iPhone App Tutorial

Congratulations on your download of the RunKeeper application,
here's a walk-through to help you get started!

  • From the main screen, open RunKeeper by selecting the RunKeeper icon.
  • The first screen you will be brought to is the Settings screen.
  • Before doing anything else, click Get Started in the upper right-hand corner of the screen for instructions on how to proceed.
  • This is the text that will come up. You can scroll down on the device to read more
  • Once finished, click Settings in the upper left corner to return to the RunKeeper Settings page.
  • Now enter your email address and choose a RunKeeper password in the text boxes up top.
  • Then click Done in the bottom right
  • This will register you to use RunKeeper and will create your account at runkeeper.com
  • An email will be sent to you with a link you can click on to confirm your registration, and to access your run data on your private web dashboard at runkeeper.com
  • You will not need to click this email link to begin tracking your runs, only to access the data on the web (which you can do at a later time).
  • Once you click Done you will be back on the Settings page.
  • Two other settings to be aware of are Send location data and Miles/Kilometers
  • If Send Location Data is on, each of your completed runs will be sent to your private web dashboard at runkeeper.com where you can store all of your historical runs and see the corresponding routes displayed on a map.
The web dashboard will be your central place to store all of your run data. We highly recommend that you take advantage of this free service, as we will be steadily adding functionality to the dashboard over time.
  • If Send Location Data is off, your runs will be stored on the device under History but will not be sent to the website.
  • Miles/Kilometers allows you to view the data in either Miles or Kilometers by selecting either one.
  • Now you are ready to get started! Click Track Run on the bottom of the screen to begin your fitness activity.
  • This is the Track Run screen which is the main activity screen
  • If the "Determining location" indicator is spinning at the bottom of the screen (as in the picture), the device is trying to lock in on an accurate signal
For best results, you should use the application outside in an area with clear line of sight to the sky. Thick trees, tall buildings, or heavy cloud coverage can sometimes get in the way of GPS reception. Once you are in a good coverage area and hit Track Run, it usually takes 30 seconds or so to determine your location.
  • If the "Accurate Location Unavailable" notification comes up, it means you are not in an area with a strong signal.
  • At this point, you have two options, you can either "Try again" when you are in an area with better coverage.
  • If you "Continue", you will be able to start your run but your trip may not be accurate.
For optimal results, it is best to not "Continue" but to "Try Again" in an area where better accuracy can be achieved. Move away from tall buildings, trees, or thick cloud coverage and find an area with direct line of sight to the sky.
  • Once the device has locked in on a signal, you will know because the "Determining location" indicator goes away (this indicator also goes away if you click continue from the "Accurate Location Unavailable" screen, but this does not mean the device has locked in on a signal).
  • You are now able to start your run by touching the Start button
  • Once you select Start, the clock starts ticking and your total elapsed time (upper right), total elapsed distance (bottom right), current speed (upper left) and current pace (bottom left) will be displayed
  • You can end the run by hitting the Stop button, or pause the run by hitting the Pause button
You may notice sometimes that there is a small lag in displaying updated run data as you exercise. This is due to accuracy measures we put in place to filter out bad data, and you should find at the end of your activity that the totals are quite accurate.
  • If you Pause the run, your activity tracking is paused, and will continue where you left off when you hit Resume
  • Any distance you travel while the run is paused will not be collected.
  • Once you finish your run, hit the Stop button
Pause/Resume can be used if you need to take a break for any reason during our activity. It should be noted that fitness data is not collected during the pause, so any forward progress you have while the activity is paused will not be factored into your run totals.
  • You will now have the option to Save Trip or Discard Trip
  • If you save it, your run will be stored on the device, and will be sent to your private dashboard at runkeeper.com if you have Send location data enabled in the RunKeeper Settings.
  • If you discard it, your data will be discarded and will not be saved anywhere.
When your run data is sent to runkeeper.com, you can login on our website after your activity using the same email/password you entered on the device to view all of your run data.
  • All of your saved runs will be stored on the device, and can be accessed by selecting the History button at the bottom of the screen
While the device saves all of your historical runs, more detailed info can be found at runkeeper.com
  • You can select any run, and the summary data from that run will be displayed.
  • Total elapsed time (upper right), total elapsed distance (bottom right), average speed (upper left) and average pace will be displayed.
  • Each bar on the graph represents a minute during your run, and the height represents your speed during that minute, so you can see how you trended over the course of the run.
  • You can click on any individual bar on the graph and it will display your speed and pace during that minute of the run.

General Tips

  • You can run the iPod in the background but can not run any other 3rd party applications. This is a current limitation of the iPhone device itself.
  • If you leave RunKeeper in the middle of a run (either to open another application or answer the phone), your run will immediately be paused and your activity will no longer be tracked. When you return to RunKeeper, you will have the option to continue where you left off.
  • If the phone rings and you ignore it or dismiss it, your run continues uninterrupted.
  • Before you begin, we recommend you turn Wi-Fi off on the device in order to help improve accuracy. This is not a requirement, but our tests have found that turning Wi-Fi off does tend to improve accuracy slightly.
  • To do so, first click Settings from the main screen.
  • On the Settings page, click Wi-Fi
  • Next to Wi-Fi, make sure the on/off toggle is switched to Off
  • If it isn't, just touch it once
  • This is what you will see once Wi-Fi is switched off