Kyle
Fitness startups are always great. Everyone wants to get fit, stay fit and monitor their fitness regimen. A startup in Chicago called WalkJogRun has a website and app that helps anyone who runs, walks, jogs, hikes and cycles, monitor their exercise, map their routes and track their progress.
As a compliment to their web and mobile app platform WalkJogRun also has a blog and podcast that provides inspiration to those using their platform. They also offer tips, as well as healthy recipes.
Whether you are a casual jogger, mall walker or you’re training for a marathon, WalkJogRun’s robust platform can cover your workout and be your walking, jogging and running companion.
The precursor to what WalkJogRun has become was originally created by co-founder Adam Howitt. Howitt was living in Atlanta and training for the PeachTree 10k when he got fed up with just doing quarter miles in the parking garage. He tells us in an interview below, that he created the first iteration of WalkJogRun in 2002.
Howitt’s co-founder Jeff Kenny redesigned Howitt’s original website as a surprise back in 2003 and then they realized that WalkJogRun could be beneficial to many running enthusiasts. This was of course, way before the fitness app boom, and GPS tracking boom that we’re currently experiencing.
The Chicago based startup has made plenty of refinements over the last 10 years to what the website and app have become today.
We got a chance to interview WalkJogRun. Check out the interview below:
What is WalkJogRun?
WalkJogRun is a website and mobile app that helps runners, walkers, cyclists, hikers and anyone interested in fitness map their exercise routes and track their progress. WalkJogRun has a blog and podcast that offers workout motivation, shares inspirational stories and healthy recipes for our members. WalkJogRun can help you see your progress over time and find new places to workout, which keeps fitness exciting. WalkJogRun also has event pages with thousands of race listings. You can find upcoming races and register for them right from the site.
In layman’s terms, how does it work?
WalkJogRun is super easy to use. Our app allows you to track your workouts wherever you are from the palm of your hand. You can track routes with our GPS (which is the most accurate when compared to other running apps) create routes, or find routes created by others nearby or at your vacation destination. The app has 23 training plans created by Coach Jenny Hadfield that will help you get off the couch and running your first 5k. We also have plans for the 10k, half marathon and full marathon at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.
Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
Adam Howitt created the first version of the site back in 2002 in Atlanta when he trained for the Peachtree 10k and got fed up of doing quarter mile loops around the parking garage at his apartment complex. Adam grew up in Stockport, England enjoying a diverse sports background in tennis, rugby, football and even bowling! Adam has a Masters of Software Engineering from the University of Sheffield and has been programming since his first computer, an Oric-1, in 1983 for his 9th birthday. Adam was recruited from a management training course by Procter & Gamble for an internship and worked as an Account Executive for the Professional Cleaning & Hygiene Division upon graduation. Adam relocated to Chicago in January 2000 to begin work in Information Systems and began working on web applications. In 2002 he moved to Atlanta and led a team of developers in the creation of an inventory management system for a swimming pool company. In his spare time he ran a local developer user group and, through this network, was hired as a Senior Application Architect for Duo Consulting in Chicago where he became fluent in AJAX and JavaScript techniques that underpin WalkJogRun.net to this day. He also met co-founder Jeff Kenny at Duo and together they built version 3 of the site in 2005 which was featured by the Wall Street Journal as one of the first applications of a new breed of Google Maps mashups.
Jeff grew up on the Northwest side of Chicago and attributes his down-to-earth, no BS approach to running a business to his midwestern upbringing. He started his first company in 1995 – a web design and development shop – while earning his BFA from the American Academy of Art. It grew from 2 employees to 50 in just under 2 years, with clients ranging from NYC to San Francisco. The company was later sold to Duo Consulting, where Jeff stayed on as part of the team.Adam left Duo in 2007 to start his own consulting firm specializing in helping organizations use Google Analytics to get the most out of their visitors. Jeff left consulting in 2008 to begin in-house work at another Chicago startup where he serves as partner and creative director, and spends the rest of his time working on WalkJogRun (and raising 3 awesome kids with his wonderful wife).
In 2008 Adam attended an iPhone developer seminar and left with a mission to bring WalkJogRun to the iPhone. He taught himself iPhone development and by May 2009 the app launched. Since then over 1,200 hours of development across 4 releases have evolved the app into an essential tool for every walker, jogger or runner.
Where are you based?
We are based in Chicago, IL.
What’s the startup scene/culture like where you’re based?
There are so many tech startups in Chicago. It seems like every week a new startup is launching. Builtinchicago.org is a great resource for tech startups to connect with other tech startups. Tech Cocktail (started in Chicago, but now in many other cities) is another great resource for entrepreneurs to connect. 1871, which opened it’s doors in May of 2012 is an amazing addition to the Chicago startup scene – bringing together entrepreneurs, universities and venture capitalists.
How did you come up with the idea for Walkjogrun?
WalkJogRun began when Adam was training for his first 10k road race. He was tired of running laps around his parking lot and wanted to know exactly how far he was going. He built the website, and later Jeff redesigned it as a surprise. We then realized that the site could be useful to others and made it public in 2003, which made WalkJogRun the first website on the internet to let you map your exercise routes.
How did you come up with the name?
We’d love to say it was something we mused over for a long time but in all reality it just came out of the purpose of the site. The site used to say walk. jog. run. or bike or drive or… whatever
We understood people who walked or jogged or ran could use it and the word order made sense since it’s slow to fast. We searched for the domain name shortly after and found the .net version. We’ve gone a couple of rounds since then with the .com owner but they’ve never expressed an interest in selling and, for the last 7 years, have continued to insist that the site will someday be used. It’s a shame since I’m sure many potential visitors are lost by trying to go directly to walkjogrun.com but hopefully some day we’ll figure that out.
What problem does Walkjogrun solve?
Many people lack motivation to workout. Our website and app serves as a motivational tool because you can see how far you’ve come over time. You can also share your workouts over Facebook and Twitter to get motivation and encouragement from your friends and family. Mapping your routes allows you to see exactly how far you’ve gone. It may surprise you that you’ve actually gone further than you thought!
What’s your secret sauce?
We created a GPS in our iPhone and iPad app that is the most accurate when compared to a Garmin device. Other running apps have not yet solved the problem of inaccurate GPS readings. We are also the only running app that has been specifically designed for the iPad that lets you track routes using a GPS and create routes straight from the app. These are huge factors that make us different from our competitors. Another aspect of our “secret sauce” is we use the website and app daily ourselves. Almost all of the updates to the site have been based on what we needed ourselves as runners and walkers. Since the WalkJogRun team is made up of runners and walkers, we understand what can make the site and app better. When fans ask for a new feature, we understand the value it can add.
What’s one dilemma you’ve encountered in the startup process?
The Android crisis. Basically we have a lot of feedback about the need for an Android app and have tried to get something moving three times now. We tried to pay someone to build the Android app but the issue is that with limited resources the type of help we have found have been unable to commit the same kind of passion we have for the iPhone app development process (done in-house) and as a result the projects have limped along. We’re also a little ambivalent about the process in light of the continued reports that people who get free phones on contract are less apt to purchase apps (our iOS app is $4.99) so we feel like it’s a huge gamble to invest in the Android platform in terms of our return on that investment. We tried a kickstarter project to help out but that wasn’t funded either. Our own in-house data (and data collected from some of Adam’s clients’ sites) suggests iOS outnumbers Android visits almost 5:1. We’ve still not got the clarity we’d hoped for but at least the current Android project appears to be moving again.
What’s one challenge you’ve overcome in the startup process?
We’ve always been a bootstrapped organization coding in our spare time, working late nights with the site paying for the pizza and covering the cost of the servers. We hired our first full time staff member, Caitlin, in January and since then it’s become evident that we need more time to improve the site. Until recently Adam had wanted to work full-time on the site but didn’t have the revenue to make the switch but during a run he had an epiphany that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. He’s shifted his consulting business to 3 super-productive days a week leaving 2 days per week to get more time for the site and the app. His consulting business has a sharper focus and both the site and the app are benefiting from a similar focus.
Who are some of your mentors and business role models?
Jason Fried of 37signals has been a significant influence in the business. Both Adam and Jeff followed Jason’s writing on the 37signals blog and his books. John Gruber has been instrumental in Adam staying current in the mobile development market trends and Steve Jobs was, and remains, an inspiration for developing a business that succeeds.
What’s next for WalkJogRun?
Despite its maturity, the app still has room to grow and we’ve got some great ideas in the queue that will blow runners away. Over the years the site has grown a little stagnant (but still functional) and with the extra development hours available with Adam working part time, we’re doubling down to re-establish our position as the best mapping site online for runners by updating the existing tools and adding more to meet the needs of a changing technological landscape. We’re working on an API to make it possible for third party developers to integrate other services with the WalkJogRun tools.
Linkage:
Nibletz is the voice of startups “everywhere else” here are more startup stories from Chicago
We’re on a sneaker strapped, nationwide startup roadtrip here’s more info on that
