RunBet - Run more, Earn more

If you are looking to make money, this is not for you. Money making was not the reason I signed up but it was fun to follow how many runners were still in the game and how much was in the pot. I was wondering how much I would get back at the end. I have to say, it was deceiving. In my challenge we had 255 runners complete out of 305 registered. At $40 bet per runner we had a pot of $12,240. If the whole pot was distributed we would each get $48. I stayed with the program for the full 4 weeks and received a payout of $0.80!!! I did expect the developer to take a cut, but not 90%!!!!!!! Now, having said that, using the app definitely kept me motivated and I had no problem sticking with the program. I immediately signed up for a new challenge. This is a program I will stick with. Even though the minuscular payout was a disappointment, a program I would stick with is what I was looking for when I signed up.

I LOVE this app. It’s great for motivation. I’ve completed 4 games now and have lost 14lbs since I started because of this app + calorie restriction. To be clear, it’s still exercise and exercise is still hard. This app doesn’t fix that for you. But because your own money is on the line, it’s a lot more motivating. There have been plenty of days where I planned poorly and put off running until 9pm and I’m out of rest days, but I had to do my run or risk losing my money. It sounds awful, but it really taught me how to take prioritizing my exercise time more seriously. It taught me how to stop making excuses and just make it happen. Once that clicked for me, the weight started to come right off. It’s all about sticking to the diet and making the time to exercise, no matter how inconvenient it is. Also, you really don’t make much money with these games. I think I’ve made maybe $20 in the last 6 months. But being able to fit into a pair of jeans that I haven’t fit into in over 4 years is priceless!

Currently there are only a few games to choose from but from what I’ve seen so far it has the same mix of motivation, competition, and community as other similar apps such as DietBet. The game I played was simple to understand (run 26 times before the end of the period), had a good progression (started around 2.5 miles and finished at 3.1), and a nice balance to participation (can use RunKeeper app or verify indoor runs or through photos). All that and I won a little money in the process (just $9 but it’s more than I started with). Can’t wait to do it again and looking forward to it’s full launch with many more games to choose.

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Don’t use! Was excited to try this app as a group of us wanted to join a fun competition together. Unfortunately the folks that run this app want you to pay the money upfront and then make it an administrative nightmare to use it so that they can keep your money. The app only connects with a limited number of tracking devices and Apple Watch is NOT one. You then have to download and sign up with RunKeeper. But that isn’t enough, you also have to take a selfie for every workout and a picture of your treadmill for time and distance which doesn’t work for many treadmills. I tried to combine the pics to try to satisfy the qualifications but still not enough. I opted out after two days and while their program talks about a refund, they are not being honest. They refund in points! Why would I want points to stay in this highly frustrating program.

I completed the 10k challenge! I loved having the 4x weekly goals and friendly competition, while also having the flexibility to run at a pace I was comfortable with. I saw my abilities improve over the weeks too, and enjoyed tracking my progress. I’ve love to sign up for another challenge that is a step up from the 10k, but less than the half marathon. An idea for the app is to also motivate participants privately during the competition through celebrating individual goals and milestones. Ex- “great job, your pace today was 5 seconds a mile faster than your last logged run.”