Runner's Log
This software was last updated in 2005 but it works well on my Treo 680. It has a bare-bones look and feel, a bit of a disappointment after the slick appearance of MySportsTraining and MyRunningLog, but Runner's Log's features keep it in the game.

The data entry screen is simple and clean. My favorite feature of this program is shown at the bottom of Figure D's screen: the equipment tracker. Runner's Log makes it easy to know how many miles I've put on my various pairs of shoes.

FIGURE D


Runner's Log makes it easy to enter a run. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The program has eight built-in activities, seven of which can be renamed or deleted. The first, "run", can't be changed. Still, having seven open slots to use for your own activities makes Runner's Log useful for more than just runners.

The program remembers the ten most recent routes that you entered. You can choose them from a pull-down list and the software automatically fills in the route's distance. This makes it easier to track your workouts.

Runner's Log is the only program I tested that permits turning off things like weight and heart rate tracking. If you disable them, they are no longer visible on the data entry screen. I appreciate being able to remove things that I won't be using; it makes the screen much easier to navigate.

On the log screen, you get a simple list of what you did, but the use of pull-down menus makes the list surprisingly configurable. As well, you can filter it to see only the kinds of workouts, or races, or equipment, that you want to see. The program does not provide any graphs of your results.

There is a desktop version available as well, and the Palm version can export its data to the Memo Pad for use in other desktop applications such as Microsoft Excel.

Runner's Log holds its own against more expensive programs in everything but looks.

OUR RATING: 3 of 5

Unfortunately, RunPlan is not the program I was hoping it would be. It looks great but just doesn't seem to operate the way I expected it to.

The left-hand side of Figure E shows the Plan screen, with one planned workout entered, a tempo run of eight kilometers. Ready to log the workout, I tried clicking the "Log" button, but that took me to the list of logged workouts. Back on the Plan screen, I clicked in the blank space under "Log" in my workout's row, which opened the screen on the right-hand side of Figure E. Even though I had set the workout's distance and pace and expected time, none of those things came through when I attempted to log it.

FIGURE E


RunPlan's Plan and Log screens don't share information. Roll over picture for a larger image.

I did read the manual and it appears that this is how the software is intended to work. To me, though, I'm now entering everything twice. I can't see why I would do this. What is the benefit of using RunPlan to plan my training schedule if I have to remember each workout as I enter it into the log? Far better to keep using Excel and then just track the completed workouts on my Palm.

I won't be using RunPlan for this, though, because I find the data entry screen more difficult to use than some of the others. The little icons aren't clear to me. I keep having to look them up in the manual. As well, there are no graphs of results. The program does show the results as a table, but that's all.

OUR RATING: 2 of 5