Integration of Subjective Data Capture into a Portable Run-Tracking System

Abstract

Injuries such as stress reactions or stress fractures affect runners of all levels and abilities. While past biomedical research has investigated safe strategies for rehabilitating injured runners, a more attractive approach is to discover strategies for injury prevention. Although past research indicates that Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE), which is a self-reported rating of an athlete's effort level during a workout, can estimate strain on an athlete's body, RPE is underutilized outside the laboratory setting. Commercially-available run-tracking systems provide reliable data to help athletes estimate their workout volume, but no current systems enable tracking of the subjective user experience through metrics such as RPE. The present research introduces the Stride system, which captures objective metrics of time, location, altitude, cadence, and heart rate at precision comparable with current systems while providing runners easy-to-use options for recording RPE throughout a workout session. In a pilot study, seven collegiate female distance runners validate Stride as an easy-to-use, comfortable, and customizable system for automated RPE capture. Feedback from these testers suggests that Stride helps fill athletes' demand for an easy, automated way to track subjective data and may help athletes modify their training to manage bodily strain and prevent running injuries.