As good stewards of the running community, it pains us deeply when we learn of fellow-runners being murdered, involved in hit & run incursions with vehicles, or succumbing to injury or illness while out on a run. We want our endurance sport community to be directly connected with their friends during their independent exercise – but the market did not provide a smartphone app that would allow loved ones to monitor their athlete and receive in-the-moment alerts should their loved one need help.

This is why we invented RunBuddy! 

Here’s how RunBuddy is unique:

• It’s free to download – anyone can be a “buddy”. 
• We’re economical – alert features only cost $9.99 per year or .99-cents per month.
• Automatically notifies up to 5 “Buddies” when you begin and safely end your exercise.
• Be monitored when you want to, by who you want to – only the Buddies you select can view your location and receive alerts – for utmost privacy. 
• Digital Panic Button for immediate calls for attention. 
• Automatically sends trouble alerts to your “Buddies” if you stop moving, are moving too quickly, or your phone is smashed – getting you immediate attention, rather than waiting for a 3-hour countdown or a Good Samaritan to possibly find you. 
• Scott & Ruthie Sutter own RunBuddy. Not some stock traded corporation.

1. The User: As long as your phone has cell reception, your buddies are your safety net.
2. Concerned Loved Ones: RunBuddy eases the anxiety of your loved ones while you are out.
3. Coaches: Helps make sure that your team is safe while they’re out for long-runs or rides.

Of Course! RunBuddy is always free to download. This way anyone with a smartphone can be a “Buddy”. The alert features, found in the subscription version of RunBuddy, are always free for your first 7-days!

Yes! RunBuddy will keep track of your mileage, total time, and per mile pace for each of your activities!

RunBuddy triggers this alert automatically. We built this alert if you are unable to hit the panic button in case of:

• Medical emergency (ie; heart attack, stoke)
• You have fallen and may be too hurt or unconscious.
• You’ve been ambushed.

You can adjust the stationary time limit to alert between 1-minute to 10-minutes. The alert time limit is adjusted using the slide bar in the “Select Buddies” screen.

Yes! Just hit the “pause” button! By activating the pause, the stationary/low speed alert will not trigger for 2-minutes. We don’t want the pause to be indefinite, in case something happens while RunBuddy is paused. Your “buddy” will also see a note on their screen that you have activated the pause button – this way they don’t get anxious when they do not see you moving. 

The over-speed alerts is an automatic alert that RunBuddy will trigger if you are suddenly moving too fast.

For instance, let’s say your loved one is out for a walk… but they suddenly appear to be doing 40-miles per hour. Odds are they are now in a car and may have been abducted – so we built in the over-speed alert to let their Buddies know. 

The Panic Button is a manually activated alert that is designed to get the immediate attention of your Buddies. At any moment, if you feel unsafe or too sick or injured – hit the Panic Button.

We itentionally did not link the Panic Button to 911. Reason being, we do not want you to hesitate asking for help – because you are not sure if your situation is a true 911 scenario.

Listen to your gut. Hit that Panic Button.  

RunBuddy will recognize that it hasn’t seen your phone. Depending on the setting you selected, after 1-10 minutes, RunBuddy will send an in-app alert to your Buddies. Once your phone reconnects to the network, the stopwatch will correct itself and your Buddies will once again be able to follow you. 

This “Loss of Contact” alert also acts as a fail-safe in case your phone is broken – either accidentally (ie; you were struck by a car) or intentionally (ie; attacker smashes your phone). 

Step 1: Download RunBuddy in Google Play (Android users) or the Apple Store (Apple users).

• The initial download is free and provides the ability for anyone to be a “buddy.”

Step 2: Order the subscription, paid monthly ($0.99) or annually ($9.99).

• All of the alert functionalities are built into the subscription version of RunBuddy.
• Both RunBuddy monthly and annual subscriptions come with a 7-day free trial. 

Step 1: Invite friends to join RunBuddy!

• Since the alerts are sent via in-app messaging, whoever you want to be one of your “buddies” allowing them to receive your alerts and watch you in real time – they need to have at least the free-version of RunBuddy downloaded on their phone. 
• Using the “Invite Friends” tab in the RunBuddy menu, ask a few friends that you trust to download the free version of RunBuddy, which will allow them to be your Buddy.
• Pro Tip: In your phone’s contacts, make sure that a “1” does not appear prior to the area code of your friend’s cell phone number. 

Step 2: Choose the activity you want to do (listed below), then hit “Next”:

• Walking
• Running
• Bicycling

Step 3: Choose your “Buddies”!

• RunBuddy will ask for permission to look at your contacts.
• The app needs this info in order for you to select your buddies.
• We are not collecting your contact data for purposes beyond making the app work.
• Select up to 5 buddies from the list that populates – which might take a moment, if you have a bunch of contacts in your phone. 
• Saving you time, the next time you start an activity, anyone you ever selected as a “buddy” will appear immediately at the top of the list – so you won’t have to wait for all of your contacts to load.
• Hit the “Next” button. 

Step 4: Start your activity!

• Hit the “Start” button.
• Once you hit “Start”, your buddies will receive an in-app alert letting them know you have started a walk, run, or ride.
• If you need to stop for a moment to tie your shoe, go to the bathroom, etc – the “Start” button turns into the “Pause” button. When you hit the “Pause” button, the clock will continue to count, but the alerts will be disabled for 2-minutes or until you hit the “Start” button again. 

Step 5: End your activity!

• Once you’re done, hit the “End” button. 
• An automatic in-app alert will be sent to each buddy letting them know you’re done.

Step 6: Check out the “Activity History” section, where details of your activity are stored.

We only need this information in order to make RunBuddy function as intended.

Contacts: In order for you to be able to select your “buddies”, RunBuddy will pull the contacts on your phone into the app. You select your buddies. As long as your buddy has downloaded the free buddy-version of RunBuddy, they will be able to see your activity and receive in-app alerts. Your buddies will not see you before you begin your activity, nor after. Only the buddies you select will be able to see your location and receive in-app alerts. 

Location Tracking: In order for the automatic alerts to function (low/no speed, overspeed, and loss of contact), RunBuddy needs to see you and know how fast you are or are not going. You initiate RunBuddy’s location tracking when you begin your activity. Location tracking is only on during your activity. Only the buddies you select will be able to see your exact location during your activity. Location tracking ceases when you end your activity. 

Your personal information will not be shared with 3rd party marketers – ever. 

Totally cool! Try this simple fix:

1. First make absolutely sure that your friends did download at least the free version of RunBuddy to their phones. 
2. Close the RunBuddy app. 
3. Go into your phone’s Contacts.
4. Make sure a “1” does not appear in front of the area code of your friend’s cell phone number. If there is a “1”, delete it. 
5. Save the updated number in your phone’s contacts. 
6. Reopen the RunBuddy app. 
7. Attempt to begin an activity… and everything should work!