Enschede Marathon uses data to make amateurs perform better

Saxion University of Applied Sciences and Little Rocket from Enschede were called in to start this new project. Frits Oosterveld was a lecturer at Saxion and is now project manager of Sportinnovator Centre Twente. “How can we use technology to promote sport, exercise and health? That is, in short, what we work on”, he says. “We use Connect-U to connect questions from the business world in this area to students and lectorates, which is how this cooperation with Little Rocket came about.”

Nienke Bruggeman is the owner of Little Rocket. Her company focuses on creating value and impact through the intelligent use of data. “A lot of data is available, particularly for the highest level of sports. Top athletes are closely monitored in terms of capacity, recovery, nutrition, etc. We are investigating how we can obtain similar data from amateurs in an accessible, safe, and privacy-friendly manner. By combining and analysing this data, we can offer highly relevant advice for recreational sports. Many different runners participate in the marathon, from beginners to advanced runners, people who run half a marathon, you name it. If we can analyse all that data, we can eventually provide individual feedback on what runners can do to prevent injury and how they can improve", she explains. "We can suggest different types of training by using algorithms, but also help in rehabilitation."

Frits: “We can also gain better insight into how different forms of training, in addition to nutrition, stress and sleep, affect the athlete’s physical well-being. This project is valuable to society because it can translate data into practical applications for safer and healthier sport and exercise for a broad target group.”

The two say that the platform will not only be helpful for marathon runners. "Sports coaches, for example, can use it to better help the people they coach." The first two brainstorming sessions have already taken place. "We do not yet know whether this will be a digital platform or an app", says Nienke. "But we want to share our knowledge in any case and use insights obtained through artificial intelligence. So that amateurs can also have concrete results."