Measuring along traced image

Hello,

I have traced an image in inkscape and am now needing to measure the exact length of the trace following the path exactly. I have not been able to do so with the measure feature in inkscape. Using the measure feature the only things that I am able to do are measure the rise and run (height and length) of the trace but have not been able to measure the exact length of the path. Is there a way to do this in inkscape? Is there a way in inkscape to convert the trace into a graph in the X-Y coordinate plane?

Thank you in advance for you help,

Conrad