Have you ever got LOST on a run?

Yes this was in China. I ran 3 miles on the street one way on the Garmin thinking I’d do an out and back run of 6 total miles. and for some reason I got confused and I couldn’t trace my steps back so I basically ran to the opposite end of the city and was completely lost. Worse, I was in an area of China where no one speaks English. I don’t speak Mandarin. I was in a ton of trouble but finally I found a hotel owner who speaks English and he ordered a taxi for me to get back to my hotel

Same story for me but in Tokyo... botched the out and back somehow. Found an English speaker who was able to give directions back to the road my hotel was on.

Went to go pick up my car from the garage, which is a 4 mile bike trail path from my place, very direct. Anyway, whole fecking thing was blocked off for some construction project and the detour signs were trash so all I had was a sense of West direction. Ended up running 11 miles vaguely in the direction I was supposed to go. The worst part was that it was around 10F outside and I left with just single layers ("it's just a 30 min jog") so I just had to keep moving, or else. ended up using someone's phone in a restaurant to memorize a route back on track, as the car garage is in a very awkward spot sandwiched between highways so pretty much no pedestrian route there (aside from the aforementioned bike trail). Arrived like 15 minutes before it was due to close as well.

Yeah. I got lost once on a loop I was supposed to know. I took a wrong turn because I wasn't paying attention. I had to stop at a house and ask for water. Fortunately, it was the 1980s and in the country, where people still answered a knock on the door. Run ended up being around 25 instead of the 17-18 I was intending.

I was running on some winding, swampy wooded trails in north Florida a few years ago. Pretty desolate area, no lights, mostly dirt roads. It was a 3 mile loop. I'm not from the area, and I didn't realize how quickly it can get dark around sunset. I was about 1.5 miles into the loop and saw it was getting dark, got kind of worried at how little I could see ahead of me, and decided to head back on the trial the way I came. Ran back (fast) about a mile and quarter and it was really dark now. I couldn't run anymore, because it was too dark and had to walk slowly.

I wasn't even sure if I was on the narrow, swampy trail any more. I was just hoping my sense of direction was good, and I was generally making my way back to where my car was parked. Quite panicked at this point, as I didn't like the idea of wandering around in the woods all night hoping to come across a road or a field. I kept going and at some point recognized a large fallen tree across the trail, so I knew I was on the trial and only had about 200 yards to go. It must have taken 15 minutes to walk that last 200 yards, creepy as all hell. Finally saw my car and was ecstatic.

In college, back before people ran with cell phones, I went on what was supposed to be an easy 12 miler. I went straight when I should've taken a left. Several dirt "roads" later I asked a "local" where I was, and he advised "ain't nobody runs up here, turnaround." An easy 12 miler ended up being a 26-28ish mile run. It sucked, a lot, but I remember that 12 mile run over any other 12 miler that I've run.

when i helped my sister move, I went on a night run around the college campus, just planning on doing 7 miles, but got lost in the endless expanse that are colleges, and ended up running just under 16 miles before going into a Sprouts and asking for help.

China also for me. My planned 4 miles turned into about 12. I could see my hotel but could not get there.

Finally I found a McDonald's and knowing that all McDonald’s are required to have at least one manager or supervisor on schedule that can speak at a minimum conversational English, I went in and asked for help. Soon I was back in my hotel room.

a low mountain range in hungary, dense forest, rocky, rugged, difficult terrain. on a very hot summer day, i just wanted to do a long run with a relative (he was an ultra-runner but i certainly am not). he suggested, as a local, that we try something in the exciting and lonely area and run off the trails like the orienteers. after 2 hours, he admitted that he had absolutely no idea where we were. we continued to run in what was probably the right direction. it was unbearably hot even in the forest, every little valley looked like the previous one, absolutely dried up. then he thought about three miles further on there was a water spring coming, we were seriously thirsty. at least that's what he hoped. after "three miles": nothing, the spring had dried up. but at least he had a rough idea where we were. shortly after, you could even see the town in the distance through the trees where we had started. after more than four, almost five hours (4:45+), we finally arrived back home. we didn't meet a single person.

Yeah I was running in central Germany, when I made the strong realization. These people were not stranded on an island, they were actually in a purgatory type situation after their plane crashed.

such a good show though

I’m pretty sure it’s happened to me a few times over the years, but the most recent/memorable time was in fall of 2020. I had just moved cities, it was an unseasonably warm day and I got caught up in exploring the trail systems. I had driven to what was technically a suburb to start my run, which made me even less familiar with the area. I was not in great shape, coming off of one of my many layoffs, but I felt good and figured I could go about ten. I put too much faith in my sense of direction, first making a couple bad turns on the trails and then when I hit a busy road, I guessed which way I needed to run and went a mile or so before asking a mother/daughter out walking which direction X street was, and learned I was heading the wrong way. I doubled back and asked another man for directions back to the soccer complex where I’d parked. Somehow I then overshot the mark north without turning East toward my car. I stopped and started walking after 13 miles because I was tired of running and tired of making bad turns. Eventually, embarrassingly, I flagged down a man leaving his gated neighborhood for directions and he offered to give me a ride to my car, which I graciously accepted. I then learned that I’d finally been headed in the correct direction and was maybe half a mile from my vehicle, so like I said, that was embarrassing.

Pretty boring story now that I’m through with it.

Yes, no major issues have resulted besides some unplanned long runs. In fact the first time I ran over 20 miles, I'd gotten lost as a freshman in college. Sometimes I've found some cool stuff, other times I've run down the side of highways. I generally look at google maps before going to run anywhere new, so I have an idea of which direction to go and which roads to find.

Yes, I got lost in an area of outstanding natural beauty. I knew if I continued for long enough in one direction I'd get to a road though, so I just did that. A short run turned into 1 hour 20.

Never got lost on a run. But once before sunrise I was heading to my deer stand in the woods. Never found my stand until sunrise. But I did manage to find my truck after walking a circle in the dark woods. I was very happy no one else was with me.

Not like capital L "Lost" lost, but yes I've been lost before, if that's what you mean???