Urban Runner

My proposal is to design an application named “Urban Runner”.  Essentially the idea is that this is an application geared to those that run. The main purpose of the application is to pinpoint a start to finish route based on your current location or even any GPS located starting location. But from where ever you are or wherever you intend to be the application would map out a route of your chosen distance and terrain. Individual users can create accounts that also act as a social network with friends.

The demographic for this application can be very diverse but primarily geared toward those who are avid runners and enjoy exploring new places to run. This particular application will have a friendly social aspect to it.  It will serve anyone from the range of  those who enjoy running as a fun fit pastime to those who are more serious runners that want to test their limits on all types of terrain. This will primarily be used on a mobile device but would ideally be formatted to other screens to update profiles.

The interviews served to be very helpful in determining key points to include in this app. Many people if not most people view safety as a big determining factor in where they run. This application will allow those who typically shy away from unfamiliar routes to try something new because safety will be taken into account. There will be levels of safety for any route inputted and saved based on many determining factors such as traffic, terrain and elevation, and access to emergency assistance. A rating system will be set in place so the user knows what they are getting into when they begin a route. One positive experience people often enjoy is running with friends and how motivating and uplifting that can be. The application will have to have certain social aspects in place to facilitate and encourage this. There will be a news feed in the profile and users can post group runs so that several people can run a route together. Friends can share routes with other friends and through GPS navigation can allow friends to see their location while running a route.  Another thing I found in my interviews is that people enjoy the idea of planning a route to go and get coffee or do another activity, the application will utilize Google maps navigation system in order to search things such as coffee places or restaurants so that they can be planned in a running route.