Running programme/website

Hello

I am wondering if I could have 5/10 minutes of your time

I am a student at Cardiff University doing an MSc in computing. As part of my dissertation I am required to design and implement a running programme/website to aid in training for running.

The first part of this is to work out what the requirements of the programme should be. I am looking for any suggestions that may be useful in a programme/website.

What I am planning for the programme to do is to record any training runs, with distance and times. To be able to plot a course on a map. To be able to plot an upcoming race on a map, which would then give you elevation information about the route so that you could tailor your training towards that race.

What I am wondering is that if you were using some programme/website what information would you like/require it to hold to aid in your training. Any ideas/help would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

Have a look at the programs / websites that already exist.

Fetch
Map
Garmin connect
Sports tracker http://www.sports-tracker.com/
BiM Active

Personally I like OS maps far more than google maps, much more info that I find useful. Elevation detail is a must and needs to be very good - look at map - the elevation detail is pants.

I'm not disciplined enough to use a training program or website or log my training. I know what I need / want to do each week, I don't feel the need to record that I've done it.

I'd say some important features for some users would be the ability to track their footwear. This would mean that for each run they would state which shoes had been worn and the mileage would be added to that equipment.

This is something that can be done in SportTracks (application rather than website)

The ability to upload GPX/TCX files
The ability to upload directly from a device
To be able to adjust a route after a run (to correct any possible GPS innaccuracies - or extend due to battery failure)

Fetch already include something about shoes - not sure whether it includes W + T, but I wouldn't need a programme to tell me what I know from wearing them myself.  I also know my weekly mileage, so I can easily work out when they're coming close to their limit (in terms of miles) even if I couldn't see / feel it myself just by looking at them.

Most races include an on-line map which shows parking, start, finish, route and water stations.  Many also show the route with elevations so that you can work out your strategy in advance.

A lot of people use Garmin programmes, you log the run on the Garmin, connect and upload the data, so there's no need for anything else.

To be honest, most of what you're suggesting is already available in some form or other, so sorry, but you're not offering anything new or different. 

You might find some people are interested in nutrition, calories used etc, but again, you can get that on other websites already and if you've programmed that info into your Garmin, it will be recorded.