Gearing Up
Runners tend to occupy two distinct camps: There are those who are gear junkies — wearing compression socks, nursing hydration systems, sporting GPS watches, and more — and those who run “naked,” without much more than a pair of shorts and sneakers. Both are valid philosophies, and the degree of running gear one wears is often dependent as much on personality as it is on the terrain in which one runs.
At Finishers Club, we started by addressing the needs of the latter group. We began, and flourished, by providing an integrated place to log race times, PRs, race commentary, and photos. We focused principally on the emotional, experiential part of running. We had a gear-logging section, but it was somewhat perfunctory.
But nonetheless, “Gear” has really resonated with our audience, and users continue to log and update their roster of sneakers, sunglasses, and nutrition preferences. So it was with this affinity for gear in mind that we’ve just re-launched the gear section, while also maintaining a devotion to the fundamental nature of running (unlike Jon Glaser, below).
What changes have we made? Lots.
- Pictures! If a gear item is in our system, you’ll see its picture. It’ll make your virtual locker look seriously great.
- Dropdown goodness. We’ve started indexing as many running items as we can, to make your gear section more fun and visual. So, for instance, if you start typing in “N-I-K” in the shoe section, you’ll see a list of Nike sneakers, and their respective images, in the dropdown menu. If a gear item isn’t yet in our database, you’ll obviously still be able to log it with a placeholder image, and we’ll make sure to have it added to our database ASAP.
- We’ve widened the categories of gear, and added items like jogging strollers, which we know are mission-critical for marathon-running parents.
- We’ve deepened gear categories, and now allow you to log up to 10 gear items within a given category. So go ahead, “upload” your sneaker collection, or log those eight pairs of sunglasses.
- Link-to-buy. Show off your bargain-hunting to friends, or re-buy with ease. We’ve integrated linking to popular retailers, such that a friend or fellow runner can get a quick sense of how much a gear item costs, and see if it makes sense for them, too.
- Star-ratings. Rate you gear, so others can know what to buy, and what to skip.
- Dedicated sharing. We’ve added a separate share button within the gear section, which we think is perfect for Twitter bios, running blogs, LinkedIn profiles, and more.
What’s Next?
We have lots of plans for our gear section, not least of which is to keep it updated and accurate with the latest sneakers, sunglasses, and running watches. As time goes on, we intend to add more specific items like socks, hydration systems, headlamps, and more — so stay tuned! We are also looking to allow you to embed your gear selection within other web products, like personal blogs. With your help, we hope to build our revamped gear section into something truly special, and, perhaps, to enable all of you run just a little bit faster. That’s worth gearing up for.
