I took about a month off between my last job and my current one to ostensibly do some work around the house but also to wrap up work on my running music app that I’ve been working on; Runtracks.
The inspiration was simple: when a track comes on while you’re running and it perfectly matches your step cadence, it feels great! Why can’t we do this for every track in your running playlist?
Runtracks is a set of curated tracks from Apple Music that are perfect for running, combined with software that adjusts the beat of the music to match your run cadence.
And honestly, it’s great to use. I have been running mostly on a treadmill since covid began and being able to dial in a speed and cadence and have music to go along with it just feels great. More recently I have started running outside again and the experience is just OK - hills will make you speed up or slow down just enough to get out of sync - but that’s nothing a few more features can’t fix.
Right now it’s 100% free to use, other than having to be an Apple Music subscriber already. Like any good app, the software is only half the story and regular content updates is really what makes it continually valuable. As a few features solidify and I feel more comfortable focusing more on content and less on the core functionality, I’ll probably add a very cheap subscription option to keep the content flowing.
If you’re a runner (or if you’re not and want to be!), download Runtracks on the app store and give it a shot. As always, shoot me some feedback if you have ideas for features or if you had a good run.