Unique Running Apps for Your Smart Phone

Written by
Amanda Casanova
Some weeks it's not easy to lace up your shoes and hit the road for a run. While watches and traditional running apps provide insights into workouts and races, sometimes runners need something different to inspire them—like an app that has you running from zombies or one that features encouragement from your spouse. If you're looking to add some fun to your runs, try one (or more) of these apps for the extra inspiration to get out and get running.
Motigo
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You're at mile five of your first half marathon, and the finish line seems an awfully long way away. Or maybe it's a quiet stretch on the course, and you're feeling disheartened. With Motigo, your discouragement is met with the voices of your loved ones. The app plays the recorded "cheers" at determined mile markers during races and workouts.

Launched in early 2015, Motigo is the perfect app for family and friends to send well wishes to their favorite runner when they can't be there for race day.

Motigo is free to download, but sending recorded cheers costs $1.99 for a single cheer or $7.99 for five cheers. At this time, Motigo is only available on iOS.
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BitGym
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Does the humidity and high temperatures have you training indoors on the treadmill? Add some fun to the machine routine with BitGym. This app uses the front-facing camera on your tablet or smartphone to detect your movement and digitally puts you in a scenic environment for your run.

BitGym has more than 65 tours from across the globe, including the streets of New York, the New Zealand coast and the mountainous Swiss Alps. In 2015, the company behind the app, Active Theory, Inc., was named to Entrepreneur Magazine's Top 100 Brilliant Companies for the exercise app.

BitGym charges a monthly fee of $7.99 and is available on iOS and Google Android.
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Zombies, Run!
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If you're bored with running apps that simply cue you with your pace and mile markers, consider Zombies, Run! your rut-buster. The app drops you into an adventure story where you must gather supplies, run from the undead and, oh yeah, save humanity.

The app provides a mission to complete, which only running can accomplish, or you can create your own mission for interval training. Hear the drama unfold (and the groans of nearby zombies) through your headphones as you race through each mission.

The app has an adventure mode and a mode for training for a 5K.

Zombies, Run! is available on iOS and Google Android. A monthly subscription is required for $2.99, which provides access to one mission per week. The pro version, $19.99 per year, includes unlimited access to missions and interval training workouts.
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The Walk
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From the makers of Zombies, Run! comes The Walk, a fitness tracker game that puts you in the middle of a spy thriller. While this app isn't particularly geared toward running, this is a good way to stay fit while recovering from sickness or taking a day off.

In the game, a bomb explodes, and you're given a package that may save the world. The goal is to stay alive and avoid capture by walking the length of the United Kingdom and figuring out who set off the bomb.

The Walk is available on iOS and Google Android for $2.99.
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Charity Miles
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Charity Miles is an app that allows walkers, runners and cyclists to earn corporate sponsorships from companies such as Humana and Timex Sports. The money raised by your workouts is donated to the charity of your choice.

Users can choose from a number of charities, such as Habitat for Humanity, Wounded Warrior Project and the World Wildlife Fund, earning 10 cents per mile for bikers and 25 cents for walkers and runners. The app is a great way to get moving for a good cause.

Charity Miles is free on both iOS and Google Android.
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Find your next
race.