Getting started

What RunCadence can do

RunCadence is your personal running coach in your pocket. You talk to it like a real coach, and it adapts to you.

Here's what it does day to day:

• Builds a real plan around your goal, your weeks, your level, and the terrain you have access to.
• Sends each session to your Apple Watch as a guided workout (warmup, intervals, cooldown, paces) you can follow on the wrist.
• Reviews how it actually went after each session and at the end of each week. Adjusts the next sessions if you're crushing it, fading, or skipped a few.
• Listens to context. Tell it about a knee that's flaring up, a race that just got moved, or a holiday week. It remembers and plans around it.
• Works with or without a Watch. You can log sessions manually if you run with another wearable, or even without one.
• Exports your plan as a PDF and generates a share card after great runs, if you want to post about it.

RunCadence is built for road and trail, for first-timers and experienced runners, with French and English language support.

Creating your first plan

After signing up, open the Coach tab and tell RunCadence what you're training for. The coach will ask a few quick questions and build a plan around your answers.

What it needs to know:

• Goal race or fitness goal (e.g. "marathon in October", "run 3 times a week", "first 10K in three months")
• Target date
• How many days a week you can train
• Terrain you have access to (road, trail, track)
• Your VO2max pace (VMA) — see the VO2max pace section if you don't know it

Plan generation usually takes 2 to 4 minutes because the coach designs each week individually, with the right progression, recovery, and taper for your goal. Don't worry if it feels slow on the first generation, that's the coach actually thinking about your plan.

You'll see the full plan in the Calendar tab as soon as it's ready.

Can I use RunCadence without a goal race?

Yes. Plenty of RunCadence runners don't have a race lined up. Common things to tell the coach:

• "I want to build a consistent running habit"
• "I want to be able to run my first 10K, no race, just to know I can"
• "I want to improve my general fitness"
• "I want to get back into running after a break"

Pick a target date a few weeks or months out. The plan progresses steadily without race-specific sessions. You can always switch to a race plan later by telling the coach about a new goal.

Telling the coach things to remember

The coach remembers what matters about you. The next time you talk, it doesn't ask the same questions twice and it keeps your context in mind when adapting your plan.

Things worth telling it:

• Injuries or sensitive spots (a knee, a calf, an old Achilles)
• Constraints that affect your week (kids' schedule, shift work, travel)
• Preferences (love trail, hate track, prefer long runs on Sundays)
• Specific goals beyond the race (lose weight, feel less anxious, run with a friend)

Just say it naturally in chat. The coach will keep it in mind for future sessions and weekly reviews. If something changes (your knee feels better, you switched jobs), tell the coach again and it'll update.

Picking your coach tone

RunCadence has four coach personalities. You can change yours any time.

• Motivational — high-energy, celebrates every win, fires you up before hard sessions.
• Technical — precise, data-driven, explains the why behind every prescription with numbers and physiology.
• Chill — relaxed, no pressure, talks like a friend who happens to know a lot about running.
• Hard — demanding, no excuses, holds you to high standards.

You pick a tone during onboarding. To change it later, open the Profile tab (or tap your avatar from the Today page), go to Settings, and choose a different tone. The coach picks up the new voice on your very next message.