Racefinder
Event discovery app for runners
Overview
Problem
Finding races leaves much to be desired.
Despite the growing popularity of running events, discovering and registering for races remains a fragmented and inefficient process. Existing platforms lack robust filtering options, making it difficult for runners to find relevant events based on location, distance, or difficulty. The absence of a dedicated mobile solution further compounds the problem, requiring users to navigate multiple sources to gather essential race information.
Goal
Create an app targeted at the running community that allows runners to find and book races in their area directly from their smartphones.
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How can we create a meaningful experience that helps runners plan their upcoming races more effectively?
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Research
Gaining insights from runners
As much as I would have loved to solve one of my personal frustrations, the first thing that needed to be done was to find out if I'm the only one experiencing the same struggles or there are others out there resonating with me. Prior to the interviews, I made sure the people I talked to were engaging in physical activities regularly and liked participating in competitive events.
Most people agreed that the race-booking process is longer than necessary.
This thing alone gave me the green light to carry on with my research.
Findings
Primary Research: Direct User Engagement
Pain points when trying to register for a race:
- → Information Fragmentation – Runners struggle to find race details in one place.
- → Inefficient Registration – Signing up for races requires navigating multiple external sites.
- → Limited Filtering Capabilities - No existing platform allows users to search based on essential attributes like race length, difficulty, or proximity.
- → Lack of a Mobile-First Experience - No dedicated mobile app exists for streamlined race discovery.
Secondary Research: Market & Competitive Analysis
Casual Runners
Occasionally participate in 5K/10K events but struggle to find relevant races.
Competitive Runners
Regularly train and participate in multiple events annually.
Social Runners
Engage in races with friends, clubs, or organizations.
Devoted Runners
Long-distance enthusiasts who require detailed event data and advanced filtering options.
Personas
Defining users
After researching, I created two personas that best shape the potential users of this app, along with their needs and frustrations. Throughout the rest of the design process, I focused on solving their problems and come up with improvements.
Ideation & wireframing
Leveraging insights from research, I sketched initial concepts focusing on:
- → Interactive Map – The app's central feature, displaying pinpoints for upcoming race locations.
- → Search Filters – Customizable options for race type, distance, and date range.
- → Dual-View Feature – The option to switch between map view and expandable cards.
- → Race History – A dedicated page for race history.
Layout refinements
After testing the wireframes with a handful of people, I updated the design according to the feedback. Most of the layout was kept with a few changes:
- → Continue without login [removed] - Guest mode was dropped as it prevents data retention, which most users prefer.
- → Search filters [updated] - The race length and proximity were kept, however "difficulty" was removed (too subjective). Added start & end date filter for time-based searches.
- → Expandable cards [simplified] - Expandable cards were replaced with clickable ones due to text overload. Clicking on a card now leads to a race details page with registration and invite options.
- → Logo and Toggle [moved] - Both were shifted to the top to avoid overlapping with navigation.
Mid-fidelity prototype
High-fidelity prototype
Sign-up flow
Onboarding
Profile page & previous races
Filter races, register & send invitations
User testing
Identifying bottlenecks
After creating the high-fidelity prototpe, I conducted usability testing with four participants (three in person and one online via screen-sharing). My main goal was to detect whether the participants found the app intuitive and were able to perform tasks without extra help needed, so I came up with a series of tasks that best described the purpose of the app and observed how the people interacted with the prototype. Tasks included looking for a race with custom parameters, sending an invitation, register for a race and access the previous races. Overall, the testing went very well and the users completed the tasks easily. Except for a few minor things.
Participants had the tendency to zoom in the map.
However this feature was not supported at the moment. They also wished to see their current location on the map, along with the pinpoints. Regarding the invitations, there was no way to tell what people you previously invited to a race, so having that in plain sight would have also been helpful.
Revision
Reflection
This project has been a great opportunity for me to expand my strategic thinking. On the whole, the app met its purpose and could be a significant tool to runners looking for upcoming races. My key learning during the design process was how important it is to ask for user feedback before everything else comes into play.
Future iterations
While the core experience has been validated, there is always room for improvement. This application could be enhanced with:
- → User Settings & Notifications - Personalized alerts for upcoming races.
- → AI-Driven Race Suggestions - Smart recommendations based on user preferences.
- → Expanded Filtering Options - Custom race categories and community-based rankings.