# A running app for blind and low-vision runners

> Most running apps put the run on a screen. Steady Pace puts it in sound: your pace as a tone, your splits read aloud, nothing to look at. Built to be run by ear.

Most running apps put their main feature on a screen you need to look at. Steady Pace works by ear. Your pace is a tone, your splits are spoken aloud, and there is nothing you need to see.

**The short answer:** Steady Pace is run by ear, so you do not need the screen. Your pace is a continuous tone that rises when you slow and falls when you speed up, and your splits are read aloud as you reach them. That means the core of the app, holding a pace and knowing your progress, works without ever looking at the phone.

## Why screen-first apps fall short

Most running apps assume you can see a small, moving number on demand. Pace, distance, and time live on a screen you are expected to glance at, and the interesting parts are visual: maps, charts, a live figure that twitches as GPS settles. If reading that is difficult, slow, or not possible, the app's main job is gated behind sight. Screen readers help with menus, but they do not work well for a fast-changing pace you need continuously while running.

Audio is the natural channel for pace while you run. Building the pace as a sound in the first place makes it work the same for someone who cannot see as for someone who does not want to look at the screen.

## What is audio in Steady Pace

- **Pace as a tone.** On pace, the sound is steady. Drift slow and it rises; drift fast and it falls. You hold your pace by pitch, with no number to read.

- **Spoken splits.** Each split is announced aloud as you pass it, so you track your run by listening.

- **A cadence metronome.** An optional steady click for your step rhythm, another cue you feel through sound.

Setup happens before the run and works with your phone's built-in screen reader like other apps. During the run, the parts that matter reach you through your ears.

|  | Steady Pace | A screen-first running app |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How you get your pace | A tone you hear | A number you look at |
| How you get your splits | Read aloud | Shown on screen |
| Usable mid-run without sight | Yes, that is the design | Hard, screen reader on a moving number |
| Account or connection needed | None | Often |

## What Steady Pace does and does not do

Steady Pace was built to be run by ear, so its core is usable without looking. It holds your pace and reads your splits through sound. It is not a full guidance or navigation aid. It does not steer you around obstacles and does not replace a guide, a cane, or a guide runner. It delivers the pacing through sound, so the pacing you would otherwise miss is available to you.

Because Steady Pace delivers pace and splits as sound, a blind or low-vision runner can hold a pace and follow a run without needing to see the screen.

- [What is pace by ear?](https://steadypace.ca/blog/what-is-pace-by-ear-audio-pacing): How the tone works as a pacing signal.
- [Spoken splits](https://steadypace.ca/blog/running-app-that-reads-your-splits-aloud): Knowing your progress without a screen.
- [How to run a steady pace](https://steadypace.ca/guides/how-to-run-a-steady-pace): The habit the app is built around.

**Can a blind runner use Steady Pace?**

The core of the app is built for it. Pace is a tone you hear and splits are read aloud, so holding a pace and tracking your run happen without looking at the screen. Setup uses your phone's built-in screen reader like other apps.

**Does the app read my pace and splits out loud?**

Yes. Your pace comes as a continuous tone, and your splits are announced aloud as you reach them, so you follow your run entirely by sound.

**Is it a navigation or guidance aid?**

No. Steady Pace handles pacing; it does not provide navigation. It holds your pace and reads your splits through sound, and it does not guide you around obstacles or replace a cane, a guide, or a guide runner.

**Do I need an account or internet to use it?**

No. There is no account and no connection required. The app works fully offline, which means it makes no network connections and shares nothing.


---
Source: https://steadypace.ca/blog/running-app-for-blind-and-low-vision-runners
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/steady-pace/id6773682525