Update for August 18: 921 backers have pledged over $190,000 to Avelo Running! The campaign ends in just four days on Friday at noon ET in case any readers want to support the project and hit the ground running as soon as possible.
Avelo Running is a fitness-focused startup that has just sneaked out to unveil their first product. What the company is building has the potential to be the perfect companion for the Apple Watch. Any runner with a smartphone can benefit, however, without bringing a phone or watch on a run.
Avelo intrigued me from the moment the company crossed my radar – before revealing its real product – although I worried that their practical solution would ask me to choose between it and my Apple Watch.
I’m not sure I would have run my first mile without an Apple Watch, let alone my first 5K or seventh half marathon, so there’s real brand loyalty that’s built over time. The watch is also much more than a running tracker for me, and I’m not willing to commit to a lot of technology.
However, Avelo is not trying to compete for wrist space. Instead, the company will compete in a market where brand loyalty has more of a cult status: running shoes.
Avelo Running shoes in my mind follow the Nike+iPod Sport Kit from almost 20 years ago.
Nike supported a connected running system that was unusual by 2025 technology standards. It consists of a single sensor attached or embedded inside the running shoe and a receiver connected to an iPod. The system captured workout duration, distance traveled, pace, and calories with varying degrees of accuracy.
Currently, comparable running tracking data has the highest reliability due to heart rate sensors, GPS, and advanced algorithms. Apple has also pushed the watch beyond measuring basic workout data. The Apple Watch now displays functional strength and functional form factors including vertical oscillation, ground contact time, and step length. But even Apple admits that a set of sensors on your arm can’t measure all of your workout data. That’s why the Apple Watch can work with Bluetooth accessories for cycling, for example.
Avelo’s smart running shoes may be the runner’s equivalent of those accessories: purpose-built hardware that enhances what a smartwatch can do, without competing with it. And they’re not just smart shoes—they’re built as premium trainers first, designed to be loved by runners before any technical considerations come into play.
That’s the only hardware feature. Avelo aims not only to capture more performance data with higher accuracy, but also to provide feedback and coaching that can make you a better runner. That’s an ambitious goal that requires a combination of technology and modern technology that has never been brought together in this way before.
Avelo takes an Apple-like full-stack approach for that reason. The company isn’t just embedding a chip in an off-the-shelf shoe. They build everything – from shoes to sensor arrays to the software layer that turns biomechanics data into meaningful information. The team behind it brings together experts in shoe design, sports science, and software engineering, aiming to bring lab-quality data to a product any runner can own.
And unlike all other smart products these days, Avelo’s smart shoes won’t need to be recharged. The battery is designed to last the full life of the shoe. That’s a great story for a product that you want to be a part of your daily routine. Another important detail is that each shoe has its own sensor. This seems to be a given that you want to create a more complete picture of your running performance, but even the Nike system from 2006 used one sensor per pair of shoes.
Avelo Running has their mission very important to them. Making any product that can convince runners to try it is challenging enough. Asking runners to trust you with something between their feet and the ground? That’s another hurdle, but one that Avelo Running wants to jump over.
Avelo Running recently came out of private mode and previewed the builders publicly. Currently, the best way to register an interest is sign up for free to follow along as Avelo’s journey continues. You can also follow Avelo Running on Instagram and YouTube to see behind the scenes of the team’s work so far.
Buy your support for Avelo Running on Kickstarter to join the race.
FTC: We use auto affiliate links to earn income. More.
