on a run	in training
with a friend	on holiday

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For many runners, setting a time to meet someone else is the only way to get them out the door. Logistics and distance often make this difficult, however, and people who prefer to run in groups are often left to run alone. The Buddy Run service allows two or more people to run "together" in different locations, so that they can benefit from the motivation of meeting friends without the location logistics. After the friends set a time for a shared run, one runner schedules the run in the Actively Mobile calendar (through the mobile phone or the web). When the scheduled time arrives, the communication link is opened, and each friend receives a message that the Buddy Run has started. The runners can then join the group by switching to "Buddy Run", using a navigation wheel on the device. Through the Buddy Run link runners can talk to each other as if they were running side by side, encourage each other to keep going and push themselves further.

One of the benefits of social running is keeping pace. Two runners will often run faster together than on their own because they unconsciously match each other's pace. Through the "Buddy Run" link, linked runners can listen to each other's pace as if they could hear the other's footsteps. When they select "pace track" from the Buddy Run menu, they can access an audio click track that matches the pace of the other runner, much like a metronome used to keep time in music. This pace meter helps runners push themselves and each other toward better performance.