Audible nudges kept me updated on how far was left to complete too, hearing the miles tick down is always soothing. They have a live messenger feature on the app, where in-built human coaches and integrated AI coaches can message you. It’s a reassuring touch, if you want advice, or have any burning questions that need answers.
You can cancel at any time, meaning you can download it in the run up to an event and cancel afterwards, once you’ve hit the finish line. Getting real-time cues through my headphones proved surprisingly helpful. Normally, the only voice in my head mid-run is me negotiating whether two miles is enough to burn off my KitKat from lunch and call it a day. Now, I had someone keeping me accountable, while stopping me from sprinting like a maniac every time a stranger overtook me too, when I was supposed to be doing easy runs. The app added variety to my pace, helping to boost my cardiovascular fitness along the way. Pushing myself to run faster than usual definitely improved my breathlessness.
Strava’s Runna App: Worth the Premium in 2025? Review & Breakdown
The social run app is ubiquitous, but if you’re not keen to overshare your workouts or don’t base your personality around your weekly 5k jog, you’ll want something different. Choose your distance, race date or fitness target and we’ll build a plan around it – tailored to your experience and schedule. I found the prompts mad muscles app review for all the runs easy to follow, and I enjoyed the variety of workouts. I did one of the runs on an Apple Watch, and found the display helpful for following the day’s somewhat complicated plan. I was supposed to do a series of distance-based intervals at different distances and different paces, and take two minutes of walking rest in between them. Tracking everything manually would have been a pain, but the app made it easy.
, 10k, Half, Marathon, Ultra
Recovery keeps you consistent and injury-free over the full training block. Tom Bedford joined TechRadar in early 2019 as a staff writer, and left the team as deputy phones editor in late 2022 to work for entertainment site (and TR sister-site) What To Watch. He continues to contribute on a freelance basis for several sections including phones, audio and fitness. This list naturally includes lots of fitness-based activities like run clubs, badminton teams and yoga groups. While it’s not by definition a fitness app, and may seem an unexpected pick for this list, Meetup is arguably one of best downloads for a specific sector of fitness fans. Then, every day, Runna will draft you a schedule of what kind of workout you need to do.
Setup
Both Strava and Runna are on iOS and Android and the apps link up easily with each other as well as the best sports watches from all major brands, including Garmin and Apple. For anyone not fitting this highly specific profile, €20 per month could be better allocated. Feeding Strava stats into an LLM could replicate ( \approx 90% ) of Runna’s planning and analysis functionality, with the only trade-off being manual calendar input. Runna introduced me to things like tempo runs and progressive pacing.
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- Running can sometimes feel like a punishment and with Runna, although it still hurts (I mean, it is still running after all), it’s a lot less painful when you get to race day.
- Whether you’re training for your first 5K or looking to smash a marathon PB, you’ll be guided every step of the way.
- One coach says the app fails to account for fatigue, which could easily cause injury.
- When it comes to event day – whether that’s a race or a personal milestone – stick to what you know.
- Even after the acquisition, Runna requires its own paid subscription.
- Anya is a Lululemon-sponsored marathoner and England representative whose remarkable rise in running proves it’s never too late to chase bold goals.
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What you can do with and without a subscription
Pick the distance or focus that matters most to you – and we’ll create a plan that adapts to your fitness and schedule. Our in-app articles explain everything from pacing to recovery, while our support team is available 24/7 to keep you on track. Using this app you can do a grocery shop and make sure you’re buying the healthiest, or at least not the most unhealthy, version of a product — great for fitness-minded people who don’t want to pollute their body. There is a monthly subscription to use Strong, but it’s a lot cheaper than the aforementioned planning apps.
Support on your running journey
As a mom of two (soon three!), she offers expert, empathetic guidance through every stage. Safely build mileage and endurance to set yourself up for bigger goals. I mad muscles app review was able to tell the app I was still working out from home, and the equipment I had available, and then use my resistance bands and adjustable dumbbells for the easy-to-follow workouts.
(I did not share anything to the feed.) The one thing I got out of this feature was seeing the data tiles people were sharing. This told me there was a place elsewhere in the app (under “share run”) that could generate this nifty readout. By the final few hundred metres, my grimace had transformed into a gigawatt grin. If an app can help you streamline your efforts and access that moment, whatever your starting level of fitness, it’s a thumbs up from me. Runna proved to be slick, efficient and flexible, working to my routine rather than the other way around.
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Form
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From what I’ve observed while covering the fitness space for the last five years, it tends to operate in “hype cycles”. Different types of exercise take it in turn to come in and out of fashion, and it’s hard to argue against the fact that running sits at the top of this pyramid right now. Despite a shoddy sleep, a long dog walk on the morning of the race and a sardine-like train journey from Bristol to London, I turned up at the event in Battersea Park feeling surprisingly well prepared. After I set up a Runna profile and entered a few details – including previous PBs over a range of distances – the app calculated that I should be able to run 10km in 44min 10sec to 46min 40sec by the end of my plan. That’s exactly what happened, and I felt comfortable with the paces it asked of me—even slightly conservative at times, feeling like I could push harder on certain runs. I was a swimmer all my life, and after college, I got very involved in weightlifting and higher intensity forms of cardio, like HIIT and athletic conditioning.
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Mobility and strength
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Maybe it’ll schedule you in for a short speedy run, or a longer slower run, or a rest day, depending on what your schedule requires. Yuka is a free health app that you might have already seen people use at grocery stores. You use it to scan barcodes of food and health products to see a breakdown of what’s actually in it. Unlike some other gym apps, Strong doesn’t try and plan your workout for you, bombarding you with suggestions for weights your gym doesn’t have or has a long queue for. So let’s find you the next fitness app you’ll want to download onto your Android phone. Runna has always been a subscription-based service, but even so the two apps will need to move forward carefully to avoid a backlash from both of their user bases as a result of the deal.
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Cross-training and strength training
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You can also transfer the Week 1 workouts to your Garmin device, but once you’re a paying customer you’ll be able to sync two weeks of workouts at a time. The Runna app is available for iOS and Android, and its main function is to give you a personalized training plan for your running. Runna can sync with your Garmin, Coros, Suunto, or Apple Watch, or you can use it without a watch and simply “record” the run by carrying your phone in your pocket or belt.
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Can I talk with someone if I have questions about my plan?
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Then, you can see stat overviews and breakdowns over time to see increases in reps, weights and iteration. AllTrails is an outdoors app for hiking, running and cycling, with a large repository of routes. If you fit the narrow “ideal user” profile, it might serve a temporary purpose. Otherwise, your money and time are likely better invested elsewhere.