Question about running shoes with built-in tracker

[61Lady]

I have UA running shoes that connect with MapMyRun - the system has really helped me with improving my cadence/pace/stride length.

Today I got an e-mail saying the connection will be discontinued - not until March ‘25 so plenty of time to plan but since I’ll be needing new shoes sometime this year, I wondered if anyone uses similar system but different make of shoe and app ?

Many thanks

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

I can't help at all, they sound really useful though

[61Lady Graduate10 in reply to SueAppleRun]

They are 🙂

I shall just have to make the most of them until they retire.

I’ll look on them a little more fondly in future 😉

[Chinkoflight]

Fascinating, so much so I'll Google it later. I guess it's the platform mapmyrun which is stopping. Did this platform merge or get taken over by another platform a while ago possibly Komoot? It might be possible if you can pick up the Bluetooth signal from the chip and link it to another app or it may just be that this was an idea that hasn't caught on with the rise and rise of the smartwatch.

[61Lady Graduate10 in reply to Chinkoflight]

Thanks for answering.

MapMyRun will continue apparently just no longer connecting to shoes. I don’t really mind as the shoes have been great and quite durable but will need new ones by the summer I expect and I don’t mind trying a different make.

Already got Garmin 245 music but MapMyRun just gave a little extra with in-run feedback and route shown on map seems to be more accurate than Garmin.

[John_W Graduate10]

Most GPS running watches (Garmin, Polar, Coros etc) will give you all that information - so you don't need shoes with sensors in, nor do you need a phone (although always useful for safety reasons).

An entry-level Garmin will be about £100.

[61Lady Graduate10 in reply to John_W]

Thanks for replying.

Already got Garmin 245 music but MapMyRun just gave a little extra with in-run feedback from connected shoes and route shown on map seems to be more accurate than Garmin.

C’est la vie - just have to change but will make the most of the connection for another 2 years 🙂

[nowster Graduate10]

This sort of thing is the reason why a lot of "connected" stuff is not great long term. So many manufacturers don't keep up their cloud servers beyond the minimum time they can get away with (or they go out of business), and when they're switched off the gadget becomes landfill.

[61Lady Graduate10 in reply to nowster]

To be fair it is established tech and they have given 2 year notice of turning it off. I’ll have fun finding different shoes in the summer

[Hidden]

Once I had read your post it made more sense to me.

I saw the title and my initial thoughts were that the shoes contained a location tracker, possibly in case one got lost or stolen!!

I have visions of someone hopping down the street with only one shoe on and staring at a flashing blip on a map on their smartphone hunting for their other shoe.

Yes, I know, I probably need some form of help!!!

[61Lady Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

oh dear - sorry to cause confusion but what a vision/imagination 🤣

[Chinkoflight]

Hi again, I've done my research and I suspect your shoes are the redundant software regarding upgrades. It doesn't mean they will stop working on the app, they will just not provide updates to the software. Like having an old phone. MapMyRun is now, was it always, associated with the brand Under Armour as their fitness tracker. I have to say the thought of a tracker integral to a running shoe only for the life of the shoe is not very sustainable. There are dedicated tracking wearable devices for around the ankle as alternatives to smartwatch which are targeted at higher end athletes if you want probably the next best replacement. They have the advantage of long life batteries , several months, avoiding the necessity to charge frequently and less of course the power draining of a watch. They also give more detailed feedback on your running performance. It was a good question and I enjoyed looking up the concept.

[Chris--B]

I read recently that there are calls for manufacturers of smart devices to provide software updates and support for longer. The article was mainly about smart white goods that lose support for their software long before their service life is over. This can mean that bug fixes and additional functionality or improvements to efficiency etc. are no longer applied. I can understand that providing support for older devices can be expensive for suppliers as their product range increases, but to find a perfectly functioning device stops working just because of software is very annoying.

I have a FitBit Blaze which FitBit stopped providing software updates for quite some time ago. Luckily it still connects to the app and works ok, although I only use it while my FitBit Sense is on charge. When products are sold, there should be a clear statement on how long the device is anticipated to work for, and how long software support and updates will be provided.

With running shoes, it could be argued that their expected life could be no more than a couple of year of continuous use. But, what if you took a break from running for a bit and then went back to it, should the supplier be required to keep support for the software until you wear out the shoes? It looks to be a difficult subject.

[61Lady Graduate10 in reply to Chris--B]

Thanks for replying

Indeed a tricky one. I’m not particularly concerned but just wondered if anyone other than UA/MapMyRun have this type of product. I’ve since learned that Nike do and that links to NRC so I will do a little more research