How this Canadian created digital art by running 10 km every day

Latest update:November 25, 2024 06:15 PM IST

The 32-year-old accountant combined his passion for running and editing to create a viral video using route tracking app Strava.

The masterpiece was the result of 121 runs through the streets of Toronto. (Photo credit: X)

A 32-year-old chartered accountant from Toronto has taken the internet by storm by creating a dancing figurine in a route-tracking app. Duncan McCabe, who combined his love of running and digital editing, spent months carefully transforming his running routes into a stunning piece of digital art.

Using the popular route tracking app Strava, McCabe planned out his running routes to create a choreographed visual representation. His project, which ran for 121 shows between January and October 2024, turned into a viral video that has now taken the internet by storm.

McCabe’s 121-run record, stitched together, shows the figure dancing to Sophie Tucker’s “Purple Hat”. According to Fast Company.

McCabe was inspired by San Francisco-based Strava artist Lenny Maughan and Toronto’s Mike Scott, who drew a giant beaver around the city in 2022 using his bike’s GPS route, Canada Running reports. In the same way, he drew a man of the same size for 10 months in the frames.

McCabe said, “I designed the hat in early January, but the hat doesn’t actually appear in animation until July. I knew I would use this song all the time. That’s what inspired him – he wears a hat and takes his hat off,” in a conversation with blogTO.

He also added that he had to perform at least 120 runs or frames to make the animation look smooth. “In the same test, if I used 60 images, it would look very choppy; if you have a lot of frames, the image looks smooth, so that was the motivation to keep doing it even in bad weather,” McCabe explained.

The smooth movements of the figure attracted the attention of many social network users. Since being posted, the 30-second clip has received over 25 million views and over 407,000 likes. Users could not resist praising the artist and filled the comments section.

“This is incredibly impressive,” the comment says.

Another added: “The amount of effort and planning that went into this is insane.”

“This is one of the most impressive things I have ever seen,” one user commented.

One account noted: “This is insane dedication!! Dude wins.”

“He’s on another level! Definitely a prominent character in the community,” the person said.

Another user X praised: “The most impressive thing I’ve seen this year. Kudos to Duncan.”

“Wow, I’m so impressed. I never thought about it. Maybe I’ll try,” said another.

This isn’t McCabe’s first attempt at creating Strava digital art through his performances. Last year, he made figurines of various animals, including a dinosaur, giraffe, whale and shark, on the streets of Toronto, running 700 kilometers.

McCabe isn’t alone in hacking Strava to create artwork or cartoons using line drawings generated by the app’s GPS tracking system. There is a vibrant community of athletes who have embraced this creative approach, turning their runs and bike rides into fun and challenging activities. “I admire a lot of the great art on Strava,” says McCabe, citing Mike Scott, another Torontonian who used bike routes to get around in 2022. draw a picture of a beaver.

Duncan McCabe is an experienced financial professional from the Greater Toronto Area, according to his LinkedIn account. He currently works as a senior financial manager at PointClickCare. Previously, he was financial reporting manager at Canada Goose. McCabe has also worked for Henry’s, PwC in Australia and the UK, as well as positions at McMaster University and the Canada Revenue Agency. He has strong financial reporting, analysis and management skills, as well as experience in financial modeling and data analysis.