Whether you’re an experienced or beginner runner, tracking how fast you run and your heart rate can be helpful to reaching fitness goals or training for races. Smartwatches like those by Apple, FitBit and Garmin collect some metrics, as do running or health-related apps. However, there’s another way: NURVV Run smart running insoles offer an alternative to wrist or app-based trackers. After you slip the insoles into your sneakers, NURVV calculates detailed insights about your runs through sensors right on your feet. The insoles measure everything from cadence to pronation, and share feedback across your runs in companion iOS or Android apps. And you can easily take the insoles in and out of your shoes, allowing you to use them across multiple different pairs of sneakers. NURVV is not the only brand to think this way — brands like Under Armour installed sensors into the sneakers themselves, pairing with apps reporting similar metrics as NURVV’s.
NURVV Run smart insoles
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Given this unique method of analyzing runs, we broke down what NURVV insoles are, how they work and the plethora of features they offer. The metrics NURVV tracks can be used to help improve runs, avoid injuries and coach you through workouts of different intensities.
How to use NURVV smart insoles
NURVV’s insoles go underneath the ones your sneakers originally come with. The trackers, which are attached to the insoles, clip on to the sidewalls of your sneakers. If your sneakers’ sidewalls are thin, you can use the additional clip adaptors the device comes with to ensure the trackers are secure. NURVV is available for men and women in six sizes, from XS to XXL (a size guide is available on the company’s website). NURVV is made up of two components:
- Smart insoles, which are built with 16 precision sensors each that detect the pressure you’re putting on your feet as you run
- And GPS trackers, which work in tandem with insoles to gather the data they collect and display information in the NURVV app on your phone or smartwatch
A charger and USB cable are also included to charge the trackers, whose battery lasts for about five hours of running, according to NURVV. The trackers have status lights to indicate when they’re done charging — the lights will turn green when they’re fully charged. NURVV said the insoles last for about 1,500 miles of running.
Notably, you can use NURVV on its own, entirely without your phone or watch. Given NURVV trackers are Bluetooth-enabled, you can pair the device with Apple and Garmin smartwatches, which have their own specific NURVV apps — you can also link the NURVV data to the Strava or Apple Health apps, too. You can control NURVV using your phone or watch, as well as view live metrics and receive audio or visual coaching cues through those. NURVV can also be paired with Bluetooth heart rate monitors.
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NURVV metrics
While you’re running, NURVV calculates a series of metrics about your movement.
- Balance: The degree of left-right balance in your gait
- Footstrike: Where your foot makes initial contact with the ground
- Pronation: The inward rolling motion of the foot from when it makes contact with the ground
- Cadence: Steps per minute
- Step Length: The distance you travel with each step
Additionally, the device records run distance, time and pace, as well as splits, elevation, calories burned and heart rate. While you can get feedback about your run during exercise, you can also analyze data afterwards through the app. It allows you to explore what each metric means and gives you suggestions for improving future runs.
NURVV features
Specific NURVV features in the device’s companion app use the metrics the insoles collect to provide you with real-time coaching and health-related advice. You can utilize features meant to help you reach pace goals or avoid injuries, which allow you to analyze information collected during runs after you’re done exercising.
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NURVV Pace Coach
If you’re looking for structured or guided runs, NURVV’s Pace Coach offers technique coaching during workouts. In the app, you can choose the pace you want to run at and Pace Coach creates a workout with cadence and step length target zones based on your personal running form. If you pair the device with your smartwatch, its screen shows a barbell indicator during Pace Coach runs to show you whether or not you’re reaching your goals. After runs, you can see if you hit the target zones the Pace Coach set for you.
NURVV Running Health
NURVV’s Running Health feature predicts whether or not you’re at risk of an injury. For example, NURVV states that over or under pronation — instead of neutral pronation — could lead to negative effects over time. The Running Health feature monitors factors like cadence, training load, pronation, balance and footstrike. It then creates a Running Health Score, a measure of whether or not you’re at risk of injury. The feature alerts you about problem areas as they arise — and you can monitor your progress in the app while working to address identified issues.
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Are they worth it?
Despite using your feet to run, most fitness trackers are worn around your wrist or housed in your phone. NURVV said this was part of the inspiration behind its device: Moving information-collecting technology as close to the source (your feet) as possible. But, as TODAY previously reported, running shoes should be replaced every 400 to 500 miles — NURVV, however, lasts for about 1,500 miles, allowing you to move them between sneakers when you need to get a new pair.
Based on our research, ARION makes its own iteration of smart running insoles built with eight sensors, and Sensoria offers a pair of smart socks designed with three sensors. NURVV, however, has eight sensors in each insole that it uses to collect data. Additionally, while you could work with a coach or visit a running store to help you detect issues with or improve your runs, NURVV allows you to collect data on your own wherever you are, and the app explains what metrics mean and why they might be important to you. The device also measures metrics every time you go out for a run in real-time, rather than just analyzing one run in a specific scenario like a coaching session. The app stores data from runs that you can go back to and view, too. You can track trends over time as you work to improve your form or speed, and refer to them if you eventually choose to consult a running professional.
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