New iPhone app provides data related to running efficiency

In a crowded market of running related technologies, Kanagarun, a new app for the iPhone, offers runners some specific data that may actually help them improve their stride.

The app only evaluates vertical oscillation, i.e. how much time and distance a runner spends in the air during their stride. It is commonly believed that a more efficient stride is one that doesn’t waste too much energy bounding in the air.

“Exercising without a coach, I was naturally interested in finding a way to independently and easily measure my running efficiency,”Kanagarun developer Enrico Sandoli explained. “In other words, was I using my muscle energy in the best possible way, or was I spending more than was needed to bounce up and down? If that was the case, I was increasing my risk of getting injured, or, at best, I was wasting a lot of energy that I could better employ to go faster.”

Using Kangarun is simple enough: runners affix their iPhone to their waist, launch the app and then take it for a run. The app will then provide numerical feedback at the end, providing the runner with a percentage of energy spent vertically versus the overall amount spent on the run. Kangarun also produces a graph that tracks the runner’s vertical oscillation throughout the run.

Of course, the app is only an informational tool, and it does not provide runners with advise for how to improve running efficiency. Also, the developers suggest using a treadmill to evaluate vertical oscillation because of the constant speed. Running efficiency deteriorates with increased speed as well, so it would be beneficial to evaluate vertical oscillation at different paces.

How to best improve running efficiency is something that is specific to each runner and best evaluated by an experienced coach.

Kangarun (99 cents) can be found in the iPhone’s App Store.