Run Social: Making the loneliness of the long distance runner a thing of the past

As we become immersed in the digital world we can lose sight of the world around us. While FitTech is a booming industry, participation levels in sport are dwindling. It has become enough of an issue in England’s capital that London Sport has set a target of getting one million Londoners active by the end of 2016.

RunSocial has created an app to get people moving and make treadmill running more fun. By connecting people through their phones and tablets a whole cast of runners can take part in the same race through their own avatar in a virtual environment on the real life course.

The idea behind the technology is not only for a way to solve the monotony of treadmill running but to encourage activity in the growing sedentary section of society. The strain on the NHS through obesity and related illness cost the country over five billion pounds a year. In addition it has been proven that the use of avatars can significantly reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in sufferers in just a month.

Besides being able to run with others just for a casual run, RunSocial also enables organised events and challenges. One example is our partnership with the Virgin Money London Marathon, where a digital HD version of the iconic London route has been produced allowing users to train on the course and even run live on the big day. This event capability opens up the potential to offer indoor treadmill users something beyond the usual staple of TV and music and running programmes.

Have you ever fancied a run in the Scottish Highlands? The Swiss Alps? Tibet? Bali? The downloadable courses not only adapt to match your speed, they are also interactive, multiplayer virtual environments. This means that people anywhere in the world, can run together in a single place and see and run with each other live inside the route. Even NASA has just put a version of RunSocial on the International Space Station!

Over 80% of the UK up to the age of 54 owns a smartphone, a staggering 90% between 16-24%. Smartphones have overtaken laptops as the way we access the internet. It will be mobile technology which we will have to rely on to get the population mobile.

Marc Hardy, RunSocial CEO & Co-founder

To learn more about RunSocial please visit https://www.runsocial.com/

To download the RunSocial app for Apple devices http://bit.ly/RunSocial

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