MARA
A marathon training app built from real runner research — personalized plans, adaptive coaching, and a system designed to take first-timers seriously from day one.
A Goal Less Than 1% Of People Will Ever Finish.
of people alive today have ever crossed a marathon finish line
average longevity gain for regular long-distance runners
weeks of structured training needed to reach the start line ready
People who sign up for marathons do it for reasons that don't show up in health dashboards — crossing a bucket list item, proving something to themselves, joining a community they admire. MARA was designed for the moment someone makes that decision and needs a system that takes them seriously.
Every App Had Already Decided What Kind Of Runner You Were.
I started training for my own first marathon in 2018 and tried six apps before abandoning all of them. The problem wasn't missing features — it was that none of them asked a single question before handing me a plan. I decided to design the one I needed.
After speaking with experienced runners from Heartbreak Hill Running Club and first-timers from my personal running group, a clear pattern emerged: the biggest gap in the market wasn't technology. It was a training app built solely, specifically, and uncompromisingly for the marathon.
Two Groups. One Consistent Signal.
Sessions were conducted with experienced marathoners and first-timers currently in training. The synthesis surfaced goals and pain points that shaped every design decision that followed.
Heartbreak Hill Running Club
Experienced marathoners. Provided insight into what advanced runners expect — plan quality, watch integration, performance data, and the frustration of apps that don't respect existing fitness.
Personal Running Crew
First-time marathoners in training. Surfaced anxiety about starting from scratch — the need for direction, concern about injury, uncertainty about whether they could do it, and the desire to enjoy the process.
The single most repeated need. Generic plans were the primary reason runners abandoned existing apps.
First-timers were unwilling to pay before knowing they'd follow through. The free tier needed to be genuinely useful.
Runners didn't want a library of inspiration. They wanted the right message at the right moment on hard training days.
The Persona That Came from the Room.
Goals
Check off a lifetime bucket list item. Set a personal record. Prove that anything is possible.
Struggles
Anxious and uncertain. Do I need a coach? Where do I find the right program? Can I handle it?
Motivations
Marathon runners intrigue her. If she can finish one, she knows she can overcome anything.
Race Day Is Fixed. Everything Else Works Backward From It.
MARA builds the plan from race day back. Onboarding is a single-question-per-screen conversation — race date, goal, current mileage, available days, injury history — and outputs a full training block the user can review before committing.
From Sticky Notes To Screens.
Every screen has a paper ancestor. The design moved through full process — research synthesis, sketching, wireframing, and prototype testing with real users before reaching hi-fi.
