS noise when we build the sculpture.

Export GPX from Strava

Strava is where a lot of routes end up even if they started on Garmin, Apple Watch, Coros, or a phone. Exporting works — you just have to know where the button hides.

1. Open the activity on the web (strava.com). The mobile app is weaker for file exports.
2. Click the three dots (or wrench/gear, depending on layout) on the activity page.
3. Select Export GPX / Download GPX.
4. Save the file. Same renaming tip applies — future you will thank present you.

One catch: if the activity is marked private, you still own the export. If you're downloading someone else's public activity for a surprise gift, make sure you have their blessing — or better, ask them to send the file. The gift lands harder when they know you cared enough to get their track, not a lookalike from the segment leaderboard.

Garmin vs Strava: which should you use?

Use the app that holds the cleanest version of the day you care about.

• Prefer Garmin when the watch or Edge was the original recorder. You avoid an extra sync hop and usually get denser track points.
• Prefer Strava when that's the only copy you still have, when friends edited the activity there, or when the route was built as a Strava route rather than a live recording.
• Either works for PrintMyRoutes. We take GPX from both. The sculpture cares about the line and the terrain — not which logo was on the watch face.

If the activity exists in both places, export from the original device platform first. If something looks wrong in the preview we send you, try the other export. It's rare, but it's a two-minute fix.

Gift use case: exporting someone else's route

This is the scenario that fills our inbox every fall.

You want to give a custom 3D map of their marathon, their Ridge-to-Reef, their weekly canyon loop — and you do not want to spoil it by asking for a screenshot of Strava at Thanksgiving dinner.

Practical options:

• Ask for the GPX casually. "Send me that Boston file — I want to look at the hills" works surprisingly often.
• Pull from a shared device or family Garmin account if you already have access they've approved.
• Use a published event course when the race route is public (many marathons and ultras post official GPX). We can often build from the event name plus year.
• Skip the file and tell us the race. For well-known courses, we can frequently reconstruct a faithful line. You still get a digital preview before anything prints.

The wood base is the move for gifts. It turns the sculpture into something display-ready — mantel, office shelf, no extra stand hunting on December 26th.

What happens after you have the file

Upload the GPX when you order at PrintMyRoutes. Pick size and finish. Approve the digital preview. We print the topography with your route traced across it, then ship.

Pieces start in the $40–$120 range depending on size and whether you add the wood base. You're not buying a generic "runner gift." You're buying the specific place they earned.

Common export problems (and quick fixes)

• Can't find Export on mobile: switch to the website on a laptop.
• File downloads as .fit: go back and choose GPX explicitly.
• Track looks sparse: export from the original device platform, or send us both files and we'll use the better one.
• Indoor / treadmill activity: those rarely make interesting terrain sculptures. Outdoor GPS tracks are what shine.

Ready when you are

Garmin or Strava — pick the app that has the day that matters. Export GPX. Upload it. We'll turn the line into something that belongs on a shelf, not in a screenshot folder.

Turn your GPX into a custom map →