Meet Raceday.me Chat

I've just released Raceday.me live chat, which is the biggest new feature release since the app launched earlier this year.

If you haven't heard of it, raceday.me is a live tracking app for runners with a very special focus on race events like marathons. The main goal of this project is to make running events more accessible for spectators and let them be a part of this very special day. Check out the demo to see it live in action.

Okay, it's a chat. What's so innovative about that?

The app already offers a huge variety of technical data of the race. You can see the last known and the assumed position on the map, detailed splits evaluation, target pace and even a predicted finishing time. Pretty much any information you could get out of the smartphone sensors of a running person. And currently, this flow of information only goes in one direction. From the athlete to the viewer.

The new chat feature takes this to another level. It allows every viewer to communicate with each other or even with the athlete itself before, during and after a race.

use cases

To explain the thought behind it, let me give you an idea of various scenarios that I consider useful.

spectators

Let‘s start with the obvious ones. Spectators can communicate with each other, cheer on the athlete by throwing some confetti into the chat, post photos, some funny gifs or just congratulate the runner when the race is over.

The big fun starts when some spectators are on site and share some exclusive information to the other viewers. That could be anything like weather conditions, photos from the cheer zone or even their exact location to tell the athlete where to expect a little motivational boost from the sideline.

crew

Speaking of location, users near the race track are allowed to tag their message or photos with their current location, which makes it very handy on crewed events like an ultra marathon. The new chat is a good place to keep everyone up to date, especially when the crew is spread over the course.

athlete

The athlete might use the chat to post pictures before the race or inform the viewers with a short recap from the finish area. Or remember an ultra marathon where the runner might need some supporting words during a walking pause or posts some updates from the aid station. It‘s also pretty handy if something unexpected happens, like a DNF or an injury.

One more thing: racebot

To enhance the chat even more, the racebot will inform you about various types of events to give you a more accessible way to follow the race and put other messages into context.

Here is a small overview of what it can do for you:

• provides a small briefing before the event begins
• informs when the app was started or stopped
• posts a message when the athlete starts the race or crosses the finish line
• detects when the runner went off course or took a break
• summarizes every reached kilometer
• reminds everyone not to share the link, if the athlete set the race to be a private stream
• Gives post-race information like f.e. the link to the official results

What do you think about it?

Let me know your feedback and ideas! Tweet me at @stefan_kracht or @raceday_me if you have any questions.

Support

Raceday.me is a very time consuming free time project with practically no income yet. If you like it, please consider supporting the development or help to spread the word by telling your friends about it 🙏

written on 12/27/2019 in raceday