If you’re into running at all, chances are you’ve considered purchasing a running watch to track your workouts. There are some pretty basic fitness watches out there that well, do pretty much basic stuff. But if you’re like me and want to track everything you can, like distance, pace, top-speed, elevation, etc. you can expect to throw down a little cash. Or are you? I found a way to get all of these statistics tracked for running and biking for free; but there is one catch, you have to have either an iPhone or Android phone that has GPS capabilities.
There are several free iphone apps for running that are quite extensive in recording activities such as running, biking, and hiking. Sure you have to own the phone, but at least that way if you already do you can save a couple hundred bucks on an expensive watch.
When I really got back into running last year, I really wanted a running watch. Of course I wanted something that tracked elevation, distance, pace, and my route; what better to do that than GPS right? Problem was, I really couldn’t justify spending several hundred dollars on a GPS running watch since I just started up the hobby. However, I did have an iPhone and a quick stop at the iPhone App store revealed several free GPS apps made specifically for runners.
A couple free running apps I tried were Sporty Pal, Runkeeper, MapMyRun, to name a few. Eventually I ended up going with the free version of Runkeeper. I liked the ease of use, features, and the nice website the best. Plus, it has the easy option of uploading to your Facebook profile with a message right after your run. Another feature I liked was the single-sign on function. Meaning once my run was over, it automatically updated to the website and Facebook or Twitter without me having to doing any signing on to any of them. Not fun when you’re tired after a run!