Is this the ultimate running-club app?

There’s nothing like a summer spent watching Olympic greatness (from the sofa) to inspire you to lace up the trainers. Like more than six million of us in England alone, I like to run. I do a weekly 10K plod and have clocked up a couple of marathons. So it’s thrilling that, when I book a call with Anthony Fletcher, CEO and co-founder of the new high-tech running club, Onetrack, he refers to me as an “everyday athlete”. 

As HTSI has reported, the number of running clubs has exploded to meet demand. Meanwhile the fitness-app market is expected to reach $34.3bn globally by 2027. I’ve tried – and liked – Nike Run Club for its guided runs and one-size-fits-all training plans. I’m into Strava for the virtual applause and the pacing record. Friends rave about Couch To 5K, and I often use my Apple Watch for runs too. But Onetrack, says Fletcher, is different. Unlike other apps, it takes your workout data (heart rate, for example, or average pace), and combines it with extra biodata it collects from the in-person, gold-standard testing it offers in London, Surrey or (for some tests) at a client’s home. These include biomechanical assessments (telling the coach where you’re crooked), VO2 Max tests (essentially, how fit you are) and lactate tests (how fast you can run based on lactic acid build-up), giving you a fuller picture of your fitness level. 

Crucially, this information is then combined with bespoke, emotionally intuitive coaching delivered by the team of 15 coaches based around the world and overseen by “Fletch”, as the jovial CEO is known. 

He and his wife Laura first founded the brand in 2016, beginning with in-person track sessions. On my first Zoom with him, we go through my diary, and add in a 30-minute midweek run after school drop-off, while decreasing the number of my strength sessions. “We can make you work harder in a shorter amount of time,” he promises. 

It’s really hard to make yourself properly sprint unless you’ve got someone chasing after you

Onetrack users can follow the coaching online, or you can book in for in-person training with a coach (ranging from running to strength and physio specialists, psychologists and nutritionists). “We meet the client where they are, whether that is at home or at a hotel,” Laura says. When they say anywhere, they mean it – though “the more lead time the better”, she adds. “If it’s in, say, the Shetlands, tomorrow, that will attract an extra fee.” Onetrack also hosts group track sessions in London and Surrey. “It’s really hard to make yourself properly sprint unless you’ve got someone chasing around after you,” says Fletcher. 

The former head coach of the specialist running class at Equinox UK, Fletcher has had a fascination with the body for as long as he can remember: “My mum was a nurse and had an anatomy book on the bookshelf; that picture of the skeleton is imprinted on my brain. I also had cancer at a young age, so health and the body were permanent backdrops to growing up.” 

Laura, who took up running on a whim aged 27 and now has done two marathons, brings marketing experience – and gloss – from a career spent working for brands including Harvey Nichols. “I never really understood why the fitness industry felt so different from other aspects of luxury lifestyle,” she says. “I knew we could create something deeply knowledgeable, accessible but elevated.” Indeed, the logo is one you’d be proud to wear on your chest, while the app has stylish content including the best holiday destinations for runners (Jeju Island in South Korea, for example). 

The 15 (and counting) run coaches on the books specialise in different distances, from sprint to ultra-marathons, and have worked with Team GB and global brands ranging from Nike to Tracksmith. The business has trained almost 2,000 runners since it started collecting data in 2020, including The Modern House co-founder Albert Hill, along with NDA-shrouded, high-profile clients.

The new app-based run club (for which they are currently raising £500,000 of initial seed funding) is the first time Onetrack brings all its technology into one space. Membership costs £25 a month to unlock unlimited access to in-person and virtual workouts, along with standard training plans. Members have access to coaches via direct message for free support, with perks including discounts at Bamford Spa, Castore, Soar and Polar among partners, and member meetups. The bespoke package, with a personalised training plan and weekly check-ins, costs from £120 a month; pay-as-you-go track or virtual recorded sessions cost from £5. 

I’ve found the sessions instructive: two weeks in, Fletcher spotted from my data that I’ve got a heavy right foot. “You need to learn about your gears,” he says. “The real skill of running is choosing an appropriate pace for the outcome you want from that session.” He prescribes me a lactate test to determine my maximum pace, and a series of speed sessions over the next few weeks.

The app tacks back to its founders’ initial aim: to help the masses move more. “There are fewer barriers to running these days,” Fletcher says, “and that’s great. But there is a science to it. We want to use our knowledge and technology to connect members to experts, see results quicker and do it safely.” Los Angeles 2028, here I come.