GoRun: Running Made Accessible for Beginners
UX Research and Design
Autumn 2024
Starting a running routine can be overwhelming, especially for beginners unsure of where to start, how to progress, or what habits to adopt.
Our goal was to create an app that would guide first-time runners with a structured, motivating, and user-friendly experience.
Challenge
The Solution:
Simplifying the Journey to Better Fitness with GoRun
GoRun is a mobile app designed to help beginners develop a consistent running habit. The app offers personalised plans, instructional guidance, and motivational tools to keep users on track towards their fitness goals.
Personalised Experience
Each user receives a custom running plan tailored to their fitness level and progress. By adjusting based on user feedback, GoRun ensures that each runner advances at their own pace.
Structured Guidance
We learned that users often abandon fitness apps due to a lack of clear direction. GoRun offers structured running plans, providing users with the guidance they need to build fitness routines seamlessly into their everyday lives.
Rewarding Progress
To maintain motivation, users are rewarded with badges and progress stats. These small wins encourage them to stay committed and track their growth.
Understanding the Struggles of Starting a Running Routine
To better understand the challenges faced by beginner runners, we conducted 5 interviews and distributed surveys that received 17 responses to individuals who had recently started or were considering starting a running routine.
From this, I concluded...
Beginner runners struggle to establish a consistent running routine are unsure where to start because currently, the lack of an easy-to-follow plan and progress is causing them to feel overwhelmed and lose motivation.
This begged the questions of:
How might we help users realistically build a consistent running routine that fits their busy schedule?
How might we empower users with actionable learning content?
...leading me to the high-level objectives that guided our design of GoRun
Design
With the research in mind, we focused on creating a design that would support beginner runners.
In this scenario, the user has been running for a few weeks, and want to step up their training towards running a 5k:
Build a Running Plan Section
Users felt restricted in choosing answers, wanting the option to select multiple choices or skip questions.
Certain questions lacked guidance, leaving users unsure of how to proceed.
Running Session Section
Users relied solely on videos or audio to follow warm-ups. Including text labels would allow them to quickly reference instructions.
The cool-down section was a static image instead of being included in the route, even though it’s an part of the running process.
After Run Section:
A user noted that their progress stats should be more prominent.
The user's activity could be represented with less text, with the aid of visualisation tools.
In creating the brand and components, we wanted to convey an image that was active, fun, and energetic.
Hi-fi Screens
Account Screen and Building a Personalised Plan
Running Plan
Running Session Screens
Activity and Learning Content
The Interactive Prototype
Conclusion
Next steps
Given more time, I’d like to explore:
How community features, such as social running groups, can encourage users to stay motivated.
The potential for integrating personalised coaching tips to improve the user’s form and running efficiency.
How audio plays a part in the app, especially during running sessions.
Personal Takeaways
Throughout the GoRun project, I learned the importance of balancing motivation with clear guidance. Users need to feel in control of their fitness journey while also being supported with achievable milestones.
I also learned that there is no one size fits all solution for a complex product like a wellness app- you have to prioritise whose problem you want to solve and build for them.
Finally, Just Run with it! Its so easy to get bogged down on the details and try to make visual elements perfect. But sometimes you just gotta let go and test it.
