10 best running apps to keep you motivated

Best: For Apple Watch

Free to download, optional subscription £47.99 per year

Download for iOS

Download for Android

Strava has become the benchmark for fitness apps, with over 70 million users worldwide. It tracks a range of activities, from canoeing to rollerblading, but it is particularly good for runners and cyclists. The app is probably best known for its "segments", which are small or sometimes very long sections of road or path, defined and named by users. It means that every time you run, you can measure yourself against your last effort on specific sections, helping you to track your training and fitness.

There’s a basic, free version of Strava, which you can use to track your activities and follow your friends’ efforts. But the paid version – which works out at around £4 per month – gives you access to the segments and leaderboards, so you can discover the all-time fastest "athletes", as well as rankings for gender, age group, people who you follow and more. Strava also lets you analyse a wide range of data, including heart rate, power, and cadence, with #statmaps – colour overlays of your GPS route – helping you understand how your elevation or pace may have changed across a run. Plus, you can use the app to find new routes, explore popular places for runners in your local area and set monthly or weekly milage goals. Whether you’re a serious or social athlete, there’s not much you can’t do. Kudos to Strava for a great app.

Best: For interval training

Free to download, optional subscription £9.99 per month or £99.99 peryear

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Anyone who has ever searched for an online training plan will know it’s a bit like dating; there are plenty of options out there but it’s hard – some would say impossible – to find the one that’s right for you. That’s because most of them are stock training plans, designed for the “average” beginner or the “average” sub-four marathoner. Whether you’re at the start of your journey or a seasoned runner, following the right training plan can make all the difference – but only if it is built around you.

Enter TrainAsOne, an AI running coach which learns on the job, helping to create and tailor a training plan based on your data and goals. We loved the fact the plan flexes around you, depending on when and how long you want to train, and automatically adjusts for any missed or off-plan workouts. It also means you can work towards multiple races, so if you have a packed race calendar it will help you peak at the right times and reduce the likelihood of injury.

We downloaded and used the app with an ultramarathon in June in mind, but you don’t need to be running far to take advantage. It was easy to sync to other apps and we enjoyed the variety of the sessions it suggested, from long runs to threshold runs and perceived-effort assessments. On registering, everyone receives a 21-day free trial, before electing to carry on with a subscription (£9.99 per month) or the free service. If you do decide to pay, you get extended plan detail, pace and heart-rate based workouts, sessions adjusted for weather or elevation, and advanced run analysis. This is a smart app, providing an even smarter way to train.

Best: For finding new routes

Free to download, optional subscription £3.49 per month or £21.49 per year

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Download for Android

Footpath is the perfect app if you love creating and exploring new routes. In simple terms, this handy app allows you to map routes with your fingers, helping you to plan your next adventure in seconds. Unlike some similar apps on the market, Footpath has coverage for the entire world, with detailed maps that clearly delineate between roads and footpaths, making it much easier to find unknown trails and quiet streets. It also measures distance and elevation, so you know how far you're going and how many hills there are until home, even if you're offline.

We found the app easy to use and incredibly responsive, with the route snapping to roads and trails as you draw. The maps were accurate and up to date, while the distance and elevation estimates were spot on every single time. The app is free to download, with users able to save up to five routes without paying. A subscription (£3.49 per month) gets you unlimited saved routes, route editing, topographic maps, premium overlays to show features such as bike lanes, and the ability to export to GPX and other files. Plus, if you don't like looking at your phone while you're out, you'll love Footpath Elite's voice directions, which tell you when you need to turn (although it's worth noting the feature is for iPhone and Apple Watch users only, currently).

Best: For long-distance

Free to download, subscription £2.99 per month or £29.99 per year

Download for iOS

Download for Android

We were introduced to OS Maps on a group trail run back in 2018. We already knew about the traditional print maps – but what we didn’t know was that the brand has moved into the digital age, creating a knockout app which brings the UK to your fingertips. For £2.99 per month, OS Maps offers digital access to over 600 maps so you can discover, plan or follow routes. The app is extremely responsive, providing a detailed picture of roads, footpaths, green spaces and landmarks.

We found the "premium topo" setting (which is the most detailed map) made planning routes a dream, helping us to discover new footpaths and trails that we’d run past hundreds of times but never connected. The "greenspace" map, meanwhile, made it easy to identify parks and other areas that are just that bit nicer to run in. The app also enables you to download your maps offline before you set off, adding that little bit of reassurance if you’re not sure you'll have signal, or you're worried about your data limit. There’s also a snazzy aerial 3D feature, which allows you to fly-through a route and get a good understanding of the terrain, viewpoints and points of interest. If you like exploring new routes and getting out into the countryside, there is no better training partner.   

Best: For voice navigation

Free to download, optional subscription £1.99 per month

Download for iOS

Download for Android

RunGo boldly describes itself as the “most popular running app for discovering the best routes in the world with turn-by-turn voice navigation”. We are fans of finding new places to run but have a tendency to get lost, so we couldn't wait to try it.

We loved the fact that the app not only allows you to build your own routes using your finger, but also includes over 500,000 routes created by local runners along with live instructions of where to go and when to turn. There are also verified routes (such as the London marathon) and voice-guided tours, which provide you with information about nearby landmarks as you pound the pavements. And you can see the usual statistics like time, pace, distance and elevation.

Perhaps even more importantly, given Covid-19, RunGo also has a virtual mode that allows you to run famous courses, wherever you are. Plus, the app is used by race organisers (to build audio-guided courses), as well as hotels and resorts (to supply their guests with custom maps). We found that footpaths and trails were slightly less easy to spot on RunGo's maps, but we were seriously impressed with the navigation and additional features.

The app is free to download, offering voice navigation and the ability to create routes to all users. For £1.99 a month, you can also export to GPX, find more verified runs, sync runs with your Strava account and set up live tracking.