Student stories: Running for the right reasons with Runkeeper

Hello! My name is Ramneet Gill and I am a pre-registration pharmacist at Guy’s & St. Thomas’ Trust; I am also Graduate Officer for the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA).

Recently, my friend tagged me in the popular Instagram challenge to run 5k, donate £5 and tag five friends. I was quite nervous about running 5k as the last time I had gone running was two years ago when I had an eating disorder. I am now recovered and have a healthier mentality towards food and exercise, but it did not stop me from feeling apprehensive about running once again. After some online research and talking to friends, I downloaded the FREE Runkeeper app to help ease me back into running. In the past, I had downloaded Strava but found it difficult to use, however Runkeeper has been easier to use and simpler to navigate.

Runkeeper allowed me to set myself a 5k target which helped ensure that I did not exceed this distance. Also, Runkeeper syncs with Spotify which meant I ran whilst listening to my favourite Spotify playlist; having upbeat and positive music blaring into my ears made a huge difference! At the end of my run (which consisted of walking too haha), Runkeeper asked me how I felt and how it went. I love that the app has this function as I was able to mentally collect my thoughts and document them, alongside a selfie of my sweaty face! Runkeeper also offers training plans, from wanting to run 5k to planning a marathon for next year, by which it sets you targets. Also, there are group challenges available if you need some support and motivation!

Now that I am comfortable with running and enjoy it, I use Runkeeper to help me keep track of my physical and mental progress. Lastly, my top advice for using Runkeeper is: “Try not to rely on the app too much and become fixated on statistics, run for the right reasons!”