Sports are great, but sometimes, recreational activities can be even better, especially some of them which we can do on our own. While sports can be very entertaining, they can also be draining. You have to interact with other people and sometimes, it might not be your day or it might not be their day and with that, you should always strive to do an activity which you could adapt to your own needs and emotional state.

Running is one of those activities which you can do in almost all conditions. Running also benefits from having huge support from the IT community and especially the smartphone market.

There are tons of applications that runners could benefit from, so here are the best ones to choose from.

Strava

Strava is a great application for tracking your running goals. Once you start working out with strava and tracking your information, you will find it very motivating to try and beat your own record for a certain activity at a certain location. 

Strava has both tracking for your own activities and that of other people. You can see who is the best at a certain location and track, named King of the Hill. Beat their record and they will be notified that a new challenger has entered the circuit. Strava works on Android and iOS devices and is typically great with wearables such as smartwatches. 

Adidas Running – Used to be Runtastic

Runtastic used to make our running funtastic, but now, it is just running. However, the application is the same, but it now has a powerhouse brand behind it, Adidas. What Runtastic couldn’t do on their own, they can do with the help of Adidas.

What is largely the same application where people can send you cheers and boost your confidence as you run, now has some improvements. You can play running stories and track a multitude of activities. It is a full fledged application for the people on the go, runners and bikers alike, as well as everyone else who likes outdoors activities. 

NHS Couch to 5K

For those who have never been running, this is the app to download and use. The Couch to 5K app is there to guide non runners and complete sports newbies on how to start running and work their way up to their first 5K or five kilometers. 

When you think about it from a runner’s perspective, five kilometers is really not that much, or rather, a good warmup, but for a non runner and person who does not exercise, is more than they could ever dream of running. With this app, there are no dreams, only reality. 

Garmin Connect

Garmin is a powerhouse name in the navigation department. They also make fitness watches which track anything from your breathing to your stress levels. The Garmin Connect app is a solid app which syncs to its own watches and bands without a hiccup. You will get all the benefits of your watch, but with more data and a better layout, given that it’s on a much larger screen.

It has a coach section that can teach you exercises, routines and give you pointers on how you should plan your week. No more running on a whim or “i don’t feel like it”. You just follow a schedule and progress.

These are the best applications for runners out there, though there are more so if these don’t work, try the others that might. 

By Imran