More than 177,000 downloads for Boston App

The app, developed by MYLAPS Sports Timing and designed by Boston based advertising agency Connelly Partners along with the direction of the Boston Athletics Association (B.A.A.), was downloaded 177,322 times in 104 countries.

All 27,042 starters could be followed live during this iconic event that is held every year on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday of April. The Live Tracking functionality was the most used feature in the app, which allowed spectators, friends and family to track real-time progress of athletes during the historic course from Hopkinton to Boston on a map. US athlete Shalane Flanagan was the most popular participant in the app with 14,487 followers. In total more than 2.2 million push messages (!) have been sent with live updates from the runners’ progress.

Average session duration of 28:32 min

On race day the average session duration of the app users was 28:32 min, so they took their time to explore the app which included all relevant event information for runners, spectators and volunteers. Another important feature was the Bio section of all Elite Athletes with the latest information and personal bests of the top runners.
The app has been opened more than 614,000 times and users watched 17 screens per session on average, resulting in a dazzling total of 10.4 million screen views.

‘A powerful tool to follow our favorite runners’

‘Watching, running, or volunteering at a B.A.A. event is a powerful experience, and the app captured and communicated some of that power to fans far and wide’, said T.K. Skenderian, Communications Director at the Boston Athletic Association. ‘To see the approximate locations of our favorite runners, in real time, is a powerful tool, and we were very pleased with the way it worked. These metrics show that our followers, runners and volunteers really enjoyed and appreciated the app.’

Reliable live data

All technical innovations start with accurate and reliable live data. For the Boston Marathon App all participants wore bibs with MYLAPS ThinTag technology, a lightweight RFID solution that meets the IAAF timing standard. All timing data from start to finish and all 12 split points was processed to the app.