Notable ALLEYKAT product updates. This is a curated highlight reel, not an exhaustive release log.
October 11, 2026
This week
- Races timed by a partner timing system can now be watched on the web spectate page, with runners placed on the course as they cross each timing mat, and a finished race can be scrubbed back through.
- Race directors can put a relay team back in the race from the Teams tab if it was ended by mistake, and move a team's baton to another runner.
- Automated emails, including registration confirmations and race announcements, share one new off-white design.
- On a phone, the spectate page shows the partner's logo and who timed the race, and the runner search bar no longer covers the first runner.
- The iOS app no longer asks for Apple Health access when it opens; it asks only where you choose to connect it.
October 7, 2026
Free runs retired
- The latest version of the app no longer offers a way to start a free run. Past runs stay in your run history, where you can still share them, turn one into a race, or submit one as a race result.
- Garmin and COROS activities that match no race are no longer imported as free runs. They wait, so one can still match a race you register for later.
- A Strava activity can no longer be imported as a free run. Picking one to submit as a race result works as before.
October 4, 2026
Multi-distance events
- Put a half and a full on one start line: add another distance to a race you created, or duplicate a race and add a second one.
- Distances in an event show as one card with a switcher, share one chat, and can start together with a single shared countdown. Results and courses stay separate for each distance.
- Races that start at the same spot now share one marker on the world map, so every one of them can be tapped.
- Race directors can send a push notification to registered runners from the Comms tab, alongside email and text. Large rosters no longer fail to send.
- A race that is still running stays under Upcoming and no longer appears in two Search tabs, and the dashboard stops listing deleted or long-finished races as live.
September 2026
Registration-only races
- Take sign-ups for a race you time yourself: the roster, chat, and announcements, with no course in the app and results entered by hand.
- Available for any in-person shape and either activity — a registration-only alleycat is still an alleycat.
September 2026
Waypoints, not checkpoints
- One word for a course marker everywhere you can read it — in both apps, on the website, and in race emails.
September 2026
Submit a Strava activity as a result
- Pick a Strava activity and have it replayed through a race course, the same way GPX and Garmin submissions work.
- Covers in-person, async, and FKT races, and can import an activity as a free run.
August 2026
Cycling races
- In-person and async races can now be set to Cycling, which loosens GPS limits for bike speeds and says "Cyclists" throughout.
- Any format can be ridden — the activity is independent of the course shape.
August 2026
Two new in-person formats
- Alleycat races: hit the intermediate waypoints in any order — route choice is part of the race.
- Scavenger races: a point-to-point course kept hidden, with each waypoint revealed only once you reach the one before it.
- Both are creatable on web and in the app, and spectatable like any other in-person race.
August 2026
Spectating got a lot better
- A rebuilt live view: race title block over the map, per-runner field progress, and a Monochrome or Warm map style that follows the course’s sun.
- Runner dots now interpolate between real GPS fixes instead of guessing ahead of them, so a dot never shows a position the runner did not reach.
- Finished point-to-point races can be replayed from the start with a time scrubber.
July 2026
Relay races
- Team races with GPS-proximity handoffs: create or join a team, manage the roster before the start, and hand off on course.
- Create on web or in the app; teams form and race in the app.
July 2026
Backyard ultra races
- Last-person-standing loops with a configurable yard distance and bell interval (5 minutes to 24 hours).
- Runs open-endedly until one runner completes a yard nobody else does.
July 2026
Paid async races
- Async races can now charge a registration fee, with the same Stripe payouts, discount codes, and fee structure as in-person races.
July 2026
Co-directors
- Invite co-directors to help manage an in-person race: they can edit the race, its route, and results.
- Starting the race, money, deletion, and inviting further co-directors stay with the creator.
July 2026
Race texts & broadcasts
- Directors can send a short SMS to registrants who opted into race texts, alongside the existing email broadcast.
- Comms emails now support image attachments.
July 2026
FKT races sunset
- New FKT races can no longer be created. Existing FKT routes stay open and attemptable.
June 2026
Race Director Dashboard
- Unified self-serve dashboard at /dashboard: manage participants, results, comms, and payouts per race.
- Mass email to all registrants from the Comms tab.
- Contact roster with email/phone columns, bulk copy, and CSV export.
- Quick result editing across every race type.
June 2026
Run history → race
- Turn any past run into an async or FKT race, or submit a past run as a result into an existing race.
- Submit pickers now smart-rank which run/race best fits the course.
June 2026
WebSocket spectating
- Spectator positions for in-person races now push over WebSocket for sub-second updates, with 3s polling as a fallback.
June 2026
Unified Garmin auto-sync
- A single "sync your Garmin" flow routes every activity to any matching open race, or imports it as a free run.
- The matching engine is source-agnostic, ready for Coros / Apple Health / Strava.
Ongoing
Result recovery
- DNS/DNF runners can fix a result from the leaderboard via GPX, Garmin, a past run, or manual entry.