Micro app #1: Yearly Run Tracker
This is the first in a series of posts about micro-apps I've built this year. I figured I'd start with this one, as it's the app that sparked the whole idea. It's called Yearly Run Tracker (a very catchy name, I know).
The app does precisely what I want it to do: track my progress toward running 365 miles in 2026. I wanted a simple way to visualize my progress throughout the year, so I created a graph showing the days of the year and tracking my progress against a target line. If I'm above the line, I'm on track. If I'm below the line, I need to catch up.
That's the core idea, and the initial version took only about five minutes to build. I spent another 55 minutes improving the UI and adding features before I was happy enough to just keep it on my phone and move on.
When I launch the app, I see the graph I described. A dotted gray line shows the progress I need to maintain to hit my goal for the year, and a green line shows my actual progress. Below the graph is a simple calendar view, with each day colored green if I went for a run. The calendar also shows the total distance I ran on each day. From this view, I can also log a new run.
The logging interface is also simple. It uses the same calendar view, with HealthKit integration to pull my running workouts and add them with a single tap. I added a little flourish to this, so the logging UI kind of slams down into place, which I thought was fun. I can also manually enter a workout if I didn't track it through my fitness app for some reason.
The only other feature is an insights page, which shows metrics like distance by month, distance by day of the week, longest streak, longest run, average run, and so on. There's also a settings page where I can set the units between miles and kilometers and set my goal for the year.
Turning it into a Real Product
What would it take to turn this into an actual product, and not just something that works for me?
First, I'd need to implement some sort of onboarding that walks users through setting up their goals and preferences. I'd also want a data export option, as well as a plan for what happens at the end of 2026. Right now, the app just starts over, which isn't ideal.
I also haven't tested it on any devices besides my iPhone, so compatibility could be an issue. And of course, I'd need to create a website and a privacy policy, which take a surprising amount of time.
Finally, I don't have a roadmap for it. I don't have any ideas for what else it could do. Widgets would be a nice addition, and the ability to automatically add workouts, without requiring me to manually add the HealthKit workout, would be convenient. Personally, I like the ritual of manually indicating that I've done a run, and seeing my progress in real-time, so I don't necessarily need that feature, but I can see how others would want it.
There are probably other things I'm not thinking of, but those are the main things that would need to happen before releasing this to the world. Maybe this post will get a ton of attention, and it turns out this is something lots of people want. If so, I might carry on and make it widely available, but that's not the plan right now. And that's fine. I'm very happy with where it is. I'm enjoying using it myself, and I'm glad I was able to make it.
So that's Yearly Run Tracker. I'm using it for myself, and I'll use it for the duration of 2026, and hopefully beyond.