I’m a moderate runner. But for years I wore Saucony running shoes and swore by them.
The company has now partnered with BEAM L.L.C, an interactive marketing and experience design agency, and launched Run4Good, a running app that enables users to run toward collective mileage goals that, when reached, “trigger the doubling of cash donations from Saucony and its corporate partners to fight childhood obesity,” according to a statement.
“After talking to runners, we knew they would welcome an app that enables them to support a great cause every time they hit the road,” said Dave Batista, partner and executive creative director at BEAM. “But to get them to even think about switching from their current app, or to start using one for the first time, we had to deliver the core functionalities they care most about – pace, time, calories burned, and run and route history – more simply than the other apps out there.”
I only half-heartedly track my miles, but this year I drove my running pace down to almost half what it was, and I’d love to know how many calories I now burn, as well as pace and time and all that other stuff.
I’d also like to help fight childhood obesity, which 12.5 million (or 17 percent) of our children suffer from.
Running, charity and technology are behind the new Saucony Run4Good app. Running USA’s 2012 State of the Sport recently noted that Americans are running in record numbers and the rise in charity runners is fueling a second running boom.
And running apps are set to increase more than tenfold by 2016, according to market research firm ABI Research.
Each month, when a predetermined mileage goal is reached, Saucony and its corporate partners will double their donations to selected youth running programs. On the app’s monthly leader boards, runners can challenge friends or form teams that compete to accumulate mileage toward the monthly goal.
On September 5, the free app released for download from the Apple App Store and from http://www.saucony.com/run4good. The Saucony Run For Good Foundation has awarded nearly $1 million in grants to over 100 organizations nationwide in the last seven years, all dedicated to getting more kids to be active.
Edited by
Braden Becker
