TECH
RUNNING APPS YOU NEED
From nice-to-have to must-have, running apps are now the things that power our running alongside our trainers and our breakfast. Here are our pick of the best to get your fitter, faster and stronger
Words Rachel Ifans
It’s funny to think back a couple of decades to when some of us started running, and the tech was non-existent. If we made it three laps around th park with a hangover, we’d class it as a good run. We had no idea how far we’d actually run, of course, unless we drove the route afterwards keeping an eye on the mile-ometer on the dash. We had no idea of pace either; we were just happy if we got back in time for Brookside.
|| A run tracker, route mapper, music app and a podcast app are the bare essentials but there are so many other useful widgets out there ||
The last 20 years or so have seen such crazy advances in run gear that we’re now entering what can feel like overload. Our phones are our life-support machines and the deal-breaker for most items of run clothing can often come down to pocket position and size. And that’s all well and good, because phones are great for women runners in terms of safety and it’s now unthinkable to go out without one.
However, with that phone comes the app overload. The health and fitness market is huge and there seems to be an app for everything. As runners, we’d argue that a run tracker, a route mapper, a music app and a podcast app are the bare essentials, but there are so many other useful widgets out there; ones that guide you through your very first run, ones that know your whereabouts down to the nearest three metres, those that track your menstrual cycle and energy levels, those that log your food intake and those that offer home workouts and cross training videos.
Let us take you on a tour of the stars of the small screen.
Beginner
APP Start 2 Run with Jenni Falconer
FREE|Android & iPhone|start2run.app/en
Although it’s called Start 2 Run, unlike Couch to 5K this app doesn’t stop after you've crossed your first finish line. In fact, this one could see you through from your first tentative 5K to a (deep breath) full marathon. It’s got so many features; to give you an idea of its breadth, there are 25 training schedules to follow, six of which alone are for marathon wannabes. The app provides coaching and narration from TV personality and run addict Jenni Falconer, and the training is created by professional sports coaches from Energy Lab.
APP One You Couch to 5K
FREE|Android & iPhone|nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/ couch-to-5k-week-by-week/
C25K is ubiquitous for a reason; it’s really good at what it does. The NHS-backed running app offers a nine-week programme which will, with the help of narrated runs, get you to the 5K finish line, whatever your level of fitness when you start out. It tells you when to run, when to walk, when to stop and when you should have a rest day or two.