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Man jogging - male running in San Francisco. Sporty fit young man jogger along a dirt track alongside San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate Bridge. Runner listening to training music from smartphone.
RUNNING USA – Five Apps to Benefit Your Races
By: Scott Bush
As low-tech a putting on a road race can seem these days, your participants are embracing technology more than ever. That’s an obvious statement, right? The question then is, how are you incorporating technology into your event and pre-race build-up?
Here are five apps putting their stamp on the running world and how you might incorporate each into your own event.
Few fitness apps can match RunKeeper, both in functionality and practicality. This app allows users to track workouts through a clean and simple interface, offers coaching advice, social sharing capabilities, goal setting and picture taking (on the run). It's as close as you'll get to an all-in-one running app.
How it benefits race directors: Running is social in nature and what better way to bring your entire running community together than suggesting they share their running experiences through social media. The picture taking function of RunKeeper adds a whole new level of social sharing that few fitness apps offer, so take advantage of it, especially as social media channels like Instagram and Pinterest continue to explode in popularity.
Keep in mind: While RunKeeper ranks as one of the top running apps, the company offers an advanced version called RunKeeper Elite. While RunKeeper Elite is a pay-for app, it offers well-worth-it features such as advanced reporting and live-tracking, which allows family and friends to track runners and where they are on course.
Cost: RunKeeper is free, while RunKeeper Elite is $20/year or $5/month
Active is the largest race registration company in the world and their website is a tremendous resource for runners of all abilities, helping them find races, training tips and so much more. The Active training community isn't confined to the desktop though, their mobile app offers all the same great training information, event calendars and registration options.
How it benefits race directors: Sharing driving directions with your participants seems so simple, but Active makes it even easier with their app, offering maps and driving directions to events. Making a participant's entire race day experience seamless is ultimately the goal of so many race directors and the Active app allows for that from start (registration) to finish (posted results).
Keep in mind: In 2014 mobile web browsing will surpass desktop web browsing, meaning more people will find races and training advice on their mobile devices than ever before. If your event registration happens to be through Active, it certainly makes sense for you to encourage participants to download this app.
Cost: Free
The Saucony – Run for Good app is a social cause app, allowing users to track their mileage, which roll into their specific cause currently. The vast majority of Saucony causes relate to keeping kids active and healthy. The good feelings you take away are wonderful, but making it even better, the app has GPS capabilities, route mapping, workout tracking and the ability to list and hit running milestones.
How it benefits race directors: Your event may have a social cause it supports already, but what about the build-up to the race? "Donating your miles" is a great way to engage your event community in the build up to race weekend, making their training bigger than themselves.
Keep in mind: The vast majority of races have some sort of social good tie-in. Participants identify with doing good for their community. Whether through this app or another social good app, encouraging your race community to participate is always a positive move.
Cost: Free
We've all heard (and probably used) MapMyRun before. The site is a staple in the running community, allowing runners of all abilities to track their routes, share them and see new routes to try. Well, the MMR app incorporates the same great technology, with a clean, simple interface, while offering nutrition/hydration tips, social tie-ins and cross-platform (mobile and desktop) integration.
How it benefits race directors: It's nice having a platform where runners in your community can search a directory of local runs. Undoubtedly, there are most likely a few runs in your area that are historic in nature, whether by topography, scenery or long-run tradition. Here's an idea, why not make a competition of these routes, pointing registrants to the map and having them submit their times and experiences on the specific course and posting them on your event website.
Keep in mind: Runners are a curious bunch, always searching out new routes to explore. Finding routes in your community is easier than ever with the MapMyRun app.
Cost: Free
As listed above, many running apps track workouts, offer coaching advice, nutrition tips, etc. Well, UpBeat Workouts does all of those, while tracking its user's foot strikes, matching their running beat with similar music beats.
How it benefits race directors: Running events are inherently social, with music certainly being a part of that. An easy way to integrate with UpBeat Workouts is to suggest a few songs to your registrants each week (fast paced and slower paced), improving their play lists, and giving them tunes to run to during speed workouts and slower long runs alike.
Keep in mind: Runners love listening to music while training and racing. Promoting an app that matches their running cadence with their music catalogue is an easy way to increase runner happiness.
Cost: $2.99
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Scott Bush is owner of Flow Experience Marketing, focused on building event and small business communities through online and offline experiences. He's put on over 30 races of his own and has been in love with the sport for 15 years and counting.
