Zwift aim to revolutionise indoor running

You might have heard of Zwift, who have revolutionised indoor cycling. Well guess what? They are set to do the same for the treadmill!

Zwift, the fitness platform born from gaming, has expanded its product offering to the running community with the launch of Zwift Run Free Access. Until this week Zwift Run was an Alpha product, available only to paying members of its indoor cycling service. Zwift Run will be now offered free of charge to everyone, in the run up to a subscription service roll out, scheduled for late 2018.

So, how does it work? Have a watch of this short video, which explains it:

Since launch in 2014, Zwift has revolutionised the indoor cycling market. The community driven fitness platform has connected half a million cyclists worldwide to socialise, train and race in its rich virtual 3D environments. This January the Zwift community logged an average of 1 million miles (1.61 million km) per day, with major events attracting up to 3,500 participants. Zwift is now set to shake up the indoor run market in the same way by providing the most complete training solution for runners around the globe.

“Zwift Run is fantastic news for the running industry. In 3 years we’ve transformed the indoor cycling space by making the home ‘turbo trainer’ a super desirable product to own and an essential part of a cyclists training regimen. We’re going to give the same make-over to the treadmill.” commented Eric Min, Zwift CEO and Co-Founder. “Whether at home or in the gym, Zwift Run will make your indoor running experience more social, more motivating, more structured and more measurable.”

Zwift’s success in cycling originates from the massive multiplayer technology of the gaming industry and a track record of building huge online training communities. To date, Zwift has given birth to over 150 Facebook community groups of up to 45,000 members, spanning pro athletes in search of the very best training experience, to everyday consumers looking for greater motivation to get fitter and faster.

Research points toward Zwift being able to boost participation in the fitness industry. To date, members of Strava, the social network for athletes, signing up to Zwift, on average, cycle 10% more per annum.

“We know many of our athletes are working out indoors as well outdoors, and Zwift has helped make indoor workouts more fun and motivating for many of our members,” notes David Lorsch, Strava’s VP of Strategy and Business Development. “Many of our new members are runners and we’re excited that runners on Zwift can now share their runs with their friends on Strava.”

Cyling expertise

Already one of the largest event organisers in cycling, Zwift plans to bring its mass participation events to running. Training rides of 1,000+ cyclists are commonplace on Zwift.

“We will create partnerships with real world event organisers which build online training communities in the run up to in real life events. A Zwift training plan should be part of signing up to a 10km, Half Marathon or Marathon.” commented Eric Min, Zwift CEO. “Modern day consumers are super busy, time poor and in need of extra motivation. Working out with others from the comfort of your home or gym is super motivating, providing greater accessibility for runners in search of the best training experience.”

Zwift Run will feature a library of training plans tailored to runners of all abilities and need states. Zwift’s ‘Workout Mode’ is visually motivating, making nailing those intervals even more rewarding. Group Runs are broken down by pace, so Zwifters can find a run that best suits their needs. Zwift’s ‘gamified’ experience also challenges members to earn experience points and move up levels to unlock virtual goods. Zwift is collaborating with a number of running industry brands like New Balance and Hoka to bring in-real-life footwear and apparel to its virtual world.

Integration with Strava, allows Zwifters to share runs with their community of friends, recording virtual miles and keep record of best times across Strava segments. As of February, virtual miles recorded in Zwift can also count towards Strava challenges.

Zwift Run is compatible with all treadmills by using Bluetooth or ANT+ footpods. Footpods are connected to iOS devices, Apple TV, or laptop/desktop computers and calibrated to the treadmill speed in the Zwift App. A rising number of Bluetooth ready treadmills such as the TechnoGym MyRun treadmill can also connect directly to Zwift, without the requirements of footpod.

Speaking on the launch of Zwift Run, Nicola de Cesare, Digital Division Director for TechnoGym, said: “TechnoGym believes in connected wellness. Our offer, centered on the MyWellness open cloud platform, is a complete ecosystem of smart connected equipment surrounded by content and services to provide unique and engaging training experiences.”

“Now, TechnoGym’s MyRun and MyCycling compatibility with Zwift allows both runners and cyclists to enjoy the very dynamic, engaging and interactive environment of the Zwift platform with a consistent training experience across the two products.”

Essentially a Beta product, Zwift and the user community will further refine the run app in 2018, adding new product components and expanding the current schedule of events, races, and group workouts.

Zwift Run Free Access can be downloaded from www.zwift.com or via the App Store.