NO RACE
A training app if you are not training for a race
If you are not training for a race, pick an app that starts from your goals instead of a race date, counts every workout you do and tells you what to do each day. Complete is the fitness superapp: every sport counts, and you compete with your friends in all of them. It asks for your long-term goals when you join and recommends a session each day from your goals, your recovery and your recent training, without requiring a plan; if you add a race later, Complete can build a plan toward it. Plan apps such as Runna build around a distance or race date, which is the right tool when you have a race.
What changes when there is no race
Plan apps such as Runna start from a distance or a race date: pick one and they count back from it. With no race there is no date, so ask “what should I do today, given what I want and how I feel?” instead of “what week of the plan am I in?”
That question needs three things: what you want over the long run, what you have been doing, and how recovered you are today. An app that knows all three can answer it every morning without a plan.
What to look for
Six checks, with what Complete does for each.
| Check | Why it matters | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| It starts from your goals | With no race, your goals are the only thing to aim at | You pick goals when you join: build muscle, lose fat, improve cardio, get stronger, general health or become an athlete |
| It tells you what to do today | You need the next session, not a calendar | A daily recommendation from your goals, preferences with fixed training days, habits, history and recent load; Train offers a session on any day |
| It counts what you already do | Your own routine should not need retyping | Every workout that reaches Apple Health counts, along with imported FIT files (the workout file most sports watches can export), runs tracked with your phone and sessions you log |
| It fits your recovery | The right session depends on how recovered you are | A red recovery day turns today into rest or an easy session, and your week stays; the Coach can suggest an easier day, and you decide |
| It lets friends in | Some people want company in their training, so check whether the app has it | Competing with friends is there if you want it; it is optional |
| It lets you add a race later | Plans change | Add a race any time in the app and Complete builds your training toward it |
A session with no race attached
This run comes from Complete’s library. It needs no race, no date and no plan. Fartlek means “speed play”: an easy run with hard surges woven in, where a surge is a short stretch at hard effort. Effort is out of 10, where 10 is all you have.
| Block | What you do |
|---|---|
| Warm-up | World’s greatest stretch, 4 per side: loosen the hips before the surges. A-skip, 20 m: a rhythmic skipping drill with a high knee that wakes up the fast-twitch legs, the muscle fibres built for speed. Run 5 minutes at effort 3 out of 10: an easy build into the run. |
| Main | Run 30 minutes at effort 6 out of 10. Every 4 to 5 minutes, surge to a hard effort of 8 out of 10 for 60 to 90 seconds, then settle back to an easy effort of 5 out of 10. Let the terrain and how you feel pick the surges. |
| Cool-down | Run 5 minutes at effort 2 out of 10. Easy jog to finish. |
If you are new to this session
The library scales it for a beginner: keep the surges short, 30 to 45 seconds, and take as long as you need to recover between them. There is no wrong way to do a fartlek as long as the surges are hard and the easy stretches between them are easy. Use it when a structured session feels stale.
How Complete works without a race
Complete starts from your goals, not from a plan. The goals screen says: “Not a plan. These are your forever goals. They steer what Complete recommends every day.” Over time it gets to know your body, your schedule and the sports you play.
Your recovery is scored against your own baseline from HRV, resting heart rate, sleep and breathing rate, and it takes about a week to calibrate. HRV is the small variation in time between your heartbeats. The Coach sees your recovery and can suggest an easier day. You decide.
Roads are Complete’s ladders of targets, from your 5K time to your deadlift. Competing with friends is there if you want it. When you do have a race, a plan comes in: running, Hyrox or general fitness. Complete is free to download, and logging and sharing your workouts on it stay free.
Other apps, and when they are the better pick
Runna’s pricing page says “Custom plans for every race” and “Choose your distance or race date and we’ll build a plan around it.” It lists $119.99 a year or $19.99 a month, with a free 7-day trial. If you have a race and want a plan built around it, Runna is built for that.
Gentler Streak’s page says: “Every day it suggests the workout that fits your body’s current state.” It has a Daily Readiness check, a 10-day view and a 30-day Activity Path, and it connects with Apple Health in both directions. If you want a gentle, readiness-led app on iPhone and Apple Watch, it is built for that.
Strava’s subscription page lists routes, segment leaderboards and advanced training analysis among its subscription features. If those matter most to you, Strava is the better pick.
Complete is the pick if you want your goals to steer what you do each day, every sport you do to count and your friends in the same app.
- Runna pricing (US page, in dollars) checked 18 Oct 2026
- Gentler Streak home page checked 18 Oct 2026
- Strava subscription page checked 18 Oct 2026
Corrections
If a fact about another app here is wrong or out of date, email support@ccomplete.app and we’ll fix it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a race to use Complete?
No. Complete asks for your long-term goals when you join and recommends a session each day from your goals, your recovery and your recent training without a plan. If you add a race, Complete can build your training toward it.
What is a good training app if I just want to get fitter?
Pick one that asks what you want, counts every workout you already do and tells you what to do each day. Complete does that, and it starts from your goals, not from a plan.
Can I add a race later?
Yes. Complete’s goals screen says: “Training for a race? Add it any time in the app and Complete builds your training toward it.”
Does Runna need a race?
No. Runna’s pricing page says you choose your distance or race date and it builds a plan around it, so a distance works without a race. Complete starts from your goals instead of a distance or a date.
What is a fartlek?
Fartlek means “speed play”: an easy run with hard surges woven in. The session on this page is a real one from Complete’s library.
Is Complete free?
Complete is free to download, and logging and sharing your workouts on it stay free.
Is Complete on Android?
No. Complete is an iPhone app.