Wearables, wayfinding, and data visualisations for distance running

Abstract

Data visualisations represent an important source of regulatory information and feedback for competitive and recreational runners alike. However, athletes' embodied or sensory engagements with data visualisations are often ignored by researchers in favour of the cognitive processes underlying their use. The current study addressed this lacuna by conducting interviews with endurance runners who are habitual users of wearables devices, to explore how these athletes intra-act with visualisations to understand, explore, and navigate their performance taskscapes/landscapes. Using ecological dynamics as a theoretical lens, findings revealed that runners dwell (are immersed) with data visualisations to identify wayfinding aids that can be used to inform future practice. Engagements with visualisations were also found to be an embodied experience that enabled runners to contextually interpret data generated by wearables. These findings extend our understanding of ecological dynamics by showing how visualisations help runners identify key affordances and information that they can use to navigate their taskscape and respond to emergent challenges "as they go".