Trailburning.com

» What it does: It’s a website that lets runners, hikers, mountain bikers and others share their favorite trails. Traveling to a new country and hankering for a brag-worthy trail to run? Crowd-source it from another passionate enthusiast before you pack your shoes.

» What’s hot: It’s not all about the where — you get a story, too — and the large trail pictures bring the travelogs to life. I’m not a serious runner, or even a jogger, but I love discovering new places around the world, and Trailburning helps me do just that. Matt Allebeury’s description of running in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia says it all: "We were running through a herd of wild kangaroo and our hearts raced, it was something almost primeval. There we were, running amongst wild animals with a sense that we too were wild. At that moment I felt I understood what it means to run — it’s not about speed, distance or the finish line; to run is to run wild, as wild as an animal." Need a map to pinpoint the trail location? Done. Make sure you click on the initial map to get to trail run details and extra photos.

» What’s not: Is it too techie? Depends on you. Trailburning says, "It’s as simple as uploading a GPX file from your running watch or favourite tracking app." I don’t have one of those, but they do have a "trail capture guide" to walk you through the best ways to make a Trail Card you can share with others. But wait, are you really going to run with your SLR camera?

Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times