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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