Hey Folks, I just wanted to drop in here to introduce myself to all of you as the recently appointed VP of Running at Zwift. While I’m new to the role, I’m not new to Zwift having spent the last 5 years building our Partnerships and Business Development functions.
I’m not big on talk but will say in short, that we’re building an awesome Run squad, hear all of you loud and clear on what’s working and what’s not, and are committed to bringing you an awesome Zwift Running experience. Without giving too much away, I can tell you that we’ll have some cool updates in the not too distant future and much more planned beyond. We all use the product and are on the same page with what needs to be done to make it great.
Lastly, please keep the feedback coming but…please be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day!
Congrats Mike. Looking forward to the Rome world expansion. You did say Zwift is building Rome, right? . Loving the cross-discipline stuff like Tri Academy. Not loving running races with pace based groupings, just not an IRL approach.
Your program is more than I can ever have hoped for after waiting decades for something like this. So anything you add is pure icing on the cake. Anyways my wishlist:
Olympic Stadium with running events and crowd cheering especially when it comes to end of race
Being able to run against your prior running performance (Netathlon had this but stored performances locally on your PC)
Having your own pacebot
Zwift makes running so fun and easy, it has changed my training routine completely and is really being reflected in my performance. The only small drawback is the temptation to chase runners, I’ve had to discipline myself sometimes. Stephen Cousins has a great thing going with his live videos, very entertaining to watch and participate in.
Congrats on the new job. I have one wish .Please don’t think that all Zwift runners are 20 -30 something stick insects that can run like the wind. I would like to see more slower paced events/groups.
Otherwise I’m really glad I invested in a new treadmill.
I look forward to seeing all the new stuff in the pipeline…
One would be a 400m running track. This would be great for doing a ton of workouts and keeping our smaller running community bunched together more. Just a thought.
My other suggestions are smart controlled treadmills and the ability to input elevation data to zwift from the treadmill that can then in turn be added to things like strava so when I’m doing huge hill climbs and runs I actually see that data.
Welcome to the role, looking forward to more Zwift running.
My biggest concern is the way Bluetooth behaves in a busy gym with 100+ machines all chucking out Bluetooth signals. This is a very real scenario for Zwift running, but my iPad just can’t hack it and it just doesn’t work.
Congrats Mike, what a chalenging new role. I am sure that Zwift Run has a lot of potential! I love the programm and it definitely makes running on the TM way more fun.
That’s great for you Steve but what about people that don’t have capable treadmills like everyone using footpods and other means of connectivity. It would be nice if Zwift developed a method via their companion app to input elevation data as you run similar to the tss app for speed or runcline which was developed by a zwift user for apple products.
For me this is my biggest issue with Zwift. I do a lot of elevation training on the treadmill and it never shows a dime.
Thanks for all the kind comments and suggestions. Again, without spoiling any surprises, I think many of the features currently in development will be great next steps for us.
One thing I do want to point out is that the people who make Zwift are also big users of Zwift. Jon made Zwift Running because he was looking for an efficient way to train for a half marathon. We also had over 70 employees run the recent Long Beach Half Marathon or 5k and almost all of them did a significant amount of their training on Zwift. In other words, we’re on the same page with you when it comes to feature requests.
Anyway, thanks again for the input. I look forward to seeing everyone out there!
My BIG request would be for zwift to control the elevation of the treadmill (I know it’s probably a step too far to ask for speed control :)). And, with elevation control, you would also need a treadmill version of ‘trainer difficulty’ (i.e. if less than 100%, then runner goes slower).
Really would love to import my Training Peaks Triathlon structured running workouts into Zwift! We currently can import the cycling but not the running. Having this would causes heavier Zwift usage for me.
Thank you very much Mike I’m happy to hear it as I am an avid Zwift member and do most of my workouts on Zwift, even though I live here in the Ironman Championship area! I prefer the convenience and time savings and interactive fun that Zwift provides. Just waiting for my vision of the new Zwift Swim, when I get my dream Swimex pool. Imagine zwift playing on the bottom of the pool and a swim watch similar to a Moov Now that detects stroke laps/distance swam? LOL that would be the setup virtual triathlon, heh! I really like Peter’s ideas and I will have to check out Stephen’s videos. Also David and Ryan’s ideas seem like that would be really helpful and I’m older as David mentions and would like more slower paced run groups.
Bill
I would love it if I can just use my Apple Watch or Garmin Fenix instead of a footpod. I have to believe there are a lot more runners out there with running watches than footpods.
Firstly thanks for the work on zwift running so far, it certainly helps make treadmill sets a little less dull!
A couple of feature requests from me:
Max treadmill speed setting - my treadmill only goes to 18km/h, so it makes it impossible to hit some workouts
Running track, which can tie in nicely with intervals - e.g. 400m repeats
Manually edit HR zones - I use a 3 zone system, it would be great to be able to customise this
Brick set - be able to go from a ride to a run and have zwift see it as one workout (nice to have)
Pacer or ghost runner
Fartlek sessions where the pace is randomly assigned mid workout, to contribute to an overall target
Saturday morning park runs! Could team up with Park Run
That’s about all the ideas I can think of at the minute…
. Loving the cross-discipline stuff like Tri Academy. Not loving running races with pace based groupings, just not an IRL approach.