Why Strava Ruins Your Stride: I Built a Zero-Screen 3D Audio Run Club Pacer with Gemma 2 and OpenStreetMap
This is a submission for the Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge Week 1: Touch Grass What I Built Every fitness app built in the last decade wants one thing: your visual attention . Strava wants you checking live segment splits. Nike Run Club wants you chasing badge animations. Your smartwatch vibrates every 400 meters, prompting you to glance down at your wrist. But when you are running,…
Running apps such as Strava and Nike Run Club beg for your visual focus. Strava prompts you to monitor live segment splits, while Nike Run Club pushes badge animations. Even your smartwatch vibrates every 400 meters, nudging you to check your wrist. However, staring at a screen while running is detrimental. It disrupts spinal posture and breathing patterns, leading to trail stumbles, tripping over curbs, and twisted ankles. It transforms an outdoor escape into a chore of digital metrics.
PaceCast, a zero-screen audio running companion, seeks to change this. Powered by Google Gemma 2 (2B) and OpenStreetMap, PaceCast minimizes screen time to under 15 seconds, with no API keys, cloud dependencies, or friction. Here's how it works:
1. In under 15 seconds, choose your target distance (3K, 5K, or 10K) and pace (e.g., 5:15/km), then start running. The screen locks into a high-contrast OLED battery-saver mode, eliminating the need to glance at a screen.
2. During the run, a local Google Gemma 2 (2B) voice coach delivers rhythm-matched kilometer splits, breathing cues, stride cadence checks, and autumn canopy observations directly into your earbuds. For a preview, switch to the 3D Autumn Trail Simulator—a 60FPS canvas featuring drifting autumn leaves, a live cadence wave, and soundwave equalizer.
3. If you prefer to preview the run beforehand, the 2D Foliage Color Radar and Route Engine, based on OpenStreetMap, provide a visual guide. The high-tech AMOLED Pocket HUD displays live SVG progress rings, cadence telemetry pods, equalizer strips, and allows for a double-tap unlock.
The project is open-source, built for the Hacktoberfest 2026 Open-Source AI Challenge, and can be explored on GitHub (https://github.com/ish1416/PaceCast). The vision is to run with your ears, not your screen, enhancing the running experience without the distractions of a screen.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
