StoryRunner
Every run is a chapter.
StoryRunner is a running app for people who find running boring.
Each week brings a new episode: a short story, a quest, and a route generated to fit the distance and time you actually have. Narration is triggered by where you are, not by a stopwatch — reach the old signal box and the next scene plays, so the story and the ground move together.
Underneath it is a straightforward run tracker: route map, distance, pace, duration and steps. The story is the reason to go out; the tracking is what you keep afterwards.
It runs entirely on your device. There are no accounts, no analytics and no advertising, and your route history is never sent to us.
Free to install · Subscription unlocks campaigns
Highlights
A reason to go out
A new episode each week, with a quest to finish rather than a number to beat. The story only advances when you run.
Routes that fit your run
Tell it how far you want to go and it builds a loop from where you are standing — no planning, no driving somewhere first.
Narration tied to place
Scenes are triggered by reaching a point on the route, not by elapsed time, so the story stays in step with the ground under your feet.
Private by construction
No account, no analytics, no ads. Your runs are stored on your phone and never sent to us — and privacy zones strip your home from anything you share.
Features
Weekly story episodes
Each episode is a self-contained quest with its own narration, objectives and payoff, delivered as content rather than shipped in an app update.
Full run tracking
Route map, distance, pace, duration and step count, recorded in the background with the screen locked and your phone in a pocket.
Generated routes
Loops built to a target distance from your current position, so a 5K is a 5K whether you are at home or away.
Location-triggered audio
Narration plays when you arrive somewhere, queued so scenes never overlap or talk over one another.
Privacy zones
Define an area around your home and every point inside it is removed from anything you share — not nudged to the edge, which would still point at your door.
Works without signal
Episodes and their audio are downloaded ahead of the run, so the story keeps going where the mobile signal does not.
Screenshots
Frequently asked
Do I have to pay to use StoryRunner?
No. The app is free to install and the run tracking — route map, distance, pace, duration and steps — is free to use. A subscription unlocks the ongoing story campaigns.
Does it work without a phone signal?
Yes. Episodes and their narration are downloaded before you set off, and GPS does not need a data connection, so a run in a signal blackspot works normally. Only the map imagery needs the internet.
Does it keep tracking when my phone is locked?
Yes. StoryRunner records in the background so you can run with the phone in a pocket. Tracking only happens during a run you started yourself, and a notification is shown the whole time it is active.
Where is my run data stored?
On your phone. There are no accounts and no server of ours that receives your runs, so your route history is not something we can see. Uninstalling the app deletes it.
Can I stop it revealing where I live?
Yes. Privacy zones let you mark an area such as your home, and every recorded point inside it is removed from anything you share. Your distance and time still count the full run.
Do I need a running watch?
No. StoryRunner uses your phone’s GPS and step counter, so a phone and a pair of headphones is the whole kit.
Still stuck? Email hello@binarymeadow.com and we will help.
Get StoryRunner
Coming to Android. The Google Play listing is not live yet — there is nothing to download just yet.
StoryRunner is in internal testing and is not yet on Google Play. When it launches, the app and its run tracking will be free; a subscription unlocks the ongoing story campaigns.
Privacy
StoryRunner records your runs on your phone. There are no accounts, no servers of ours, no analytics and no advertising — your route data never leaves your device unless you deliberately share it.
Read the StoryRunner privacy policy →