Up until now, you have been able to follow only your friends live while they have been tracking. We have also been experimenting over time with public live tracking on a few big events like the NY marathon, London Marathon, Copenhagen marathon etc. Today, we bring these experiences to life by launching the world's first truly free live event tracking tool!
Basically, anyone and everyone can use the new event module for anything and everything. Whether you are a group of friends creating your own race through Grand Canyon, Sibiria or in the nearby forest or an event organizer for e.g. London Marathon, you are free to use the event module.
The feature is as simple as it gets; you create an event on a certain date, you draw the route of the event and then everybody can sign up for it. On the day of the event, people having signed up for it will be visible on the public live tracking map. During the event, you'll have a full overview of the leaderboard and you can sort by male/female, friends only etc. to make the leader board as relevant to you as possible.
Guys, we can't wait to hear and see what you'll do with this and as always, we’ll listen closely to what you have to say and improve the features accordingly as we go on.
Log in and go to EVENTS to check it out or to create your first event!
I'll check in with you again later this summer with more exciting news,
Hi guys, Today, we have launched our new privacy settings! This basically means that you, at a fairly detailed level, can decide with whom you want to share what information. Log in to check it out.
This is an important and fundamental step for us in our focus on making it easier for you to connect with each other. The more information you share with each other, the easier it is for us to create great ways to connect, not only through enhanced email invites features, search criteria or Facebook integration, but also through all the activities that you participate in. It’s also a great building bloc for the revamp of our website that we will shed more and more light on as we are getting closer to launch later this summer.
Long ago, we stopped counting the number of you guys who have asked us to include heart rate monitor integration. Well….now it’s here!
Today, we are extremely excited to introduce you to our new heart rate monitoring feature! From now on, you can integrate your Zephyr Bluetooth heart rate belt with the Endomondo app enabling you to train with heart rate monitoring for the first time.
We launch this feature for Android phones only version 2.0 and onwards to begin with, but don’t worry we will add other mobile platforms as well as other heart rate monitor brands as we go on. We’ll make sure to keep you guys in the loop.
To get the heart rate belt, go here. Remember to use "endomondo" as the coupon code to get a 5$ discount.
So guys, it’s time to shed some light on some of the really big stuff that’s going on in Endomondo. Over the past year, we have received an incredible amount of feedback and we have tried our very best to listen as hard as we could to get to the very essence of what you are saying.
First and foremost, we think the sum of all of this great, great feedback really demonstrates what an incredible potential there is in Endomondo. So reflecting upon what you tell us and how you are using Endomondo put together with a few thoughts of our own, we have our minds firmly focused on releasing this potential going forward.
Openness So what does this mean? Well, one of the first things that you will notice in the near future is a strong focus on openness. Basically, we want to make it as simple as possible for you to connect, to compete, to compare, to play, to plan and to follow each other. The starting point for this is making you guys capable of sharing as much content as possible. The more people who choose to share their content, the easier it is for people to connect. And don’t worry, everyone who wants to stay visible for friends only, can of course do so, but in general we are encouraging people to share as much as possible.
Revamp of our website Now, a second part of this is to make it a lot easier to find all of the content that is really going on within Endomondo. We have thousands of challenges going on and thousands of teams out there, but we admit that they have not been easy to find. Trying to solve this, we have taken this feedback one major step further and have dedicated ourselves to try to reinvent how a modern sports community could work. This involves so many radical upgrades of our design, usability and architecture that we think it makes more sense to share more info with you as we get closer to launch later this Summer. We can promise you one thing though, we have set the bar as high as we could and we are extremely excited about it.
In the Fall of 2007, we, Mette, Christian and Jakob, decided to take action on an idea that we had discussed over summer. At the time we worked for McKinsey & Co as management consultants, but the thing was that prior to this, we had all devoted a significant part of our lives to some kind of sport at a fairly serious level and we missed it. Mette used to compete in horseback riding, Christian was a 400 sprinter holding the Danish record for many years and Jakob had spent many seasons as a ski instructor, working for the French ski school around the Alps. That Fall of 2007, we decided to try to combine our passion for sports with our working life. With that decision, we gave birth to Endomondo.
We had all used various training tools in our lives, but we were convinced that the services out there could be done better and differently using today’s mobile phones as the starting point. Also, it had been a great frustration of ours that friends using different stand alone devices, tracking watches, foot pods etc., couldn’t really share their experiences with each other unless they used the same device and we found that hard to accept.
So, after half a year in what only merely resembled an office space, with a fridge in the corner that also served as a kitchen table, and doing the dishes in the sink in the bathroom (this is not a joke:-)), we launched our alpha version of the app. It was a great success and it was enough to convince a few truly great developers to also leave their job and join the adventure. Thomas joined, Brian joined, Ture, Morten, Jesper, Martin joined….and all of a sudden things started to snowball.
Two years have gone by since then and although they have been wildly surprising and amazing, we still have that feeling that we’ve only just started. There are so many things we want to do with Endomondo and even though things have been happening at an incredible speed, we kind of feel that now is the time to really release the potential of Endomondo. On this adventure, we are so very happy to be guided by all of you hundreds of thousands of people out there using Endomondo. Guys, you are the reason why we do what we do, thank you! Don’t ever stop freeing your endorphins.
So, our warmest welcome to each and everyone. See you within.
Mette, Christian and Jakob
Posted by Jakob on Jun 9, 2010 7:21 AM
1 comments.
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Mette, Co-founder Hi everybody. For a long time, I was the only female in the office. Now, I’m happy to say that we are 3 girls in Endomondo to put a female touch on things! Personally, I used to horseback ride a lot - both dressage and jumping - and I was also a not so talented tennis player. Nowadays, you’ll probably have greater luck finding me in the fitness center, out running or in front of a canvas, as I have been a passionate painter for many years.
I’m in charge of PR, marketing and campaigns, so if you have ideas for a great campaign or marketing efforts, reach out to me at mette@endomondo.com
Alter ego: The female Endo
Christian, Co-founder Hi guys, so… the super brief intro; I used to be fast they say….:-) In all seriousness, I used to pursue a career as a professional runner. My core distance was 400 meters with a personal record of 46.47 seconds. That’s some time ago though, as I ended my professional running career in 2004. Despite that, running keeps on being my passion, so in May 2009, I pushed myself into completing my first marathon. Although running a marathon is about as far away from sprinting as you can get, it was a great experience. Now I’ve set my mind on the Swedish Classic – swimming, biking, cross country skiing and running – 4 hard core races in one year, but more on that later on.
I’m responsible for all the financial and legal stuff. Write me an email at christian@endomondo.com if you have any questions in this regard.
Alter ego: The fast Endo
Jakob, Co-founder Hi everyone! So.. I’m coming from the world of surfing and skiing. Despite coming from a flat country, I actually spent many years teaching for the French Ski School – hard to believe I know, but with Copenhagen being my base now, I’ve taken up swimming and mountain biking in the past few years. Actually, apart from occasional runs and a marathon, mountain biking is what I do most these days. I take my fair share of crashes in the woods, and remarkably enough and unlike me, the phone seems to take it like a man! By the way Christian, count me in on the Swedish Classic.
I’m overall responsible for developing Endomondo as a product and for our partnerships around the world. So if you’ve got any great ideas, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email at jakob@endomondo.com. Until then, take care.
Alter ego: The casual Endo
Thomas Hi guys, I guess I can say that I’m the most dedicated runner in the house. We are a few fighting for that title, but I’m sure I’ll win. I don’t know, running is kind of my thing and therefore, I found my dream job at Endomondo. Outside the world of tech and sports, I’m the lead singer in the band Limetone and I believe I add a musical touch to the team.
I'm overall responsible for the tech side of Endomondo. Should you feel the urge, write me an email at thomas@endomondo.com.
Alter ego: The tech Endo
Morten Hi everybody. Maybe Thomas is right on claiming the most dedicated runner title, though I’ll keep on fighting for it, but when it comes to the more wet elements, this is where I come into play. Long ago, I used to compete in swimming, so naturally I’m on our swimming team outside our office and though not being in the same shape as in my teens, I’m still fast enough to outpace Ture, Jakob and Brian in the canals – although only for like 50 meters. And then guys, just for the record, my mom did a marathon on 3.17.15 when she was 50, so you may think you can run, but there’s still some way to go.
Coming from years of working with software development in the mobile industry, I’m leading our mobile development as well as developing our Symbian app. You can reach me at morten@endomondo.com.
Alter ego: The mobile endo
Ture Morten, I don’t know about Thomas claiming that title... I believe I still hold the fastest 5K in the house and the fastest marathon! Like Jakob, I’ve spent a great deal of time skiing, climbing, mountain biking and surfing, so if and I say if, Thomas will be successful in claiming that running title, I guess you can say that I’m the adventure sports guy.
I’m responsible for our community. Together with Agnieszka and Monika I spend a lot of my time trying to get the best and fastest possible response to whatever support and feedback you shoot at us. I’m the voice inside representing all of you guys out there making sure that you are heard loud and clear. Feel free to write me regarding anything and everything. I’m at ture@endomondo.com.
Alter ego: The X-treme Endo
Brian Hey, they call me the calm Endo. I guess they are right in the sense that I probably talk less than the others, but my programming is fast and furious. Sportswise, I’m always ready to nail Jakob on the squash court and when it comes to running, I finished my first marathon a few years back. For some odd reason, I’m also the guy keeping everybody fresh in the Winter when I go running only to finish up with a quick dive into the freezing canals of Copenhagen. Although trying, it’s slightly difficult to persuade the entire office to join me, but as you can see on this video, occasionally it works.
Video text: Brian (first one in) and Jakob outside our office. Christian filming - sorry for the horisontal view :-)
Together with Thomas and Alexandros, I’m responsible for what’s going on at the website. You can reach me at brian@endomondo.com and Christian, I’m joining the Swedish Classic as well.
Alter ego: The calm Endo
Martin Hi, all you great people. With 8 years of karate and 5 years of Wing Tsun, I’m trying to keep people safe in our office. When I’m not into martial arts, I’m running, biking, going diving or taking lessons to improve my singing skills. So I don’t really know what to say about Thomas adding that musical touch to our office, let alone claiming yet another title with no proof… I’ll definitely take him up on that.
Other than that, I’m part of our mobile development team, mostly dedicated to the iPhone. On top, I’ve had the awesome opportunity to work on some really cool things for the website that we will reveal later in 2010. I really can’t wait to share it with you, but for now, take care and if you feel like it, write me an email at martin@endomondo.com.
Alter ego: The karate Endo
Jesper Hi guys, I guess I have a thing for sports that require quite a bit of endurance. So… a lot of the people involved in Endomondo have done a marathon. Great! I have done five marathons, not to mention the famous Swedish 90K ski race, Vasaloppet. And Ture, it’s almost unfair to break the news, but I’ve done 10 K faster than two of your fastest 5 Ks put together. It’s a few years back, I’ll give you that, but after dealing with a serious injury lately, I’ve set my mind on regaining lost ground. Doing this, cycling has become my new best friend as complementary training. Guys, I’m also in on the Swedish Classic.
Anyway, I’m dedicating my time to our Android app and occasionally, features on the web. You can reach me at jesper@endomondo.com.
Alter ego: The enduring Endo
Piotr Hi everybody. I’m smiling a lot listening to the rest of the bunch when they talk about running. As a former world champion – I was fortunate enough to win the world championship in Athletics with the Polish national 4x400m team some years ago – I tend to maintain low profile in order not to scare the rest of the team. Plus, I really don’t want to hurt Christian’s feelings. To be fair to everyone, I’m actually not competing anymore, but you can often find me running in the big forests of Warsaw, so come out and join me for a run!
I’m heading up our team in Warsaw and you can reach me at piotr@endomondo.com.
Alter ego: The fastest Endo
Alexandros Hey guys, what can I say…I’m more the recreational kind of sports guy. I just love it, but the fun for me is the activity itself. So I often find myself smiling when the guys go on about who’s winning what. Personally, I’m Greek. I moved to Copenhagen in 2009 trying to put some Mediterranean feel to Endomondo. So, I guess the question is; what do you do in Northern Europe when you are used to sailing and swimming in the warm waters of the Mediterranean sea and the weather just doesn’t seem to come around up here…well, you wait for Summer. In the meantime, I try to write as much great code as possible for you guys out there to enjoy. Tough job, but I’m on the case! :-)
You can all reach me at alexandros.bourantas@endomondo.com.
Alter ego: The Greek Endo
Michal Hey there! Ture, Jakob, no harm intended, but I guess you can say that I’m the true mountaineering guy in Endomondo. After all, how many mountains do you guys in Copenhagen really have? I basically love all aspects of climbing and do it as often as I can all year around. On a regular day though, you are most likely to meet me biking around Warsaw.
I’m part of our mobile team and the guy behind the Blackberry app. I’m working on a couple of other things that I’ll reveal for you later on, but for now, feel free to send me an email at michal.stawicki@endomondo.com.
Alter ego: The climbing Endo
Agnieszka Hep, hep, I’m on the girls’ team here in Endomondo making sure that Mette and Monika are not the only ones opting for the female touch of Endomondo. Though being active outside on a recreational basis, swimming is really my sport - extreme aerobic workouts to be specific. Sounds odd? Well, it’s actually pretty great. You should try it!
I’m part of our community team and I’m going out of my way to solve any issue or problem that you guys might have. With a strong background in languages, I’m also helping out in keeping Endomondo multilingual. You can write me at agnieszka.stola@endomondo.com.
Alter ego: The crazy Endo
Artur Hey, wow ya,.. how do I do this. I’m actually a post graduate from a school of fine arts and a recent one of French literature. One mind, many interests, I guess that mindset has taken me around a bit. Today, I’m proficient in a bunch of languages. Also, I try to speak the language of ice skating and football fluently, let's see how far I get here:-)
I originally started working here helping all you guys out with your questions and feedback, but now I spend most of my time being on our developers back, making sure that they make flawless code. My intention is basically to catch all possible bugs in our software. You can reach me at artur.rozmysl@endomondo.com.
Alter ego: The Mondo Endo
Monika Hi there, I'm also opting for an active and healthy life. So I run, but my core sport is really yoga. I’m a fan, actually more than that, yoga is part of my everyday life. And guys, every time I hear about you suffering from injuries or muscular pain in general, I can’t underline enough what yoga would do for you! A month, I assure you, and the pain is gone.
I’m part of our community team and it’s a pleasure, I must say, to communicate one-on-one with all of you out there. Keep up the great, constructive feedback. We really appreciate it. On the support side - with the growth that we are seeing - we’ll do our best to answer your questions asap, but spare with us should the lead time be more than a couple of hours. You can reach me at monika.mazur@endomondo.com. Until then, take care!
Alter ego: The Yoga Endo
Posted by Jakob on Jun 9, 2010 7:15 AM
and is filed under, About Us.
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As mentionod in the blog post 'The story', before starting Endomondo, we used to be generally frustrated by the fact that people using different stand alone fitness devices couldn’t share their experiences with each other. Friends who wanted to share their experiences basically had to use the same product to be able to do so, not to mention that most of these products were pretty expensive to begin with.
Now, even though we all came from individual sports, we always got better at what we did by training with other people. So for us, the social aspect of our sport was simply an extremely motivating factor and a continuing source of inspiration.
Now, changing a game that already exists is one thing, but our ambition is to take it one step further. We want to create a flexible, yet very sociable experience connecting people in the sports world in surprising ways that were unthinkable only in what seem yesterday. The social services of today’s web, we felt, did not match the possibilities and needs in the sports world.
So how does this starting point impact our vision of Endomondo and the choices that we make every day in more practical terms?
Well for one, technology should never be a barrier for joining Endomondo. In practical terms this means that Endomondo has to work on all mobile platforms supporting GPS enabled phones. This is why you can use Endomondo on basically every GPS enabled mobile phone on the market, be it your iPhone, Android phone, Nokia phone, Blackberry, Windows Phone etc.
Secondly, even the phone itself should not be a barrier either. This, for instance, is why we have our fully automatic integration with Garmin GPS watches.
Thirdly, the quality of our app and the core features should match the best in class stand-alone devices. As an example, this means that we keep improving the tracking quality through continuous iterations based on user feedback and we simply do not believe that a problem exist that we cannot solve. This, however, goes further than the quality of data. Looking at the feature side for example, this is why we have just launched integration with heart rate monitors (June 2010). Going forward, this is also why we will launch features, both on the mobile and on the web, aiming to go beyond what the world of sports has been used to so far.
Lastly, but most importantly, we do not believe that we are smart enough to get there on our own. This is why we go out of our way to listen to and respond to each and every single feedback or support mail and any Facebook or Twitter message that you send us. The feedback that you give us is our daily reality check.
So…feel free to share your opinion by leaving a comment and don’t hesitate to write us an email should you feel the urge to do so. We’ll make sure to check in with you guys regularly on our blog with updates and news from the Endomondo lab going forward.
Take care until then, Jakob
Posted by Jakob on Jun 8, 2010 9:33 AM
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