For many men and women, personal safety inhibits running in public places. Some people carry bulky personal protection devices (such as mace) on their runs, impeding the running experience. Others choose not to run at all, or they stick to local gyms. Kansas City is a popular area for runners, with several nature and city trails. At Dickerson Oxton, LLC, we believe fear shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying our city’s best runs. Whether you’re training for a marathon or simply running for fun in Kansas City, stay safe with these top six apps for runners.
Glympse
Glympse enables users to share their location in real-time with people whom they choose. You can create a Glympse group with family members, friends, or a spouse to let them know where you are at all times. Glympse uses high-tech GPS technology to track your whereabouts and send the information to your group. Your group doesn’t need the app to view your location. You can set the duration of your time to track, sharing with contacts for up to four hours.
RunRaegis
Like Glympse, RunRaegis also tracks your location in real-time. RunRaegis has a panic button that sets off a strobe light and/or alarm when pressed. The panic button sends an automatic alert to the emergency contacts you pre-selected within the app. If you find yourself in an altercation or emergency situation, pressing the SOS button will scare away the attacker and alert your loved ones that you’re in danger. Your contacts can then use the GPS tracker to locate you and return you to safety.
RunSafe
RunSafe has all the elements and functionality of a typical fitness app, such as tracking your distance and personal statistics. You can share your run on social media and choose the version of the app that works best for your training. The built-in safety feature is a panic button that sends an alert to your contacts, plays a loud siren and strobe light, and records several minutes of audio available to your contacts. There’s an additional Community Alert option that allows you to report dangers in your area to others.
Kitestring
On a solo run, you can activate the app Kitestring to check on you periodically. After a certain period of time, the app will tell you to respond to a check-in. If you don’t respond or postpone the action, the app sends an emergency message to contacts of your choice. You can customize this message to say anything you want. The app is web-based, so you don’t necessarily need a smartphone to use it on a run.
Road ID App
Road ID App sends an “e-breadcrumb” of your location to your pre-selected contacts. Contacts of your choice can check on you periodically, viewing your route as you run. If you stop moving for five minutes or go off the path you intended, the app sends you an alert. If you don’t respond to the alert within 60 seconds, the app sends a message to your contacts. This app is especially helpful in situations where you can’t pull out your smartphone and press a panic button, as it works based on your inactivity.
bSafe
The bSafe app enables users to signal for help in moments of danger. At the push of a button, a runner can turn his or her device into a loud alarm. The app also alerts authorities and records video and notifies your contacts of your exact location via GPS.
No matter what app you choose, capitalize on technology to protect yourself from danger during a run in Kansas City. The right app could save your life.