The support gap is real.
And it moves with every runner.
Runners are the most mobile users of public space — yet the support around them is almost entirely fixed. This page traces where training support breaks down, and why nothing on the market closes the gap.
01 · Running Is Mobile
The most mobile activity meets the most fixed support.
A long run is a continuous, hours-long relocation. Hydration, lighting, first aid and storage are needed at every point along the route — not at the start, not at the finish.
Today those needs are served by a chain of place-bound resources: water fountains, benches, AED cabinets, and aid stations. Between them lie the parts of the route where support simply does not exist.
The runner compensates by carrying the load — on their body, or in their hands. Every gram of that load is energy that should be going into the session.
02 · The Training Support Gap
Four moments, four breaks in the chain.
Walk the journey of a single training session. The same pattern repeats at every stage: the runner is the only moving element, and every tool around them is stationary or strapped to their body.
Route and gear preparation
Apps, manual preparation
Route planning, weather, gear and safety checks live in four different places.
Hydration, lighting, recording
Run belt, watch, phone
Digital tools record; none of them can carry, light, or act alongside the runner.
Locate, alert, respond
Phone, fixed facilities
Position, warning and response are separate manual steps with no continuous link.
Summary and recovery
Multiple platforms
The session, the gear used and the incidents are stored in separate tools.
03 · Existing Alternatives
What runners have today — and where each one stops.
| Alternative | What it does well | Where the chain breaks |
|---|---|---|
| Sports watch | Excellent measurement — pace, heart rate, GPS, training load. | It can only measure. It cannot carry, light, move, or act in an emergency. |
| Running apps | Planning, social features, structured programmes. | No physical presence. Phone in hand or pocket is a weak anchor for attention and safety. |
| Run belt / pack | Carries water and essentials close to the body. | Adds load and chafing; scales poorly with long distances and night sessions. |
| Fixed aid stations | High capacity where they are placed. | Serve specific points. Most of the route and most of the session has no support at all. |
| Fixed AED points | Life-saving where installed. | Every minute of delay reduces survival — reachable only where the cabinet happens to be. |
| Support vehicle | High capacity, professional use. | Road-bound and heavy. Cannot follow onto greenways, parks or trails. |
| Delivery robots | Mature autonomy in urban curb environments. | Built to deliver to fixed points, not to keep pace with a moving person for hours. |
CONTEXTSurvival with sudden cardiac arrest drops by roughly 7–10% for every minute without CPR and defibrillation (American Heart Association CPR & ECC guidelines, 2020). Timing matters — and fixed devices depend on being exactly where the emergency is not.
References
Every claim, traceable.
All market, health and sport data used on this site is drawn from the following public sources. Each figure on every page links back to these references.
- World Health Organization — Global Status Report on Physical Activity 202219 Oct 2022
Global estimates of insufficient physical activity (81% adolescents, 27.5% adults; 1.8 billion adults at risk). - WHO, 2024 — Nearly 1.8 billion adults at risk (2022 data)26 Jun 2024
WHO news release on the 1.8 billion adults figure, based on 2022 global data. - World Health Organization — Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour25 Nov 2020
Recommended activity levels and dose–response evidence for health benefits. - Strava — Year in Sport 20232023
Platform-wide sport activity statistics; running as the most-logged sport. - American Heart Association — CPR & ECC Guidelines 2020Oct 2020
Time–survival relationship for bystander CPR and defibrillation in sudden cardiac arrest. - United Nations — Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3, 9, 11)2015
Official goals and target texts referenced in the Impact section.