#7 – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity: Based off of my blog post #4 and the feedback I received on it, I still think there is an opportunity to assist runners in maintaining a consistent pace when they complete runs outdoors. Current devices and applications provide split times, but not your real time pace, so this is a way to measure that.

The Who: People who have this need can range from beginners to athletes, and everyone in between. This could apply to anyone who has set timing or endurance goals, are training for specific races or events, or are just curious about the pace they run at.
The What: Pacing can be an issue when running outdoors, and there are no applications to help runners stay on target.
The Why: Running outdoors is very different than running inside on a treadmill. On a treadmill, everyone is capable of sustaining a specific pace by pushing a simple button. However, outdoors, runners encounter hills, turns, over-striding and other scenarios that may deter them from their intended pace.

Hypothesis:
Testing the Who: Runners who care about their pace have this need. Even some people who run recreationally could be included -- I wouldn’t necessarily consider them in my target market for this opportunity, but they’re still potential customers. Everyone shares a same similarity of running to get their cardio in, but everyone looks at their runs differently.
Testing the What: It seems like a lot of people use different applications when going for a run outdoors, but are unsatisfied with the way information is presented or not presented at all. By establishing this app and anklet, it wouldn’t be any different from what interviewees are using now.
Testing the Why: Everyone mentions they’ve experienced running indoors and outdoors, and can feel the difference. Things happen subconsciously such as gassing out too early or taking the wrong stride lengths, and this is a way to prevent those problems. A majority of my interviewees claimed they have had a problem with pace for a while, and this is one way to attempt to fix it.

Interviews: 
Interview Summary 1: The person I interviewed runs outdoors four days a week on average and never on a treadmill. She doesn’t focus on her pace when running outside, but more so when she’s on the treadmill. However, she did state that she is aware of her general pace when running outside and how it can be inconsistent when she slows down towards the end of her run. She claims she has always had a pace issue since she began running, and it was more important for her when she was a competitive runner as opposed to now and just doing it for health and leisure. She only uses the health app to figure out her distance, because it doesn’t provide pace and she doesn’t have an apple watch. Sometimes she will calculate in her head to figure out her general pace based on the length of her run. In all, she thinks a vibration to motivate a more consistent pace would be helpful.

Interview Summary 2: The person I interviewed runs outside twice a week and inside on a treadmill twice a week. He doesn’t ever focus on his pace, but does notice that his pace outside is relatively different than his pace indoors. He said he never really has any issues with pace, considering he wasn’t focused on it, and rather did exercising involving HIIT. For example, his running is more sprints intertwined with walking between. He only uses his apple watch to track his distances, but he does think my opportunity has potential. He just mentioned that he probably wouldn’t use it considering his goals and workouts consist of things other than pace focused.

Interview Summary 3: The person I interviewed runs outdoors five days a week, and only runs on the treadmill when it’s raining. He tries to focus on his pace as he runs, but finds it difficult to pay attention to his watch mid-run, so his pace ends up slightly inconsistent every time. This individual has had this need since he started running cross country in high school. Because of cross country, he is able to tell when he’s started too fast or too slow just from how his body feels. After asking if he used any apps that track his pace, he said he just uses his apple watch and that’s about it. He believes my opportunity would help him stay on pace throughout his run instead of finding out at the end of him run that he lost his pace way before he even realized.

Interview Summary 4: The person I interviewed runs outdoors three times a week, and runs on a treadmill three times a week, but for cross training such as HIIT exercise. She obviously tracks her pace on a treadmill because she’s running against the machine, but does notice inconsistency when running outside because she has to run against herself. The individual has had this need ever since she started running, but gets agitated by it more frequently when training for half marathons and such. She uses the Nike+ Run Club app which gives you specific pace details after a run, and can call out your split times for you during a run if you opt to have that turned on. She said it gives her a lot of useful information, but she can never look at her phone during a run since she wears an arm band. When training, she tries to run with how she feels and hopes that she stays consistent throughout her run, while looking at her pace when she gets home. She agrees that having an app and accessory anklet would be beneficial. Having something vibrate instead of looking at her phone would be more useful, and help her stay on track for her target time.

Interview Summary 5: The person I interviewed is a collegiate athlete (specifically soccer), and she runs outside twice a week and four times a week on the treadmill, plus or minus some. Obviously her workout styles are a little controlled and vary due to being on a collegiate team, but she says when she goes for runs or trains for conditioning workouts, she can’t focus on her pace because the Nike+ app that she uses only says pace every mile or half mile. She only realizes if she’s inconsistent because she personally knows if she’s moving faster or slower. She’s mentions that she’s always had a pace issue, but never really addressed it considering her goal isn’t pace, it’s more about agility and endurance for her sport. She does use both the Nike+ app and her Garmin watch when working out. Overall, she thinks my opportunity would be very beneficial by it being interactive and consistent. She said she wants to use it to train for pre-season fitness to ensure that her times will be accurate.

Overall Summary: (Of what I know about the opportunity that I didn’t know before)

I learned a lot more about this opportunity now and who to tailor this opportunity to. A lot of interviewees used their own apps and bodies to help them measure their pace, but all felt like more could be added. I think determining a user’s pace in real time is the important key here that other applications are missing. It’s always good to hear interviewees workout regimens, and determining the best solution for specific types.