MapMyFitness rolled out an update today for its MVP premium subscribers that’s full of new and enhanced features.

MapMyFitness powers a suite of health and fitness tracking apps. Its flagship products, MapMyRun and MapMyRide, use built-in GPS technology so you can record your workout as well as search for new routes and monitor data like duration, pace, speed, elicitation, and calories burned. It saves all of this information so you can view your activity progress over time. Social elements provide motivation to stick to regimens and can make exercise more fun.

The business is based on a “freemium” model. The core set of features are free, but fitness enthusiasts can pay a monthly or annual fee for a more comprehensive experience. The MVP membership is $30 a year and comes without ads as well as tools like a Route Recommender, Customs Splits, Advanced Heart Rate, Training Plans, and Power Analytics.

“The new MVP is just a cleaner experience,” said CEO Robin Thurston in an interview. “People are gaining a fitness aptitude for data. They want content and analytics, and they are willing to pay for it if it will change their health outcomes and improve daily health.”

The Route Recommender is based on an algorithm that factors in desired length, travel mode, direction, rotations, and such and will autogenerate a customized route. For those trying to craft their own course, the app has a library of tools and icons to map it out. The heart rate tracking features are useful for people with target heart rate goals or restrictions, and the live tracking means friends can view each others’ activity. Thurston said that these product updates are a direct result of feedback from consumers about their needs.

MapMyFitness currently has 13 million users and hopes to grow to 20 million this year. Further updates are in the pipeline, including challenge/gamification features and more integrations with quantified self devices.

“There are encouraging trends around technology,” Thurston said. “People are adopting activity trackers and using mobile technology to be more active. This is a step in the right direction, but the next step is helping people change outcomes. The next five years in this space specifically is probably going to be one of the most exciting industries to be in, because of rapid change and disruption that is coming.”

MapMyFitness is headquartered in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2007 by Thurston, who used to be a professional cyclist, and has raised $18.5 million to date. Competitors include Runkeeper, Skimble, and Endomondo. Read the press release.

Tony Post, the former president and CEO of Vibram, has left to start his own company. This new endeavor is called Topo Athletic, and it’s backed by $5 million from Norwest Venture Partners.  

Vibram was a pioneer in the minimalist footwear movement. During his reign as Vibram’s leader, Post took the company from two guys with a crazy idea to a $170 million empire that changed the way people thought about athletic shoes.

“I’ve been in the footwear industry for 25 years,” he said in an interview with VentureBeat. “In 2006 I launched FiveFingers without any fanfare at all, and it grew rapidly. We created a different way for people to think about footwear based on the belief that the body’s own natural mechanics could be leveraged. The new concept is based on that idea — it is focused on lightweight footwear and targets runners and functional fitness trainers, like Cross-Fit.”

Many folks in the technology industry sport these lightweight, barely there shoes, including founder of Google, Sergey Brin. With the rise of the “quantified self” movement and the popularity of devices like the Fitbit and Jawbone Up, the market is growing right now for technology (in any form) that enhances user health.

The minimalist footwear movement is all about amplication as opposed to modification. These lightweight shoes don’t fix or change the way people train; they work in concert with the body to create synergy between “shoe, foot, and movement.” It is a fast-growing segment within the athletic footwear market, which is partly what drew Norwest Venture Partners to make this rather uncharacteristic investment.

General partner at NVP Jon Kossow met Post a few years ago and became interested in his vision. When he decided to form his own brand, Kossow was excited by the investment opportunity.

“Post is a visionary,” said Kossow during a phone chat. “He has an incredible reputation within the footwear industry and has a bit of ‘midas touch’. He has the unique and proven ability to not only identify unique consumer insights, but then design and manufacture a product to address those insights, execute, and build a business accordingly.”

Topo Athletic will debut its first products at the Outdoor Retailer winter market in January. Until then, Post and co are keeping the details of this “cutting-edge performance technology” under wraps. This first round of investment from NVP will help bring the product to market.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

In the wake of Thanksgiving feasting, finding the motivation to exercise is as challenging as buttoning a pair of skinny jeans. It helps to have people around you who are lacing up their sneakers and encouraging you to do the same.

Just in time for the holiday (i.e. eating and drinking) season, Yog has launched its social running app that connects runners from around the world to run together in real-time.

Studies have shown that having a workout buddy, even a virtual one, dramatically bolsters exercise habits. Social pressure and competition are powerful forces. For many, working up a sweat is far more enjoyable when not done alone. But it is not always easy to find someone ready and willing to work out when you are, which is where Yog steps in.

Yog is an international community of runners brought together by an iOS app which connects them in real-time. The platform lets users schedule runs by selecting the date, time, and distance. Runners can either invite people to their run, or join other “yoggers” on theirs. During a run, audio notifications and on-screen visualizations simulate the experience of running with a friend. The app also gathers data during the run to measure and track performance.

“The majority of people don’t exercise, enough,” said founder Peter Pelberg. “We’ve seen how exercising with others positively impacts the frequency and level at which people exercise. Yog’s point of differentiation is that the app is entirely synchronous. Our community members are not tracking activities in isolation and sharing them to a stream after the fact, they’re running together, from all corners for the world, in real-time.”

The quantified self movement has been picking up steam in the technology community of late. Social fitness products like Nike+, Runkeeper, Endomondo, Strava, and MapMyRun are extremely popular amongst fitness buffs, casual exercisers, and those trying to get in shape alike. Yog strives to enhance the actual experience of running, rather than creating measuring and sharing tool for after the fact.

It was founded by two former athletes who struggled to maintain their exercise regimens in the absence of teammates to keep them on track. They began working on the app in 2011 and since then have found “yoggers” in 55 countries around the world. Distances range from one miles jaunts to half marathons, and hundreds of runs have been scheduled in the past week alone.

As for me, the only running I am doing today is between my desk and the leftover pie in the fridge. Maybe tomorrow.

Yog is based in New York, New York. The company has not received any institutional funding.