SOURCE: Life Fitness
ROSEMONT, Ill., Jan. 15, 2019 – Life Fitness, the global leader in commercial fitness equipment, today announced a partnership with Outside Interactive, a developer of Virtual Runner™, a software application. With interactive HD video simulations of famous road races and running routes from across the globe, integrated with Virtual Runner, Life Fitness adds to a growing list of digital integrations that enhance the exerciser experience.
“We’re excited and honored to partner with Life Fitness and their premier line of home cardio equipment,” stated Gary McNamee, Outside Interactive’s president and founder. “For more than 50 years, Life Fitness has been providing and perfecting their fitness equipment to clubs and homes around the world. You don’t mess with that kind of success. With their fitness equipment and our content, our goal is to offer amazing experiences to Life Fitness exercisers, in the form of famous courses of our race partners from around the globe. We hope to bring these courses to runners for training and even ‘official’ remote participation wherever you can find the Life Fitness name.”
When used in conjunction with an iPad® or Android® tablet, the Life Fitness T5 treadmill with Track Connect console can simulate famous race courses for runners to see, feel and train on prior to race day, or even participate remotely and “officially” from anywhere in the world with select race partners.
“We’re happy to work with more technology partners, like Outside Interactive, and integrate with their systems to provide better experiences for our users,” stated Mike Kavanagh, Chief Product Officer, Life Fitness. “Our goal with Virtual Runner is to add value to existing machines by offering course simulations of real-world races, in partnership with those events. So even if you’re deployed, unable to qualify or make it to the live event, Virtual Runner allows you to take part in those races.”
The Virtual Runner race route simulator is a software application used on an iPad® or Android® tablet. It is used in conjunction with HD course videos shot in first person, many on race day. Utilizing Bluetooth® technology, the app can communicate with select cardio equipment brands, beginning with treadmills. The treadmill can transmit its speed to the tablet, matching the exact pace of the video. Conversely, the Virtual Runner app can transmit incline commands down to the treadmill, matching the elevation changes of hills found on the course in the video. Partnerships with major cardio equipment brands will allow runners from around the world to officially train for and even participate in select races they may otherwise not have the opportunity to do. This shared experience will create an unlimited audience for endurance events when space limits or geographical barriers may not allow additional runners, benefitting health clubs, race sponsors, charities and exercisers in their home or club, anywhere, anytime.
About Life Fitness
Life Fitness is the global leader in commercial fitness equipment and game tables and furnishings. The company manufactures and sells its strength and cardiovascular equipment, billiards tables and accessories, and game room furniture under the brand names Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, Cybex, Indoor Cycling Group, SCIFIT and Brunswick Billiards. Its equipment is distributed to 166 countries. Headquartered outside Chicago, in Rosemont, Illinois, Life Fitness is a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC). For more information, visit www.lifefitness.com.
About Outside Interactive
Located on the starting line of the world-famous Boston Marathon®, Outside Interactive is a Hopkinton, MA developer of Virtual Runner, revolutionary patented forward motion technology solutions featuring famous race courses, popular running routes and scenic destinations, all shot in HD from a runner’s point of view. Founded in 2011 by Gary McNamee, a lifelong Boston resident, avid runner and serial entrepreneur, Gary developed Virtual Runner after becoming bored on the treadmill and frustrated with not being able to train properly in New England’s unpredictable and often harsh weather. For more information, visit Outside Interactive.
