Introducing LogARun x Trackster Integration

In our newest version, users can connect their Trackster account to their LogARun account and automatically forward all posted training there!

While I was in high school, years before Trackster ever existed, I was falling in love with running. I found the non-stop test of endurance and commitment to be a real thrill. I quickly became addicted to seeing my times at races drop as long as I worked for it. One big part of this process of falling in love with the grind was LogARun.

One of our coaches, Lawrence (previously mentioned in the 2020 By The Numbers post), was always hellbent on our team using a training log. He harped on the belief that by posting some synopsis of daily training every day, athletes would build better habits. It would also hold team members accountable as everyone would be able to see what any individual was up to with their training and who was slacking. As a member of the team who was trying to be his best, I simply followed Coach's request whether I really agreed with the thinking or not. Looking back, 10 years later, I can say without a single ounce of doubt that Coach Lawrence was incredibly correct. While putting in a bunch of miles and 'showing up' is an extremely important (probably the most important) component of one's training recipe, the act of keeping a log is invaluable, too.

The wonderful LogARun home page

Keeping a training log does undoubtedly lead to better habits and consistency over time. Implicitly, an athlete will begin to consider, while running, what they're going to post that day. They will want to make sure their log for the day is as good as possible - for themselves, teammates and their coaches - and that they don't have any big gaps in missing training.

Coach Lawrence had our team using LogARun.com, a website founded in the early 2000s by some Depauw University alumni. LogARun is an endearing place for runners to keep track of their mileage. As a millennial who was keen on the newest software technology like Snapchat, Instagram, Uber and more, though, LogARun left a ton to be desired. While LogARun technically did what we needed, for starters, it had no mobile (iOS or Android) version. So, on the bus ride home from a long run we'd have to attempt to maneuver and tip-toe around the Desktop version on Safari on our iPhone with very little chance of successfully uploading our run for that day. Now, it takes an extremely long time to load and is, by 2021 standards, a little janky. There appears to have been no updates to the site at all since I was in high school from 2010-2014.

Some of my posts in November of 2013

I have so much love for LogARun, though. As a biology major and freshman in college, I was curious about iOS app development and began tinkering with the first project I could think of - the LogARun iPhone app. This was in 2015, and while I was unable to get into contact with any of the Depauw creators, I was able to create a functioning app for LogARun. The initial app allowed a user to login, view past and current training, and post whatever they ran that day. I was frustrated that I couldn't change all sorts of things to my liking since I had no access to the LogARun database and behind the scenes technology (the backend) - so I started pondering my own solution.

The LogARun iPhone app in the App Store - since been removed

Over the years this pondering has lead to what Trackster is today - a modern combination of the key components of LogARun (and other older platforms) while offering our own original suite of nifty features, too.

So, it is with great pleasure that I am able to announce that now in the Trackster app, users are able to login to their LogARun accounts and post all training there, too.

Trackster settings to connect to LogARun

Here's how it works

• Go to Profile > Settings > Accounts & click LogARun
• Enter your LogARun username and password, then hit Save
• Upon successfully logging in, Trackster will save your LogARun credentials.
• Post training on Trackster and it will automatically be posted to LogARun, too.
• After connecting your account you can click the LogARun row of the Accounts section again, and import previous training from LogARun to Trackster.

While LogARun is not necessarily the most popular training platform out there, we're really releasing this feature out of pure joy. It's an homage to the journey of building Trackster and love for running. It's been a long time and a long process, but Trackster is poised to help a ton of real, committed coaches & athletes and we're just happy to reflect on our humble beginnings, logging on LogARun. Some people have asked why we don't integrate with some of the larger, more mainstream training platforms and the answer is simple - we want Trackster to be the only option for athletes, coaches and teams.

Anytime we can collaborate with a site as meaningful and legendary as LogARun, though, we gotta make an exception and take that chance.

Thanks for reading!