RunKeeper Pro is FREE Until January 31, 2011 – Save $10

RunKeeper Pro, a hugely popular smartphone fitness application which employs GPS to keep track of –

• how far you ran
• how fast you travelled
• your running route – overlaid on a map
• and much more

is now free, through the end of January, 2011.

Features (from the site):

Activity Tracking – No need for an expensive, standalone fitness tracking device when you can use your iPhone 3G or 3GS to do the same thing. Now you can track how far you went, how long it took you, and the route you traveled right from your iPhone

Personal Dashboard – Store all historical activities on runkeeper.com, where you can keep track of totals and monitor your progress

Maps integration – See the exact path you traveled on a map, both on the device and on our website

Activity Sharing – Share your activities with friends via email, or by posting them to your favorite social sites, including Facebook and Twitter

Music – You can listen to the iPod during your activity, and even change tracks without leaving the RunKeeper application

iPod Integration – Choose one of your iPod playlists to start automatically the moment you begin your activity

Audio Cues – Get time or distance-based updates through your headphones during your activity

Interval Workouts – Create a workout built from intervals of time and/or distance, and let the audio cues coach you every step of the way

Target Pace – Enter a target pace at the start of your activity and get coached on whether you are ahead/behind that pace through your headphones

Geo-tagged Photos – Take photos without having to stop your activity. Photos are geo-tagged so when you view them on RunKeeper.com, they appear on the map right where you took them

Splits – You can see your split times in the app as you do your activities

Manual Activity Input – You can enter activities manually, including runs done on a treadmill or without your iPhone

Requirements: Smartphone – iPhone or Android.

Download at: RunKeeper

Having once been a running enthusiast (now, walking is much more my speed), I certainly recall the rather crude devices we once used to calculate running distances, calories burned, and so on. Back then, this application would have sounded like science fiction.

If running is your thing (and you’re a smartphone user), this application should help keep you on track.

I’ll get back on my soapbox (just for a moment), and recognize RunKeeper as one more mature software developer who’s focusing on the big picture – creating an opportunity for significant numbers of users to benefit from an application giveaway. Not 5 or 10 free licenses, as companies who are stuck in a Twentieth Century marketing mode, continue to do.

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