A few years ago, a difficult break-up became a run of bad food and very little movement. I gained 20lb. Then a routine blood test came back with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
A private goal
I was determined not to spend the rest of my life relying on medication if lifestyle change could help me. Research from Newcastle University and the DiRECT trial showed that substantial weight loss can put type 2 diabetes into remission for some people—particularly earlier after diagnosis. It gave me a concrete reason to act, but not a guarantee.
I started by walking. Then I ran. I changed what I ate, counted calories and focused on maintaining a calorie deficit. Over the following 12 months I lost 35lb. My type 2 diabetes went into remission and my blood pressure returned to a healthier range.
What kept me moving was not a leaderboard. It was knowing the pace I could sustain and the promise I had made to myself.
The app I wanted did not need to know me
I did not care about posting a route, collecting kudos or turning recovery into content. I wanted a simple tool: set a pace, be quietly told when I drifted, and decide for myself whether the run should go anywhere else.
That became RunPrivate. It has no account because it does not need your identity. It has no RunPrivate cloud because it does not need your workout. And it will always be free: no purchase price, subscriptions, in-app purchases, ads or requests for donations. The product is meant to help, then leave you alone.
An important boundary
The research discussed here is associated with Newcastle University's work led by Professor Roy Taylor and the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT). The key public result is remission associated with substantial weight loss; RunPrivate makes no clinical claim for its app.
Read Newcastle University's overview of type 2 diabetes remission.