MARCH–APRIL 2015 INTERACTIONS 41 INTERACTIONS.ACM.ORG we support runners when they are nervously pacing around the room trying to decide what to do with their time when they are injured? Can we help ease the frustrations of families when their lives are starting to be organized according to training programs? What support can we provide when a race is not going as planned? To answer those questions, we are studying and designing for advanced amateur runners—people who devote significant amounts of their time to running but are not professional runners.

ENGAGING WITH RUNNERS

We strived to gain a new understanding
of running and technology and to
deviate from conventional approaches.

Traditionally, HCI understands running in terms of exertion. Past work successfully used this design lens in designing runner-support systems as interfaces that can be used during physical exercise [ 4]. Another strain of research explored approaches to persuade people to take up regular running [ 5]. We focus on the social understanding of running and embrace the bigger picture, which includes not only the runner but also their friends, family, fellow runners, and those cheering them on during races.

We are augmenting the traditional
HCI approach through connecting
with sports research in areas such as
social psychology, and conducting
ethnographic work in the field. We
engage with runner clubs, local athletics
authorities, and runner families to
understand how running affects
everyday life in order to investigate how
technology can fit into daily routines
dominated by running.

For the past two years, we have
worked together with running groups
and race organizers to understand how
technology can help runners. We have
learned how support and competition
stimulate runners, and how races are
key elements in regular training-run
motivation. We observed how runners
squeeze in their runs between their
daily activities and how dependent I M A
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