Square Theory (aaronson.org)

I started running 5 years ago and it completely changed me. Recently, I decided to train for my first marathon and needed something more than just tracking my runs to motivate me. I noticed all the apps currently available are just trackers and route finders, but nothing has solved the problem of consistency. So I thought of combining the basic idea of the Forest app with running and created a small app for myself which would reward me with plants and trees for my runs.

I am not a mobile developer but then i came across Capacitor. Since I knew Next.js and have been working with it for the past 2 years, I built the app with it. I started using it and showed it to some of my friends and they really liked it. The gamification gave me a mental boost of planting more trees and plants in my virtual garden and just seeing it flourish made me happy. Then I decided to publish it on Play Store and also built it for iOS devices as many of my friends had iPhones. It took weeks to build and release them after brutal and lengthy reviews from both the stores.

Running has taught me to keep moving further, one step at a time and the journey of building the app was just like that. I wanted to share the app with all the people who are just starting out running and with the experienced folks who want to make their runs mean something.

The app is Run&Grow: https://runandgrow.com

Comments (14)

pgt · 10h ago

When I read the Show HN title, I figured this would would scatter seeds on a virtual map and when you run it "waters them" so you can see a garden on a map similar to Strava.

Utkarshn101 · 9h ago

I can actually add this in future updates. Where you run and the path will be shown having flowers and grass and it will look like each step you took planted something and then you can share it. I am currently working on the share run feature.

The idea of the garden is also the same where you run to unlock a plant and tree for your garden.

dopidopHN · 7h ago

I do that in real life. Currently with luffa seeds.

Much more fun than any app could be.

I don’t water them regularly but I run with twines and a bottle of fertilizer.

freetonik · 9h ago

Exactly my thoughts as well :) I was hoping the app would allow me to transform the bare map into a garden.

kawsper · 10h ago

Me too!

Combining something like CityStrides with a virtual garden would be a great idea!

aa-jv · 8h ago

The folks at artificial museum [1] would probably provide a good model for how to do this - I could imagine running around in their dataspace, planting seeds which grow over time.

[1] https://artificialmuseum.com/

Raudius · 9h ago

You can't pass on the free trial? Seems like a bit of a dark pattern, I would like to test out the free version of the app before deciding if I want more features.

abcd_f · 8h ago

Yeah, the idea is interesting, but the app being a subscription for no reason is a no-go. This is how you ruin a good idea and kill the goodwill basically.

lispisok · 12h ago

A long time ago I had the idea of an app to gamify good habits, cool to see people making it real. How was your experience with Capacitor?

Utkarshn101 · 12h ago

It was a smooth ride. The documentation is good and it has useful plugins.

coderag · 14h ago

I have a network built around Strava. It would be great if you can add a Strava integration.

Utkarshn101 · 14h ago

I want to implement that. Strava has public apis but I think they are heavily ratelimited and I am not sure they will be ready to partner with me as mine is a really small app. But I will try me best to implement it

deadbabe · 14h ago

This is cute! Something like this might also be perfect for visualizing GitHub commits.

Utkarshn101 · 14h ago

yes, that would be actually really good!