Smashrun is an analytics platform that simplifies the process of tracking and reporting on run data. In its simplest form, Smashrun is designed to give you context for your runs.
For example:
Finishing that run today meant that you’ve run 320 miles this year. That puts you in the top 20% of the runners on Smashrun. It’s more than 50 miles farther than you’d run last year at this time. And it was the 3rd fastest 4-mile run you’ve ever run. You’re running twice as many miles a week as your friend, Joe, and when it comes to sheer discipline - showing up day in and day out - you’re at the top of your game.
And that’s what we mean by adding context to your runs! Smashrun demonstrates that every run counts for something. And then it shows you what it means when you push and what it means when you slack.
If you currently use Nike+, you can link up your Nike account by clicking on ‘settings’ in the top-left navigation panel > then click ‘NIKE’ on the following page, located in the sub-heading. From here, you can sync your runs and also adjust your “trim” settings on the right. Note: to get back to the main Overview page, just click on ‘my runs’ in the top navigation panel.
Click on ‘settings’ in the top navigation panel > scroll down a little and you’ll see Distance. Toggle the radio button for your preferred distance unit. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page. Note: to get back to the main Overview page, just click on ‘my runs’ in the top navigation panel.
Absolutely! To edit a run, you’ll need to pull up the List page that includes that particular run. Click on ‘LIST’ located in the sub-heading > on the top-right of the next page, you can choose the year and month in which you’d like to edit a particular run. Once you have your list of runs populate, you can mouse over any of your runs and you’ll see an ‘EDIT’ button show up on the far-left column.
For example:
Let’s say you just synced all your NIKE+ data and it included your first uncalibrated run from July 2008.
To edit that run, click on ‘LIST’ > click on the button for 2008 > then choose the month of July. From the list of runs that show up below, mouse over the run you’d like to edit - you should see the ‘EDIT’ button show up on the far-left column > click on it, make the necessary changes, and click ‘UPDATE’
Only runs that are logged after your initial registration can earn badges. We don’t think it’s fair to reward someone 15 badges after they just registered because they happen to have 4 years of running history. To level the playing field, everyone starts with a clean slate :)
If you start your tracking device before your ready to run Smashrun can look at the recording and figure out it took you a little while to get started. If you've got "Trim slow start" set on your settings page, then we'll lop off that time to make the results more accurate.
You can also set your runs to have the ends trimmed. This will lop off any if for some reason you forgot to stop your device immediately after finishing. Since this will trim any walking after a run is finished, it's better to enable this setting only if you're not in the habit of walking during your workouts.
Yup! We actually have another 103 that we just finished. And we’re constantly looking for new badge ideas! If you have a few in mind, please email us with the following: (i) your name - so we can give you credit for it (ii) the name of the badge, and (iii) a description of the badge. Oh.. and if you can let us know what you think the badge should look like, that would be a tremendous help to our designer!
At the moment, Smashrun is not yet integrated with Twitter (although, we’ve come up with some pretty creative ways of doing it manually!) It’s definitely something that we’re working on and it should be coming very soon :)
If you’d like to share your runs on Facebook, you can modify your auto-posting by clicking on ‘settings’ in the top navigation panel > click on ‘FACEBOOK’ in the sub-heading, and you should see the Status Updates section. Note: to get back to the main Overview page, just click on ‘my runs’ in the top navigation panel.
You can choose one of three options: a. Always publish new runs - happens after you sync your latest run on Smashrun b. Prompt to publish - the most common setting, which allows you to edit before publishing c. Do not publish
You can also customize the formatting of your Facebook posts! We have three templates you can use, which are outlined below. Otherwise, you can can set up your very own by choosing “User format” :)
Basic: This morning ran 2.09 miles at a 9:34/mi pace. Extended: This morning ran 2.09 miles in 19:59 at 10:26am at 9:34/mi pace (6.3mph). With Attitude: This morning nailed a 2.09 miles run at a 9:34/mi pace. Sweet.
An example of a user format could be something like:
This afternoon at 4:25pm ran 5.1 miles at 8:57/mi - zoom! zoom! - I think I deserve a beer.
Invite them! Every user has a unique invite page that’s already been set up. To view your invite options, click on ‘INVITE’, which is the last link on the sub-heading. There’s 3 options for inviting new users. You can either send an email, share the link to your invite page, or post your invite to Facebook. Too easy! And you can earn badges for it!
The Nike+ Sports Kit is a system to record time and distance and transmits that data to Nike's servers. It consists of a small sensor which fits into the base of Nike shoes, and a receiver which can be an iPod, iPhone, or Nike+ sportsband.
Once you calibrate it, it's really pretty good! On our tests on a flat running track, a calibrated device is about 97% accurate. On streets, hills, and trails, the accuracy goes down hill quite a bit to about 93-97%.
It's important to remember that your reference data has an error margin as well. If you're using a Google maps run mapping tool or a GPS device as your reference, remember that almost none of these calculate distance on 3 axes. Think about the Pythagorean theorem: the true distance is the square root of the change in elevation squared plus the change in position squared.
If you map out a route on Google maps, and then run it with a GPS device, they'll return very similar results. However, they'll both be wrong because neither takes change in elevation into account. (Some GPS devices can do this pretty well, but only if they can lock onto 3 satellites, which is rare). To get a true reference, a bike fitted with a wheel sensor or a car’s odometer are your best bet. Using these as a reference, Nike's results are usually at least as good or better than the GPS alternatives on hilly routes.
We’re pretty sure you can’t see it on Nike’s running site, but we’ve found a way to create a chart of your battery usage on Smashrun :) To access it, you’ll notice on the top-right, next to your “Last Nike+ run”, is a battery image. Click on the battery and you should see a pop-up for “Nike sensor battery life details”.
If you're using the iPhone and you're having trouble syncing with your sensor, rebooting the iPhone will often fix the problem. You can do this by holding down the top and home buttons for about 5 seconds, and then dragging the slider.
And just as an aside: you do not need to wear Nike shoes to run with a Nike+ sensor. You can use any pair of running shoes so long as you have a sensor pouch.