Whether running while listening to music increases your speed is an ongoing debate among researchers and runners alike. But if you enjoy running with music, especially new music picked to match your activity, you might like RockMyRun ($4.99 per month). This fitness app plays music and changes the tempo based on your footfalls or heart rate, while also keeping track of your runs. It also lets you set the tempo of a playlist, if you'd rather try to make your feet keep up with the music. Not all the playlists have these special features, but many do. With a wide variety of genres, including classical, RockMyRun has plenty of music to explore. In action, the music sounded a little more frenetic than I had imagined it would, but it's a neat app nonetheless and great for those who like to explore new music while running.
Getting Started
There is free version of RockMyRun, but it doesn't support any of the signature features. If you download the app, however, you'll get a weeklong trial for free without having to enter any credit card information. Score.
Getting set up takes a few minutes. In addition to creating an account and adding a few details about yourself (age, sex, weight, etc.), you also want to leave yourself some time to explore the music before setting out on a run. And you'll want to learn the terminology used in the app, too.
All music is found in Mixes. Mixes can be either playlists or DJ Mixes. Playlists are nothing more than lists of songs, while DJ Mixes are recorded by DJs using live turntables, so one song blends into the next. Then there are Rockstar mixes, which are longer than 45 minutes, and RunRocker mixes, which are shorter. Wait. There's more. You also need to know that myBeat is what RockMyRun calls the signature features of changing the tempo of the music as you run. Got it?
Similar Products
Spring - Workout Music for Running, Power Walking & Exercising: Home (for iPhone)
Endomondo (for iPhone)
Runmeter (for iPhone)
Strava
Charity Miles (for iPhone)
Runtastic PRO (for Android)
MapMyRun (for iPhone)
With all your new terminology in hand, you can explore sets of music and save the ones you like. RockMyRun shows the track listing for each Mix, a description, and ratings from other users when available.
After you explore some of the Mixes and save a few that seem up your alley, you'll then select one to download for your next run, and that might take a minute or so. Oh, you'll also have to tell the app where you keep your iPhone during your run, like in your hand, in an armband, or in your pocket.
Setting up RockMyRun is not a cumbersome process, but it does take at least five minutes from start to finish.
Signature Features
I chose three mixes to explore and picked one specifically designed to work with the myBeat feature. It was all house music, which I figured would work well at different tempos, at least better than pop songs with prominent lyrics.
The first quarter mile seemed odd. I was only just warming up, running quite slow, but the song already sounded rushed. I'm not all that keen on listening to music while I run, but I didn't feel like RockMyRun and I got started on the right foot. After three-quarters of a mile, I stopped and shut the music off. I just couldn't listen to it.
Back at home, I looked through some more music options. Maybe 80s music or pop would be more my speed, both figuratively and literally. I knew I could always choose to play the music in Standard mode, with no change in tempo, but what would be the point of that? Several people posted positive reviews of a Mix called Star Crossed Pop, which keeps a steady 128 beats per minute if you play it Standard. The songs were definitely better, but they still sounded crazy when sped up to 148bpm, which is closer to my heart rate while running at a comfortable pace.
When you override the natural tempo with a manual tempo, meaning you decide how many beats per minute the songs should play, you adjust it using a turntable on the screen, a playful design choice. Spin the record clockwise, and the music speeds up. Go counter-clockwise, and it slows down. To one side is a readout showing how many minutes long the Mix will be at that particular tempo, which is a great way to tailor your run. If increasing or decreasing the tempo by a small amount adjusts your run to be the right number of minutes to match your runs. For many people, length of a playlist matters more than anything else.
You can skip songs (thank goodness), and you can see details about your run, like tempo, heart rate, and total steps taken.
Cost Comparison
Anyone can try RockMyRun for free for a week, no credit card required. After that, you'll have to pay $4.99 per month or $35.99 per year to keep using it.
The price isn't too bad, and it's in line with other running apps. Spring, the most comparable app because it's also music-based, costs a little less than RockMyRun: $3.99 per month.
Endomondo charges $5.99 per month or $29.99 per year for its Premium membership. The popular app Strava (highly recommended if you are very competitive), costs $6 per month or $59 annually. Map My Run, Map My Fitness, and Endomondo all have the same price for premium: $5.99 per month or $29.99 per year.
A few apps offer a much better value for the premium service, but they're not as well known. Runtastic, one of my favorite running apps overall and PCMag's Editors' Choice, still offers a one-time flat fee of $4.99 for Runtastic PRO. And Runmeter, which is a data-lover's dream come true, offers its premium service for $4.99 per year.
Fun to Try
I'm so glad the RockMyRun app lets new users try it for seven days without entering credit card details because you really need to experiment with it personally before making a decision about whether it works for you. In my case, it didn't, but I'm not a fan of working out to music in general. If you like to explore new music and you pay attention to details like your heart rate or running tempo, I would recommend giving the free trial a go. If you're looking for a more traditional running app, however, I recommend Runtastic PRO, our Editors' Choice. There's also a free version of Runtastic to try.
Pick a playlist from one of RockMyRun's music sets, and the beat will match your heart rate or tempo as you run. It's a fun app to try out, but it's not for everyone.
Apple Fan?
Sign up for our Weekly Apple Brief for the latest news, reviews, tips, and more delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Sign up for other newsletters
