Never as in the past year have we felt the urgency and need to get moving and find the right motivations, sometimes even excuses in truth, to be able to be outside in the fresh air. For many of us, these months of forced immobility and closure at home have been detrimental to our physical fitness. With the closure of gyms and sports centers, the only possible alternative is individual physical activity, especially the simplest, the most basic: running. To make sure you always have the right motivation, to keep track of your goals, the advice is to download an app on your smartphone, a very valuable support for your training sessions.
The best running apps
Whether you’ve been doing it for a while or you’re just starting out now to get moving after too many months of inactivity, here are the best apps to choose from for running. It is always recommended to practice your training respecting the distances and avoiding, as much as possible especially in the city, parks or green areas really too crowded. By now, all smartphones currently available on the market are equipped with sensors capable of keeping track of speed, distance covered, calories burned and a precise mapping of the route taken during each session.
The training experience improves greatly if you have the ability to hook the app’s functionality to a smartwatch or a more sophisticated running tracker, which is now the app itself. In this way, you’ll be able to keep an eye on a whole range of additional parameters and features that will allow you to train with awareness and concentration. Here are the best apps we recommend you try, all widely available on the main stores compatible with both Android and iOS devices:
Strava Run, Ride & Swim
Suitable not only for running but also for swimming, cycling and many other types of sports, this innovative app is a universal tracker that combines classic tracking data with motivating rankings, giving runners who use it challenges to improve their performance and share them with their friends.
Adidas Running
Already Runtastic, Adidas Running is an all-in-one app that allows you to monitor your training and keep track of a variety of parameters, all of which are customizable, such as time, speed, distance, as well as providing you with voice instructions and awards to reward you for reaching your goals and improving future progress. Completely free in its basic functionality, Adidas Running also allows you to share your results and performance with a large community of runners. To unlock additional features such as training plans, route planning and the interval training option requires a premium subscription.
Asics Runkeeper
Particularly loved by professional runners and others, this app essentially relies on the GPS signal to track metrics and progress during your workouts and works equally well for cycling and even hiking. In addition to measuring classic running tracker metrics, such as calories burned and other metrics, the app is packed with a wide variety of training plans, customizable with reminders and challenges to improve your goals. Users can also choose between free running or following predefined routes. Runkeeper can be downloaded for free but then requires monthly and annual subscriptions.
Pacer
Pacer is basically a pedometer, which takes advantage of the built-in sensors of your smartphone or smartwatch and is able to track not only steps but also walking and running times, distance covered, thus becoming a simple and extremely intuitive all-in-one fitness tracker. The app also lets you customize your workouts, visualize routes, create goals to improve your performance and even share and participate in online challenges thanks to a large social dimension developed among users. Pacer works for free with the exception of some optional subscription features, such as guided workouts and customizable weight-loss programs.
Map My Run by Under Armour
This runner-specific app takes advantage of your devices’ built-in GPS and sensors to map the essential metrics of any running tracker (route mapping, time, speed and distance run). Features are enhanced with real-time stats, heart rate sensors, the ability to pair both Android Wear and Apple Watch, monitor nutrition and diet plans. By signing up for a premium subscription, users have the option to remove ads, share their location in real time during their workout, and be followed by a voice coaching system.
Endomondo Sports Tracker
The developers of Map My Run and Map My Ride are also offering this fitness app in the Android and iOS stores that allows you to record the progress of any distance-based sporting activity (duration, distance, calories burned), such as running and cycling. Minimal, practical and easy to use, Endomondo gives you the possibility to plan exercises and goals of your training with the guidance of an audio coach able to give you feedback and evaluations. The app is completed by a social part dedicated to sharing your training experience, comparing and exchanging so-called peptalks, very short text messages aimed exclusively at encouragement. With a premium subscription, advertising disappears, statistics are more detailed and you can customize your running plans.
RunGo
This app is focused on helping runners easily discover and locate new and safe jogging routes when they are traveling in an unfamiliar city, for business or pleasure. Voice navigation guides users to the desired circuit and it is also possible to download routes to have them available offline, customize them or use them only partially. The premium subscription allows access to real guided tours in which local runners describe the routes, including points of interest and other useful information.
Nike Run Club
Famous, free and appreciated by running enthusiasts around the world, this Nike-branded app is ideal for runners of all experience levels, both beginners and experts, and is simultaneously a tracker, a music player and a social network for users. In addition to including various training plans that can be adapted to your goals, it contains all the tools to share your training experience, even tag the Nike shoes you usually run in, listen to audio cheers sent by your friends and encouragement audios recorded for users by Nike professional athletes.
Pumatrac
Puma has also entered the world of free running and training apps with this tracker that integrates all the standard monitoring features to even recording the date and time you did your workout. All this data adds up to a score that defines the quality of your running session, comparing it to that of other runners in the dedicated community, personalizing your experience as you use the app.
Road ID
This app is a useful tool that allows runners who love to run freely, even over long distances, to share their location with family and friends in real time, all digitally tracked and available with a link sent via email or SMS. Road ID also launches special alerts to designated followers if you make stops longer than 5 minutes, creates for you a card with your emergency contacts, blood group and any allergies, importable as the background screen of your smartphone. Definitely vital in case of an emergency.