Pace Match is an API that was developed by Becky Jaimes (@theeBecky), founder of Pace Match, to aggregate the data from different running portals — such as Strava and Nike+ — to match up runners who have the same running pace and who run on the same paths. Jaimes came up with the idea when a friend (who runs five-minute miles and finishes 100-mile races in 17 hours) moved to the Bay Area. Her friend was looking for people with a similar profile to connect with on Strava so that he could find a running community. Jaimes thought, “If we could just look at who was running on the paths he wanted to run that were also fast enough to keep up.”

Jaimes joined Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), co-host of theCUBE*, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, during Girls in Tech Amplify Women’s Pitch Night 2016, held in San Francisco, CA. They discussed how Pace Match works for runners and from where it will find profitability.

APIs that bring people together

“Pace Match is a place where more than 10,000 athletes have discovered other athletes that run at their same pace and same routes,” said Jaimes. She gave the example that if an athlete ran in the Marin Headlands and consistently ran 10-minute miles there, they can find other people who run 10-minute miles on the same path.

She said that originally, she wanted to launch Pace Match just in Marin County to be focused on a single area, encompassing all the runners that run the same path. Much to her surprise, it proved to be very popular; suddenly, there were 11,000 athletes signed up. Jaimes also said that 90 percent of the users who have logged in within the last three to five months do find a match.

Adding a premium model

As Pace Match is currently free, Frick asked Jaimes how it is looking to become profitable. Jaimes said that a premium model is currently in development.

“We’re about to add a button where you can organize runs with people who match your profile; and the other is a route recommendation engine. We’re hoping to add these into the premium model,” Jaimes explained.

She also said that a beta for cyclists is currently being added to Pace Match for those who prefer biking over running.

*Disclosure: Girls in Tech and other companies sponsor some Girls in Tech – Amplify segments on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE. Neither Girls in Tech nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of Girls in Tech – Amplify Women’s Pitch Night 2016.

Photo by SiliconANGLE