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Over the past few months there’s been an explosion in running apps, as almost every sporting goods company seems to have weighed in with its own take on what an app should do and how it should work. Even those not closely identified with running are getting in on the act – such as outdoor brand Karrimor, which has launched its first ever mobile app, Karrimor Elite. This enables runners and walkers to plan, map and record their performance and their route while rating and reviewing new and existing routes, setting themselves targets and inviting mates to join them on activities. The best part? It’s completely free, even on iOS platforms
Run to the beat
Setting up Elite is easy, with a quick start function that allows you to hit the pavement straight away while the app measures your distance, time, calories burned and average speed. Alternatively you can set up a named activity that takes in a specified route, distance, musical playlist and speed. You can even check the weather on your chosen route before setting off.
Considering it’s free, Karrimor Elite is satisfyingly packed with useful and intuitive features. An obvious but necessary feature is the ability to listen to music as you run via an internal music player. This is easy to use – you simply load music from your phone into the app, and from there you can organise your library and create run playlists. A more unusual feature is the way it links with your camera, allowing you to take photos and record videos during your runs and then link those to the route on which you captured them.
Social exercise
Elite doesn’t just benefit the person using it – it’s deigned to be social. Once a user has completed a run or walk, they can save the route, share it with their friends and compile performance statistics to compare with friends that use the app or with their own previous attempts. In the spirit of competition the app also records performances for each route on a leaderboard that can be populated by groups of friends. Don’t fancy running alone? Create an activity in the app, set the date and time and invite a mate to join you.
For the more goal-oriented user, Karrimor Elite allows you to set personal challenges based on distance travelled, calories burned and time taken when completing selected routes.
Conclusion
In its first attempt at a fitness app Karrimor has managed to cover an awful lot of bases. Combining simple functionality with a wealth of practical features, Karrimor Elite is a trustworthy exercise companion both for seasoned runners and for those pounding the pavement for the first time. Whether you want to keep things simple and just record your running stats or prefer to take advantage of the full functionality, it’ll be useful. And did we mention it’s free?
