The Guardian Releases RioRun Interactive App
The Guardian's RioRun app provides an interactive tour of the Rio marathon course.
British media outlet The Guardian has released RioRun, a new interactive app based on the Olympic marathon course in Rio de Janeiro. Designed exclusively for mobile devices, it provides an audio tour of the 2016 racecourse. The experience varies based on the user’s pace and distance during a workout.
The women’s Olympic marathon will be held at 8:30 a.m. ET on Aug. 14, while the men’s race will be held at the same time on Aug. 21 as the last sporting event in the Rio Olympics. The route is the same for both men and women, starting and finishing in the long, narrow Sambódromo open-air stadium (where Carnival celebrations are held every winter) and sending runners on multiple criterium-style loops along Guanabara Bay.
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To get the free RioRun app, use your phone or tablet to access riorun.theguardian.com. Laptop users will be redirected to a related news story.
“As you run (or walk), you’ll hear from the Guardian’s Latin America correspondent Jonathan Watts about Brazil’s struggles to get ready for the world’s biggest sporting event,” says The Guardian’s account. “Hall-of-fame track and field coach Bob Larsen will fill you in on the science and strategy of marathon running. And Guardian editor and tour host, Valerie Lapinski, will bring you the stories behind some of Rio’s biggest landmarks—from the shining lights of the Carnival Sambódromo to the city’s dark past as a major slave port.”
The RioRun experience also features awards and the chance to earn prizes as players complete the full 26.2 marathon distance before the Olympics conclude.